Sunday, 25th October, 2026
As the Blog moves towards the end of its 18th year, we wake up early to a gorgeously warm and sunny morning. Able to go out for a walk at last. Down to the beach. Newspapers over Breakfast and Andy Burnham goes from strength to strength.
Bravery is one of his abiding qualities and, although we’ve know his position for years, he has now been brave enough to open up the idea of going back to Freedom of Movement. It is one of the things that will win him the next General Election.
Down at the beach, the local Bonfire was piled high – maybe 30 ft – with all sorts of wood and the annual Funfare was setting up along the promenade in time for Bonfire Night festivities.
Walking on the beach was blustery and the waves were crashing on the pebbles with a roar as it broke and a scrape as it retreated. For two nights now the sky has been strongly moonlit and tonight is the full moon but I think the winds are having the greatest influence on the crashing tide this morning.
With just a week to go before I leave for Tenerife, I am doing the final preparations. Now the clocks are back, I check the sunrise/sunset times so I can set the automatic lighting. I check the cameras, heating controls so I can maintain the fabric of the house. I contact the property owners so I can finalise our meeting and, although I’ve been to Costa Adeje area many times, I check other people’s ideas for walking.
The Blogs/Guides are not great but it is always possible to learn from others. I am not really going there as a tourist. As I always bore readers with, I merely move my life to another place temporarily and in this case for the weather. I shall be doing all the same things – reading, writing, exercising, walking but without having to worry about the cold. More than anything else, I’m looking forward to a large, quiet heated pool to swim in twice a day. I won’t be seen in the Irish Pubs or cheap eateries down in the town. I won’t be seen at the karaoke or the big screen football over a few lagers but this Blog site above will help me expand my horizons walking.
Monday, 26th October, 2026
We have a battery powered, radio-controlled kitchen clock that automatically sets its time by listening to a radio signal broadcast from a national atomic clock standard. It used to be considered cutting edge at one time. Now, not so. It is one of the three remaining clocks in our house which don’t reset themselves automatically because the rest are internet-based. Almost every other clock, and there are so many of them around the house, is updated over night.
This clock took 36 hours before the update signal was came in. It receives the MSF time signal transmitted from Anthorn Radio Station in Cumbria, near the Solway Firth on the England-Scotland border roughly 500 km away. Amazing really.
I don’t think my body clock has quite adjusted yet. The changing light patterns have made my sleep deeper and more restful. The no-alcohol move has probably contributed towards that too. Anyway, I didn’t get up until 7.00 am (former 8.00 am) this morning and it didn’t feel strange at all. It is bins day. I am responsible for bins which is a pity because it is horrible outside. Cool, dark, grey and breezy.
Because of the weather, Littlehampton Bonfire Society (yes there really is one) postponed the Fireworks Night celebrations from what was a very wet Saturday to last night because the weather was so wonderful.
Had to go out for some shopping this morning and stopped off at the beach where the bonfire was still burning strongly in spite of driving rain. The sea was raging on the beach and breaking on the groynes. It was not a place to stop. I can feel the warmth of the Gym calling. Anyone like to share it?
Tuesday, 27th October, 2026
It is raining in my world. The need to put a light on to get up and shave is depressing me. After the glorious light of Summer, the season is enveloping us in darkness. At least we have light. That thought has been striking me over the past few days. We walk into a dark room, flick a switch and there is light.
It has been making me think about times past before electricity. In Iron Age Britain, for most people, winter meant a period of genuine uncertainty. Darkness was real darkness. After sunset there were only fires or tallow lamps. These gave very limited light, so most activity stopped soon after nightfall. Winter was associated with death and danger. Trees appeared dead, animals disappeared, and crops did not grow. It is not surprising that many ancient religions developed stories about the sun’s return and the rebirth of nature. The shortest day marked the turning point when daylight would finally begin increasing again. Ancient monuments such as Stonehenge had already been aligned with solar events long before 500 BC.
Modern people often think of winter as an inconvenience. For people in 500 BC or 1100 AD, winter and darkness were fundamental realities that could determine whether a family survived until spring. The gradual return of daylight after the winter solstice was not just interesting astronomy. It was a profound sign that life would continue.
In many ways, the excitement people still feel at Christmas lights, cosy fires, and the first signs of spring are echoes of feelings our ancestors experienced much more intensely a thousand or two thousand years ago.
The amazing thing is that although electricity was coming to UK homes in the early part of the last century, for people of my generation, that was only at the start of our parents’ lives. It is almost within touch
And now we have not just light, not just electric light at a switch bringing day to night but we have Artificial Intelligence. I am getting more and more reliant on it for all sorts of sources of information.
An old friend of mine is celebrating her Mother’s 97 Birthday. It is a fantastic achievement and testament to staying power. I wanted to make a card for her and A.I. really helped. They live by the sea in North Yorkshire and I had a photo of them together at a 1940s Festival. I wanted to place them in another scene and I chose the well known and popular Jack Vettriano picture, The Singing Butler. You have to know how to direct A.I. and what you want as an outcome but, in my view, the result is amazing.
Wednesday, 28th October, 2026
Gloriously sunny morning with blue sky but only 10C/50F. The times they are a changing and not for the better. All the more reason to fly to the warmth. Before I do, I have a BT engineer arriving for a third visit in a week. My internet is good but the WI-FI is still flakey and it looks as if the Hub needs replacing.
I’ve only got a few days to sort this out because of the need to access things remotely when we’re abroad. This morning the WI-FI went down momentarily and I’ve insisted on a quick visit to get it resolved. Can’t live like this.
The Office is full of equipment testing the system in multiple ways. I have a Hub Manager screen available and the Log illustrates the problem.
I apologise to regular readers if this is even more boring than usual but it is currently dominating my life and filling my days. I’m just hoping that the visit is done before the Budget is announced. Big day for Labour and Andy Burnham.