Not quite according to plan...

No Toad last week, of course. Which had one advantage - I finally got around to seeing The Constant Gardener. Chapter was sold out and it's not surprising. It's one of the best film adaptations I've seen, and of a very good book too (John Le Carre's best for years). As you might expect if you've seen Mereilles' previous film City of God it's got stunning cinematography, dramatic editing, audacious time shifts and some terrific performances (including Rachel Weisz, who's distractingly gorgeous). Bill Nighy's a bit irritating as usual but you can't have everything. Go and see it when it comes back to Chapter in April.

End of digression.

I should have gone to La Tasca on Saturday. That didn't happen: I had another event to go to first, I knew that several people I'd want to dance with weren't going, and the prospect of a couple of pints (er, and a couple of glasses of cava, and a glass of red wine) and being within walking distance of home won out.

Plan number 2: go to the Wharf. That did happen, and I even got there in time for the class. A stylish but tricky move – beyond a lot of people in the class – followed by a "New York setup", a nifty and unusual way of starting a turn. Andy apologised for not getting round to teaching the rest of the sequence: personally I think if you're teaching a move that tricky there was more than enough to cover in 45 minutes. Good to see Liz and Teresa there: I had a cracking first dance with Teresa but gradually deteriorated as I overheated.

The dance floor was surprising crowded early on. At one point I was sitting minding my own business when a slightly drunk young bloke came over, introduced himself, shook my hand and then asked "Will you teach the missus how to salsa?" Which I attempted to do, though I did explain that you can't really learn it that quickly. Apparently they'd just called in for a drink; she hadn't encountered salsa before, but she used to do modern dance and really wanted to give it a go. I think they'll be back.

Next step: the refurbished O'Neills. "I'll just get a half hour powernap before going out..." An hour and a half later - too late - I woke up. Apparently it was pretty good, though I really felt better this morning for the extra sleep.

Another foiled plan: go to Bar Cuba tonight. Now that might have happened, except for the Audi that ran into the back of me on the way home. I'm desperately hoping that my stiff neck doesn't develop into whiplash: I think I'd better stay in and calm it down with some Ibuprofen.

But if I manage to get back from North Wales in time and my neck is functioning, there's some dancing to entice me out on Thursday: Irene - former Welsh salsa champion - is running a one-off styling and shines class in Pica Pica on Westgate Street. Three quid, class starts at half eight (improvers and intermediate) and there's dancing afterwards.