Nicky Bond's Blog, page 16

High Hopes for Cauliflower

My window!

Anyone else have snow last week? Yeah? No? It was stunningly beautiful for a whole evening. Not so much when I was scraping it off my car next morning, but that's life. Swings and roundabout, ups and downs, the rough with the smooth, and all that jazz. It's the same with Monday mornings. Another one's come round again. We're either fresh-faced and energetic, ready to attack the next seven days, or we've dragged ourselves out of bed, begrudgingly thrown on some clothes, and are forcing ...

A Rabbit Hole of Fabulousness...

You know how it is. You look up one video online, and next thing you know, you've been overwhelmed by related content and fallen headlong into an impromptu three-hour YouTube sesh. We've all done it. No shame in that. Happily for me, the initial video I'm looking for, rarely leads towards more sinister fare. Nope, the MRAs and the anti-vaxxers have yet to insert themselves in my feed. It's all musical theatre and Taskmaster bants for me.
Take last Saturday, for instance. I'd settled down for an e...

A Bit More Comfort and Joy, Ta...

And we're back. Normality has resumed. I say normality, it's normality if you're livid the decs have gone and there's nothing exciting in your diary for months. Comedy writer, Joel Morris, tweeted, 'Most human societies have a winter feast to give hope and comfort during the dark, short, cold days.' He went on to add, 'Trad Xmas lasts until Candlemas in February. Doing 'dry January' and stopping the feast dead a few days after the blow out is insane and the work of Yankee Puritan lunatics.' I li...

Vague Plans, Zero Resolutions...

Happy New year, gang!And so it begins. Another year's upon us and a seasonal reset takes place. I used to hate this time of year. When I was a kid it meant back to school blues. When I was a teacher it meant back to school blues. Now, January brings a new start and renewed focus. No blues in sight. Marvellous. 
So what's the focus for the year? Well in a slight tweak of format, this post won't be an update of the week just gone. We can all imagine what that would've entailed. Cheese, booze, bloat...

An Eleven Month Ramble Round-Up...

It might be only twenty-four hours since the fridge became a leftovers storage facility, but blog-wise, we're moving on. Because this is the last post of the year. Twenty-twenty-two, where has it gone? Well, wonder no more. Here's a round up of the past twelve months, via the monthly long-winded Ramble I pop out between the weekly updates. I aim to publish it on the first Monday of every month. So don't look too closely or you'll notice I seem to have missed March. No matter. Just enjoy my Eleve...

Tidings of Comfort and Joy and Stuff...

Christmas has arrived! Almost. This time next week, it'll be Boxing Day and all that entails. Lies-in and leftovers for many, an actual family Christmas dinner for me. It takes all sorts. Regardless of what next Monday brings, this Monday is the official Writer's Ramblings Christmas post. 
I do this every time. In a bid to avoid not blogging for one week of the year, I dig out an old photo of child-me at Christmas, I write some meaningful, festive sentiments, and I wish everyone a marvellous time...

Ticking Time, Golden Oldies, and Breadstick Banter...

It's the 12th December! Yes, we're on the home strait. We've reached the 50th Monday of the year, the 346th day of 2022, and the 82nd day of Fall. (At least that's what this US website is telling me.)
Christmas Eve viewing!With so little festive season, and indeed year left, I can only assume we're full whack into the Christmas Movie schedules. No more saccharine Netflix or Channel 5 cannon fodder, the big guns are coming out! Look, I can't lie. A weapon-based metaphor to describe something fun-f...

Who Are Ya?...

24601 is also correct.
Who am I? I'm John Valjean! Yes, musical theatre fans will have involuntarily sung that opening aloud. But forget Les Miz's hapless bread thief. Who am I? Who are you? Who are any of us? And can we ever truly know? It's been on my mind recently. Not in a bad way. Just in a 'thought-process I keep pondering' way.  Recent events have come together to make me question the big stuff. 
First of all, what kicked it off? Well, some family stuff, that's what. My mum is about to reac...

Tangible To Do Lists and Other Delights...

Kitchen wall of dreams...Last week's Readers may need some closure. Ready? Here it is. I've still not put up my Christmas decs. It continues to be all quiet on the Christmas front round my way. At least I assume it is. I've not been there since Friday (more of that below) so I've no up-to-date data. Either way, my away-days in a city covered in lights, have kicked me up the arse. I'll be doing the tree as soon as I get back. That's my plan. Meanwhile in other seasonal news, I'm continuing to swe...

Timing, Genre, and Home-made Peppers...

It was all so easy in 2020. Not the year itself. That was a bin fire. From March through to December, the daily death toll and restrictions on normality were mentally exhausting. It was not a year that, should I be given the chance to revisit via the medium of time travel, I'd jump right back to. That honour would be reserved for 1985 (I loved Live Aid!) or 1995 (loads of snogging!) So, no, 2020 was not an easy year. But there was one aspect to that time that was shed-loads easier than now. I wa...