Various ramblings by the small hobbit

The Friday Five: Books!

Sat, 06 Jun 2026 12:12:23 GMT

This week's thefridayfive

1. Do you enjoy reading?
Yes, I generally have about 4 books on the go at once.

2. What is the first book you remember reading?
It was a long time ago...

3. Who is your favourite author?
Impossible to decide - I have a selection of authors I like to read, but it depends what I'm looking for. Maybe Vaseem Khan.

4. What is your favourite book?
If it was impossible to decide on my favourite author, how am I supposed to extend the search to one book. Latest favourite The Retired Assassin's Guide to Orchid Hunting by Naomi Kuttner

5. What is the last book you read and the first you'll read next?
The last book I finished was Cranky Ladies of History by Tansy Rayner Roberts. The next book I'll be starting is The Spring House by Cynthia Asquith, which is published next week as part of the British Library Women Writers collection.

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Meme - 50 This or Thats

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:24:20 GMT

out_there posted this nearly three months ago...

1. Bagels or donuts?
Donuts.

2. Bar soap or body wash?
Body wash for the shower, bar soap when washing my hands

3. Being afraid or being embarrassed?
Embarrassed. The safer option

4. Big bash or intimate gathering?
Intimate gathering. Much better chance of getting to talk to those I like.

5. Board games or video games?
Puzzles on line

6. Bridgerton or The Crown?
Neither

7. Cardio or weights?
Cardio, if a brisk walk counts

8. Carpet or hardwood?
Hardwood downstairs, carpets upstairs

9. Clue/Cluedo or Monopoly?
neither

10. Cook or do the dishes?
I always do the dishes

11. Damp socks or a pebble in your shoe?
Pebble in the shoe, which I can stop and remove

12. Dragons or unicorns?
Dragons, every time

13. Family vacation or solo trip?
Family, specifically The Daughter

14. Fork or spoon?
Both

15. General admission or assigned seats?
Assigned seats, no need to arrive mega-early before someone spreads a coat across several seats to save them for 'friends coming in a bit'

16. Give or receive?
Both

17. Hot cocoa or hot cider?
Mulled cider is lovely in winter.

18. Iced tea or hot tea?
Hot tea, every day

19. Italian food or Mexican food?
Italian, one of my favourites

20. Long car ride or short plane trip?
Long coach ride

21. Mountains or beach?
Both

22. Movie candy or popcorn?
Neither

23. Musical theatre or concert?
Either

24. Nightlight or no light?
No light. But we have pale curtains, so the bedroom gets light with the dawn

25. Ninja attack or pirate attack?
Pirate attack. Then I can join them

26. Outer space or bottom of the ocean?
Outer space, it's fascinating

27. Painful truth or comforting lie?
Depends on the circumstances

28. Pancakes or waffles?
Pancakes.

29. Passion or friendship?
Friendship - lots more opportunity

30. Phone call or text?
Text.

31. Pizza or tacos?
Pizza.

32. Play or concert?
Play

33. Playlists or podcasts?
Podcasts, ideal for chores, driving and crafting

34. Puzzles or colouring books?
Puzzles.

35. Rain or snow?
Snow, since we get a lot less

36. Ramen or pho?
Ramen.

37. River or lake?
Either

38. Roller coaster or Ferris wheel?
Ferris wheel.

39. Roller skates or ice skates?
Neither

40. Salt or pepper?
Salt.

41. Singing in the shower or singing in the car?
In the shower

42. Skinny fries or thick cut?
Thick cut.

43. Sneezing or coughing?
Sneezing.

44. Snowboarding or skateboarding?
Neither

45. Snowmen or sandcastles?
Snowmen

46. Spicy or mild?
Mild.

47. Street food or fine dining?
Fine dining.

48. Subtitles or dubbed?
Subtitles

49. Wine or beer?
Wine

50. Zoo or aquarium?
Either

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Bingo card

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 10:03:34 GMT

There are two challenges on allbingo this month, but realistically I don't have time for both, so I've decided to go for the Hazbin Hotel Challenge, using Places prompts, but going with a Pride theme.

Hell	City
Club	Tower

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Writing - May 2026

Sat, 30 May 2026 14:13:25 GMT

Perhaps to my surprise, this has been a good writing month - 11K words bringing my total to around 49.5K and about back to averaging 10K per month. If I can persuade myself to write something else this weekend I might add something more.

