'I take up my pen once again to record a momentous time in the affairs of men (and, thank God this is intended to be a secret diary, I am not required to add "and women").'

So begins the latest volume of Adrian Mole's diary. It is 1 May 1997. Now a celebrity chef at Hoi Polloi restaurant, Soho (and still an unpublished novelist), Mole has returned to the Midlands to cast his vote for the ravishing and Channel-suited Labour Party candidate, Dr Pandora Braithwaite, the love of his young life

Back in Leicester, everyone in the Mole household expects Tony Blair's election to bring them wealth, fulfillment and personal happiness. For 17 Wisteria Walk is a seething mass of late twentieth-century angst:

Pauline Mole. Mother, 53, feels she has wasted her life; no letters after her name and only a 'Mrs' in front of it. Would an extramarital affaire with Ivan Braithewaite (55, ripe for the cull) lift her millennial gloom?

George Mole. Father, 50, out of a job, plagued by piles but scared of the operation. Also having a problem with erectile function. Is finding it difficult to get out of bed to vote.

Rosie Mole. Sister. 15-year-old vamp, Adrian suspects she may have Tourette's syndrome.

Glenn Bott. Juvenile Stalker, 12. Adrian's love child? Or is Barry Kent his dad?

New Dog. Age unknown. Disappointing substitute for the Old Dog, who died after a long and record-breaking veterinary experience.

A searing, hilarious return for one of England's greatest diarists and, by his own admission, greatest undiscovered literary talents. Be there at the start of Blair's Britain, seen through the eyes of A. A. Mole..

He's Back. Aged 30 ¼.

Twenty-first-century Mole.

Now in his thirties, Adrian is still worrying: can he be a good father? Is Viagra cheating? Why won't the BBC produce The White Van, his serial-killer comedy?

Will he find fulfillment he seeks as celebrity offal chef, single parent and celibate novelist? Is there a place for Adrian Mole in Blair's Brave New Britain?

I grew up with Adrian Mole, I read his first diary when I was 11 and have followed him ever since. A number of things make them special, they are predominantly set in my hometown which makes for a lot of in jokes between Sue Townsend and her readers. But mainly it's Moley that keeps me coming back for more. Now he has become a chef (ha!), a father and in this book he finally (finally) matures and becomes a man.

Updated August 25th 2003

Even though it's only within the last few years that I read this, I have decided to put it back on my 'to read' list. I've decided to revisit Adrian Mole, in all his screwed up neurotic glory, and read the books from the beginning. I bought a boxed set of the novels and look forward to reliving Adrian's life story.