Knit Henry VIII

I gather from this week's Radio Times that a Welsh grandmother called Denise Salway has knitted Cromwell and the King from Wolf Hall. There are photos of these realistic dolls! When I told my daughter about this and suggested she made them and others also, she replied: "That will be my next project, Mum. But do they have removable heads?"

Computers

What bugs me about my pc is its habit of updating itself and preventing me from using it whilst it does so. "Just wait - I need to clean my teeth," it tells me. I know it's old but does it have to be so boring and annoying? I'm moving on to a Chromebook - I'm told they attend to themselves modestly in the background. Fingers crossed.

Local Councils

These bodies are frequently criticised but I want to praise Monmouth and Newport. There are real people at the end of the phone who answer questions fully and politely. Customer satisfaction there!

Swallow

I thought I knew what a swallow looks like, particularly when swooping low in summer to catch midges or flying high overhead, these two motions often being taken to forecast the weather. Yet I never realised what an amazing red patch it has and wonder how much else I am missing in the common sights around us every day.

Cyril Centipede solves his commuting problem

No more travelling on a crowded tube for Cyril.

AUTUMN INSTINCT

 

As soon as the weather turns colder I start hoarding not nuts or acorns but jams, chutneys - and socks. There is nothing so comforting as a drawer full of new fluffy socks when winter looms and threatens.

LADYBIRD

From the back a ladybird looks pretty and harmless but from the front ...

it is a terrifying monster, enough to make any aphid's little green knees tremble with fear.

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