Weather: Frost early, frost late, sunny spells between. 8.

Travel: The first train is 5 late, which isn't welcome on a cold morning, and it's stuck behind the London train. Everything else goes OK.

The moon is clearly waxing, about four days from being new, and it's looking exactly right to tattoo onto someone's chest...

It finally happened.

PAF, FF remain. Judith touches the cheque, fingertips only, then flinches as Chris snatches it back. She's much calmer, it's all familiar.

�64,000: Duffel coats are named after a town in which country?
A) Belgium B) Holland
C) Germany D) Austria
Judith has a good think.
"It's sounds a Frenchy word, could be Belgium."
"I have no idea, it's not Holland, doesn't sound Dutch."
50/50 leaves
A) Belgium B) Holland
"It's funny that Belgium has a coat. It's not the kind of place that invents coats!"
"I don't want to use a lifeline at this stage. It's more likely to be Belgium."
Any friends won't know.
"I'll do Belgium. I'm not in the least sure."
Not quite the vicar's easy question, observes Chris.
"Duff-el could be du-ffel. I'll try Belgium, and hope for the best."
A) Belgium
Judith is risking her seat in the game and a PAF.
Chris thinks.
"How do you think you've done?"
"I have no idea."
"You've just won �64,000."

Named after the town of Duffel (DU-fell) in Belgium.

We play on. PAF remains.

�125,000: Complete this stage instruction in Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale": "Exit, pursued by a..."?
A) Tiger B) Clown
C) Bear D) Dog
Time to call Jilly.
"She's on �64,000."
An agonising pause.
"Right..."
"I know this one, I'm 100% sure. It's bear."
"Oh, bless you!"
100% is quite high, notes Chris.
Judith will play.
C) Bear
"You've just won �125,000!"

Judith takes the cheque, puts it somewhere. It's all her own work from here.
How's she feeling?
"I - um - don't, can't really say... I don't know what I'm going to do with it. It's a wonderful amount."

�250,000: The young of which creature is known as a squab?
A) Salmon B) Horse
C) Pigeon D) Octopus
"I know it. It's a pigeon. You eat them in America, it's called squab."
"Judith, it doesn't work like that."
"It's none of the other things. They're not squabs."
"Give me the wrong answer, you lose �93,000."
"I would like to play. Pigeon."
Final answer.
C) Pigeon
Chris looks down.
"Give me the cheque."
Rip it up.
"You don't need that any more."
"You've just won �250,000. Look at this one!"

"What did you think?"
"I hoped to get to �32,000, then enjoy the respite at �64,000."

To tie the UK record
�500,000: Who is the patron saint of Spain?
A) St James B) St John
C) St Benedict D) St Peter
"I think it's St James. In Spain, Santiago."
"I'm sorry, St James."
"Why are you apologising?"
"I've seen someone lose, and it's frightening."
"You lose �218,000 if you're wrong."
"It's a fantastic amount of money."
Chris repeats the question.
"I think it's St James."
"Do you want to play?"
"Yes."
"Final answer."
"Yes."
A) St James.
A long pause.
Chris rips up the cheque.
The pause continues.
"Good or bad?" asks Judith.
"You have just won �500,000."

"I've been very lucky."
"No, you've been absolutely brilliant."

Peter and Kate didn't play the next one.

"You're guaranteed �32,000. You could walk away with �500,000. Take a look at the next question. A wrong answer will cost you �468,000. That's a lot of dosh."

�1 MILLION: Which king was married to Eleanor of Aquitaine?
A) Henry I B) Henry II
C) Richard I D) Henry V
"I think it's Henry II."
The audience gasps.
"I saw her tomb in France this summer."
"What did it say?"
"I think it said married to Henry II."
"I said I wouldn't gamble when I came back, but I can't resist it."
Judith thinks.
"I did it at school for A-level, but it's so long ago."
"You lose �468,000 if you're wrong."
"�32,000 is quite nice. I'm pretty sure it's Henry II."
"Can you afford to lose �468,000?"
"Can anybody."
Judith thinks more.
"I think it's worth going for."
More gasps from upstairs.
"I'm going to say Henry II."
The sound of one hand clapping.
"Final answer?"
"Yes, final answer."
B) Henry II

You know what's coming.

