SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF

HEAVEN knows, there is plenty that could be better in this small country, my our new/old home, Hungary.

Therefore, it is all the more important to speak up when there is something good to say.

Last year this nation of just ten million people, published no less than 15,255 new titles. A total of 44 and a half million books were purchased by the citizenry during the same 12 months, which is an average of around 4.5 books per citizen, including new born babies and toddlers.

It is notable, that almost 13 percent of sales were made up of children's books. Once we ponder that figure, we get to understand the voracious appetite for reading among Magyars. Its a pastime, a passion from the cradle to the grave - the inroads made by television and other medias nothwithstanding.

A record any country, any nation would be proud of.

NOW, A RECOMMENDATION YOU IGNORE AT YOUR OWN PERIL!!!

FOR those of us, those of YOU, who appreciate cinema as more than just a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours in the dark, one of the absolute very best of recent times is now running in Budapest.

Rush to see it, when it appears in your neck of the woods. The film is I've Loved You For So Long, or in its original French version, Il y a longtemps que je t'aime.

Kristin Scott-Thomas and Elsa Zylberstein are quite simply superb, as is everyone else in a film of drama, emotion, sibling love and the portrayal of the resilience of human beings in the face of immense challenges. A stunning film.

IF THERE IS ONLY ONE MOVIE YOU SEE THIS YEAR, MAKE IT THIS ONE! And, if the cinemas in your area won't put it on the program, get the DVD from Amazon.co.uk.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAGGIE AND DEN!

BIRTHDAYS galore are on the agenda. It was Den's turn in late April, Fran's happens later this month and mine rounds it all off just over a week before THE wedding in early June.

In the meantime, Maggie and Den were in springtime Budapest just a day before her 25th on May 4.

Had a great Korean meal at Mennyei Ízek (Heavenly Flavors) in Old Buda on Friday, then it was time for a lovely, marzipany cake on Sunday, before the kids and Fran set off for the Czech Republic.

Fran has now returned after a week's stay, having managed to find a train that actually came through - all the way from Hamburg - on the day of a major train strike!