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!!!!!!

Wednesday May 13th 2026 "Are YOU always wanting to be your family pet's favourite human?"

Yes, Friends, are YOU always wanting to be your family pet's favourite 'human'? It's a natural enough urge, isn't it, and, according to Onion News, in one local family it's even causing serious conflict, would you believe!

And if you didn't catch the story, check out my own 'potted' version here in my blog, which cuts out some of the gory details, handily enough!!!!

Kudos Cookie !!!! Cookie always knows what she wants, that's for sure!!!!

And on an admittedly 'slow news day' this local story was quickly picked up by some of 'the nationals',  like the Times and the Telegraph, and, for a couple of hours, it even led the BBC World Service's early morning bulletins, would you believe! 

journalists at the BBC's World Service: led with the 'Cookie' story

on their first couple of early morning bulletins, would you believe!

Well, it's a story that's certainly bringing a cheeky smile to the faces of me and my wife Lois this morning, here in semi-transparent Liphook, Hampshire, as we take our near-daily walk over the 'hallowed turf' of local soccer giants Liphook United, that's for sure!!!!

my wife Lois and me this morning taking our near-daily walk over the 'hallowed turf'

of local soccer giants Liphook United, enjoying a quick 'peck on the cheek', as we

stroll behind the so-called 'clubhouse' and the so-called 'directors' shabby 'dug-out' (!)

The truth is that, fortunately, unlike with Cookie the Cat, I don't have to 'bribe' Lois to sleep with me any more - we'll have been married for 54 years this August, and our bed seems to be the obvious place for her to spend the night, which is a relief !!! 

However, as with Cookie, a warm and welcoming electric blanket is the obvious 'clincher' to the whole deal, if she ever has any second thoughts, after 54 years!!!! And this morning we finally fit our shiny-new one - the "Snugglemeister" from those clever "Snuggledown" people up in Lancashire, who got the idea from ice-cold Norway, it would seem!!!! And we'll be testing it after lunch, which is nice!

(left) me showcasing the controls to our shiny-new 'Snugglemeister' electric blanket

that Lois and I spend most of the morning fitting on our bed - to be tested after lunch!!!!

The blanket is advertised as providing 'intelligent warmth', turning your bed into your 'sanctuary': separate 'him and her' controls, nine heat levels and 4 time settings - what's not to like haha!!!!! 

So, all in all, an unusually quiet-ish day for us, a normally busy-busy kind of a couple, which is a welcome change of pace, if only a brief one, because we're got an exciting period coming up, that's for sure! We'll be travelling soon to faraway Ipswich to spend a few days with my sister Jill, then a few days with our old friend Jen in Oxford, spending time with her and Daniel, and also attending Lois's great niece Lauren's wedding. And finally, as if that weren't enough, we'll be hosting our daughter Sarah and family, who'll be arriving from Perth, Australia for a couple of weeks, which is mad!!!!! 

Busy, busy, busy!!!!!

flashback a couple of years: us at Malvern with my sister Jill, and (right)

Lois at the breakfast table with our old friend Jen, at Kennington, Oxfordshire

flashback to last year: Lois with our daughter Sarah, husband Francis,

and their 12-year-old twins Lily and Jessica, on the banks of the Thames

in London, on the family's last trip to see us from their home in Australia

Yes, for Lois and me, it's going to be a busy (but very nice!) old summer this year, that's for sure!!!! And a chance, also, to look up all the crazy old photos of us all in years gone by - that'll be a must !!!!

(left) me (14) with my sister Jill(2) in Bristol in 1960, and (right) Lois with our two

daughters Alison and Sarah, and with our old friend Jen and family in 1986

flashback to 1969: ringed are my sister Jill (11), our friend Jen, and Lois (23)

and also appearing are my dear late mum Nan (next to Lois) and my dear

late brother Steve (17) at top left, at a 'crazy hats' party' in  Littlemore, Oxford

Happy days!

And it'll be nice, also this summer, to see our twin granddaughters Lily and Jessica from Australia. They'll be turning 13 just after their visit to us this year, so they're on the cusp of their teenage years. As if to emphasise that fact, the twins' 'wish-list' for their visit this year includes not only London's Natural History Museum but also the famous 9-floor Hamley's Toy Store on London's Regent Street, which seems a strange mix, but that's what 'cusps' are like, isn't it haha!!!!

The twins are sure to have grown just a little bit, even since their last visit here, that's for sure!!!

flashback to July 2025 and our little 'Australian family's last visit to England:

we celebrate the twins' birthday at Farnham's iconic Thai Bubble-Tea Shop

However, our twin granddaughters probably won't have grown as much as one old Hebrew prophet, according to the latest programme in ex-cabinet-minister Michael Portillo's latest 'celebrity travelogue' series currently showing on BBC2 - no doubt about that!!!!

Tonight Michael is again in the ancient city of Samarkand, in far-away Uzbekistan, where he visits a curious tomb.

Yes, this old tomb in Samarkand is reputedly the last resting-place of the Hebrew prophet Daniel, who was famously thrown into a lion's den, but then saved from certain death by his faith in God. Daniel's remains are said to have been brought to Samarkand by the 14th century medieval Central Asian warlord Tamerlane.

However, the term 'resting-place' turns out to be an understatement, as Old Testament prophet Daniel hasn't just been resting all that time, according to local sources (!).

