Friday February 9th 2024

Dear reader, what would be your ideal way to start the day? 

Well, I'm going to share this story with you from the other side of "The Pond". If you're an Onion News reader, obviously all the big stories are going to be in The Onion's Worcestershire News edition, most days, that is.

Occasionally, however, there's a big story from the little-read "US News" edition, and this is what I'm going to share with you, because almost certainly you won't be aware of it.

A fascinating insight into human needs isn't it - and I bet you were surprised by the findings, weren't you. Go on, admit it !!!!

I must say, Lois and I, however, would be quite willing to say "Don't bother coming over just for that!" to both Trump and Biden - simply a bit more time in bed would be "just the ticket" for us, and no mistake!

This morning was going to be our first lie-in of the week, but it doesn't last long. There's a beeping noise on one of our phones, and this text suddenly bursts its way into the privacy of our bed - yikes!!! [It's not going to burst gradually now, is it, Colin! - Ed]

It's from our daughter Sarah over in Alcester, and it seems that she'll be bringing her and Francis's 10-year-old twins with her to spend the weekend with us. 

We were sort of half-expecting this - they spend a lot of weekends with us, but there had been talk of Sarah and family taking a trip this weekend to the "frozen north" to look for "real snow": the twins are gagging to see "real snow" after their 7 years in the semi-tropical climate of Perth, Western Australia. But in the event, earlier forecasts of the much heralded "10 inches of snow" in this area have now turned into "yellow weather warning for flooding".

What crazy weather we get in this country, don't we. Lois and I had been following both the Malvern and Worcester News yesterday, and these 2 reports followed one another in quick succession.

And we can tell it's getting serious, because the Malvern Gazette have put their best ace junior cub reporter, Sam "Scoop" Greenway on the case.

And I don't know if you noticed the little insert at the bottom of that second report (above), but anyway it's full marks from me to the Umbrella Company for the quick-witted insertion of their eye-catching advert "Search Umbrella Company Today" at the bottom of that second report? That's capitalism at its best, in my view - always on the alert, responding promptly to market needs after some unexpected rainfall, and quickly getting their message "out there", which is nice! 

Go Umbrella Company haha !!!!

And full marks also to keen cyclist and local journalist Sam Greenway, who sometimes sends his reports in to the "big boys" at Malvern News's sister paper, Worcester News, also - here's a couple of pictures of him on the trail of one of his recent "scoops":

Fantastic stuff, Sam. And don't stop bringing those kinds of stories to us, will you, whatever you do haha!!!!

08:30 Lois and I bounce out of bed, because we know that today we'll have to make our house look clean tidy and respectable again. A lot of people who know us would probably be surprised to realise that we "live like pigs" most of the time, when we're just consorting with each other 24/7, so our house gets in "a bit of a state", as my late mother used to say.

Apart from the usual tidying-up and vacuuming, I've also today got to put the big bed in Bedroom 3, where the twins sleep, back to its usual state after the last 2 weeks of what-we-call our "organised mayhem". I've also got to reinstate the "office area" of the room, putting the twins' favourite stuffed toys, Black-and-White-Cat, Bluebell Mouse, back into position, working hard on their home-made computers. I've also got to put big "fat-cat" boss Hoppy Bear back on his usual "supervisor's chair".

Luckily I took a couple of photos of the room a couple of weeks ago, so I can fairly easily return it to its normal state, albeit with a bit of effort, using this photo as my "blueprint" of how the room should look. 

flashback to February 2nd: 'Bedroom 3' as it should look: Sarah and the

twins seen here showcasing the twins' home-made "stuffed office" - 

featuring Black-and-White Cat (bottom right) with co-worker Bluebell Mouse

 working at their home-made PCs, under the watchful  eye 

of their new "Fat Cat" boss Hoppy Bear (bottom left).

Apart from that delicate restoration work, I make my way systematically through the rooms of our little downsized home, starting downstairs at the back, and working my way up to our bedroom upstairs at the front. Do you have a routine like this, I wonder? It's much better than dodging about from room to room and going up and down the stairs unnecessarily isn't it - not exactly rocket science, I admit!

Eventually my work is done, and Lois's also, cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms and getting ready for the first meal-for-five tonight - I finish up with a tidy-up and "hoovering" of our own bedroom, and I think the smile of relief on my face says it all, don't you? And what I wouldn't give to have an immediate lie-down on our now neat-looking bed right this moment. 

There's no peace for the wicked though, is there haha!

Every picture tells a story - and the relief on my face as my

work draws to a close says it all, doesn't it. My goodness,

how I could do with a nap right now !!!!

So, to cut a long story short [Thank you, Colin! - Ed] Lois and I both end up dedicating today, Friday, to work rather than sleep.

We're both 77 [Yes, you've told us that, like, a billion times! - Ed], and we often used to wonder which was best for our health - as much sleep as possible, or as much work as possible, maybe?

The answer to this age-old conundrum? Well, scientists have recently worked out that answer, something of a breakthrough, to put it mildly - did YOU see the story a few years ago on The Onion?

Lois and I were personally a bit gobsmacked by this story at first reading, but it's actually a bit of a relief in a way, isn't it - it certainly saves a lot of pointless ruminating, and leaves a lot of time left for doing more fun things, which is good news in our book.

Call us selfish pleasure-seekers if you like haha!

17:00 And then, late afternoon, suddenly, a quick exchange of texts.....

... and suddenly Sarah and the twins are here again, filling our quiet house with their joyous chat and laughter.

And the twins have a new best buddy called Bobby. I forget what the generic term for these highly popular, big-eyed stuffed toys are called, but I expect you've seen them around. [I think you mean "beanie boos", don't you? - Ed]. Oh yes, that's right - thanks, Old Boy!

showcasing new best-buddy Bobby, this is our

granddaughter Lily...

...and our granddaughter Jessica

20:00 After tacos-for-five for tea, we spend the evening watching the first half of the 2014 re-make of "Annie", the musical, on Amazon Prime - our free trial membership hasn't quite finished yet, so it's good to squeeze the last drop of benefit from it, which gladdens mine and Lois's hearts no end, to put it mildly. Call us "old skinflints" if you like haha!

Sarah herself used to watch the original 1982 film repeatedly when she was a child, because we had a VHS tape of it, so it's a vivid illustration for Lois and me not just of the passing of time, but also the "passing of the torch to a new generation", as John F. Kennedy might have said.

It's an "Annie" for the internet age, with references to social media, social media "tags" and all that kind of malarkey, and the songs have been "jazzed up", as Lois and I call it - but everybody is enjoying it, I must say, so it proves to be a good choice.

21:00 All goes quiet, when the twins, and even Sarah herself, go upstairs to bed, all exhausted by their week at school and at work. And after that, "old folks" Lois and I watch a bit of "telly" on the couch and then go to bed ourselves.

22:00 Zzzzzzzzz!!!!!