And the excitement was truly palpable this morning as we drove through the lovely village of North Piddle on our way from our home in Malvern, off to do the weekly supermarket "shop" at Warner's in Upton-on-Severn.
Now, reading this morning's headlines in the local Onion News print edition, we know why that excitement was so palpable pretty much everywhere throughout North Piddle, to put it mildly (!).).
And it's weird to see Benson's excitement just "bursting out of the guy", in the Onion's [exclusive] photo (see above), because Lois and I about 10 days ago, started on our own diet - which, when you think about it, was the starting point of Benson's long "journey", finally reaching its end-point, having gone through full cycle - and "congrats" to Steve, at the same time by the way (!).
Yes, our personal fight for minimal slimness, to be followed by the inevitable putting back on of the pounds, is sure to be a difficult 'journey' at times - that's a "given", we feel.
Lois, however, says that staying slim and taking lots of exercise is a good way to avoid a string of complaints, from diabetes to dementia, and she usually knows what she's talking about, unlike me (!).
Just at the moment being in the early stages ourselves, we're nevertheless already feeling the excitement of recording our weight on a daily basis when we get out of bed. Seeing the pounds "come off" and "pile on again" from day to day is more fun, we think, than watching the ups and downs of a beloved local football team during a tense local "derby" game, that's what we think at least (!).
a typical sort of reading I'm getting at the moment
[nb: parts of my feet have been 'redacted' in the interests
of decency and general civil order haha!]
And yes, our shiny new bathroom scales, bought about a month ago, are the most accurate we've ever had, giving results to the nearest 4 ounces (113g), which is nice.
"But are you two 'noggins' finally getting serious about dieting, Colin?", I hear you cry. [Not me, I'm watching the football! - Ed]
Well, if you doubt that Lois and I are at last getting serious about dieting, just take a look at the receipt we got from young East European cashier Liza at Warner's Supermarket this morning.
And just 'feast' your eyes (no pun intended!) on these scrumptious and yummy health food items in the 'devil in the detail'.
If an item like "fig and spelt crackers" doesn't scream the word "diet" to you, I don't know what will (!).
And by the way, if you're thinking that 2 bags of "Fun-size Party Mix" doesn't sound like typical "diet material" or "diet fodder" even (!), you're right.
However, it's Halloween coming up in a couple of weeks, and we're hoping that this supply of 2 x 35 = 70 (YOU can do the maths, but I'm the one with the maths degree haha), yes, 70 - seven zero - fun-size mini-chocolate bars will be enough to satisfy the appetites of this new-build estate's growing population of hungry young "trick or treating scallywags" (!) - but we'll see. So watch this space!
Remember Halloween last year, when our daughter Sarah and her 10-year-old twins Lily and Jessica were helping us to carve out the pumpkin we put on our doorstep as a "welcome sign" for young trick-or-treaters?
flashback to October 2023: our daughter Sarah and her twins
Lily and Jessica (10) help Lois to carve a pumpkin to put on our doorstep.
Happy days!
Of course Sarah and the girls last month sadly jetted off to start a new life in Perth, Australia, so this year they'll be celebrating Halloween in a climate where it's the height of summer.
What a crazy planet we live on !!!!
Of course, an important part of dieting is exercise. And at the moment Lois and I are on the most almighty "daily walk" "jag", and Lois is even thinking of signing us up to a weekly exercise class at Poolbrook Village Hall, Parish Council permitting (!). There's one man doing the class apparently, and Lois thinks I can be a friend to him, which is a bit worrying, to put it mildly!
flashback to this morning: shopping for so-called
"health-foods" amid the other "old codgers",
at Warner's Supermarket, Upton-on-Severn....
...followed by a "squelchy" walk through the wet long grass
over Poolbrook Common and adjoining farmland
flashback to October 2nd: Lois outside Poolbrook Village Hall,
where Lois is threatening to sign us up to an exercise class
(Poolbrook Parish Council permitting (!) )
21:00 We go to bed on the last ever episode of what's been called "The Old Codgers' 'Eastenders'",. Yes, it's the world's longest-running sitcom, 'The Last of the Summer Wine', which ran for an incredible 31 series, from 1973 to 2010.
the 2 episodes tonight in the Drama TV channel's listings;
the last ever episode from 2010, and then, going back to the beginning
and showing the original pilot episode from 1973.
This phenomenally successful series was all about a bunch of old codgers, enjoying their second childhood in a village in the Yorkshire Dales: the men, idle and retired, wandering about the hills and dales, and chatting; the women meanwhile still doing their normal housework while also chatting, drinking tea, and laughing about the men.
Although repetitive at times in its humour, to put it mildly (!), it kept its freshness mainly from all the ageing actors in it who died, and had to be replaced by other, not-quite-so-ageing alternative actors with subtly different "foibles", which was a good solution, until they also died - just saying!
Despite the low-key and self-deprecatory humour of its "old codger" stars, it had a pleasing and unexpected ability to surprise, with many a sudden twist in its plots over the years.
And this typical final final final final final final episode ends with a final typically low-key and anticlimactic surprise: the mysterious wedding that everybody in the village has been preparing for for weeks and months, turns out to get cancelled when the bridegroom (whose identity was never revealed, leading to endless speculation) "does a runner" and leaves the bride standing at the altar.
This is Yorkshire, however, and the wedding guests aren't going to let this setback ruin their day, to put it mildly.
Tremendous fun !!!!
Weddings are traditionally an audience-booster in both soaps and sitcoms: and in popular soaps like Eastenders you normally expect a "punch-up" in the church or something similar.
a typical "wedding episode" of popular soap "Eastenders"
And for long-running soaps and sitcoms there's always the difficulty for the writers having to explain that some character who was written out of the series long ago, when the actor "wanted out", mysteriously don't come to the wedding, even if they're supposedly living only 10 miles away, say - and either this difficulty is "glossed over" or some feeble excuse given: in hospital having an operation is a favourite with some.
But what a crazy world we live in !!!!
And to all those ageing actors who "were harmed or died in the making of this 38-year-long saga", I say "Rest in Peace" haha!
[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzz!!!!!
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