my on-line diary continued from the original .net website
January 2026 - Present
March 2026
February seemed to go on forever - despite it only being 28 days long (it felt like 80!) The almost continuous rain was the main culprit. (One place in Cornwall had 50 consecutive days of the stuff.)
It wasn't so much the rain that was the headache, but the muddy fields - all mud and no grass for the horses. ponies and sheep, which in turn meant hay had to be fed to the sheep and the ponies, and the three big horses had to share turnout - the 'girls' in the morning, the 'boys' in the afternoon. Which then meant yet more hay, and additional mucking out, meaning more straw.
And farmers nationwide were having the same problem, with extra difficy=ulty because feed, straw and hay was in short supply last summer... we are rapidly running out!
And lambing in the cold and wet? Some farmers even started using little lamb-sized anoraks for their newborns.
We had a few lambs in the spare stable which needed bottle feeding for various reasons. They started off well, then one night they all died. No idea why. Possibly a virus of some sort? The next lot of lambing is due this month, though, so fingers crossed for a better outcome.
There are concerns for the horses too. strangles (the equine equivalent of Glandular Fever but far more deadly) is at one yard in North Devon. (My condolences to the owner whose horse didn't recover.) It is highly transferable, so that particular yard is in strict lockdown. Fortunately it doesn't seem to have spread to elsewhere (again, fingers crossed) but we're all being ultra careful. We've also had our horses vaccinated against this dreadful disease. LOL More expense! (But cheaper than a vet bill for strangles!)
Just out of interest, strangles was known to the Romans, with much the same treatment as we have today - without the modern antibiotics that is - and I used it in the third part of my Arthurian Pendragon's Banner Trilogy (Shadow of the King.) https://mybook.to/ShadowOfTheKing_Book3
For myself I've had a rotten virus - gone now, I hope, and a touch of S.A.D. - but Vitamin D is keeping that at bay.
A combination of the two might explain why I've been a bit weepy again and very much missing my dear friend, Mal. Funny how it's often the little things that hit you when someone dies. For the first time this year we sat out under the gazebo for a morning coffee and I vividly remembered sitting there having toast for breakfast with Mal the last time he came to stay. (May 2025.) The concern about his passing is not just because of his sudden death. I know for a fact he made, and signed, a valid will. But it seems that it has been lost somehow. I'm also certain that he left a copy with his appointed solicitor. But where is it?
What is especially painful is that Mal would be SO upset at this ongoing mystery.
I wholeheartedly believe in ghosts, but apparently, trying to contact one to ask 'Where's your b****y will?' doesn't quite work like that.
Pity.
until next time.
February 2026
January seemed to go on and on forever - why does this month always seem so long? Other 31 day months don't offer the same effect!
I had a cold which didn't last too long and wasn't too inconvenient, but left me with catarrh, which in turn re-activated what I call 'Hamster Syndrome' (actually it's supposedly Parotitis) I call it hamster because all the glands below and around my right ear swell up - making me look and feel like a hamster. Alongside, is running a fever, sore throat, earache and blocked sinuses. It's a bit like mumps or glandular fever - which also affect the glands and the lymph nodes.
I've had this wretched thing on and off since before Covid. And I have to be blunt, I'm bloomin' fed up[with it!
I did have NHS appointments with a consultant - who couldn't find anything wrong and insisted the cause was me grinding my teeth on that side. Until I pointed out that I haven't got any teeth on the lower jaw on that side. Then he sent me to a jaw consultant, who asked why I was seeing him when this was clearly an ENT issue.
Back to the original consultant, who told me I was imagining it. So I didn't bother doing anything else about it.
I might try again these few years later as it is obviously a sinus problem and maybe this misogynistic consultant has, hopefully, 'moved on'.
January 2026
I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas - trouble free and relaxing. Although it seems to be traditional, now, to overeat, overdrink and for children to get overexcited and overtired.
I remember having only one 'main' present and a few little things like a selection box of chocolates, and maybe a new pair of socks and some slippers, perhaps a toy or something and that was it. Now we seem to have a store full of gifts. Are they appreciated? Judging by the For Sale pages on Facebook and the like, no, for there are an awful lot of obviously unwanted Christmas Presents on there.
Some sad memories for me, too: my mum passed away on Christmas Morning back in 2009, it was strange not sending a Christmas Box parcel to my dear friend Mal, who died in July 2025 - or calling him on Christmas Day like I always did. And the husband of one of my daughter Kathy's friends died over Christmas this year - m ydeepest condolences to her and her family.
For myself, I had a lovely time from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, because we had friends to stay with their three-year-old son. Christmas, I guess, really is a time for children. We tried our best to create some happy memories for him - the sort of memories that last a lifetime. I won't necessarily know if we succeeded. Depends on how long I stick around I guess! LOL
I enjoy Christmas because it is a rare chance to sit down and not feel guilty about not doing anything. My daughter (and Ashley Dad of the three-year-old) took charge of a simply scrumptious Christmas Dinner - we had a joint of local Devon Beef, given that a couple of us weren't keen on turkey. I must admit I'm not keen on a turkey dinner either - but oh, I do love cold turkey sandwiches.
But now 2025 has become 2026. I'll be 73 this April, and the 1st of January is the time for making New Year Resolutions - resolutions which, let's be honest, have usually been broken before the middle of the month.
I have two which I must stick to:
1) Get on with writing the 7th Sea Wich Voyage, Jamaica Gold
2) Go for a walk every day - even if it is only a short walk.
The difficulty with number 1: I'm stuck for ideas.
The difficulty with number 2: I hate the cold and wet. And it has been very cold and wet recently.
Roll on summer!
So meanwhile: Happy New Year to you all!
Lege Feliciter - Read Happily
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