Bingo.

My debut as a bingo caller was great fun at the Coffee Morning. Remembering all those Trucking Talks I did in front of an audience years ago, it all came back to me. I just open my mouth and have no control over what comes out. Forget about politically correct, it's two fat ladies 88. So, BongoBingo has taken off in our club. I hope I can do it again. 😎😁😆

Life is becoming a bit too predictable, I need some excitement. I don't like routine so I am going to get out of my comfort zone and do something I have never done before. I'll let you know how it goes. Be patient. Toodle pip.   ilona  

Snippets

 Pause for thought. I have a busy day today. Toodle pip.  ilona . . . . . . 

Tik Tok takes Beijing's propaganda and amplifies it around the world.

Dr Martins' fully-evidenced address to the EU Parliament is rightly going viral. The truth is the truth.

There are 25+ US-funded biolabs in Ukraine

The great global awakening to Big Pharma tyranny continues.

Council using diesel generators to charge electric bin lorries.

Wonderful reception and great energy from packed out crowd in Canberra this evening. Next 3 events in Melbourne selling fast.

So we’re going to spend €200m slaughtering 65,000 cows and import dairy products to meet emission targets.

Limerick, Ireland - 32 yo European fitness model champion & nurse Judy Fitzgerald died unexpectedly on May 27, 2023. Cause of death unknown.

Detained and having my phone seized by DPS Capitol Police for speaking out about men in women’s restrooms!

Garlic & raw honey are great immune boosters during the flu season.

Majority of men who get breast implants and put on makeup and dresses, keep fully functional male genitalia and sexual function. Surgery covered by external appearances can be deceptive.

The WHO is not a governmental organization. 80% of the funding is coming from private organizations likes oligarchs and Big Pharma.

Politicians “need to stop virtue signalling” on climate change and focus on solving problems like diseases and poverty. We shouldn’t let climate change overtake our entire conversation and say this is the only thing that matters.

A 'digital pound' could spell the end of financial privacy & freedom as we know it.

Notebooks and WhatsApp messages belonging to Boris Johnson have been handed to the Cabinet Office

Crazy world.

Visitor

A visitor in the garden tonight. It came just as it was starting to get dark at 9.30pm. Photo taken through the catflap. I put the food out every night. It's always gone in the morning. Hopefully eaten by hedgehogs. 

They eat first then get a drink of water from the bowl. 

I watched this one until it had finished and took off up the garden. They always take the same route. I checked the plate again ten minutes later and two more were chomping away. Couldn't get a photo, it was too dark by then. 

Isn't nature wonderful. Toodle pip.   ilona

Entwined exhibition.

I've had these photo's for a couple of weeks now, and unfortunately the exhibition has closed in my local 20 21 Arts Centre. No doubt they will be moving on to another gallery. These were the biggest pictures in the exhibition. 

Entwined is a major new exhibition featuring leading British painters, including winners of the John Moores and Contemporary British Painting Prize. The paintings in this exhibition invite their viewers to look closely at plants. They do this through the widest of ranges of approaches to paint, the selected painters all delight in our extraordinary world.

The works in the show work with and against the rich traditions of the many and various aesthetic ways of depicting plants, from botanical illustration, to decoration and design.

 

Interesting pictures I thought. especially those with below ground views. Roots are fascinating in the way they sustain plant growth, or give up through lack of nourishment and care, then the plant withers and dies. The same could be said of all life. The process of nature versus nurture combined.  

Artists in Entwined: Amanda Ansell, Bryony Benge-Abbott, Hannah Brown, Graham Crowley, Sam Douglas, Michele Fletcher, Barbara Howey, Linda Ingham, Juliette Losq, Paula MacArthur, Iain Nicholls, Joe Packer, Julian Perry, Narbi Price, Harvey Taylor, Helen Thomas, Judith Tucker and Joanna Whittle.

A link to more info about this exhibition.  

Entwined: Plants in Contemporary Painting - 20-21 Visual Arts Centre (2021visualartscentre.co.uk)

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

I'm glad.

 I am glad I don't buy things off the internet. It seems that parcel delivery drivers are in the habit of chucking packages and boxes over the gate or the garden wall, rather than going to the front door and ringing the bell. I'm also glad I'm not a delivery driver. It must be a rotten job to start the day with a full load knowing that you will probably be out late trying to offload everything and return to the depot with an empty van. 

When I went to collect Billy for his walk last week I was surprised to see a box had been left in the front yard. It looked like the driver had just lobbed it over the wall. He/she could have opened the gate and walked a few yards to the front door. Carol was in and could have received it. 