"One of these answers is worth One Million Pounds."
Growls from the audience.
"The other three would cost Judith Keppel �468,000."
Louder grow the growls.
"Find out which in a couple of minutes."
"Oh no!" cries Judith, running her hands through her hair.

We fade out with Judith and Chris, alone in the studio, bathed in a blue light.

Judith Keppel said Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitaine.

"She had �500,000, she didn't have to play it."
"She did decide to play, she went for Henry II."
"You've just won One Million Pounds."

Up go the house lights.
Up stands the entire audience.
Down comes daughter Rosie.
Out comes the centre cameraman.
There's no confetti or fireworks.

"Have a look at this!" says Chris, of his big one.
"I can't believe it," says Judith.

"You were amazingly cool."
"I was very lucky."
"No, you were really cool. I say it's easy if you know the answers, and you knew all 15 answers."
"Except duffel."

Rosie praises her mother to the skies, remarking how Judith was much calmer than *she* was.

Chris summarises: the Americans, South Africans, Portugese, French have done it, now a Brit has won the biggest prize of all. The world's most valuable Millionaire prize, tax-free and all Judith's.

Judith leaves in a fanfare of applause.

Weather: Frost turns to low cloud turns to rain. 5.

Travel: Again, the starter is five late, and gets stuck behind the London train. Headed into Brum, there's a massive pig jam at the top of the Bristol Road, and I just get the 1722, 20 late.

Jaeda:
Thank you...I'm happy...truly happy for the first time in a long time...
Well, how utterly cool is that? Utterly utterly, utterly utterly utterly, or swingorilliantly utterly?

yeah he's kicking his own ass right now! And I *really* need to call and thank him...
Go on, do it. Tell us how it goes. After all, it is a matter of good manners to keep a former spouse appraised of serious relationships. It saves them finding out through intermediaries.

YAY ME! I'm so excited...and happy that her mom will accept this...mine won't...
I kinda figured that there would be *someone* a little reluctant to take the situation as it is. Good thoughts, positive vibes from a stranger will not fill the gap entirely, but I hope they count for a little something.

Weather: Wet, cold and miserable in the morning. Clears up a bit by lunchtime. 6.

Travel: Falling into a rhythm. The 0635 is around 10 late, and goes behind the stopper. Everything else clicks into place. The speed restrictions imposed by an over-zealous Hither & Slowness Exec are being lifted, and with a clear run the home train gets from BNS to WVN in 19 minutes.

Jaeda:
Well Jaeda's still holding the record for the most ridiculous relationships in the universe...yep, you guessed it folks, she dumped me today.
This is not on. This is *so* not on.

Says she's used to being alone and independent and although she cares about me and wants to be with me, she can't be because she's not 'adjusting" to this at all. Whatever the fuck that means.
How does one adjust to being in a relationship? I'm not sure, but it's a heck of a lot easier than adjusting to *not* being in one.

she's not coming out this weekend.
[raises one eyebrow in a chris tarrant way]
Final answer?

Daryl still wants to be with me, but, in his own words, he wants a 'monogamous relationship but not a commitment' Er, isn't declaring a relationship monogamous a commitment in itself? Or am I trying to apply Vulcan logic to an emotional situation again? There must be some form of huge gravitational pull around relationships, they distort the normal process of logic out of all recognition.

which boils down to "I want to be able to fuck you whenever I want but not have any other strings attached." Needless to say I turned that lovely offer down, but as to what now, I have no idea.
Oddly enough, I have no idea what next, either. Please accept some huge [hugs] and very best wishes for whatever happens. Happens.

Weather: Cloudy, a shower around lunchtime, and others are threatened. 7.

