No licence needed.

I have not had a TV Licence for many years now. I follow the rules, and don't need one. Three previous letters to confirm that. They write to me every two years.

The last letter I received states that this confirmation takes me to March 2025. It says, we won't write to you again until just before this declaration runs out. 

Today this letter arrived in the post, six months early. 

They must be getting desperate for money. They can keep trying but I won't be giving them any. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

Food prices at Aldi

Several people have asked me to do a shopping video, so here you go. My subscribers from other parts of the world are curious about the cost of food in the UK. The comments on my channel indicate that we are not too badly off here, because they say they are paying more than us for similar products. 

It is raining here and looks like it won't be stopping any time soon. I need to clean my car and strip everything out of it for the MOT test tomorrow. Looks like I will be doing that with a jacket on. Can you wash a car when it's raining? I'd better make a start. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Just saying

 If a British blogger has the right to bad mouth a nominee for the American presidency, I have the right to say how I see the battle developing. I know very little about US politics, so I call on Mr Musk to help me out. Yes, he is biased, he has his own interests which will be impacted by whoever is first past the finishing line. But at least he is there in the thick of it. Believe him or not. 

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Quote.

Very few Americans realize that, if Trump is NOT elected, this will be the last election. Far from being a threat to democracy, he is the only way to save it!

Moreover, the Biden/Harris administration has been flying “asylum seekers”, who are fast-tracked to citizenship, directly into swing states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin and Arizona. It is a surefire way to win every election.

Everywhere in America will be like the nightmare that is downtown San Francisco. 

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My thoughts are if the American people don't vote for Mr T, they are complicit in the demise of their country. A bloody battle is being fought.  Check out Mr Musk's tweeeet, and see if it makes sense to you, it does to me. He has his enemies, he has publicly stated what his intentions are. AI is his agenda. 

We had a similar situation here, and look how that turned out. All politicians are in cahoots with those who have the money. Vote like your life depends on it, but be aware, we are already half way there to globalisation. 

I am knocking this out quickly because I am about to go out. I won't be accepting any comments on this post, whether you agree with me, or not. I am not interested in turning my blog into a battleground. I will let others do that. 

Have a good day. Toodle pip.   ilona

Three pussies.

Good morning. Coffee drunk, egg custard eaten, now I am going to visit three pussies. 

Please can I go outside now? 

I'm alright, I'll stay here, snoozing on this comfy chair. 

Surely this door is going to open soon. I want to go out. 

Not long now pussies. They are on their way back. 

Catch ya later. Toodle pop.   ilona

 

Inside Brodsworth Hall

As stately homes go, this is one of the best. There are volunteers in every room who are happy to share snippets of history with you. Welcome come on in. 

Can you see me Mother. This room has large mirrors on opposite walls, which gives the feeling that it is big enough for a banquet. 

Turning my back to the clock, I wanted to take a photo of the reflections of the single chandelier hanging from the centre of the ceiling. People were walking about so I had to wait until they had gone. I didn't want my reflection in it either, so I squatted down and lost it behind the ornament on the mantlepiece. 

There is the chandelier many times from a different angle. 

And down another corridor. Let's explore. 

Each room had a title, and a short description, displayed on a board. 

Now this is what I call the junk room, though of course it's not junk. Spare artefacts are stored here. 

A posh lavvy. It's a bit like the one my Grandma had which was in a shed up the yard. It didn't have a ceramic potty though, and the wood gave you splinters in your bum if you didn't sit still. It had a bucket which stunk to high heaven. A man with a lorry came every so often to empty it. We were told to go out and play when he was due to arrive. 

I would love to have a four poster bed. I would pull the curtains round to make a tent. 

This is one of the staff bedrooms. 

Down stairs in the kitchens. I can imagine staff hurrying around to cook the meals.

There are a lot more rooms than I have photographed here. You could easily spend two hours or more in the house if you wanted to immerse yourself in the history of it. 

I didn't film inside, but I have found this lovely five minute video on Don Frank's channel. It shows some of the rooms where I didn't take photo's. 

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

PS. Come back to add another link. 

Behind the scenes at Brodsworth Hall and Gardens. Six minutes about what goes on there during the winter months. Fantastic drone shots. 

Laughing Hysterically

I am looking around blogland. I had to search for an exact video which illustrates my amusement of people getting their knickers in a twist. 😂😜😆

Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

Tokio Myers

Good morning. I'm slotting this one in here. I have a lot to do today, in and out, I will post more pics of Brodsworth soon. In the meantime, take a look at Tokio, for a massive boost of inspiration. 

