As you no doubt know, it's my birthday next week. Like last year, I am going to walk across London. I think I've finally settled on a route: west to east across north London. Something like Harrow to Walthamstow. That's the plan, anyway - I may get as far as Kilburn and decide to go home. An alternative plan is to go north-south across east London, taking in Greenwich and the Thames Barrier. Watch this space. Or rather, watch Ian's space, as I hope he'll be blogging my progress as it happens.

Amazon wishlists are odd things. It is apparently essential for bloggers to have one, and I'm no exception. I can see two possible benefits:

1. Strangers, readers and stalkers may send you gifts. This has never happened to me, but some bloggers have received tons of stuff from wonderful, lovely, generous, talented, beautiful readers. And linked back to them in return. This sort of devious bribery is to be encouraged.

2. Your boyfriend and your friends know what to buy you for your birthday. Gone are the birthdays of smiling politely when you unwrap a copy of The Illustrated Steps Story - Complete With Twelve Exciting Dance Routines.

But gone also is the surprise element. When given a wrapped present nowadays, you can make an educated guess what it is from the size and shape. You lose the spontaneity; you take away any pleasure the giver might take in thinking of an ideal gift for you.

Perhaps they should be used merely as a guide to the kinds of things you're interested in, and as such I present my updated Amazon wishlist.