WHAT WERE THE "GOOD OLD DAYS" ?

 I'm serious! 

I've heard some people say this when they're referring to last year's sports team or the early "James Bond" movies. Back in the mid 1960s there was a song about them good ol' days...

https://www.google.com/search?q=RA-RA+RUMBLE+SEATS+AND+RUNNING+BOARDS

I can't speak with authority on dime-a-dance girls, but running boards? Oh yeah! If you don't understand you can go to that bottomless pit of knowledge https://www.google.com/search?q=pre-war+running+boards 

Whenever I stayed on a family farm it was a squabble between us kids for the right to ride the board and jump off to open-and-shut gates. And a running board was the ideal tea-pot stand at picnics. I'd bet a sizeable chunk of the house-keeping money that kids don't even consider that these days.

Moving on from running boards...something else that became popular in the 50s/60s was record clubs. If you didn't have access to music shops you could sign-up to monthly selections from a club. Most outfits that hopped on this money-wagon were pretty good in that they offered modern music and well-known artists.

My father and I were members of the same club and, between us, we built quite a comprehensive collection, from classical to popular. 

Of course, this collection of 12" LPs required a fair bit of space. Dad built a writing desk with storage for LPs in a double-cupboard below the desk. It didn't take long to fill that!

So then Dad bought a radiogram. (stereo console or hi-fi cabinet in North America.) And that space didn't last long either! About the same time he extended the sitting room by about 10x12 '  and bought a newer, bigger radiogram; this one also featured a reel-to-reel tape recorder which could be disconnected from the main unit and taken elsewhere (eg. my bedroom!)

The next "Big Thing" to come was, wait for it, wait for it....

Television! We lived in a district that did NOT have good reception; images shuddered, there was more "snow" than image and when you did finally get a reasonable picture it was some god-awful soap opera, with more advertising than entertainment!

So, back to this post's title...were they really good days? I'd hazard a guess that most of us oldies would answer "sometimes."  

Oh, I've just remembered something else that has changed...back then, there was NO SUNDAY broadcast. 

And now, for a complete flip of the switch...newspapers, TV, radio broadcasts over-the-fence chit-chat is mostly taken up with politics. We have a General Election coming up...I'd better find something more cheerful...!

  

 

THE SEASON'S CHANGE...

Sometimes, when the rain is sleet-y and the wind does its best to rip your clothes off, you wonder if winter will ever bugger off...

And then, there are days like today, when the sun shines enough to make the wind feel just "brisk." And, despite the meteorologist's forecast of rain, you go ahead and do some laundry, taking a punt on the sunshine.

I snapped a few pics, too...

The magnolia's last hurrah...now more leaf than petal

...and some plum blossom buds

And a daffodil

Not a lot to tell you as I'm sure you don't want the minutiae of domestic stuff! 

Last week a chap came and installed a new FM aerial on the roof (no, we didn't tackle that...at 80+ years that job's best left to the fellow with the insurance cover!) and bro-in-law has just been here with his hi-fi radio which we connected and proved that that part of the system is working. Next? Probably take our radio to an expert for fixing. And fingers are crossed that it will be fixed as it is a part of the whole system and it would bug me if we had to muck up the "look" of things!

Now, while the sun's still shining I might nip down to the library...and The Man tells me the wine is getting low!

STILL STUMBLING ALONG...

...but maybe making some progress!

Because we've had some nippy frosts, I thought I'd better brave the elements and snap some pics before Ol' Jack bit things.

A lovely red pelargonium (geranium to many of you!)

Some pretty "weeds"

A lone hyacinth...

One Dutch iris...

Agapanthus

Some pretty weeds...

A basket of pansies I abandoned in ferociously hot and windy weather...they done come back, ma'm! 

I have a few daffs, but they're in shade at the moment...maybe I'll update this later with more pics...

I'VE HAD ANOTHER MOVEMENT!

 Yes, I'm back where I started. It takes too much mental energy to figure out what Wordpress is up to these days! (And I suspect that my mental energy tank is draining faster than I like!)

But I think I'll pootle along here and see how we manage.

For a winter's day we are having some fabulous sunshine. The Man's brother scored a bagful of orchids when a house site was being cleared. He just politely asked the chap on the bulldozer if he could have the orchids. Obliging 'dozer man switched off his engine and said: "Go for it!"

Several have flower spikes so who knows what will appear!

Not a lot to tell you so I'll get the laundry in and think about tonight's supper...

MY SINGULAR FOXGLOVE

 

This is my only foxglove...but I'm hoping to have more next year! In the in-between times, pop across and drool over our mutual friend's offerings. sigh...even if they are behaving badly!

https://inexplicabledevice.blogspot.com/2026/07/foxgloves-behaving-badly.html

Mr J. Frost has paid us a couple of visits, just to remind us that we are no longer in the tropics!And not a problem to the giant Magnolia towering high above the spa!

    Nor the old lemon stalwart...

Today I bought some Maori  potatoes; the Big Store didn't have a full range of the varieties, but these should do us nicely
                                         
                                                    

These have purple-y skins and creamy flesh; good for roasting, according to the label. And while I was there, I also bought a gro-bag, which should be easier on my elderly muscles when it comes time to harvest the spuds! 

                                             

So that was the morning's outing. Hopefully Ol' Jack will be headed well north by August so we might have Christmas spuds!

And that's about it for now. 

TURNING THE CLOCK BACK TO YE OLDEN DAYS...

 One of the blogs I read is often a fascinating delve into the early records of London's East End.

 https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/05/22/in-a-well-in-spitalfields-iii/

What amazes me is that some of these old artifacts didn't simply rot away completely! Oh, and just before I sat down to write this, we heard the garbage truck, emptying our street's offerings: glass, metal and plastic, for the most part! Not the same as chucking a cracked wooden platter down a well...

Lazy old baggage that I am, I still have not taken the bigger camera to capture some of the autumn glory. But today's weather promises to stay sunny, so...watch this space!

New neighbours, just across the lane, apparently have a BIG dog, judging by the deep bark we hear whenever someone walks or cycles down the lane. 

The cherry tree has been rather artistic with its leaves!

And a spot of colour....

The fuschia "Flirtation Waltz."

TRYING TO MAKE UP FOR MY ABSENCE...

 While sifting through old stuff, I found this. It was taken when we were building our house. 

   

The python was a premiere "rodent exterminator."

But that was years ago...

Some of my spring bulbs have produced leaves, but I'm not sure which is which as a very whirly wind blew the name tags all over the place! But that's OK. Once they've flowered, I'll lift them and replant them along the back fence next year. 

I snapped off several flowering stems of Salvia leucantha when the wind threatened to decapitate them; They are still holding-up, along with a few camellias.

Salvia and camellia

                                                 

   Pink camellia

                                                         

The very hungry caterpillar (now ex-caterpillar!)

                                                  

Un-named Pelargonium;a beautiful, glowing red. Yes, there will definitely be cuttings taken!

                                           
I call him/her "Mittens." Lives two doors down, but seems to be the boss of the street.

And that's it for now. I seem to have picked up a bug and my nose wants to drip all over the keyboard...