At last, the UK's drought has come to and end (with a vengeance in some areas) although not in time to stop much of the country experiencing hosepipe bans which are still ongoing. Who in the UK recalls the nineteen seventies? Drought, inflation, widespread industrial action, and the Cold War. Sound familiar? I had one … Continue reading Déjà Vu
Category: ramblings
Ageing Gratefully
It's not all bad. As things start to travel downhill, they pick up momentum. Eyes that once read the London Underground map and the A-Z London Atlas with no difficulty began to deteriorate in my last decade of employment and my spectacles prescription changed every few years. Since retirement, I've needed new specs every time … Continue reading Ageing Gratefully
Colour Me Faded
### Back in my early forties, when I worked in London’s Bunhill Row, I signed up for a Colour Me Beautiful course that was running in the nearby Bishopsgate Institute during my lunch break. (Other colour consultants are probably available.) At the first session, the consultant introduced the course and held up a coloured scarf … Continue reading Colour Me Faded
Living on Less
Photo by maitree rimthong on Pexels.com As a teenager, I recall my mum complaining when the cost of petrol went up from 4 shillings and fourpence per gallon in the late sixties and later swearing to give up beef when it threatened to approach £1 per lb. In the eighties we were paying 15% interest … Continue reading Living on Less
What Every Vacuum Cleaner Salesman Knows
Recently I read, or heard (sorry, can't recall where; I think it was on TV) that every vacuum cleaner salesman knows if (s)he demonstrates their cleaner (or, in fact, any cleaner) on a newly-vacuumed carpet, it will bring up more muck. I thought I would try this for myself in our living room. I planned … Continue reading What Every Vacuum Cleaner Salesman Knows
Giraffe Stance
Be warned... giraffe stance will not enable you to paint your toenails. ### The truth is, I no longer know what I can do until I try it and find I can't. Cutting toenails on my right foot, for instance... and varnishing them. The doctor on the phone asked if I could bring my right … Continue reading Giraffe Stance
Pondkeeping
I just had a minor panic when I went to feed the fish and the pond was practically empty. The fish were huddled over the pump in the bottom well of the pond. Had I left it until I came back from shopping the water would have gone and the pump would have cut out … Continue reading Pondkeeping
Buttons
No, not about Cindy-Ella's dog in my book The Godmother (shameless plug). This post is about the kind of buttons that fasten up through buttonholes (or not). ### Why do duvet covers have to have all those buttons that take forever to do up (when you're already shattered from stuffing the duvet into the thing)? … Continue reading Buttons
On the Other Hand
According to oprah.com, your brain never stops growing. Scientists once believed that some of our brain cells died off when we got older. But it's now clear that we not only hang on to our neurons—we grow new ones, too. Throughout a person's lifetime, the brain continually reshapes itself in response to what it learns. … Continue reading On the Other Hand
The Hum
### When I’m lying in bed at night I hear a background hum, or maybe it’s a vibration. It runs for a short while and then stops and quickly starts up again for another short burst, and then it continues for a longer period before starting the sequence again. It sounds like a motor starting … Continue reading The Hum
Writing Wrinkles 