Year: 2026

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Home care & self care

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Hi, It’s the slow part of a sunny Friday afternoon. In days gone, it was the long drawn out time between lunch, the escape to the weekend, and the faff of the rush hour traffic. Today, the tweeting of birds in the garden compete with the hum and bump of the tumbler. While the heavier items swing on the line in the soft breeze, there’s a play off between time, energy, and getting all the smalls done in one run. Besides, it’s a heatpump system, so significantly cheaper than having to the run the storage heaters. I’m enjoying a lay down having spent the morning sorting, tidying, and – knowing look to camera 😏 – a wander through the Narnian […]

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Pins and no needles

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Hi, A few items of note this week. In national news, there’s a few things on my radar. There’s new legal powers where anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime is classed as an aggravated offence. Given the loss of the Pink Punters nightclub to an alleged arson incident, dare I say that hate crime is sadly all too topical. [ Update 2/5/2026 – BBC News reports “no evidence of criminality was found”. ] It’s been a long time since I went to Pinks. I think it was for an anniversary of the UK Angels. Visiting Pink Punters seems quite the rite of passage for many in our community, and I hope the owners are able to rebuild in time. I think it would […]

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Wax and wane

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Hi, Let’s start with the good stuff and see where we go eh? 🙂 Focus on the good, not the perfect That probably would’ve made a better title for the whole post, but hey ho, here we are! 😉 I was out with the doggos the other day, and while they were enjoying their umpteenth sniffing stop of Guess the Wildlife*, I paused to enjoy the warmth of the sun, birdsong in the trees, and the beauty of nature. The bluebells and crocuses are out (and fabulous! 😁); there’s a few late snowdrops, and I think I spotted some cowslips or primroses on my travels too. All very much a feast for the eyes given the blaze of colour away […]

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Dumb ideas for the history book

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Hi, The other day I happened to fall on an article about the positives of journaling. Now, I think we can say that blogging isn’t quite the same as the former, but it may not be sat too far away on the bench. Yes, there’s stuff I do not write about on YATGB. There are family matters, stories that aren’t mine to tell, and – honestly – things that I think are fab, but would bore the socks off you. Stop that snoring at the back! 😉 Differences aside, I think there’s still something magical about the old blogging lark. Firstly, there is the ability to write about the Good Stuff, whatever that is. For me, that – despite the […]

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Inspired

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Hi, Ah the warmth of the turning to spring, a day off, and a proverbial pocketful of, uhh, positives. What’s not to like? 🙂 Lights in dark woods I could’ve said ‘literary inspo’, but I are an Old, and not down with ‘da kidz’. Do you still put ‘yo’ on the end of that to maintain your props or cred? Sorry, I mean ‘rizz’. 🙃 Okay, enough with the unhip dadness vibes. I’m GenX, so I don’t give a ***k 😁 [ breath…. and focus ] I do not read as much as I used to. Like most of my hobbies, they lean towards the geeky and nerdtastic, because that’s exactly the sort of things I like. Left of the […]

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What is it I’m seeing?

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Hi, Ah the luxury of a long weekend, shuffling of part-time hours, and hints of spring. All steps forward in the contentment piggy bank 🐖 The Easter holidays are upon us, so Child 2.0 is taking a much deserved break from school. Well, I say break, but our lovely lad is catching up on coursework and revision. It’s not long until his A levels, bless him. On Thursday we had a family trip out into the moorland up in the Peaks and it was gorgeous. Hardly anyone around, bright blue skies, the distant call of birdsong, and winding paths across the stonewalled landscape. All that plus doggos and perfect weather. That day for off to a good start as while […]

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