Tidying Sixth Avenue

It's nice to be able to do my part time job whenever I feel like it, and wherever I want to do it. This afternoon there was sunshine. I thought about going back to Tesco and tackling the mess I saw last week behind the store. Then I decided not to go there. It's a Saturday, and last week it was super busy. I didn't want to get snarled up in traffic. There was also a possibility that Scunthorpe United might be playing at home, which would create more chaos on the roads around the football ground. 

Instead, I drove for ten minutes to Flixborough Industrial Estate. I remembered Sixth Avenue was particularly messy with lots of litter on the grass verges. And so I enjoyed an hour or so on a very quiet road. The only vehicle I saw was a driving school car which went round the block several times. 

My bag was filling up quite quickly. I turfed the rubbish out of the grass and onto the road for a photo. 

A nitrous oxide cannister, a strap discarded by a lorry driver, a pair of trainers, and several bottles of pee. 

I found one trainer first and wondered where the other one was. I searched through the grass and weeds, and then saw the second one a few yards away. It's strange how they have not both deteriorated at the same rate. 

My red bag was full, and I didn't want to start another one, so I dumped the excess into a grey wheelie bin close by. There are three bags plus some glass in my collection now. 

I did a quick call in at The Range before I went home. Need some dry kitten food. The ducks love it. I was right about not going to Tesco. It was getting dark and I could see the floodlights at the football ground. There was a match on. 

I have made a stir fry for dinner tonight. Quorn chunks, chopped broccoli and potato, and chopped brussels sprouts, in Teriyaki sauce. It's chuffin loverly. Plenty left for tomorrow. 

Enjoy your Sunday. Toodle pip.   ilona

What comes next.

 Danny Alexander is a political commentator. He has 321k followers on Faceboook. 

Know the destination, and you'll understand the journey.

Try this reel.

They want to build a New World.

To make his happen, first they have to destroy this one.

Can you hear me mother.

Toodle pip. ilona

Seal spotting time again

 The Seal Pupdate is up and running on the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust web site. Seals come onto the land at Donna Nook on the Lincolnshire coast, every year at this time, to give birth. Check in weekly if you are planning to visit. The numbers will rise from now until the end of December, when all the grown up pups will leave the land and swim off into the sea. 

Weekly seal update from Donna Nook

Friday 13 November 2026

164 bulls, 586 cows and 358 pups.

Friday 6 November 2026

28 bulls, 147 cows and 10 pups that are visible from the viewing area including one pup that is in close view in front of the volunteers hut. 

Friday 30 October 2026

Weekly pupdate: 6 bulls, 13 cows and 7 pups. Please note: none of the pups are currently visible from the viewings area. 

My picture from 2009. 

It gets quite busy. Best to go during the week. There is parking close to the viewing area, with access for wheelchairs. 

Wrap up warm. 

Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

Three pictures

Litter picking today, in the sunshine. I went back to Bagmoor Lane. Haven't been for three weeks, Best to check it out. It's a long road which goes to a farm and a riding school. Lots of litter in the corner of the car park. 

Somebody has had a good time. 

This is a hidden fly tip about half way down the lane. I will report it to the Council tomorrow. 

Another bag added, and more glass. 

This evening I went to the 20 21 Art Gallery for the Open Exhibition. Here are my three pictures. 

Nice chatting with arty people. A few of them I know from my regular visits there. It was very busy so difficult to see all the pictures. I will go back when it isn't busy. The exhibition is on till February, so plenty of time. 

Now I am ready for bed. 

Have a good weekend. Toodle pip.   ilona

Waiting for daddy

I watched this video late last night, just before bed time. I shouldn't have done because it reduced me to tears. It's about soldiers coming home from wherever they have been stationed, and being met by the families they left behind. 

I have never had a maternal instinct, but any stories to do with happy, or unhappy children, really tugs at my heart strings. In my opinion fathers, and mothers for that matter, should never be taken away from their families to go and fight a war in another country. 

My father was in the army, he came back home after the war, bringing a German wife with him. I don't know what happened in his army career, he never spoke about it. But I watched his decline as the friendships with his boozing mates became a substitute for his army mates. He more or less abandoned his family. His life was cut short because of his addiction, he died at age 46. 

