Good Morning Sunday 11th January 2026

Perhaps this will cheer some of you up about the weather, especially if you are book lovers. There wasn't a suitable thread on the Books forum and this seemed best one. It was sent to me by a daughter, and I thought our book collection was OTT.

bookstr.com/article/70k-books-found-in-hidden-library-in-this germany-home/

Well hallo again folks, it is just coming up to 2pm, and it has been a horrible horrible day. It has rained that very cold rain, quite windy, no snow but it feels very very cold. Opened the door to see if it was worth sticking my mac on as felt stir crazy, but very quickly shut the door and have come back inside to carry on.

Thank goodness for the radio, I have listened to DID (not very interesting today) and then much more to my taste Private Passions , which have helped my flagging interest in sorting things out. So now am quite pleased to see a largish bag of stuff to be recycled, but all paper carefully checked for any info such as addresses on envelopes . There is a good reduction of papers on the wretched dresser that I want to get rid of, but have come to that full stop, where I needed a change, and I am about to look and see what might be for dinner tonight and to make a much needed, and deserved coffee break. At the moment the likelihood of doing much more this afternoon is definitely waning but at least now have the Mozart Horn Concerto, which I like and also find quite energizing to listen to , so it might get me going again. I am thinking I might go onto bbc sounds and put the viennese waltzs on from new years eve, and then I can dance around with no one to pass by and wonder just what I am up to, as these days with my back it will be nothing like the quality of years gone by but who cares, it might warm me up!!

Yes Gillymo Sue Pollard has always been her own woman , wore what she liked and didnt give a toss for fashion, or worry about what others thought of her outfits. A lovely person to know and I am pleased to see her occasionally on the box .

At this time of year I try to have as much daylight as possible , but it is so cold wet and grey that I think that I shall actually close the curtains soon, as it is giving no pleasure and just letting the cold in, so I think I shall pretend it is already evening and try and get a bit more cosy. I havent done my homework for tomorrows lesson yet, so that might be my next job to give a break from the sorting out. But at least it is cheering to see a nearly cleared shelf on the dresser so that I can see I have made a bit of a difference. Lets hope tomorrow brings a bit better weather for everyone

RosesandLilac

grandMattie

Interesting comments re. shingles vaccination.
It seems to me that those like me who only had the one jab have had little reaction - I say this advisedly as I normally react to everything.
Those with two jabs appear to have a dreadful time with the second…

I felt utterly lousy after my second jab, no problems with the first so I wasn’t expecting to feel so bad.

Interesting. I felt lousy after my first injection, really quite unwell, and I’m not due the second until the summer, so hoping it won’t affect me in the same way 🤞.

I agree Susan. Ash wasn't feeling well yesterday.

I just popped back to see if Ash has posted.Hope you are ok Ash and haven’t caught olddudders illness.x

Good morning everyone from wet and windy Lancashire.

MrB and I have had another lovely walk around the Dock. It’s milder today, no ice on the water. Bacon on toast for brunch soon.

Sending positive vibes to our poorly grans and those with troubles.

Wishing you all a good day, whatever you’re doing.

grandMattie

Interesting comments re. shingles vaccination.
It seems to me that those like me who only had the one jab have had little reaction - I say this advisedly as I normally react to everything.
Those with two jabs appear to have a dreadful time with the second…

I felt utterly lousy after my second jab, no problems with the first so I wasn’t expecting to feel so bad.

madeleine45 I remember seeing Sue Pollard on a quiz show in recent years and she sang briefly. I was so surprised at how lovely she sounded as I didn't know she could sing, always thought of her as an actress. She does come across on TV as a very natural person. Love her eccentric way of dressing.

Good morning Mick and all GN's on a breezy slightly raining morning with a little snow on the ground but looking extremely cold out there this morning in North Yorkshire. Well this is very late for me to be coming on, but no have not been sleeping in, but rather been transported by the tv. Sky arts had a performance from Wiener Opera of Turandot, so I have sat with coffee and cereal, watching and sometimes joining in with the singing. So now it has ended , I am restarting the day at nearly 9am.

When I first came back from Portugal having been singing professionally with the Gulbenkian choir I joined the cooperative arts theatre in Nottingham. As luck would have it at that time there was a very good mixture of amateur, semi professional and the odd professional who were there. This included a lovely tenor who had been in the royal opera but had had to come up to Nottingham, for family reasons , and they had a good selection of voices to choose from and so it was decided to do Turandot.

We worked hard, and it went well and even for some years afterwards, I would have other singers asking me if it was Verdi or Donizetti etc as it wasnt well known or sung often. Only when the three tenors sang Nessum Dorma did it begin to be better known. It was probably quite a stretch for amateur groups to fill all the roles. Another person who did not want to sing in the grand opera but preferred light opera and g and s was Sue Pollard. Dont know if you remember her but she was the chalet girl in Hi de Hi amongst other things. She had a lovely voice and we tried to tempt her to come with us but she declined.

I have known her all these years and what you see is what you get. As we say round here "there's no side to her". She was always known for having all sorts of amazing earrings amongst other things. Anyway that is how come I am only just starting the normal day. Well as normal as it is likely to be.

I think by the sound of it , the poor weather has encouraged many people to get down to jobs put off for some time over the holidays etc and hopefully if we can make a difference now the minute the weather improves we can be off and out!!

The first part of my day now is to just do ordinary household jobs, sweeping the kitchen floor, making bed etc etc., but then I have several more important things to do. Firstly go out now it is good daylight to hunt around and try and find my spare key. I dont have much hope but maybe it has fallen out of the box and is on the ground in the shed, but once I have searched there, will have to go through all pockets of coats and so forth and look everywhere inside for it. It is so annoying and will be very expensive if I cant find it. For safeties sake I cant just get another key cut as it is the key to the flat and although I cant for the life of me , think what anyone would want to come and steal from me, I will have to replace the whole lock and get new keys , which will be a real nuiscance. In all the time I have been here there has been no problem , and if anyone has had to use it I have then changed the number to get into it so havent left the same number, so a real hassle, to have to sort out quickly.

Well like many others I had planned a bit of a sort out, so key hunting will also encourage me to sort out coats, find gloves and handkerchief and lots of old shopping lists stuck in pockets while I hunt, so the time wont be wasted. Didnt have a very good nights sleep and my back is painful today so it will be things I can do sitting down or standing. If I get onto the floor I think I might not get back up! Still I hope as a minimum today to have at least sorted out all these pockets and things and then like others, my airing cupboard needs a good clear out as over time hand towels and bath towels have got mixed up and no doubt disappearing flannels are in amongst them too. Cant tell yet but hope that I am in a "get rid of"mood. Then I have no problem sorting stuff out , putting bags for the charity shop, things that my grandson might enjoy and still the odd thing that I seem for some reason to have here belonging to my son. When he was moving around a lot , he used to ask me to keep various things for safekeeping, some things were retrieved quickly, but a few things I still seem to have kicking around in drawers. It was often certificates , when he had done courses etc., which he didnt want to lose in his frequent moving about in those days, but that was years ago!

Well I am all at sixes and sevens right now and so I will just wish everyone a good day and to keep warm and safe and then get back to reading the posts a bit later when I have got a little sorted out here.

The fridge can do with a good sort out, as over the holidays , when it is so full I dont do much cleaning and checking , so by the looks of the weather I am thinking either curry or casserole fits the bill today and that should use up whatever vegetables are lurking in their box. Have a very nice cauliflower, white and closed up which will definitely feature in the menu somewhere, and I think I have a little treacle pudding lurking in there which will only take about 1 minute in the microwave to heat up for a cheering sweet on a miserable day.

Good morning from a cold windy northwest coast. I cut tags from my Christmas cards yesterday and it’s interesting going through them properly. When they arrive, I don’t look at them too much. Two friends sent me two cards, which is very generous!

I’ve had an eye watering bill for roof repairs, but it has to be done and the builder is used and recommended by my good neighbour so I don’t think I’m being overcharged.
.

I practised some songs whilst DD was out running (ugh) etc. and in the evening a friend had a late get together for DDs birthday to which I was invited. I drank losecco (?) as drove and the food was delicious. I didn’t have a late night myself.

Tonight I’m out at an open mic with soprano friend and wondering what to wear as it’s so cold.

Lovely photos, thoughts to FGTs and all🌺
.

Well the snow has finally fallen in our part of Durham. Last weekend we were snowed in at Egton Bridge for two nights, only escaping when the farmers cleared the road with their tractors. Hopefully our white wonderland won't last very long as rain expected later. It does look beautiful though.
Another one here having a clothes clearout. Far too many. I intend to be ruthless.
Fingers crossed we may pop out for lunch to a local historic house. We returned from Egton coughing and sneezing so we have holed ourselves up this past week. I'm missing the outdoors.
Christmas now seems so long ago.
Best wishes to all.

RosiesMaw will be at the same cinema as me today! Slightly similar times, but different screens so a very little chance our paths may cross.

I'm off to Google the make up!

GG, have a great day out. I hope you are starting to feel better.x

Good morning all from a very wet Glasgow, where it is 5°C,

What a lovely surprise for you, GM.

Yesterday we were stranded, our roads were like glass, DD and DS had to abandon their car, when they visited, They kindly gritted the road, but didn't stay long, for it was snowing up in the village and they were afraid of being stranded.

Pants, I was in bed for a week after my first shingles dose.
Having seen the effects of Shingles on our last P.P's eye, it was still worth all the discomfort.

