The Book Quiz

I am going down on Sunday to the old LWT building in London to record The Book Quiz. No idea when it is to be shown, but it is a special poetry version. Know nothing more about it except that I have seen the show in the past and that I had a phone call about a week ago asking whether I'd be interested. So why not extend my grand and glorious television career comprising: a spot (as captain, I would have you know!) of the Poets team on University Challenge - The Professionals, alongside Roddy Lumsden, John Stammers and the new Professor of Poetry at Oxford, Ruth Padel, when we trounced the Nurses but failed by one question, and hence 10 marks, to progress to the next round; something on the BBC Breakfast Programme when I won the Eliot; a poem read by a well-known actress whose name I can't think of now; another about Great Yarmouth that was a film on TV a few years before; and a full eight or nine minute spot on BBC4's The World saying some poems and talking about poetry in the environs of Wymondham Abbey.

And some Hungarian TV now and then - mainly then.

There. That's all the GSTV the world is going to get because that is all there is.

Oh, and why me, in this instance? Why indeed.

I stay the night in London then proceed in stately fashion to Totleigh Barton in Devon to a week's hard graft teaching poetry for the Arvon Foundation.

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The Times will be publishing my obituary of dear Michael Murphy. They can't tell me when. They rarely can tell in their trade, which may be just as well.