Wednesday September 16th 2026 "Couples couples couples - hard to avoid them these days, isn't it haha!!!"

Yes, Friends, have YOU seen any couples hanging around your place of residence recently? You know the tell-tale signs don't you, of which the word 'people' and the number 'two' are the most obvious giveaways!!!

Certainly you can't read the papers these days without coming across some annoying 'couple' doing something somewhere! Just take the headlines in this morning's Onion News, if you don't believe me!!!

What madness, isn't it! But today's 'couple news' (see page 94!) at least brings a wan (or wannish!) excuse for a smile to the faces of me and my wife Lois this morning, as we take our near-daily walk over the 'hallowed turf' of local Hampshire Premier League giants Liphook United, stopping to observe the club's latest 'signings' in the darkened windows of their dilapidated, run-down-looking and totally unwelcoming, so-called "club house", that's for sure!!!!

my wife Lois and me this morning, as we take our near daily walk over

the 'hallowed turf' of local Hampshire Premier League giants, Liphook United

To be frank, we don't feel like a proper 'couple' any more, to be honest! 

For the last few days, we've been what Lois calls a 'couple plus', with our 3 scamps of grandkids temporarily living with us - Josie (20), Rosalind (18) and Isaac (16). They're with us temporarily this week, morning and evening, bringing their cheery chatty company into our lives, which is, in Lois's words, "blowing some of the cobwebs off us", no question about that!!!! 

our 3 grandkids -  Rosalind, Josie and Isaac -

- a picture from a skiing holiday a couple of years ago

And it's been a rare treat for Lois and me this past week, getting them all breakfast and waving them a tearful goodbye in the mornings, and then welcoming them back to our house in the late afternoon, asking them about their day, and later wishing them a good night as they scoot up the stairs to their temporary bedrooms in our tiny Liphook-based house, into which we moved into just 21 months ago, which is mad!

flashback to January 2025 - Lois and I move into our tiny house

in Liphook, hardly being able to move for unopened packing cases

- what madness!!!!!

And with a full house this week, Lois and I have been having more fun than usual even at night, when we find ourselves trying not to wake our 3 young scamps of grandchildren, as we make our multiple trips to the loo - well, we are 80 now, and fully-paid-up members of the UK's "old codger club", so fair enough, that's what we say!!!

This pleasant interlude in mine and Lois's life, however, will shortly be coming to an end, and the process is starting today. We've had the pleasure of all this young company while their family is temporarily 'homeless' waiting for builders to fully finish the renovation of their crumbling Victorian mansion in nearby Headley. And meanwhile their parents - our daughter Alison and husband Edward - have been 'skulking' in a 'rude' shepherd's hut, somewhere in the mansions extensive 7.5 acre grounds. 

What madness, isn't it!!!!

(left) one of the family's builders showcasing the mansion's prestigious

new entrance, currently under renovation, and (right) the

'rude' shepherd's hut in the mansion's extensive 7.5 acre grounds,

where our daughter Alison and husband Edward are currently

having to 'skulk' - what madness, isn't it !!!!

Bit by bit, however, their crumbling mansion is being declared 'habitable' again, and tonight our 3 grandkids will be having their evening meal in the mansion's extensive kitchen, leaving their aged grandparents to dine just the two of us. 

Later, however, the kids will once more be coming round to Lois and me, probably around 9pm, to spend the night here again, as their proper mansion bedrooms haven't been "signed off" yet and, more importantly, their own dear beds aren't in place yet, so - once again - it's a case of 'Fair enough!"

"dinner for two" - my wife Lois and me tonight in our

strangely quiet kitchen, with no grandkids to cheer us

with their happy banter - sob sob!!!!

Poor us !!!!!!

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzzz!!!!!!

Tuesday September 15th 2026 "Business, eh!!! But do YOU know any REAL 'business people' - bet you don't haha !!!"

Yes, Friends, we hear a lot these days about 'business' but just think for a moment - do YOU know any actual business-men or -women? Not many of us do, do we, and yet the papers are always full of their crazy 'antics', for some reason, which is mad!!!!

Take this morning's Onion News, if you want 'chapter and verse' !!!!

