It’s sobering to realise that last week saw the 4th anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine. My poor Ukrainian friend saw her family home in the Donetsk area, bombed, could not visit her parents there but had to go to Kiev, had a daughter, married, all without her family on hand. She fundraises tirelessly for …
w/e 22 February
I am a lizard. At last! The sun has climbed high enough up in the sky to beam into our little sunlounge. Where lounging in the sun has to be done. It is so nice to feel the warmth of the sun on one’s back when out for a stroll. More and more flowers …
w/e 15 February
It is with disbelief that I read that 2026 is the National Year of Reading, at a time when local libraries are under threat of closure. The world has gone mad. School libraries have long been an issue with hours cut, staff expected to run the library ‘in their spare time’ or with volunteers. …
w/e 8 February
Well, the first week of February has been washed away...hopefully, life will become drier now that all the reservoirs are full to the brim, and overflowing. The potholes are like crater lakes these days. It is now two years' since getting about on crutches following a second foot operation to remove arthritis. And still struggling …
A great end to January and a brilliant start to February…
On the last evening of the very wet month, we enjoyed a ray of sunshine in the form of a celebratory concert of Mozart's music from Exeter Opera Group in Topsham. The singers, some of whom were not used to singing solos, performed bravely and magnificently. We were carried away on a sea of sound …
Continue reading "A great end to January and a brilliant start to February…"
w/e 25 January
Uncharted waters. I have realised I should be receiving my state pension next year, and turning 65 has focused my mind on my age for some reason. My sixties are not what I had in mind many years' ago, but that was before the changes to state pension age for women, and before the pandemic …
w/e 18 January
Yesterday (Saturday) was a lovely sunny Saturday afternoon...and around 25 people came to Seaton Library to listen to me talk about the stars, the sun, the moon, and the Norman Lockyer Observatory. Great audience, with some wide-ranging questions, and some familiar faces! Thank you to all who came. Stargazing for All is available from Winstone's …
w/e 11 January 2026
Well, it's been a cracking start to the new year with an outing to Royston Lake and a trip to Topsham Rugby Club to enjoy ladies rugby...for my husband Royston's birthday weekend treats. In all the years I have lived in Honiton, I had not been to the area around Otterhead Lakes let alone seen …
2026
And a woman still has to prove her identity every single time. Surely, by now there must be an easier way for organisations to check identity. The Inland Revenue know who and where we are, surely this information could be made available to others seeking verification? I cannot face going through all my papers yet …
Last of the late sunrises.
The sun has had a good rest, now it will be back to getting up earlier and earlier. Today is the last day of the late sunrises...so tomorrow will be brighter for those back at work, by a minute, but a minute is a minute! Glad to have time to enjoy the changing seasons, although …
Karen Hedges 