Coffee chat with money saving tips.

Hello. Here's one just out of the oven. It's late so I'll whack it on before I go upstairs. 

Catch ya tomorrow. Toodle pip.   ilona

Thinking about it.

 I see the mass jabbing season has come round again. A new wave of advertisements and articles are urging people to make an appointment. Chemist shops are offering the treatment. Medical centres are contacting their patients to come along to the surgery. They are probably bypassing me, I haven't heard from them. I am on their records as a 'thinking about it' patient. 

People I meet say they have had their fourth or fifth, or whatever it is now. They seem happy. Good for them. Some people are getting two together at the same time, one in each arm. Saves going back twice I suppose. 

It has now come back to the surface again as a talking point. I have had mine, have you had yours yet? What was it like, any side effects? No, perfectly fine, just a bit tired that's all. 

Am I allowed to say on here that I am still thinking about it, or will that bring on more troll comments? Is anybody brave enough to say, well it's your choice, without giving me a load of abuse. I will hold my breath. 

Video uploading, going shopping, catch ya later. ilona 

  

Too cute.

Hello. I saw a man walking a small furry animal last week in a village I was passing through. I stopped the car and had to ask about it. Because I am nosey. He had it on a harness and lead, similar to what you might use to walk a cat. I was introduced to Amos. We were next to the church so he lifted it up on to the wall so I could have a better look. Isn't he cute. 

The man lives in another village a few miles away. He had brought Amos to walk in different place, so he doesn't get bored. We had a lovely chat all about how he got Amos, how old is he, and where does he live. Amos lives in the house, he has a crate but can wander around, and he does his business in a litter tray just like a cat. 

The man has kept stoats as pets for many years. At the moment he has just this one, he has reared it from birth. 

I didn't know anything about stoats until I looked it up. Apparently they sleep a lot but are very active when they are awake. There you go. What a cute little fella. 

Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip.   ilona

Introducing the new Prime Minister. (New comments added.)

This is Gloria. I think we should give her a chance of running the country. Nobody else seems to have the gumption to do it. Meet the new leader of The Common Sense Party. Due to her lack of communication skills, she will be assisted by myself of course. She is a stay at home mum to Mayze cat, so therefore will not be moving from her comfortable position on the armchair. However, I have mastered the art of keyboard skills pretty well, so therefore I will be conveying her instructions to the rest of the cabinet. 

Now come on Gloria. Get yourself out of bed, we have work to do. 

Hurry up with your ablutions, I haven't got all day. 

If you could help with the washing up that would be a good start. 

Sorry there isn't much in the fridge. I will go shopping later. 

Alright, you can come with me to the shops. 

Drat, now what is the problem. Can you fix it? 

Let's chill out Gloria. It's very stressful being the Prime Minister. 

Time to make a video. Gloria, you are in my chair. Oh well, your turn, you do it then. 

I have to go out Gloria. Do you think you can cope while I am away? I have to go for a walk. There are some emails you need to deal with. And no, you can't resign just yet. Wait till I get back. 

How Gloria was born. Plastic and wood and fabric makes up the bulk of her. 

Can you put some clothes on me. I don't like being naked. 

The shorts are pretty good, but I don't like flashing my spindly legs. 

That was a hard days work. I don't think I can stand much more of this. Let's go back out into the garden. Stuff the chuffin country, I'm not cut out for all that squabbling. I am resigning. 

Thanks for popping in. We will catch up soon. Toodle pip.   ilona

Pumpkin pie anyone.

I called in at the Garden Centre the other day as I was passing on the way to Caistor. I wanted some bags of compost. It's a small family business. I like it much better than the big posh Garden Centres that sell everything but the kitchen sink. The pumpkin display was a surprise. look at all that colour. I didn't know there are so many different varieties, colours and sizes. It must have taken them ages to set it all out. 

Oh my, too many to choose from. I asked if they would all be sold before the end of the month. She said, yes they will. I paid for the compost and the man lifted it into the car for me. I didn't buy any pumpkins. 

Have a nice Monday. Looking like I will get a walk in once I have finished this coffee. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

Choice or no choice

 Martin Lewis throws out a poll almost daily on the twittteratta. It's a bit of fun to gauge the reaction of the general public on matters of public concern. His team manages it and Martin himself sometimes replies to comments. The poll today is ;-

If there were to be a new Conservative Party PM, which of these four would you say would be the best for the country at this time? Jeremy Hunt - Penny Mordaunt - Ben Wallace - Rishi Sunak. There is only space for four options. 

