What are the Ides of March?

Beware the Ides of March! But why? In the ancient Roman calendar, the Ides of March were equivalent to our March 15. The Romans considered the day a deadline for settling debts, maybe similar to our Tax Day. But it’s more likely that, today – in our modern world – if you’ve heard of the Ides of March, it’s probably thanks to William Shakespeare. In his play Julius Caesar, a soothsayer attracts Caesar’s attention and tells him:

Beware the Ides of March. I tend to agree with him, Caesar was stabbed on the Ides of March. Something like the HMRC does every year. Come to think of it, I must watch how much my son, who has gone over to the dark side, gets in his salary increase this year. It is comforting to know what I am paying in tax is going to a good cause, Robert's salary.

Where were We - Westbourne

Yep, Michael cracked that one very soon but in all fairness, he does live there. We were in Westbourne, Dorset. Lovely hamlet surrounded by wealthy pensioners who enjoy shopping at the up-market retailers. Interesting fact, Westbourne has more Disabled parking per head of the population than most other towns or cities in the UK.

The Data analyst Robert Smith says he's 'sickened' by Ticketmaster's fees.

You might ask what is an analyst? Analysts conduct research and analyse publicly available or privately collected data to find patterns, trends, and insights that can help in decision-making and planning.

Getting back to Robert’s reaction.

One customer who bought four £12 tickets ended up paying £102.10, after service fees, a facility charge and an order processing fee were added.

Robert Smith reacted furiously to the news, writing a series of tweets criticising the additional fees.

"To be very clear, the analyst has no way to limit them," he wrote.

"I have been asking how they are justified. If I get anything coherent by way of an answer, I will let you know," he promised.

“Going to Crochet craft shows is meant to be fun and rewarding.”

What is Crochet? It is a process of creating textiles by using a crochet hook to interlock loops of yarn, thread, or strands of other materials. The name is derived from the French term crochet, meaning 'hook'. Robert and his lovely lady have numerous examples of fine Crochet in their home.

I have heard he was taking the Bell-Browns for a day out. Mr Bell-Brown is an avid Crochetier. Robert and Lauren are encouraging his hobby as it calms him down after watching Lauren doing all those hops, skips and jumping competitions.

Talking of Robert and Lauren, they are in the Lake District for a long weekend visiting the Bell-Browns grandmother. They hope to have some long walks in the fells and quiet evenings sipping fine wine and eating quality pizzas. Hopefully, they will send some photographs, tricky in the Lakes, the weather can turn in a penny.

St Patricks Day

I would like to wish all my Irish readers and followers, a very Happy St Patrick's Day! I have included some images from St Patricks Day celebrations and one I thought St Patrick would like.

The Gardener

I have been meaning to get into the garden and do some tidying up before spring

arrives, relatively slow this year as we are still experiencing high winds and rain It does make our daily swim more challenging than normal. Susan has been in every day but I must admit to having missed a few, with the water still extremely cold and the winds blowing me about, I admit to defeat and generally walk back to the car, a little disappointed in myself.

Getting back to our garden, the odd flowers are braving the lingering winter chill and starting to blossom. I have a camellia outside the window of my office and it is covered in beautiful red flowers.

They say the Japanese camellia is super easy to take care of, with resistance to almost all pests and diseases. Mine gets very little attention and still manages to reward us with colour in these grey times.

Bathroom Drama

Michael has had his fair share of travel and now finds himself in the stressful situation of domestic upheaval. What to do about the bathroom, he has been instructed to sort out the mould and the floor before the arrival of important people from Australia. With these numerous problems, he has decided to tackle the mould in the bathroom first. Nasty stuff mould makes people who have a somewhat delicate constitution quite ill, like Princesses and dare I say it, brides to be, both impossible to reason with.

Once the leak was found, which was the cause of the mould, he corrected that quite smartly with the help of a plumber and a YouTube video. The next was the floor and I must say, he did a very able job of laying it, not really to my taste, the pattern, I think, resembles a Moroccan taxi or maybe a Turkish Bath. Susan thought it looked lovely so I will bow to their superior design flare, photo is attached, what do you think?

I do believe he has to change the blinds next, bet he wishes he was still travelling the world.

Where are we

Walking around this quaint village is a delight and there are some lovely unique and interesting shops to look around and buy something special as a reminder of your visit.

So whether you are looking for a gorgeous piece of jewellery, an amazing painting or sculpture, or perhaps some local food and drink, take a wander around the cottage-lined streets to find your perfect purchase.

This village has regular historical events during weekends and school holidays, from falconry to the Normans. There are other events taking place in or around the village including steam railway galas, fossil hunts and seashore rambles.