About 3.5K words are for an exchange pinch hit, so no details as yet.

Otherwise, my main output has been for whatif_au bingo, where I've completed another two squares. Good guys go bad/Bad guys go good - The Theft of the Diamond Necklace which is Hercule Poirot and Characters as celebrities Castle Elsinore where the main characters from Hamlet are on a reality tv show.

I have also written for allbingo Greek Myths Bingo Death at the Spring Play (Miss Marple)

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2026 Photo #11

Fri, 29 May 2026 15:39:50 GMT

Two photos this week, although the same subject. I took lots of pictures, trying to catch a photo of the dragonflies - there were two of them. They can be seen roughly in the middle of the two pictures, plus the reflection in the water in the second photo. And no, I have no idea whether there's a photo of each or it's the same one both times!

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Books - May 2026

Thu, 28 May 2026 14:32:53 GMT

10 books, but that stretches over the second half of April as well, bringing my annual total to 43 books.

A Vow of Sanctity by Veronica Black
Third is the Sister Joan series, this one is set on the side of a lake in north-west Scotland. I enjoyed the setting and the plot, where I was definitely wrong-footed, but in an entirely plausible way. Things weren't as they seemed, but they did all make sense. I'm definitely enjoying the series.

The Labours of Hercules by Agatha Christie
Poirot is preparing to retire and takes on a series of cases, each one of which will have a connection to the mythological labours of Hercules. A really enjoyable collection of short stories.

Signed, Picpus by Georges Simenon
Back on my goal to read all the Maigret books in the library this year. Maigret is in Paris and once again this is a very different story, which I enjoyed.

The Spring Begins by Catherine Dunning
One of the British Library Women Writers series, and one I could borrow from the library. It was written in 1934 and set in the period. The story of three women either working for the big house, or for one of the neighbours. It looks at the limitations of their lives and how they finally find fulfilment in their individual ways. I liked it because although the story felt more modern, it was accurate to the sense of the times, rather than reading back and importing more modern thoughts.

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum
Set in Seoul in South Korea, the characters are all struggling to conform in modern Korean society with the dominant work ethic. I liked seeing the way the characters reacted with each other and how they were starting to grow, but would have no wish to visit the bookshop.

A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang by Lee Onhwa
Again set in South Korea, this is more of a fantasy. It looks at the regrets of a number of people who have died and how they are given closure by the pastry shop. It was easier to read than the previous book, feeling more positive in the outcomes.

Women on the Case by Sara Paretsky
Short crime stories by female writers with female protagonists. Definitely a varied collection, but I only skipped through a couple of the stories. Worth reading if you're looking for slightly different stories.

Maigret and the Tall Woman by Georges Simenon
Again set in Paris, a very different story from the previous one I read. I do like the way the books bring in so many different people with different motives and behaviours, all of which feel very grounded in the setting.

Cranky Ladies of History by Tansy Rainer Roberts
This was given to me as a present and was highly entertaining. Based on real women, but in short story format. They were fascinating. I'd very much like to have met some of the women, and am very glad I didn't meet others!

CWGC Battlefield Companion Somme 1916
Produced by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission this short book looks at the history of the battle of the Somme, mostly from the British and Commonwealth view. The book itself is a guide to a number of the cemeteries in the region and looks at which regiments were involved in the fighting in that particular area.

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Crafts - May 2026

Wed, 27 May 2026 13:58:01 GMT

June calendar SAL

( May crafts )

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Views of the Water - May

Tue, 26 May 2026 15:32:25 GMT

Several pictures of the canal taken over the month:

( Views of water )

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2026 Photo #10

Sat, 16 May 2026 12:33:41 GMT

This is one of the local playing fields where I'm doing the Birds in Green Spaces count, and where, on a sunny day, there are normally butterflies.

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Wildlife - May

Thu, 14 May 2026 10:18:33 GMT

My activity over the past month:

British Trust for Ornithology: I've reported Garden Bird Counts every week, except when on holiday. Numbers are now up, as the sparrows are finding insects on our plants, and the pigeons and magpies appreciate the water we provide. I've done 7 surveys for Birds in Green Spaces in two sites.

UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme: So far I've only managed one survey early last month. Whenever I've had the time the weather has not been too cold.

Butterfly Conservation: Butterflies for the New Millenium. 7 counts. Because this is not site specific - I add location when submitting the report - there's more opportunity simply to count the butterflies.

