Yes, dear Reader, were YOU on this morning's local news? A lot of us were, weren't we (!).
And if you were, don't worry - I think there's a simple explanation. It's been what people in the profession sometimes refer to as a "slow news week". There was even a story about my medium-to-long-suffering wife Lois and me being disturbed by Martin the local window-cleaner when we were in bed on Monday afternoon - I think that one even made some of the nationals, would you believe (!).
Yes - verbatim (!) - our conversation was included. Mind you, we've long believed that our bed has been 'bugged', but more on that some other time (!).
[I can't wait! - Ed]
And we would have thought that some of our remarks, when Martin turned up unexpectedly that afternoon, were 'unprintable' - I know for a fact that we were using words we wouldn't use in polite company. Unprintable? Well, the press obviously thought otherwise, which is a pity (!).
And in bed this afternoon, Lois's Huawei is 'beeping' under the bedclothes like nobody's business, and my Samsung keeps 'diddling', not always at the same time (!). I've got the FlightStats app on my phone, but Lois's is something else - she has a different one, I forget what the name of it is, but we're both being kept busy, to put it mildly!
19:00 By the time we're out of bed and settled down on the couch this evening, the plane has done over a third of the journey, about 3,500 miles out of 9,000 total distance. The pilot must have managed to swerve south and miss Ukraine, and he's now also 'cleared' Iran. So there's only friendly territory or water below them from now on, which is a relief, to put it mildly!
Good idea, wasn't it, to stage this series about old codgers having fun, and very inspirational for Lois and me, to put it mildly. And it was probably inspirational for a lot of us 'old-timers', because the series ran for several seasons - like, a billion: more, probably! As you can see, just in these current re-runs, we're already on Series 26 and counting.
Can Barry and Glenda, finally, "get it together" and have a baby - if only for the future health of this series?
21:30 To wind down for bed, we watch the first episode of the new series of Australian sitcom "Colin From Accounts", which features a young couple, Gordon and his "squeeze", Ashley, the proud owners of a cute little disabled dog, Colin, who gets about on a set of orthopaedic wheels.
Awwwww !!!! Buckles and Rover, they can be our surrogate grandchildren - awwwww(!).
Incidentally, while you were about it (!)... did you also happen to see that story on this morning's news about local office-worker Amanda Ladbury, who lives over at the lovely Worcestershire village of Lickey End?
Lois and I just happen to be "nodding acquaintances" of Amanda, and she's told us that lead character Crosswell's new sports car - the one that splashes mud over the Armani suit of Crosswell's hated boss Northerton, is none other than a Morgan, those high-end cars made locally, here at Malvern, Worcestershire.
So this morning, just for fun, we decide to take our daily walk this time in Victoria Park, and look across at the Morgan Car Factory on the other side of the road, just to check that the company is still in business (!).
Awwwwww !!!! Poor us !!!!!!
we check that the Morgan Car Company is still
in business (stop press: it IS !)
It's always been my ambition to some day buy a Morgan for Lois - she's always had this dream of draping herself over the bonnet of one. And we've always kicked ourselves for not taking advantage of our son-in-law Francis's yellow Porsche when it was standing in our driveway for a week, back in 2011. Remember?
flashback to January 2011 - Lois begging for a "leg up"
onto the bonnet of our son-in-law Francis's Porsche
flashback to March 25th 2023: we view some of the
vintage Morgans on display at the company's factory here in Malvern
This morning we wander round the Morgan factory again, somewhat aimlessly, wondering whether we can "risk it" on one of the bonnets, and cross something else off our 'bucket list' (!).
But to be frank, Lois and I are both feeling a little bit 'lost' today, because this morning our dear daughter Sarah plus husband Francis and their 11-year-old twins Lily and Jessica, are jetting off this very morning from London's Heathrow Airport to start a new life in Perth, Western Australia.
We're trying to put a brave face on it, but our sense of loss is heightened by our walk this morning through Malvern's Victoria Park when we see the children's playground, where we used to spend such happy times with Sarah and the twins.
we try to put a brave face on it this morning, but the sight
of the children's playground where we used to take our
twin granddaughters Lily and Jessica, brings a tear to our eyes.
Poor us !!!!!!
flashback to May 2023: Victoria Park, seen here in happier times:
Lois and I were visiting the playground with our daughter Sarah (45)
and our twin granddaughters Lily and Jessica (pictured above)
At least we can follow the progress of the family's London to Perth flight today, on our phones. And Sarah has sent this charming picture of the twins having a "continental breakfast" this morning at London's Heathrow Airport, which is nice.
our 11-year-old twin granddaughters Lily and Jessica,
taking the "continental breakfast" option at London's
Heathrow Airport, before boarding their 11:55am flight
to a new life in Perth, Western Australia
Lois's Huawei a-beeping and my Samsung a-diddling
like crazy with the latest positional data under
the bedclothes this afternoon - it's total madness !!!!
it's about 3:15pm and my Samsung is diddling with this
little "doozy" - they're just flying over the Black Sea, hopefully
avoiding all the region's many troubles spots: yikes !!!!
the aircraft's position at about 7:30 pm, with, from now on, only
friendly territory or water below them, which is a relief!
21:00 We settle down on the couch, and watch tonight's episode of long-to-extra-long-running old sitcom, "Last of the Summer Wine", which features a bunch of old men and old women having some fun in their declining years in the Yorkshire countryside.
What madness !!!
"Last of the Summer Wine", the show featuring a bunch
of old codgers having the time of their lives
deep in the Yorkshire countryside
Lois and I can see that one of the problems with airing shows that run for decades featuring "a bunch of old codgers having the time of their lives", is that a lot of your show's beloved characters are going to die on you, sadly (!), over the decades. Bill Owen, who played lead character Compo, died after one series had just started, and he had to be replaced, somewhat hastily, we felt, by his son.
Ageing actress Thora Hird had the grace to die between two of the series, and her character was never mentioned again - somewhat harshly, Lois and I felt: call us overly sentimental if you like!
Lately, the show's writers have been bringing in more and more old actors, presumably as an insurance policy for further deaths.
What madness (again) !!! I think all British actors over the age of 80 have now officially been given parts, most of them 'bit parts' or 'cameo roles'. They've even dragged in Burt Kwouk, the Chinaman who was Peter Sellers's martial arts instructor in the Inspector Clouseau films.
flashback to 1964: Burt Kwouk as Chinese martial-arts instructor
to Peter Sellers's "Inspector Clouseau" in "Shot in the Dark"
Burt Kwouk (right) playing Yorkshireman Entwistle in
long-running sitcom "Last of the Summer Wine"
These are stopgaps, useful in their way, but what's the long-term answer to this problem? Lois and I are hoping that the show's two main young-to-middle aged characters, mild-mannered Building Society manager Barry and his wife Glenda will have a baby, and maybe this will prove to be the answer in the long run: more couples of child-bearing age, producing future replacements for the so-called "deadwood" of dying older characters.
[It's only a story, Colin! - Ed]
First, however, they'll have to persuade Barry and Glenda to have sex - which isn't going to be easy (!). But at least there are some hopeful signs in this episode tonight.
I wonder.... !!!!
Call us overly sentimental if you like, but we decide to allow two of our twin granddaughters' stuffed toys, Rover the Dog-faced Pony and his buddy, Buckles the Unicorn, to 'stay up late' and watch this sitcom with us, as a special treat. Just the once, you understand, we don't want these little rascals to feel it's somehow 'their right' to stay up with us after 7:30 pm, and especially when it's a weekday haha!
Like Colin, the cute dog in the show, Rover also gets about on a set of wheels, so it's only fair to let him watch the programme with us, and with his old mate Buckles the Unicorn at his side in case Rover needs the occasional emotional support during the show's many tear-jerking scenes.
flashback to a few days ago: I showcase our mine and Lois's
new "household pet" - our twin granddaughters Lily and Jessica's
handicapped stuffed toy, Rover, the Dog-faced Pony,
that the twins couldn't fit conveniently into their hand-luggage
for today's London to Perth flight
Lois and I are going to be looking after these two rascals now that the twins are going to be living in Australia, so we feel a special responsibility - the family forgot to put the two toys in any of the crates of the family's belongings being shipped to Perth by Seven Seas, and later they found that they couldn't conveniently fit them into their hand-luggage for today's flight, so fair enough, Lois and I say!
Colin, the disabled dog with his orthopaedic set of wheels,
here being petted on an Australian pavement by owner Ashley
[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]
22:30 We go to bed - zzzzzzz!!!!
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