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!!!!!!

Thursday May 14th 2026 "Are YOU looking for a new hobby? Well, here's one almost on your doorstep!!!"

Yes, Friends, are YOU looking for a new hobby? Well, you don't have to look too far, according to Onion News. "There's a world outside your window, and it's a world of plants and veg!", as the old song says (!), so what are you waiting for !!!!!

a typical British back-garden - full of plants and veg, which is nice!

And here's all the 'gen' you need to get started - see below!!!! Roll up your sleeves and do it today haha!!!!

Kudos, Susan !!!! 

And reading Susan's inspiring commentary brings a half-crack of a smile to the faces of me and my wife Lois, here in semi-herbaceous Liphook, Surrey, to put it mildly!!!!

my wife Lois and me - a recent picture

We're half-smiling because our own 'gardenering' efforts (!) are going to swing into action today for the first time this year, when local gardener Matthew, the wayward middle-aged son of one of Lois's fellow church-members, is due to arrive at our house at l pm, hoping to try his hand at 'taming' our own miniature 'jungle', 'getting down and dirty' in our tiny back garden, and starting to do some of the adventurous things we've planned for it this year, that's for sure!!!!

the scene in our tiny back garden today, as Matthew, the wayward middle-aged son

of one of Lois's fellow-church members 'gets down and dirty' in our flower beds (!)

And don't think that Lois and I are idle while Matthew is toiling and tilling (!) in the fresh spring air - my goodness, no!!!

Yes, true to form, it's another busy day for us here on the sofa, trying to control another rowdy online meeting of the local U3A "Intermediate Danish for Old Codgers" group, the little group which we lead 'for our sins' (!). We both 'picked up' a smattering of Intermediate Danish, starting some ten years or more ago, when our elder daughter Alison and family were spending 6 years in Copenhagen 2012-2018. 

Lois and I found ourselves making frequent visits to Denmark, starting with our first visit ever, way back in February 2013 - see pictures below: 

flashback to February 2013: (left) our daughter Alison and her 3 kids in their

Copenhagen house, and (right) Lois and me, with little Rosalind, down by the quay

Well, you can't help getting 'smattered' in those circumstances, can you haha!!!! And it's obviously our moral duty to pass that ''smattering' of Intermediate Danish on to the good people of Hampshire, a select few of them, anyway. Locally we've been dubbed 'old codgers with a conscience', a 'moniker' we're actually very proud of, would you believe!

my wife Lois and me - dubbed 'old codgers with a conscience' (!)

16:00 By 4 pm, our online Danish group meeting is over, and our gardener, Matthew, has hung up his trowels and gone home. Unfortunately, however, this is where our day starts to go wrong.

Oh dear!!!! 

First, we get an email from the Royal Surrey County Hospital, just over the county line in Guildford, reminding me that my annual check-up is due tomorrow, which I'd totally forgotten (!). And then the "taskrabbit" lined up to put together our latest piece of IKEA 'kit' doesn't show up, after Lois and I have spent a whole 15 minutes getting things ready for the guy, even getting ready to make him or her a cup of tea, would you believe, and that's the thanks we get !!!

What a mixed-up, crazy world we live in !!!!!

21:00 There's nobody in the world, however, who's quite as mixed-up and crazy as its richest man, Elon Musk, as Lois and I learn tonight from the third part of the re-run of that fascinating documentary series about him, currently showing on BBC2, to put it mildly !!!!!

Tonight, we hear from journalist Linette Lopez of "Business Insider", who wrote an article, criticising Musk's reputation as an alleged 'environmentalist'.

The whistle-blower had reported huge environmental waste at Musk's 'giga-factory', where there were many environmental violations, which, Lopez says, "was crazy, considering that this guy was trying to save the planet".

Lopez's article, based on confidential Tesla documents leaked to her by the whistle-blower, reported that 40% of the materials used to produce the car's batteries needed to be scrapped or re-worked. She noted that traditional car-makers around the world produce really minimal scrap, and then there was Tesla, its share-price beating all those 'legacy' car-makers, throwing away hundreds of millions of dollars on waste. Lopez felt this was something the company's investors ought to know about.

And Elon, obviously stung by the article, was soon hitting back at Lopez on social media.

Nice man, eh?!!!!

But what a crazy, mixed-up world we live in !!!!

[That's enough madness! - Ed]

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

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