Hallowe’en and Hop-tu-Naa. Swedes and turnips. And who is going to Cop27.?

Yesterday the family didn’t come to dinner because they had a hallowe’en party to go to. In the early evening they popped round to say hello and, I think, to show off their costumes. Grandson Number Two (age 3) was wearing his dinosaur dressing gown, of which he is extremely proud. His big sister, Granddaughter Number Four (age 6) was most elegant in a black and grey dress, black tights and, the finishing touch, black cat ears - she was a cat, of course!

This morning Granddaughter Number One and Granddaughter Number Two both sent photos of themselves in Hallowe’en garb. Granddaughter Number One, who rarely goes anywhere has decorated her living room window with stick-on bats and spiders, despite a genuine phobia of real spiders and much to the consternation of her cat who tries to hunt the stick-ons. She was wearing a big, chunky, woolly jumper, knitted with a pattern of skulls and bones and spiders and other Hallowe’en stuff. Granddaughter Number Two will be swanning around the campus of York University in the fetching off-the-shoulder number I described the other day, complete with black lace gloves, black nail polish and black lipstick. This is all very Hallowe’en spooky as she is naturally extremely pale. 

On last night’s North West News they featured the Isle of Man where traditionally they carve turnip lanterns and celebrate Hop-tu-Naa, although some people are now turning to Hallowe’en pumpkins instead. On the news report they did little more than show some picturesque lanterns and ask people which they preferred, pumpkins or turnips, but there was no explanation as tho what it’s all about. So I looked it up.

Nobody seems really to know where Hop-tu-Naa comes from although it does overlap to some extent with the Celtic custom of Samain. The term Hop-tu-Naa is speculated to come from the Gaelic phrase Shoh ta'n Oie, meaning "this is the night." However, there is possibly some Norse influence there. Those Norsemen went everywhere.

Some claim that trick or treating, which we tend to think of as an American import, was in fact related to Hop-tu-Naa and other Celtic-Nordic customs and was taken to America by Scots-Irish immigrants. The custom died out in the Scotland and Ireland but flourished in the USA. Now they seem to have re-exported it.

Hallowe’en was also called Hollantide Eve on the Isle of Man and back in the 1970s children went door to door showing off their  carved turnip lanterns and singing a traditional Hollantide song:

This is old Hollantide night; Hop-tu-naa.
The moon shines bright; Trol-la-laa
Cock of the hens; Hop-tu-naa.
Supper of the heifer; Trol-la-laa
Which heifer shall we kill? Hop-tu-naa.
The little speckled heifer. Trol-la-laa

(The end of the song is reminiscent of trick-or-treating rhymes rehearsed by American children over the past 100 years.)

If you are going to give us anything, give it us soon,
Or we'll be away by the light of the moon.

So there you go! Lots of odd spooky stuff! And it seems it’s not just the Isle of Man. Here’s an article by Emma Beddington on the merits of swedes over pumpkins for making lanterns. 

Interestingly swedes were originally called Swedish turnips but the name was shortened to swedes. Very similar as root vegetables, the main difference is colour and shape and the fact that turnips last longer in  the fields while swedes are likes to rot more quickly. Who knew?

Further to my remarks on exercise yesterday, here is an article about “race walking”, that silly waynof walking as fast as possible, positivley waddling along without actually running. Apparently it’s less hard on joints that running and jogging.

And finally, news is out that maybe Rishi Sunak will go to Cop27 after all. It all depends on how preparations for his financial statement get on. Meanwhile there’s a story going round that Boris Johnson is going to going to Cop27.  It’s uncertain whether he’s going as part of a government delegation (surely that’s unlikely) or if he’s been invited by the president of Cop27 or if he’s representing some independent organisation. It rather seems to me that he’s really going to stir things up a little. 

He needs no wooden spoon.

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!

Some thoughts about exercising in bad weather, exercise fads, and safety on the streets.

We’ve been hearing for ages and ages all about how we need to exercise, how it’s good for your mental health as well as your physical health. Every so often some new fad, oops, that should be idea, comes along about the best way to exercise. Walking backwards was one I read about yesterday. I was attracted to this article by its headline about how walking in bad weather is good for you. I do quite a lot of running in the rain. When it’s wet and windy it seems the air quality is better and so you are less likely to be breathing in lots of pollution. Sounds sensible! 

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/oct/29/bad-weather-is-good-for-you-take-a-walk-in-the-wind-and-rain

But as I read, I discovered that bad weather is also good for clearing the streets, making the streets much better for walking backwards, the latest trend to sweep Japan. Who knew? So why is it good for us?

“Walking backwards also improves our balance and stability. Normally we lean slightly forward when we walk but, in reverse, our spine is nudged into alignment and our core has to work harder to keep us stable. Another study found that 10 minutes of backwards walking four times a week reduced lower back pain after a mere three weeks. At the same time, we strengthen our knee joints and quadriceps – which means an improved gait and fewer aches and pains. A wide, flat, empty pavement is the ideal place to practise reverse walking.”

So I need to get Phil to try this as he has occasional wonky knee problems when we are out walking. There’s also a lot of stuff in the article about “brown fat” (good) and “white fat” (bad), rather like good and bad cholesterol. And then there’s the matter of messing about in mud being good for your immune system. 

Today we put the clocks back an hour, reducing the time available for being out and about as the sun sets earlier and earlier every day. I listened to Professor Angela Gallup on Desert Island Discs earlier today. She’s a forensic scientist, one of those you read about in detective stories, the people who closely examine spots of blood and suchlike and match them to a killer’s DNA. Gruesome stuff! Asked if it had affected her way of looking at life, she declared that of course she knew that the vast majority of people are not serial killers or psychopaths. However, having investigated rather a lot of cases in the north of England she is reluctant to go walking alone in the countryside, especially after dark. She is more aware that danger is lurking everywhere. 

Personally I find empty city streets after dark a lot more scary than the bridle paths around here and it seems I’m not alone. Cyclist Chris Boardman has been writing about it. He tells us:   

“One in every five women is concerned about sexual harassment when exercising – and three in 10 have experienced it first-hand, while doing physical activity, mostly in streets and parks. And we know that people will not do something – whether that’s walking or cycling to school, or jogging before work – if they do not feel safe doing so.”

So he gives some advice to men on how to help make women feel safer on the streets:

“First, keep your distance: the closer you are, the more threatening you seem. If you’re walking or running behind a woman, pause to give her some space, or cross the road so you aren’t behind her any more.”

As I have already said, I am not easily scared when out and about on my own but this morning I nearly jumped put of my skin when a male runner suddenly went past me with a cheery ‘good morning’. I would have liked to have known he was there a little sooner.

Chris Boardman goes on:

“Understand that women’s wariness and suspicion is not personal, so don’t be offended. Women have no way of knowing you are not a threat.

Never make comments, even if you think it’s a compliment. It’s intimidating to a woman on her own. Stay quiet.”

And he stresses the need to pass the message on:

“If you see friends or family members making disrespectful comments to a woman, challenge them and explain why it’s not OK. We need to break the cycle of misogyny that contributes to women feeling unsafe. Show younger men what it looks like to listen to women. Talk to them about what harassment is. Help them understand why a comment they think may be harmless can terrorise women.”

Teachers and parents need to ensure that boys learn these things. Especially as, according to this article, many girls don’t even feel safe at school.

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone! 

Wetness. Cop27. Silly solutions. Hallowe’en and other such celebrations.

Today is wet. It shows little sign of getting any drier. I don’t know if they still have drought conditions in the south east of the country but here it’s wet. The rain barrel in my garden has filled up nicely again and I would like to take a walk round Dovestone reservoir to see if that too has filled up nicely again … once we have a dry enough day to do so.

Actually I exaggerate. We’ve really had plenty of fine weather, often in the afternoon after a very dull start in the morning. I just felt like having a bit of a moan about today’s wetness!

