Subliminal messaging works (read my blog)

Since we returned to the UK, our TV screens have been filled with countryside porn. Coast, Mountain, The UK's Favourite View -- BBC and ITV have been extolling the glories of the UK with lingering shots of stunning vistas, bathed in sunshine. I don't know whether this was all planned last year, during the heat wave and the airport security upheaval, resulting in us all being exhorted to stay at home rather than flying abroad; all I know is that it worked. Two weekends ago, I found myself in Millets buying a pair of mountain boots -- my first pair since I was a wee 11-year-old, heading off on a miserably cold and wet school trip to Snowdonia. My new pair are surprisingly comfortable, ready-waterproofed, and thus not needing hours of softening with dubbin. They are a rather fetching grey and, after breaking them in on a trip to Subway at lunchtime, I now feel ready to tackle Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, or work on an IT help desk. Their first real use will come in about a month's time, when we head off to Cornwall for a week -- our first proper holiday this year. Told you the constant pro-UK messaging worked.