Thursday May 7th 2026 "Has YOUR 'fave' rock band been going through a 'sticky period'?"

Yes, Friends, is YOUR fave rock band having 'issues' at the moment? It's a common complaint, isn't it, as a recent poll in Onion News confirms, 'in spades'. Did you see the story?

And those ideas, the ones that are evidently beginning to form in rock-steady heads worldwide, sound pretty awesome don't they! Certainly, the story, broken today by Onion News local, was quickly picked up, on an admittedly 'slow news day' by 'the nationals', like the Times and Telegraph, and even led the early morning bulletins of the BBC World Service, which is nice!

No question either, that reading the story here in semi-opaque Liphook, Hampshire, today, my wife Lois and I allowed ourselves a broad to semi-broad-ish smile as we 'settled into our day, that's for sure!!!!

my wife Lois and me - a recent picture

There was one band, however, who, back in the day, didn't have any obvious problems with their drummer, John 'Bonzo' Bonham - yes, I'm talking Led Zeppelin here, folks!

Our 50-year-old daughter, Alison, who lives in nearby Headley, Hampshire, and who drops in to see us this morning for a "catch-up", has apparently this week been inside the iconic mansion, Headley Grange, which is just down the road. It's the big house where so many of the rock bands of the 1970's recorded some of their most iconic numbers back in the day.

Alison also saw, for the first time, the mansion's iconic 'stairway' that inspired Led Zeppelin's monster smash, 'Stairway to Heaven', would you believe!

The mansion where the song was recorded, back in 1970-71, is now owned privately by an elderly couple and their daughter, and Alison, as leader of the local 'open gardens' group, has been discussing opening the mansion's garden to the public on one of her 'open gardens days', which will be nice!

(top left) our daughter Alison today, seen here with Lois on her visit to us this morning,

and (top right) the stairway in the former rock recording studio Headley Grange, with

(below) Robert Plant, Jimmy Paige, John Paul Jones and John Bonham, back in the day

Alison tells us today, that the couple and their daughter, who now own Headley Grange, the former recording studio, say they still get ageing rock fans standing at their gate, gazing at the mansion, and sometimes they invite them in to have a look around. One recent couple, from Japan, were apparently reduced to tears on seeing the iconic 'stairway', which is touching! 

Awwwww!!!!

And our daughter Alison's visit this morning offers Lois and me a rare chance to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea, and some jam doughnuts she picked up in Sainsbury's before she dropped by.

Apart from that, however, today is one mad, hectic rush, apart from our afternoon in bed, would you believe! No surprise there!!!!

What a non-stop crazy world we live in !!!! Here's a snapshot of our crazy day!

for Lois and me, today is just another non-stop crazy day - no surprise there! 

(top right) the spinach and the rhubarb going crazy this year, as always (!),

(bottom left) some seeds of something or other have shown their heads, and

(bottom right) even some tiny carrot seeds have poked their tiny thin stalks above ground!!!

Busy busy busy! What madness it all is, isn't it !!!!

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

Later in the day, however, we get a shock when we hear of the planned date for the big get-together of my many cousins, both in the UK and in the US and Australia. I've got, like, a billion cousins (more probably!) and we try to meet up once a year at the house of my cousin Jeannette near Gerrards Cross, Bucks.

"But why so many cousins, Colin?", I hear you cry! 

Well, my maternal grandparents, in Bridgend, South Wales, were unwise enough to 'spawn' nine children, back in the early 1900s: and those nine children 'were fruitful and multiplied', and with predictable results (!). Just look at these crazy pictures from our first ever "cousins' do", back in the 1980's, and you'll see what I mean!!!!

flashback to the 1987, and the first ever "cousins' do": three generations

including cousins and their children and their surviving parents:

(below left, ringed) Lois, my dear dad, me, my dear mum, and 

(below right, ringed) mine and Lois's two daughters Alison (12) and Sarah (10)

Happy days!!!

The numbers attending these near-annual "cousins' do's" has sadly diminished these days, of course, with the older generation of uncles and aunts now all passed off the scene, and the young generation having long ago 'flown the nest' (!). Also, we surviving cousins are all getting a bit long in the tooth, and the so-called 'northern cousins' - i.e. the ones living in the north of England - rarely make it down south for these events these days, which is a pity!

Here's a photo from a more recent get-together, and as you can see, the numbers have been significantly 'pared down' :

a recent "cousins' do": (right) le tout ensemble, with (left to right)

'Young' John, Liz, me, Jeannette, Susan from Denver, David (our 'new' cousin

discovered after a DNA test), 'Old' John, Lois and Alan 

Lois and I always enjoy these get-togethers, but we learn today that there's been some "argy-bargy" over the date: advertised this week for a date next month, it's been discovered that almost every one of us, including Lois and me, is doing something else over the planned weekend.

What madness!!! 

But you see, that's the kind of busy busy busy lives we 'old codgers' are all leading these days - it's total mayhem!!! In short, luckily, wiser counsels have prevailed, and there's now going to be a re-think on the date of the 2026 get-together, with September now being touted. 

