It's a long flight and it can be boring but I don¡¯t mind it too much. There will be a few other players on the plane so we¡¯ll probably have a game of cards and a bit of a laugh.

Otherwise I'll listen to the Stones Roses or some other music on my ipod or watch a film to pass the time.

I'm looking forward to the tournament and to winning a few more matches. I've got an outside chance of the top 16 now so I want to finish the season strongly.

Beating Adrian Gunnell in Sheffield last week to qualify for the 888.com World Snooker Championship was such an important result. It was a struggle and it was quite a slow game so to get over the winning line was a huge relief. It's a nightmare game because of the ranking points and the fact that you want to be at the Crucible. It's one that you want to get over and done with and I'm so glad I've done that.

I was pleased that I was able to up my game with the score at 7-7 and play my best snooker in the last three frames to win 10-7. The top players seem to be able to raise their game at the right time and I want to do that more often.

I didn't have much time to celebrate because the next day I went down to London to take part in Comic Relief at the BBC TV Centre. They set up a snooker sketch with the comedians Mitchell & Webb singing a version of Chris De Burgh¡¯s Lady in Red called Table of Reds, and we joined in the singing.

There were a few other past and present players there including Shaun Murphy, Dominic Dale, John Virgo, Joe Johnson and Tony Knowles as well as Hazel Irvine, Michaela Tabb and Chris de Burgh himself. It was a good laugh and I enjoyed myself, and it was interesting to see how these things work behind the scenes. I don't know how the sketch looked on TV because I've not been able to bring myself to watch it on tape yet. But it was all a bit of fun and all for charity.

One of my mates who works in London came down to the studio and we went to the after party. There were loads of celebrities in there. Girls Aloud were just a few feet away from us - Cheryl Cole was looking good. Chris de Burgh was a very nice guy and he knows his snooker.

I can't remember what time I left but it's fair to say I made the most of the free bar. It was the first time I¡¯ve had a drink since New Year and I wanted to celebrate reaching the Crucible.

I watched the draw on BBC Breakfast TV on Tuesday to find that I've got John Higgins at Sheffield. He¡¯s one of the ones I wanted to avoid because he's a class player.

I know he hasn't played as well as he can this season, but if he'd won the last five tournaments I wouldn't think any differently about the match. Last year he had a great season then he lost in the first round at Sheffield so this time he'll be practising hard in the build up and he'll be right up for it. But everyone is beatable and I'll just concentrate on my own game. I keep beating him at poker so maybe that's a good sign.

I¡¯ve got a mate from Australia visiting at the moment. He's got two cats which he has named Paolo and Rossi after the Italian 1982 World Cup Golden Boot winner. I told him mine was called Baghera and how that came about and we had bit of an argument about who had chosen the best name.

Anyway, enough of that digression, I'm off to get ready for my trip China. All the best until next time,