Read then Write - 11/6/26

Well I have managed to finish Heartburn by Nora Ephron.  It was ok but I wasn't overwhelmed by it and as someone who's just completed 42 years of marriage it's hard to empathise with someone who's going through a marriage break up.

The afternoon book club met this week to discuss Three Things About Elsie.  Someone had brought along a set of questions for us to work through but that was a bit hard going, especially as one member hated the book lol.

Our next read will be this one:

The evening group will be discussing Heartburn next week but we'll be away so I will miss that.  We've already chosen the next book though and it's this one:

But....at the weekend we browsed some charity shops and I came home with these:

There are not enough reading hours in the day!

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 10/6/26

Joyce provides the questions each week and we prepare our answers and then the link up is here.

Thank you Joyce.

1.  How would you define 'the good life'? 

The good life to me means being happy with my lot and having enough of the things I need.  I have "the good life".

2.  What's the most used app on your phone (and are you proud of that)? 

Well before I checked I would have said WhatsApp and I would be okay with that because that's how I keep in touch with family and friends.

When I checked, the NYT games app was top.  I usually start my day with Wordle (we have a WhatsApp group for those of us that do it daily) and then work through the various games on the app.  So it's probably not that surprising it came out on top.  

WhatsApp was 3rd on my list last week as apparently I used Facebook slightly more.  I didn't think Facebook would be that high as although I do usually browse it to see what people are up to I'm not very active on it.  However it is easy to go down rabbit holes on it.

3. 'Every rose has it's thorn', 'everything's coming up roses', 'looking through rose-colored glasses', 'it's no bed of roses' or 'stop and smell the roses'...which rose idiom best relates to something in your life currently. Explain. 

Probably everything's coming up roses as we just celebrated our 42nd anniversary and next week we're off to visit my son and his family in Vermont.    The rose bush at the front of the house is also in full bloom

4. How do you feel about floral flavourings in food or drink (rose, hibiscus, elderflower, lavender)? 

Not a big fan although I do like an apple and elderflower juice that we buy.

5. Over the course of your life what have you probably spent more time pondering than anything else? 

What to cook for dinner!  Even though Hubby now does most of the cooking I still do a lot of the organising of what we're going to eat.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

It feels like we're back in April - the weather is much cooler and we've had some heavy downpours today - even thunder and lightening.  Can we have summer back please.

In the News this Week - 9/6/26

                        

London couple survive 42 years of marriage.  The secret?  Give him a guitar and teach her to knit.

We went out for our anniversary to a new to us Italian restaurant just one stop away by train.

We shared a starter - fried calamari, prawns, arancini, mushrooms, courgettes and broccoli which was huge.

For mains Hubby had Tagliata:

And I had Porchetta

Both were delicious but we couldn't finish them after such a big starter so we skipped dessert.

I did consider getting a portion of Tiramisu to go but decided against it.  We were both full.

If we go again we need to make sure we're extra hungry!

A Windy Waffle - 8/6/26

We had a lovely weekend.  Hubby and I got together with all 6 of his remaining siblings and their partners (14 in total) at the youngest sister's house in Brighton which is on the south coast of England and a typical seaside town, complete with pier.

Parking in Brighton is really difficult and limited, especially if staying overnight so 8 of us took a coach from Stratford right through to Brighton Station and then it's about a 20 minute walk.  The coach ride was smooth and we didn't hit any traffic so we arrived on time.  It took 2 1/2 hours and it was nice to just sit back and relax.

We all gathered at our host Sarah's house joined by the remaining two couples, one who had travelled from France.  It was the first time we'd all been together in a while so lots of catching up to do.  Friday's evening meal was fish and chips.  We had planned to sit on the beach and eat it but by the time we'd all arrived and settled it was a bit late and therefore a bit too chilly to do that.

Saturday dawned dry and sunny so we all took a walk into town.  We walked around the Royal Pavilion and through the Lanes area before finding a pub with enough outdoor space for us all.  At that time it was still sunny and warm.

Look at the blue sky!

But as they had forecast the clouds rolled in together with 50mph winds.

We got caught in the downpour but all managed to make our way to here for lunch.

