Pratchett Again

Not the stories "lost" when the hard drive containing them was destroyed, in accordance with the instructions in his Will. A number of short stories, originally published under a pseudonym in local newspapers, have been gathered together and will be released in a single volume later this year. 

Read about the stories that will comprise A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories here. As an avid Pratchett fan, this is kind of cool news.

Tailgate

This might go some way to explain why my car tailgate has of late been acting erratically (closing for no reason) and has now stopped working all together. Dr Google advises this is quite a common fault on a Galaxy. Not much consolation when I can see the problem but don't have at my disposal the right tools to deal with it. Does anyone have spare T25 and T30 Torx drivers? I have all the other sizes dontchaknow. 

The tailgate is quite heavy to open and shut manually, I can tell you. Guess I'll be calling into my local repair shop tomorrow to see if they can assist.

Only In Britain

(Probably)

How can two consecutive mornings have such differing weather conditions? For example yesterday at 6.30 am it was -4 degrees Celsius, yet today at the same time the temperature was a heady +6 degrees. Mad!

Plasticine Angel

The renowned Angel of the North has never looked so good. Thanks to Aardman and one of their earliest creations, Morph. Used to love watching his (mis)adventures when I was growing up. What a guy! 

Deja Vu

Do you ever get that feeling..?

Happy Groundhog Day!

Caribbean

Having just completed the HBO Max series Our Flag Means Death, the fictionalised story of Stede Bonnet and Edward Teach- otherwise known as the Gentleman Pirate and Blackbeard respectively- a drop of rum seems quite apt. Don't mind if I do LOL.

Two Silver Pounds

Just arrived, curtesy of my friendly Postie, is this lovely £2, 1oz Silver Britannia bullion coin. Naturally this carries the image of our King, Charles III. Still seems quite odd saying that LOL.

Swearing Chef

What could be better than going out for birthday Posh Burgers? We'd wanted to go to GBK, Gourmet Burger Kitchen but sadly the Reading branch has closed. The chain got into difficulties during Covid and the owners had to downsize. 

Instead we thought we would try Street Burger by Gordon Ramsay. Yes that Mr Ramsay, the original foul-mouthed chef. Nevertheless the atmosphere was superb, service great and food most excellent. Not surprisingly the place seemed really popular. Planning to visit again.

So Soon?

Can't believe ym has turned 19. Where exactly did that time go? He has a busy day at Uni, and won't finish until 6pm. So unfair!

You Don't Know Jack...

Who knew that UK number 1 Supermarket Tesco has a "secret" brand that they seem to offer via convenience stores and petrol filling station shops? 

Perhaps this is common knowledge and I'm simply late to the game so to speak; it wouldn't be the first time LOL. It seems Jack's is their no-frills or discount brand named after Tesco founder Jack Cohen, the son of Jewish immigrants. Cohen started trading in 1919 and adopted his Tesco brand 5 years later, fact fans. Now you do know Jack... LOL

Brooklyn

Well happy new year to all those residing in the Blog-verse and wider Interweb.

Just take a good look what I've found in my local Tesco supermarket: one of my favourite US brewers is now offering a wider range of their beers to us Brits. At 4.6% it's pretty good, quite light and refreshing. Obviously it's brewed under licence in sunny Wolverhampton but it's the closest I'm likely to get to the genuine article for a good while to come.

Cheers everyone and I hope 2023 brings nothing but good fortune to all.

Noteworthy

Just before the Christmas break, the Bank of England released this image of our new "paper" currency (Polymer really), bearing the image of our King. 

These will come into general circulation in 2024 alongside the existing Queen Elizabeth II Notes, which will be gradually phased out. Per convention these will be legal across the UK (and wider British Isles) but Northern Irish and Scottish banks for example, will be free to issue their own versions. Their Notes may well look considerably different and if the current situation is anything to go by likely to cause difficulties for anyone using them in Wales or England. We don't like to make things too easy for visitors, do we LOL?