Saturday December 23rd 2023

10:00 Greetings from the hottest place in the universe - yes, from Worcestershire! Not "hottest" in the temperature sense, needless to say. "Hot" meaning "happening" of course - the most happening place, and the city's the most happening place "in spades" this week, as I expect you're already aware!

I bet you're wondering how Lois and I are getting on here at the moment, living under the constant glare of the world's media! Of course Worcestershire isn't normally one of the world's "hot spots" for news, but we sure are right now, no doubt about that!

Worcester - suddenly this week, right out of the blue,

the city became the centre of the universe!

And it's been just mad here ever since!

And when you think, it doesn't seem any time since I was reporting local pub conversations implying that nothing ever happens here! Remember this post?

All that seems a long time ago now, doesn't it! Since the world's media descended on us, Worcestershire seems like a different place entirely. And this was the story that kicked it all off....

Published originally under the by-line of Worcester News's ace AI-assisted cub-reporter Jacob Manuschka (crazy name, crazy guy!) the story quickly "went viral", causing journalists from all the world's media to descend on the city.

Were YOU one of the many who "shared" the story, thereby contributing to its "viral" level of sensation? It wouldn't surprise me, to be perfectly honest!

I wonder......!!!! 

11:00 But don't think that Lois and I have nothing to do today except read about this ongoing "Christmas music" saga - we're starting to get a bit fed up with it actually, believe it or not! And as we settle down on the sofa for a mid-morning cup of coffee, the day seems already to be getting quite busy. 

Lois has been active in the kitchen again, making 18 mince pies for this year's Christmas festivities. Earlier this morning she ran out of mincemeat - she baked a mincemeat-and-apple tart yesterday, and there wasn't much left after that. So we popped out to OneStop to get some more: only two jars left in the shop, so we snapped up both obviously, so if you're from this area and have run out, then tough luck - sorry !!!!

Lois has been baking 18 mince pies for Christmas

- yum yum!

Later in the day, we find out that our daughter Sarah, who lives about 25 miles away in Alcester, with husband Francis and their 10-year-old twin daughters, has, by coincidence, also being making some of these iconic Christmas treats today.

Our 10-year-old twin granddaughters, Jessica (left) and Lily,

seen here showcasing their mum's freshly-baked mince pies

and here's our son-in-law Francis "testing the merchandise"

And don't think that I haven't been busy too this morning myself! I've been wrapping presents. My presents to Lois are mainly the underwear she chose at the local M&S department store a few days ago, but I want to get her a few surprise presents as well - otherwise Christmas Day would be a bit "flat" for her, wouldn't it.

This is top secret information till Christmas Day by the way, but I've also bought her her very own "Mrs Claus" hat. So far she's been happy with her shiny-new "Elf Hat", but I think it may have been rankling with her that I've been wearing an officer-class "Santa Hat" again this year. 

There's an underlying but unmistakeable suggestion of "hierarchy" here in these hats, isn't there, and I don't want that, because ours is a very equal marriage, and I don't want her to feel that she's got to do what I tell her all the time. [I don't think there's much danger of that happening! - Ed]

Be that as it may, I've been generally busy the last few days buying a few little extra presents for close family.

It's so difficult choosing presents for friends and relations, isn't it. But not everybody finds that. I expect you saw that recent story about local woman Alice Harding, who lives only a few miles from here, in the lovely Worcestershire village of Bell End?

Wow, and I envy her in a way! Good old Alice Harding's got her Christmas gift-buying all sorted, that's for sure!

20:00 After another busy day, Lois and I wind down for bed on the couch with another in the series of special Christmas editions of one of our favourite TV quizzes, Only Connect, which tests lateral thinking.

Tonight's programme is advertised as a "travel special". And it's another "doozy" of a show, no question about that.

Can YOU spot the link between these 4 "things"?

This turns out to be a question for all you Scandinavian linguists out there. Yes, if you translate these 4 "things" into Swedish, you get words that we've borrowed from the Swedes in the course of our long years of close friendship with them.

"Heavy-stone" translates to the metal "tungsten". "Baggy-root" is the root-vegetable "rutabaga", more commonly known as "swede". "Commission man" is "ombudsman" obviously, and "sandwich-table" is of course "smorgasbord". 

See? "Simples", when you hear the answer isn't it.

All in all another fantastic show, and a very close result at the end, with the Euro-visionaries winning by just a single point.

Finally, presenter Victoria Coren-Mitchell closes this "Travel Special" show with a heartfelt thank-you to the two teams for taking part. She also thanks the viewers, which is nice, and something that's often overlooked, to be frank.

My goodness, the things you learn watching this show! And yes do you remember "travellators", those moving horizontal walkways that you get in airports?

What a crazy world we live in !!!!! But this whole "shag" business  sets me thinking. Should Lois and I maybe treat ourselves to a "wander shag"?  We need to replace our poor worn stair-carpet, which always strikes a somewhat jarring note whenever we climb the stairs at night.

flashback to August: I showcase a bit of our worn stair carpet - practically

worn bare after only 9 months in this new-build home - what madness !!!!! 

I wonder....!  

Or should I say "I wander.....!" ?  I wonder...... !!!!

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

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