He came up from nothing, and is now an international star. He won BGT in 2017, and donated his prize money to start a music school for children. He will tell you where he came from. 

Anyone who thinks life is shit right now, take note of his words. He put his heart and soul into his music, and the boy done good. 

Have a look at some of his later videos. He just gets better and better. 

Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

Fabulous gardens at Brodsworth Hall.

If you are near Doncaster, make time to take a look at Brodsworth Hall. You need to go before the 4th of November though, because it will be closing for the winter. Check the web site for details. This is an English Heritage managed property. 

Brodsworth Hall was built in the 1860s for the Thellusson family, but as the family’s fortune diminished, the house and gardens gradually fell into decline and disrepair. Today, the Victorian pleasure gardens have been expertly restored to their former glory.

They have a large team of gardeners, and a group of volunteers who help to keep it all neat and tidy. The flower beds are soon to be cleared, and prepared for the winter planting of bulbs. 

The lawns are immaculate. Perfect edging, and straight line mowing. 

Walk up the steps for the view from the Summer House. 

The grounds are extensive with a maze of pathways to walk through shrubs and trees. 

Brodsworth village church is not part of the grounds, but it can be seen close up if you look over the hedge. 

I sat and watched the croquet games. Everyone dressed in white. 

This beautiful tree is the first thing you see when you walk up the path from the reception building. Most of the grounds are accessible for wheelchair users. 

This is the front door where you enter the hall. Round the back is the tea room and toilets. There is a shop at the reception building, and a big car park. 

You've seen the pictures now watch the video.

This is the only video I recorded while I was there. I did go into the house, there will be photo's of that in the next post. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona. 

Brodsworth is blooming great.

Good evening. The weather looked promising this morning. Best make the most of it while it lasts. I went to Brodsworth Hall, a stately home near Doncaster. The gardens  are fabulous at the moment with all the flowers out. It was blooming great. 

I've sorted the photo's out, and checked the video. These will be appearing over the next few days. 

We'll catch up tomorrow. Toodle pip.   ilona

Proud

Here's a little something I threw together yesterday. Education as it was then, what I learnt at school. Finding my way around with a paper map. No gadgets, no sat nav. 

I have a new doggy to walk. Helping out because his owner is in hospital. Hoping it's temporary and the owner will recover. Rocky, another Rocky, common name for dogs, is a lovely boy, big and brown. 

Must go. Things to do. 

Catch ya later.

Toodle pip.   ilona

Tips and tricks

 Good morning. Looking miserable outside. I was up early, 6am, that's because I went to bed early last night, 10pm. I don't like these shorter days. 

My photo turned up on the 20 21 Arts Centre facebuck page. I was in there last week, they had an event on where you choose a garment from a rail, and leave one of your own. A clothes swap. It was about re cycling and re using. As I am a regular in there, and my attire was bought from charity shops, I was asked if I would pose. This is part of a montage, so only a split second of me is shown on the page.  

I find bungees very useful, so when I saw these in the middle aisle at Aldi I thought it was a good buy. £3 for ten different sizes. They were in the camping section. Check out your middle aisle. 

Mayze insists she has to lie on the mousemat close to the computer. That's ok if I am just watching a video, but not ok if I want to use the keyboard. 😻

Mickey has settled in nicely, and found his favourite spot to snooze. The arm chair is so comfy. 😺

A new sewing makeover has begun. A plain pale blue fleecy top, needs some decoration. You may remember that I cut some pieces of blue fleece into squares. Some of them I used to decorate a black beany hat. What to do with the rest of them. Watch this space. ✂

A tin of baked beans has always been a good item have in the cupboard to make a quick and easy meal. Just lately I am getting mighty bored with them. So how to spice it up a bit?  I have added a spoonful of roasted garlic chutney, and a shake of garlic granules. Seeded bread with an egg on top. Lovely. You could use any chutney, I particularly like caramelised onion. Or any spices to give it a bit of a zing. 🍴

It is now 8.30am. I haven't a definite plan for today. It depends on the weather. I have a day out in mind, maybe today, or tomorrow, or Thursday. 

Keep busy, and creative. Toodle pip.   ilona

The hard sell

 

No thanks. I will carry on as I am. Eating nutritious food, from my own kitchen. Taking vitamin D and C and calcium supplements. Spending time outdoors weather permitting. Walking alone and embracing nature. Feeding my creative brain with new arts and crafts projects. Spreading a little happiness. Banishing negativity and oozing positive vibes. Living with an attitude of gratitude. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona