Nyika

Sad thing I learned at the carnival/parade yesterday: people don’t give you lollies when you’re 34 years old.

He asked for arf a pint, I heard.

Deciding to just take my kit lens, which I literally never use, was not my best plan.

The monkey did fall out of his bunk, now you say it…

And this guy.

Also Hare Krishnas, Falun Dafa??? And a Scottish pipe band???

Also some very good dogs.

Look. Grinks.

Went to the local Christmas parade. Multiple Grinks were there.

Loves a Carnival gf, can't think of anything worse bf.

I hate the images of the US military blowing up drug boats so much because it's so, so clear how dehumanised everything becomes through a weapon viewfinder. It literally looks like a video game.

Also, pōhutukawa flowers are much nicer Christmas flowers than poinsettias (although I saw those for sale too. The weirdest thing is that shops don't lean into the "it's early summer" thing and are still touting a snowy, northern hemisphere Christmas)

Christmas Parade this evening! I'm getting there with this "it's Christmas, and it's warm, and it's light" thing.

(I mean we will probably order some and pick them up in a van, but I do love an Ikea hotdog)

We actually really, really need to go to ikea for bookshelves. Worried that yesterday was actually the calmest it’s ever going to be and we missed our chance.

Yeah, it’s this. We’ve made a world which is just really ill-suited to neurodivergent people.

The greatest achievement of my entire epistolary career was the day I got two letters printed on the same page.

A good deed and a crush, telling a single, increasingly horrifying, story from two unconnected people.

I thought you might be! Although I did splash oil/green Thai curry paste on it so I’m about to put some washing up liquid on it in the hopes that saves it.

My hair dried nicely today. Finally cracked a soft water hair routine (which sounds fancier than saying “I use gel instead of mousse now”)

Perhaps he is queuing to get a new cabinet?

This Pluribus ad on a fridge caused a schizophrenic woman named Carol to be hospitalized.

The political and media class are basically desperate for any evidence that it's the phones that have caused all of the problems, from why people hate the mainstream parties to mental health issues. All while they've clearly been radicalised in part by social media.

when I worked at the Telegraph, approx one thousand years ago, I walked into the newsroom one day wearing a trenchcoat and a fedora, feeling v cool and chic, and my nickname in the newsroom instantly became "Vince Cable"

Thai curry noodle soup Make this speedy, spicy and healthy noodle soup using whatever veg you have in the fridge. Filling and flavour-packed, it's ideal for busy weeknights

Made this. It’s delicious and I recommend it. www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/thai...

Oops, meant to add another photo from the Stevenage museum archives there.

Anyway, these paddling pools were so great because if you were a small child, you could pretty much fully submerge yourself and pretend to "swim". Which, I suppose, is not all that safe. Wouldn't have liked a splash park, though. Too unpredictable and, er, splashy.

My absolute favourite paddling pools were these ones in Stevenage, and my FAVOURITE thing was the hulking metal ship climbing frame in the middle of it. Turns out that by the time I was born, that had already been there about 30 years. I can only find a picture from the 70s.

I appreciate it's probably a safety thing, but something that makes me sad when I think about UK childhood summers is how nearly every single paddling pool was, in the late noughties, turned into a "splash park". Used to love a properly "deep" paddling pool.

I think it’s ok to be yourself. Also I am not exactly what one would term especially popular or even really that likeable. I was once described as “an acquired taste”

My group chats are mostly with people I know from way back on the internet, and tbh they are not so active these days.