He had lost the ability to show any love for his children. There were never any cuddles, never any holidays, no getting tucked into bed at night. He was just the man that went to work, and came home for his dinner every night. 

Please just stop this war madness. Children and families must come first.  

Thanks for popping in. Sunny outside. Ten ducks for breakfast. 

Toodle pip.  ilona 

New variety of sweet treat

Every day is a new start, and it's looking sunny outside. Ten ducks for breakfast this morning. Now I have to wash and refill the water bowls for the next sitting of smaller birds. I have changed the header of this blog because I get bored looking at the same picture every day. It's becoming quite frosty in the mornings so the heating goes on early. 

I fancy porridge this morning, and I have a secret ingredient. It's not just any porridge, I make a mix from oats, nuts, and seeds, whizzed in a Kenwood and stored in an airtight plastic box. Just dip into it when I want it. 

So in my porridge this morning I have frozen strawberries, and . . . . . drum roll, something new to try. Most people would add a spoonful of jam, but I don't buy jam, or even make any. I came across this jar of Toffee Apple Curd at Gainsborough Old Hall the last time I was there. It's got an English Heritage label on it. I prefer curds to jam. I usually buy, Passion Fruit, Lemon, Lime, or Orange. Let's see what it's like added to porridge. It's blooming lovely.   

Curds make a nice sweet treat on a slice of seeded and or wholemeal bread, or perhaps scones. No need for butter. I'm not sure if this Toffee Apple variety has reached the supermarkets yet, but keep an eye out for it from specialist Farm Shops. Perhaps the posh upmarket shops may start stocking it.

Have a fun loving Thursday. Cast those gloomy thoughts aside and get yourself outdoors.

Toodle pip.   ilona 

One red bag

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. There was a ceremony on the village green. Then to the club for the Coffee Morning. 

After lunch I went to the Industrial Estate to do a spot of picking. My one red bag and two carrier bags of glass bottles look a little lonely and lost on the newly cleared space next to the bin. I have sprayed that bag with some cheap hand sanitizer in the hope that the smell will deter any small animals which attempt to break into it. 4.30pm and it is getting dark. Time to go home.   

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Another distraction

 Just like buses. None for a while then another one comes along minutes after the last one. Here comes the next distraction. 

A man burning his David Walliams books in his back garden, wearing just his dressing gown. His clothes are on the washing line and will be properly smoked when he is ready to put them on. 

Is this Traveller 😱😩😬😝😛 

The jokes are in the comments.

Egg, beans, and potato in the microwave, for lunch. Now I have things to do.  

Toodle pip.   ilona 

He's at it again

 Can you hear me Mother? My belly laughs can be heard from one end of the country to the other. Scooting around the tinternet hugging a mug of coffee, laced with cheap Baileys from Aldi, and I almost choked, I laughed that loud. 

Poor Travellers head must be really scrambled. He is in desperate need of some therapy. He is bitchyness on steroids, such is his compulsion to study everything I say, and regurgitate my words on other blogs. I am beginning to wonder if there is in fact a human hiding behind this mask, or is it a bot programmed by AI waging war on anyone who dares to utter words of common sense. 

If you want to attack me, I will fight back. 

He quotes. . . . . . .from my post 

Traveller6:12 pm

Good post YP. I have been somewhat baffled by how people have been talking and writing about this. Brand has been found guilty of rape. According to one blog I read today he is an ordinary person who has strayed off the straight and narrow and committed crimes such as given into sexual urges in inappropriate ways.

According to another blog this is just another distraction meant to occupy brain space in people's heads so they are temporarily blinded from the other more serious injustices which are going on….and that morphs into the swarms invading the country.

Then you have people saying this is the Establishment’s revenge because of Brands views on COVID vaccinations.

In other news. . . . . . One of the Council workers who collect my bags of litter have responded to my post on the Litter pickers site. This is very useful because now that I know their schedule, we can work together. 

Must get my skates on. Toodle pip.   ilona

GOOD NEWS

This afternoon I went to check if the Council had removed my bags, picture from yesterday. And they had, so I set to work to clean up the area. 

This is the mess that the birds make when they rip open the bags looking for food. I assume birds, but it could easily be rats or mice, or possibly squirrels. The Council does not tidy an area when they collect bags, so I suppose I will do it. 

