Sunday September 20th 2026 "Friends, have YOU been 'battling' today, maybe against some item of clothing, or menu item?"

Yes, Friends, for a lot of us, life is a constant battle - against our clothes when we try to get dressed in the morning, or a battle with a cherished menu item, maybe!  And these battles are reflected in newspaper headlines - no question about  that !!!!! 

Here are two "doozies" from today's Onion News, which should give you the general idea, if you're not too "battle weary" yourself to read about them, of course!!!

The stories, however, bring some much-needed relief to me and my wife Lois, as we pack up our things and leave our hotel in Ipswich, Suffolk, to finally return home to our pleasant house in semi-welcoming Liphook, Hampshire, that's for sure!!!

flashback to last night, as we take a final 

drink in the hotel bar on our last night in Ipswich

But let me put my cards on the table at this point. 

[I wish you wouldn't keep doing that, Colin! - Ed]

Lois and I have spent a lovely couple of nights in Ipswich being a small part in a joyous family occasion: the marriage of my niece Lucy to her fiancee Rosanna. 

flashback to yesterday: the wedding of my niece 

Lucy (left) to her fiancee Rosanna

But today Lois and I have to return to our normal lives, luckily not having to drive the 132 miles to Liphook ourselves, but being kindly driven by our son-in-law Edward and our daughter Alison, which will save us a ton of stress to put it mildly!!!!

So thanks to Edward, Lois and I don't have to "do battle" with the long drive, let alone battle with a sweatshirt neckhole, or with a unwieldy burrito (see Onion News stories above!!!), which is a comfort (!). 

However, our route home takes us near the site of the Battle of Maldon in August 991, so over 1000 years ago, when an Anglo-Saxon army was defeated by invading Vikings, a battle that also resulted in the death of the Anglo-Saxon leader Byrhtnoth.

Poor Byrhtnoth !!!!! 

And the sign "to Maldon via the A434" sends a bit of a tingle down the spines of both Lois and me, as we are both keen history-buffs, despite, or perhaps because of, our age! The date of the battle is traditionally given as "either August 10 or August 11" - I expect the participants couldn't quite remember: after all both the winners and the losers had a lot going on at the time, so fair enough, that's what Lois and I say, at any rate! 

Even ourselves, we can't always remember what days we do things on, would you believe! Well, we are 80, so we're entitled to a few slips of memory occasionally, we feel !!!!

And how lovely it is, also, today, to be driven across the Thames Estuary over the Dartford Bridge, which is a first for us, as we don't normally come anywhere near these parts, to put it mildly!!!

the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge which crosses the Thames Estuary at Dartford

Also new to us is the system of paying the toll for the bridge, a payment which these days drivers apparently make "online", so no just throwing a shilling piece into a big basket, or that kind of 'malarkey', which is weird! 

Stop the world, we want to get off haha !!!!

[Get real, Colin, this is 2006 not 1956 - better buck your ideas up!!! - Ed]

(left) our son-in-law Edward drives us over the Dartford Crossing Bridge,

as (right) my wife Lois marvels at the mighty river below us

Edward somehow pays the toll "online", or that's what he tells us at least !!!!

What madness !!!!!

Edward has to be home by lunchtime so he can get ready for his latest business trip, this time by air to Boston USA, of all places, so he can bring home some "big money deal" or other to the railway company he's a director of. 

And Lois and I have to be home by lunchtime to take part in our weekly whatsapp catch-up call with our other daughter Sarah, who lives in Perth, Australia, with husband Francis and their 13-year-old twins Lily and Jessica, which is always a joy. And Sarah is keen to hear about the wedding of her cousin Lucy, so that's all good!

Lois and I take part in our weekly whatsapp catch-up call with our daughter

Sarah and our 13-year-old twin granddaughters Lily and Jessica

14:30 Totally exhausted, and completely 'talked out', Lois and I finally flop into bed this afternoon for an extended 'statutory naptime', before crawling downstairs for a scratch meal and flopping down on the sofa for a viewing of the first in a new series of Antiques Roadshow on BBC1. Being a couple of "antiques" ourselves, we tend to identify with the exhibits rather than with the collectors - poor us !!!!

The oldest object on the show tonight is a 3000 year old pair of "penannular rings" from the end of the Bronze Age - at least Lois and I feel younger than that, which is a comforting thought!

Or do we......??????

(left) a pair of 3000-year old penannular rings and (right) a pair of 'old codgers'

I wonder.....!

Poor us !!!!!!

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

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