Sunday August 11th 2024 "Think you can do better eh? Ever thought about starting your OWN blog haha?"

Have you noticed how everybody seems to be writing their own blog these days, even here in rural West Worcestershire. I expect you saw on the local Onion News yesterday, how a local zoo-keeper, of all things, is the latest to jump on the "blogwagon" (!).

Have YOU voted yet, dear Reader, with YOUR suggested name for that little "varmint-to-be" the county's latest "aphid extraordinaire" (!) ? My medium-to-long-suffering wife Lois and I are going for "Buggo" if it's a boy, and if it's a girl, then well, "Buggo" again - call us indecisive or unimaginative if you like, but it's in tune with our "gender-neutral" times, so fair enough haha!

And I don't know if this aphid story has maybe encouraged YOU to join the army of local bloggers with your own "take" on the world - has it?! If so, I've got a bit of a "red flag" situation for you, that you might want to bear in mind. 

What if your mum starts reading your shiny-new blog, eh? Yikes, potential nightmare scenario - am I right or am I right? Like with this poor local guy Kevin, from the lovely Worcestershire village of Bell End:

Poor Widmar !!!!!

"And what about YOU, Colin?", I hear you cry. [Not me, I don't care! - Ed] "You've been writing a daily blog for - what is it - like, 11 years in your "Danskcolin" persona (not my real name! [You don't say! - Ed], and before that at least another as "MagyarColin" (That's my real name haha!), when I used to write it in Hungarian (as you do).

one of my early MagyarColin blog posts, written in Hungarian

one of my early DanskColin posts from 2013, written 

in Danish as well as Hungarian

But it's taken all that time - almost 15 years - for me to change the course of history with one of my blog posts. So if you're a blogger, take heart from that: it'll all be worthwhile in the end!

[Just get on with it, Colin! - Ed]

Were you watching the Women's Marathon in the Paris Olympics this morning? A lot of us were, weren't we. And did you notice how Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia made a bad start in the race, having to go back to the start after she realised she had picked up the wrong "energy drink"? I didn't see it myself, I've got better things to do (!), but our daughter Sarah told me about it later. 

But here's the thing - Tigst just shrugged off this "snafu", and went on to win the silver medal, which was nice! And the message is, as HM George VI once famously said, "Never give up!".

Tigst Assefa (crazy name, crazy gal!) picking up the silver medal

in the Women's Marathon, despite having to go back to the start,

after coming away with the wrong energy drink

"Atta girl", Tigst !!!!

And I'm pretty sure - although still waiting for official confirmation (Seb Coe and the International Olympics Committee please note (!)) - yes, I'm pretty sure that Tigst was inspired by my "DanskColin" blog post of June 2019, giving details of our granddaughter Lily's triumph in the Cross-country event at her school in Lower Chittering, Western Australia. Plucky little Lily (6) eventually went on to come in third, even though, mid-race, she had had to go back to the start when she remembered she'd forgotten to put her hat on. Remember now?

And Lily even managed to beat her twin sister Jessie who finished 5th, which was the icing on the cake for Lily, I'm sure!

Our granddaughter Lily (6) - extreme right - getting third

place at her school's Cross Country event,

despite having to go back when she realised

she'd forgotten to wear her hat.

Atta girl, Lily !!!!

Of course I must give a "nod" here to the spiritual leader of all these surprise-finishers: the famous Blanche in the Cole Porter song "Well Did You Evah!".

Enough said, I think!  [I'll second THAT one! - Ed]

Our twin granddaughters Lily and Jessie, plus mum Sarah and dad Francis, have been back in the UK for the last 15 months, after their 7 years in Australia, but they'll be going back "down under" in less than a month's time - the change of climate hasn't been good for Francis, so they'll be trying their luck in "Oz" again. Our daughter Sarah, a chartered accountant and the family's breadwinner, has got a new job down there, which she's hoping will be less stressful than the one she's been doing in Evesham, Worcestershire, so fingers crossed it'll turn out to be the right move for them.

Sarah and the twins have been staying with Lois and me this weekend, and every mealtime Lois and I wonder if this is going to be our last meal all together before they disappear on their non-stop flight to Perth on September 3rd. 

Yikes, not long now !!!! 

And they're so busy trying to sell, or get rid of, as much of their "stuff" as possible to minimise shipping charges, that Lois and I are always wondering if they'll have any more time at all to spend with us here, from now on, until they fly off to Perth. Yikes (again) !!!!

lunch today with our daughter Sarah and our twin

granddaughters Lily (left) and Jessica (right) -

will this be our last meal together? I wonder....!

....followed by another emotional farewell, as our three 

"weekend guests" depart for their rental home in Alcester

Left on our own again this evening (sob, sob!) Lois and I watch the Olympic Games closing ceremony.

The French can be quite brilliant at organising these ceremonies, but if they HAVE a weakness, I would say it's their tendency to be long-winded [More than a bit like you then Colin (!) - Ed].

we kind-of watch the Olympic Games 

Closing Ceremony from Paris

Unfortunately we find we have to sit through an incredibly long, boring and puzzling ballet item about future aliens finding the Olympic Games time-capsule. And this eventually drives Lois and me to go to bed early, but not before we, at least, are given the opportunity to savour Queen's "We Are The Champions" rock anthem playing over the Tannoy, which is nice!

More than anything else, Lois and I can't help noticing how incredibly excited the athletes all are - they're just bubbling over with it, actually screaming at the cameras with joy now, and at the tops of their voices. 

And we can't help feeling that those famous cardboard "anti-sex beds" in the Olympic village are going to get a 'right royal' bashing tonight, carrying the weight of way more athletes than they're supposed to. Oh dear! 

And we wouldn't like to see what state those beds will be in tomorrow morning, when the poor cleaning staff have to "pick up the pieces", and sweep all the bits away, to dump in the recycling. 

flashback to August 5th when the "anti-sex beds fury" first 

hits the headlines in the political fortnightly, "Private Eye"

What a crazy world we live in !!!!

21:30 We go early to bed - zzzzzzzzz!!!!!