There has been a distinct upsurge in the number of violent crimes being committed by teenagers over the past few months and what’s even more frightening is the fact these crimes are being committed for the sole purpose of being recorded on mobile phones. The videos are then passed around to other kids and sometimes uploaded on to the internet.

What does that say about our society today? It scares me to death that people think this is a cool thing to do.

I bought a copy of The Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall after reading a recommendation on the website of Kate Mosse, author of Labyrinth and I’m so glad I did.

The Russian Concubine tells the story of Valentina, a White Russian, and her daughter, Lydia, who must fight for survival in the International Settlement in China after fleeing the Bolsheviks. Wounded by the loss of her husband, Valentina seeks solace in vodka and pretty much leaves Lydia to her own devices. Lydia finds herself having to resort to stealing to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. As political tensions in China increase, Lydia falls in love with a young Chinese communist which not only places her own life in danger but also those around her.

The love story between Lydia and Chang Lo is very powerful and so heartbreakingly full of despair and promise at the same time. I’ve always been interested in pre-revolution Russia but never felt the same way about China. The atmosphere in the novel is so striking, I’m now finding myself very curious and that can never be a bad thing.

However, the cherry on top of the cake for me, was discovering the premise is actually based on the experiences of Furnivall’s own mother who was a White Russian raised in China and India. While the events of the story are fiction, the premise and many of the names used are directly lifted from Furnvall’s family tree. Furnivall was unaware of her Russian heritage for a very long time and a visit to her website reveals the story behind the book.

Lydia and Chang Lo’s love affair ends abruptly and we will have to wait for the sequel to find out more, however Furnivall’s next book is also set in Russia and I can’t wait for its release.

A week today, my brother and his family will be moving back to our area and I’m excited because it means I’ll get to see more of the kids at last. We’re also getting the dubious pleasure of looking after my brother’s fish from Monday. He has a pretty small tank with about five little fishes. I’ve no idea what they are but I’ve already informed him I can’t be held responsible for any deaths which he found pretty funny. Honestly, it takes me to water plants, never mind remember to feed fish.

I’ve been a bit absent from the net this week because I bought S3 of Prison Break and just had to watch it. I feel a bit cheated though because it’s only half a season due to the writers’ strike and I’ve seen all the episodes now. I want more! I love Wentworth Miller - he is such an intense actor. A lot of people were disappointed with S3 but I still loved it. It’s very rare to get such a good cast with such good writing.

I’ve had another bitch of a week at work and my cheekbones and jawline hurt like hell. I have a bad habit of gritting my teeth when I’m stressed and I’ve been doing a lot of that lately. I’m thinking I need to try meditation or something before I go insane completely. On the outside, all the problems seem really petty but things like that tend to build up until you are near exploding point. I keep telling myself to keep everything in perspective and not to worry about things for which I’m not responsible. It’s so damn hard though and completely frustrating.

I’ve been reading more lately and it is so good just to escape into a different world.

I started taking a few pics last night of things I thought would be good for my first Show and Tell which is hosted by Kelli Ann but I hit a snag. It was the first time I’d uploaded photos onto my Mac and I was chuffed I didn’t even need to load any software but it was a different story when it came to editing the photos.

I downloaded a trial version of Photoshop Elements and I couldn’t even work out how to resize the photos. It seemed easy enough, Image, Resize, select Size and there you go. Every time I did it - nothing happened. I’m so annoyed Corel are wearing blinkers and refusing to make PSP compatible with Macs. So, now I have to do it all again on my Windows laptop unless I can find a better graphics programme.

Appetizer
What is the nearest big city to your home?
I’m in between Glasgow and Edinburgh

Soup
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how well do you keep secrets?
Depends on the situation

Salad
Describe your hair (color, texture, length).
My hair is predominately brunette but I have a lot of natural red highlights. It’s long (middle of my back) and straight with a tendency to frizz in rain.

Main Course
What kind of driver are you? Courteous? Aggressive? Slow?
I don’t drive.

Dessert
When was the last time you had a really bad week?
That would be every week

There is a nasty rumour going around that Summer has arrived and judging by the past few days, I’d say it was true. The sandals came out. The nail varnish appeared on the toes. The winter jacket was put away. I’m not a sun worshipper at all and I hated what the sun did to my skin last year in Florida so I’m definitely not into sunbathing. I’m quite happy to stay pale, especially since I’ve finally found lotion that works on my dry skin and it feels silky smooth.

The biggest drawback of course is my hay fever. I’ve being taking Zirtek which are one a day tablets and I’m actually having to take two. One in the morning and one in the evening. I’m actually lucky I get mild symptoms but my eyes get so itchy, I just want to scratch them out.

It’s just a few weeks until I go to my second Bon Jovi concert and I’m already starting to get excited. I was listening to my iPod late into the night and it was one BJ track after another. No matter how much I vary the music on it, I always seem to gravitate towards BJ. Jon is still so hot!