A quarter of a million up

Well, it's something worth celebrating. Courtesy of our steadily increasing band of readers, it only took us 13 months to get there and, if the current 'hit rate is maintained - and I manage to stay out of prison - we will easily have half a million up by the end of the year.

Interestingly, hit number 250,000 came from a US reader, which is not unsurprising as the USA accounts for a good third of our readership. I do not know whether we are improving trans-Atlantic relations, but we are certainly trying.

For the rest, our main readership does come from the UK, with The Netherlands in third place, but we have a good following from Spain and a sizeable scattering from the rest of the world.

And, despite popular request for one now, I think we'll save the party for when we reach a million 'hits'. In the meantime, both Helen and I look forward to seeing some of you on Wednesday, in London. For the rest, we both thank you all for your support.