Isn't it all just a little bit crazy?! But today's headlines bring a hint of a somewhat vacuous 'smiley' to the faces of me and my wife Lois this morning - no doubt about that!!!

my wife Lois and me this morning, on our near-daily walk over the "hallowed turf",

home to local Hampshire Premier League giants Liphook United

And we're laughing because we're one of the few people today, who have a real-life businessman in the family - step forward our son-in-law Edward, a director of one of the UK's real-life regional railway companies, would you believe! 

(left) our director-son-in-law Edward with our daughter Alison, both dressed up to the nines

for a recent Railway Ball in London, and (right) Lois waving to one of "Edward's trains",

the "Hereford-to-Worcester Flyer", as Lois and I have dubbed it, just to encourage

the driver through the Malvern Marshes, which was a nice touch - but what madness!!!!!

But let me put my cards on the table at this point! 

Edward and Alison may look "all posh, like" in that picture above, but, to be frank, for the moment they're also technically 'homeless, like' (!) - with Edward possibly being the first such board member to be classified as such, which must be a bit galling for him! Alison and Edward are homeless, because builders have been late finishing off renovations to their crumbling Victorian mansion, and, to add to their 'woes', their family has this week been unceremoniously 'kicked out' of their temporary rental home, now to it's been sold to buyers, which is mad!

What a crazy world we live in !!!! And Lois and I have done what we can to help - providing beds for the couple's three 'kids', if we can call them that (!) - Josie (20), Rosalind (18) and Isaac (16), while Alison and Edward are reduced to sleeping in a 'rude' shepherd's hut somewhere in their mansion's 7.5 acre grounds - but what madness!!!!

(left) the scene on Friday at Alison and Edward's crumbling Victorian mansion, with

a builder saying, "Sorry there's no way we can let you into your mansion for another week

at least - it's health and safety, mate, innit!!!", and (right) the 'rude' shepherd's hut in the mansion's

7.5 acre grounds, where Alison and Edward have been forced to "skulk" for a week!

What madness, isn't it !!!!

And Lois and I have also been providing evening meals for the entire family, so it's "dinner for seven, please Lois" to paraphrase the classic song!!!!

Tonight, however, there's some relief for Lois in the "kitchen department", because it's be only "dinner for six", that Lois and I have to arrange. You see, Edward, our son-in-law, will be working in London for the next few days, looking all "business-y" and indulging in his crazy "business-y" antics, with all his so-called "business pals" - what madness, isn't it!! And he's also half-starting preparations to fly to Boston USA next week for talks on joint ventures with some American rail company, which is mad too!

 a typical 'flight path' taken by many planes travelling

from London across the Atlantic to Boston, USA

As you will know, Lois and I have been dubbed by our neighbours "possibly Liphook's busiest-looking retired couple" and yet we've somehow also managed to somehow 'factor in' hosting our 3 young scamps of grandkids (!), amongst our numerous other duties, like our near-daily walk, and also our work translating Virgil's Aeneid Book 2, as respected members of local retired schoolteacher Joe's "Intermediate Latin for Old Codgers" U3A study-group, and Lois and I also find ourselves somehow squeezing in a bit of time for doing that today, in spite of our incredibly heavy schedule. 

Busy busy busy!!!

(above) Yours Truly, showcasing my copy of Vergil's Aeneid, with (right) part

of this week's homework, and (below) a typical session of local man Joe's

"Intermediate Latin for Old Codgers" U3A study group

"How did we ever find the time to go to work, back in the day?" is the question most frequently to be found on mine and Lois's lips - no surprise there! Frankly I don't think Lois and I would be able to cope with this frantic so-called 'retired' (ha!) life-style, if it weren't for our lengthy afternoons in bed, to recharge our batteries (!). 

And this week, each morning, we wave a tearful grandparental goodbye to young scamp Isaac (16) on his way to school, and another grandparental goodbye to those other two scamps Josie (20) and Rosalind (18), who speed off to Headley to help their parents with moving packing cases and trying to bring order to their half-finished renovated mansion, And after all that, Lois and I then just have to set to work to cross off as many jobs as we can from our over-crowded to-do-list, which is mad!!!

