September 2025 | James Durose-Rayner's website

SEPTEMBER 2025

The A's

ALL IMAGES OPEN IN TECHNICOLOUR

(Above) The sun rising from the east and the dog if you can see her.

Yesterday, I managed to wash both cars, blow all the leaves out on to the A161, and do some savage pruning using the chainsaw and filling up the brown bin in the process.

My mate - Big Scott always reckoned that I was a ringer for the American Psycho. I think Christian Bale had a much bigger chainsaw!

I also did some jet washing around the house.

I need to get in contact with the landscaper.

I also rang some door and window contractor from Haxey - which is the next village down the A161 from us, about getting two new composite doors fitted. So he needs chasing up.

I could also doing with giving the mechanic a call over in Cyprus and booking in the car for all the parts for the cooling system fitting that I'm taking over.

At the moment I'm digging up the soils and ground conditions report for some steel tubular-combi piling for the D3 project on Belfast Harbour. All good stuff (sic).

Animation. Opposite is Albert Hands - one of the founders of The Hammersmith Vaults.

In Series 1, Albert starts off as just a name, as he is on the Isle of Wight serving half a 12-year prison sentence, but gets out on licence towards the end.

Albert is a good character.

He is the biological grandfather to Clara Margieson's fiancé - Augie Doggie, but more importantly he is extremely close to Mason Green, which is a lot to do with the relationship he had with his father - Vincent.

As for the Mellor's - Maureen takes it upon herself to keep him in the loop regarding Mason's relationship with their youngest daughter, so she writes to him.

In Series 2, that friendship with the Mellor's is still there, as Albert never forgets.

And wait for Jenny knocking at his door!

29 September 2025

A belated good morning.

It is 12:00 pm.

I'm just putting an animation together and due to the fact that the resolution on one of the characters is garbage - it hasn't been animating the way it should.

That aside. I had another restless night - tossing and turning from 1:00 am to God-knows-what-time and when it was time to get up I couldn't be arsed.

Yesterday, we had a few in The Red Lion and at 5:00 pm we called into The Curry Leaf for some tea - Julie trying out her first curry in four weeks due to the internal medical complications.

Julie had King Prawn Shashlik - Madras hot, and I had my favourite - Maharaja Chicken - with ultra tender chicken (otherwise it gets sent back) souped-up to a Vindaloo.

We were only in around 40 minutes.

Unless we are with company we never hang it out on a table.

Just checked the email and we have yet another extortionate bill to pay courtesy of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus.

And you think the bills in the UK are bad!

This is our electric bill for two weeks in the house.

We are there one week each month and eat out ALL the time.

That is for the Air-Con and pumps and lights for the swimming pool. Apart from that, we only use juice for the lights, the fridge, my laptop, the radio, and charging up the vacuum cleaner.

Disgusting!

Renewable energy is nothing but a con. Never think that it is anything else.

Animation. Opposite is Gaynor and Josh Harrington.

She felt that she had to leave London and she did.

It was one of many mistakes that she made.

And was it not for her mum, Maureen dropping out the fact to her granddaughter, Jenny - that Mason Green was her father - and not Josh, she may well still have been left.

Never ever think that Maureen didn't know what she was doing, because she did.

When Jenny coaxes her dad into getting her a big screen TV early on in Series 2, Mason tells her: "You know, this is really manipulative of you?"

"I've got mam and granny's genes so you best get used to it," Jenny grins.

(Above) I created this 60 second animation using four frames with transitions and a couple of partial reverse loops, but if I'm being honest I ending up binning quite a few more.

The Josh Harrington character is quite a low resolution image and whilst using it alongside the Gaynor character - which is an extremely high resolution, they wouldn't animate properly.

Thankfully, it is a 2D problem and not a 3D one.

It has also been cut using the non-pro software, which doesn't help.

Music. The Same Person by Veruca Salt.

28 September 2025

Good afternoon.

It is 2:24 pm.

I would have posted this morning but our Jamie came round for breakfast and was here a couple of hours post-us eating poached eggs on toast.

Plus I was working on my day job and got quite a bit done. For some reason, I always do on a weekend.

Lianne landed safely from her exploits in Bulgaria and as far as I know she is back home.

