Winner

Sunday was Formula One day. I'd missed the last one (in which Lewis cut through the opposition like a knife through butter) as J was in town but dragged my hungover head out of bed and headed down.

Was feeling a little bit homesick so called R, my usual Grand Prix partner and caught up. His wife and kids were fine but he told me to hang up and watch the race as I was about to miss a good bit.

It was a good race, but R had a point; it was made all the better by Massa losing a well deserved victory. That might sound harsh but we love to see Ferrari take a beating.

The post-race raffle was a laugh. D's girlfriend managed to win one of the bottles of wine he'd donated. I won a photo of Kubica I didn't really like so we swapped.

Also found a bunch of South Africans there and it seems biltong is available over here. My stomach is already growling in anticipation.

Turkish delight

Went round to one of my best mate's house on Sunday to watch the Turkish Grand Prix, and what a race it was.

Turkey has one of the best circuits in the world, with lots of overtaking opportunities, the longest, hardest right handed turn in the business and some truly vicious corners. Lewis Hamilton acquitted himself well, with a classic overtake on Massa and hard driving all the way. His second place was the best he could have hoped for given Ferrari have a faster car and he can be proud of his race.

But it made me miss the good old days when teams were allowed more leeway in design and tyres. Today's Formula One cars are so tightly controlled it takes a lot of the fun out of it. Ken Tyrrell just wouldn't be allowed to produce the P34 six wheeler these days and the lack of slick tires and proper downforce means there's less overtaking and most races are won by refuelling strategies. It doesn't make for good viewing and harms innovation.

Maybe I should take R's recommendation and switch allegiance to the Moto GP series. You see more overtaking in a few laps than you see in an entire F1 race. Bike riding also requires a lot more skill, since the entire machine's contact patch with the track is the size of a credit card. But I've been following F1 for so many years it's hard to contemplate switching allegiances.

Snow Day

Came down to the kitchen on Sunday morning and saw the snow – the best snow we’ve had in London for ages. I went out and checked the consistency, big wet flakes – perfect for snowballs. Sure enough the local kids were having a field day.

Unfortunately for her I had T staying with me at the time. She’s one of my best friends and over from New York but had left on a Friday where temperatures were hitting 17 degrees. Now she’s in the heaviest snowfall London’s had since 1991 and was feeling the chill. An urgent search then followed for thermals and thick socks.

While T went out to be fabulous, something she does very well, I was over to a friend’s to watch the grand prix. Hamilton lost it early on (has he fallen prey to second season syndrome one wonders) but the main entertainment of the day was provided by the London Olympic torch procession. It was car crash television.

Any possible propaganda value to be had from running the torch was lost by having it encircled by heavyset Chinese security guards, then bobbies in florescent jackets and the black garb encircling a flicking flame.

Duncan Goodhue earned himself a place in the ‘clueless of the world’ book by saying the protestors should have stayed away because the Olympics was all about sport and not politics. If that’s the case Duncan why don’t we eschew all the pomp, let the athletes turn up in what they fancy and just compete? The Olympics is all about nationalism, commerce and making a buck – and probably has been since the 1936 games.