Here’s a little something from John Stevens, originally on Twitter but  Yorkshire Bylines copied it onto Facebook:

“In 48 hours as PM, Rishi Sunak has :

• Pulled out of attending Cop27in Egypt.
• Removed Cop president Alok Sharma from Cabinet.
• Removed climate minister Graham Stuart from Cabinet.”

Unless King Charles decides to go, we apparently won’t have any representation at Cop27. So much for our concern for the environment!

And here’s something I copied from somewhere but don’t seem to have made a note of the source. I suspect it’s NewsThump:

“Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is to use his fiscal statement on 17th November to introduce an innovative approach to the country’s housing crisis – a Thunderdome in which young people do battle for an affordable home.

The Thunderdome, which will be built on the outskirts of Chelmsford in Essex, will be governed by one simple rule – ‘two men enter, one man leaves… with a lovely semi on the outskirts of a major dormitory town’.

It is expected that Channel 5 will secure the rights to broadcast live Thunderdome contests and also a lucrative Saturday night highlights package.

“Well there is nothing I like more than watching young folk batter each other into submission for my entertainment,” said apparently legitimate Home Secretary Suella Braverman.

“If this also provides a boost to the housing market then all the better.”

Young people themselves were dubious of the plan.”

An interesting possible solution to one of our problems!

When we took Granddaughter Number Two back to her university residence on Thursday evening, she showed off her Hallowe’en costume, a black (of course) off the shoulder affair, with a fairly tight bodice, lacy sleeves and a frothy skirt. She even had fingerless black lace gloves, much to the delight of her six year old sister. As Hallowe’en itself is actually Monday, it seems that rather a lot of young people plan to make an extended weekend-long celebration. I really don’t know of Granddaughter Number Two plans on doing this as she is the sort of young person who really loves her bed. 

Here’s Tim Dowling, who was surprised as an American by how little fuss we made about Hallowe’en when first he came to live in the UK,  writing about Hallowe’en. Things have changed since then. Largely it’s been commandeered by the money-makers who saw another opportunity to commercialise something. The same thing happened to St Patrick’s Day, which also was not celebrated all over the UK when I was a student. Now, just as everyone supposedly has to go full-on ghoul for Hallowe’en, it is necessary to wear a silly green hat and get rather drunk on St Patrick’s Day. I await the commercialisation of St David’s Day, although it’s hard to  imagine everyone dressed up as leeks. But no doubt, given half a chance, the card manufacturers could persuade us to wish everyone a Happy Saint David’s Day.  

I find it interesting that Tim Dowling says that how you feel about Halloween seems to depend on how old you are, and where you grew up. Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland seem just to accept it as something that happens, just another holiday occasion. Maybe it’s the Celtic connection! England has been a bit more puritanical about it in the past but we seem to have got over it. Especially interesting, in my opinion anyway, was a certain Anna who commented, “I’m Irish, so Halloween is bigger than Christmas!”. Really? Bigger than Christmas?

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone! 

Where did yesterday go? Some thoughts on prime ministers. Immigration stuff. And gender in chess.

Yesterday disappeared down the rabbit hole of family business, involving running round some shops and even doing an evening trip to York to take Granddaughter Number Two back to university after a mini-trip home to attend a dental appointment.   

I mentioned prime minsters' lecterns the other day. i was hoping to find a photo but without success. On the subject of prime ministers, here’s a little something off social media by journalist Jon Sopel: 

“After tumultuous week, worth reflecting: in the 37 years from 1979 to 2016 there were just 5 prime ministers. 

In the 6 years since 2016 we’ve also had 5 PMs. 

Something pretty destabilising must have happened that year.”

Worth thinking about!

They’re discussing immigration again on the radio news, especially the huge numbers of desperate people trying to cross the Channel in small boats. They’re talking again about the need for France and the Uk to cooperate and possibly find a solution. Fingers crossed! According to this article there is an extra problem here in the UK of children disappearing from immigrant reception centres. Despite the emotive language, most of the disappearing “children” are teenage boys, full of the spirit of adventure, no doubt, but still vulnerable. The system needs some work! 

Current reports say that an extra problem is Albanians, making their way on visa-less travel through the EU and then attempting to reach the UK on the Channel boats. They’re clogging up the system for people with more genuine need for asylum. 

And now here’s a piece of nonsense from Newsthump. As I am the wife of a chess player, it amused me.

“Chess dismissed as 'woke nonsense' after revelation that pawns can later self-identify as Bishops, Knights, AND Queens

Chess, the five-hundred-year-old abstract strategy game has today been dismissed as a tool of the wokerati after it was revealed that the pawns used in the game can later identify as bishops, knights and even Queens.

Derek Williams, 65, a retired battery chicken farmer who is always on the lookout for the next big thing to be outraged by, spoke of his outrage, telling us, “It’s outrageous, absolutely outrageous”.

“I don’t play chess just so these woke pieces can go around being all modern and gender-fluid. A pawn is a pawn is a pawn. That’s it. That’s the way it is, and that’s the way it should be. All this self-identifying nonsense is what’s stopping Brexit from being a success, and it needs to end now.

“I don’t care if my opponent thinks this pawn that reached my side of the board can suddenly identify as a Queen, I’m not having it. He’ll be telling me his pawn is a bloody attack helicopter next!”

Williams said his point had a more serious element, telling us, “Pawns just going around identifying as queens willy-nilly threatens the rights of real queens. If you have pawns going around pretending to be queens, what happens to the queens’ safe spaces, huh?

“The sooner we cancel Chess, the better.””

The serious business of gender identity, however, is still being discussed in the Scottish parliament right now. 

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone! 

Very contrary weather. Fairy rings. Personalised street furniture for PMs.

Yesterday in the mid-afternoon we decided to walk up the hill and catch a bit of sunshine. We all need our vitamin D. Of course, no sooner had we gone out than the sun went in. But we were on our way by then so we carried on up the hill to Dobcross and down the other side. At the bottom of the hill we decided to vary our usual walk by going back along the forest path.

There is a point in the path where it forks. The upward path leads back to the main road. Our plan was to take that route. For some reason I thought there was another turn-off a bit further along and so we continued on the lower path. I was mistaken. We were on the path that would take us behind the industrial development close to Delph crossroads. However, all was not lost. Following that path we came across a huge collection of fine red toadstools, a proper fairytale collection, ready for little creatures to dance around and have a party. 

Not the kind of fungus we would consider eating however. Shortly after we got home the sun came out again!

Today began with drizzle, only fine drizzle though, so I donned my waterproof, put the hood up under my cycle helmet and got ready to cycle to the market. Just before I set off I spotted the milkman and paid my bill - I like to stay in credit. The drizzle had mostly stopped by the time I set off and by the time I reached Uppermill the sun was starting to break through. I had a positively delightful ride home along the Donkey Line.  

Later I caught a bus into Oldham to collect a raincoat whose zip was being replaced. Just under £20 for  new zip as opposed to over £100 for new raincoat! I stopped off en route to buy new running shoes  (thus spending the money I saved by not buying a new raincoat) and walked the rest of the way into the town centre in the sunshine. As I arrived in the centre the rain came down in torrents. I was considering putting on my raincoat on once I had collected it if the rain continued and putting my less than waterproof jacket in my bag. That proved unnecessary as by the time I had popped into various other shops - Boots, Bodyshop, a stationery shop - the sun had returned. However, by the time I got off the bus for home the rain was back again. 

I reckon the weather changed as often as 10 Downing Street changed podium for Prime Ministers to speak from to address the nation. 

Apparently Tony Blair and co just used, a microphone on a stand, a bog-standard stand, nothing special, with maybe a makeshift shelf for notes. Then along came David Cameron who had a bespoke lectern made for him to address the nation. Theresa May had a slender, ladylike affair constructed for her addresses to the people.Then Boris Johnson had a different, more robust one made for him. Liz Truss may have only lasted a few weeks but she still managed to arrange for a fanciful, twirly-wirly one built for her. And lo and behold, she addressed the nation from that lectern which was then rushed offstage (off-street?) for yet another one for Rishi Sunak. 

What is it with these politicians that they need a personalised podium! It may be just a small amount of money in the wider scheme of things but it’s not really setting much of an example to a people being asked to pull in their belts?!?

Then there is the question of retiring PM honours. According to this article one of Liz Truss’s advisers has suggested that her advisers should be given honours! I am finding this hard to believe!

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!

Missing the eclipse. Being efficient. Coping with invasive wildlife. Reacting to change.

 It seems I missed a partial eclipse of the sun this morning. That’s often the way with stuff that goes on in the sky - we usually just have too much cloud around here. It was actually quite bright and clear but even if I had remembered that it was due to happen I don’t have any of the necessary equipment to observe aerial phenomena. I did manage to get photos of a total eclipse projected through a colander onto the bedroom floor some years ago - a lot of effort for a not terribly satisfactory photo! That’s just how it goes. 

Apart from not seeing the partial eclipse, I was quite efficient this morning. I have to admit that it gets harder to get out of bed on these cooler mornings. It’s all very well the weathermen telling me it’s mild; it feels rather cool to me. But I got up and ran as usual and then set a load of washing on the go while we had breakfast. I optimistically hung the washing out in the garden and took myself off to Uppermill library on the bus. A quick skim of the library shelves, a quick chat with the Big Issue seller, a quick pop into the baker’s shop for bread and then I was on the bus home … in time to make coffee!

Granddaughter Number Two was complaining about fire drills at her university hall of residence this morning. At least she was not the student who was in the shower when the alarm rang. That poor girl has to stand outside in a damp dressing gown with her hair dripping on her shoulders. Granddaughter Number Two also told me quite proudly she had successfully shooed a wasp out of her window, presumably after the fire drill was completed. This was quite an achievement for the girl who usually squeals and runs at the mere hint that there might be a wasp around. Even worse if it’s a large spider! As I told her, it could be worse. The woman in this article had to deal with a snake trying to go in through her window! 

I read in this morning’s paper that there are plans to knock down and rebuild the ancient Marks and Spencer store on Oxford Street in London. Of course, there is opposition. Environmentalists and lovers of historic buildings say that the 90 year old building should be refurbished as it is a landmark on the famous street.  Besides, the proposed demolition and rebuilding would release almost 40,000 tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere! But M&S argues that refurbishment would not achieve the kind of experience modern shoppers want. Modern shoppers are clearly not very appreciative of fine old buildings. M&S might move away from Oxford street if not given their own way. Debenhams and House of Fraser have already gone, as have some smaller retailers. It seems many of these have been replaced with American candy shops and the famous shopping street is looking a little down at heel. I fail to appreciate the appeal of American candy! 

Most of us find change hard to deal with. And personally I think it’s a  shame when old buildings are not maintained. Debenhams stands empty on Manchester’s Market Street and just across the way the store that used to be Lewis’s many years ago, a fine elegant department store (in my opinion anyway), now houses Primark, a decidedly scruffier interior than the one I remember from 1970s. Cheaper, certainly, and probably catering to the demands of “modern shoppers” but not necessarily progress. 

Maybe I’m turning into a stuffy old fuddy-duddy! Heaven forfend!

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!

Out and about. Autumn colours. Hallowe’en decorations. Trick-or-treating. Cob-coaling.

Yesterday’s weather did improve. In the afternoon we went out with a rubbish bag and the litter-picker, collecting drinks cans, sweet and crisp packets, odds and ends of rubbish along the way. It’s amazing how much stuff gets thrown out of car windows or just tossed aside by walkers (who should know better!). We drew the line at abandoned dog-poop bags though.

 

We call this kind of walk “doing a Sedaris” after the comedian David Sedaris who once made us laugh with his descriptions of going out collecting litter … and incidentally meeting his Fitbit step target at the same time. 

 

So we had a good walk. We admired the autumn colours in the trees.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And even the fungus along the way! 

But not so much the Hallowe’en decorations on a house up the lane out of the village. This particular household always goes a little over the top with decorations for Hallowe’en, Christmas, probably the Jubilee although I didn’t see that, and any other excuse for celebration. I must remember to keep a look out as the king’s coronation date comes around.

 

 

But that kind of false cobwebbing has been condemned by animal rights people:-

“Hey, neighbors, please don’t use this stuff to decorate! Fake spiderweb decorations kill birds. It’s strong enough to snare an owl and takes a terrible toll every October on small birds, including humming birds. It’s also deadly to monarch butterflies and even bees.”

Judging by the mis-spelling of “neighbours” and by some of the wildlife examples given I would hazard that this was originally aimed at Americans, even more specifically at the inhabitants of the more southern  states. We may not have humming birds but our own native small birds can get caught in the stuff too. 

Most people seem satisfied to put a token pumpkin on their doorstep. I’m not sure quite what that is supposed to do - keep the ghoulies and ghosties at bay perhaps? But probably not the trick-or-treaters!

I’m hoping nobody comes trick-or-treating to my door as I have precious little to offer by way of treats. Some of the children who live in our collection of houses are now old enough to go round begging for treats from the neighbours so I am half expecting some callers. I found myself thinking about this. It’s an odd thong to send your children out knocking on random strangers’ door. Before trick-or-treating was a thing in this country, however, there was the custom of “cob calling”, at least in the north of England. Wikipedia tells us this:-

“Cob coaling, cob-a-coaling or cob calling was a traditional Bonfire Night custom practiced in the Yorkshire-Lancashire border region, which involved going door-to-door in groups and singing a song in return for Bonfire Night supplies. In more recent times, singers collected firewood and money for fireworks, but "coaling" refers to the coal that would previously have been collected.

Here is one version of the Cob Coaling Song:-

“We come a Cob-coaling for Bonfire time,

Your coal and your money we hope to enjoy.

Fal-a-dee, fal-a-die, fal-a-diddly-i-do-day.

For down in yon’ cellar there’s an owd umberella

And up on yon’ cornish there’s an owd pepperpot.

Pepperpot! Pepperpot! Morning ’till night.

If you give us nowt, we’ll steal nowt and bid you good night.

Up a ladder, down a wall, a cob o’coal would save us all.

We knock at your knocker and ring at your bell

To see what you’ll give us for singing so well.”

As with going round with a “guy” on a bogey asking for “a penny for the guy” so that we could buy extra bangers and rip-raps, my father would absolutely not allow us to be involved in such activities. His children were not going begging!!

Will anyone have spare money for fireworks this coming 5th of November? That remains to be seen. And quite a lot of municipalities have declared that they are not spending their councils’ money on huge displays this year. However, as I have already commented, Christmas lights appear to being put up! Of course, with fireworks there is also the environmental pollution question. 

Everyone is a little subdued!

But at least Boris Johnson has withdrawn from the Conservative Party leadership competition. Small mercies, I suppose! Later today we should find out if there is to be a competition or if Sunak is slotted into place. Another reason to be subdued! But…

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone! 

Crazy times. Crazy advice. Crazy Americans.

Running in the rain this morning! As I predicted my gloating about the fine mornings we’ve been having put a hex on the weather. I almost turned over and went back to sleep as I heard the rain falling but we needed porridge. So I got up and ran in the rain, stopping off at the co-op to buy porridge en route. Since then the rain has eased a little. We’ll have to wait and see if we get out for a longer walk later.

We’re also waiting to see whether Boris Johnson plans to stand as a candidate for prime minister. Opinion is divided on the advisability of this. It’s all getting a little boring. No doubt history will look back on this modern period in amazement!

 Here’s a little comment from NewsThump:

“People made quite a lot of the fact that during her reign the Queen appointed 15 prime ministers. At this rate, Charles will beat her record by Christmas.”

Hey! Ho!

On the radio they are talking about slugs and snails and other such creepy crawlies. The message seems to be to accept and embrace the slugs because they are good for the garden. I’m not convinced, especially when they eat the few remaining flowers in my garden.

I tend to take beauty tips and fashion articles with a pinch of salt. Like the fancy recipes in some cookery items, they tend to involve expensive “ingredients”. Some of them are just plain silly, like the one saw which advised rinsing your hair with CocaCola, the “full fat” variety, not the zero-sugar kind. You rinse your hair in Coke and then leave it in! Odd! It’s supposed to be good for thin hair, giving it “body”. This is what the writer of the article had to say:-

“I washed my hair with my usual shampoo, then rinsed it in regular Coke. Leaving the cola in my hair, I then blasted it with a hairdryer to see the final results. It felt drier and stiffer than usual, and a little thicker – the sort of texture you’d get using a salt spray. That could be because the sugar in cola coats your hair, creating more density and making it feel thicker. But it did feel a little sticky and I think people with curly or coiled hair could find it makes it knottier. I have other reservations, too. First, full-fat Coke is a precious hangover commodity and shouldn’t be squandered on hair washing. Second, my friend’s usually aloof sausage dog kept trying to eat my hair.”

I’m not surprised at the stickiness but it’s almost certainly cheaper than designated hair “products”.  I can’t say this for certain as I have not bought CocaCola for a long time. Of course the idea of adding sugary stuff to your hair is not completely new; I’m pretty sure sugar-water was recommended long ago as a way of setting waves in straight hair. Nothing new under the sun!  

The Coming Storm is a programme on the radio about American politics and in particular the QAnon phenomenon. In today’s episode I heard Tracey “Beanz” Diaz, a blogger and “early promoter” of QAnon (says Wikipedia), say something along the lines of “I have all my guns to protect my family”.  Crazy Americans with their guns. And I thought of a story I came across of a father and son in Polk County Florida accused of attempted murder. Here’s a summary.

A parcel was mistakenly delivered to their door. They thought the doorbell ringing meant a burglar was trying break in. They went to investigate. A neighbour they rarely spoke to was sitting in her car. They decided she was the “burglar”. The approached with their guns and told her to get out of the car. She thought her car was about to be stolen - a carjacking - and started her engine and reversed … into a car behind her. Father and son decided she was fleeing the scene of her “crime” and opened fire. Fortunately she wasn’t hurt. A fortunately unoccupied baby seat was shot through. She fled and reported the incident to the local sheriff. 

Oh boy! It makes our chaos seem quite sensible!

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone! 

Contrary weather. Some people’s holidays. Some stuff about animals and their movement.

The tendency to rain in the night and then give us fine mornings seems to be continuing. Shh! I had better not say it too loudly. If the weather gods hear they will almost certainly change it. We have, however, had our token really rainy day this week: Thursday, when I barely stuck my nose out of the door. It’s surprisingly noisy out and about today as the wind is quite strong in the trees - hence all the leaves on the pavements. I spotted one of the neighbours scooping leaves from his drive into his green composting bin - rather Sisyphean task it seems to me!

Our daughter has gone on a short break to Lisbon with the younger members of the family and her in-laws. I know she packed shorts and T-shirts as well as warmer jumpers. It’s a funny time of year in Portugal. We have been at this time and sometimes had brilliant sunshine and high temperatures and at others damp and chilly weather! This morning, as the family members in the UK commented on the sunshine here, she showed photos of the rain bouncing off the streets of Lisbon. So it goes. Better weather is forecast for them for tomorrow. 

Apparently Boris Johnson has flown home from his holiday in the Bahamas. I think it was the Bahamas this time. He seems to have a lot of holidays. Those who would like him to resume the role of Prime Minister have clearly not heard the saying about how those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Ah, well! I have no say in the matter.