So watch this space!

[I can't wait! - Ed]

Perhaps tomorrow will be quieter?" says Lois. "Some hope of that!", says I !!!!

"

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

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

Wednesday May 6th 2026 "Have YOU ever found yourself stuck behind some 'freak' at a concert? Not good, is it!!!!"

Yes, Friends, have YOU ever found yourself stuck behind an example of the increasingly numerous 'freaks' that are attending concerts these days?

It happened to one local woman recently, according to this morning's Onion News for East Hampshire. See my 'potted' version here, for your reading convenience!

Poor Wolf !!!!!!

And surely, surely, the time's coming when these modern-day 'expanding men' should be banned from events, especially when there are also any known short people in the audience? But let me know what YOU think - postcards only haha!!

Certainly, here in semi-leafy Liphook, Hampshire, my wife Lois and me are getting a bit anxious, because we'll be attending a couple of live 'gigs' by our 15-year-old grandson Isaac's band New Horizon in the next month or two. 

10:00 And in the meantime, we'll be taking extra-special care of our toes, in case we have to stand on them to see over any "expanding people", when Isaac really "rocking out" locally, that's for sure!!! Hence our visit this morning to see Janice, our new "toes-woman" over in nearby Hindhead.

(above) our grandson Isaac with his boy-girl band New Horizon, and (below) 

Lois and me this morning in our new 'toes-woman' Janice's back garden,

waiting to have our toenails clipped in her tiny back-yard 'toe-clinic' (!) 

Busy busy busy once again! And to think that when Lois and I first retired, aged 60, like, a billion years ago (!), back in 2006, we thought we'd be able to put our feet up for the next few decades. How wrong can you be !!!!!

At least when Janice calls us in, we do get to put our feet up (physically at least !!!!) for a change of pace, so that she can clip our toenails and 'oil' our feet with her TLC and her aromatic "herbs and spices" !!!!

Busy busy busy! And today there isn't even time for our usual afternoon in bed, would you believe, because we've also to get our eyes checked out instead this afternoon, at Liphook's nearby 'eye-conic' (geddit!!!) Eye Care optician service, would you believe!!!

(above) Liphook's 'eye-conic' optical service, Eye Care, and (below, left) me sitting

 in the service's comfy 'waiting area' reading the brochures, while (below right)  

Lois discusses her new prescription, and possible new frames, with optician Ali

15:30 At last our frantic day of appointments is over, and with hearts, and also our wallets (!) considerably lighter (!!!), Lois and I walk out of the shop and into the late afternoon sunshine.

Unfortunately we're just in time to get caught up in Liphook's manic twice-a-day 'school-run' hour, when all the local mums descend on this tiny town's 'central area' called "The Square", the area consisting of a lunatic arrangement of three almost-adjacent mini-roundabouts: this 'regiment of mums' (!) come either to drop off, or to pick up, their little offspring from the local comprehensive school - and it's all total mayhem, as I expect you've heard !!!! 

tiny Liphook's town centre, with its lunatic arrangement

of three near-contiguous mini-roundabouts - what utter madness, isn't it!!!

Luckily, a few years ago, local 'ideas-man' Peter came up with a set of sensible rules on social media, back in 2014, which should eventually improve things a little, hopefully (!). New ideas, however, take time to be accepted 'in these here parts', as people say in these here parts! But kudos for trying, Peter!!!

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

And what a day poor old Lois and I have had - yet again !!!!

21:00 And unfortunately there's more madness for Lois and me to cope with this evening, watching "Twenty Twenty Six", the fascinating reality documentary series following the trials and tribulations of the FIFA World Cup international planning committee based in Miami, Florida, now hitting problems with the actual balls to be used in the tournament, which is weird!

This week, more problems hi-jack the poor World Cup Planning Committee's progress, after a conspiracy theorist starts claiming, on social media, that the footballs to be used in the tournament all have Chinese-made chips in them!

And the poor committee members spend a miserable half-hour one morning listening to the guy's rantings, which are by now going viral, which is a pity!

And later in the morning, things take a decided turn for the worse, when there's political intervention, and intervention at a pretty high level, which is another headache for the committee!

Amidst additional worrying, bottom-of-the-screen, fast-breaking newsflashes advising "weather warnings now in place across 9 states, as predicted forecasters make landfall", the poor Planning Committee members then have to spend another miserable hour digesting this new political bombshell and thinking up new ways of 'damage limitation'.

Apparently, President BLEEP wants FIFA to get rid of the Chinese chip, and replace it with an American chip, which, he says, "is far superior anyway".

Fortunately, says President BLEEP, there's one such 'far superior chip' manufactured by one of President BLEEP's own corporations, which suggests a ready-made, 'instant' solution in the eyes of some of the Committee members, at least!

But what madness!!!! And Lois and I are beginning to worry that this World Cup will never take place, certainly not at the rate the Committee's so-called "planning" is going!!!!

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 - zzzzzzzz!!!!