Like Roses, I too am going to have a clear out today. I am ashamed to say, I have run out of hanging space, having been carried away in the sales.😊
My best bargain of all, a beautiful, cream Jaeger woollen coat, which I certainly didn't need with 70 % off in the M&S sale.

A quiet day ahead, I hope. I think my chest infection seems to be less troublesome. 🤞 I am counting the days, until the antibiotics are finished.
All I need now, is some pain relief.

Melanie, I like the sound of your cottage. 💚
Safe journey home.

Susan, make the most of your rest today and Drangonfly, I am so pleased to hear that your DH is making progress, albeit very slowly. 💕

Wishing you all a pleasant day and for those of you travelling, stay safe.x

Good morning all. Although milder in Glasgow, it’s a very stormy Sunday.

No question, it will be an at home day. There is always plenty for me to do indoors assuming I find my mojo but failing that, a lazy film/book day and a circuit around the house will have to do as an attempt at some exercise.

Best wishes to all for a pleasant, settled day and strength to those having to struggle through the worst of times whatever they may be.

Good morning all and it’s hopefully a little warmer, although it still feels chilly at the moment. I’ll light the woodburner soon as it really warms the house.

We are going to DS1’s for dinner - another Roast pork . Lovely.
It will be nice to see the gd’s as we don’t see much of them now being busy teenagers. That’s as it should be. One working , whilst studying on the job, and the other studying for A level exams.

Have a lovely day GG, I’m glad you’re feeling better and up to your trip to London.
Lovely daffs Monk, a splash of springlike colour.

Take care all who are travelling.❄️

Blue Sapphire that is a lovely photo. He does look very cheeky!

Meant to post this photo which I came across the other day while I was tidying a cupboard.
It is my late DH and his big cousin Dennis who died a week before Christmas at the age of 90. Their mums were sisters and the boys were brought up like brothers. I have just bought a new frame for it.
DH is the cheeky little chappie on the left!

Good morning everyone from a very grey and damp Northampton, there is still frost on the rooftops, so I am guessing that it is very cold out there.

Yesterday was lovely and it was good to be out even though it was only to the shops. Got everything I needed and had a coffee ☕ in Costa.

A bacon butty will be breakfast this morning, then I am off out to the cinema to see 'Hamnet', which I have heard is very good. My newspaper gave it a 5 star review. Read the book a couple of years ago.

Not read the thread yet, but my thoughts are with all who have worries or are feeling down. May you find something in your day to make you smile.
Wishing all a peaceful Sunday.

Good morning all from the Black country where it appears to be a little warmer although still plenty of snow around.
No plans as yet will see where the day takes me, possibly more reading I had quite a few books for Christmas. Roast pork for dinner haven't decided yet on dessert.
Safe travels those on the move and virtual hugs where needed, have the best day possible and may you all find a little bit of ☀️.

Good morning from a cold and icy Black Country. It is lethal on the paths on our estate.

So no real plans today, may finish the jar of mincemeat and make mincepies. Only did the housework yesterday.

Will start to look at what to pack today for our trip to Porto on Friday. Doubt it will be summery clothes.

I never have reactions to vaccinations, but I did have one after the 2nd Shingles one. Felt dreadful for a couple of days. So it seems most do.

Thinking of all with health struggles

Good morning from Suffolk where we had a frost overnight and we now have a pretty pink sky. Hopefully the frost will go as it is predicted to rise to 4 degrees by lunch time .

I was so delighted to see the huge improvement in my dear friend’s mobility yesterday when I spent a very pleasant 3 hours with her with lots of chat and laughter. She is now walking confidently without any assistance and is looking forward to going home on Wednesday. Her next aim is to be able to climb stairs and drive!

Your mention of Dharamsala GM took me back to my time with VSO in 1969/70 when another volunteer and I spent part of one of our holidays working in the orphanage there for Tibetan children. I visited the village again on my trip to India in October 2023 and what had been a small sleepy village with only a tourist bungalow to stay in and a small post office to collect mail was now a thriving very busy place with lots of shops and countless motorbikes.

DH and I are going out for lunch and I shall hopefully continue on my cull of a mountain of clothes unworn for ages.

Hope today is a good one for all.

Good morning. Dry, dull and chilly here in N. Bucks. Forecast is for warmer temperatures in the week. Hopefully my aches and pains will improve .
DD2 is visiting later for a cuppa and chat.
The rest of the day will be getting on with art and craft projects.
A goood day wished for all.

Morning from a milder S Hants, we have rain due.
Enjoy today GG13.
Sorry to hear pantglas I hope you feel better today and your Dad is fine tomorrow.
Safe journey Melanie,shame, but a wise decision.
Gammon here tonight too, MrJ is proving a dab hand in the kitchen, he’s not keen to assume chief cook status though.
FGT
🦩🦩

Good morning from a grey Kent where I shall be having another day of very little exercise, just to cold for us to walk.
Chat to DB and a roast lunch.
Best wishes to all struggling along