Meanwhile here is a pro-EU post on Facebook, on behalf of some dogs apparently:-

“Writing this on behalf of Dickie and Dotty. I hope this is OK, something a little light hearted in these sad times.

We are Dickie and Dotty. We were born in France. Together with our 11 siblings and our mother we spent the first few weeks of our lives living in an old chicken shed. One of our siblings ran away and another sadly died. One day in February 2020 a group of people came and rescued us, we were separated and taken into Foster care. Eventually we were all adopted and got new loving homes even our mum. We were lucky and adopted together. Our new mum and dad love us very much and have given us something very special, something they don't have themselves, (they live in France but we're born in England) You see we have French pet passports, that means we have freedom of movement. Mum and dad say that theirs was taken from them because people were told lies and made Brexit happen. We hope one day soon mum and dad will have the same rights as us.”

I’ve come across a number of people saying their pets have more rights to travel than they do. How times change! 

Thinking about animals, some people have been getting excited about the news that a wild bison has been born in the UK, for the first time since the ice age, I think. When she was shipped from Scotland to Kent with a couple of friends, Mother Bison didn’t tell anyone she was pregnant. Bison tend to hide their pregnancies say the experts! Who knew? 

The new bison was born on September 9th but the bison rangers (yes, that seems to be a profession!) decided not to announce the birth then as all the papers and news outlets were full of news of the queen’s death and plans for the funeral. So they waited for a while so that their news could have full impact! Once the male bison gets here - his arrival is being delayed because of Brexit related red tape - they hope there will be more happy events of this kind. 

What they would like to do eventually, one report I heard told me, is to remove the fences from the park where the bison are now held and allow them to roam free through the English countryside, like deer and foxes and such. Hmmm! Hasn’t that happened with wild boar in some places? Haven’t they become a bit of a nuisance? Bison are quite big to be roaming around unchecked! Just a thought!

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!

The consequences of industry of one kind and another. Prime Ministers’ allowances and replacements. Christmas trees.

 A friend posted this on Facebook:

“Today, in 1966, 116 children & 28 adults died in a primary school in Aberfan, S Wales as a collapsing colliery slag heap caused a massive landslide. The teacher David Beynon was found, braced against his blackboard, with five little children in his arms.”

Two things:-

1. The dedication of teachers. They deserve respect and deserve to be paid properly.
2. Industry making life dangerous. When MPs consider allowing fracking to be resumed they should look at the statistics for earthquakes in areas where fracking has been taking place.  

That’s all … on that topic anyway. (

Liz Truss, not a quitter (?) was Prime Minister for some six weeks. Does that really qualify her for the ex-prime ministers yearly allowance of up to £115,000?

After all she’ll still have the basic salary of an MP (unless we do have a general election and she is voted out). That’s £84,144 + allowances of various kinds. I know you have to take into account the cost of spending time in London but I have heard that the canteen at the House of Commons does very reasonably-priced meals.

However, they hope to have selected a new Prime Minister by the end of next week. Not really a very democratic way of doing things but there it is. I have a query, though: What will happen if none of the potential PMs gets 100 MPs to nominate them as possible PM? Just a thought!

After yesterday’s rain, today is surprisingly bright and mild. I have hung washing out to dry in the garden. The garden is getting full of fallen leaves. We are debating whether to rake them up now or to wait until yet more have fallen. I favour the latter option. All along my running route there are not just leaves but small branches snapped off in yesterday’s inclement weather.  

Another victim of the inclement weather is my little Christmas tree in a pot. I had to stand it upright again this morning. The poor thing is decidedly too bedraggled to come indoor and do service this year, even if we chop off the bits that turned brown in the drought and did not fully regrow. I need to look for an alternative. I came across this idea: 

“Two entrepreneurs started a side hustle renting Christmas trees to reduce the number that end up in landfill, every Jan, they replant your tree back on their farm so you can rent it again next Xmas. When your tree hits 7ft, it’s retired and planted back in its original forest.”

I need a service like that closer to home. However, even 7 feet is a bit tall for me to consider as a sensible option in my living room. 

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!