Monday May 18th - Thursday May 21st 2026 "Have YOU ever returned from vacation almost like a new person?"

Yes, Friends, have YOU ever returned from vacation almost like a new person, and ready to "take on the world" with your new 'slant' on the world? Most of us have, at one time or another, haven't we, and there's a local story with a big impact in this morning's local Onion News, quickly picked up by the 'nationals', like the Times and the Telegraph, and, on an admittedly 'slow news day' even led the early morning bulletins on the BBC World Service, would you believe!!!

Kudos, that woman!!!!

And reading Egbert's story this morning brings a hint of a vapid smile to the faces of me and my wife Lois, here in semi-tree-covered Liphook, Hampshire this morning, no doubt about that! Because, by a complete coincidence, we ourselves have returned home from an invigorating holiday in Ipswich, Suffolk, with a new lease of life after a ton-load of delightful 'vacation experiences' with my baby sister Jill (68) and members of her family, no doubt about that!

(left) us on Thursday morning, bidding a fond farewell to the view of the bustling

harbour at Ipswich, Suffolk from my sister Jill's flat, and (right) waiting 

to catch the Greater Anglia train home, on Ipswich's throbbing railway station (!)

I have to confess, however, that, unlike Egbert in today's Onion lead story, we're not going to be engaging on any headlining work projects, to put it mildly! Happily retired for over 20 years, would you believe, we're just going to have to expend, or "take out" (!), our renewed energy on each other, and no shame in that!!!!

flashback to Monday: Lois and I experiencing a warm welcome at my 'baby sister' Jill's flat, 

both from Jill herself and from her 'flat cat', Billy. And (below) mine and Lois's room

with its stunning view of Ipswich Harbour, where "there's always something happening" (!)

Ipswich is the ideal holiday destination for Lois and me, because not only do we get the opportunity for hours of 'chat' with Jill and also with her charming daughter Lucy and Lucy's equally charming fiancee Rosanna, which is nice, but also, for history buffs like Lois and me, Ipswich is just soaked in history, going way back through medieval England, into Anglo-Saxon and Viking times, as we discover during Jill's highly personalised, and amusing (!), 'walking tours' of the town - so what's not to like!!!!

(left) Lois and (right) Jill and me, absorbing the many medieval sights to be enjoyed

in Ipswich, England's earliest, and longest continuously inhabited, town since the 7th century

The people we meet are all very friendly, even the statues, like this one of the town's most famous sons, Cardinal Wolsey, 16th century statesman from Henry VIII's time, which is nice!

the people of Ipswich, we find, are extremely friendly and always willing to help out

when we stumble to take 'selfies': even this statue of the town's most famous son,

Cardinal Wolsey, somehow finds the time to shake Lois's hand as she passes, which is nice!

Lois and I didn't know that Ipswich was England's first real town, and therefore, also the country's longest continuously inhabited settlement, since back in the 7th century AD, as we learn from the town's many informative displays.

On Jill's 'walking tour', between stops in coffee-shops for a welcome sit-down accompanied by some quick americanos (!), we also have time to have a bit of a chuckle with Jill over the town's less earth-shattering exhibits, the houses belonging to relatives of medieval celebrities, or houses 'next door' to some now-disappeared famous house or other (!). Also, the many memorials to the town's modern-day 'famous son', up-and-coming young pop singer Ed Sheeran, which is a nice 'change of pace' from all the serious stuff, to put it mildly!

some of the more 'underwhelming' plaques: commemorating (left) a house belonging

to the 'relatives' of medieval writer Geoffrey Chaucer, and (right) the house

'next door to' the now-disappeared house (!), of painter Thomas Gainsborough

plaques commemorating the achievements of another son of Ipswich: pop-star Ed Sheeran

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

Best of all, the time we have in Ipswich this week is a chance to chat about this and that, and put the world to rights, with my sister Jill, who's still, after all these years, a full 12 years younger than me, a fact that I'm, nevertheless, anxious to confirm (!).

me and my 'baby sister' Jill, (left) this week down by Ipswich Harbour,

and (right) flashback to 1960, us in the back garden of the family home in Bristol

It's also a chance to chat with one of Jill's three daughters, the charming Lucy, who lives in the same block of flats as Jill, and also to meet Lucy's equally charming fiancee, the Anglo-American Rosanna, actually born in Turkey, to American parents. We dine with all three at a Turkish restaurant, the Kervan Kitchen, on the Tuesday night, and Rosanna cooks us all a delicious meal on the Wednesday night, which we have in Jill's flat, so we don't even need to set foot outside the flat, which is nice!

(above) Tuesday evening's meal out at Turkish restaurant Kerwan Kitchen,

and (below) we enjoy a meal in Jill's flat, cooked by Lucy's fiancee Rosanna

It's so nice to catch up with local lawyer Lucy's latest news, and to meet Rosanna for the first time, especially as Lois and I will be back here in September for the couple's wedding, so watch this space!

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed, so-not-Ed-Sheeran (!!!!)]

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

Sunday May 17th 2026 "Blog 'paused' - and that's official !!!!"

 Hello, just a quick note to say that my blog is 'paused' for a couple of days, while  I visit my 68-year-old "baby sister" in Ipswich, Suffolk - and that's official !!! 

flashback to the mid-1960's: me and my baby sister, Jill

- happy days !!!!!

Back soon, and by Friday 22nd at the latest, promise haha !!!!

Byeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

[You lazy swine, Colin! - Ed]

Saturday May 16th 2026 "Have YOU ever found yourself at a music festival, and instantly regretted it?!!!!"

Yes, Friends, have YOU ever found yourself at a music festival and instantly regretted it? Most of us have, haven't we, particularly now that, despite the current inclement weather, this year's 'festival season' is in full swing - no pun intended!!!

Help may be at hand, however, if we're to believe this morning's Onion News! Read my 'potted' version here, included in my blog explicitly for your reading pleasure! [You're all heart, Colin! - Ed]

Kudos, that man!!!

And reading that story this morning, here in semi-retired Liphook, Hampshire, brings a bit of a cracked smile to the crinkly old faces of me and my wife Lois, no question about that!

me and my wife Lois - a recent picture

We're due to be 'gracing' a local music festival ourselves today, would you believe! And although, undoubtedly, fully paid-up members of the local 'old codger' set here in Liphook, and definitely getting a bit "yellow around the edges", we're not quite ready to choose the "Soundproof-Tent" option ourselves, not yet, anyway!!!! 

And although the weather here in Hampshire, South-East England, looks threatening, Lois and I are going to 'wrap up warm', and accept our son-in-law Edward's offer of a lift to the first day of "Chiddstock" - the local version of the legendary 1969 Woodstock Festival - set to "kick off" today on the village green, in the little Surrey village of Chiddingfold at 1pm today.

And how could we bear to miss out on today's events at the festival, when the programme features our own dear grandson, Isaac (15), "rocking out" on vocals, with his boy-girl band "New Horizon", no less!!!

The tension is clearly mounting as we arrive early to the festival venue, drop Isaac off at the entrance to meet up with his fellow band-members to do their "sound-checks", while we ourselves are refused entry and get turned away by a bunch of elderly lady 'bouncers', would you believe! They're not quite ready to open up for the public apparently (!) - so they say! - and we just have to kill time with our daughter Alison and husband Edward, strolling round the village green, admiring the village duck pond and grabbing a coffee in the tiny village coffee shop "Elliot's on the Green", which is nice!

turned away at the entrance by some elderly lady 'bouncers', Lois and I are forced

to kill time by admiring Chiddingfold's village green and duckpond, and ordering 

a warming cup of coffee and a Danish pastry in the village coffee-shop, which is nice! 

