Just back from a lovely few days at Kessingland Beach in Suffolk. The weather was beautiful: sunny and warm, but not too hot. Many of the pubs in the area are really superb, so I've had lots of excellent meals as well as beautiful walks in the fresh air.

. I'm starting to think that any time a western political party gets anywhere close to power, their leading members are forcibly lobotomised by some unknown secret organisation.

It would be easier to contact the dead than to talk to a human being at Southwark Council Services. I've just tried, and their telephone options are all recorded messages referring me to their website, which simply consigns one to a Byzantine series of irrelevant headings. 🙄.

As I feared, that local car journey the other day cost me dearly. Had I driven past the school 9 minutes later, there would be no charge. It was also the last day of term, so doubly ironic. So annoying, and I'm cross with myself for forgetting. The warning sign is tiny, too.

Just drove past my local primary school, thinking it was past 9.15 and that they were on their summer holidays anyway. Saw some parents hanging around outside and started to worry. Sure enough, it's the last day of term and it was 9.05. I will now be fined £100! 😭.

A question for chutney experts. I made spiced plum chutney yesterday, but I think it is far too runny. Would it be okay for me to tip the jars' contents back into a pan and boil the chutney more to thicken it before sealing it in clean jars? Will that work, do you think?.

At last! After a very sultry and humid night, some prolonged heavy rain here in London which has cooled the temperature considerably, refreshed the garden and sweetened the air. We really needed it!.

RT @HeadWarriorTWM: Should the voting age be lowered to 16? . Repost for a wide reach please and thank you🤣🤣.

When I was young, I remember seeing, on a couple of occasions, black and white film footage of the Chinese Army blowing up a beautiful Tibetan monastery during their invasion of the country in the 1950s. Can I find it on the internet this morning? The answer is 'no'. Why?.

I don't want to sound cruel or unfeeling, but after the huge number of sympathetic responses on X to the Chancellor's tears in the Commons yesterday, I'm fully expecting the entire Cabinet to bring onions with them to the next PMQs. .

The only good thing to come out of this year's Glastonbury Festival is that the metropolitan leftists have been exposed as the true face of the 'far-right' in this country.

Back in the mid 1970s, when I turned 18, the only group that hated Jewish people and backed euthanasia was the National Front, a small fascist party. It bewilders me that today's so-called 'left' have much the same ideas, yet would accuse me of being 'right wing'.

Took Dido and Lina to the vet for their annual check-up and booster jab. Much wailing and gnashing of teeth, particularly from Luna. Back home, Dido sat sulking in the shade right at the bottom of the garden. Thank goodness that's over for another year!

Imagine if, in World War One, one side had deliberately packed its trenches with women and children in the hope that it would stop the other side shelling them and destroy their reputation if they did. That is exactly what Hamas has done in Gaza.

Perhaps disrespectful of me, but I couldn't help laughing when, while I watched a Movietone clip from 1953 on YouTube of Queen Mary's funeral, McAfee's 'internet checker' flashed up to tell me that it was 'deepfake'. Should British historians be alerted?.@McAfee.

Every third or fourth post on here seems to be that stupid 'ad' about bit coins or whatever it is. "They removed the episode in under 2 hours, but the internet had already saved it.".Yeah, right. 🙄.So tedious!.

@McAfee I've contacted McAfee and these pop-ups are indeed part of an official 'web checking' free add-on to their normal protection software. I pointed out to them that checking for dodgy sites is one thing, but judging videos as 'deepfake' is another matter entirely.

I have had McAfee protection for my PC for years. In the last couple of days, I've had pop-ups from them appearing when I watch YouTube videos saying 'Deepfake detected' or 'Scanning for Deepfake'. Am I alone in this? I think it's inappropriate and open to bias. @McAfee.

RT @GinnyHBall: Support this petition: SAVE THE CHAGOS ISLANDS — STOP THE DEAL

I've made a huge mistake with Dido. Yesterday, I showed her a YouTube video of little mice running around specifically made for cats. Since then, she has been permanently sitting on my desk staring at the monitor awaiting the return of the mice - even when it's switched off!