Posts that Didn't Happen: April 2026

And on to April - where for the first half of the month a lot of our time was taken up with car issues.  

While the damage to the car was largely cosmetic (paintwork and some minor 'dinks') - we had been planning to trade it in, and as the damage would affect its trade-in value, we rang the insurance people. They advised it should be dealt with on a no-fault non-insurance claim basis, through Enterprise and Incident Management Solutions - so far, so good.

Then we had word that they were classing it as a 'total loss' (a Category N non-structural 'write-off') - basically, given the age of the car, they'd decided it wasn't worth 'repairing'.  After some to-ing and fro-ing it also became apparent that we weren't insured to drive it, without a further MOT and repair work!  All of which left us using the campervan as a 'run around' and finally having to make a decision over whether we were going to go for an electric car or not.

Decision made, and the middle of the month saw us with a full drive - the van, the old car (awaiting resolution of the 'total loss' claim before disposal), and our new electric car . . .  

Next job, a car charger! (Wherein lies a future tale!)

In other news: we continued minor upgrades to the van (boxing in around the rear windows); I finished what I think should be my last consultancy project; our nearly six-year old sourdough starter got a serious mould infestation and had to be binned; we rearranged some furniture, investing in behind-the sofa shelving (for my growing jigsaw collection!), moving the futon to the spare room from the Folly, and the 'kewb' chairs to the Folly from the spare room; and along the way I did a bit of Lego!

An investment was also made in new plug-in 'mobile' solar panels, which with mini inverters, will allow us to take advantage of sunny spots around the house.  

They were a bit larger than we'd taken on board, and in the end we returned two of them, as we didn't think we'd have the space to accommodate all four.  Busy trying them in different areas of the garden to find the best locations!

Towards the end of the month, with some dry weather, we decided to get rid of the yew tree off-cuts from last month's efforts, with a bonfire.  

Well inferno, might be a better word for it - it turns out yew tree is very very flammable, and it went up like billy-oh!  

Martin usually has a hose on stand-by, but it caught him unawares, and we had a bit of a panic before getting it under control.  We now have a rather large scorched patch, and a burnt section of netting on the fruit cage (which we were dismantling anyway so not an issue.)  

On the plus side it was all over very quickly, and it burnt away to nothing - one to take on board for any future bonfires though!

Finally, the end of the month saw us take our first 'proper' trip in the van - staying at a campsite in Llangollen (part of a trip to take Martin's parents to visit family in North Wales).

We had a mostly sunny, if breezy couple of days, with lots of walks - including out to Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (which it was a real experience to walk across).

It was a nice break - enjoyed a few beers and a very nice curry - and got to test the van in a 'real world' environment (rather than my parent's drive).

All good!

Posts that Didn't Happen: March 2026

The month didn't start well, after the Idiot Abroad (aka Trump) started a war in the Middle East, and sent oil prices rocketing - unfortunately our oil tank was by then rather low, so the rayburn promptly went off!  

Then we managed to break the oil monitor when changing its battery (needing to keep an eye on how low the tank actually was) which had to be replaced too :(

In the garden, we decided to have a go ourselves at reining in the yew tree, which had bushed out quite a lot on the side near the house.  It wasn't an entirely successful exercise, as we couldn't get to one top branch, and another branch nearly took out Martin and wooden arch!

Still - it's better than it was - although we now have a huge pile of yew tree branches to deal with.

Early in the month I also headed across country to visit the folks for a couple of days, help out with medical appointments, and take Mum to visit an old friend.  

Stayed with my sister and brother-in-law (who's very into his Lego), and amused myself by hiding a small Lego knight mini-figure in his Home Alone display piece - will he ever notice??

Home to 'fluttering' noises in the rayburn flue.  We assumed there was a bird in there, and ended up partially deconstructing as much of it as we could in the hope that it would find its way 'down'.

Eventually all went quiet, so it either found its way 'up' or expired in the flue - hopefully the former!

In other news . . .  continued with a consultancy project; bought new smartwatches (mine now tracks my swimming lengths, so no excuse for losing count!); indulged in more Lego (adding the Viking Village to last month's Medieval Town Square); and Martin fitted a new inverter to the campervan (replacing a very noisy model we returned for a refund).

The end of the month saw us back across country for a 63rd Wedding Anniversary family party.

Had a lovely celebration weekend with extended family - also took Mum a Wade 'Treasure Trail' set I found online (like the one she remembers her Mum having).

The last day of the month saw us back home, where a shopping trip to town saw our newly MOT'd (if rather old) car, bashed up while parked in a local car park - starting a whole new saga . . .

Posts that Didn't Happen: February 2026

Well - that didn't last long - although in my defence February was pretty much a month where not much happened either - except for rain, rain and more rain!

At least the pigeons seemed to enjoy it . . .

Mostly pottered our time away wandering round town, dodging in and out of charity shops to avoid said rain, and buying things which we may (or may not) keep (been selling a few unwanted bits and pieces online).

Had a cold, then a very dodgy stomach for a couple of weeks after deciding to see if Kefir would improve my 'gut health'.  Too much, too soon maybe, as instead I completely lost all appetite, and managed to lose nearly half a stone in weight!

Indulged in some more Lego along the way, and some jigsaws - and ended the month with a 'happy' family event - celebrating the announcement of a Great-Nephew due to arrive in the summer. 🎉

Slow January

Most of January was pretty quiet - after our glorious day of snow, the weather became much gloomier, and wetter, and the month dragged along, as it so often does, seeming to last for ever.

Towards the end of the month we headed back across country for another family visit - taking the Van for a 'winter' run.

Unfortunately proceedings were enlivened by a visit to A&E after a minor fall.  All turned out well (no major damage), although we were a bit shocked by the parking costs - given the free hospital parking we get here in Wales! 

Stayed on an extra day or so before finally heading for home again - enjoying another 'slow' January day, following a 'house' along our narrow Welsh roads . . .

Good to see everyone - but good to be home - roll on February!

In 2025 I Mostly Read . . .

Here is the now-traditional reading list for 2025 . . .

December 2025 – A quick re-read of C.K. McDonnell's  Relight My Fire ahead of his latest 'Stranger Times' offering Ring the Bells with an appropriately festive setting.  Excellent as ever!

November 2025 – More short stories, this time a physical copy of a book (borrowed from the Library) where I had started reading one of the stories on a Kindle sample. Night and Day by John Connolly includes a biographical essay, but I stuck to the supernatural short stories.  These were very good - particularly liked the premise of Caxton's Library where literary characters come to life in the real world.  May have to look at some of his other stuff!

October-November 2025 – One from the Kindle 99p backlog, a book of classic sci-fi short stories by Alice Sheldon (under the pen name James Tiptree Jr.) Ten Thousand Light Year's From Home - interesting but occasionally a bit too 'out there'!

July - October 2025 – Bit of a mix here, mainly some Ben Aaronavitch ‘Rivers of London’ offerings, leading in to his new publication Stone and Sky (basically taking the London ‘cast’ on a Scottish holiday), its predecessor Amongst Our Weapons (had I forgotten anything?), and the novellas The Masquerades of Spring (great fun!) and Winter’s Gifts (focusing on Peter’s FBI friend from one of the earlier books).  Then in-between returning to some of my oldest friends with the Modesty Blaise series, a bit of a late night easy comfort read – love the characters, and know those stories so well . . .

June 2025 – Something a bit different with the novel which spawned the tv series Queen’s Gambit - interesting to compare the two, and a good read, especially as Martin and I attempt to learn chess!

March - June 2025 – Back to Charles de Lint, working my way through Someplace to be Flying (love the Crow Girls), Moonlight and Vines (another short story collection), Forests of the Heart (new characters in the mix), The Onion Girl (focusing fully on Jilly Coppercorn), Tapping the Dream Tree (more short stories), Spirits in the Wires (with more of a focus on Christy Riddell but many of the regular ‘cast’), and lastly Widdershins which finally sees the Jilly / Geordie storyline brought to its conclusion.

February 2025 – Brief dip away from the world of fantasy with Bob Mortimer’s autobiography And Away - interesting stuff, seeing where ‘Vic and Bob’ came from, and leading in to his health issues and the Gone Fishing series.

January - February 2025 – Continuing with my Charles de Lint ‘Newford’ re-read, including Memory and Dream and the short story collection The Ivory and the Horn.  More urban fantasy, with that real spark of magic, and some great characters.

And We Shall Have Snow!

Sunday morning brought the first snow of 2026 - just a light covering, which gradually melted away over the course of the day, but it was nice to see while it lasted.

Then this morning - on Twelfth Night no less - we opened the curtains to a real Winter Wonderland.

(Couldn't resist a quick snap of the Tree - soon to be dismantled until December rolls round again - but for once with an actual snowy scene outside the window).

It continued to snow for a while, before giving way to a beautiful crisp sunny morning:

In the afternoon we headed out with our snow boots on for a walk in the sunshine.  (Couldn't go further afield as our road appears to be off the gritting route now, and it stayed snow-bound for the rest of the day). 

It was just lovely though - felt a bit like being back in Norway, with the snow all crisp and white and sparkling in the sunshine.

Took lots of photos and enjoyed it while we could - before tomorrow's rain washes it all away . . .

Welcome to 2026!

Wishing everyone all the best for a happy and healthy year ahead.
Let's hope it brings a little peace and sanity - Remember to 'Be Kind'!

In the absence of fireworks, here is one of nature's wonders - today's prom murmuration was truly rather special.