Danskcolin: Saturday September 6th 2025 "Do YOU make a noise when you go to the loo? A lot of us do don't we!"

Sunday, 7 September 2025

Saturday September 6th 2025 "Do YOU make a noise when you go to the loo? A lot of us do don't we!"

Yes, friends do YOU tend to make a lot of noise when you go the loo, especially when you get up for the loo in the middle of the night? My Lois and I tend to do that a lot, as we're both slightly-to-moderately old (!).

But here's one local man who can maybe teach us a lesson or two, according to this morning's Onion News for East Hampshire, to put it mildly!

Kudos, Millbrook, there, me old mate! Especially for not tripping over Heather's shoes, something both myself and my light-to-moderate wife Lois do repeatedly, not with Heather's shoes but with Lois's shoes. It tends to happen when we get out of bed to go to the loo, making the shoes fly across the room, waking each other up and possibly thereby doubling our combined "scores" for these nocturnal "visits" (!).

my light-to-moderate wife Lois and me - a recent picture

And Millbrook's story gives us both a bit of a chuckle this morning, as we motor the 9 miles south to local "flesh-pot" Petersfield to get Lois a new pair of shoes at Moshulu's, "not before time", as Lois herself puts it, somewhat sardonically!

Living here in rural, semi-leafy Liphook, Hampshire, Moshulu's is the only shoe shop less than 10 miles away, would you believe!

[You don't say! - Ed]

(top) we drive to Moshulu's, Petersfield, the only shoe shop within 10 miles

and (bottom) Lois showcases the stylish pair of shoes we came away with

We've had quite an exciting week, as least in terms of the kind of excitement you're liable to get in Liphook, I'm glad to say!

So we're basically just "chilling out" today after a tumultuous week. We almost got scammed by a doorstep "driveway-cleaner" yesterday, and earlier in the week we had a leak fixed in our water supply pipe, a leak which was tripling our water bills.

And today our local water company South East Water rewards our promptness in sorting out the problem by wiping out our massive deficit: our August bill had shown us as owing them £440 but the September one today shows us in credit to the tune of £31, which is a relief, to put it mildly!

(top) local "geezer" Darren and son Kyle fixing the leak in our water supply pipe,

and (bottom) a deficit of £440.15 converted to a credit of £31.37 - result !!!!

Back of the net !!!!

Yes, we may be "old codgers", but sometimes we can show the youngsters a thing or two, that's for sure!

And the special status of us "old timers" is at last being recognised, across Europe at least, if not in the UK. Wake up Britain!

Yes, according to Susie Dent of the OED in "Dictionary Corner" on the puzzle pages at the back of this week's Radio Times, the French call their old codgers the "tamalous", from their habit of saying "T'as mal oú?" (Where does it hurt?).

typical "tamalous" complaing to each other about

their aches and pains at a French bus stop

In Italy they've noticed how older men tend to gather around building sites commenting on progress, or giving advice to the builders. They're called the umarelli (little men).

typical "umarelli" gathering around an Italian building site

And here in Britain, in Liverpool at least it's been noticed how older people turn up early for everything, including at bus-stops in the morning, anxious to claim their free travel, which begins at 9:30 am as long as you're got your old codgers free "bus pass" on you.

In Liverpoo, they're called the "twirlies" (= the too earlies).

What madness !!!

(left) the Susie Dent column in our copy of next week's Radio Times (ringed)

and (right) the column itself - it's just under the puzzles on page 141 !

What a crazy world we live in !!!!

21:00 We wind down for bed with the latest programme in Griff Rhys-Jones' fascinating celebrity travelogue to the southern states of America.

When the South was backs-to-the-wall in the Civil War, all males from the ages of 13 to 70, so tonight Griff is inspired by this to volunteer for a local Charleston re-enactment group, which is nice!

You're in Griff, me old mate haha!

And who knew, that wives, when their husbands came back from war, if they did, that these wives went to the pantry and got a pineapple out, placing it outside their front door.