Maintenance: Regularly topping up the water bowls on not so rainy days. Emptied the bird feeder at the end of April to tie in with new guidelines - not that anything apart from the occasional pigeon was using it.

Sightings of note: Walking along the canal I spotted the swan on her nest with about 4 cygnets (exact number difficult to ascertain as she was on the opposite bank). In addition I saw 2 moorhens and a cormorant.

Other activities: I've signed up for 30 Days Wild 2026 with the Wildlife Trust and downloaded the planner. I've also signed up to vote for Britain's Favourite Butterfly.

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Audiobooks - March to May 2026

Sun, 10 May 2026 13:38:59 GMT

My current TBL list has shot up to 28, plus I pre-order. Audible had a couple of sales, one for series and one mega sale which I took full advantage of. So this will take me well into next year, especially as a number belong to series which I'm listening to and which are unavailable in the library and it was cheaper to buy and audio copy than a second hand one.

Here's the titles I've listened to in the last couple of months:

Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Croft read by Gordon Griffin
An Inspector French mystery, which I'd been planning on reading for a while (British Library Crime Classics series). Two bodies are discovered on a deserted yacht in the middle of the English Channel. French has to work out who killed them, why and how. Slightly long-winded but an interesting mystery. I wasn't completely surprised at the eventual murderer.

A Curiously Convenient Demise by Hannah Hendy read by Jenny Funnell
Next in the Dinnerlady Detectives series. An entertaining listen with an enjoyable cast of characters.

Calamity in Kent by John Rowland read by Peter Wickham
Another British Library Crime Classics series. A clever impossible crime, but the narrator (in the story, not the reader) annoyed me, stating every chapter he was a newspaper reporter, which, if you hadn't realised that by halfway through the book you clearly couldn't have been paying any attention.

A Case of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith read by Matthew Lloyd Davies
This had been in my TBL since last year, as I'd seen a lot of recommendations for it. I enjoyed it, and may well read the next in the series at some point. I knew the solution to one of the mysteries by about halfway through and towards the end had my suspicions as to the other.

Murder on Milverton Square by G B Ralph read by Philip Battley
I had put this on my list as being set in New Zealand and a cosy mystery - i.e. ideal for listening while driving. The protagonist Addison Harper is a bit of an idiot, but I enjoyed the story overall. I was thinking I'd listen to more, but since the next three stories all have Harper being the one to find a dead body and being the main suspect, I won't be - for me that plot works once not several times.

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The Friday Five: Fandoms and Related

Sat, 09 May 2026 09:39:10 GMT

This week's thefridayfive

1. What do you consider your current main fandom? (This can include hobbies and collecting. Anything you feel fannish about!)
Sherlock Holmes (ACD - ie orginal books); Miss Marple (Agatha Christie); Spooks (MI5) but definitely AU
Also cross stitch, which I've spent probably at least a couple of hours a day on this week.

2. What was your first fandom?
Life on Mars (UK)

3. Do you have any favourite headcanons or fan theories?
Holmes and Watson live a happy retirement together in Sussex.
Adam Carter and Lucas North belong together, regardless of the fact they only had one episode together.

4. Have you ever created fanworks?
I write fanfiction

5. Are you still active in any old fandoms?
I still occasionally write drabbles/ficlets for Life on Mars. And, of course, Sherlock Holmes is considerably older than even I am!

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V E Day

Fri, 08 May 2026 15:47:50 GMT

Today is V E Day - Victory in Europe Day, when Germany surrendered at the end of WWII. In memory of those from many countries who fought and died in the conflict, this is a collage of some of the gravestones we saw on our recent holiday.

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Courses - February to April 2026

Mon, 04 May 2026 11:08:15 GMT

Open Learn

The Restless Universe
My interest is more looking at the stars and planets and this course was more concerned with the physics of this planet, so, although I completed the course, I don't think I gained much from it.

Lottery of Birth
As might be expected this looks at the different factors which can affect how a child will grow up and thrive, or not. I don't think I learnt anything new.

Exploring Ovid's Big Ideas
I studied Ovid's Metamorphoses for Latin O-level an eon ago, but, if anything, by the end of the course I was less interested in Ovid that when I started.

