The drive from Conway to Stowe was spectacular. First through the White Mountains, climbing to around 3000ft, and then into the Green Mountains of Vermont. We were only 49 miles from Canada when we had to stop on the Interstate to allow a family of wild turkeys to cross the road.

After grabbing lobster rolls and root beer to go we set off from Kennebunkport towards New Hampshire. The sat nav pronounced we were at our destination but we found ourselves at a Doggy Daycare Centre instead. Driving up and down the "White Mountain Highway" we were starting to get worried. The road had intermittent run-down clapboard buildings and abandoned diners, certainly nowhere we would want to stay.

My trip to New England was more than just a holiday. I had a mission.  My mission, although I had little choice to accept it, was to find Stu a robe and bring it back. Sadly I failed, sorry Stu. Out of nine hotels I only found three robes and one of those was at the hotel where we left the car at Heathrow. I wasn't going to take a robe all the way to the States to bring it back, so I left that one there, and unfortunately due to the baby clothes for my new niece, Red Sox merchandise and a Michael Kors handbag we had to bring back, there was no room in my case to bring the others back either. So I'm afraid Stu you'll have to make do with photographs and my sincerest apologies.

From New York we caught the Amtrak up the East Coast to Boston. It was a long journey but between the huge comfortable seats, masses of leg room and amazing views of the ocean and small New England towns through the windows, four hours passed in no time at all. Boston is an incredible city and soon cemented it's place as one of my favourite cities in the world. We had barely been there half an hour and were enthralled by the people, the shops, the restaurants, the architecture, the history, and this just grew the longer we spent there.

New York was the first stop on our trip to the States. It didn't originally feature in our plans but we decided as we were going to be fairly local we may as well go while we were there. New York is an amazing and fascinating city, and I'm really glad that we went, but it was hot and noisy and busy, and I won't be hurrying back. I would certainly recommend visiting if you get the chance but I think once was enough for me.

Birds aren't easy to photograph; they move too quickly or fly away just as you're about to get the perfect shot, but they are quite fascinating. I took these on my recent trip to New England for @photomoments (who is far better with birds than me so check out http://www.photomoments.me.uk/)

The RFU have managed to upset most of New Zealand ahead of the Rugby World Cup in September by launching a black change kit. Officials had gained the approval of their New Zealand counterparts, amid fears that the use of black would rile supporters of the All Blacks, but it still looks like Johnson's team will be public enemy No 1 when they land in Auckland. The RFU has attempted to justify the choice by saying the traditional white shirt clashes with Argentina and Wales, and I can buy the Argentina point but Wales play in red, which I'm pretty sure doesn't look anything like white.

When Brazil's men missed all 4 of their penalties this evening I didn't sit here and say things like "yeah well they should stick to DIY" or "they'd be better off staying in the pub" - a) because it would be a completely ridiculous and irrelevant thing to say and b) because I'm not a total ass.

I've never really understood why people think that Shakespeare is for 'posh people', but then I've never really understood why everybody doesn't love Shakespeare.  Two years before making his serious stage debut as Othello at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Lenny Henry summed up his attitude to Shakespeare. “It seemed to me that Shakespeare was very much in the province of posh people,” he said on a Radio 4 series about the Bard. “I’m black, I’m from Dudley, I’m working class. Shakespeare’s not for people like us.”

After almost 11 years of the left side of my face being paralysed I don't really think about how it affects my life on a physical day to day basis anymore, you just kind of get on with it. It wasn't until recently that a conversation prompted me to think of the things that I can and can't do because of my facial palsy.

Back in May I stated the case for returning Thomas Hitzlsperger to his rightful English home in 'My Source Tells Me...' at the time for around £500k, and now it's even better because he's on a free. What's more he wants to come home to Villa Park (told you it was down to a communication error he ended up at West Ham!), so what is the problem?

From Hypnos' poppy potion that induced slumber in Greek mythology to the poppy field which threatens to send Dorothy and her friends to everlasting sleep in the Wizard of Oz to In Flanders Fields by John McCrae the poppy has long been associated with both sleep and death due to the opiate extracted from the plant and  the common blood-red colour, but is also associated with rest and healing. It is one of the prettiest weeds commonly found across Europe and incredibly striking.