Danskcolin: Saturday July 12th 2025 "Flying to Europe this summer? Well, if you are, just beware !!!!"

Yes, if you're flying to Europe this summer, "Just beware!" is my message to you today (!)>

Air travel is getting more and more uncomfortable - have you noticed? And there's a worry new trend, splashed all over the local Onion News (East Hampshire)'s popular Medical Column this morning (see page 94 of the print edition for details - do it now!!!

Scary, isn't it !!!! And my medium-to-hard-pressed wife Lois and I are thinking about this article this morning, although we don't have much time for thinking, to put it mildly!

I get a text from our daughter Sarah at London's Heathrow Airport at 6:17 am this morning - yikes!

She says that their flight from Perth, Australia had landed safely about 5:30 am, and that now, she plus husband Francis and their 11-year-old twins Lily and Jessica have collected their rental car, and are already on their way, on their 40-mile drive to rural, semi-leafy Liphook, Hampshire, to spend a couple of weeks or so with us.

Yikes (again) !!!!

By 7:35am they're pulling into our driveway - luckily Lois and I are fully dressed and ready at the doorstep to greet them, which is just as well, because the neighbours will be looking out of their windows at us, that's for sure !!!

It's 7:35, and our dear daughter Sarah (48), plus husband Francis

and their

They're pretty tired, to put it mildly, after their 18-hour non-stop flight from Perth, Australia. I don't think they got much sleep if any, and now they've got to deal with the 7-hour time difference, but they're happy to have arrived.

And after they've had a chance to unpack, and the twins have greeted the old stuffed toys they used to play with in England when they were younger, Lois and I throw together a scratch lunch to keep them going. They're determined to stay awake till it's English going-to-bed-time, which seems to be the way you do it.

Lois and I provide a scratch lunch for our little "Australian family"

Lois and I are gasping because of the heat (86F / 30C), but Sarah and family are used to it (and more!), but we have an event to go to this afternoon. Our other daughter Alison plus her husband Edward and family, who live 5 miles away in Headley, will all be at the Tilford Village Fete this afternoon, just over the county line in Surrey, because young Isaac (14), our grandson, will be performing with his band New Horizon.

Busy busy busy !!!!

the heatwave continues here in East Hampshire.

- phew, what a scorcher !!!!!

When we arrive at the fete, which is on Tilford's village green, we meet up with our other daughter Alison and family. In the marquee, Isaac is doing a bit of a warm-up rehearsal with his boy-girl group, New Horizon.

(left) our grandson Isaac and his boy-girl group New Horizon doing

a warm-up rehearsal in the marquee on Tilford Village Green,

and (right) Sarah and Alison, our two daughters, plus Josie (18),

Lois (79) and the twins, watching Isaac's group "tuning up" (!)

Lois and I, "the oldies", eventually decide to sneak out to the back of the marquee

and have a sit-down on a lovely bench in the shade - awwwwww!!!!!

Isaac's set starts at 3pm and lasts for 45 minutes, so taxing on them too in this kind of heat, but they do a great performance. Although Lois and I are concentrating on the power of Isaac's voice, I have to say that he's got a really first-rate band to back him, 2 twin guitarists and keyboard-player, all girls around 14-15, plus an incredible 13-year-old drummer.

This band will definitely be going places - and remember, you heard about it first here !!!

In my opinion, the stand-out numbers from their "set" are (1) the old Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons number "Beggin'" from 1967, which is old enough even for oldies like Lois and me to remember, and (2) the Orphans' 1998 song "Pretty fly (for a white guy)", which Lois and I didn't know, but Isaac really "owns it" now, in our humble opinion!

Our grandson Isaac (14) with his boy-girl group, New Horizons

singing the Orphan's 1998 hit "Pretty fly (for a white guy)"

And that's pretty much it for today. After Isaac's band finishes their set, at about 3:45pm, Lois and I sneak back home to Liphook, and go to bed. The "youngsters", i.e. Our two daughters Alison (49) and Sarah (48) and their families stay at the fete for another hour or two and then sneak off to the village pub, the Barley Mow for a "quick one".

Tilford's pub, the Barley Mow, conveniently just across

the road from the village green, where the fete is being held

In the evening, Lois and I give our Australian visitors a CookShop ready-meal of Fish Pie with, like, a billion peas, and after that, not much happens to put it mildly, For Lois and me it's because we're old and tired out by the heat, and for Sarah and family because they've arrived after an 18-hour non-stop flight from Perth, and haven't slept for 40 hours.

a typical CookShop ready meal of fish pie with, like, a billion peas

Remember what the man said all those years ago - "Peas is good food", and how right he was!!!

After the meal, our visitors go for lie-downs in their rooms, while Lois and I sit on the sofa and do the puzzles at the back of next week's Radio Times. We don't want to disturb our visitors by putting the "telly" on, so fair enough, don't you think!