Liz

What Was Childhood Like In Shakespeare's London?: The London History Show YouTube video by J. Draper

If you need to be distracted by watching an hour of someone’s delightful special interest and learning some history today, I got you

youtu.be/ukmIXUEDAkE

Not until I get my polytunnel 😁But the fun of country wines in the UK is you make them with all sorts of produce. In the past I’ve made or been given carrot wine, berry wine, elderflower wine- and of course scrumpy from apples … which is first on the list

Two glass demijohns and three well-worn books on home winemaking sit on a physio bench

The cat has melted in front of the fire, I have gathered kale from the garden before this week’s big freeze, and I’m flipping between a fiction book and these (snagged 6 glass demijohns, fermenting buckets, and related odds and ends from a neighbour 🤓)

Have a great 2026, you lot

I have a snowsky echo mini (mini music player that does nothing else) now and it’s making me very happy

FWIW I look forward to these every year, and have done since following you on twitter around 2015

It’s nice to know other people are white-knuckling through the dark

Thank you for including that last hope ❤️

No no no. I’ve had extra luck this month - virtually handing it to you both 🤞🤞🤞

Good morning Womble! Lots going on so it’s been all audio lately. Right now I have Snake-eater by T Kingfisher and the narrator is lovely (I already know I will love the story)

Just crashed-out tired, really

A fluffy calico cat absolutely sparko asleep on the corner of a black duvet, one white paw extended

How everyone in this house feels today

First, peace and safety for all

Second, and selfishly, that two immunocompromised people here manage to shake off any viruses trying to cling to us after this week’s (masked) work travel

Oh no. #Whamageddon

I never want to live in London again, but this visit hasn’t been half bad so far. I thought my now-rural brain would struggle but nope, it all snaps back into place

I like that FR also means “for real” these days, which gives me a handy mnemonic

This book is fantastic and you should read it and give people copies

Oh that’s gorgeous

Good morning Womble! It’s been a heck of a week but I’ve managed some of Children of Memory on audio (Adrian Tchaikovsky, ofc) and Fade into You by Nikki Darling, another gorgeous queer coming of age story from Feminist Press

calling it now, the “look for the helpers” of 2k26 is “look for the anarchists”

Happy birthday!!!! 🥳 🍕

Thank you!

Ooh congratulations!

Not *entirely* sure how I’ll manage that much sitting, as I’m still bruised AF from spine injections, but it’s remote so worst case I can put ice packs everywhere 🫣😂

New gig starts tomorrow and I’m excited, but also more anxious than usual.

Can’t afford more time off to recover from the toxic job I quit, so back on the horse I go!

I used those all last winter and they are great. But bright enough that the batteries do need replacing a lot.

I bought a £20 SAD lamp that clips on my side table and shines over my head for seasonal-blues reasons, then realised it was also amazing for crafting.

Upside/downside: the cat likes to sunbathe under it with me (yay cuddles, awkward for knitting)

Makes sense! And it sounds like a really cool book 📕 ❤️🔬

That hardly seems possible!? We must have been marvelling at rock layers nearly as long as we have been marvelling at anything.

As always, your recommendations make me want a tardis so I can sneak extra reading time 🙂

Good evening Womble! Late reply because I have spent the day *reading* 😁

Today is Green Man’s Holiday by Juliet McKenna by which is genuinely scary

This week: Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky, and finishing Little F by Michelle Tea, both 😍

+some tech-ish books for new job which starts soon

Me before October 7 🥲