Photographs of holidays etc are the best aren't they, but videos are even "bester" [sic], if that's possible to say in good English (!). [No, it isn't! - Ed]
That's what my medium-to-long-suffering wife Lois and I think, and one lucky couple, who recently had a holiday not a million miles away from us in lovely tourist spot Swing Swang Lane, Hampshire, has received the memento of a lifetime from their Airbnb host, according to this morning's Onion News for East Hampshire - just check out page 94 of the print edition!
However, some photos and videos can be embarrassing, and the big international story this week bears that "truism" out - no question! And my fortnightly copy of top UK political magazine Private Eye, which "plopped" through our letterbox here in rural, semi-leafy Liphook, Hampshire, has its own slightly cock-eyed "slant" on the story, one which gave Lois and me a chuckle as we started to prepare our breakfast this morning, to put it mildly!
Lois and I like to start the day off with a bit of a chuckle, and particularly today, because another busy day lies in front of us, and we are 79 you know! [Stop saying that! - Ed]
me and my medium-to-long-suffering wife Lois
- a recent picture
First stop on our busy programme today is a trip over to the SPAR convenience store in nearby Churt, just over the county line in Surrey, for a somewhat desperate stocking up on groceries (!) - we're currently hosting our daughter Sarah, her husband Francis and their 11-year-old twins Lily and Jessica, who are spending a couple of weeks with us after flying in to London's Heathrow Airport from their home in Perth, Australia.
Lois and I stock up on groceries at the iconic SPAR convenience store
and Post Office just over the county line in lovely Churt, Surrey
They love their food, does our "Aussie" family, and those 4 hungry mouths go through mine and Lois's larder, 2 fridges and 2 freezers at a rate of knots, to put it mildly!
It's also a chance to drop in on our other daughter Alison, who's temporarily living in Churt while their home in nearby Headley is being comprehensively refurbished and enlarged by builders.
Alison's husband, hotshot lawyer Edward, is working in London today, and their 2 teenage daughters are away from home - Josie (18) on a Eurorail train holiday, somewhere in Europe (naturally!), Rosalind (17) is on a geography course in Wales, and their son Isaac (14) hasn't really "surfaced" yet - well, it's only 10 in the morning, it's the school's summer holidays, and he is a teenager, bless him!!!!!
our petite 18-year-old daughter Josie, all in white, currently on a Eurorail holiday in Europe,
here pictured in Venice this week with 3 friends from her high school in Guildford, Surrey
All of which leaves just our daughter Alison and the family's two dogs, Sika and Bjørn, to greet Lois and me this morning. The dogs try to lick our faces, as usual, but Ali contents herself with a hug, which is tons nicer, and more appropriate, at mine and Lois's advanced age, to put it mildly (!).
So, all in all, no embarrassing "lick-cam" photos or footage for us today, which is probably for the best, as we're not strong enough to cope with any sudden "viral" fame !!!!
(bottom left) I showcase the traditional Swedish "Mora" grandfather-style clock
left by the family's Swedish landlords, and (bottom right) me and my friend Bjørn
chilling out on the sofa after his failed attempt to create an embarrassing "lick-cam" incident!!!
11:00 After our visit to Ali, we drive back to our home in Liphook, Hampshire, and the rest of the day disappears in a cloud of artistic birthday-cake-decorating by our twin "Aussie" grandchildren, who will be turning 12 tomorrow.
Even mum Sarah (48), our daughter, takes some time away from working on her laptop to help out with some cake-decorating advice.
our daughter Sarah (48) takes time out from her laptop
working for one or other of her two accountancy jobs (!)
to give her twin daughters some cake-decorating advice
which is nice!
Sarah is currently doing two accountancy jobs simultaneously - one in the family's new home town of Perth, Australia, and another accountancy job at their former home in Evesham, Worcestershire, UK. And she makes cunning use of the current 7-hour time-difference to fit in both jobs in the course of her working "day".
But what a crazy world we live in !!!
They could easily have a career making and decorating cakes, Lois and I think, although we suspect that that isn't on the agenda for the moment, anyway - although it could be a profitable side-line if they ever need one. That's what we think as proud grandparents, anyway.
Lois and I had our own experiences in London - some of the time Sarah and family were doing their own thing, and we got incredibly lucky along the Thames embankment, you would not believe!
Lois and I are a bit naughty while most of the cake-decorating work is going on down in the kitchen, because we're mostly upstairs having a shower, followed by a couple of hours in bed.
Well, this visit by our "Aussie" family is, simultaneously, incredibly enjoyable, but also incredibly exhausting for us at our age, which I suppose isn't completely surprising. We had a lovely day out with them on a sightseeing trip to London yesterday, at the end of which, however, Lois and I both felt totally "zonked", to put it mildly.
Lois falls asleep for a full hour, on the sofa this evening, while we're all watching a recent episode of "The Apprentice", the twins' favourite show, would you believe. Are they trying to pick up tips for their own possible future cake-decorating "start-up" ? I think we should be told, don't you? (!).
flashback to yesterday: Lois and I take our "Aussie" family on the train
for a thoroughly enjoyable but exhausting sightseeing trip to London
We happened to bump into ageing former film star Charlie Chaplin, would you believe, who let us take a souvenir "selfie" with him. He specified "no kissing" and "no face-licking" either, which, again, was probably for the best, given that countless tourists all equipped with phone-cams were constantly wending their way past us, looking for photo-opportunities that might go viral for them!
And who knew that Charlie Chaplin is actually an East European? He's just like many of the other people Lois and I rubbed shoulders with in London yesterday. His thick accent when he talked was a clear giveaway and left no room for doubt on this point!
flashback to yesterday: Lois and I happen to bump into ageing film-star Charlie Chaplin
on the Thames Embankment in London, but we deftly avoid any "kiss-cam"-type scandals (!)
I suppose that this isn't generally known, because before he retired he was only to be seen in silent movies, so his true origins never became apparent.
But what a crazy world we live in!!! [You've done that one already, Colin. Just saying! - Ed]
Will this do?
[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!
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