Travel: Starting late again, the 0709 is 6 late, then nothing leaves Wolverhampton after the 0722 stopper (which I miss by about a minute) and 0741, when the 0727 First NW leaves. Less trouble coming back, the 1710 stopper is hotly pursued by the home train.
GPS seems to be playing up today; the unit didn't indicate arrival at Bilbrook, and the FNW launched into an announcement that the next station would be Wolverhampton almost a minute after we'd *left*. Taps side of head.

Gosh, isn't it quiet around here all of a sudden? Must be the time of year.

Anyway, happy new year to you all. Why now? Well, Thursday saw the release of the Hot 100 dated Dec 2, which is the first chart of Billboard's 2001 chart year. Hence, happy new year greetings.

It also means that the book has now closed on 2000's Hottest Hit. The obvious pick is Santana's "Maria Maria," as ten weeks at #1 must count for something. But then there are the extremely long runs of "Amazed," "Breathe," "Everything You Want," and Carlos' own "Smooth." Find out the winner in mid December.

The end of November also sees the draw for the annual celebration of trans-continental culture, the Eurovision Song Contest. Defending champion Denmark has pole position (ie, last,) ahead of (or after) Greece and Malta. Estonia, the UK, and Germany are all drawn in the final third; these countries have tended to have great songs in recent years, so should perform well. Of other countries represented on this list: The Netherlands will open proceedings, Israel 7th, Croatia is 10th, Ireland 12th, Spain 13th (as this year), France 14th. No entries for Finland or Austria.
Viewers are reminded that the voting telephone numbers will *not* be repeated after the recaps. Eurosong 2001 airs May 13.

Weather: Cloudy, threatening rain, but it never arrives. 9.

Travel: Good.

Television schedules for Christmas Day are out. shimelle should book the big set *now*, as the BBC airs Tit&ick. I'm looking forward to Auntie's Nativity. Terry Wogan stars as Joseph, with Dawn French as Mary. Michael Burke plays the Messenger, though he has this nasty habit of delivering the news an hour late. Anne Robinson plays King Herod.

Annie: "How many days has January?"
Twit: "Thirty."

Annie: "Would you like to get rid of the eedjit on your left, the twerp on your right, or yourself? Bearing in mind that you can't vote for yourself."

Auntie's Nativity will air once it's been recorded.

Weather: Heavy rain for a short while, but generally dry. 8.

Football: In the basement battle, Middlesborough draws 2-2 with Bradford, thanks to an 89th minute winner from Paul Ince.
Leaders Man United pulls away with a 3-0 win at relegation-threatened Derby.
Spurs takes out Leicester 3-0 in a one-sided contest.
Chelsea's slide continues, and Everton's domination of London clubs runs on in a 2-1 win.
Sunderland beats Charlton 1-0.
Ipswich goes third after beating Man City 3-2.
The West Midlands derby ends 1-1 between Coventry and Aston Villa.
In Sunday's matches, Leeds beats Arsenal 1-0, Newcastle downs Liverpool 2-1.

Points: MUN 36, Arsenal 28, Ipswich 27, Leicester 26.
At the foot, Bradford 8, Derby 10, Middlesborough 11, Coventry 12.

Prizes: MUN 1172, ARS 1073, LEE 1061 (+4 places), IPS 1058 (+1), SUN 1049 (+3).
BRA 857, MCY 895 (-2), COV 905 (+1), MID 906 (+1), DER 910.

Weather: Sunny, breezy. 9.

The Charts

#1 27 Destiny's Child - independent woman i
#2 #1 Leann Rimes - can't fight the moonlight
#3 #2 Baja Men - who let the dogs out
#4 93 Craig David - walking away
#5 #4 Ricky Martin - she bangs

new
#7 Ronan Keating - the way you make me feel
18 Public Domain - operation blade
28 Bomfunk MCs - uprocking beats

up
10 21 Modjo - lady (hear me tonight)
  after signifcant airplay increases
25 39 N'Sync - this i promise you
  on uk release
32 38 Robbie Williams - rock dj
  also airplay increase
40 44 Mya - case of the ex