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!