Doctor Smith!!

Was filled with whoops, pride, giggles and fun today as we gathered together as a Smithy family to celebrate the graduation of my brother Matthew, who was formally awarded his PhD today in Chichester. And as expected we all said 'Dr Smith' in a silly voice many times, as per the Muppets.

Chichester seems to be a very well-to-do town, with many swanky clothes and knick-knack shops, and also many charity shops which I didn't seem to have any time to frequent. Matty seemed to be in his element, getting many whoops and whistles when the Vice-Chancellor gave him a handshake, and even starting a conversation based on that very reception.

And having woken up at 7am this morning (on a Saturday? Unheard of!) we (Charlie, Alex, Andrew and I) have had a lovely lazy evening this evening in front of X-Factor, with mulled wine and Alex and Charlie escaping from the bad music by playing Scrabble. No really, the music was abysmal, what a shock! The real problem is being aware of the contestants now, so when I see them referred to when I glance at the Metro or sneak a look at the Entertainment pages of the BBC News website, I will have a context to place it in. Argh, I just don't have time to be caring about something as vacuous as X-Factor right now.

And now the boys have put on 8mm ... not my vote, so maybe I will upload some photos from today. Doff thy hat, Dr Smith!