Managed to see almost my entire UK-based family over the past weekend. Went to big sister’s housewarming/engagement party on Saturday, and little sister was there too. On Sunday half-sister’s kids had a birthday party, and I saw aunt, cousin with his wife and two children, other cousin’s wife with their three kids, and after all that I went to see my mum. Phew. At the birthday party we were discussing my sister’s engagement, and my aunt picked up my left hand, looked sadly at my ring finger, and sighed. I feel that my inability to extract a proposal from Steve is a sign of my failure as a woman. Ah well.

Ten years to the day since the OJ verdict. I heard the verdict in the parking lot of the 7-11 across the street from my flat on Halsted Street in Chicago. As it was early afternoon, I was either on a day off or working a late shift, and was nipping to the 7-11 for lunch (probably a Snickers and giant coffee… my diet sucked when I was 20), when a newspaper truck pulled in and the driver started unloading papers. I couldn’t believe the verdict back then – and the way it divided America. There’s a really good article by Gary Younge here.