Category: News

Another marvellous week of non-Spring-like weather, just for a change. To be fair, we did catch a glimpse or two of the sun in the middle of the week and the temperatures have been moving in the “right” direction, but it’s still largely dismal. The daffodils are just beginning to open their eyes but they do look cold and miserable and somewhat stunted by all the cold weather we’ve had. Private Eye had an article expressing concern “for the whereabouts of the much-loved star known as ‘the sun’.” which sums the situation up nicely.

Fears Grow for Reclusive Star

There have been mounting concerns for the whereabouts of the much-loved star known as “the sun”. It has not been seen by the public since around August last year and there are rumours that it may never come out again.

A once common sight, particularly in the seventies, when it seemed to be everywhere, this star has drastically cut down its appearances and, according to friends, is now living “under a cloud”. British fans of the sun may now only see it in the Australian jungle where it will join the other faded stars on ‘I’m a Celebrity . . .’ Continue reading “14 April 2013”

Good morning to you all on another fine spring morning in our neighbourhood. By “fine” I mean exceedingly cold for early April, of course.

Ms Playchute and I enjoyed a lovely Easter Sunday last week – Annabelle brought Nick and Lucy for Sunday lunch to which, unusually, I actually made a constructive contribution. I followed a very simple recipe to the letter and the result was a very nice chocolate cake, if I do say so myself.

Penelope did everything else and, as usual, the feast was well beyond epic proportions – I think the left-overs lasted until Wednesday. Nick and Lucy had also arrived clutching two very, very large chocolate Easter eggs, one for Penelope and one for me, each of which was the size of a small continent. At the time I thought that we would never manage to get through them; by Friday the first one was gone and, although we’ve not yet commenced consuming the second, once we start I am guessing it won’t take us long.

Continue reading “7 April 2013”

Welcome to Spring!

Well, I guess that will explain the six inches of snow and freezing easterly winds which arrived on Friday night/Saturday morning. We’ve been there, seen the video and bought the T-shirt – it’s time to move on, please.

Continue reading “24 March 2013”

Three wives were bemoaning their husbands’ attitudes towards leftovers. “It gets rough,” one said. “My husband is a movie producer and he calls them ‘re-runs’.”

“You think you have it bad,” was the reply. “Mine is a quality control engineer and he calls them ‘rejects’!”

“That’s nothing compared to me,” said the third lady. “My husband is a mortician. He calls them ‘remains’!” Continue reading “24 March 2013 – Amusements”

My God was it cold on Monday! (And the rest of the week wasn’t a lot better). We had a bitterly, biting north wind which brought a return of the very unwelcome and completely unnecessary, winter weather. The snow consisted of tiny, tiny flakes, rather like miniscule polystyrene balls which came racing at you in a horizontal gale-force wind, biting your face like a myriad of midges as it pestered you with a vengeance. Even the dog was not keen – on our afternoon walk she shot ahead like a rocket, in contrast to her normal sluggish and unhurried meanderings, desperate to get home again. Continue reading “17 March 2013”

After some lovely Spring-like weather at the beginning of the week, it’s been downhill since then – rain, drizzle and fog along with Molly and my favourite consequence: mud. March has come in not so much roaring like a lion but slithering in like an eel. Continue reading “10 March 2013”

What did I say last time? Something about basking in balmy, Spring-like weather or something similar I seem to recollect. Boy! Did I mis-speak. Temperatures have reverted to their “normal” February range with a bitterly biting easterly wind bringing sub-freezing temperatures from Scandinavia. At least we have been spared the mountains of snow they were predicting (so far – in our part of the country) which I can definitely do without. The silver lining is the frozen tundra, of course, which means that Molly returns from our walks unblemished. Continue reading “24 February 2013”