Nicky Bond's Blog

I've cracked it. No, really, I have. I've finally taken a good photograph. Honestly, no one's more surprised than me.
If I was the insecure-about-my-photography-skills type, I'd be REALLY insecure. When I take a pic, I don't stop to stage it. I click the button at whatever is being presented to me. There's no thought about the background, the lighting, the shadow... no thought at all. I just snap. I'm not a professional, I've no exhibition coming up, it's simply my way of recording my memories.
Se...

The September Reset continues apace. Except! A curve ball has been thrown.
I have no idea if this is a curve ball
but it came up when I searched the term.A relative of mine has been selected for jury duty. That means I'm doing the school drop-off for a smaller relative of mine, for a few days coming up. This is perfect timing. For me, at least. Can you imagine if I'd had to be up at the absolute crack, during my extended mental break? If - post-Leeza McAuliffe Book  3 - I'd had to drag myself out ...

It's back! My brain, entering the chat.
Yes, the routine, the excitement over a new project, and the work ethic that's been MIA for months. It's back, baby! Leeza McAuliffe Book 4 has begun to be planned. I'm writing these words, thinking back over the past week, and feeling a sense of productivity and accomplishment. Not, I should add, that I've written a complete sentence yet. Nope, all that is still to come. But... I've had thoughts, noted down ideas, and arranged those ideas into bullet points...

A few weeks ago, I simply couldn't have imagined it. The heat had suffocated me for so long that the thought of cooler air was unimaginable. And now? It's raining baby! Woohoooo! 
Can you see the rain?As I type, the rain is literally lashing down. Bouncing off the patio, cutting through the clammy climate, and giving me untold pleasure. It's marvellous. I can feel the breeze coming through the back door, I can hear the pitter patter as it gets heavier, and I can smell the garden. What's that word...

Did we make it? Are you hanging on? Are you ready for... DRUM ROLL PLEASE... September?
I was in Scotland last week where schools are back for the new school year. In England (and I think Wales, and Northern Ireland) there're a few more sleeps-in-til-lunctime to go. Either way, we're in the vicinity of a whole new start. A fresh pencil case, a clean jotter, and a refuelled tank full of pep and vim. Can't you just feel it?
I wonder, is it a throwback to our English cave-dwelling ancestors? Are we p...

Long Ramble time, hurrah!
And what's the topic this month? We'll get to that in a sec. First off, check out this headline... 
 
If you click the link AND subscribe to The Times, you can read the whole thing. Sadly, I ditched my access to The Times after far too many front pages slagged off Angela Rayner for something that seemed innocuous at the time and has since proven to be, but I digress.

The literary love child of 
Judy Blume and Adrian Mol...

For one day last week, the world made sense.
It rained. More that that, it was chilly. Can you believe? I needed a cardy. Sadly this cold snap only lasted a morning. By the time the afternoon came around, the cardy was gone, the doors were open, and the clammy heat was back. Sigh. For one morning only, I remembered what it was like to feel comfy within myself. What a thing I take for granted during the colder months. 
The importance of feeling comfy within ourselves shouldn't need explaining. If o...

Well who knew Anglesey was so nice? Everyone except me, right?
I'm just back from a few days away and it blew my mind. Aren't the beaches lovely? It's a stone's throw from my Merseyside home but I'd never visited. Madness. 
The reason I was there was because of a significant birthday in my partner's family; that was why I lost my Anglesey virginity. But now? I've got the route, I know the best beach carpark, and I can visit whenever I have a free day. Win!
Writing News The Leeza McAuliffe is Branchi...

My hall, landing, and stairs is now newly decorated. (I like to give you closure.) What was a biscuity-beige is now a pebbly-grey. Adjectives aside, it's not massively different. Just neater, cleaner, and tidier. Win.
Taken when the
radiator was still the
old colour, while
the wall were 
the new. Virtually 
identical.The problem is I'm under pressure to keep my own belongings neater, cleaner, and tidier too. Boooo. I live with a neat-freak, you see, which mostly works well. I have a high tolerance ...

Last week, in one of his final acts as Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer gave out a bunch of peerages. Congratulations to all. 
My reservations about unelected nobles aside, this news provided a lovely thought experiment for this week's blog. If I accept the premise that the House of Lords is both important and necessary to my life, who would I want to be in it? Who has elevated my existence so much, they deserve a life-long title and recognition for their service? Who are the unsung heroes of my ...