With rain threatening, we leave the comparative warmth of the village coffee-shop and eventually meet up again with Isaac and the band, whom we find doing some traditional future-pop-star-style 'clowning' on the iconic "Chiddstock" sign, and on the inevitable "jumbo deckchair", which the 5-piece band somehow manage to all squeeze onto (!).

leaving the warmth of the coffee-shop and braving the cold and the threatening clouds,

we meet up with Isaac and his band, doing the traditional pre-concert 'clowning'

on the iconic "Chiddstock" sign, and on the inevitable 'giant deckchair' (!)

Lois and I buy a quick lunch of some 'wraps' or something like that (!), from a lunch van

before sampling the festival's opening act - youngsters form the Surrey Music Academy

Chiddstock may seem, on the surface, to be just another 'tin-pot' local festival but make no mistake, it's actually something quite out of the ordinary. This is a very well-heeled part of Surrey, and the festival makes tens of thousands of pounds for charity every year. And Isaac and his band, New Horizon, comment, later, on the professional quality of the sound equipment in particular - so much better, Isaac says, than playing in the corner of some draughty, crowded local pub, to put it mildly!!!!

And on the 'Chiddstock Big Stage' Isaac's band's performance is truly professional this afternoon, both Isaac's singing and the band's music - I know Lois and I are obviously biased, but that's still our verdict, so take it or leave it haha!!!

Lois and I, naturally, as fully-paid-up 'old codgers', don't recognise the songs in the band's 'play-list', with one exception: for their 'encore' number they choose the Franki Valli and the Four Seasons classic 1967 smash, "Beggin'", which is nice!

Here's a 'snatch' of it, if the technology works, that is !!!!!

Kudos, that band !!!!!

We can't stay on after Isaac's set, however - Isaac needs to get home to watch the FA Cup Final, and Lois and I need to get home and go to bed for a delayed 'statutory nap-time' (!). 

What busy lives we all lead these days - it's literally non-stop, isn't it !!!!!

[I don't include you two 'noggins' in that statement, Colin! Just saying!!! - Ed]

Meanwhile, events in the political world are proceeding apace, as we find out from tonight's edition of Saturday Night Live UK. We see an estate-agent showing the latest batch of potential new prime-ministers around No.10: first Streeting and then Burnham, but there's a slight hitch when Liz Truss is discovered hiding in a store-cupboard, "beggin' " for another chance - cue for a song, there, Isaac !!!!

Sorry, Liz, you had your chance, and you 'blew it' !!!!!!

Poor Liz !!!!!!

But what a crazy country we live in !!!!!

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

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

Friday May 15th 2026 "Is YOUR family pet almost smarter than you are, some days?!!!!"

Yes, Friends, is YOUR family pet getting as smart as, or even smarter than, you yourself? It's happening a lot these days, isn't it, with pets, according to Onion News, becoming more and more 'savvy', to put it mildly!

Kudos, that dog!!!!

And reading Ginger's story this morning, here in partially-ventilated Liphook, Hampshire, brings what's often been described as 'a narrow grin' to the faces of me and my wife Lois, no doubt about that!!!!

my wife Lois and me - a recent picture

And we're grinning, because, by complete coincidence, we ourselves are sitting in a bustling hospital corridor today, would you believe, both very stylishly dressed (!), and getting 'snapped' by a photographer (Yours Truly!), having driven 16 miles over the county line to the Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford for vital parts of my annual so-called 'check-up', which is nice!

my wife Lois and me this morning, stylishly dressed, and being 'snapped' by a photographer 

(Yours Truly!) as we sit in a bustling corridor at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford

Why our look today? 

Well, obviously we're dressed to impress, yes (!), but I'm also 'dressed to undress', as people say in the 'old codger' fashion model trade: you see, I in particular, while needing to look stylish, to protect my reputation, also need to be sporting clothes that I can take off quickly, BUT ONLY if requested by officially accredited hospital staff, as part of my partial annual check-up, if that makes sense!!!!

