Characters from The Drought: Sophie Pudney

The Drought: Sophie Pudney

When a woman asks you to guess her age, always go lower than what you're actually thinking. Unfortunately for Dan, when he was first introduced to his ex-girlfriend Stacey's best friend Sophie and she asked that very question, Dan went for the truth.

And that pretty much set the tone for their friendship - or lack of - from that moment forth.

Sophie would play no small part in the downfall of Dan and Stacey's relationship; never feeling that Dan was good enough for her best friend and corrupting Stacey to the point where she became a totally different person.

But the story doesn't end there. When Dan breaks up with Stacey on New Year's Day, it's Sophie who starts plotting his downfall, starting with a rather evil attack with the use of her trusty baseball bat. Things don't get much better for Dan after that either...

Characters from The Drought: Dave Rowett

The Drought: Dave Rowett

Dave is the ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend from hell!

After Dan breaks up with Stacey, it doesn't take her too long to hook up with the neanderthal that is Dave Rowett. And to make matters worse, Stacey has seemingly recruited Dave to join her and best friend Sophie in making Dan's life a misery whenever possible.

With his skinhead, big gold hooped earrings, proud battle scar across his cheek and colourful array of tattoos (including one across the side of his head), Dave has the menacing look to match his equally menacing personality.

And that is not good news for Dan, especially as he'll have his fair share of encounters with Dave. The question us what can Dan do to stand up to his new nemesis?

Characters from The Drought: Stacey Cunningham

The Drought: Stacey Cunningham

The ex-girlfriend, but just not any ex-girlfriend.

Stacey is that one ex we all have to get out of our system. The one girl who we spend a great chunk of our lives with and then look back and wonder what the hell was I thinking?!

Dan met Stacey at university and during that initial year of their relationship, everything was rosy. But then a dark cloud descended upon their relationship in the shape of one best friend called Sophie. Nothing was the same after Stacey fell under Sophie's influence.

When Dan finally breaks up with Stacey on New Year's Day after what you could call a rocky relationship, that is when the real trouble starts. Forget the drought that Dan has been plunged into, he has got to deal with the wrath of his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend Dave. Nothing like a woman scorned.

Sepp Blatter wins FIFA election and morphs into Borat!

Just when you thought FIFA couldn't sink any lower after Sepp Blatter won a fifth term as President, the 79 year old appeared to morph into Kazakhstan's favourite son Borat during his acceptance speech.

Addressing the crowd in Zurich despite calls for him to stand down as the head of FIFA from all corners of the football world following the recent corruption scandal that has rocked world football's governing, Blatter took to the stage to address the audience at the FIFA congress and in celebrating victory he decided to use a few of Borat's well-known catchphrases...

Characters from The Drought: Kelly Campbell

The Drought: Kelly Campbell

Kelly Campbell is Dan's reliable and sympathetic work colleague, who he confides in on a regular basis in the hope that she can shed some female light on why he's failing so miserably with the opposite sex, balancing out the testosterone-fuelled 'advice' from the lads.

Kelly is bright, bubbly, and has an infectious laugh. She has been working with Dan for a little over four months, and already their relationship has a fairly standard routine - Dan tells her about his woes with the opposite sex and Kelly does her best not to laugh.

She has been dating her boyfriend Paul for nearly a year now, but she remains an independent girl at heart with a real zest for life. Her free spirit nature makes her the perfect friend not to judge Dan, no matter what sort of situations he manages to get himself in!

Characters from The Drought: Ollie Pemberton

The Drought: Ollie Pemberton

What Ollie lacks in brains, he more than makes up for in brawn. When he is not in the gym beefing up, he can normally be found in the pub; pint in one hand, cigarette in the other!

When it comes to the opposite sex, Ollie is not a fussy man. In fact the phrase "any hole's a goal" could have been created exclusively for Ollie. His approach to women is to simply wait around until the end of the night and then pounce on the most drunken girl in the establishment. And if she happens to be overweight, well, that is just a bonus for Ollie, as "fat girls are more appreciative" as he likes to say.

Ollie is a bit of a throwback to old-school man. All of this metrosexual new-age man stuff is definitely not for him. He is at his happiest when he is propping up the bar watching the footy or rugby. His idea of a romantic meal would probably be down at the local Wetherspoons on the burger and pint night!

Lad Lit Book Review: Ugly Americans by Ben Mezrich

If you want the quick review then imagine Wolf of Wall Street in Asia with more edge. If that has tantalized your taste buds then read on.

I first read Ugly Americans about 10 years ago when it first came out. I’d just discovered Ben Mezrich through Bringing Down The House and Busting Vegas, and had become a big fan. This book, whilst perhaps not one of Mezrich’s most well-known books, is one of my favourites.

In 1993 John Malcolm throws himself into the crazy world of stockbroking in Japan. He receives a baptism of fire as the first company he works for loses hundreds of millions in a deal set-up by one of the directors, forcing him out of a job. It's not long before he ends up at Barings Bank, working for infamous rogue trader Nick Leeson who made a $2bn gamble that sent Barings into receivership and Malcolm back to the job centre.

Malcolm ends up working back with the man who brought him to Asia in the first place, Dean Carney, and that is where the fun, fortune and fame start. Malcolm soon starts to rise up the financial ladder, making deals and trades that propel him to become a star in his own right to his fellow expat western traders, before being responsible for what was called "biggest deal in the history of the financial markets."

Millions are made, and then even more millions are made, but for me the real appeal in this book comes from the backdrop of the weird and wonderful fish bowl that is Tokyo. From the downright bizarre back-alley sex clubs and fetishes of local rich businessman, to the sinister side of Japan’s underbelly, namely the Yakuza.

Like all Mezrich books there is a love interest, the daughter of a Japanese mob boss, and through this relationship Malcolm find himself rubbing shoulders with men more cut-throat than those he works alongside on the trading floor.

It's an incredible journey and Mezrich excels once again in telling the story and bringing to life a world crafted from greed, power and unimaginable wealth, held together by danger and risk at every corner.

As the title says, this really is the true story of the Ivy League cowboys who raided the Asian markets for millions.