What's made your day today?

[Thenop]

2 for 1 kiss tickets.  More than 50% off, actually, original price was £150 + fees and mine were £55 + fees, working out as £66 each.  That's decent.

Excellent deal, enjoy!

[The Picnic Wasp]

A very still evening walking the dogs tonight. Everything is growing so quickly just now, especially noticeable was the Meadowsweet which appears to have doubled in height and volume over the past three or four days. There were various scents in the heavy air none of which I am able to name with any certainty but the Hawthorns are in full flower so I assume that was the overriding strongest perfume. There is also the occasional strong  smell resembling cat pee which is strangely pleasant. I'd be keen to figure out that mystery. Maybe Google can assist.

[Thenop]

A very still evening walking the dogs tonight. Everything is growing so quickly just now, especially noticeable was the Meadowsweet which appears to have doubled in height and volume over the past three or four days. There were various scents in the heavy air none of which I am able to name with any certainty but the Hawthorns are in full flower so I assume that was the overriding strongest perfume. There is also the occasional strong  smell resembling cat pee which is strangely pleasant. I'd be keen to figure out that mystery. Maybe Google can assist.

You know, it's early, I am eating breakfast reading this, awake but in a state of meh, and I am thinking for about half a second: 'did he really name one of his dogs Google?'

Anyway, nevermind me, carry on.

[Matt2112]

One from the other night - an extended close encounter with a bat - that I never got round to posting about for one reason and another.

I love this time of year when you can start walking the dog after 9.00pm and there's still plenty of light left to have a ramble round the local recreation ground.  Anyway, as dusk settled in we got to a bushy corner of the park where I noticed the bat - most probably a common pipistrelle - darting only about 10 feet past me.  I stopped and watched its fantastic, seemingly physics-defying aerobatics while it hunted. Fortunately, it appeared to be using a circuitous route in which I was roughly at the epicentre, so I spent quite a few glorious minutes watching it shooting and flapping around hither and tither, where it occasionally appeared to be speeding toward me in a kamikaze dive only of course to zip off at seemingly impossible angles.

I would have stayed longer but the dog was utterly indifferent to this impressive display and clearly just wanted to crack on. 

[The Picnic Wasp]

A very still evening walking the dogs tonight. Everything is growing so quickly just now, especially noticeable was the Meadowsweet which appears to have doubled in height and volume over the past three or four days. There were various scents in the heavy air none of which I am able to name with any certainty but the Hawthorns are in full flower so I assume that was the overriding strongest perfume. There is also the occasional strong  smell resembling cat pee which is strangely pleasant. I'd be keen to figure out that mystery. Maybe Google can assist.

You know, it's early, I am eating breakfast reading this, awake but in a state of meh, and I am thinking for about half a second: 'did he really name one of his dogs Google?'

Anyway, nevermind me, carry on.

You are clearly celebrating the Ascension of Our Lord to its fullest. Good for you! 😁

[The Picnic Wasp]

One from the other night - an extended close encounter with a bat - that I never got round to posting about for one reason and another.

I love this time of year when you can start walking the dog after 9.00pm and there's still plenty of light left to have a ramble round the local recreation ground.  Anyway, as dusk settled in we got to a bushy corner of the park where I noticed the bat - most probably a common pipistrelle - darting only about 10 feet past me.  I stopped and watched its fantastic, seemingly physics-defying aerobatics while it hunted. Fortunately, it appeared to be using a circuitous route in which I appeared to be roughly at its epicentre, so I spent quite a few glorious minutes watching it shooting and flapping around hither and tither, where it occasionally appeared to be speeding toward me in a kamikaze dive only of course to zip off at seemingly impossible angles.

I would have stayed longer but the dog was utterly indifferent to this impressive display and clearly just wanted to crack on. 

