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Monday, 13 October 2025

Not funny

 Veteran comedy writer Roy Clarke, creator of Open All Hours, Last of the Summer Wine and Keeping Up Appearances, believes modern comedy has lost its sense of fun — and that political correctness has made audiences too easily offended. Clarke, who is now 95, said the rise of what he called the “thought police” had taken away people’s ability to laugh at themselves, describing today’s viewers as “prissy” and “destructive” to genuine comedy. “It is not like the old days. Now they feel entitled to be upset. I think we have lost all common sense,” Clarke said.

Thank goodness political correctness hasn't yet reached our small gathering of Chattering Crafters. We were a few members short this morning, but that was ok. The jokes were coming thick and fast. Rude or naughty, it doesn't matter. Nobody had to watch their P's and Q's. No holding back, say exactly what you like. No subject is out of bounds. No topics are forbidden. Just a group of sassy women having fun. 

We need to rescue comedy. It's badly needed. 
Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Understanding money

 The 2-and-20 model persists but hedge funds are getting ahead of the curve. 44% are exploring fee changes for competitive advantage, rather than the client pressure they face. Fee design becomes market differentiator.

This is my hedge fund. It won't make me a lot of money, but it will save me loads. Easy to understand, spend less than you earn, make things last longer. Six items at £1 each from a charity shop. I will never be rich but what I own is paid for by me. 
Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

Sunday, 12 October 2025

Let's look at Market Rasen

Twas a lovely sunny day yesterday. After I finished at Claxby, talking to the owner of the big house, and chatting with a lady who had come to put flowers on a grave, it was time to move on. The Lincolnshire Wolds covers a vast area of hills, villages, farm land and market towns. I see I was last in Market Rasen in July 2013. Time for another visit. Let's start at the Railway Station. 

Looking good, well cared for, clean and tidy. The volunteers do a good job. 


The Methodist Church looking resplendent in it's prime position. By comparing photographs of my last visit gives me an insight on how much my skills have improved. All down to experimenting with different angles and framing the subject matter. 
Let's see what happens when I shoot directly into the sun hidden behind a tree. 

Quirky, I like quirky. I like the way some people put their own stamp on their property with amusing decorations. 
View of the church from the Market Place. I walked around the other side hoping to find a better view of the whole building but a lot of trees were in the way. 


I was interested in this building so goooglied the name to find out more. There is a short video on the site. They had an open day and invited people to come along and comment on the ideas for the property that they were planning. 
I walked up the side of it to get a photo of the size of the property. The back is blocked off like a building site. The area is covered with cameras. I took a photo but now I find that I cannot use it. I wonder if the cameras have anything to do with corrupting the file. Very mysterious.  
More info on Market Rasen House. It was on the market for £795.000 in June 2021. There are a lot of photo's, inside and out, on this Grimsby Live page. I think that with the current climate as it is, local people might be wise to watch what is going on here. 
Note added. Large derelict buildings seem to be going up in flames and smoke at an alarming rate. People should be aware of this.
A video has been shared with Cornwall Live of the ongoing blaze at at a derelict hotel in Narrowcliff, Newquay, this morning. The blaze broke out just after 3am Sunday morning. The latest update from Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service at 5am said the fire was ongoing as crews continued to tackled the blaze.

I note that Market Rasen had a sign up on the roadside that parking was free in 2013. Not so now. I often study these signs in car parks wherever I am. The charges here are quite reasonable. There is nothing to say you can't sleep, or camp in your vehicle, so van lifers might be ok to stop overnight here. 

Hey, look what I found. A quirky colourful house just made for me. 😎😜😁 And I could easily afford it. Trouble is that I have got used to a big garden and lots of open spaces around me. I couldn't move into a box squashed up with lots of other boxes. It's pretty though. 

Time to go home. It will be getting dark soon. The first thing I did was to feed the cats and get the hedgehog food out onto the garden. My hedgies are a mix of big fat ones, and some smaller ones. I had to laugh at the baby, I put a bowl of left over wet cat food out on the lawn. It reached up over the edge of the bowl and fell into it. Normally they all eat dry food, but the younger ones seem to prefer the wet variety. Perhaps their teeth are still developing. 
That's it. Enjoy your Sunday. Toodle pip.   ilona

Jacob asks, are you ready?

Good morning. It started off very foggy this morning, no not my brain, that's as clear as the sunshine in my heart. The fog outside is struggling to lift, it may be hanging around for a while, but for now I have plenty to do. Six jobs on a list means that it is a multitasking day. 
I an preparing a post about my visit to Market Rasen yesterday. With a bit of research it is becoming quite interesting. The computer is useful for research. 
Anyway, I've gone off on a tangent, again, and watched this video. Jacob Whelan has it spot on. He articulates what I am thinking. His editing skills go straight to the point, cuts out the dross. If you listen to the end he says everyone who is totally reliant on AI, and digital technology, is going lose their ability to make rational decisions about their lives. 
 

On to the next job. See ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

Saturday, 11 October 2025

Update on the Old Rectory.

 Good evening. Remember this place? I've been back there today. My first visit to Claxby was in 2013. 



I went back two times more. This pic is from 2022. 
This is from November 2024. Just before it went to auction. I've pumped up the saturation on these two pics. It was almost totally covered with greenery.  

Look at it now. The owner was there when I called today. He gave me permission to take these two photo's. There is still a lot more work to do. It is to be a family home. I am so pleased that it is being brought back to life. 

Next door is the church. It was open so I went inside. 


After Claxby I went to Market Rasen for a look around. It's late now and I am ready for bed, so I will post the pics tomorrow. 
Bye for now. Toodle pip.   ilona

Friday, 10 October 2025

How awful ;-( (edited)

 The Church of England decided this week to cover the interior of the oldest cathedral in England in graffiti in order to represent the voices of “marginalised communities.” The Very Rev David Monteith, Dean of Canterbury, said: “There is a rawness which is magnified by the graffiti style, which is disruptive. It is unfiltered and not sanitised.” “This exhibition intentionally builds bridges between cultures, styles and genres and allows us to receive the gifts of younger people who have much to say.”

Here is a link to the Canterbury Cathedral web site.





Our church in Scunthorpe town centre is an art gallery. It is no longer a church for worshiping. Even so, our exhibitions are not daubed all over the walls graffiti style. 
This is something I do not want to see inside a sacred building. Who thought this is a good idea? Article and comments in The Daily Mail.  

'Sacrilegious' graffiti exhibition makes Canterbury cathedral 'look like an underground car park in Peckham' say appalled worshippers'

Makes you wonder what comes next. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

EDIT

The oldest cathedral in England, Canterbury Cathedral, established in 597 AD by St. Augustine. It was founded to reintroduce Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons. Now, done up like this by a "Modern artist" who doesn't know what gender they are. Nothing is sacred!

These Cathedrals are sacred places to pray. We should honor the decades if not generations of work and dedication to make these beautiful peaceful places to worship. These Churche are a reminder of our place in time. They are part of our history and future. allowing anyone to deface any church or Cathedral is sickening and disrespectful to to our past and the future.

They're stickers you idiot and the questions they ask are what congregants want to know the answers to. Obviously they're trying to appeal to a certain group of youngsters that traditionally vandalise everything.

Thursday, 9 October 2025

Daily fresh air

Aye up me ducks. Howz ya didlin? A rather slow bimble this afternoon, just enjoying the big open spaces we have around here. Some photos for me to play with on the computer. A walk along the river and around the pond. 
There's a boat in. Getting loaded up. Then it will have to wait for the high tide before it can sail away. 

Can't see the name of it to check it out. 

This is called Old Row. Presumably because the cottages have been there for a long time. 
Some big posh houses up in them there hills. 

Lots of colourful berries around the fishing pond. 




Poor sad and lonely horse, waiting for someone to come and see to it. All the other horses were out in the fields.  

That's it. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Not a good idea.

Hi de Hi. I was talking to a friend the other day. Nice warm afternoon so we sat in the garden. Her hubby went in to make the coffee. Very nice it was too. His friend turned up. I have met this friend briefly before. The two men talked together for a while, then the conversation got around to the friends dramatic weight loss. He was a big chap as I remember, not so big now. He has lost one and a half stone in a matter of a few weeks. 
He was pleased with that. We wondered how he had done it. What diet has he been on. Only a tweak he said, cutting out the carbs. Then came the truth, he has been giving himself injections of some kind of weight loss drug. Didn't mention the name but I believe there are several available. This is the first time I have come across anyone who has taken these measures to lose weight. Seems a bit drastic to me. 
I thought it was dangerous to lose weight quickly. The photo's of Sharon Osbourne show how different she is now. She doesn't look good. 
Well lo and behold, I think the algorithms were spying on me that day, I had my little Nokia in my pocket. When I put the computer on later this video popped up. Dr Suneel is talking about that very subject. He warns about the effects of losing too much weight too soon, using these drugs. They have lots of side effect apparently. 
The friend mentioned that he is having problems with constipation, can't poo. He now needs to take another drug to help him 'go'. He is going to stay on the injections because he wants to lose more weight before Christmas. I suppose then he will be able to spend the day eating a turkey dinner with all the trimmings.  
Now I am going for a walk.
Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Wednesday, 8 October 2025

Two stick weaving tutorial

Good evening. I've been out most of the day today. Drop the car in at the garage at 9am, for a service and the MOT test. Glad to report that it passed, so pleased about that. £312 paid with cash. 
While that was being done I went to the care home to see June. She is spending a bit of time there while she recovers from a fall. The physio lady came in and gave her some exercises to do to hopefully hasten her recovery. She is hoping to be able to return back home when she is a bit more mobile. I was there for three hours. Then she was taken into the restaurant for lunch and I left because I needed to walk. Three hours is a long time for me to sit still. 
I walked for two hours around Winterton. Here are a few random photo's I took. This overgrown bush is eating up the house. It really ought to be removed. No doubt it will pull the rendering off the wall when it is finally taken down. 
All kinds of houses in Winterton. Some big posh ones with large gravelly driveways. 

I like this red front door. It opens straight out onto the street. 
Is it that time again already. It sure does come round quick. 
This bungalow is on a corner plot opposite the Showground. Looks like it has been abandoned. All windows have closed curtains. 
I sat on a bench in the Cemetery to eat my cheese and pickle sandwich. 
There was a footpath I wanted to explore so off I went down the road to look for the sign. I set off across the fields heading back towards the garage. Then they sent me a text to say the car was ready to collect. I wasn't far away so five minutes later I picked up the keys and paid the bill.
While I was away I left the computer running to upload this video I recorded yesterday. I show you how to weave with just two sticks. You might want to have a go. 




This is the type of thing I am aiming for. It will be a wall hanging. Picture from their web site. 
Dinner tonight was a stir fry made with vegetables I steamed yesterday, with some added mushrooms. In  the middle of the pan I put a cheese and onion roll to warm it up. Deeeelishus. 
That's it for now folks. It's gone 7pm and I must go and get Mayze in. 
Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona