Good Morning Monday 11th May 2026

Good morning from a brightening northwest coast.
Productive day yesterday working on new music, writing a letter to my BIL who has just gone into a nursing home (I prefer picking up a pen to picking up the phone) FaceTime with DD in the south etc.etc.

I’ve started reading Alison Uttley’s diaries as I’ve just finished her “Country Hoard” book, lovely. It’s propped up on the kitchen table to read when eating (alone) and a ne fiction book. That’s when I can drag myself away from Instagram, which throws up sell the things I like.

I’m off soon with art group friends by train to Manchester to a Banksy exhibition. Not keen on him, but looking forward to the day out.
Thoughts to all🌺

Good morning

In our part of Essex bit colder than it should be but Sunshine breaking through.

Have the best day you can everyone x

Good Morning from sunny Spain - our final day here. It’s been a good week of rest. I’ve done ‘something’ to my big toe nail, but have a chiropody appointment at home tomorrow afternoon to have it looked at.
Unfortunately DD1’s car has died and she’s decided to opt for a company car which will take 5 months to sort out, so hers will have to be fixed. I’ll get the full story when I get home - she can borrow mine for work, if she wants.

Best wishes to all. X

Good morning Michael and all GNs from a damp South Yorkshire. Yesterday was sunny but I couldn’t take much advantage of it because of my recent battering so, although I did venture outside to see what was working and what wasn’t, it was mostly a sedentary day. DD and SiL came in the afternoon and she seemed to be expecting my face to look more ‘colourful’. Well it’s colourful enough for me, thank you!.

Not sure what is on the cards today - I have a session booked with the chiropractor but that is a non starter this week, as is the gym.

I’m hoping DS is back from all his travel this week. He had ten days in Scotland and then went to Malta with friends. It seems a long time since I’ve seen him.

Have the best day you can, folks.

Good morning all from North Leicestershire- dragonfly was right as it is now raining.

Both DH and I have hair appointments this morning so will do a bit of shopping in town after. I need to make a curry this afternoon.

Have the best day possible everyone.

Good morning Mick and everyone from cool, 6°C, Carlisle where there has been a shower or two overnight. Blue patches and clouds currently.
It was a sunny day yesterday, I even stripped down to a t-shirt at one point though only inside!
I did a bit of housework, I don't usually on Sundays but visitors are arriving later in the week. Feeling better in the afternoon, I went out for a little gardening and put in a couple of alpines. My gravel garden is looking good at the moment.
I'm another who tends to rush tender items into the ground in early May, knowing perfectly well that frosts can and do arrive later in the month. Now it's fingers crossed for my dahlias which have recently popped up.

Today, bed changing and laundry followed by admin and filing. Life was simpler as a cave person?

Have a good day everyone and don't put those woollies away yet!

Good morning from Stockport.
I am breathing freely as my 16 year old GS has just left for his first GCSE exam.
He is Autistic , a loner, and has had much trauma in his life.
He has done absolutely no revision apart from in school and is totally unaware of the importance of these exams.
It is an enormous worry to my S and me but nothing we can do to change the situation.
My quiet day yesterday didn’t happen, my GD was going shopping in the morning so I went with her and then went to a garden centre with a friend who wanted some plants, we had coffee, a good catch up and a walk round.
It was very pleasant as the sun was shining.
I had a very satisfactory chicken salad and a glass of wine later and came to bed early to read.
Thinking of our poorly friends and those who are caring and also those who have worries, I hope they are not realised.

Morning all from West Oxfordshire where the sky is blue.

We had a lovely lunch out yesterday. The portions were so huge though that we brought the leftovers home in a doggy bag. OH will eat them tonight for his dinner.

We popped into an Oxford Arts Weeks exhibition in Bampton, I bought a couple of greetings cards and an assortment of purple oddments which I can use on a large collage I have been working on.

Our cleaner should be here this morning. OH has a dental appointment and I will be driving to Kew where I will be staying until Friday. Elder son is away on a course this week and his partner works odd hours. So I will be taking granddaughter to school and picking her up. I will take the opportunity to go to the V&A and the National Gallery. Kew Gardens too now that I’m a member:

Have a good day everyone.

Good morning everyone from a very wet south Manchester where sunshine is forecast this afternoon but it’s going to stay chilly at only 14°C.

I’m having coffee with a friend mid morning then after lunch I have chair yoga, home to change and then the luxury of a deep body massage. At £55 it’s not cheap but I’m SO worth it 😁

Our teacher daughter rang from the square below earlier. She was getting a takeaway coffee to kickstart her working week. She had me laughing. Apparently as she dropped the Boy Wonder off at his bus stop for high school (he’s Y9 now) he grinned as he got out of the car and said to his mum and L’il Miss “Bye. Love one of ya!” 😂 Faux meanness to his sister!

Good morning from a grey Suffolk. I’m hoping the clouds hold some rain but I’m not holding my breath as ,apart from a light short lived shower a few days ago,we’ve not had any for a few weeks.

I’m having coffee this morning at a friend’s in the village and then a quiet day at home.

