Life's a beach for staff at Virgin.(DOOLEY'S DIARY)

Remember where you heard it: It continues to be metaphorically cloudy on the UK high street, but lucky staff from Virgin Megastores got a chance to bake in the Spanish sunshine last week as they flew out for the retailer's annual conference. Besides all the serious discussion stuff about strategies and the like, head office staff, store managers and a handful of key suppliers managed to let their hair down in Malaga on the Costa del Sol with a busy programme of activities laid on, including golf, tennis and go-karting. Dooley sensibly opted for the beach option, where he was stunned to stumble across the usual beach sellers, only these ones were trying to flog pirated DVDs and CDs to none other than the Virgin staff. Back at the conference's hotel, Dooley was excited to spot Coronation Street's Eileen Grimshaw (actress Sue Cleaver) among the guests ... Forget Bahrain, Michael Jackson ought to consider Spain for his next home. In news that will no doubt cheer Guy Holmes, the singer last week claimed a staggering eight of the nation's Top 10 singles, led by a top three of Dirty Diana, The Way You Make Me Feel and Bad ... Talk about dedication to the cause: Dirty Pretty Things last week turned what was supposedly a four-number set at HMV's Oxford Circus store for fans into a performance of their entire album ... What with Take That reforming and even East 17 on the comeback trail (well they're trying anyway), it was only a matter of time before the business reacted to take advantage of this renewed interest in scantily clad groups of males with nice voices. Over the next few months we'll see 365 ...