So today I've selected, from my extensive wardrobe, a traditional 'countryman's cap', plus a simple, but fashionable, short-sleeve pullover and the still-modish 'semi-tropical' sports jacket paid for by grateful taxpayers, when I was a humble 'semi-secret agent' travelling to foreign climes for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office back in the 1990s, a jacket which has served me well over the years. And, needless to say, an attractive dark-blue tie completes my 'ensemble' (!).

our 'look' today - away with my usual 'armoury' of multiple

long-sleeved sweaters, replaced by a stylish jacket and simple,

but elegant sleeveless pullover, both designed to be 'whipped off'

in a trice, if I'm asked to disrobe by medical staff (!)

And, as I continue posing for my phone's camera today, Lois has time to spot a reassuring poster, on the wall just behind us, boasting that the hospital has "one of the best survival rates of any English hospital", which bodes well for my partial check-up today, and how nice to know that I'll probably be going home "in one piece", which is cheering, to put it mildly!!!! 

At least here's one English hospital that's got its priorities right, shall we say!!!!

As I continue to pose for cameras in front of the toilets, Lois, eagle-eyed as ever,

has time to spot a reassuring poster on the wall behind where we're sitting -

the hospital obviously prioritises their patient survival rates, which is nice to know!

Yes, it's another "busy busy busy" day for Lois and me, both now retired for over 20 years, would you believe! How did we ever have time to go to work back in the day, we wonder !!!!!

I myself turned 80 recently, and Lois is going to follow suit next month. And even my 'baby sister', Jill, who has a birthday today, is at last turning 68, which is equally hard to believe, but I suppose it's only to be expected, when you think about it, given that she was born back in 1958, incredibly, which is totally mad (!!!!).

my 'baby sister' Jill (now 68!), seen here in her home town 

of Ipswich, Suffolk, with daughter Lucy and fiancee Rosanna

Lois and I will shortly be spending a few days with Jill soon, in her Ipswich 'lair', when it will be nice to look back at some of the 'doozies' in our combined photo albums, that's for sure!!!!

from our family album: (top left) me holding my new baby sister Jill, 

in 1958 (!), (top right) fast forward to 1960, me with Jill aged 2, and 

(bottom left) us again, with our two siblings Kathy and Steve seated between us

What a crazy world we live in !!!!!! And 'just another manic Friday', in other words!!!! 

And so tonight, after another afternoon in bed, Lois and I are grateful to be able to sit down on the sofa and to witness an altogether 'saner' part of the world - Uzbekistan in Central Asia, where they 'do things proper', according to ex-Cabinet Minister turned busy 'celebrity travelogue' presenter, Michael Portillo, no less!!!!

You can tell a lot about people by the sports they play, can't you. And it's weird, that, although, reassuringly, in the wilds of Afghanistan, English-rules village cricket is played with enthusiasm, the Uzbeks in nearby Uzbekistan prefer more exotic sports, which is a surprise!

Lois and I didn't know, for example, that, whenever Uzbeks gather together, for a festival or for a wedding maybe, or even for an everyday 'family circumcision party', the guests like nothing better than to stage simple wrestling bouts, for both men and women. This local version of wrestling is called 'kurash'.  

And without a bit of 'kurash' going on somewhere in the background, a celebration wouldn't be a true celebration, Uzbeks believe, which is totally mad!!!

What a crazy country !!!!! 

But maybe they're onto something here, do you think? Weddings can sometimes be rather 'nervy' occasions, even here in the UK, with brides maybe anxious about their dress, make-up etc, and grooms nervous about making their so-called 'speech' etc etc.

Would a spot of 'kurash', before the ceremony, help to lower the tension? Brides would stop worrying about their appearance, and be happy to look contentedly 'exhausted and dishevelled' in the official photos, and all the speeches might even be forgotten about, in all the excitement!

I wonder....!

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

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