As well as 2 DGC doing GCSEs,DGD2 starts her A levels tomorrow so family contact centres on them and how their revision is going.

Hope all have a good day especially those with worries and/ or ill health.

Good morning all from a dull Black country.
Slept late again woken by the bin men.
No plans other than collect DH prescription.
Right will now catch up on everybody's happenings, have the best day you can whatever your plans and may you all find a little bit of ☀️ along the way.

I love that every day is a school day on here! I was curious so looked up ‘ghan train’ Jax. A weekly passenger train of 52 hours duration apparently - from Adelaide to Darwin. Wow!

Good morning from an overcast Yorkshire.
Yesterday we visited Ampleforth and Byland Abbey and then had dinner in the Inn overlooking the Abbey. It was a sunny day but the wind was chilling.
Today we are off to the Eden camp modern history museum at Malton.
GD starting GCSEs today, my thoughts are with all the young ones in same situation.
Have a good day everyone.

Good morning from South Lanarkshire where it is lovely and sunny but only 3 degrees.

Bellasnana my eldest DD is just back from a week in Malta, based in St Julian’s, doing further training in a language school there. She loved the whole experience and had time to visit Valletta and see the fabulous paintings in there as well as the beautiful interior of the CarmeliteBasilica.

Yoga today and further kitchen cupboard clearing and cleaning before that with a visit to a my friend with severe short term memory loss afterwards. Fortunately she has really good recall of events in her past so with the help of her husband we always manage quite a good chat.

Good luck to all DGC facing exams just now, ours are finishing
this week so a sense of relief here.

Thoughts as always with those needing support, have the best day possible.

FGT, I was intrigued by the title of your book, The Lionesses of Tehran, would you recommend it?

Good morning all from the Scottish Borders. I'm on the fast bus into Edinburgh to catch a train. I'll meet all my DC bar the overseas one, at this sad family funeral later today. I'm wearing my coat, scarf and hat it's that cold.

DGD is in the midst of her Nat5s (Scottish GCSE) she's sitting about 9 subjects and loves science. Doesn't take after me.

I've planted out a few lettuces but the rest of the seedlings are waiting in the greenhouse until the soil warms up or still in the packets

I hope mr MD is doing better.

Wishing everyone a good day.

Good morning all good morning all from Glasgow, where it is a sunny 6°C.

After another busy day yesterday, I am exhausted. I feel quite unwell, but just can't put my finger on what is wrong.

I have to go down to church, the many flower arrangements, which are meant to to last until next week's second First Communion, are dying in the heat of the hall. I will rescue those, which have survived. The flower arranger is in Spain, so on Fridays I will need to purchase rescue bunches, of flowers.

My good friend, who is supposed to be on duty today, has had to fly to his critically ill sister's beside.
She has had three major bowel ops, exactly the same as DIL, bur is now in an induced coma with sepsis.😪
I daren't. tell DIL, who is still not too well and very fragile.
Her mum popped in yesterday afternoon, to see how DH was.
I mentioned that DH was determined to cut both lawns today and wouldn't allow it.
Just after she left, to our astonishment, FIL was out cutting our lawn.
Every year, DH cuts both lawns, while FIL, waves from his armchair. DH keeps a tally, because it really irritates him. 😉

After she left, I had planned to work in the garden. However, after a double shift at two Masses yesterday, I fell asleep, I felt awful.
I did notice, my early strawberries are in flower. Very early this year.

Bella, we loved visiting Mdina during our many holidays in Malta, The restaurant on the walls was a favourite.

DH is determined to go to the plant nursery today. Unfortunately, it is on a busy country road, which I hate driving on.
His BP is still not coming down and he is belligerent due to it. and I'm on edge all the time, in case we have to go back to A&E.
He was supposed message me his BP, when I was at church.
Instead, the message I got was, I have planted your cherry tree. 🙈
I now have enough trees to call it an orchard.

Best wishes to all, especially those with family worries and good luck to all those poor teenagers with exams looming.

My best wishes to you Grammaretto on this difficult day.

Good morning from a bright, but increasingly cloudy Black Country,

A sunny walk with a group of ladies along our local canal yesterday, then coffee and chat in a cafe. Saw a lovely couple of Geese with their 7 Goslings!

Today we are leaving here around 9.30, for a train to Birmingham, then onto Euston. We are seeing Paddington the Musical tonight. So check into Hotel, meal then the show. Stay overnight, then back home tomorrow after a wander first around Covent Garden.

Wishing you all the best day possible.

Simon Reeve did an episode on his Inside Australia series about the Ghan Train. But it may not still be on iPlayer.

Good morning, Michael12 and all!

In August, I have a week off, so I am thinking of driving over to Canterbury and booking into a hotel, finding a nice cafe, bookshops and charity shops!

Phase IV, 2002, is a film I watched last night, starring Dean Cain as Simon Tate, a reporter on the trail of a series of murders, who uncovers a shady plot featuring an experimental drug.

