It's been a busy week of theatre, a welcome break before returning to Mallorca to attack the ninth draft of Best Kept Secret, the third in The Clifton Chronicles series.  I'll be away for three weeks working on the manuscript, so to all those kind people who keep enquiring, no, I'm afraid I can't write any quicker, and the book will be out in hardback in early March next year. The answer to the other question that keeps arising, is also no, I haven't got a clue as to what will be in volume four, and in fact I don't even have a title yet.  As the first Test match against the West Indies opens on Thursday, I'll write the odd blog or tweet while I'm away, as I always find watching cricket a relaxing break between writing sessions.  Thank you again for all your emails and tweets.

Another visit to the theatre, this time to the opening night last night of Top Hat at the Aldwych.  The dancing is the standard one expects on Broadway, and Tom Chambers and Summer Strallen are remarkable, though it's the second leads, Martin Ball and Vivien Parry as the Hardwicks, and Ricardo Afonso as the Italian dress designer, who almost steal the show.  If you want a fun evening out where you don't have to think about the weather or the economy, then this Irving Berlin show is the one to cheer you up, and keep you singing as leave the theatre.

Today, The Sins of the Father, second volume of The Clifton Chronicles, will be published in the United States and Canada, a nervous moment for any author. However, far more important: yesterday, my wife Mary published her own wonderful pictorial book, The Story of The Old Vicarage Grantchester. Her first book on the subject was called Rupert Brooke and the Old Vicarage; the second book is more about the history of the house, which dates back to 1685, along with illustrations and photographs, some 150 years old. For Mary, this has been a labour of love, a majestic hobby, but the result shows her infinite love of our home in Grantchester, and its remarkable 400 year history. The highlight being not only that the First World War poet, Rupert Brooke, lived there, but The Old Vicarage Grantchester, arguably his most celebrated work, is a tribute to the home he loved as much as we, his caretakers, do. The Story of The Old Vicarage Grantchester can be purchased by downloading the order form, and all profits will be donated to The Rupert Brooke Society.

Click here to download the order form

In 1971, when I was a young Member of Parliament, I went to see Sir Laurence Olivier and Constance Cummings in A Long Day's Journey into Night. Last night, 41 years later, I went to see David Suchet and Laurie Metcalf tackle the roles of James and Mary Tyrone at the Apollo Theatre.  The play is arguably Eugene O'Neill's masterpiece, for which he was awarded one of his four Pullitzer Prizes.  The original script, written in 1941, was a 4 act play which took four and a half hours, and is the most harrowing piece of theatre.  The director, Anthony Page, has cut the play down to 3 hours, because modern audiences (me included) simply don't have the patience to concentrate for that amount of time.  Suchet follows his remarkable role in Arthur Miller's All My Sons, with another memorable performance, and as his wife Mary, Laurie Metcalf is a marvellous counter-balance.  I won't be surprised to see them winning several theatrical awards during the year, and surely Mr Suchet will be our next theatre knight.  I consider this a must-see.

I know I've said this before, and I'm sure I'll say it again, but London's theatre has no equal.  Last night, I went to see Collaborators at the National Theatre.  It was wonderful to see the Olivier sold out, even though the show has been runnng for some time.  The play is set in Russia in 1938, where Stalin (Simon Russell Beale) is murdering people indiscriminately in order to secure his own position.  One of the few to stand up against him is the playwrite, Mikhail Bulgakov (Alex Jennings).  As Stalin is a fan of his writing, the State tries to solve the problem by asking him to write a play to celebrate Stalin's 60th birthday.  What follows is a beguiling story

Last night, Mary and I went to a preview of The Sunshine Boys at the Savoy Theatre, starring Danny DeVito and Richard Griffiths.  It's a real privilege to see two old pros strutting their wares.  The old Neil Simon play, which many of you may remember as The Odd Couple, is a wonderful story of two old Vaudeville artists who end their days hating each other, but are unable to be kept apart.  The banter, the wit, the writing, is Neil Simon at his best, but none of it would work without the timing of these two great thespians.  Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau would have been proud of them.  Mary and I had a drink with Richard and Mr DeVito afterwards, and it's clear the two of them are getting on very well with each other off-stage, which makes their performance on stage even more amusing.  Congratulations to Thea Sharrock on a beautiful piece of directing - what a year she's having: Rattigan's  After the Dance, now Neil Simon, and in November she'll be directing Heather Headley and Lloyd Owen in The Bodyguard.

I attended a press conference yesterday for the launch of The Bodyguard, which previews at The Adelphi Theatre in the West End from November.  Heather Headley will be playing the Whitney Houston part, and performed two numbers for the press, I Will Always Love You, and I Have Nothing. The audience loved her - she really is something very special.   The show opens in November, and the box office is now open - I have a feeling this is going to be the big hit of 2013.

I've received many emails and tweets asking me why The Sins of the Father is being published in America 2 months later than almost every other country; it was their choice, as it is for any publisher.  Their reasoning was that they wanted a shorter gap between books one and two of The Clifton Chronicles.  So the Americans and Canadians will get The Sins of the Father, a week today (8th May), despite the fact that it's already appeared (and gone to No.1)  in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, and South Africa some 8 weeks ago.  However, I am just as excited to know how my readers in America and Canada will react to book two, and look forward to hearing your comments.

Funny old weekend.  Travelled to Milton Keynes on Friday (which ought to be in the Guiness Book of Records for having more traffic roundabouts than any town in England) to see Wonderful Town starring Connie Fisher, at the Milton Keynes theatre.  The show, which has received glowing reviews, is currently on tour, and the packed house clearly enjoyed themselves.  As I left the theatre with my son, who returned to London by train, I phoned Mary from the car to remind her that I wouldn't be back in Grantchester until after midnight, and not to double-lock the door.  "No, no," she said, "I won't."  And indeed, when I arrived, she hadn't double-locked the back door, but she had locked the kitchen door, so while I could get into the porch, I couldn't get into the house.  I had to wake her at 12.30pm, as I didn't fancy sleeping with the cat in the utility room.

Last night I travelled to Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire, to conduct an auction on behalf of Help for Heroes.  I felt very sorry for those celebrities and amateur golfers who'd spent the day in the rain, paddling around a puddled course, although by the time I arrived at seven for the dinner, their spirits were still high.  Thanks to the help of Sam Torrance, former Captain of the winning Ryder Cup team, and the legendary Kevin Keegan, who both joined me on stage, the auction raised £103,000 for this very worthwhile cause.  Mr Keegan and Mr Torrance behaved so disgracefully, that I had to fine them £1,000 each for continually interrupting.   A set of golf clubs signed by the world's leading golfers, including Nicklaus, Palmer and Woods, raised £22,000, and a round of golf with Lee Westwood fetched £20,000.