Julie just phoned.

She is on the A1(M) on her way from seeing her mum in the care home.

"Do you fancy an hour out?" is what she said.

I did.

"Then get a bath and be ready for when I get in."

A short one today, then.

Animation. Opposite is one of Angie Mellor sat on her bed reading a letter.

Who from?

Now that is an interesting one.

As I've said - this happens in Series 1.

This is one of my favourite animations so far.

Bath time beckons!

27 September 2025

A very belated good morning.

It is Saturday - 12:17 pm.

I had a lie in until 8:30 am and was out through the woods with the hound - coming back into the house with the coffee on and some toast.

The Royal Mail dropped off a parcel - mainly some new Berghaus gear for Julie, which was followed by another delivery by our ultra reliable and resident dropper-offer from Evri that is Deb's.

She is awesome. Always delivers and more to the point - she always shuts the gate properly behind her.

We are on Day 22 of being booze-free - however, that could break today as Julie's just said that she fancies a couple up at The Red Lion at teatime.

We'll see what happens.

I've done 60 minutes cardio for the past week and I'll do some more in a bit. I am just on with doing some bits and pieces on my day job - namely juggling around with the magazine to make things fit.

Music. Radio Caroline was absolutely awesome last Friday and was knocking out lots of tracks that I'd never heard of and all of which were very good. Absolutely nothing I would use in The A's - but all the same - very good.

This morning I came in to a track by The Damned that I'd never heard before. All Alone or, which was from their 1986 album Anything - which from reading up on it was absolutely panned by the critics.

As I've said before - one person's caviar is another person's fish eggs.

I recall BBC Radio 1 Extra being on when I had the gym. Not my choice - just some Asian kids that were training had stuck it on, and everything that played on it was utter shite.

Our Jamie - my son, calls it forced music.

It is just like all the woke shite on TV.

They try their utmost to tell you how to think.

Don't.

Have an open mind and think for yourself no matter how hard they try to override or cancel those thoughts.

Animation. Opposite is Judy Knock's mum - Isobella Facchetti... or the "Miserable Old Boot" how A.J Milz describes her.

Isobella is in Series 1 only (as she dies between Series 1 and 2) and is as cantankerous-a-person as you could ever meet. But not with Mason Green.

Why is that?

"You wanna feed that boy if you wanna keep him," she told Gaynor in her Anglo-Italiano accent.

It got to a point that she even had her in the kitchen learning her to cook.

"What do you reckon?" Gaynor asked, whilst offering her a taste from the pan.

"It is shit but you are getting better," Isobella replied.

"Mother - don't be so nasty," her daughter (Judy) told her.

"I'm a not being nasty I am telling the truth. If she could cook as good as she..."

"Mother - pack it in - now," Judy interrupted.

"Well I'm a just saying."

"Then don't," said Judy.

26 September 2025

Good morning.

I was up at 7:10 am.

I stuck some darks in the washing machine and was out through the woods with the dog five minutes later.

Can I say darks or is that politically incorrect?

The world has gone fucking mad.

Julie is having her hair done today, so she's having a day off and has nipped down the A161 to our Jamie's to give his house a once-over as Lianne is over at some conference in Bulgaria.

She took two bottles of Domestos bleach, a Fairy washing-up liquid, a 24-pack of still water and a pack of small chicken fillets from the freezer.

He does get spoilt by his mum.

I broke the back of my day job yesterday, but I have to admit - this last couple of weeks it has been hard for me to get into it. Maybe it's the dark mornings in that I don't want to get up. Who knows?

We are still on with eating our tea to the American half-hour sitcom that is 30 Rock, which is now nearing the end.

We started it ages ago and have been doing one episode per meal.

Being that generally we eat out more than we eat in, it has taken a while to get through it.

As I said yesterday - you get an affection for the characters and what started off as something that I was going to bin, has become quite humorous. And the special guest stars reads like a who's who.

Last night Kenneth's parents entered the fray and were none other than Kevin's mum from Home Alone - (Catherine O'Hara), and Walter White (Bryan Cranston) out of Breaking Bad.

Even Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) and the piece of shit that is Jimmy Kimmel had cameo's

After Julie had stuck the pots in the dishwasher it was back to to longest murder investigation ever and more woke crap shoved in our face, whereby out of the blue we found out that the murdered girl had a Muslim boyfriend... Yawn!

