The Giraffe

I wonder why some fuckwit is setting off fireworks now.

A rather odd time to annoy all the neighbours. And bloody freezing too (although not down to the -7 we're forecast over the next two nights here).

And the wine in that region is 👌🏻

Well that's 2025 kicking off on a low note: I'm only featured in the Daily Fail online. Don't know whether to be embarrassed or horrified (both!)

(thanks to @mrsvhp75 on Instagram for sending me this)

Went for a walk, because I haven't been well enough to get out of the house in the past week.

I forget what a proper bank holiday is like. All shops closed. Hardly and cars on the road. It was so peaceful.

What have I missed, whilst I've been pissing about on Threads?

Feel like my own space has been a bit negative through 2024 (illnesses in the family, the death of my aunt [I was her Deputy during her dementia], and general "meh"), so I'm eager to hear nice positive, happy things to brighten 2025

I totally forgot about this place!

Poncho cotton, polyester and stainless steel with hood 37dB at 3.5GHz High shielding poncho. sProtects not only against radio radiation, but also against low frequency electric fields. The hood is lined with organic cotton. Shielding: 99.9% at 3.5GHz (37dB).

I have been looking for a lightweight poncho and this popped up.

13.5% stainless steel - protects against high frequency radiation (WLAN; 5G, transmission towers, cell phones, Bluetooth etc.) 😳😳😳

Didn't stop to see if they sold tinfoil hats....

www.wavesafe.com/en/poncho-co...

+1 for Insight Timer. I like making my own playlists.

I need your best techniques for stopping a teen vaping in the house please.

If she wants to screw her lungs up, fine, but not in my house. She can go and stand outside in all the elements.

I am not a pet person. I am certainly not a dog person. I don't trust them. This dog is super placid 98% of the time but I feel like my life is now ruled by her.
I also don't like how she smells. My house stinks of dog.

We did it as a favour to our friends but I wish we'd never agreed to it.

We are dog sitting a friend's 7yo cockerpoo who is mostly placid and chilled. "she'll fit around you" her parents said. I was hoping for a bit more than that routine wise.

I am not coping well with her at all. I can't cope when she barks and I have no idea how to calm her down. It makes me anxious

Oooh that does look good. It's on the list to make! Thank you!

Unfortunately, today has to be a lasagne but this might just be slipped in the next time a lasagne is suggested/requested....

Does anyone here have a vegetable lasagne recipe that kicks every other veggie lasagne's arse?

I make several but I'm always open to trying a new one....

A black and tan lurcher folded up at an odd angle, sleeping under a blanket

And they love to display them in the weirdest of positions....

And then .... the National Insurance cuts.

This is *insanity*. I would happily pay more NI for the National Health Service. They are cutting the source of the funding to an already depleted service.

Just so when they lose the election they can point fingers at the incoming party raising taxes & NI

I don't really pay attention to the budget, as I always expect something will negatively benefit me.
But today - fuck you Tories, I'd been campaigning for a change to the High Income Child Benefit charge for years - I was penalised despite not being a parent but because a child lived with me.

What a joyous moment to the day. I hope the day improved too.

How far back in the family did you go for a link to get that?

Fascinating..I would love to know what's happened there.

I can imagine. He sounds like a nasty piece of work. My teacher wasn't nasty, just very affectionate.

My teacher wasn't sent down until a good 10 years after I left.

No one ever said a thing.

True fact: one of my primary school teachers *was* sent to prison, because he used to "assist" the year 7 boys (we went to secondary in yr8 back then) in the showers after PE.

He committed suicide in prison, eventually.

I thought he was a fabulous teacher 😳😳😳😳😳

We bought 18 one as her Christmas present.

On opening, she said "mum! I'm not in *THAT* kind of relationship"

Turns out the kids thought these were some penis coverer.

When we explained that no it wasn't a weird penis fetish thing, but for her gearstick, she brightened up.

And loves it.

*snort*
Yeah, for some reason in 10 years' time it wouldn't make a difference, but if you rewind 6 years, she was 12 when he was 18....

Damn, can't post polls here yet.

Ok, your opinions on a 24yo man "dating" an 18yo girl.

Go...

A bad diagram of a road with boxes as cars showing a car turning into a road as another does a u turn right in front of it.

Bluesky UK drivers - which Highway Code rules is the blue car breaking if facing the wrong way down a road and does a U-turn at the entrance of the junction, as the red car is turning in?

Needed for a complaint to the blue car driver's employers after he gave me (red) abuse for sounding my horn!

A friend of mine has been accepted to adopt a border collie, just over a year old. As bonkers as his owners will be.

I'd like to get them something - but what? Am not a dog person 🤣

So dog owners (esp Collie owners) - what's the best toy or item you've had?

This is their first dog in many years

Boy blowing the trumpet at a girl covering her ears meme On her it says "me just looking for a recipe" On him it says "the blogger's entire life story"

Sick of it

Wide awake, ruminating on this week's events and wondering whether if I hadn't been so stressed with everything going on in my life, would I have been more savvy to the scammer who called?

Related: is it terrible to wonder if your dementia-ridden relative would be better off dead?

I'm a bad person

For utter batshit nonsense, but with some excellent one-liners, Deadloch on Prime.

Oooh you went one step further with the remote heating. That's my what my next car will have, I've decided. A true time saver.

My missus chose her car specifically because it had a heated steering wheel. Game changer in this weather.