I, along with many others could not vote on that. For a start, who is Ben Wallace, and there is plenty of evidence that the others are part of the W E F. There is no difference between them.

I read your tweet twice Martin but I still have to vote "none". Sorry. None of the candidates put up are votable.

I’m not for any of them. If they change again we need a GE called immediately. Our bills should have been capped in April, now people are on their knees and this lot are infighting when they caused it. This is abhorrent and people on the ground are suffering.

Have a read of all the replies on Martin's poll. 

I don't study British politics, or any other world politics. The terms Left Wing and Right Wing are a nonsense to me. In my mind there are good ideas, and there are daft ideas. There are people who are clued up, and those who don't give a toss and will go their own sweet way. It's not about taking sides. Politicians in charge of our island cannot make decisions on what happens here. Our banking systems are interwoven with those in the rest of the world, and it is they who will bring us down.  We need to maintain our independence, while working towards a system that is beneficial to all. 

That is going to be a tough call. There are plans to mix up all nations, put us all into a big melting pot, and remove all our freedoms. What do they say about growing mushrooms? Keep them in the dark and feed them shit. 

Everything that happens is for a reason, all leading to the same end. Best wishes.   ilona 

No coffee, just a bench chat

Hello. I knocked this one out today, recorded on Friday. If you have watched it on yoootooob you won't want to watch it again. 

Quiet day today. A bit of gardening. Chat to friend on the phone. Got four bags of compost out of the car which I bought yesterday. Sorted out the cat food cupboards. Dog walk. Ate my lunch outside, it was warm enough. 

Catch ya tomorrow. Toodle pip.   ilona

Caistor is a nice town

Good morning world. I ran out of time last night to put this out. After a day out all I want to do is collapse in a chair and browse a few videos. Today is a fresh new day. I have to check the desk calendar to see exactly what day it is. My neighbour hasn't gone to work so it must be the weekend. Ah yes, I have a dog walk marked down for later. I fancied a drive out somewhere, so I took the back roads into Lincolnshire. The Wolds have some gentle slopes with very nice views. Quick, stop the car, snap snap. 

Caistor was where I was heading for. I have been here a few times, but not for a while. I sometimes use this as a place to park the car, then go off walking. This time I had a bimble around the town. 

I once gave a talk at the Arts Centre. I had a look for a photo of this but sadly I didn't take any. It was April 2011. Blimey, time flies. 

Inside there is a cafe, and a library, and an art gallery. There is lots of local information for visitors to peruse. I popped into the lavvy while I was there. Two people were checking out the leaflets for local walks. I thought, aha, walkers I think. Yep, they were. We immediately had something in common. The subject was the basis of a lengthy conversation. The lady was also a keen recycler and a make do and mend fan. That's how the conversation started. You know me, I can talk non stop for England. The bonus was, we were singing from the same song sheet, if you know what I mean. Nudge nudge wink wink. YESSSSSSS. I was very happy to meet these two people. 

Some of the buildings in the town. 

 

The pink house used to be a pub.

I sat on a bench in the churchyard and ate my cheese sandwich. Such a lovely view. A man passed by with two dogs. I asked if they could have a treat. He said yes, so I offered them a Pedigree Markies Mini. They sat when asked to and quickly scoffed the treat.

 

Flower display at the front of the church. 

There are lots of old buildings like this one. 

Flowers everywhere, even in October. 

The Market Square in the centre. There was a fruit and veg stall when I arrived, but it had packed up and gone by the time I took these pictures. Two elderly gents had set up a stand offering free bible classes here. It was a bit cold to be standing about so they called it a day and went. 

I was getting a bit cold so I moved on. I wanted to check out an abandoned house I had seen twice before, at Claxby. It was an Old Rectory. Those who have been reading for some time may remember how sad it looked. There are pictures on this post from August 2013.  And this one from January 2015. 

This is what I found yesterday. Nature has claimed it back, it is probably too late to save it. The only pictures I could get were from the church next to it. 

I could have probably squeezed through here which was the front gate, but it is obvious that nosey parkers are not wanted. If you look back at the two previous posts and read the comments you will see that someone contacted me who used to live there. She wanted to find out more about the house. I was also contacted by someone who didn't want anyone snooping around. I was told I was trespassing. So best to step back from this one. I would like to know what they are hiding though. Why is it hard to find any information about the house. 

Time to head off back home. I drove through heavy rainfall for a few miles, the sun came out, and WOW. Lovely rainbow. Pull in quickly to get the shot. 

Breakfast this morning is porridge, peaches, and half a banana. Thanks for popping in. Enjoy your Sunday. Toodle pip.   ilona