In the News this Week - 24/3/26

Of course the International news continues to be about the war with Iran and the knock on effects in the Middle East.  These are worrying times especially with the effect it is having on oil and energy prices.

There has also been speculation that Trump's decision to delay attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure, may have been leaked given the amount of trading that went on just before that announcement was made.  See here for more details.

At home I managed to find this feel good story about a terrier dog being rescued after disappearing down a rabbit hole.

Entertainment and the articles about who will or will not be the new hosts of Strictly Come Dancing keep coming.  So. Much. Click. Bait. out there.  I wish they'd just make the decision and put us all out of our misery.

In Sports I've just realised that the Football World Cup will be taking place when we're thinking of visiting our son this summer.  That will probably push flight prices up plus the cost of aviation fuel.  I'm sure we'll still be going but it will make it a more expensive trip.  Thankfully we won't be worrying about watching a game.  The cost of tickets has already caused a complaint to be submitted to FIFA about its pricing system.  Read more here. 

And in Miscellaneous news - my shed is tidy!  I spent time earlier pulling everything out, throwing out some stuff and collecting together all the old bottles of things like weed killer, plant food etc that I've also discovered I can get a free waste collection for.  Good job I'm not worried about spiders or cobwebs.  It was a job that was long overdue.  

A bit of Waffle - 23/3/26

We had a nice quiet weekend.  I didn't even end up doing the Foodbank session I was on the rota for as the delivery came really early and the Hub Manager was already there opening up the church for the Saturday morning karate sessions so she dealt with it.  

I did get quite a bit of knitting done, plus I listened to an audio book!  In error.  Well I mean I didn't listen to it in error but I hadn't intended to order in the audio version of the book from the library.  Anyway it was a pleasant enough way to spend time.

Several people have asked if the penny in the vase trick works:

This is after a week, bearing in mind they were given to us after they has been on display for quite a few days too.  So yes I think the penny works!

Today has been a day of two halves really.  This morning I went through my wardrobe and pulled out quite a few things that I haven't worn in a long time and am therefore unlikely to wear, plus a few pairs of shoes that I will definitely never wear again.  These have been bagged up ready for a charity collection on Friday.

I then decided I'd do a few bits in the garden but got a late request to do the school pick up by my DIL as she was stuck in waiting for a new tumble dryer to be delivered.  

I made myself some lunch and was having a cup of tea when she messaged to say the dryer had arrived in time for her to do the school run.  Back to plan A - the garden.

Then there was a general message from the Foodbank about some chicken packs that needed to be collected from nearby Enfield before 5 o'clock and put straight into the freezers.  Well no one else volunteered so I said I would go.  We have been really short of things like this in our usual deliveries so it was too good an offer to pass up.  Thankfully there were a couple of people at the Foodbank by the time I got back who were able to help me unload the car and get it all put away in the freezers.  

The garden will have to wait until tomorrow but the weather is looking okay.  The weather for the rest of the week is looking a bit unsettled with the only completely dry day being Thursday when I'm at the Foodbank.  There's nothing major to be done - hubby cut the grass last week - but I have some solar lights I want to put up plus I have a lot of pots that need emptying and probably got rid of and the shed needs a good tidy.

I am starting to think about getting some plants for pots to go on the patio.  It's a work in progress.  There are also a few bits of rubbish that need to go to the tip which will be delegated to Hubby.  He's been to the new one now and knows the way so no chance of getting a ticket like he did when he went to the old tip, got lost and went through a prohibited section of road!  At least I hope not.

Weekly Photos 15th - 21st March 2026

Afternoon tea on Sunday for Mother's Day

The completed plastic logging sheet which I submitted online on Monday.

The flowers that I brought home from the Foodbank looking pretty on Tuesday.  Look closely and you'll spot the penny in the bottom of the vase which is supposed to keep them looking good for longer.  They're still looking okay today.

Wednesday: The jumper is growing.

Thursday: My next knitting project?  Maybe.  I brought one of these home from the Foodbank last week but it didn't have the label on it.  This one had the label on it and I discovered on the reverse is the pattern for making the hat!

Friday it was nice enough to hang washing out!

Saturday - this is the audio book I listened to.

Funny how colours can look so different in photos.  That jumper looks purple in that photo but I can assure you it's pink!

Hope you're having a relaxing Sunday.

#SoCS - 21/3/26 - Easy/Hard

Linda provides the prompts for #SoCS and the link up is here.

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “easy/hard.” Use one, use both, use ’em any way you’d like. Bonus points if you get both words into your post. Enjoy!

Well I'm going to use both by asking is it easy/hard to listen to an audio book?

I have never really settled to listening to audio books.  Some years ago my daughter gifted me a six month subscription to audible but I was still working at the time so the only time I really had for reading was when I went to bed.

Well I'm sure you can guess what happened.  I would often fall asleep listening to the book so I consequently found myself having to backtrack, trying to work out at what point I was up to when I fell asleep and often reading the same chapter over and over.

Needless to say I did not renew the subscription when the gift period expired.

Fast forward to now and I read a lot.  I'm retired so I can really read as much as I want and when I want.  I do love a physical book but I also like the convenience of reading on my Kindle App, especially when on holiday.  But I've kept away from audio books.

Until today.  I mistakenly ordered an audio version of a book from the library rather than the physical copy.  I decided to give it a go.

Straight off I had to speed it up.  The narrator's voice was boring and slow.  I worked out how to speed it up and I actually managed to listen to the whole book during the course of this afternoon and evening.

It was Wednesday's Child by Peter Robinson which is a DCI Banks story. (Actually #6 in the series.)  This is a very English crime series that has been televised.  I enjoyed the TV series and the books have been ok so far. (I'm trying to read them in order.)  They're not 5 star material but they're quite gritty at times.  This one was a bit more graphic than some and the crime centred around a child abduction.

My main problems with the audio version were that:

1)  I found the narrator annoying - and it was the same one for all the characters, men and women; and

2)  I noticed how much detail there was in all the descriptions.  Of everything.

Perhaps when I've been reading the books I've skimmed over that or maybe this book was just more descriptive than previous ones.

Anyway I finished it. 

But it hasn't persuaded me that audio books are my thing.  I was knitting while listening so it was productive in that way but I'm not sure I would necessarily keep all the plot details in my head if I was doing something that required a bit more concentration.  Chick lit might work I suppose but I'm not convinced.

I'll definitely be more careful when ordering books from the library in future though!

Are you an audio book fan?