The Crimewatch wall. All it needs is Nick Ross reading each ex Tory's record in office and telling viewers not to have nightmares.

So poor Bob got pushed out to join Nige whether he wants to or not. He'd certainly been hedging his bets.

Following a minor flood downstairs I'm in a hotel. But if I have to eat any more hard boiled egg pots, I'll go nuts.

"I said Nadhim Zahawi is a respected statesman who will bring invaluable experience to Reform. What did I say Roy?" "You said he's a tax-dodging piece of shit"

Been to the tip 5 times today. Worn out! In a small skip I saw many, many unloved, unwanted books. One of them was a lovely Raymond Blanc cookbook. It turned up in my car boot just before.

Watching his development, his time at the Law Commission seemed almost to set him free. He emerged stronger and more outspoken, more campaigning. A formidable force to be reckoned with.

Went to the gym. Almost broke sweat. But no other oldies were, so I desisted. Turned the levels and weights up. I still do only 50 minutes but I'm packing more in. I should have a small chocolate bar now.😇

When in Scotland

JustGiving makes 54% profit by automatically adding a ‘tip’ to every gift bit.ly/4jy7V59 as I have often reported here. You can set the ‘tip’ to zero but it’s a bit fiddly. It also keeps some of the gift aid and charges a fee to the charity. Best to give direct to charity

It ys a moost terrible tyme. My greatest wisshe ys that you may fynde sum unpredictable moment of peace, delight, mirthe, pleasure, discoverye, connectioun, or fascinacioun that doth make yower day just a litel bettir, that doth helpe you thrugh. Ich wisshe thys for thee wyth all of myne hearte.

I call on my party and my government to remove themselves entirely from X and communicate with the public where they actually participate online and can be protected from such illegality.

There is a leak in my kitchen. Gulp. I'm moving out tomorrow until it's fixed! I hate this house!

Nice pussy cat. Big whiskers.

Not many cars reduce Ethel to a swoon. So I'm very pleased to have sat glued to the first episode of the Inspector Linley remake on iPlayer. With footsies under the duvet, resting on a hot water bottle. And toasted wholemeal with ricotta and smoked salmon. Perfect icy morning really.

There's a thronging mass of cold weather between my back door and the box of mince tarts in the boot of my car. I'd like the cabbage and the swede too. They never get used over the holidays so I just leave them in the boot, in the cold.

Another insightful listen. On Venezuela. Always worth looking out for ex ambassadors' insights.

Very good watch.

'Brief Encounter' (Dir. David Lean, 1945)

I just listened to Trevor Nelson's Stevie Wonder countdown on Radio 2 on New Year's Day. This must be such an underrated song. Truly lovely. youtu.be/yul_TXqTZyw?...

TLDR: Some very long threads on here today on current affairs/ events that make me think 'well piss off and write a book then, but don't bore me to death on here.'

I've brought home a bottle of ginger wine. Should help put the bins out nicely.

Fell at the first hurdle. I bent and chucked enthusiastically at the tip late lunchtime, drove into town in beautiful, cold sunshine..and made for the greasy spoon cafe. No further food required today thank you very much. What I'd actually gone in for was a couple of new, small oven trays.

Yup.

My first blog post of the year is here thecosmicshamblesnetwork.substack.com/p/a-difficul...

The conversation on Threads

This is funny, and possibly important. But if Putin can’t even take half of Ukraine, how is he going to get through Poland and the Baltics? Let alone Germany, France and UK. Some crayon filled naïveté at play

😊

If you’ve ever wondered what our U.S. service members would do when given an illegal order…now…you know. They all followed it.

She's right.

Very good.

Too cold to go out for the sake of going out. So I shan't.

I once flew to Bergamo and all the young sexy priests were clustered round bakers selling baci di nonna. (Look them up honeys)

Trifle...( stares into the distance and makes mental note to scour supermarkets tomorrow)

But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. W B Yeats.

This is when you realise it isn't over yet. Bad days lead to good days.

I do like this sort of useful tip.

Perhaps standing venues over here might like to consider their capacities.

I don't think there's anything cinematographically that equals either the first 5 minutes of the Sound of Music or Lawrence of Arabia. God bless those directors of my childhood.

God this is nice. Might have a mince pie with my whisky. Aldi All Butter were reduced to 69p for 6. All their mincemeat is always good- tangy and tasty. An enriching and pleasant afternoon after weeks of stress. Bring it on guys. I'm ready.

Oh dear. The Sound of Music is on this afternoon. That's me tucked up for the day. Better bake the pigs in blankets. Forgot yesterday, but they'll accompany the film well.

For those who prefer video: m.youtube.com/watch?v=lR-b...

Letter From an Unknown Woman finishing on BBC2. Based on the Stefan Zweig story. Directed by Max Ophüls. Get it on iPlayer.

Happy New Year.

Soreen goes well with cheese. New Year nibble while supper is in the oven.

Airedales are gorgeous. I met one in the laundrette when washing a superking duvet. Just adorable. He'd bitten a massive hole in his Dad's royal blue underpants on the washing line. Quite why his Mum was drying them is a mystery.

😥

I'm going to block anyone who posts crap selfies from the gym today, by the way. So uninteresting.

Didn't you know this?

The coffee wagon in Ely market today was a bit like The Lone Ranger somehow. Anyway, back to the sprouts.