This is the appropriately named Shelter Hall and that picture is from the web because those umbrellas would not have stayed up in the wind on Saturday.  It is a large space inside with various street food vendors serving food.  There was lots of choice including Mexican, Portuguese, Thai, Burgers and Pizzas.  We managed to get 2 big tables to accommodate us all.  There were a lot of people taking advantage of being inside, including at least one Hen party and one Stag party.  Brighton is a popular destination for these.

After we'd eaten a few of us went back to Sarah's by Uber while others braved the rain and did more exploring, although that may have been the inside of a pub lol.

Saturday evening Sarah and her partner Grace laid on a lovely meal for us all.  One of the reasons we'd planned the gathering was to celebrate another sister's (Kate) 60th birthday.  Her birthday was actually back in January but we decided to wait until the weather was better to celebrate and also it was a bit of a house warming for Sarah and Grace.  Sarah bought the house back in September and has been gradually furnishing it and decorating.  They split their time between the Brighton house and Grace's home in London.  

We had a gnocchi, green bean and asparagus starter, followed by fish pie and then strawberries, shortcake and cream dessert.  It was all really good.

On Sunday morning we took a walk along the beach away from the centre of Brighton towards Black Rock where you can board the Volks Electric Railway service that runs from there to the Aquarium along the beach.  It's the oldest working electric railway in the world and opened in 1883.

One of the electric trains

This stretch of the beach has a boarded walkway which makes it so much easier to walk on as the beach is actually very stony.

After our walk we headed back to the house where we had more food before setting off for home at 5.30 pm.

One huge feature of the Brighton house is that there is a huge garden between a square of properties and only 3 of those home owners have the right to use the garden and Sarah is one of them!

Here we are in the garden.  The two white arched windows on the right are Sarah's house and the gap in the greenery you can see below is a gateway into her own private small courtyard area.  We were lucky enough to get some sunshine in the afternoon so we could sit outside and enjoy our lunch.

The journey home on the coach was just as smooth and we arrived back at Stratford by 8.30 pm so we were home by about 9.45.  We all had a really good time and believe it or not we all get on really well.

Friday's Fave Five - 5/6/26

It's Friday so time to look back on the blessings of the week then link up here with Susanne and the gang.  

1)  Grateful for Hubby's family.  We're all getting together this weekend - 7 siblings and partners.  His youngest sister recently bought a house in Brighton which is on the south coast of England and is a vibrant seaside destination.  The weather isn't looking too good but I'm sure that won't stop us having fun.

2)  New glasses!  I tried to take a selfie but it wasn't very flattering so I gave up.  Glad that we can afford things like decent glasses - they're so expensive when you need varifocals and like them to react to the light etc.

3)  A quieter week.  It was lovely having family here last week but it's also nice not to have such early starts etc.

4)  Rain and cooler weather.  We needed the rain and the beginning of last week was a heatwave.

5)  Lots of volunteers on Thursday at the Foodbank.  Many hands make light work.

Have a good weekend all.  

Read then Write - 4/6/26

Since my last book post I have managed to finish Three Things about Elsie by Joanna Cannon.  A re-read for me but it was the afternoon book club pick and I couldn't really remember all that happened in the book so it was a good reminder.

I really enjoyed it.

I've also managed to finish Welcome to the Neighbourhood by Jane Fallon.

This was a slow burner for me at first but then I found myself wanting to find out what the various characters were going to do.

Kitty moves to London after the break up of her long term relationship. She thinks the move will improve her life but is initially disappointed. Then she gets new neighbours, Sian and Rich and suddenly she has a new friend in Sian and her life seems better.

But then she spots a mysterious woman leaving their house and the plot thickens. The saying "oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive" springs to mind as there is a lot of deception going on and at some points it's tricky to keep track of. Some of it is a little far fetched but I did find myself sucked in during the second half of the book. The subtitle on the book was "Good neighbours or bad people?" and there's a good mix of both.

It also ticks a prompt on the 52 Book Club prompt.

I've now moved on to this one:

This is the choice of the evening book club and although I won't be attending the meeting when it will be discussed I thought I'd read it anyway as it's not too long (just short of 200 pages).  

Ephron is the screenwriter of When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle so it sounded promising.  However it is written in the first person and very much in a Stream of Consciousness style. The blurb says it will make you laugh.  I think I'm missing my sense of humour so far.  

Blogger issues? 3/6/26

Is anyone else having problems with their reading list?

Despite refreshing it, some of the blogs I follow, who I know have posted new posts, are not showing up in my reading list.  Annoying!

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 3/6/26

Joyce provides the questions, we prepare our answers then the link up is here.  Have fun.

1.What's something you find extremely difficult that most people would say is simple?

Making small talk.  I hate going into situations where I don't know anyone and starting up conversations.  Although I think there might be quite a lot of people who agree with me so how about keeping houseplants alive.  I'm not too good at that either.

2.  "And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow fast in movies I  had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer." 

~F. Scott Fitzgerald

Does the season of summer make you feel this way? Elaborate. 

I think Spring makes me feel more like that than summer.

3. Pickles. Love 'em or no thank you? What's your favourite type of pickle? What's something you eat that definitely needs a pickle added?

Some I like others no thank you.  I like pickled onions and cheese just has to have pickle with it.

4. Tis the season...do you know any June brides? Are there any weddings on your summer calendar? What's your favourite movie wedding? 

I'm a June bride!  Will be celebrating 42 years next week.  We're invited to a wedding in September so almost the summer.

Four weddings and a funeral.  

5. June 1st is/was National Say Something Nice Day...say something nice here. 

Joyce deserves a medal for turning up every week and keeping this Hodgepodge community together.  Thank you Joyce.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We have rain and much cooler temps!  Last week's heatwave was unbearable so it's lovely being cooler and we needed some rain.  Just wish the weekend forecast was looking a little better.

In the News this Week - 2/6/26

As usual the news is not very cheerful.  The saga relating to the appointment of Peter Mandelson as American Ambassador rumbles on and Kier Starmer's position becomes ever more precarious.

The other scandalous story in the news today is how Peter Murrell the former SNP Chief (Scottish Nationalist Party) managed to embezzle £400k from the party's funds over a 12 year period.  He has now pleaded guilty and details of what he spent the money on are emerging.  

They range from things like gardening equipment and electronic equipment purchased from Amazon to expensive watches, but the biggest expenses seem to have been for a Jaguar car and a deluxe Motor Home costing £124,550 that was driven only 4 miles to his Mother's house where it remained until confiscated.

More details can be found here.

What I find puzzling in all of this is that Murrell's wife (now estranged) is Nicola Sturgeon who was the First Minister of Scotland from 2014 to 2023 and she is claiming she was unaware of what was going on despite many of the Amazon purchases being delivered to her home.

Really?  I don't think so.

A late bit of Waffle - 2/6/26

And just like that it is Tuesday!

I was busy yesterday morning doing chores and then I did relax and finish a book I was reading in the afternoon.  I was going to fit a walk in but that didn't happen so I walked up to the Foodbank for my Monday evening slot rather than drive.  And yes it is mainly uphill.

I fully intended to blog after I got home.  I'm usually home by 10 and it's nice to wind down a bit before going to bed.  Except best laid plans and all that.  I didn't get home until gone 11 as one of the stores had problems with their scanners.  All the food they donate to us is the already reduced in price stuff that has to go because of sell by dates etc.  They have to scan it all though for their records.  The store was the one at Ponders End which is a huge Tesco.  We probably get as much stuff from there as we do from all the other stores together.  So it's worth waiting for.  But we waited and waited!  Plus the poor guy doing the collection was on his own last night so that didn't help.  Anyway he finally arrived and our team of 3 set to work at getting the stuff sorted and put away in the fridges/freezers as quickly as we could.  Thankfully one of my colleagues lives just around the corner from me so she gave me a lift home.  Walking home at that time wouldn't have bothered me, it's only a 10 minute walk, but I was really tired by then.

So I got home to see that Hubby obviously hadn't seen my message about putting out the dustbins.  He was too busy playing his guitar.  I don't like putting them out that late as it's hard to do it quietly but doing it in the morning isn't an option as the one bin is collected as early as 6 am most weeks. 

I definitely needed winding down time before going to bed after that.

And I've overslept this morning so no exercise class for me today.  I might join friends for coffee afterwards.  I'm waiting to here what the plan is.

As yet I have no plan! Oh except I have to make an appointment to pick up my new glasses.