Saturday April 18th 2026 "Do people write YOU off, just because you're quote unquote 'QUIET' ???"

Yes, Friends, do YOU get underestimated because you're QUOTE UNQUOTE "quiet"? A lot of us do, don't we, like local marketing man  Kevin Bright, whose face was 'all over' this morning's local Onion News, for East Hampshire, to put it mildly!!!

And reading Kevin's 'hidden story' this morning, here in rural, semi-leafy Liphook, Hampshire, brings a knowing, sypathetic smile to the faces of me and my wife Lois, no doubt about that!

my wife Lois and me - some recent pictures

You see, too often "written off" ourselves as 'that quiet couple at that house on the corner', we're also, like young Kevin in the Onion story, surprisingly untalented, not just at singer-songwriting, but at a veritable host of other skills, you may be surprised to hear!

Just call us 'multi-untalented' if you like haha!!!! Especially me - and it isn't anything new, believe me! I've been multi-untalented for literally decades - check out these pictures of me through the ages, if you want 'chapter and verse' !!!!

me through the decades: (left) me at a Japanese ski resort in the 1970's, and

(right) in the 1980's, at our house in the US, playing one of my early self-penned songs

In picture (A), I'm like, "Well I've got my ski-boots on, or whatever - what am I supposed to do NOW?" and in picture (B) you see me performing one of my early self-penned songs, when the glass in our patio door is captured in the moment of quietly shattering, in silent lack of appreciation  (!). 

What a crazy life I've led!!!!

And madcap and outrageous though Lois and I often are in public, this Saturday we're having a day off from 'roistering' and 'hell-raising', which is probably for the best! And yes, it's because we've got to 'mug up' on our Intermediate Latin, would you believe!!!!!

The pressure's on Lois and me today, because our Latin teacher, Joe, has recovered from his recent operation, and has fixed his next "Intermediate Latin for Local Old Codgers" class for Monday, so we've simply got to catch up with our long-postponed Latin homework. 

Well, at least it makes a not wholly unwelcome change of pace for Yours Truly and Lois, a.k.a. Mrs Yours Truly, after our weeks of uninhibited hell-raising, to put it mildly!

flashback to last year: (left) me and Lois making notes at one of local man Joe's

"Intermediate Latin for Local Old Codgers" classes, and (right) Joe himself,

seen here in happier times, before his operation, writing something on the white board

What madness !!!!!

Joe's given us and his other "old codger" class-members two pieces of Latin to look at before Monday's class: the first is a poem by Roman poet Ovid about the world's first ever beauty contest, "Miss Olympia", when a Trojan prince, poor sap Paris, found himself having to judge who was the fairest out of 3 goddesses: Venus, Athena and Juno.

In the following picture we see (left) poor Paris awarding points in the "beauty at short distance" category, to three Greek goddesses, seen here in the "no bathing costume" section of the contest, and (right) Roman poet Ovid's description of the event.

-

Good luck with that one, Paris - and remember to "make a swift exit" after the judging! Greek goddesses are notoriously bad losers to put it mildly!!!!

Trojan hero Paris (left) seen here awarding the Miss Olympia

prize to one of three Greek goddesses; let's hope he's got a plan to get out of

there alive, before the two 'losers' start to express their 'disappointment' !!!!

The second piece that Joe's given us is a speech made in 62BC by Roman orator Cicero in the Senate. Cicero was warning the senators of the dangers posed by Mark Antony, whom Cicero calls a dangerous and licentious monster, determined to destroy the Roman Republic and set up a dictatorship.  

Sound familiar haha ?!!!

Cicero (right) addressing the Roman Senate

And interestingly, Lois and I discover today, that there's nothing new about 'fake news'. Historians believe that many of Cicero's accusations against Mark Antony, made without evidence, were totally untrue. There's really nothing new under the sun, is there!!!!! 

Cicero in fact made a bit of a career out of character-assassination. The following picture of him shows him verbally tearing another opponent, Catiline, to pieces, claiming that Catiline wanted to set himself up as a dictator. 

But Lois and I notice in the picture that, while Cicero is busy 'sounding off' at the podium, one of the senators seems to have something better to do - he's taken off his toga, and is doing something or other to it. 

Is he shortening the hem, perhaps? Roman fashions were notoriously volatile from week to week, and like Britain in the 1960's with its miniskirts, when hemlines used to go up and down like a yoyo!

Whatever - but I definitely think we should be told, don't you - postcards only haha !

But what madness!

