The television these days is full of quiz shows, reality shows, entrepreneurs trying to get cash from business tycoons, and gladiatorial battles – with plenty of padding. Dramas, of which there are precious few, have a new series each year lasting about six to eight episodes, and then it’ll be at least 12 months beforeContinue reading “Binge on the oldies if you want to escape modern TV dross”
Category Archives: My life
Regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again too few to mention
We all have regrets, some have more than others, but all in all there are not many regrets in my life. There are times when something doesn’t go the way you hoped for, but looking back you realise it was not a problem because it put your feet on a different, better path. Even atContinue reading “Regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again too few to mention”
Last minute hitch on house deal led to a far better home
Many of you will remember 1977 as a busy year, it was Queen Elizabeth’s silver jubilee as monarch; the Yorkshire Ripper was still on the prowl; National Front marchers clashed with anti-Nazi protesters in London. Meanwhile Marion and I had moved our little family to North Wales, Anglesey in fact, and as I was settlingContinue reading “Last minute hitch on house deal led to a far better home”
This trickle, once a torrent, will be in full spate again soon
First of all please accept my apologies that instead of the torrent of new posts for this New Year, 2025, it has slowed to a small stream, if that. The past few months have not been as smooth as I had hoped but I am not here to wallow in my sorrow. There have beenContinue reading “This trickle, once a torrent, will be in full spate again soon”
Never mind Inspector Gadget we’ve all got gadgets at home
Have you ever opened a kitchen drawer, or cupboard, and wondered what some of the items in there actually do? We know about the ice-cream scoop and, possibly, the melon baller, you might even recognise an old-fashioned potato peeler. What about that odd thing with cog wheels and what looks like the winding key forContinue reading “Never mind Inspector Gadget we’ve all got gadgets at home”
What goes around comes around – especially spectacles
There are certain things in our lives that are important, yet we only think about them if someone else comments on them. A classic example is glasses, or spectacles if you prefer. When you first get them you notice how they press on the bridge of your nose, or how they lie along your ears.Continue reading “What goes around comes around – especially spectacles”
Even the man on a Clapham omnibus could understand these basic instructions
You never know what you’ll find on an instruction sheet when you buy a gadget. Once upon a time it would identify the component parts and explain what each part did. If it was made in the UK it would have assembly instructions (if it needed assembling) and operating instructions. These would be written inContinue reading “Even the man on a Clapham omnibus could understand these basic instructions”
From home phones to mystery emails – grifters keep trying
Why do scam artists (actually that’s an insult to real artists, sorry Vincent, Renè, Michelangelo, Pablo, Salvador et al) think that anyone over 70 is as dumb as Trump, and you’d need to get close to the bottom of the IQ ladder before you’d find a candidate, and an easy mark for a grifter. FiveContinue reading “From home phones to mystery emails – grifters keep trying”
Pick a puzzle to keep a sound mind in a not-so-sound body
There’s nothing like a good puzzle to keep your mind active – over the years I’ve tried them all: crosswords; wordsearch; Sudoko; even a GCHQ quiz book and that modern phenomenon Wordle. The best of them all, however, is the puzzle to end all puzzles – the jigsaw. I remember as a little child havingContinue reading “Pick a puzzle to keep a sound mind in a not-so-sound body”
Don’t judge a book by its cover, or a TV show by a snippet
Once upon a time the only real way to discover when new programmes were being broadcast was either by buying the weekly Radio Times (which included BBC TV programmes as well as ITV programmes); or buy a daily newspaper which had all TV listings. If a new programme was being introduced you had to relyContinue reading “Don’t judge a book by its cover, or a TV show by a snippet”
Robin's Nest 