The car chases and crashes, running, weapons, explosions, fight, helicopter stunts and stunt artists were all absolutely brilliant! There were also some comedy bits involving two of the baddies, one of whom was a punk type with piercings, was hilarious!

On Instagram, I'm always getting follow requests, several a day, usually men, and I block those with no Profile picture, no posts, etc., and I delete and never reply to any private messages they send me, unless they're related to animal charities/accounts. Or unless I know them personally.

I had one bloke who was really insistent and kept pestering me with tons of private messages, 17-20 per day, 7 days a week. So I blocked, deleted and reported, but he just kept getting up new accounts and pestering me that way. I was forever blocking/reporting and deleting!

He kept demanding photos of me and telling me how gorgeous I am and how he's a ''widower in Alabama in the navy with 2 motherless kids as his wife died 3 years ago''. The same junk most come out with. Also, his spelling and grammar are absolutely appalling, so I'm thinking he was actually either from India or Africa!

While there are a few photos of me on there, at the time, my Profile photo was a hard-boiled egg. He kept telling me he loves my Profile picture, as I look beautiful, classy, he loves my ''perfect deep brown eyes and short bob dark brown hair''. I'm actually blue-eyed blond/grey, and my hair is down to my bum!

IT'S AN EGG!

So in the end, I did reply, no wording, just a photo I loaded from Google of a huge sewage system, full of various forms of revolting gunge! Strangely enough, he's not pestered me since! Oh, gosh! I'm sooo disappointed! HA!

Have a good one, all lof you!

Thinking of you Grammarettox

Stilllearning I’m glad your DD enjoyed her visit to Malta.😊

Marydoll yes, Fontanella is a very popular place renowned for their yummy cakes! We didn’t go there yesterday as it was too windy to sit out, plus it would have been heaving being Mother’s Day. We found a very nice alternative, fortunately!

By the way, meant to say how lovely your Holy Communion chairs looked. I love this time of year. All our little First Communicants do a procession around the village looking so lovely in their white dresses and suits.🥰

Good morning everyone from sunny Lancashire.

MrB has taken the car for its service. I have not been feeling well recently, I suspect my kidneys are deteriorating. I’m waiting for a call from my doctor.

As always, thinking of those with troubles in their lives.

Wishing you a good day whatever you’re doing.

I am planning a trip on the Ghan next year Jaxjacky.. I’m sure it will be the enjoyable trip your friend had. I have crossed Australia on the Indian Pacific from Perth to Sydney…3 whole days to cross one country! I had wanted to see the Nullabor Plain since I was a child and it didn’t disappoint. I love long, cross continental train journeys.
Btw…your friend correctly described the cabins as bijou, I loved my single one, very bijou but perfect.

Good afternoon, Mick and all
I started reading in bed earlier. Then fell asleep. Then had to go to dentist. Now the morning is gone 🫤
I have been having a series of tooth extractions after decades of patching up of my very poor teeth. The last one led to an infection and antibiotics and the antibiotics made me feel so ill I had to give in and stop taking them - I think it was the antibiotic. As well as the usual nausea and loss of appetite my heart rate felt very fast and I was so weak. I think I panicked a bit because of the episode I had two years ago when i ended up in A&E with a high level of infection and sepsis symptoms from a UTI that I thought had cleared after a course of antibiotics - it was scary! Anyway, I felt a lot better within a few hours of stopping the medication. Dentist didn’t seem too concerned about the infection when I saw her this morning so I hope it has cleared.

We are going away in the campervan in a couple of days so I need to be healthier 🙂.

There were so many posts, both of interest and concern, that I took notes so I would remember. I have read and appreciated all but will just mention: Grammaretto - I hope the funeral goes well 💐; Blossoming, sorry you are feeling less well 🌷; Greyduster, sorry about your fall and hope your battered and bruised appearance and discomfort heal quickly; Marydoll and family - I did smile at the unusual event of FiL next door cutting your grass as well as their own - obviously someone had a word in his ear.

Best wishes to all doing SATS, GCSEs, Nat5s, A level. We have DGD doing SATS this week and DGSs in Scotland doing an assortment of Highers, Advanced Highers and an apprenticeship thing (can’t remember its name).

hollysteers, I have loved Alison Uttley’s writing since I was given ‘Magic in My Pocket’, a selection of her Sam Pig stories and her essays about her country childhood in Derbyshire, for Christmas one year.

Other good things on here today: photos and word pictures of yellow roses, rhododendron, caravan on Anglesey, success in getting her teaching job (Gagagran’s DGD1), visits to interesting places, FGT’s DGS winding up his sister - made me smile! Special mention: TheWeirdoAgain for further ‘weirdness’ and a robust handling of creeps on Instagram!

Baubles - re your Glasgow walk mentioned yesterday, was the walks book the one by Colin Drysdale? I follow him on X (I think he posts as My Glasgow. I saw he has recently published a walks book and thought I might buy it - so many interesting buildings in and around Glasgow.

I don’t know if anyone will read this mammoth post as it’s so late but if you do I hope you are having the best possible day 🌦️ 🌹