Today would have been my dad's 95th birthday And my 45th wedding anniversary He died far too young at 57 years of age And I suspect that I married far too young Older, wiser and a little sadder

I took Miss Daisy shopping, as in, she sits in the car and indulges in some people watching and I do the shopping But, Intermarché at St Agathon was a pleasure to visit I bought a HUGE salmon fillet that I had to cut to fit in my freezer and the most delicious cakes and so much more yummy food

Isn't this a wonderful story? I am eyeing up a large blank wall in my sitting room and thinking, yes, book shelves www.bbc.com/news/article...

Well, I shall be vigilant www.bbc.com/news/article...

Dear Channel 4 News Stop calling it 'child pornography' It is child sexual abuse and rape of the most depraved kind I saw online images of some of the victims when I worked in cyber sec and I will never forget the faces of those innocents Life in prison for the perpetrators + chemical castration

I have a pair of French kids coming to stay to learn to be at ease speaking English When I was younger I hated speaking French, I was so self-conscious and shy, so I overcome this in my students by talking about subjects on which they have strong feelings Also with humour, games and fun activities

The first girl I hosted was amazing 15 years old and so confident, calm and mature everyone here loved her As did I, so much so that during our week i spent more money on fun stuff: meals out, trips to the beach, cinema, festivals, that I ended up out of pocket No regrets, she was wonderful

Today I am grateful for: A dry spell enabling me to do some work in the garden Otta being calm this morning during our 'stable session' Still grateful for my little old car into which I crammed a huge bag of garden waste for a trip to the tip Cheap fizzy wine No longer having to work in the Labs

I really enjoyed Hit and Run by @dougjohnstone.bsky.social Although I had headaches as I was reading it and, can I smell smoke? But good for Billy ♥️

And an hour spent handling Miss Daisy's latest test results from the lab in Guingamp, replying to the kidney specialists in St Brieuc, and chatting to her nurse

Lady came to do the French census She has donkeys and a Shetland pony so we had a nice chat We also discussed ways to rid the world of despoticheads of state. I hope she did not write down my suggestions My online searches are dodgy enough as a writer and former cyber sec researcher 🙃

Also lunch in the village restaurant with friends: Kir cassis Salads, cold meats, eggs buffet Turkey in cream sauce with rice Rich chocolate pud and custard 2 glasses wine Coffee and a chocolate 18.50 euros

Today I am grateful for: Sunshine on chestnuts My garden (jungle) incl the masses of worms in the veg beds, thanks to offerings from said-chestnuts 🙃

I would really like to try this: www.bbc.com/reel/video/p... One for the Wish LIst?

and for a glass (or three) of fizzy wine with friends who wanted to show off the completed Christmas puzzle/scene I gave them as a gift. 1000 lego pieces. It is fantastic

Vive la France www.bbc.com/news/article...

Today I am grateful for: Sunshine My little old car Finding half price hydrangeas at Point Vert Being able to fix a friend's misbehaving laptop Lovely secretary at the renal dept at St Brieuc hospital Logs chopped for me by Parker That my ponies know the sound of my car & come to meet me February

Downside of owning ponies is I no longer get to drive to the coast at 7 a.m. to skinny dip in the dark when the tide is high www.tidetime.org/europe/franc...

Jail Peter Mandelson www.bbc.com/news/live/cl...

I'm thrilled to be at Granite Noir this year on Friday 20th February talking to Bryan Burnett about two decades as a published writer. I'll also be playing a couple of tunes as well, so consider yourself warned. www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/whats-on/gra... @orendabooks.bsky.social

If Joe Biden is Sleepy, is Donald Trump Dopey? (as well as dangerous, deluded and despotic) Make America Decent Again

Peter Mandelson should not be an unelected parliamentarian for life. And neither should any of the other 800+ peers eligible to sit in the House of Lords. It should be abolished & replaced with a (small) elected second chamber. Another broken promise from Starmer.

Private equity owns lion’s share of children’s foster services in England, ‘bleeding the sector of money’. Profits margins of 19%. Money extracted in interest payments, intragroup charges. Children suffer. Ban profit-taking entities from foster services.

Today I am grateful for: My friends and family My ponies Being OK mentally and physically Having my little old car back on the road My unruly, random home here in France The pink granite coast The fact that it is not raining today Chocolate, cheese and cheap fizzy wine

Apologies for long, rambling thread... This morning I was walking Socrates round the village when we met my neighbour who was taking his 2 CV out for a little drive I had to smile at how unusual and interesting my life is here in France! La Vie en (Deux) Chevaux

Another friend has serious health issues It seems that when one approaches 80 the body suddenly falls apart. I have 10 years in which to inprove and strengthen mine. But this is making me realise just how serious my cancer was and how little I cared for myself at the time Having to work didn't help

