Foreigners, eh! Hard to understand sometimes aren't they, unless you're foreign yourself, of course. And it's a bit like, say, English people from Glasgow or Newcastle being difficult to understand, unless you're from Glasgow, or Newcastle yourself, might I add! Or what about Birmingham, say....
[Get on with it, Colin! - Ed]
My main "take" on foreigners is "always to be respectful when travelling overseas", "encourage a good relationship with our foreign friends", and above all, always show your appreciation while you're a guest in their country, like this local Hampshire mum from Sandy Balls did on a recent trip to somewhere-or-other-abroad [source Onion News].
Carol's masterly technique must surely have won a few friends for Britain over there this spring, and maybe this will "snowball". It's possible that we could get a few more than "nul points" from the Andorran jury at this year's Eurovision Song Contest, which, sadly, has become the main opportunity for those dastardly foreigners (!) to show their traditional contempt for us, for our music, and for all things British!
And let's hope that local mum Carol's effusive praise of Andorra during her recent holiday over there will "lift" plucky, long-suffering Andorra out of that "least friendly to the UK" category once and for all. They deserve a break, those plucky Andorrans!
Harpic toilet cleaner - it's almost synonymous with Britain itself, isn't it. Remember the scene in World War II "home guard" sitcom "Dad's Army", where Private Pike is reporting to Capt. Mainwaring and Sgt Wilson, that his gun isn't working any more, and he doesn't know why? 
Yes, you've probably read in the papers that the Army have been training tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers at its base just outside Bordon, Hampshire, and the Lidl supermarket at Bordon is where all the Ukrainian soldiers' wives shop, would you believe.
Lois and I are in the local Lidl's today actually, in support of another bunch of plucky foreigners. Lois wants to buy another eight £10 Lidl grocery vouchers for the Iranian Christian refugees who've joined her church back in Worcestershire.
Lois is so warm-hearted, bless her, and she hasn't forgotten those Iranians, even though we've moved, and they're all now 130 miles away in Worcestershire - her generosity knows no bounds, and is no respecter of country boundaries, that's for sure.
It looks like it's still in reasonable shape, which is reassuring.
Yes, and if you're foreign yourself, don't think we don't notice when you award our singers "nul points" - somebody is noting it all down. Oh yes!!!
It's odd that Australia takes part in this otherwise Europe-only annual contest, but I assume the UK lobbied hard for it, in an effort to improve our overall score, which seems to be bearing fruit. Couldn't we also get Canada and New Zealand in, maybe, as a "next step"? Just "blue sky thinking" at the moment - watch this space for Colin's full plan, coming up in the next few weeks!
[I can't wait for that one, Colin! - Ed]
But yes, foreigners, eh! And if you're a frequent visitor to Europe, I'll bet that one of the things that struck you the most, on your travels, were their weird supermarkets, with all those unfamiliar brand-names.
"Where's the Harpic?" - that's a familiar cry you can hear from Brits in a Europe supermarket, isn't it!
the Harpic toilet cleaner section in a typical British supermarket.
And if you're in a foreign supermarket, you've probably also often remarked, "Where are all the good old British makes, like e.g. Kelloggs, Heinz, Campbell's Soups etc, then?"
[Those are all American, Colin, don't you know that?!!! - Ed]
Let me put my cards on the table at this point! My medium-to-long-suffering wife Lois and I only moved to our current new home in Liphook, Hampshire a mere 10 weeks ago, leaving our previous house in Malvern, Worcestershire.
Lois and I had expected there'd be a few "culture shocks" from our move - after all we're now about 130 miles away from our former "stomping ground" (!) on the Welsh border.
One thing we hadn't expected, however, was to walk into a Hampshire supermarket, the Lidl at Bordon as a matter of fact, and see displays like these:
And Bordon has really taken its Ukrainian visitors to their hearts, that's for sure.
(left) flashback to August 2024: County Councillor Catherine Clark outside the East Hampshire
District Council Offices unfurling the flag to commemorate Ukraine's Independence Day,
(and right) poster advertising free swimming sessions for Ukrainians at local swimming pools
(left) the Lidl supermarket Bordon, Hampshire, where all the Ukrainian army-wives
shop, and (right) me showcasing the £10 grocery vouchers that my wife Lois
is buying for some Iranian Christian refugees back in Worcestershire.
Our old house in Worcestershire isn't sold yet, which is a bit of a concern, to put it mildly. We had a prospective buyer, Katherine, who has been wanting to buy it, but she's now lost the couple who wanted to buy her house,: they've changed their minds, apparently, simply because they've "split up", which seems a bit trivial to us, but that's the modern world, seemingly!
What madness !!!!
In the meantime, with our old house still unsold, we've become a bit worried about the back garden behind the house, in case it's becoming a bit of a jungle. Fortunately, however, our estate agent Vicki has popped in at the property today at our request and sent us this picture, which is reassuring.
the back garden at our old house in Malvern, Worcestershire
There's been some speculation between Lois and me about the strange patch of bare-ish grass next to the path on the right-hand-side. My theory is that that is the spot where our estate-agents dumped the "House For Sale" sign, when Katherine agreed to buy it. The sign is no longer there, however, and must now have been "resurrected" and put back up again in front of the house on the street side, now that the house is once again "on the market". That's my theory.
flashback to July 2024: our back garden in Malvern in happier times
with Lois happily working away on her beloved "raised beds"
Sob sob!!!!
Will this do?
[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzz!!!!!
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