Let's Restore Britain.

 Good luck Rupert. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

Work exchange visit cancelled

Good morning.

The sun is shining but it is very cold. I have had to break the ice on the birds drinking bowls scattered about on the lawn. 

I came across this snippet of news last night, so a quick copy and paste was all I had time for before I went to bed. So What's it all about? You might get the gist of it if you have time to read it. The text on the letter might be a bit difficult to read, sorry, not had time to edit it. 

VictoriaAtkins

URGENT letter to Home Secretary about animal welfare.

@ukhomeoffice

ministers have stopped 75 highly skilled sheep shearers from coming to the UK for this year’s sheep shearing season.

@natsheep

tell me that Australian and Kiwi shearers usually shear 1.5-2 million sheep in our warm months to prevent heat stroke and disease. The Home Office must u-turn on this decision urgently before the season starts in two months.

Comments from other sources. 

The government is trying to stop 75 highly skilled sheep shearers from coming to the UK for this year’s sheep shearing season.

All part of Starmer's campaign to bankrupt the UK farmers.

Preventing Australian/Kiwi Sheep Shearers from entering the UK at the height of season appears to be part of an all out attack on Farmers by its own Govt as well as this being animal cruelty.

For years there's been a partnership & friendships between Australian NZ & UK shearers & surrounding communities.

So I guess the shearers from the UK won't be able to go to NZ & Australia either. For years this partnership & friendship has existed & a petty bureaucratic breaks it. Another part of our culture destroyed

Photo from my blog post, 3rd June 2010. On holiday in Dorset. 

I chatted to the young lady as they were getting ready. She told me they are from Lanarkshire, and they go all over the world shearing sheep. They have 350 to do here today.

A story about the Labour Government trying to stop the sheep shearers coming here to help out with the mammoth task of shearing all our sheep within a limited amount of time. So what happens when our sheep shearers want to go there to work on their shearing programme? 

Have a good weekend. Toodle pip.   ilona

Me again - are you keeping up.

Good evening.

Still cold, still wet. I managed to find a half hour window this afternoon when it stopped raining, to take Billy a walk. 

Lunch yesterday was half a tin of mushy peas, half a tin of butter beans. Warm in a Pyrex bowl in the microwave. Add a couple of shakes of garlic granules, and two teaspoons of sweet and sour sauce. A bit unusual for a meal, but it was fine, and cheap.  

Crafty wise I am playing with face masks, I have 50 of them. I want to paint them in different colours. It's an experiment at the moment. Using acrylic paint and diluting it with water. They look a bit blotchy  so I might have to soak them several times to get the density I want. This may take a while. 😟😜😴

I put out this video yesterday. I started a new mandala. It's smaller than the previous ones.  

Who will survive when it all goes tittts up? We are being led into a dark place. Do we have to go? No we don't. Better to prepare now.

Now it's time to chill with a glass of cider. Thanks for popping in. Have a good weekend.

Toodle pip.   ilona

Pure Genius

 This is genius. Very emotional. Brought tears to my eyes. Full sound. 

It is sometimes difficult to put into words what genius is. But you do feel it when you experience it. This is Jacob Collier as he improvises with an orchestra performing with the world's first Audience Symphony Orchestra in San Francisco, a gathering of fans from all over North America, conducted by Suzie Collier. In the middle of the show, this happened - no rehearsal, no sheet music, no prior discussion.

Catch ya later. ilona

EDIT.

If you like that, you will love this. A longer version on yoootooob. Make this your treat for the weekend.

 

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views

Premiered on 9 Feb 2026

30k thumbs up.

More from Jacob Collier. 2.15 million subscribers. 366 videos.

EDIT AGAIN.

Unbelievable. I have just read some of the comments on twitter. Some of them are very critical, very scathing. This is the nature of the internet and social media. The state of the world is going downhill fast. It doesn't matter what you put out there, no matter how enjoyable it is, how good it is, there are always people who want to pull you down.

Warning

 GOOD MORNING.

Guess what, it's chuffing RAINING AGAIN. 😬😩😱

If you were spitting feathers and cursing about what Jim Ratcliffe said, your blood pressure is going to hit unbelievable heights if you read this tweet from Rupert Lowe. 

Maybe do yourself a favour and pass on this post.  

Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

You can't say that.

 Free speech isn’t free. It costs. Jim Ratcliffe has apologised because his words went against the approved speech. Even Billionaires aren’t immune from the intimidation force of the mob.

His statement.

Only the brave warriors will speak out. Careful what you say or they will destroy you. 

Catch ya later.   ilona

EDIT

Andrew Lawrence has it about right. 

Industrial Lancashire

I took these photos when I was at the 20 21 Art Gallery last week. It's the kind of art that I like, with lots of skill involved. I wish I could paint pictures, but I am hopeless. Richard Barnard is a local artist. 

It's back to being dull outside today. 

I've recorded a video and I will put it out later. 

Thanks for popping in Toodle pip.   ilona

Free bridge crossings. . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . but only if you walk across, which I did today. I was late setting off. It was an impulsive decision. Coffee Morning was quite busy, some new faces came along for the first time. Then I called in for a catch up chat with Angela. We put the world to rights. The sun was making a brave attempt to come out so I stuffed a few things into my rucksack and drove to the bridge. Parked underneath, I set of at 3.30pm. to walk across. I took my bus pass just in case I wanted to get a lift back. I didn't I walked. It's one and a half miles each way. 

