PublicFirst, a big thank you to Jackie for her Christmas card! That was a lovely surprise, and if you're reading this I'm very grateful ( Read more... )

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I was looking up reviews of a local pub today (The Mug House) and got to its Foursquare page. A couple of tips down the bottom, of which one is by a certain "Equium Fox". Okay, lots of people are called Fox... but this one has a very obviously anthro-fox avatar. Now, I don't know this person at all so can't say for sure they're a fur, and " ( Read more... )

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This cold spell has been a real let-down in most respects, but on what was probably its last full day it produced something special: the first ice day I've recorded here in three years. Technically it's not certain to be one as I write, but my cut-off point is midnight and I really don't think it's going to warm up too much from the current ( Read more... )

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With a slight improvement in the weather over the last few days, I've managed to squeeze in two ice creams. One conventional; one much less common. To wit:

1) Chocolate Cornetto. Not bad, but a little too chocolatey and not sufficiently ice-creamy for my liking.

2) Jaffa Cake. Made by Beechdean, possibly as a special flavour for the ( Read more... )

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On Wednesday, eliki and I took a trip to Dudley. Yes, we went there voluntarily, which doesn't happen very often. We had a good reason, I promise! It was to see the My Little Collection exhibition at the town museum. (That's a Facebook link; if you prefer, here's a different one from the Express & Star.) This is one local woman's collection of ( Read more... )

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Saturday's regular Worcester ponymeet date clashed with the birthday of meet leader Pigasus -- so we turned the meet into a birthday party! First it was off to Flames World Buffet, which is one of those flat-rate all-you-can-eat buffet affairs. I wouldn't say the food was spectacular, but it was perfectly edible and for £7.95 (plus drinks) ( Read more... )

PublicAfter last night's storms, it was a much improved day today, so I went for a walk in the forest nearby. Surprisingly, not many people were about -- I was out for an hour or so, and met a pair of cyclists, a couple walking a dog and a local in a Land Rover. That was it. Very relaxing, really, and it's always pleasant to walk there in midsummer ( Read more... )

PublicI'm a bit surprised by how many people, even in marginal constituencies, have been saying that there are almost no visible signs of the imminent election. Here in Wyre Forest, where it would take a fairly major shock to get rid of the sitting Conservative, we've been buried in political leaflets. Lots from Labour, lots from the Tories, a few ( Read more... )

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On Saturday, which rather nicely turned out to be full of sunshine, I travelled to the distant land of Birmingham to meet up with eliki and huskyteer for a day of pottering around. We went first to Swordfish Records, one of Brum's tiny number of remaining independent record shops, for a bit of poking through the shelves and piles. Being the entirely un- ( Read more... )

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Despite my ill health, I was just about well enough to keep two appointments this weekend. One was simply nice to be able to manage; one was much more in "now or never" territory. Here's a summary:

Saturday was the Worcester ponymeet. As observant readers may have noticed, we've finally settled into some sort of routine with these: they ( Read more... )