Danskcolin: Friday April 24th 2026 "Have YOU ever been 'the new guy in the office'? It's the pits, isn't it!!!"

Yes, Friends, have YOU ever been 'the new guy in the office'? Not a nice experience is it!!!!

And if YOU are the office 'newbie', reflect that even being, at the same time, a trained astrophysicist doesn't really help you cope with that stressful situation, according to this morning's Onion News! And if you're short of time, just check out this handy 'potted version', supplied free of charge by Yours Truly, which will blow your socks off, that's for sure!!!!

Poor Taylor !!!!

And reading Taylor's story this morning, here in semi-translucent Liphook, Hampshire, brings a twisted smile to the faces of me and my 'wifey' Lois, no question about that!

my wife Lois and me - a recent picture

We're laughing, because Yours Truly is about to become the county's newest Latin teacher, which is mad!

I'll be teaching Latin for Beginners to a group of 'old codgers', having been 'headhunted' by local U3A bigwigs Joe and Richard. Joe is a big shot in the local Latin-teaching 'mafia', and Richard is a 'big cheese' in the local U3A in nearby Haslemere. And myself taking on this new role as the county's newest Latin teacher for Old Codgers, will make me a prime target for all the bullies in the U3A "in these here parts", as people say in these here parts, that's for sure!

notorious local bullies: (left) Joe, the local U3A teacher of "Intermediate Latin for Old Codgers",

and (right) Richard, the local U3a "groups coordinator"

Lois has promised to 'toughen me up' so that I can stand up to any bullying - the local U3A Latin bigwigs are notorious for their 'macho' culture. So I should be okay, but watch this space !!!!!

As you can probably guess, this Friday is another quiet day for Lois and me. We're still feeling a bit "rubbish" after Wednesday's COVID jab, with slightly aching upper arms, so we have to be a bit careful during our initial 'rough-housing' session, but no serious harm done, so that's all good !!!!

Lois and I have also started to plan for June, when our daughter Sarah, who lives in Perth, Australia with husband Francis and their 12-year-old twin daughters, will be arriving with her family for what we're hoping will become their regular 2 week stay here. They came last summer, partly for work reasons: Sarah is still doing two jobs - her old job in Evesham UK as well as her new job in Perth, which is mad!

flashback to July 2025: we say goodbye to our daughter Sarah and family

after their 2025 stay with Lois and me, on one of Sarah's "work trips" - sob sob!!!

Somehow we've got to accommodate them all again in our tiny house. Last year, Sarah wound up having to sleep in our living-room on a folding bed, and use our kitchen table as her 'work space', which wasn't ideal, so Lois and I are planning a rethink for this year.

flashback to the family's stay with us last year: our poor daughter Sarah,

sleeping in our living-room and doing her office work in our kitchen - what madness!!!!

Luckily we have a chance today to talk the best arrangements over with our other daughter Alison, who pops in to see us with her eldest daughter Josie. Josie (19), a first-year maths student at Durham, will be travelling back up north by train on Sunday, at the end of the Easter vacation, so today is also our last chance to chat with Josie before she disappears for ten weeks.

(left) our daughter Alison and our granddaughter Josie (19) who drop in

for a chat this afternoon, and (right) Josie in her student room at Durham

We also hear about our son-in-law Edward's latest physical challenge, taking part with his brother in a local charity triathlon, dubbed "Race for the Sun (South Downs)", which comprises 'a hike, a kayak and a bike', the hike taking them 10 miles, the kayaking a further 2 miles, and then a punishing bike ride of 33 miles, which is a bit mad. Rather him than us!!!

And it'll all be taking place tomorrow 60 miles south east of here, on the English Channel coast, somewhere near Eastbourne, Sussex. Alison sends me an app that will enable Lois and me to "track" Edward's progress, which is going to challenge our technical capabilities, I can tell already! And Alison also passes us some pictures from last year's event, which gives us a rough idea.

Poor Edward !!!!!!

But Edward is no stranger to charity bike rides, at least - that's for sure! Just look at this previous effort of his, doing one of his charity rides to London with close friend Jonathan, a few years ago.

outside Buckingham Palace and by Tower Bridge, our son-in-law Edward (right)

with close friend Jonathan, on one of their charity bike rides

And it makes Lois and me tired just to hear about Edward and all his adventures! What a day today has been for Lois and me! No wonder we need something 'light' on TV tonight, to help us 'chill out' in time for bed, no question about that!

Here's our choice: this week's edition of comedy news quiz "Have I Got News For You", hosted this week by comedienne Sue Perkins.

Here is tonight's missing words headline:

And the answer? "13ft crocodile at reception desk", of course! It happened in Zimbabwe, and here are the pictures from the hotel's security cameras: