What were your parents doing at your age?
The daily prompts are fun. They have been invaluable to me, really- for getting back into writing.
But today’s task is something I don’t want to participate in.
My baggage is in store and I will unpack it.. unwrap it when I’m ready.
Initially it was the point of my blog, but I’ve been happily distracted with these daily exercises, which I love.
Have a good day, all.
If you had the power to change one law, what would it be and why?
It has been so interesting to read all the contributions to today’s WordPress blog prompt. The opinions have been so wide. Some waving the question goodbye as they have found it simply too complicated to even get their thoughts around. Others have suggested their blogs are their happy places and such this particular topic is not for them. I respect each and every one of you for your views.
The simple thought of the death penalty is an emotive one. Miscarriages of justice I am sure have kept many souls awake at night. It is reported one in 10 people on Death Row are innocent. Luckily for some there are many organisations worldwide ready to campaign for those deemed innocent.
But I ask you to consider this one case. Ian Watkins the front man of a Welsh rock band called The Lost Prophets, given a twenty nine year sentence ( plus 6 years on license and 10 months added for being in possession of a mobile phone in person). He is currently serving the time in HM Wakefield. His crime? Multiple sex offences, including sexual assault of young children and infants.Plus being in possession of extreme child and animal pornography.
It was recorded in 2013 that only fifty eight countries retain the death penalty. The UK gov turning their back on it in 1965.
The overall annual expenditure for all prisons in the UK is Four billion, and some.
In 2022/23 the cost of keeping one inmate amounted to £51,724 a year.
In the case of Ian Watkins, surely that money could be better spent in society?
Write about your dream home.
My dream home would be located in or around the civil parish and town of Marazion, on the shore of Mounts Bay in Cornwall, UK. Within walking distance of one of the beaches would be perfect.
A converted chapel or an old school house with big windows and original features, would make me happy. Inside it would be minimalist with high end workmanship, fixtures and fittings.
Downstairs the under heated natural floors would be wooden and stone. Ethnic style rugs would bring colour and extra warmth.
On the ground floor there would need to be a bedroom with french windows which open onto an unfussy south facing walled garden. There would be herbs growing and sweet smelling honeysuckle on the far wall. Clematis and jasmine elsewhere. This room would be used by me if I had a dog with mobility issues at the time. If not it would be a guest suite.
The large kitchen/ family would be the simple shaker style with an island, a top of the range Aga and comfortable stripey sofas. The table to seat ten, easily.
I would like a study, not that we get much paperwork admin these days, but a place to keep the remaining books I have, to do ‘ officey ‘ ( is that even a word?) things and write. A desk, a sofa bed ( incase push comes to shove I have an extra guest to accommodate at short notice. Admin Corner, I’d probably call it.
An open plan sitting room/dining room which could be divided by double sliding doors if necessary. Chunky velvet sofas and an upmarket realistic but fake fireplace ( I would need to research these). A decent size screen I guess is a given, especially with friends staying over for any length of time.
A downstairs bathroom of some description is also a given.
Upstairs simply two good size suites, a master and guest.
Outside I’d like there to be adequate off street parking, a garage and some form of lean-to/car port when I could park and unpack the car, safe from the elements. There would be a side door which opened into a boot/laundry room.
There would be a covered sit-out. One of those places you can be, regardless of the weather, rain or shine, to breathe the air, be quiet…..or maybe have chatter and fun with friends.
On roof would be solar panels to capture the sun.
Yes, I can see it now..
Oh dear, it seems I have so much to learn, but hey, I’ve got the time, right?
I’d like to think I have all the time in the world. A silly thought indeed. They say there are only two sure things in life: death and taxes. Great. So very encouraging!
At my stage of life it’s not so easy to a) understand content and b) digest and remember it.
I guess the key is to have daily bites at the info and see what I can do with it. I know I’ll get there, because it interests me, my passion for writing has been relit and I’m excited by the prospect of getting my thoughts dow
You get some great, amazingly fantastic news. What’s the first thing you do?
It’s now Feb 2026. This post has come to light as it was a response to last year’s DP….
A sharp intake of breathe would probably be an instinctively first reaction to recieving the best news ever. Swiftly followed by gratitude to the powers that be.
If I had been standing I’d probably quickly sit, or stand if id been seated. I would need to gather my thoughts and a walk with my dog would be the fastest way to calm a jittery heart a nervous system thrown into chaos.
Good news could come in many forms and would that be for me personally or for someone I care about? Either way it would be a wonderful moment everyone should get to experience at some stage.
Relief may be a major player in this event. Did someone survive against all the odds? Has a healthy baby been born or conceived? Has an effort been recognised or a due reward given? A new journey begun or one completed safely? Has there been an encouraging medical diagnosis? Has Lady Luck played me a divine hand? If we think on and on there are endless reasons what the positive news may be. I have mentioned but a few, in no particular order.
Yes, a long, quiet and peaceful walk with my dog would be the first thing I would need to do should my stars align.
Are there any activities or hobbies you’ve outgrown or lost interest in over time?
I wasn’t read to as a child..boo hoo! And I didn’t grow up with my mom, double boo hoo…but I did inherit her love of reading. Especially as I got older we both shared a love of auto/biographies. She was so easy to buy for on special occasions, I would simply visit the book shop and see what was new.
Weekly comics; The Beezer and Sparky were bought for me by a lovely elderly lady who looked after me on a regular basis, and the Famous Five books really captured my Imagination.
The comics were replaced by magazines for teenagers like Jackie and I loved the little booklets that were readily available which had the lyrics of all the latest pops songs in.
Then came the glossies; Cosmopolitan,She, Marie Claire, Red, Elle, I loved them! Eventually they became really quite expensive and worse was the increasing amount of ads. Full pages and lots of them.
I then got into novels, especially historical ones, where I could learn something. There is an author Annie Murray who writes about stories around Birmingham, like the Cadbury’s factory and the Jewellery Quarter. Fabulous.
And then the World Wide Web was launched..and it changed everything, and books were laid aside.
I mourned the loss of interest in books. I would pick them up and try, but I simply couldn’t get into them…..and this went on for years, too many years.
Then recently out of the blue a book in Waterstone’s caught my eye. I was in there buying Christmas presents for other people. That day I left with a book for myself and so my love of reading rekindled.
What’s your favorite candy?
How I wish when we write in this space it is ‘saved’. I was just rambling on about ‘ back in the day sweet shops, got up for something, went back to my tablet, touched it and lost all the text. Not the first time I’ve done that either.
Anyways, I digress…Where was I? Candy, to me suggests an Americanism. Kids today probably identify with the word, but things change. We all know that.
My brother, RIP, used to call them rocks. ‘ Got any rocks?’ He’d say.
I choose not to eat sweet stuff these days ..we all know that cakes, chocolate, biscuits and pastries have. voice. You take them home, put them in a cupboard and shut the door, but you can still hear them ‘ we’re here’ and ‘eat me’.
We’ve all learnt how bad sugar is for us and these days I just walk past those sugary aisles…But I haven’t forgotten how magical sweet shops were when I was once a small person. Rows of tall large glass jars full of the most wonderful things lining the shelves of the little local shop. Pineapple chunks, firemen’s hoses, chocolate limes, white mice, lemon sherbets with a liquorice stick attached, rainbow sprinkled chocolate drops…Bliss
WordPress have reminded me to the empty space I have in my profile About.
From looking at other blogs I can see that writing something madly exciting ,may be the way to go- to hook people in so they want to read what I write about. Well, that’s not going to happen.
I gave it some thought and decided I could write that my dog loves me..but at this moment in time he’s sitting in the car refusing to get out and when I give him a little tug he growls and I know he is threatening to take my face off, so I’m not quite sure what’s going on and why right now he doesn’t love me.
My blog initially is about being a retalively new retiree and how shocked I was and still am, that once I stood still my past life, the years and those experiences seem to be racing up behind me at full force. I am relishing this new world of absolute freedom, but the baggage is there…and it needs to be collected, stored and unwrapped. ( which I’m pretty sure I’ve already mentioned)
So, what goes into the About post? Simply I’m a Babyboomer and disgruntled WASPI….that will surely grab the readers? No, it needs more thought. I will go out again now and see if the pooch is willing to get out of the car, come indoors and chill, so I can relax and get beck on an even keel and think about things. Failing that an early G&T may be in order?
LBC radio reported this morning they had obtained figures to show that 2790 women were caught carrying knives in 2023/24, up from fewer than 900 in 2014. It shows the figure has trebled in a decade. Statistics show that carrying a knife/blade increases the risk of injury to the holder and those around them.
I imagine they are relatively easy to get hold of.
Once upon a time, moons ago carrying a small penknife on the person was common. I can clearly picture an elderly man sharpening a pencil with his, an elderly lady peeling an apple with hers. Little lads would have them in their pockets with the inevitable marble and bit of string. I don’t know who’s it was, but someone in my life at some stage had a pretty mother of pearl handled penknife.
There is a superstition that giving someone a knife or scissors as a gift is considered bad luck because the blade represents severing ties with that person. To counteract the negativity the recipient hands the gift giver a coin, thus paying for the knife and maintaining their positive relationship.
in the mid to late 60’s when I was at Primary School in Birmingham, we had one TV in the building. It was kept in the Visual Aids Room and wheeled into our classroom on a tall trolley. I only remember one programme, it was about the mail train, how our post got from A-B. Kudos to the filmmakers for the impact it had on me.
i can also remember watching one episode of Mystery and Imagination, at home. Some poor soul had been buried alive and when the coffin was finally exhumed it had deep scratches on the inside of the lid.
Another time watching a Western I saw the Indians/Injuns were circling a wagon train and decided in that situation I would play dead. How old was I? 8? I don’t know.
But I digress..Each morning I shall now visit WordPress School and see how much I can digest in one sitting. All was going well for some time before I glazed over and realised I had reached a point where I would need to start that particular section again, refreshed.
Onwards and upwards.
IN THE BOOMER PIGEON HOLE? 
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