feeling pretty chipper with that Wordle 1,593 2/6 🟨🟨⬛⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

In a london pub, with the toon army. It’s an oddly reassuringly familiar feeling, and I love it. Hilariously I have two spillages across my person - neither originating from the football fans.

London commuting. Let’s see if I still have the stomach for this…

Spending time with my mum, sorting out her ipad storage issues, and stumbled across this gem. My maternal grandparents wedding photo, we think about 1919!

It’s raining, so today I’m descaling my mother’s kettle, defrosting the freezer, and sorting out all the app updates that she says “no” to. Tbf, she’s not doing too badly on technology for 94 - whatsapp and solitaire are in regular use!

The thousand year old sport is kicking it in front the thousand some year old monument. #londonsumo #stonehenge

A moment to share my appreciation of older friends… their experiences of navigating the challenges of middle age have been invaluable. From our own health issues, to ageing/dying parents and planning for (active) retirement. Hearing how others have trod this path helps so much.

ooh, have access to uk tellybox on a Saturday night, so enjoying a spot of #TOTP

LGW>> Southampton to see my old mum >> London to dxw baird meeting, other worky things & cat sitting. Then Teddington for basketry course next week. And every possibility there’ll be white gold in them there hills by the time I get back 🇬🇧 👵 📤📈✏️ 🧺>> 🇨🇭>🇫🇷> 🏔️

oh GVA we meet again. It’s (not) been a while.

I have generally tried to swerve British politics in recent months/years., for the sake of my mental health. But from the outside now, it’s fascinating to see ZP/Green taking on NF/Reform. Starmer/Labour has an awful job to do and he looks (understandably) tired in comparison.

Completed my Downtown binge. Interesting to see it as a body of work over time. For the most part its stood up well. Themes of how characters carve out new roles in changing times were surprisingly resonant to life today. Reminded that technology is only technology if it’s created after you’re born.

I have wondered (out loud) a couple of times over the years how it worked out for DHH after his “no politics at work” edict. I think it was @blangry.bsky.social who said it was actually more “no politics unless it’s my politics”, which seemed about right, and I gave it no more thought until now…

Day three in Seville, and heading into second flamenco session!

Man I love this city. Here to expunge the memory of 24 Hours in Spanish A&E six years ago… And Flamenco. Always Flamenco, and never enough Flamenco. 💃

Sevilla, estoy en ti

My favourite activity - holiday planning. Torn between the sleeper train (but it’s really only afternoon & evening) or a car and driver for Yerevan-Tbilisi. Choices, choices 😁🇦🇲🇬🇪

Home to the mountains and the pumpkin/squash harvest. 36 in total… Soup time. I love autumn.

Heading back to the mountains, with a new found love - SW France.

TBL is popping up on podcasts. What a joy and antidote to “everything else that is happening in the world”.

In other news, today I am sharing the swimming pool with two frogs. After the initial surprise wore off, I have concluded I quite like the company. They’ve taken up residence in the filter traps. Not entirely sure sitting on chlorine tablets is ideal for them, but they seem quite happy!

And book number three of this holiday…

Current status.

Feeling chipper with that one Wordle 1,545 2/6 🟨🟨🟨⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Ooof. Not entirely unexpected I guess, but oof just the same. French govt is no more. Let’s see how this unfolds.

Am bored. France is big, and travelling east/west a bit of a saga. Two and a half hours to go.

Also a lovely bridge. Would go under it again. 10/10 because animals are involved.

Nice bridge. 9/10, would cross again.

aaand we are off. Complicated cat/house-sitting arrangements sorted, headed to the SW for a bit on a lovely looking home-exchange. Cycling, swimming, reading are all that’s on the agenda for a couple of weeks. And swerving news of the populist wave that appears to be growing back in Blighty.

The pre-holiday-fridge-clear omelet is a glorious thing. Purple cabbage, courgette, onion, chorizo, mushroom & comte cheese. With chilli sprinkles (pul biber, to give the proper name)

It’s 2025. How come we still have a govt job called Duchy of Lancaster? It’s time to more attached to the future than the past.

My old nonagenarian mum had a fall today. Am wondering what the age is for the inflection from “fell over” to “had a fall”. Amazingly didn’t injure herself in the process, and timed it perfectly for the hour before her carer arrived.

I love seeded bread, and it’s great for my gut microbiome etc. But it’s not great for my pounding heart rate every time I spot an escaped linseed on the floor and think it’s mouse poo.

current status. and exhale…

MrH has had the skin cancer removed from his hooter & divot repaired with skin from his eyebrow. PSA for all middle aged blokes who don’t “do skin care” - if you’ve had a spot/bump that hasn’t cleared up in a couple of months, go get it checked out. Not all skin cancer starts with a mole…

Am bingeing a bit of ItchyBoots youtube. Noraly is amazing, and totally loving her Yemen adventures. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys motorbikes and adventures. Have loved this genre ever since watching the Mondo Enduro series from the mid 90s.

Woop. Have managed to book in another quick trip to Marrakech this year. I will have sun, tagine & gnaoua music once more before the winter!

If Britain is “not far away from major civil disorder” it’ll be because of that man pouring petrol etc. This demonising of a particular group of people as responsible for all societies ills has happened before no? Our grand parents would be turning in their graves if they could see us now.

Gah. Mr H’s surgery has been postponed. It’s only by a couple of days, and am conscious it’s way less of a disruption than many face back in Blighty. But Grrrr all the same.

With everyday that passes, the news from Gaza gets worse. Props to Liz cock from Medical Aid for Palestinians on Sky News just now. Articulate in the face of chaos, and dealing with questions like “what do you think of so-and-so’s statement”. Words are cheap she says, we need action to stop this.

I have prevaricated long enough. Downloaded le livret du citoyen. Time to channel my inner girlie-swot. 🇫🇷

In my enthusiasm to avoid stress that seems to trigger my AF, I have constrained my news consumption quite a bit in the last couple of months. So I’m only just reading about the flag thing. Good Lord.

Back to back changeover done. I could share a photo of the laundry mountain, or the dirty water in the mop bucket, but that would kill the dreams of the “hey let’s run a gite in France” folks. And really it is mostly fun. But changeover days absolutely suck. Have the view from my sofa instead

Maybe it’s time to rewatch West Wing…

She really isn’t CJ is she?

How grim, watching world leaders humouring the buffoon, because that’s where the wealth, and hence the power, sits. The theatrics are cringeworthy: the comments about clothing, the letter, the thanking. We all see it right?

Clearing out the last boxes of stuff from our move 10 years ago. Amazingly the old moroccan rug that I paid £10 for 20 years ago, cleared €20 on the local FB marketplace. Now to see if the old cameras fare as well. I kinda doubt it. Technology gets outdated more quickly than hippy-chic I imagine!

Pre-internet, it was natural to accrete things (and people), to leave some things behind. These days a combo of meta & the phone make that harder. Are we all just carrying around stuff (emotional stuff, relationship stuff) thats too heavy to carry forever… that we’d be better off letting go?

Shuffle turns up Simon & Garfunkel’s Anji, and immediately I am transported back 45 years. The sound of my childhood - my brother used to bash it out daily, perfectly.

Heading back home, full of thoughts about ageing well (as happens whenever I visit my mum). The word “retirement” is an anathema, but am getting excited about my smaller fractions of conventional work opening up more options for personal projects. Am writing the bucket list of things to learn.