After an hour of backbreaking work, clipping, chopping, and scooping up the debris with a spade, I am pleased with the result. 

Now I can deposit my bags in a tidy manner with plenty of space to add more. I have just been given twenty fresh clean red bags, so watch this space. 

Pleased to say that the two overflowing litter bins I posted about yesterday have been emptied. So it looks like a Tuesday is a regular collection day. 

GOOD NEWS from Dominic at 20 21 Arts Centre.

Many thanks for entering this year’s 2021 Open Exhibition - we had a fantastic response this year with over 300 submissions from 123 artists!

 

We are delighted to inform you that we have included your artworks in the exhibition, and we would like to invite you join us at the preview event this Friday 13 November to celebrate the opening.

 

Drop-in anytime between 5pm and 8pm (speeches and prize presentations will take place at 6:30pm). Please feel free to bring guests.

So pleased with this. So which three did I enter. Wait and see. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona
 

The fog is lifting

 I didn't get around to writing a post yesterday. Crafty Club happens on a Monday morning. After that I had a natter with my friend for an hour or two in her toasty warm kitchen. The TV was on and we watched and half listened to the live shenanigans going on outside the Crown Court. What a circus that was. The verdict came. Guilty, ten and a half years. That's that then, now can we get on with our lives. 

After lunch I went off to the litter bin where I leave my bags. I want to tidy up the area once the bags have been taken away. Not going to happen today, they are still there. Plan B. I could see litter strewn down the edges of a long road. Get a fresh bag, go for a walk, and pick it up. There wasn't enough to fill the bag. I know what I will do. Go to one of the overflowing bins and top it up from there. Then leave it beside that bin. That looks a bit better. Dark by now so no photographs. 

I enjoyed a second portion of the loverly stew I made the day before. I ought to write something on the blog. I wasn't in the mood. The thoughts going through my head were a big jumble. I tried to look at the events of the day from different angles, and I keep coming back to how great swathes of the general public are consumed by bitterness and anger. Not only on the Brand subject, which incidentally is my mothers maiden name, but every aspect of the news at the moment is dominated by a sprinkling of fact, plus tons of word salad to fill in the gaps. 

What I think of the charges, the trial, the verdict, and the sentencing, doesn't matter. I see the whole circus for what it is. This is just another distraction meant to occupy brain space in people's heads so they are temporarily blinded from the other more serious injustices which are going on.

I went to bed at 10.30pm last night. I wasn't really tired, but sought solace under the covers. Let me sleep to escape this crazy world. I was up again at 11.30pm to make a drink. A mug of Horlicks might send me to sleep. Crank up the computer, which it is said is the worst thing you can do. My posts on UK Litter pickers are very busy at the moment, I like to keep ahead of the game there, and reply to any comments which are appropriate. 

I clicked on a 33 minute video from a random yoootooober. I usually give it a couple of minutes, then move on if I have no interest in the subject matter. This man spoke clearly and concisely so I stuck with it. An ordinary guy, a hardworking family man who wants to do the best for his family. He then continues with the story of how the street where he lives, the area around his house, has become a litter magnet. So he watches and observes. He picks the litter up. 

His eyes tell him that large groups of men, large being 20 - 30 - 40 ish, constantly walk past his house several times a day. It turns out that a local well known hotel has been filled with newcomers. This man is very uncomfortable with that and does some investigating. The men hang around the playing field and the children's playground. What he says should raise concerns for everybody. 

Surely the invasion of our country should top every conversation as the situation is becoming more apparent, but no. Over the garden fence gossip, has been manufactured by those who have an agenda to use their power for world dominance. 

The Brand story will rumble on and on, until the mainstream media, all media, dig out the next juicy word salad, in an attempt to blindfold those who able to work things out for themselves.  

Eight ducks for breakfast this morning.

Let sleeping cats lie. All had breakfast, now it's snooze time. Mayze on her bed on the table. Oscar with his back to the radiator. Mickey curled up on the duvet. 

All is well. The fog is lifting outside. All we can hope for is the fog lifting from peoples minds. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

My earnings today, 65p

Dog walk, litter pick, sewing, cooking, what else is there to do on a Sunday. 

I spent an hour this afternoon on the Industrial Estate. I wanted to add one more bag to my pile, and take a photo while there was still enough daylight to do that. Two of the litter bins are full to overflowing. I saw the Council workers on Friday, three of them sitting in their cab taking a break. I don't know why they didn't empty these and take the rubbish away.  

Ooooh look, I found my wages. A whole 65p. Lucky me. 

I usually check this spot once a week, but it is harder to find enough litter now to fill a bag. I walked a bit further across the road and found enough to top it up. I will give this corner a miss for a while, maybe come every 2 or 3 weeks. 

4pm and the sun is going down. Just enough daylight left to take this picture. Birds have been pecking at the bags in search of food. They pull the litter out. When these have been collected I will go with my garden tools and tidy this area up. 

Ten ducks came for breakfast this morning, and four came for lunch at midday. 

All cats are in at the moment. Oscar likes his freedom so he may want to go out later. 

I did a Billy dog walk today. Carols granddaughter came to visit to show their new baby. Elsie is five months old, a sweet little thing. Both her parents are doctors so she will be well looked after. 

I made a loverly veg stew tonight. Potatoes, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and half a tin of mushy peas. It was blooming lovely. There is some left for tomorrow. 

I just fancy a glass of wine, but I haven't got any. Oh well, cider it is then,

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Hidden camp site

 It took the Council almost a week to collect my latest pile of litter pickings. I didn't want to add any more to it until they had cleared it away. If the bags are there too long wild birds and small animals start to pull holes in them as they search for food. 

I was at the back of Tesco yesterday and picked two bags. I ran out of time and went back today to finish the job. 

No time to bag the glass up, I will come back for that. 

Today I explored a bit further round the back of the store. I found a camp. What a mess. 

Access to pick the rubbish up is going to be difficult. I would have to drag my trolley through long wet grass along the edge of the field. Some of it is too heavy for me to move. Not sure if I want to tackle it. It needs a team of people.

73 glass bottles bagged up today. It's a good job that I had some extra strong bags found on the Industrial Industrial Estate recently. 

It was dark when I dropped it all off at my collection point. 

Think I'll have the day off tomorrow. 

Getting a bit worried, Oscar hasn't reported back in tonight, 

Enjoy your Sunday. Toodle pip.   ilona

Quick vid

Hello Saturday midday. I'm just going to whack this video out, before I get on with my jobs for today. I have to say, that the videos are uploading at super fast speed now I have fibre broadband. This took 12 minutes. 

Have a good Saturday. I am going to finish a job I started yesterday. Large amounts of glass bottles and cans found hidden in the undergrowth at the back of Tesco. I bagged up the cans, now I have the bottles to pick up. 

Catch you later. Toodle pip.   ilona

 

Amusing

It was pointed out to me that there has been some comments on another blog about my video in the bath. It is a blog that I don't take much notice of, there is nothing of interest to me there. So of course I had to have a look to see what people are saying about me. Sue has made it quite clear in the past that we are not on the same wavelength, so I don't know why she reads my blog. 

The comments are a source of amusement for me. You could say they made me laugh out loud. 😂😝😉I won't copy and paste them here, you can read them for yourself.   

One comment said I am trying to get people to read my blog. Nope, you got that wrong. I don't care if people don't read my blog. 

Blogging in the bath sounds silly to me. Yep, it is silly. I am a fun loving person and I can laugh at myself. 

Bath blogging, how terribly bizarre. True, it was meant to be. 

Bath blogging is no different from telling the world on your main vlog that you are starting another vlog on your hobby and support us because we need the money. I think you are getting mixed up with Frugal Queen. She has started a quilting channel. Pay attention. I never ask for money. 

It was all very discrete, no nudity, nothing wrong with it really. Just a change from the norm. I'm sure it was tongue in cheek. Correct, it was just for fun.  

The reply to this. Yes yes yes, of course you would say that. Nothing wrong with it and discrete? More like, 'look at me look at me' My response would be, no thanks mother. 

Here's a question for all of your readers, and some of my readers, if you don't like what I write about on my blog, why do you criticize and moan about me on other peoples blogs. Why are you so bitchy? 

You don't want to see me in the bath, so how about a photo of me in my bikini. Taken 11 years ago, and I am still the same size now. Nice figure, fit and healthy. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona