Monday 19th December 2022 - Come to an End and Sliced Bread

The cold snap appears to have come to an end. Saturday morning the conditions were not too bad so, in the morning, we ventured down for a walk along the front. There were patches of ice where the fresh water spills out of the cliffs and across the concrete promenade. So as to avoid the worst areas, we walked on the gravel in front of the beach huts. We felt sure there would be less ice on the field paths but were proven wrong. In the afternoon we walked the tracks and paths across the field and the back of the allotments; they were treacherous. We carefully picked our way across the grass to avoid the ice-covered areas. Yesterday morning we woke to a severe frost with ice and decided it was best to give the morning walk a miss. Come the afternoon the thaw had set in and today has been very mild although a little damp. To give an idea how cold it has been, when I went to break the ice on the pond, using the end of a broom, it bounced back; the ice refused to crack. Boiling water poured into the bird bath and water bowl in the back garden had no effect on the thick ice. The other morning, we were surprised to see a couple of turnstones, joining the gulls and crows, when we put down some food for the birds near the car park. We usually see turnstones on the promenade but as it was so cold maybe they thought they would find a better food source on the cliff top. We have also seen lapwings both on the camping field and on an inland field. We used to see them when we lived in Berkshire but they are not regulars, as far as I know, here in our coastal location.

One of the radio programmes Peter downloads is titled, ‘The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread’. It has nothing to do with food but each week investigates into certain items to find out if they are really as good as they are made out to be, or marketing hype. I found the programme covering perfumes particularly interesting. Without going into great detail, their investigations found there are copy perfumes which are almost the same as their branded counterparts. Those who tried out the copies against the real McCoy pretty well all agreed the copies are good substitutes but if you are looking for presence, e.g. a fancy bottle, then it has to be the branded product. Intrigued by this finding, I searched the internet for companies who produce copies and found one where I could purchase samples for just £2.99 and if I ordered three, the third was free. They did not have all the perfumes I like but I chose one of my favourites, another I like but have not used for some years and one I have never heard off. They have arrived and after making a direct comparison with my favourite against the copy, I agree there is little difference and given the price of the branded perfume against the copy, which is about a quarter of the cost, I have to ask myself when my bottle starts to run out, why not replace it with the copy?

This is my last blog before the Christmas holidays but before I close, please have a thought for those who would like celebrate with others but who will be spending Christmas on their own, as well as those who have lost a dear one during the year and face their first Christmas without them.

Best wishes to you all for a Happy Christmas

And finally, today’s photo was taken this morning – a festive village pole.