It is that season of the year when I am sorely tempted to settle myself in front of the TV for about nine hours a day. What I mean, of course, is that the snooker World Championships have started, in Sheffield. This is one of the very few TV events I do find compulsive viewing. You might not be surprised to learn that I find this an occasion for extreme guilt. Last year, however, I devised a neat trick which seems to work, in anaesthetising my conscience.
The “pause” button comes into its own, as I am able to sit there, and whenever a player adopts a particularly interesting pose I freeze the action in order to make a quick sketch. It hasn’t been possible to do this yet this year, as I have had to watch while popping in and out of the living room to check on the progress of matches while catching up on some essential household tasks. I reckon that tomorrow, however, I will be attempting to establish this routine for the rest of the championship.