The box I saw was very badly ripped to bits. It turned out it had been ordered by her son Gary, in Germany. Marks and Sparks do a very nice hamper, which must have cost a fair amount of money. A certain little dog had seized it's opportunity to search for something edible. Luckily most of the parcel was still intact. Some of the contents were scattered around in his frenzied attack. There wasn't much left of a Victoria sponge cake. The icing had gone off the top, and a very small piece of the base was left in the tattered box. 

This story is of a dog attacking a parcel, it appeared in the Express. Fancy ordering three dresses to try on at home, then having to send one or two, or all of them back. More hassle. We get people coming on our village page asking if anyone has found their parcel. They then have to go and collect it from someone else's house. What a palaver. 

I shall continue to go to a shop if I want to buy something which I can carry home. Even if I didn't have a car I would go on the bus with my shopping trolley.  I'm glad I don't shop online. So much easier spending cash in a shop. 

Enjoy your Sunday. Toodle pip.   ilona

Wonky back, coffee chat

Here we go, hot out of the oven. A little something I cooked up this morning. 

Now brain is ready for sleep. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip.   ilona

Quick in and out.

Remember this. It was just the start. Now they are erecting physical barriers to stop us moving about. Everything that is happening from now on is to get us to comply. 

The plan is to destroy family life in whatever way they can come up with. Children are the targets. It's a world wide plan. DeSantis is the best hope for America. We don't have any politicians in the UK of that calibre. 

There is a remedy. Politicians are our servants. Stand firm and say, no, I'm not doing that. Ignore the sign above, and go out. 

Video uploading, ready later. Enjoy the sunshine. Have a good Bank Holiday Weekend.

Toodle pip.   ilona

Keep moving.

I joined the Walking Group this morning, at Barton, despite my back being a bit painful. I thought it's better to keep mobile rather than sit in a chair and it seize up altogether. I took my walking pole with me for a bit of stability. We did three miles. I prefer to be going at my own pace at the back end of the group. Tonight the pain has not gone away altogether, but it feels a lot easier. Another couple of days of  being careful should get me back to normal. 

I haven't been on some of the paths before. This tunnel took us under the A15 dual carriageway. 

Some good views when we came out the other side. It's nice to see the whole of the Humber Bridge in one photograph. 

I spy in the distance the P&O ferry docked at Hull. I wonder if the zoom can pick it up. 

The walk took an hour and a half, and as I was in Barton I decided to have a look at the art exhibitions in the Ropewalk Gallery. The artist is Stef Mitchell. There are more of her paintings and prints here. Here are two of her large pictures. This one is £1,500, and the next one is £2,700. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

Tina.

Sad news tonight, the death of Tina Turner. I have just watched this video and will think of her while I go to sleep. Dear Tina, the Queen of Rock and Roll. You were simply the best. Rest in Peace. 

Goodnight. Sleep tight.   ilona

Carefully does it

 My back has gone a bit wonky, I'm trying to work out how it happened. I haven't had any back pain for years. It could be that the sawing up of a massive pallet on the back garden yesterday was not a good idea. I want to get rid of it. It is now in two pieces, but still too big to load into the car and take to the tip. I might get an able bodied man to move it to the front gate and put a note on it, free to take. 

What could have triggered it is all the weeding I am doing. Kneeling on a cushion and leaning forward to remove the weeds means putting extra pressure on the back muscles. I need to put one hand on the ground for support. 

Or it could be that I spent the last hour in bed this morning lying on my side. My usual position is to lie flat on my back the whole night. 

Now I am moving around very carefully, trying to keep my back straight and upright. I walked slowly to the Coffee Morning, this morning. I am glad I made the effort, had a nice chat with a woman who has a small art group that meets at her house. She is into painting pictures. She is also a hypnotherapist and does relaxation classes. I said, tell me more. Could be something I could join in with in the future. 

It's sunny so I think I should be outside now. Sitting in a chair, not moving a pallet about or pulling weeds up. Bye for now.   Toodle pip.   ilona

Boiling over

I am having a bit of a declutter purge in my house. Getting rid of stuff I haven't used, don't need, and have no further use for. It's easy to sort through cupboards and drawers, the contents are solid objects. Keep chuck, yes or no. 

Who keeps dumping this crap on my computer? I don't need it, didn't ask for it, and don't want it. So, there is a lot of free money available in the form of grants which can be used towards a new boiler. Why are they pushing this? Well if you have been watching what is going on you will have a pretty good idea. 

We are being nudged towards net zero emissions, because there is a climate crisis. Ha ha, what just like millions of people were going to drop dead in the street from a nasty bug, like they did in China. Like the treatment they offered people was going to stop the bug. Pull the other leg, it's got bells on.  

Are the Government awash with money? No they are not. They just move debt about to give the impression that all is well, when it isn't. Trickery at it's finest.  

