Sunday September 13th 2026 "Families - there are loads of them seemingly around suddenly!!!"

Yes, Friends, families, eh?!!! Have YOU come across one recently? The news is just full of them today, I've noticed - just check out the headlines in this morning's Onion News !!!!

Heart-warming isn't it!!!

And the stories certainly bring a warm glow, almost a flush (!), to the cheeks of me and my wife Lois today, here in semi-panoramic Liphook, Hampshire, no doubt about that!!!!

my wife Lois and me - a recent picture

And we're smiling because we know that today is going to be very much a family day for us, and we know, also, that we're going to go to bed tonight happy but totally exhausted - much too exhausted to write an extensive blog post about it, that's for sure!!!!

[Thank heaven for small mercies! - Ed]

Our dear daughter Alison (51), together with husband Edward (51), plus their partly-teenage offspring Josie (20), Rosalind (18) and Isaac (16) are currently in the throes of moving back into their crumbling Victorian mansion in nearby Headley, now that their builders are coming to the end of an 18-month renovation job on the house, hoping to finish finally by the end of this week - which is already twice their original estimate of "it'll only take us nine months easy, mate!" 

What madness, isn't it!!!!!

(left) the scene on Friday at Alison and Edward's crumbling Victorian mansion, with

a builder saying, "Sorry there's no way we can let you into this mansion for another week

at least - it's health and safety, mate!!!", and (right) the shepherd's hut in the mansion's

7.5 acre grounds, where Alison and Edward plus Josie will be "skulking" for a week!

What madness, isn't it !!!!

It's an enormous upheaval at the moment for them, leaving the family, with horrendous packing and unpacking problems as they're forced to move out of their temporary rental home, before being able yet to fully move back into their 'real' home, so they're temporarily 'homeless' (!).

And this afternoon finds Lois and me, "old codgers" that we may be (!), doing what we can to help, having invited the whole family to join us for our evening meal, after finding out that they've been reduced today to eating out of boxes of breakfast cereal all day, which is mad!

These pictures show Lois and me frantically preparing an evening meal for 7 this afternoon:

Lois and me this afternoon, preparing an evening meal for 7 for our daughter Alison,

husband Edward, and their 3 kids, Josie, Rosalind and Isaac - lasagne, and veggie lasagne

for the veggie guys, plus chocolate mousse torte and strawberries for dessert

- busy busy busy!!!!

Recently dubbed by our neighbours as "possibly Liphook's busiest-looking retired couple", we feel that we've been earning those heartfelt accolades "in spades" today, but we're glad to be of service, and it's a joy to have Alison's chatty family with us to "blow some of the cobwebs off you, Colin!", as Lois puts it!!!

And incredibly busy though we undoubtedly are, we even this afternoon also somehow find the time to do a heart-warming whatsapp call with our daughter Sarah, who lives in Perth, Australia, with husband Francis and their 13-year-old twins, Lily and Jessica, would you believe! What madness, isn't it!!!

Busy busy busy!!!!

But it's all worthwhile when we finally treat Alison, Edward, Josie, Rosalind and Isaac to the evening meal we're prepared, which is nice!

Tonight the three 'kids', if we can still call them that (!), will be staying here with us - while their parents go home to their lowly temporary 'shepherd's hut' accommodation with only their 2 dogs for company, which is mad!

Poor parents!!!!!

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

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