Lois and I this evening, somehow managing to 'squeeze in' a meal for six:

our daughter Alison (51) plus our grandkids Josie (20), Rosalind (18) and Isaac (16),

their busy dad Edward being away in London for 3 days doing his so-called 'business' (!)

No wonder Lois and I just fall into bed at 10pm each night, having watched just a paltry 3 hours of television,  totally exhausted by our frantic daily schedule!!! 

What a crazy world we live in !!!!!

Will this do????

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzz!!!!!!

Monday September 14th 2026 "Deadlines, eh! They're there to be ignored basically, aren't they!! "

Yes, Friends, so-called "deadlines", eh! They're there to be ignored, basically, aren't they! Especially the so-called "final" ones!!! And yet it seems like every day there's a new one laid down, if we're to believe the press! Here's what my today's copy of Onion News is telling us, would you believe!!!

What rubbish isn't it!!!! However, all these "headlines about deadlines" (!) certainly bring a smile to the cheeks of me and my wife Lois this morning, here in semi-attractive Liphook, Hampshire, no question about that!!!!

my wife Lois and me - a recent picture

Deadlines missed can sometimes cause problems, however, as our daughter Alison (51) knows to her cost, and "in spades" (!).  Alison and her family - husband Edward (51), and offspring Josie (20), Rosalind (18) and Isaac (16) - were supposed to be quitting their rental home this week and moving back into their 'real' home', a crumbling Victorian mansion which has been in the hands of builders who have been engaged in a renovation job on the ageing property for the last 18 months.

Well, the family has "quitted" [sic!] their rental home okay, which has been sold to new owners - no problem there. However, their builders won't let them back into their 'real' home yet, because it's "not safe", as yet - what madness!! So the family are technically "homeless", and are spending a horrible time at the moment, partly living in a shepherd's hut in their mansion's 7.5 acre grounds, and farming their offspring out to Lois and me, so we pair of "old codgers" have had a nice surprise being asked to temporarily accommodate three cheery, chatty young scamps, which has blown some of the cobwebs off us, to put it mildly!

What madness!!!! And it's fortunate that the family has at least managed the occasional 'treat' to brighten up their lives, escaping to Oxford at the weekend to see a concert by "happening band" Arctic Monkeys' very own tribute band, the "Antarctic Monkeys", which has helped to ease some of the family's pain, the poor things!!!! See this post (below, right) that Alison put on social media this weekend...

(left) builders refusing to let the family back into their crumbling Victorian

mansion, with a cheery wave and a "Sorry, it's health and safety, mate, innit!",

and (right) poor Alison's post last night on social media - what madness, isn't it!!!!

Poor Alison-and-family!!!!!

Lois and I have done what little we can to help the family, temporarily having Josie, Rosalind and Isaac to sleep in our house and providing evening meals for the whole family, when they arrive at ours in the evenings, totally exhausted, typically. But what a crazy world we live in!!!!

flashback to last night: (left to right) Josie, Isaac, Rosalind,

Lois, Alison, Edward and Yours Truly on the dessert course

- what madness!!!!!

And today, what was going to be a "one off" evening meal looks like being extended to probably the next two evenings as well, since the family still can't eat in their own dining room, which is mad, and by evening they're totally exhausted anyway from spending their whole days moving stuff, packing stuff and unpacking stuff - yikes!!!!! 

For Lois and me, meanwhile, the crisis means some "emergency shopping trips" to stock up our larder, now that we suddenly find ourselves feeding a family of five with pleasantly huge, and healthy, appetites, and not just feeding ourselves - the scrawny couple of scraggy "old codgers" (!), that we are, to put it mildly!!!! 

And hence, this morning, Lois and I find ourselves nipping round to the local "Co-op" again to stock up with more 'supplies' for tonight, before taking a rehabilitatory - is that a word? [No! - Ed] - yes, before taking a rehabilitatory walk over the 'hallowed turf' of local Hampshire Premier League soccer giants Liphook United, and checking on team selection for next Saturday, which is nice!

(above) we pop to the local Coop this morning to stock up on food to feed

our daughter Alison's family of five tonight, before taking a calming walk

over the 'hallowed turf' of local soccer giants Liphook United, stopping at the

team's dilapidated "clubhouse" to check team selection for Saturday, which is nice!

What a crazy world we live in !!!!   [You've done that one once already, Colin! - Ed]

For us, however, the nice part of Alison's "family crisis" is that "old codgers" Lois and I get to spend our evenings with our three chatty and cheery grandkids, after their exhausted mum and dad have left to go home to their meagre shepherd's hut around 7pm each night, where the family's 2 dogs are waiting patiently for their arrival, which is touching!

flashback to early August: our daughter Alison and family take delivery 

of their charming shepherd's hut, seen sited in their extensive 7.5 acre grounds,

and (right) family dog Sika making himself at home there. Poor Sika !!!!

18:00 Alison's totally exhausted family ring our doorbell and gratefully 'fall on' the food that Lois and I have prepared for them - and, by the end of it, we have 7 empty plates, which is nice to see!

Lois and me this evening, treating our exhausted daughter Alison and her exhausted

family to an evening meal of chicken breast, potatoes and peas - yum yum!

And later tonight, while Josie and Isaac are up in their rooms doing their college and school homework, Lois and I get the chance to entertain Rosalind, who doesn't have any homework, which is a blessing: she'll be starting at UCL (University College, London) in a couple of weeks' time to begin her 4-year degree course in International Politics,  so for the moment, at least, she's a "lady of leisure". 

flashback to June: our granddaughter Rosalind

celebrating her 18th birthday on holiday in Majorca

Tonight we decide to let Rosalind listen to some old audio tapes of her own "mummy" Alison, as an 8-year-old little girl, recorded during our 3 years in the States between 1982 and 1985, tapes which we discovered today in an old drawer - awwwww!!!!! 

What fun for all three of us, especially when we hear 8-year-old Alison's "American accent" - how we laugh!!!! We also hear excerpts from some of the school concerts that we recorded at the our two daughters' American primary school, Dasher Green. Happy times!!!!

(above) flashback to 1984: Lois and me, with our two daughters Alison (9) and Sarah (7)

touring the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, and (right) me, cool as a cucumber,

driving our All-American car, with the steering wheel on the 'wrong' side (!)

and (below) some of the tapes we recorded of our daughters 'speaking American',

and tapes recorded at their primary school, Dasher Green, Columbia Md

Also, we listen tonight to some amusing, but slightly more embarrassing (!), tapes of Lois and me larking about and playing our guitars together before we got married, including time from my study year in Japan, when Lois came over to stay with me - yikes, was it all more than 55 years ago?????!!!!

(above, left) flashback to 1970: the first ever picture of Lois and me together, in a rented cottage in Shropshire, and (above right) us in 1971, when Lois came to visit me during my study year in Japan 1970-1971, and (below) some of my slightly embarrassing audio tapes (!) from those times

Happy days!!!!

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzz!!!!!!

Sunday September 13th 2026 "Families - there are loads of them seemingly around suddenly!!!"

Yes, Friends, families, eh?!!! Have YOU come across one recently? The news is just full of them today, I've noticed - just check out the headlines in this morning's Onion News !!!!

Heart-warming isn't it!!!

And the stories certainly bring a warm glow, almost a flush (!), to the cheeks of me and my wife Lois today, here in semi-panoramic Liphook, Hampshire, no doubt about that!!!!

my wife Lois and me - a recent picture

And we're smiling because we know that today is going to be very much a family day for us, and we know, also, that we're going to go to bed tonight happy but totally exhausted - much too exhausted to write an extensive blog post about it, that's for sure!!!!

[Thank heaven for small mercies! - Ed]

Our dear daughter Alison (51), together with husband Edward (51), plus their partly-teenage offspring Josie (20), Rosalind (18) and Isaac (16) are currently in the throes of moving back into their crumbling Victorian mansion in nearby Headley, now that their builders are coming to the end of an 18-month renovation job on the house, hoping to finish finally by the end of this week - which is already twice their original estimate of "it'll only take us nine months easy, mate!" 

What madness, isn't it!!!!!

(left) the scene on Friday at Alison and Edward's crumbling Victorian mansion, with

a builder saying, "Sorry there's no way we can let you into this mansion for another week

at least - it's health and safety, mate!!!", and (right) the shepherd's hut in the mansion's

7.5 acre grounds, where Alison and Edward plus Josie will be "skulking" for a week!

What madness, isn't it !!!!

It's an enormous upheaval at the moment for them, leaving the family, with horrendous packing and unpacking problems as they're forced to move out of their temporary rental home, before being able yet to fully move back into their 'real' home, so they're temporarily 'homeless' (!).

And this afternoon finds Lois and me, "old codgers" that we may be (!), doing what we can to help, having invited the whole family to join us for our evening meal, after finding out that they've been reduced today to eating out of boxes of breakfast cereal all day, which is mad!

These pictures show Lois and me frantically preparing an evening meal for 7 this afternoon:

Lois and me this afternoon, preparing an evening meal for 7 for our daughter Alison,

husband Edward, and their 3 kids, Josie, Rosalind and Isaac - lasagne, and veggie lasagne

for the veggie guys, plus chocolate mousse torte and strawberries for dessert

- busy busy busy!!!!

Recently dubbed by our neighbours as "possibly Liphook's busiest-looking retired couple", we feel that we've been earning those heartfelt accolades "in spades" today, but we're glad to be of service, and it's a joy to have Alison's chatty family with us to "blow some of the cobwebs off you, Colin!", as Lois puts it!!!

And incredibly busy though we undoubtedly are, we even this afternoon also somehow find the time to do a heart-warming whatsapp call with our daughter Sarah, who lives in Perth, Australia, with husband Francis and their 13-year-old twins, Lily and Jessica, would you believe! What madness, isn't it!!!

Busy busy busy!!!!

But it's all worthwhile when we finally treat Alison, Edward, Josie, Rosalind and Isaac to the evening meal we're prepared, which is nice!

Tonight the three 'kids', if we can still call them that (!), will be staying here with us - while their parents go home to their lowly temporary 'shepherd's hut' accommodation with only their 2 dogs for company, which is mad!

Poor parents!!!!!

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzz!!!!!!

Saturday September 12th 2026 "Gorillas - they have a scary image, but underneath they're just like you and me !!! "

Yes, Friends, don't be scared of gorillas, despite their somewhat daunting public image!!!

Underneath that hairy exterior, they're just like you and me, as today's press headlines attest, "beyond reasonable doubt" (!). Take this morning's Onion News, if you don't believe me!!!!

And the latest gorilla stories certainly bring a slightly lop-sided smile to the faces of me and my wife Lois this morning, here in semi-pleasant Liphook, Hampshire, no doubt about that!!!

my wife Lois and me - a recent picture

I myself have always been a fan of gorillas, despite their bad press, and I once even suggested to Lois that "happening" pop band Arctic Monkeys missed a trick by not calling themselves the Arctic Gorillas, which would have given them a more macho image, in my humble opinion!

"happening" pop band The Arctic Monkeys

But it's too late for that now, as the pop outfit's multiple "tribute bands" are already jumping on the "monkey bandwagon" - as we learned today from two of our grandchildren, Rosalind (18) and Isaac (16) who are currently staying with Lois and me, on and off, while builders finish off an 18-month renovation project on the family's crumbling Victorian project. The kids' parents and elder sibling Josie (20) are meanwhile sleeping in a cramped shepherd's hut in the mansion's extensive 7.5 acre grounds, would you believe!

Confused? You will be !!  Lois and I certainly are, to put it mildly!!!!!

the two young teenage scamps currently engaged in a friendly on-off

'invasion' of our house: (left) me with grandson Isaac (16)

and (right) Rosalind seen here recently celebrating her recent 18th birthday

However, today, our 2 teenage house-guests will be leaving us temporarily to drive with their family to Oxford to see a leading Arctic Monkeys' tribute band "Antarctic Monkey" concert at the O2 Academy on Oxford's Cowley Road tonight, and we won't see the two "scamps" again till Sunday tea-time, which will give Lois and me a chance for a little "us time" for 36 hours, although we'll miss their cheery chat - the young rascals !!!!!

(left) our 2 young grandkids Isaac (16) and Rosalind (18) having breakfast 

with Lois and me this morning, after spending their first night with us,

and (right) the two rascals being collected by their mum, our daughter Alison,

for a family outing to Oxford to see a concert by tribute band Antarctic Monkeys

(left) Oxford's iconic O2 Academy, where Rosalind and Isaac will be going off

today to see (right) a concert by tribute band Antarctic Monkeys - it's "monkey madness" !!!

What a crazy world we live in !!!!

And for Lois and me, finding ourselves temporarily alone in our tiny house in Liphook, there's no let up in the craziness, that's for sure. Just 10 minutes after waving a tearful goodbye to Rosalind and Isaac, we have to "whisk off" for Lois's hair appointment with her stylist Anna, at Liphook's iconic "Haircraft Salon", which is mad! No wonder neighbours have dubbed us "possibly Liphook's busiest-looking retired couple", and we're earning that title in spades today, let me tell YOU haha!!!

(left) Lois at Liphook's leading "Haircraft Salon", having her hair cut and styled

by the Salon's owner and chief stylist, Anna, and (right) relaxing briefly

at home, our house suddenly strangely quiet after our 2 grandkids' departure!

[Is that really all you two 'noggins' have done today, Colin? - Ed]

Well, absolutely not, seeing as how you're obviously interested!!! With our afternoon in bed for "statutory nap-time" cut to a paltry two hours today after our local Royal Mail postman hammers on our door with a parcel, we gradually "come to", by browsing, over a cup of Earl Grey and a pecan and maple syrup 'crunchie', Lois's copy of "The Week" magazine, which the postman also brings, and which, as always, gives us a digest of the past week's news from home and abroad, which is nice!

[That's enough 'whiches' ! - Ed]

And would you believe, this week's magazine is just jam-packed with good news this week, which makes a change! We also learn a new phrase, "cozzie livs" (= cost of living crisis), an expression which neither of us has ever heard before, even though it was apparently "word of the year" for 2023. What madness, isn't it!!!!

However, the good news today, as I can (almost exclusively) reveal (!), is that there's currently no such thing as 'cozzie livs', i.e. there's currently no cost of living crisis, which brings a contented smile to our faces, to put it mildly! Yes, apparently, according to Emma Duncan of 'The Times' newspaper, as quoted in The Week magazine, prices are rising at only 2.9%, a year, whereas wages have been rising by 4.4%, and state pensions have been rising by 4.8%.

Happy days!!!!!

So maybe Lois and I will, after all, be able to afford that £10 bottle of wine we've been keeping an eye on, on the Ocado Online Supermarket web page! However, it's also galling to find out, also from the magazine, that that bottle really only costs £1.93 when you disregard the £4.77 tax, the approx. £1.30 packaging and freight charges, and the retailer's £2 profit margin, which is mad!!!!

some snippets from Lois's copy of The Week magazine, which gives

a digest of the week's news from home and abroad

And it all just goes to show just what a crazy world we live in !!!!!

In a further boost to our 'morale', we late finally find, under the sofa, something belonging to our other daughter Sarah, who lives in Perth, Australia with husband Francis and their 13-year-old twins Lily and Jessica, which is a surprise!

During the family's recent visit here, in July, Sarah's iconic "Perth Down Under" baseball hat  mysteriously went missing, and she had to fly home to Australia without it, which was heart-rending. 

flashback to July: Sarah with Lois and me, as we drink our complimentary

glasses of champagne on the top floor of Western Europe's tallest building,

the 1000ft high Shard in London, and admire the view spread out before us

Today, however, we discover the missing hat under our sofa, and texted Sarah with the good news, and fortunately she says I can keep it, which will be save me forking out for a new one - happy days (again!).

me showcasing our daughter Sarah's iconic "Perth Down Under" baseball hat,

which mysteriously went missing during her family's visit to the UK in July

- miraculously found today under our sofa , which is a nice surprise!

More money saved haha!

[You tight-fisted so-and-so, Colin! Why don't you open your wallet for once, and let all those poor moths regain their freedom! - Ed]

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzzz!!!!!!