I did actually get a grant 14 years ago, because I was unemployed for a few months before I retired. My central heating hadn't worked for over three years, I managed without it because I couldn't afford to get a new system installed. I saw a window of opportunity and applied. They updated my heating system and insulated the house. The boiler still works under the watchful eye of my local plumber. 

Apply now by all means if you think you might qualify. Take your pick. I very much doubt that I do. I don't update things until they actually stop working, or they are going to cost me a lot in repairs. 

Rather than put an ad blocker on my computer, the simple remedy is to ignore the crap coming my way. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona 

Dramatic rescue

From your roving reporter who was on the scene of an unfolding drama yesterday morning. It seems there is an emergency in the village. Two fully equipped fire and rescue vehicles arrived with blue flashing lights. 

And a truck mounted extending ladder, for those difficult to reach places. 

Looks like there is some unfolding action about to take place. I'd better stick around and write up a full report. The ladders are up on the roof. Is there someone up there about to jump or fall off? 

Kittypuss doesn't seem too bothered about the commotion. Enjoying a spot of sunbathing in a prime spot, with hopefully no interruptions from other cats, or dogs, or humans. Just leave me alone. 

Oh dear, here comes trouble, I'm off. 

Not another one. Looks like this kitty is going to have to find another place to sunbathe. 

Come on Kitty, I have this lovely box you can get comfortable in. I don't think it is going to fall for that one. 

Maybe a lasso around the neck is worth a try. Come on Kitty, jump through this loop for me. 

Meanwhile at the front of the house another rescuer of cats stuck on a roof, appears. The angry protestations coming from the cat as it is grabbed and stuffed into a holdall can be heard halfway down the street. 

The descent is carried out very slowly so as not to cause Kitty any more distress. 

Another cat rescuer reaches out to take the holdall down to the ground. 

There you are mate. Glad to be of service. That little exercise has ticked off a few more boxes on the training manifest. 

This is your roving reporter checking out. It's nice to start the day watching a rescue with a happy ending. Now for breakfast. Toodle pip.   ilona

Change your life

Eating my breakfast on this sunny morning, watching the latest Liam and Janine video. This is worth a shout out. Those Happy Days is a documentary of their van life adventures. Clever Janine does all the editing. 

They have just won an award and are keen to talk about it. Recently back from a six month tour of India, they are now UK based for the summer, and are planning lots of adventures. Catch up with them here at Brighton. Morgan is a repurposed furniture van, their second vehicle, after they outgrew a smaller van. 

Yes, they are influencers, in the nicest possible way. They have worked hard to create a full time job for themselves. They have sponsors, which they don't push in your face. They strive to create a good mix of interesting and varied content, based on entertainment. 

Their enthusiasm for living a great life is infectious. People say I am an inspiration. If they see that in me that's good, but I say, don't do as I do, make your own inspiration and make your own life. 

We can't all be a Liam and a Janine, but we can allow some of their magic into our lives and make our own plans. 

Catch ya later.    ilona 

Seal spotting at Flamborough

I almost missed the seals. I was nearly back at the car and saw some people in the distance looking over the edge. I went to have a look. Oh wow, what a bonus to finish off the walk. 

A lovely day out. Stopping off at the Scrapstore, and bimbling along the North Yorkshire coast. 

Thanks for popping in. Have a good weekend. Toodle pip.   ilona

Bird watching at Flamborough.

I went over the Humber Bridge yesterday to Hull. My de cluttering is ongoing and I had quite a lot of stuff to get rid of. I know, I'll donate it to the Scrapstore. A lot of it I got from there anyway. I haven't used it so they can have it back. It was nice to see Tracey and the gang again. After a good old natter and a mug of coffee I was on my way to the seaside. You would think it's easy to follow the Bridlington signs out of Hull, after all it's a straight road going north. The signposts are pretty hopeless. I got to my destination eventually. The mission was to have a walk along the coast at Flamborough to photograph the seabirds. 

It was quite busy, a lot of people had come out, even though the weather was overcast. No blue skies today. At least it was dry and warm. This is the newer of the two light houses.  

This is the older one. Taken from a distance across a field and a golf course. 

I'm on my way across the cliff top. 

Too many photo as usual. Whittled down to just a few. 

Here is a guide if you want to identify the birds. 

As I don't know the names of many birds, I don't know the names of many flowers either. I take photo's of things that look nice. 

Pleasure boat taking visitors for a different view of the cliffs. 

A flask and a bench, that's all you need after a day of golfing. 

This is North Landing. Time to turn round and walk back to the car. 

This seems a bit mean. It's a massive car park. Not near any houses. It's a good job I am not staying the night then. 

I've been to Flamborough several times before, all documented on this blog. I have walked a lot of the paths on the east coast of Yorkshire. It's always a pleasure to be here. 

I've had an at home day today to catch up on the garden tidying and housework. It's the weekend, have a good one. Toodle pip.   ilona