Tuesday May 5th 2026 "Have YOU ever had to host 'difficult' guests? Well, the good news is - 'Help is on the way!!!' !!!"

Yes, Friends, have you ever had to host difficult guests? We've all been there, haven't we!

According to Onion News, however, 'help is on the way', thanks to Coleman's, of all people, which is a welcome development, to put it mildly!!!! 

Kudos, Coleman's !!!!!

And reading the Onion story this morning, here in semi-transparent Liphook, Hampshire, brings a smile to the faces of me and my wife Lois, that's for sure!!!

my wife Lois and me - a recent picture

We're laughing because item no. 1 on our to-do list for today is to buy a mattress, would you believe, but we're not going to go for a Coleman's SinkRest, you'll be glad to know! In a couple of months we'll be hosting our 48-year-old daughter Sarah, who'll be flying into London's Heathrow Airport from Perth, Australia, with husband Francis and their 12-year-old twin daughters Lily and Jessica.

flashback to 2021: (above) our daughter Sarah and husband Francis, and

(below) their twin daughters Lily and Jessica with the family's shiny new 16ft boat,

ready for launching on to the Swan River, just outside Perth, Australia

Francis, our son-in-law is "a martyr to his back", poor guy (!), and so today Lois and I, kind-hearted as ever (!), are ordering a 2 inch 'mattress topper' to make his nights a bit more comfortable, which will be a nice surprise for him. And we're also taking the opportunity to buy a second "Bingsta" armchair from Swedish furniture giant IKEA, so he'll be able to sit with the rest of us, and not be constantly scrambling on and off the floor, in our tiny living-room!

We're all heart haha!!!!!

(above) the adverts  one for a 'mattress topper' and one for a second IKEA Bingsta armchair 

the ads which seduced Lois and me into opening our wallets (!), and letting

the moths fly out haha (!), and (below) our first ever, and only, 'Bingsta' 

which Lois and I constantly fight each other to sit in - pure luxury !!!!!

As you can tell, this Tuesday is turning into another busy busy day for Lois and me, despite the fact that we've been retired for 20 years last month, would you believe!!!!

Somehow we also find the time to do a bit of work in our tiny garden, even, with me mowing, and Lois clipping the edges and 'excising' some of the, like, billion dandelions which keep popping up to plague us - no peace for the wicked haha !!!!

just another busy day for us - me mowing, and Lois 'trimming the edges'

especially on the 'difficult bit' between the little brick wall and the street

I don't mind mowing occasionally, because I think the sight of me out of the house, and out of my armchair (!), is a bit of a "turn-on" for the local housewives, who like to look out of their windows to watch a bit of prime 'beefcake' in high action! 

[??? - Ed[

And Lois doesn't mind, because she says that the housewife's life today must be so boring, with all the gadgets that nowadays take the strain out of so many of the daily chores, so that's a win-win!

In the latest programme in Michael Portillo's new series on Korean train journeys he visits the Samsung factory and sees some of the 'smart' gadgets now in so many 'smart' homes - oh dear!!!!

Here we see Michael at Samsung's being shown around a prototype 'smart' home by research manager Tae Lee:

Lee's 'home' now knows that he's arrived home, and automatically switches on the living-room light., so the curtains open, the blinds go up, and the lights come on as he walks inside. Then the TV comes on. And the devices all communicate with each other to minimise energy consumption.

Inside the fridge is a camera which will manage the contents, and it gives Lee a recipe recommendation based on the foods he likes. The new Samsung 'smart home' then helps you cook it. It tells the tap on the kitchen sink how much water to release for your packet of noodles, for example, if you scan in the label. And when you bring the pot over to the hob to cook, it will automatically set the right temperature for the pot to boil the water.

What madness !!!!!

And Lois is very "anti" all these electronic aids. She says that people will soon lose the ability to do anything at all! And what, she says, will people do, if there's a power cut, for example? 

What a crazy world we live in!!!!

But not everything the world does is crazy (even though it seems like sometimes!!!!!), as we learn from tonight's episode of "Susan Calman's Grand Days Out" on Channel 5.

Tonight we see the presenter, diminutive (four foot eleven!!!!) Scottish comedienne Susan Calman just outside Stoke-on-Trent, being shown around the Wedgwood Pottery Museum by a tall-to-tallish museum guide, and having to crane her neck a bit to talk to her, as she often does in this series (!), trying to find out more about Josiah Wedgwood the man.

Lois and I didn't know that iconic pottery manufacturer Josiah Wedgewood (1730-1795) was the first manufacturer to offer any dissatisfied customers a money-back guarantee on his products, and also the first to introduce "BOGOFF"s - "Buy one, get one free". 

He was also an enthusiastic supporter of the anti-slavery movement, which was gathering pace in Britain in the late 18th century. His contribution to the movement was to produce thousands of jasperware medallions, distributed for free, showing a recently enslaved man in chains, asking, "Am I not a man, and a brother?"

Sadly Josiah died far too early (1795) to see more than the first fruits of the eventual success of the anti-slavery campaign. 

Fascinating stuff, isn't it!

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

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