[That's enough Romans! - Ed]

21:00 After a day of reading about "fake news" and "would-be-dictators" in Roman times, it's nice this evening for Lois and me to "kick back" on the sofa, and "unwind" with today's take on that sort of stuff, with our own modern-day news, fake or otherwise (!), as we watch this week's edition of "Have I Got News For You", last night's comedy news quiz, hosted this week by BBC sports commentator Gabby Logan:

And tonight, this week's "name the odd one out" contest is particularly challenging: here we have the four candidates: (1) a theatre-goer at the 'Paddington' musical, (2) a fan of gherkins, (3) Scottish parliamentary candidate Ron Pownall, and (4) Donald Trump's cabinet.

And here's the answer: the first three pictures show people who've recently appeared in public in unusual outfits, whereas the fourth picture (bottom right) shows a group of men, Trump's Cabinet, all in their standard, regulation 'get-ups' (!). 

In picture #1 (top left) Superfan Tracey Taylor went to a performance of the musical dressed as Paddington Bear himself, and she was invited up on stage. In picture #2, we see a noted gherkin super-fan, revealing that fans of gherkins can now buy the new line of gherkin-themed jackets recently unveiled KFC, which is filled with real pickle and pickle brine. In picture #3, we see Scottish politician Ron Pownall, who's been conducting his entire campaign for election to the Scottish Parliament dressed as a gannet.

(left to right) Paddington Bear superfan Tracey Taylor, KFC's new gherkin jacket,

and Scottish Parliamentary candidate Ron Pownall, dressed as a gannet

What madness!!!!

The odd one out, therefore, is Trump's Cabinet, whose members always appear in public wearing identical shoes, it seems, the same ones that Trump himself wears.

One of tonight's team captains, Private Eye editor Ian Hislop, explains the background. He says that Trump has bought each of his cabinet-members a new pair of black shoes, which they are now required to wear for Cabinet meetings.

But why? 

Chairperson Gabby has the explanation.

Apparently the shoes Trump has bought for his Cabinet are his own personal favourite line of shoes, Forsheims, costing $145 a pair, and made in China.

Trump says these shoes "are very, very comfortable and look nice". And his Cabinet members have to wear them even if they're not the right size, which many of them very patently are not. Apparently Trump just guessed his colleagues' shoe sizes before handing them out.

And Trump's guesses on shoe size worked out particularly badly for Marco Rubio, we hear.

Team-member Michelle Wolf, the US comedienne, however, is tonight highly critical of the way Trump's cabinet members have so meekly accepted having to wear the shoes. She confesses that she personally is appalled, for example, that Rubio could be present at the upcoming US talks with Iran, sporting these ill-fitting shoes that Trump has ordered him to wear.

And what effect might Rubio's shoes have on the outcome of those talks with Iran? Here's Michelle again....

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

[That's enough madness! - Ed]

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

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

Friday April 17th 2026 "Have YOU got a 'big event' coming up? Well be sure to get a 'planner' if you want it to be perfect haha!"

Yes, Friends, if YOU have a 'big event' coming up - you know the sort I mean!!! - be sure to get a 'planner' to iron out some of other 'choke points' if that's not too much of a 'mixed metaphor'!!!

Local woman Maureen Crompton, who's getting married soon, is following the 'rule book' 'to the letter', that's for sure, at least according to this morning's Onion News - did you catch the story?

Poor Crompton !!!!

Still, it shouldn't take Crompton too long to find a replacementl a couple of shades lighter, and the story brings a semi-radiant smile to the faces of me and my wife Lois this morning, as we take our near-daily walk over nearby Old Man Lowsley's Farm, listening to the birdsong, and the 'wheeeeeee!' sound of passing overhead airliners - in this case the British Airways 10:46 am morning flight from Toulouse, France to London Heathrow, 11,000 feet above us, to put it mildly!

And we're laughing at Crompton's story, because, by total coincidence, we've had an invitation to attend the wedding of Lois's great-niece Lauren at the tiny village of Marsh Baldon, near Oxford, set for June, which will be nice!

We've watched (from afar!) "little Lauren" gradually grow up - the way children tend to do! - at her home in Barton, Oxford, over many years, and we've followed her progress through her years of teaching in Japan and finally hooking up with handsome beau, Eoin - he's a good-looking guy, and there's no need to worry that he'll be 'pencilled out' by any foolish wedding-planner due to 'unsightliness' that's for sure!!!!

Lois's great-niece Lauren through the years, (top left) with Lois and other 

family members many years ago, following Lauren's love affair with Japan etc, 

finally her 'hooking up' with beau Eoin (bottom right) in Barton, Oxford

So fingers crossed, Lois and I will be able to attend Lauren's wedding coming up in June, although it'll mean a longer car journey than we're used to, and by that time both Lois and I will have reached the grand old age of 80, would you believe, which is totally mad!!!!

Like Lauren, I myself spent a study year in Japan, but that was ages ago, back in 1970-71, about a year before Lois and I got married. And Lois came out to see me while I was over there, so she's got a 'feel' for what a crazy country it is, to put it mildly!

(flashback to 1971: Lois comes out to spend 2 weeks with me during my study year

in Japan - (top right) halfway up Mt Fuji, and (below) our weekend at a hillside retreat

By coincidence, celebrity train travelogue presenter and ex-cabinet minister Michael Portillo has been seeing Japan by train himself recently, and tonight Lois and I catch the fifth episode of his fascinating new 20-part series on BBC2, which is nice!

It's nostalgic for me tonight to see Michael in the Japanese Alps, where I spent a few days during my study year, with my Japanese student friends Tetsu and Hiro, back in the day. 

I even managed to get a pair of skis onto my feet, for the first and only time in my life! But I quickly realised that skiing was not for me, to put it mildly - as you can tell from my 'body language' perhaps!

flashback to 1971: me in the Japanese Alps trying on skis for the first (and only!)

time in my life, seen here with student pals Tetsu and Hiro

What madness, wasn't it !!!!!

In tonight's TV programme, however, Michael Portillo, while, at his age, wisely not trying to put on a pair of skates (!), also finds time to meet up with a woodblock expert who explains how it was this region where Japan's most famous artwork came about, septuagenarian Japanese artist Hokusai's 19th century masterpiece "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa".

The pictures shows massive volumes of water crashing over the coast at nearby Kanagawa. It's a picture that Lois and I like so much, that we had it put on one of our cushion covers, would you believe, which "speaks volumes" in itself - no pun intended !!!!

(left) Japanese artist Hokusai's "Great Wave" , and (right) I showcase

the cushion cover which Lois and I have, and which celebrates Hokusai's design

In the 1820's to 1830's, when Hokusai was in his 70's, he retired to the quiet mountain village of Obuse, in the Japanese Alps, and, there, he produced this famous masterpiece, an example of the 19th century Japanese fashion for "ukiyo-e" woodblock prints.

"Ukiyo-e" style artworks are now famous all over the world, but it's interesting that at the time, they were considered "vulgar" by the Japanese authorities, and the many prints of Hokusai's works were used as cheap 'packaging material' for the shipping of fragile or valuable objects, which is totally mad! 

There was an interesting by-product of this, however, because when Europeans started receiving packages from Japan, just like little toddlers do (!), they found the 'packaging' far more interesting than the gift itself (!). 

And this included European artists, who were delighted by this new Japanese artform of ukiyo-e, and later showed its influence in their works.

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

And for Lois and me, there was more evidence of just how crazy our world is, earlier in the day, when Lois's copy of "The Week" magazine "plopped" through our letter-box, with its digest of the week's most important news stories from home and abroad, to put it mildly!!!!

Lois and I "devour" her copy of "The Week" magazine, which "plopped" 

through our letterbox today, the magazine that gives a digest of the

most important news stories of the week, from home and abroad

And this week there's a fascinating snippet of the 'snafu' that occurred on the tiny Scottish island of Orkney, when the local Tesco Supermarket mishandled a simple order of bananas from the mainland.

This kind of 'snafu' seems to be something that people are particularly prone to on the Orkney Islands. A couple of years ago, Steve, our American brother-in-law, sent us this fascinating news snippet, after a shopkeeper on the Orkney Islands mistakenly ordered 80 cases of chocolate Easter eggs, instead of the just 80 eggs that he had intended to buy.

Oops!!!!!

Lois and I sympathise, however, because we've made many a snafu of that kind ourselves, when ordering groceries online. It's usually in the other direction, however, ordering far less than we actually wanted, due to some crazy misunderstanding or other - it's  all total madness, isn't it !!!

About a couple of years ago, I had intended to order one kilogram (2.2 lbs) of Brussels sprouts, but instead of one kilogram, I found just one single sprout when I opened up the bags that the supermarket had delivered to us. Lois realised the mistake instantly, and I ran out to catch the delivery guy in his van, before he disappeared. I managed to hand back what we were calling "the lonely sprout" to the delivery guy. 

And the supermarket later issued me with a refund of just 3p, so the system was working satisfactorily from the financial viewpoint at least! 

flashback to 2020: (left) Lois showcases our 'lonely sprout' that 

Sainsbury's had delivered, before I ran out to the van with it 

to hand it back to the delivery guy - what madness, wasn't it!!!!

And what a crazy world we live in (again) !!!!

[That's enough madness! - Ed]

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

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