By Jonathan Rawcliffe & Phil Harlow BBC Sport at The Crucible

You just can't escape snooker fever in Sheffield during April.

I wanna be adored: Busker Alex goes through his repertoire

Even the street buskers have caught it. Guitarist Alex Horne made it onto the BBC's TV coverage last spring with his rendition of the snooker theme tune.

He's back this year. "I don't just play the snooker theme," he says. "I mix it up with my own stuff. I play a bit of Pink Floyd, Stone Roses and Radiohead.

"Some people think it's great, others are a bit bemused. I've made a few quid, but not as much as yesterday."

Former world number seven and BBC TV commentator Willie Thorne may be many things, but he had never struck me as a style icon.

Not until Friday's Ronnie O'Sullivan against Ali Carter match, that is.

Scanning the crowd between frames, cameras picked out three likely lads paying homage to Thorne.

The look consisted of flesh-coloured swimming caps, combined with luxuriant and ludicrously over-sized black moustaches. Move over Jose Mourinho.

Willie's Spring collection will be out next Spring

Sports Minister and ardent Sheffield United supporter Richard Caborn was back in his home town on Friday.

Mr Caborn was a happy chap as he attended the official announcement confirming that the World Championship would remain in the Steel City.

But when asked if he would be attending The Blades' crucial league match at Watford on Saturday, he explained he had more pressing engagements.

"I can't go - I'm on the election campaign trail." What a lame excuse!

Regular Crucible diary readers are doubtless curious to learn what has become of the signed snooker mug being auctioned for charity on eBay.

No? Well, I'll tell you anyway.

The commemorative mug, signed by the likes of Steve Davis, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams, has a current asking price of �155.

But with five days of the online auction left to run, everyone still has a chance to get their hands on a little piece of snooker history.