Bat flight is incredible. I've only ever seen one casualty out there. There is a massive shopping centre close to where I used to work. It has its own bus terminus which has two sided shelters over the stances. They take the form of a steel, shallow Y shape with angled glass ceilings. One day a dead bat lay below this covered area. I can only guess that flying directly towards such a thin, almost horizontal hazard doesn't ever happen in the natural world so their ultrasound system can't accommodate it. I need to correct my casualty figure though. My neighbour once discovered a dead bat caught in a windscreen wiper blade. I think it will be another still night tonight so I'll probably go out just about dusk and have a look. Nothing better than a seat in the garden on a nice night, beer in hand, just at that short space of time when the bats seem busiest. Bat breakfast time I suppose. Fascinating creatures.

[Thenop]

A very still evening walking the dogs tonight. Everything is growing so quickly just now, especially noticeable was the Meadowsweet which appears to have doubled in height and volume over the past three or four days. There were various scents in the heavy air none of which I am able to name with any certainty but the Hawthorns are in full flower so I assume that was the overriding strongest perfume. There is also the occasional strong  smell resembling cat pee which is strangely pleasant. I'd be keen to figure out that mystery. Maybe Google can assist.

You know, it's early, I am eating breakfast reading this, awake but in a state of meh, and I am thinking for about half a second: 'did he really name one of his dogs Google?'

Anyway, nevermind me, carry on.

You are clearly celebrating the Ascension of Our Lord to its fullest. Good for you! 😁

Unfortunately it was a bit too cloudy to witness the event itself...

[Matt2112]

Halifax Town lifting a trophy at Wembley Stadium - I know it was "yesterday", but I've just got home.   

[Matt2112]

Had to renew passports for myself and the little 'un, the latter requiring extra verification which my friendly neighbourhood shopkeeper was kind enough to provide; both new passports have now dropped through the letter box, i.e. within three weeks of initial application.

[pdw1]

afternoon in the sun at the Cambridge Beer festival

[Fishy]

Ooni pizza maker making some decent pizza👍

[Matt2112]

Visiting my brother and his missus up Teesside way - they have a hot tub in their back garden and it was utter bliss!!

[David L]

For yesterday:
The wife and I have put together a sort of 'bucket list' of things we want to do this summer. One of the things was to watch a cricket match. Yesterday we hopped on the bus from Witney to Standlake and watched a game at Oxford Downs CC. A great afternoon. As luck would have it, the Downs seconds were playing The Witney Swifts first side and we happen to know some folks associated with Swifts.
Warm and sunny, we positioned ourselves on a picnic bench close to the clubhouse. Luckily the bench was equipped with a parasol for some shelter from the blazing sun. The bar had a decent cask ale on - Inferno by Oakham. We had to leave just as the ODCC started their innings, chasing a Swifts total of 217. We'd have stayed for the duration but we had to get back to Drummers Bar in Witney for the 'main event'.
A local DJ, Stuart Foster, is known as 'Funk Soul Stu'. He always plays good stuff but as the name implies, concentrated on a certain genre. A couple of weeks ago I noticed advertising flyers in the bar advertising 'Prog Rock Stu'. And last night we were treated to a set of (mostly) prog on his decks from his small collection of prog vinyl. Loads of good stuff including Yes, Focus, Zep, King Crimson etc. Imagine my excitement when he produced a copy of 2112 from his vinyl case! We heard 'Bangkok, The Twilight Zone and Grand Finale - brilliant!
Tribute was paid to Tina Turner (Private Dancer) and a friend who is not into prog got to hear a few Bowie tracks including the fantastic Moonage Daydream.
I was drinking the superb Yabba Dabba Doo from local brewers Little Ox. Got suitably sloshed. Great day

My wife says the second half of the day would qualify for her entry in the "What Made You Grumpy?" thread
    

[Matt2112]

A visit to Bamburgh Castle.  What a stunning place!

Northumberland really is spectacular.

[David L]

A visit to Bamburgh Castle.  What a stunning place!

Northumberland really is spectacular.

We loved our time up there a few years ago, the beaches are stunning!