Yes, Daniel's current tomb, is 18 metres long (about 60 ft), which should keep him comfortable for a while at least, but let's hope the city authorities have got a plan to add extensions, if the prophet's legendary growth continues, going forward - yikes !!!!!!

What madness!!!! And what a crazy world we live in !!!!

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

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

Tuesday May 12th 2026 "Historical re-enactments - always fun, yes, but not always authentic !!!"

Yes, Friends, I expect you love watching the occasional historical re-enactment!!! But is 'authenticity' generally the first 'casualty'? I wonder.....!

And if you want to know the answer for sure, ask your local 'history buff' - it's the only safe way haha!!!! Today's Onion News has a story with a bit of a health warning attached, to put it mildly!!!!

Oops!!! A bit of a rookie-error there, on the part of the Las Vegas' Mustang Club - that's for sure! 

The story, however, goes to show how valuable your local history buff is to the well-being, and dare I say it, to the general health and safety of the wider community, no question about that! 

So Kudos, Nance!!!! And this semi-official record of yet another of Nance's small but significant 'triumphs over ignorance' (!) brings a big smile to the faces of me and my wife Lois this morning, here in semi-crustaceous Liphook, Hampshire, as we sit, with a bunch of other 'old codgers', in the town's iconic Millennium Hall's luxurious Canada Room, to put it mildly!!!

(left) my wife Lois and me, pictured this morning with (right) a bunch

of other 'old codgers' in the Canada Room of Liphook's iconic Millennium Centre 

We're waiting, with the town's other 'ageing history buffs' for local author Neil McLocklin to begin his talk on 'The English Civil War in Hampshire and Surrounding Counties', so as you can imagine, the excitement in the room is 'palpably palpable', to coin a phrase (!).

[Get on with it! - Ed]

The talk has been organised by the local U3A's "Intermediate Local History for Old Codgers" group, and, as we wait for the talk, there's a wave of disenchantment filling the room when the member known as 'Tall Graham' comes in and starts nattering with our speaker for today. And you can almost hear the muted whispers of 'Get to the back of the room, Tall Graham!' - he's actually been banned by group rules from sitting anywhere but in the back row, in case he gets any taller as the meeting progresses - superstitious maybe, but nonetheless a real source of anxiety on the part of some of the group's more nervous members (!).

as we wait for Neil's talk to begin, the group member known as 'Tall Graham' enters,

to the usual accompaniment of a murmur of discontent from the assembled 'old codgers' (!)

Poor 'Tall Graham" !!!!! But finally, the poor man sits down at the back, and Neil's talk can begin, which is a relief!!!!

It's a huge subject, the English Civil War between the country's Royalists and its Parliamentarians, but luckily Neil is planning to concentrate just on its effects in our own local county of Hampshire, and in neighbouring counties, which was a good call!

The 'Royalist' side was fairly straightforward, he tells us, i.e. it was just the people who wanted the King to continue to rule 'by divine right', who were mostly Church of England. 

(left) a typical Royalist confronting a typical Parliamentarian soldier, 

and (right) a map showing predominantly Royalist areas (blue)

and the predominantly Parliamentarian areas (pink), which included Hampshire

The Parliamentary side, however, the people who believed in the supremacy of Parliament, was more complicated, and riven with different factions: members of around 50 different Protestant sects, for starters, and with a mix of political ideas, some of them way ahead of their time. The 'Levellers' faction preached universal male suffrage, with some wanting to extend voting to women also. The 'Diggers' faction, meanwhile, wanted to end private property in the countryside, making the land free for all to farm wherever they wanted.

There were also a number of slightly weird groups on the Parliamentary side, like the Ranters, who rejected marriage and believed in 'free love', and the Adamites, who also rejected marriage, but who also believed in prancing around in the nude. What madness (again) !!!!!

two of the more eccentric groups on the Parliamentarian side: 

(left) the Ranters, who believed in free love, and (right) the Adamites, 

who liked to prance about in the nude - what madness, wasn't it!!!

It's nice to hear this morning, however, that, in our own county of Hampshire, and in neighbouring counties like Dorset and Wiltshire, the war was fought in a much more gentlemanly way than in other parts of the country. 

The fighting here, our speaker McLocklin tells us this morning, in contrast to the rest of the country, was strictly seasonal, with a long semi-official break during the winter months. And two prominent friends and military men who found themselves on opposite sides in the conflict - Sir William Waller (a Parliamentarian) and Lord Ralph Hopton (a Royalist) - didn't let the war affect their friendship, and between battles, this lovable pair of 'chums' kept up a lively correspondence without a hint of ill-feeling in their letters, which was sporting!

prominent local military men, Sir William Waller (Parliamentarian)

and Lord Ralph Hopton (Royalist) were determined not to 

let the war spoil their close friendship, which was a nice touch!

Yes, so altogether, the Civil War was remarkably 'civil', in this neck of the woods at least - no pun intended!!!! 

[Why did you say it then! - Ed]

And any 'cheating' was regarded with great disfavour "in these here parts", as people say "in these here parts" (!_. Hopton himself 'blotted his copy-book', and came in for a deal of criticism locally, when, in 1643, his unit turned up early for the Battle of Roundway Hill in Wiltshire, and started attacking the opposing Parliamentarians while they were still 'setting up', i.e. when they were obviously 'not quite ready', which was a pity, and a bit of a stain on Hopton's otherwise impeccable record.

[That's enough history! - Ed]

But what a crazy world they lived in, back in those far-off days!!!!

[And that's enough madness! - Ed]

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

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