Almost as handy as mole grips

Posted on January 20, 2026 by james

Again, not sure how often they’ll get used, but at least I have them and can clean them up so they don’t deteriorate any further.

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The orange man-baby strikes again

Posted on January 20, 2026 by james

From a Marco Rubio press release eight months ago about the UK’s handover of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius:

Following a comprehensive interagency review, the Trump Administration determined that this agreement secures the long-term, stable, and effective operation of the joint U.S.-UK military facility at Diego Garcia. This is a critical asset for regional and global security. President Trump expressed his support for this monumental achievement during his meeting with Prime Minister Starmer at the White House.

And then yesterday, on “Truth” Social:

Shockingly, our “brilliant” NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.

There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness. These are International Powers who only recognize STRENGTH, which is why the United States of America, under my leadership, is now, after only one year, respected like never before.

The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired.

Denmark and its European Allies have to DO THE RIGHT THING. Thank you for your attention to this matter. PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP”

To be fair, he has one thing right. The USA is now respected like never before. Just not remotely in the way he thinks.

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Foggiest day of Winter so far

Posted on January 19, 2026 by james

Almost the entire world disappeared. These days I’m not sure that isn’t a good thing, mind.

Oddly however, it was still possible to make out blue sky above us. I think we must have been right at the top of a cloud.

When darkness fell it was even possible to see stars in the sky even though a torch was almost useless because of the amount of light being reflected by the fog.

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A beast of a cabbage

Posted on January 19, 2026 by james

Yes, that is grammes.

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Well pickle my jalapenos!

Posted on January 19, 2026 by james

And call me Susan, if you must.

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Mains water leak (hopefully) resolved

Posted on January 19, 2026 by james

The final paperwork is still to arrive, but it looks as though our water leak may now be fully resolved. The most shocking thing is the amount of water lost. At our current rate of consumption it looks to be about twenty-five years worth of water!

As I’ve written before, I just can’t get my head around how such much water can disappear without any sign during one of the driest Summers ever.

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The real cost of supermarket eggs

Posted on January 19, 2026 by james

For well over fifteen years now, we have kept a few rare breed chickens hatched from eggs to supply our family with fresh eggs. If you’ve never had the opportunity to eat such eggs then it may be hard to believe it, but there is an astonishing difference in taste and appearance between eggs freshly laid by hens kept on grass, allowed to lay at their own pace and those produced commercially for supermarkets.

Recently however my wife decided that we should have some “rescue” hens — ones that have effectively reached the end of their commercially-productive life, perhaps because they don’t lay as often or because they consume more food or whatever other reason. For us however, they’re absolutely fine.

The quality of life that we are able to offer compared with commercial operations was really brought home hard when our first rescue hens arrived. Seeing this actually made me feel sick. I don’t believe any animal should be kept in conditions that end up with them looking so awful.

Fortunately after a few months with us she started to look so much more healthy and content.

And I am certain that if in the future we do not have our own chickens, there is no way I will ever buy commercially-produced eggs ever again.

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I’ll get the wheelbarrow

Posted on January 19, 2026 by james

Or perhaps even a forklift might be required for this second early (Charlotte) potato 😀

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Will the real Newcastle Brown please stand up?

Posted on January 19, 2026 by james

My son asked if we could brew a Newcastle Brown clone and I managed to find a recipe online so decided to give it a go.

This is one pint of the clone and one of genuine Newcastle Brown. Looks like the colour is spot on, thought perhaps the clone isn’t quite as clear 😀

In terms of taste they were also very close, though perhaps the genuine article had a little more body than the clone. I’m not sure I’d be able to tell the difference if I weren’t tasting them side-by-side however.

I’d post the recipe, but I found it once on the interwebs and I don’t feel it’s fair to post someone else’s work without a credit.

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I have a ream

Posted on January 19, 2026 by james

Quite a few, actually. All imperial, again.

Perhaps I should find some old imperial plans for making steam engines or something?

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