Traffic seems to be flowing freely over it. No stopping at toll booths now. Just remember to pay online by midnight the day after. Or you can pay in advance if you keep your account topped up.  

There is a lifeboat station on the North Bank. Looks like they had been out for a practice. They were in the process of dragging the boats out of the water and back on land to the sheds. 

Coming towards the end of the bridge on the North Bank. Looking down on the A63 which runs from Hull to Leeds. There is a park down there with a restaurant/pub for meals and drinks. 

This is where the footpath ends and I go down the steps to walk underneath it. They have put barriers up and moved all the traffic over to one side. The price has gone up from £1.50 to £2.00.

I wonder if they will take the pay booths away. 

There was time for a walk, so I had an explore around Hessle. Very nice Rest Home here. 

A view under the bridge looking from north bank to south bank. The rumble of vehicles thundering overhead is deafening.  

Up on the bridge now and it's starting to get dark. 

I got back to the car just in time. It started raining heavily, and lashed it down all the way home. 

It's been a bit warmer today, let's hope we have seen the worst of the weather. I come alive when I am out in the open air. Takes my mind off the stupidity of the current situation. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Zips and buttons

Good evening. 

Another rotten weather day today. Need to do some work in the garden but everything is soaking wet. My lawn is like a mud bath because thousands of birds come down to feed every day. My fault because I like to see them. I have the fattest pigeons in the village. A seagull came to visit the other day. 

Here I reveal my latest art creation. What can you do with twelve zips and a few buttons. Sew the zips together on a piece of backing fabric. Add a lot of stitching. Hang some tiny buttons on the zipper pulls.

Add more buttons on the dark blue fabric at the bottom. 

The green zipper to hang it is hooked onto a knitting needle at each end. The top of the zips are folded over it. 

The back is fully covered. All I need to do now is remove the cat hairs with sellotape. 

It is 9.5 inches by 16 inches. Finished. 

I started off with an idea and let it take me on a journey. Changing my mind as I went along. I am pleased with the result. 

I have figured out how to add a video into a blog post. It used to be dead easy. Click on 'share' on yoootooob, that opens a window and gives you options, right click on the Blogger logo, then right click 'paste' onto a new Blogger post. That option has now gone. Now I have to go all around the houses. 

My dinner is ready. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

All the fun of the fair

Good evening.

At last a sunny day to go out. I caught the 1 o clock bus to town and walked back home. So what did I see. Always have the camera ready.

I have never seen this shop before. Was quite surprised to see a big corner shop in a prominent position trading as a tattoo artist. They are usually in out of the way places in a back room. I went into the jewelers shop opposite and asked how long they had been there. The lady inside said they moved in just before Christmas. She said they are from Mary Street, a much smaller shop, and they are doing quite well since they came here. As I walked through the town I saw a man with trousers cut off at the knees. The whole of his lower legs were covered in tattoos. Maybe we will see more of these shops opening up, if  covering yourself in ink is becoming popular.  

Good to see that other volunteers are tidying up their local area. 

Oh dear. Leaving the town behind along a busy road. 

I caught sight of a poster advertising a FunFair, on a telegraph pole. 

And a bit further along I saw them setting it up. Good opportunity to take some photo's. I went through the gate and asked permission. They were a friendly bunch. It's a huge amount of work to get these fairgrounds set up. 

Of course it was an opportunity to talk trucks. They certainly looked very tidy and well looked after. 

For a 57 that looks like it has had a new paint job. It was first registered in 2007, and is plated for 44000kg. In the back it's got the generator for the ride, and lots of equipment.  

You don't see many ERF's about now. My favourite truck. 

Fodens have all but disappeared from our roads as well. A lot of our old trucks have been shipped out to Malta, they love them there. 

The clouds started coming over so it's time I made tracks for home. 

By the time I was crossing the last of the turf fields the sun made one last attempt to show it's face. This is my favourite tree. The top of it looks a bit chopped about and is missing a limb or two. 

I am turning into a tree hugger. 

I really enjoyed that walk. Didn't expect to see a FunFair. That was a bonus. Get yourself out there if you can. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Don't want one.

 Aye up, me again. Here comes trouble. 

 "An annual standard colour TV licence currently costs £174.50/year and since 2020 most over-75s no longer get their Licences for free. "However, there are a few exceptions, including if you're claiming Pension Credit (either Guarantee or Savings credit), in which case you're entitled to a free TV Licence each year." And it comes as it's just been announced the cost will rise to £180.

Article in Birmingham Live.  Don't bother to read it. It's full of adverts. 

This is just another one of their tricks to reel people in. They are telling you that you may get the licence free if you are on pension credits. So, people apply for pension credits in case they qualify. By doing that they are admitting that they watch the telly. Aha, let's see if this person is already watching the telly, let's see if they are paying for a licence. 

It's a roundabout way of getting you to admit you have a telly and that you are watching it. Offer something free and you've got them. 

I have no need to claim for pension credits, and even if they give me a TV licence I wouldn't want one. For those who are struggling to cover their costs, claim if you need to. 

Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona