Friday May 15th 2026 "Is YOUR family pet almost smarter than you are, some days?!!!!"

Yes, Friends, is YOUR family pet getting as smart as, or even smarter than, you yourself? It's happening a lot these days, isn't it, with pets, according to Onion News, becoming more and more 'savvy', to put it mildly!

Kudos, that dog!!!!

And reading Ginger's story this morning, here in partially-ventilated Liphook, Hampshire, brings what's often been described as 'a narrow grin' to the faces of me and my wife Lois, no doubt about that!!!!

my wife Lois and me - a recent picture

And we're grinning, because, by complete coincidence, we ourselves are sitting in a bustling hospital corridor today, would you believe, both very stylishly dressed (!), and getting 'snapped' by a photographer (Yours Truly!), having driven 16 miles over the county line to the Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford for vital parts of my annual so-called 'check-up', which is nice!

my wife Lois and me this morning, stylishly dressed, and being 'snapped' by a photographer 

(Yours Truly!) as we sit in a bustling corridor at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford

Why our look today? 

Well, obviously we're dressed to impress, yes (!), but I'm also 'dressed to undress', as people say in the 'old codger' fashion model trade: you see, I in particular, while needing to look stylish, to protect my reputation, also need to be sporting clothes that I can take off quickly, BUT ONLY if requested by officially accredited hospital staff, as part of my partial annual check-up, if that makes sense!!!!

So today I've selected, from my extensive wardrobe, a traditional 'countryman's cap', plus a simple, but fashionable, short-sleeve pullover and the still-modish 'semi-tropical' sports jacket paid for by grateful taxpayers, when I was a humble 'semi-secret agent' travelling to foreign climes for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office back in the 1990s, a jacket which has served me well over the years. And, needless to say, an attractive dark-blue tie completes my 'ensemble' (!).

our 'look' today - away with my usual 'armoury' of multiple

long-sleeved sweaters, replaced by a stylish jacket and simple,

but elegant sleeveless pullover, both designed to be 'whipped off'

in a trice, if I'm asked to disrobe by medical staff (!)

And, as I continue posing for my phone's camera today, Lois has time to spot a reassuring poster, on the wall just behind us, boasting that the hospital has "one of the best survival rates of any English hospital", which bodes well for my partial check-up today, and how nice to know that I'll probably be going home "in one piece", which is cheering, to put it mildly!!!! 

At least here's one English hospital that's got its priorities right, shall we say!!!!

As I continue to pose for cameras in front of the toilets, Lois, eagle-eyed as ever,

has time to spot a reassuring poster on the wall behind where we're sitting -

the hospital obviously prioritises their patient survival rates, which is nice to know!

Yes, it's another "busy busy busy" day for Lois and me, both now retired for over 20 years, would you believe! How did we ever have time to go to work back in the day, we wonder !!!!!

I myself turned 80 recently, and Lois is going to follow suit next month. And even my 'baby sister', Jill, who has a birthday today, is at last turning 68, which is equally hard to believe, but I suppose it's only to be expected, when you think about it, given that she was born back in 1958, incredibly, which is totally mad (!!!!).

my 'baby sister' Jill (now 68!), seen here in her home town 

of Ipswich, Suffolk, with daughter Lucy and fiancee Rosanna

Lois and I will shortly be spending a few days with Jill soon, in her Ipswich 'lair', when it will be nice to look back at some of the 'doozies' in our combined photo albums, that's for sure!!!!

from our family album: (top left) me holding my new baby sister Jill, 

in 1958 (!), (top right) fast forward to 1960, me with Jill aged 2, and 

(bottom left) us again, with our two siblings Kathy and Steve seated between us

What a crazy world we live in !!!!!! And 'just another manic Friday', in other words!!!! 

And so tonight, after another afternoon in bed, Lois and I are grateful to be able to sit down on the sofa and to witness an altogether 'saner' part of the world - Uzbekistan in Central Asia, where they 'do things proper', according to ex-Cabinet Minister turned busy 'celebrity travelogue' presenter, Michael Portillo, no less!!!!

You can tell a lot about people by the sports they play, can't you. And it's weird, that, although, reassuringly, in the wilds of Afghanistan, English-rules village cricket is played with enthusiasm, the Uzbeks in nearby Uzbekistan prefer more exotic sports, which is a surprise!

Lois and I didn't know, for example, that, whenever Uzbeks gather together, for a festival or for a wedding maybe, or even for an everyday 'family circumcision party', the guests like nothing better than to stage simple wrestling bouts, for both men and women. This local version of wrestling is called 'kurash'.  

And without a bit of 'kurash' going on somewhere in the background, a celebration wouldn't be a true celebration, Uzbeks believe, which is totally mad!!!

What a crazy country !!!!! 

But maybe they're onto something here, do you think? Weddings can sometimes be rather 'nervy' occasions, even here in the UK, with brides maybe anxious about their dress, make-up etc, and grooms nervous about making their so-called 'speech' etc etc.

Would a spot of 'kurash', before the ceremony, help to lower the tension? Brides would stop worrying about their appearance, and be happy to look contentedly 'exhausted and dishevelled' in the official photos, and all the speeches might even be forgotten about, in all the excitement!

I wonder....!

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

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