An Introduction to Geology
Life in the Palaeozoic
Earthquakes
Looking around for something to study, I decided a look at how our planet is formed might be interesting. I know a little more now, but wouldn't say this was a subject I'd be particularly interested in progressing with. However, they all helped with building the big picture of 'life'.

Having looked at most of the OpenLearn courses I'm currently interested in, and, in the case of some of the scientific courses, can actually understand, I've now picked out a few FutureLearn courses to continue to widen my horizons.

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Bingo Card

Sat, 02 May 2026 14:07:06 GMT

Here's my allbingo card for the Greek Myth Fest: Themes, Motives and Ideas category:

gold	crew
family	wall

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2026 Photo #9

Sat, 02 May 2026 13:46:13 GMT

The final photo from the holiday. This is the coach we travelled on, with guide, co-driver and driver. The side of the coach is open for loading suitcases as we embark for the next stop.

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Views of the Water - April

Fri, 01 May 2026 15:49:52 GMT

This year's photo them is Views of the Water, so I'm beginning with a splash!

( views of the water )

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Dresden and Hannover

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:28:40 GMT

The last of my main holiday photos.

( Dresden and Hannover )

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Berlin and former East Germany

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 17:26:41 GMT

Our travels took us to Berlin.

( Berlin and East Germany )

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Three Classic War Films

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 11:12:14 GMT

One of the aims of the tour we've been on was to look at the sites of various classic WWII air war films and get a proper perspective on them.

( Three class films )

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View from the Window - April

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:28:21 GMT

The final set of views, which is a bumper edition:

( views from the window )

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2026 Photo #8

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:26:41 GMT

There really could be nothing else!

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Books - April 2026

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:30:01 GMT

6 books, and I'm planning on reading another when I'm away, but that will go into May. Total books to date is 33.

The Judge's House by Georges Simenon
Maigret has been sent away from Paris, there's no indication why. It's a small coastal town with some very strange goings on, and odd relationships. Despite being in exile, Maigret slowly works out what has happened in a very satisfactory way. Once more, it's a different set up and fascinating to see the way people behave.

Death of a Bookseller by Bernard J Farmer
One of the runners up for the Shedunnit book connected month. Too long and the plot was too drawn out.

The Retired Assassin's Guide to Orchid Hunting by Naomi Kuttner
In order to read this book I had to buy a new copy, which is not something I would generally do. However, it was so enjoyable that it was well worth it. It's cosy crime, the second in the series, with a retired assassin, an ex-art thief, and a young man who is in contact with the ghosts of dead residents. It's set in a small town in New Zealand, I really like the characters, and there's a cat, also, orchids.

Three Bedrooms in Manhattan by Georges Simenon
Not a Maigret this time. It's a story of two people in Manhattan who meet and their emotions and relationship. Very different from the other Simenon books I've read, but his grasp of character still shines through.

Broken Light by Joanne Harris
I read the book very quickly, but in the end, although the concept was really interesting, and the ideas behind it extremely relevant, I found it disappointing. Although not a fantasy, I think it uses ideas from that genre, which is not one I enjoy, so that may have had something to do with it.

Odd One Out by Lissa Evans
I'm currently reading the library books by Lissa Evans that I haven't already read, and wasn't sure about this one to start with. However, it was another book I read quickly - wanting to finish it before I went away - and this time I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are a number of different individuals, each with their own story, who for different reasons are the odd one out. Taking place in a large town, they all come to interact in different ways, and as the story unfolds, the different layers of the characters become visible, so that by the end I was wanting things to work out for all of them.

( book challenge and bingo )

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Writing - April 2026

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:27:57 GMT

Like yesterday, I'm posting early on this. It's unlikely I'll have the time for writing while I'm away, so, although there might be a few drabbles, I don't expect to make much progress. This month I've written about 4.5K words, bringing my total to 37.5K, which, hopefully I will make up for over the summer.

For allbingo Flower Challenge, using the Dancing with Daffodils prompts, I wrote four double drabbles, A Spring Morning in the Garden, an ACD Holmes retirement story.

And whatif_au is running a bingo challenge again this year, so I've written Hudson's Modelling Agency - The New Models a BBC Sherlock/Hamlet crossover and Joining A Band which is a Hobbit movie story.

And here's my banner from last month's allbingo:

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Crafts - April 2026

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 10:56:51 GMT

Early, but I'm away for over a week, so I won't finish any more of my current projects.

( May crafts )

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