Well the dust has settled on the Oxford launch for The Accidental Recluse, held at Blackwell’s fab new store in the Westgate. We left a trail of devastation; spilled wine, overturned chairs, the echoes of hollow laughter that followed my cheap gags, empty bookshelves, heckles from my three month-old son, utter confusion and no small amount of alarm at how alike my father-in-law and I look…

Many thanks to Charlie Bush and the Blackwell’s team for organising such a great night. And three bows to Justine Bottles for her excellent chairing (check out her tremendous blog at ishouldreadthat.com). Most of all, thanks to all the punters who came out on the hottest night of the year to listen to me ramble on about jazz, family traumas and a shipwrecked chimp. It all makes weird sense, you just have to read the book. By the way, if I scrawled something unidentifiable in your copy I apologise, I mean, I should’ve really asked first. Next step Edinburgh Waterstones on 10 May…