Death is on my mind Not mine, I have been reconciled to that since my darkest days at Sophos when I would have happily departed this mortal coil, such was the toxicty of Sophos Labs that a cancer diagnosis came as a relief But the approaching death of a friend is hard for mer

It is a strange experience for me, being so close to someone who is probably living her last months My BF moved to a hospice as she neared death and I was unaware that she was so close to death My sister-in-law let it be known that she wanted to be left in peace as she faced death My mum died alone

I took Miss Daisy shopping today First stop Bricomarché where I gave an impromptu English lesson to the charming young man who helped me to find the hammers. When I left he wished me, "Good days Miss." I'd like these metal horses or someone to teach me how to make my own smaller version 🐎

It's the last day of January and it is raining, again The ponies are soaked, the paddocks are flooded and muddy This winter was esp hard for me, personally This winter my SAD was brutal Anxiety levels were high There were nights when my demons danced devilishly I doubted my ability to keep going

Wait... is this the best meme ever made?

Today I have: Cared for the ponies, mucking out, feeding, grooming Been to the rubbish tip Done shopping Fixed a computer for C. Burnt 2 CDs for B. Interpreted during a physio session for Miss D. Laundry & housework Studied Norwegian Worked on my French Written 2 chapters of WIP La Vie en Chose 😀

You would think that Donald's friends (assuming he has any) would take him to one side and tell him every time he opens his mouth he makes a fool of himself and millions laugh at him Better to stay silent

They say that money does not make you happy A serious lack of money is stressful & debilitating But, living on a UK state pension and very modest income, having my 19-year-old Corsa fixed and back in the road makes me as happy as if it were a brand new Ferrari I really appreciate these small wins

I told the woman at the garage I think someone needs to take out the two most dangerous, despotic and corrupt men in the world and that were I in a position to do so I would happily sacrifice myself Why has nobody done this? Milliions of lives would be saved/improved

You know what makes me mad There are millions of decent, honest, good people trying so hard to make the world a better place And then there are criminals, thieves, corrupt bastards like Putin and Trump raking in billions dishonestly and at the expense of their citizens' lives May they rot in hell

Well, the car saga reached a climax today It failed its French MOT 7 weeks ago and I had 8 weeks to get it fixed and tested again... I sent the report to the garage and booked it in for last week And heard nothing until Friday when they asked for the report again which I took in on Sat...

The U.S. Embassy in Denmark removed 44 Danish flags honoring Danish soldiers killed in Afghanistan outside the building, drawing outrage from the country’s veterans amid heightened tensions between Copenhagen and Washington. https://wapo.st/4rfbSOz

My god! If that lot arrived on my doorstep I would be terrified. And probably shot dead Make America Decent Again

And do not tell me that people working from home have the right to pause to do their laundry, play a game, cook dinner when they are being paid to work...

Another example... Two years ago I helped a friend to get insurance payments for a holiday he had to cancel at the last minute due to medical problems. The guy from TUI who I spoke to told me he was in bedm playing video games and eating tartines as we spoke Unprofessional in the extreme

My car has been at the garage for 8 days since it failed it's contrôle technique (French MOT). They have had the report for 5 weeks, and copies of it 4 and 2 weeks ago They tell me the car is ready to collect, finally....

I think it is time that politicians were accountable for their actions while in govt, so let the members of the previous govt, Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, Suella Whats-her-name pay the bill and the millions already wasted on this dumb venture, not the tax payers www.bbc.com/news/article...

Here you go: www.theguardian.com/food/2026/ja... What is gochujang paste I ask myself?

I love the Guardian newspaper but, could there please just once be a recipe that does not include some obscure ingredient I (at almost 70 years of age and a lifetime of cooking quite exotic dishes) have never heard of? Or perhaps suggest a sub for ground unicorn horns, seahorse milk, fairy dust etc?

I have enjoyed multiple trips to Canada, Finland and Iceland in the depths of winter and the only time I have seen an aurora was here, in Brittany 🙃 www.bbc.com/travel/artic...

Always clueless. Suella Braverman "I don't know what that was all about." Finally realises 30 seconds later. "It was a spoof, that's going to go viral now." Make it viral.

This is worrying, given there are no vaccines, no cures, and the mortality rate is 40% to 75% Animal husbandry hygiene standards must be improved across Asia to avoid another pandemic and millions of deaths Note: that 'genius' Trump has pulled the USA out of the WHO www.bbc.com/news/article...

I spent an hour in the stable with Otta and Socrates this morning sipping coffee and reading Hit and Run by @dougjohnstone.bsky.social (I was reading, they were munching hay) It will soon be time to plunge back into the sea at the pink granite coast This is how I live well and keep cancer at bay 🌹

Quelle bonne ideé An exercise: For three days note the time spent on social media sites, checking phones and emails etc Then consider this 1 hour a day listening + reading to a new language = conversational fluency in 2–3 months www.bbc.com/news/article...