Wednesday Hodgepodge - 20/5/26

It's Hodgepodge time again.  Joyce provides the questions, we give our answers and then we join up here.  Thanks Joyce.

1. What do you make more complicated than it needs to be? 

I'm not sure that I do make things complicated although when planning any journeys I'm always factoring in toilet stops, even if that means on public transport we might not take the most direct route.

2. What impresses you? 

Acts of kindness, people going the extra mile.  Natural beauty - e.g. sunsets.

3. On a scale of 1-10 how picky of an eater are you?  (1=extremely and 10=not at all) If you had to eat a meal made entirely of one colour what colour would you choose? 

I'm not that picky but there are some things I will not eat so probably a 7.  Don't think I'll ever get to 10 lol.

A meal of one colour?  Urgh.  It would probably have to be a chicken and rice dish of some sort but I think I'd be cheating with the sauce!

4. What does balance in life mean to you? Does your life currently feel 'balanced'? 

Well for working people that would mean having balance between your work and home life.  Being retired that's no longer such an issue.  But there still needs to be balance between the things I need to do, the things I want to do and the demands of the family.  I think we're pretty balanced.

5. If you could travel the world for a year what would be your first destination? 

Well my first destination would be Vermont where my son is currently living with his family and I might not travel anywhere else.   Of course his in-laws who are our hosts when we visit might have other ideas lol.  I'd like to visit New Zealand and Japan but I'm not sure I'm up for too much long haul travel any more and I've definitely been put off cruises with the various issues some of those have had.  I could probably spend a year travelling around the UK with its various islands if I put my mind to it.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Some heavy plant vehicles for road resurfacing went past our house this afternoon.  Felt like we were in an earthquake.  Goodness only knows what it's been like in the road they're actually resurfacing!

A load of Waffle! 20/5/26

Well the last few days have just whizzed past!  And yes I know that Wednesday is Hodgepodge day but hopefully I'll get to that later.  First there's some catching up to do as I haven't posted since Friday!

Saturday started off busy as I was at the Foodbank all morning, taking in a delivery, unpacking it, dating it and trying to put it away.  That's tricky on Saturdays as the stock room also houses the mobile shelving units we use on Foodbank days.  I was on my own for most of the morning too. 

I was glad of a restful afternoon because on Sunday it was the Highams Park Spring Festival. (There are some great photos from the day here: (4) Highams Parklife | Facebook) 

Thankfully the rain held off and it was a lovely day.  I was there at 8 am to help the management group get things set up for all the various entertainment and stall holders but from about 10.00 am until the event finished at 4.30pm I was helping in the Foodbank stall.  I did get a break at lunchtime and joined Hubby to watch friends of his performing on the music stage.

Lots of people attended.  In addition to the various stalls either selling food or promoting local businesses/charities etc there was a display of classic cars, a shire horse display and also a small funfair.

But, by the time I'd helped pack down the Foodbank stall and brought a carload of stuff home to take back to the Foodbank on Monday I was exhausted!

Needless to say Monday was a quiet day although we did take the things back to the Foodbank and I did do my usual Monday evening shift there.

As usual my photo taking was sketchy.

This was the scoreboard from one of the games we had going on the Foodbank stall.  I think the adult winner probably spent as much on having lots of turns as the value of the prize!  He was determined to get the highest score.

Laura and Richard who Hubby knows through his open mics and band events.

Shire horses

Lots of cereal donated to the Foodbank.

I didn't get around to doing a News post yesterday - I was at keep fit in the morning, we did the school pick up of grandchildren Nathan and Ella in the afternoon and then there was a Knit and Natter session last night.  We're aiming to make that a weekly thing now rather than fortnightly and although we couldn't use the pub last night we will be able to in future - apart from when the World Cup is taking place!  We met in the local Costa which is inside our big Tesco store and it worked fine.  It was very quiet in there and will probably be a suitable alternative when we can't use the pub although it closes at 9 pm so we won't get as much time.

And the only news worth reporting yesterday was that the BBC has finally announced who the new presenters of Strictly Come Dancing will be.

You can click on the link there if you're interested.  I am slightly underwhelmed.  The two presenters who left (Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman) have been replaced by 3 (yes 3!) new presenters:  Emma Willis who is a well known presenter, Johannes Radebe a former strictly professional dancer and Josh Widdecombe a comedian who also took part in one of the Christmas specials - dressed as a penguin!  It will be interesting though to see how their roles will be defined and how the dynamics work.  I do love watching Strictly.

Phew that's me caught up.  Off to check out the Hodgepodge now.

Friday's Fave Five - 15/5/26

I felt like posting the snowy picture this week - we've had a shower of hailstones twice this week and it's been decidedly chilly!  But there are always good things going on too and thanks to our host Susanne we are reminded each week to post about them and then link up here.

1)  Well my first one is actually from last week but I didn't include it then so I'm doing it now.  Last Wednesday our TV box (provided by Virgin TV) just seemed to die.  It suddenly stopped working.  I checked all the wires were plugged in, rebooted the system etc but no, it was dead.  Thankfully I was able to get an engineer booked in for the following day and the engineer was great.  He provided us with a new box but also checked all the cabling etc to make sure there wasn't anything else going on.  He was a really pleasant young man and we were pleased to be up and running again without too much delay.

2)  On Saturday I was on the rota for taking in a delivery at the Foodbank but I got a call about 8.30 from the manager to say the delivery would be arriving in about 15 minutes (way earlier than it usually is) but she would take care of it as she was already up and ready to jump in her car to get there in time.  I probably could have got there not too long after her but it was nice not to have to rush around and have the whole day to do as I pleased.

3)  Two meet ups this week - Knit and Natter on Tuesday evening.  We've switched to Tuesdays and are now meeting in an upstairs room of the local pub.  This means we have more space and we can enjoy a glass of wine etc while we chat.  (And knit of course.)  We're hoping to make this a weekly instead of fortnightly get together too as long as the room is available.

The second meet up was the afternoon book group which meets at the library.  I don't think many of us were impressed with Hotel du Lac!  Hopefully our next read of "Three things about Elsie" will be better.

4)  Another baby expected in our extended family.  There are now 3 expected, 1 in September, 1 in October and 1 in November.   Lots to look forward to.

5)  And finally I mentioned her in previous posts this week, my daughter Rebecca turned 40 on Wednesday.  She is definitely a blessing in my life.

Have a good weekend all.

Read then Write - 14/5/26

Well since last week I have finished Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. I did enjoy it but I found some of the historical parts of the book a little bit confusing to follow as they weren't always in a chronological order. However following Faith's recommendation I watched the film which I really enjoyed and it helped make more sense of the book.

I've now moved on to Penitence by Kristin Koval which is about what happens after teenager Nora shoots her brother dead.

Yes I know it sounds a bit grim but it was recommended in a magazine I read and yes, it ticks a 52 Book club prompt - the Kindle edition was released in 2026.

We had a good meet up with my afternoon book group yesterday where we discussed Hotel Du Lac. Most of us didn't enjoy it that much and found it quite slow. Good to be in the majority.

And now for something a bit different which I'm copying from Faith, who copied it from Barbara who got it from Paula at Between the Bookends.

1. Bookmarks or dog-ears?

Absolutely has to be Bookmarks. I have a lot of them. Quite a few are promotional ones from when I had a book club subscription and there aren't any really fancy ones but turning corners down is a big no for me.

2. Book accessories?

I have a reading light somewhere but I hardly use it. What I need to get is something my husband has that keeps the book open. His is a really simple version of this:

IF Charcoal Gimble Traveler hands free reading tool.,Urban grey,20 cm : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

(This one folds when not in use, my Husband's doesn't.

3. Are you a fast or slow reader?

I'm definitely not slow but I wouldn't say I'm exceptionally fast. And it depends on what's meant by this. As in do you read quite quickly when reading. Or do you get through books quickly because you're consistent with your reading? For me that would depend on how engaging the book is. Some books I might get through in a few days, others might take me a week or longer.

4. Have you ever written to an author?

Not exactly but I did follow an author's blog for a while and we'd exchange comments.

5. Have you ever met an author in person?

No

6. Do you have a favourite character who is not the main character?

It's too late in the day to think of an answer for that.

7. Do you have any bookish merchandise?

No - well apart from some bookends on my shelves.

8. Favourite book from childhood?

Little Women, the What Katy Did series, lots by Enid Blyton.

9. Do you read one book at a time, or several?

One at a time usually.

10. Favourite genre?

Crime Thrillers

11. Genres you don’t care for?

Gothic, Science Fiction, Westerns

12. Best movie based on a book? Worst?

It took me a long time to get through Lord of the Rings and then I binge watched the films which I loved. I've enjoyed all the Harry Potter films too.

I can't remember watching a film and thinking it wasn't as good as the book or that the film didn't follow the book.

What are you currently reading?