Sunday April 12th 2026 "Have YOU ever been stuck under a pile of vegetables?"

Yes, Friends, have YOU ever found yourself stuck under a pile of vegetables? It happens to us all at one time or other in our lives, doesn't it! And it's fear of the next such incident, maybe waiting in the wings, that haunts a lot of people, even if they have otherwise seemingly successful careers!!!

Even Prime Ministers are not exempt from that almost universal, primordial danger, would you believe, according to this morning's Onion News - see page 94 !!!!

Poor Zoran!!!!

Piles, not just of vegetables, but of non-food items, are certainly an increasingly unavoidable danger, aren't they! 

And reading about Zoran's plight today brings a bemused smile to the faces of me and my wife Lois, as we sit waiting for the Sunday Morning Meeting to start, here at Lois's church in semi-tree-covered Petersfield, Hampshire, no doubt about that, to put it mildly!!!

(right) my wife Lois and me, waiting for the Sunday Morning Meeting to begin,

at a village hall somewhere near Petersfield, Hampshire this morning, to put it mildly!

"But why the smiles from you and Lois, Colin?", I hear you cry!!!

Well, you see, we're very conscious of the fact that, as we sit here waiting for the meeting to start, just 15 miles away, our daughter Alison, and husband Edward, are starting the day trying to shift some massive piles of firewood in the huge 6.5 acre grounds of their decaying Victorian Mansion. 

"Rather them than us!", is what Lois and I say, in chorus !!!

The more they move the pile of firewood around their grounds, it seems to get bigger with every move, which is mad! They post some terrifying pictures on social media (see above!!!), and later, they tell us all the nightmare details in person this afternoon, when they drop round to see us, and to accept, gratefully a sit-down and a cup of tea in mine and Lois's humble abode, here in nearby semi-rural Liphook, Hampshire, to put it mildly!!!!

(above) our daughter Alison, with husband Edward, drop in to see Lois and me

this afternoon, after a punishing day trying to clear a large pile of firewood

in the grounds of their decaying Victorian mansion in nearby Headley, Hampshire

What madness!!!!

But what can you do?!!! Anarchic, piles of this and that, self-reproducing and getting totally out of hand, are just one of the least-discussed 'forces of nature' in our  crazy world, aren't they, that's for sure, trying to thwart us poor humans in everything we try to do, which is totally mad!!!

Another 'force of nature', and one that isn't often highlighted, is the havoc that can be wrought by vicious gangs of crows, would you believe! 

During mine and Lois's weekly 'catch-up zoom call' with our other daughter Sarah, 9000 miles away in Perth Australia, reveals that a bunch of crows have been 'making mincemeat' of the family's new lawn, laid over several months by Sarah's husband Francis. 

(left) Lois and me talking on  zoom today to our daughter Sarah in Perth, Australia,

and to her delightful 12-year-old twin daughters Lily and Jessica (right)

Sarah says that these tough neighbour crows have been descending on husband Francis's newly laid turf and making lots of holes in it, trying to get to, and eat (!) if you please (!!!), some of their favourite insects. Over the last few days Sarah and Francis have been taking turns to be "on watch" to scare the crows off whenever necessary.

Francis says the gang has even posted a 'lookout' on one of their garden trees, to sound a warning whenever either he or Sarah emerges from the house. And this 'lookout crow' knows the car that Francis drives, and Sarah says he sounds the alarm even when Francis is a hundred feet away speeding up along their street.

flashback to last August: a whatsapp video call with our daughter Sarah,

and twin daughters Lily and Jessica, with (right) a shot of poor husband

Francis starting to lay a new lawn at their home north of Perth, Australia

Poor Francis !!!!

But what a crazy world we live in !!!!!

At least we don't live on the moon, is what Lois and I say! 

And we're not alone, apparently, as we find out this evening when we watch last night's edition of the Jonathan Ross Show, which focuses on the flight this week of the Atlantis mission to the other side of the moon.

When the subject comes up of the Atlantis moon mission, Ross points out the results of a survey of British reactions to the flight, in which half of those surveyed said they would turn down any offer to let them travel to the moon.

And Ross's comments are scathing about us Brits, and rightly so! 

"Have you ever seen a more British reaction that that! The chance to explore the most distant places humans have dared to journey to, and half of us have gone, 'No you're all right, I'll just go out and sit in the garden, thank you!". 

And the reasons given by respondents to the survey? 

Well, twenty three percent of Brits were just 'not interested' - and didn't even give a reason: just a quick "No, not for me!". Three percent even said that it would be too claustrophobic. This is the same nation, Ross comments, that's prepared to fly on a packed Ryanair jet to the Med, would you believe!

Six per cent said they didn't want to go to the moon, 'because there's nothing to do there'. So they're basically holding off until somebody builds a Moon Wetherspoons, Ross says, and then maybe they'll go. 

What a crazy country we live in !!!!!

[That's enough madness! - Ed]

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzz!!!!!