Over 200 episodes into The Killing and we still don't know who the murderer is.

Even The Detectives - Briggs and Louis (Robert Powell and Jasper Carrot) would have solved this by now!

Animation. Opposite I tried animating Jenny up in her granny's loft becoming overwhelmed (upset) as she reads letters that her dad sent to her mum.

25 September 2025

I was awoken at 3:10 am with the dog barking.

I went downstairs and opened the back door to the hooting of an owl in one of the trees opposite.

I don't know whether it was that the spooked the dog or a cat in the garden. I'd only been in bed a couple of hours as we are still on with that Danish TV series - The Killing.

I think we are on Episode 176... well that's what it feels like.

It is the most long-winded murder case since Jill Dando.

Det. Inspector Jack Regan would have had him bang to rights within 40 minutes.

Inspector Morse would as well, but then again you'd have to listen to a shed load of crap classical music and watch a load of pretentious twerps swanning around Oxford before he'd solved a puzzle that nobody but the writer of the series understands.

Morse. Very overrated. The sequel and prequel - Lewis and Endeavour were much, much better - possibly because the sidekicks in both Sgt (James) Hathaway and Inspector (Fred) Thursday - played by Laurence Fox and Roger Allam respectively, were extremely good characters.

And it is the affinity with the characters that help make a series.

Animation. Opposite is Leoni Middleton.

Leoni is the daughter of Sammy Middleton (a character you never see) who was a big friend of Mason Green's father - Vincent.

Although she is two years older than Mason - they sort of grew up together and she therefore knows him more than most.

In Series 1, and much like Claire Milz (A.J's wife), she often visits Mason's flat which is something that winds up Gaynor - especially when Leoni purposely starts telling her rather exaggerated stories to all and sundry of their growing up together.

"We used to get bathed together on a weekend," she once told the entourage of friends - Gaynor included. "Mason's mum, stopped it when he got to fifteen."

"Please stop telling fibs, Leoni," said Gaynor.

It is even worse when she inquires of Gaynor when she's not there.

"Where's the wench?" Leoni asked, whilst looking around at the state of the flat.

"Bed," Mason replied.

"I can't understand why you don't just dump her and pay for an escort instead. It'd be a damn sight cheaper and at least she'd do the pots on the way out."

"I heard that," came a voice from upstairs.

24 September 2025

I was up and out through the woods with the dog at 7:15 am.

I need to do a bit more work on my day job today as next week we are over in Cyprus.

Julie booked me a carry-on case so I can take the inner floor console (bought new from Western Australia) and half the new cooling system over for the FTO.

Our Jamie and Lianne had a drive into Nicosia whilst they were over and he told me that the temperature on the car was high and the water needed topping up when they got back.

There has always been a problem with the cooling system - more so since we were locked down during Co-vid as the car was stood for about eight months - and the water pump had seized up.

I have bought new water pump (the second one), new thermostat and all the new cooling hoses (in blue) along with a used thermostat housing from JapAttack in Scunthorpe, who are a salvage company that deal with... yes, you've got it - Japanese cars.

All that lot cost under £100.

The hoses on the car are extremely brittle so I am assuming one of those could be leaking.

So, I'm lumping that lot over next week.

We did in another four episodes of the TV series - The Killing last night.

As I thought - the Muslim wasn't the murderer and he ended up being the total nice guy and getting beat to a pulp by the dead girl's father, and whilst he ended up in a wheelchair - the dad got charged with "attempted manslaughter" and grievous bodily arm - the former of which goes to show that the writer knows absolutely fucking zero about the law. You can't attempt manslaughter as manslaughter is supposedly unintentional.

Animation. Opposite is Jack Harrington and a character that I have never mentioned before - Lenny "Kravitz".

Lenny works for Greenford Geotechnical and Piling and with a crew that is nicknamed The Pips as the chargehand - who is another black lad, is called Gladstone Knight.

Get it - Gladys Knight & The Pips?

All the geo crews are named - such as The ICF (Inter City Firm) - who are all from West Ham, W6 - all lads from Shepherds Bush, Millwall - which is self explanatory - and the new one that would be The Faces.

As it is - Lenny and Jack do not get on.

Lenny is moody, and Jack aggressive.

They are interesting characters.

23 September 2025.

Good morning.

I was up and out through the woods with the dog at 7:20 am.

I was a bit later than normal as we didn't get to bed until 1:50 am - the reason being that we did in a further four episodes of Season 1 of the TV series that we started watching the other night. The Killing.

One more to go to find out who the killer is - however, you just know it is going to deflect from what is a glaring issue in western Europe and go full-on woke.

It hasn't really been so far, but from watching the last two episodes you just know it's going be.

It surrounds the sustained rape and murder of a 19-year-old student - the prime suspect being a Muslim. In this case a teacher who just happens to be a Syrian refugee with a white blonde-haired wife. You know - something that you see everyday (sic).

In the UK over 250,000 predominately white girls have fell victim of these Muslim rape gangs - but TV will not broach the subject, so they deflect and in essence sweep the issue under the carpet.

Just recently the Netflix series Adolescence replaced a black murderer with a white child to appear more 'inclusive'.

Did I watch it? You must be fucking joking.

This isn't entertainment. This has a sinister political narrative solely aimed at brainwashing the young and the weak minded.

There is a reason kids get radicalised in school and college.

And you have to ask. Where does this end? Because once something gains momentum, it is very hard to stop.

The A's has a political undercurrent, both in Series 1 and 2, but it is neither heavy nor forceful.

Anyway - enough of that.

I think we are on Day 18 of no alcohol today.

Yesterday, was one of those days where I fancied going to The Red Lion and having a few beers, but instead, Julie nipped down to our Jamie and Lianne's whilst I did some cardio.

In fact, Lianne was on the phone this morning.

She goes to Bulgaria for some work conference tomorrow and she was moaning about having to pick someone up from Sheffield before driving down the M1 to Luton Airport.

My question. Why doesn't the person in question get dropped off at Woodhall Services for Lianne to pick her up there.

"Oh, I've got nobody to drop me off," is the first of the dozen permeations that you know you are going to get.

We have been there.

Julie is great at dealing with them before they even start.

"No problem. Find your own way there."

We have had experience though life where people make their problems yours. You start moving the goalposts to accommodate them and they push for another inch and another inch...

My advice. Do. Not. Fall. For. It. Ever.

22 September 2025

A very belated good morning... as it is now 12:45 pm.

I was up at 6:50 am on the sound of the back door slamming shut.

Julie went out walking the dog on what was a cold and frosty morning.

You can tell we are getting closer to Halloween and not just the weather. This morning we were looking at Christmas presents for the kids.

Yesterday, we nipped round to The Curry Leaf for tea. I think we were there just a few minutes less than an hour.

"You leaving already?" Imran asked.

I told him: "We've eaten. I can't just sit at a table and drink water."

We were back in for 6:30 pm, so we went in the room (lounge) for the first time since... Christmas, probably... and starting watching a series that was recommended to me by Pete Waddington a.k.a Cuban Pete.

The Killing.

The series is set in Copenhagen and revolves around Detective Inspector Sarah Lund who is played by Sofie Gråbøl.

We did in three episodes, and although it is subtitled - it's not bad.

It sort of reminds me a bit of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - which even now, is still up there as one of my favourite films.

Just so you know. We never watch TV ever - just DVD's.

I don't do fake news and I don't do woke. And TV is rammed full of it. It is nothing more than leftist brainwashing. And it is the children and those who are weak that suffer - as they see it as how life really is.

It isn't. It is anything but.

Opposite. This is the highly flawed Arthur (A.J) Milz and his wife Claire - née Knock.

These two are fantastic characters.

The uber-gregarious Arthur is everybody's mate.

He has a fantastic career being a senior partner in a thriving architecture practice, whilst his wife is a director with some wholesale company over in Aldgate.

A.J is also a degenerate gambler, which is something which Claire sort of accepts.

Her mother continually complains about her not leaving him.

"Mother - I was raised a Catholic," she said. "I made my bed and I lie in it. Putting up with shit is what we do."

In Series 1, Claire becomes close friends with Angie Mellor.

She is also their Gaynor's sexual nemesis.

Both she and Arthur are friends with Mason - and although Claire is almost 10 years older than Mason, appears to have something more than just a soft spot for him.

It drives Gaynor bats.

21 September 2025.

Good morning.

Weather-wise, I hope today is better than yesterday.

I did three dog walks and got absolutely piss wet through on both the evening and night walks.

Talk about rain. It never let up.

I was up at 8:00 am - Julie tasked herself with walking the dog and came back in and made us poached eggs on toast.

She even had a cup of coffee and shifted four gingerbread flavoured McVities Chocolate Digestives... all against the doctors orders so to speak.

Sorry I didn't get around to putting up any animation yesterday. The pro software was playing up again. However, I don't think it was really the software's fault. I think I was taxing it too much with the wrong contrasting of colours. Plus, I was a bit busy.

We had the landscaper come round at 1:00 pm.

He seems a really nice kid. Hopefully, he is as good as what everyone says he is. He is coming to drop us a new lawn down in November - however, the lawn is just part of what he's doing... or going to do rather.

All around the house needs doing.

It looks like we don't have a large outside area, but if you measure it up you would find out that we definitely do. It is just that the house is quite imposing and makes the garden, patio and both drives look, not so much small - but out of proportion.

The idea is for him to do it all, but in four or five phases - the main reason being so as we don't have to chuck up £20,000 in one lump.

After he went we drove over to Home Bargains and blew £268. Filip Berro Olive Oil - £4.99. Domestos bleach - £1.15. Awesome prices.

We got back and Tesco's dropped us off our online shop, which got Julie moaning about her not being able to eat all the nice stuff that got delivered, as the doctor's have given her a guide of what she can and cannot eat.

And raspberry and cream turnovers in flaky pastry are a definite non-starter.

"It's really pissing me off - it's not as though I'm a chip troughing, lard eating, great fat pig!" she said.

It was okay. I ate her raspberry and cream turnover.

She had prison food - soup and a slice of sour dough bread.

She made up for it this morning!.

Animation. Opposite (top) is Giulietta (Judy) Knock née Facchetti.

Judy is in both Series 1 and 2.

Her father set up Facchetti's restaurant in the 1960's and she worked there from being 12 years old - taking over the business when he retired.

Judy was married to Frankie Knock who died of cancer before the story begins.

Frankie was a known hoodlum and one of the founders of the Hammersmith Vaults. He was also big friends with Albert Hands.

As you can see in the animation - Judy is quite an emotional character... and without giving too much away, you want to see how she acts with her son-in-law... she is absolutely horrible with him.

There are a nice couple of scenes with Judy and Maureen Mellor one Friday afternoon when they are in the restaurant, arranging the food and buffet for Gaynor and Mason's engagement party down at the Sailing Club.

It's really nice.

Gaynor has to go fetch her mum as her and Judy have not only gone through everything on the menu, but have also shifted around four or five bottles of red wine.

It'll be nice to see how Judy's voice turns out!

The animation below it, is of Jenny reading a fictitious book titled The Arabian Princess.

Why?

I cannot tell you as that is also part of the story.

20 September 2025

Good morning.

I was up and out of the house a 6:20 am.

I went to bed at 9:00 pm and had a good uninterrupted sleep until around 5:30 am then tossed and turned a bit before finally making the decision to get out of bed.

The weekend. As Julie said around an hour ago - these are long days.

We are on Day 15 of zero alcohol. And as Elton John candidly sung in his 1973 top ten hit, Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting (1973) - that he's going to get "about as oiled as a diesel train".

Well, we aren't. So there.

Elton John, much like Rod Stewart and David Bowie had their time in the early to mid-1970s, and any success they after that was purely down to the reputation they earned during that era.

We are booked into The Curry Leaf on Sunday evening - but that is a case of copping a curry and just drinking sparkling water.

I'll throw up some animation later.

19 September 2025

Good morning.

Friday, and the weekend begins.

Well it did do. It doesn't now.

Day 14. Two weeks dry.

Julie is back to her fighting weight and is weighing it at 8 stone 12lbs. I didn't ask and she didn't tell me as such. It was just a conversation that she was telling me she had with Margaret the office manager.

Margaret's life revolves around weight loss and diet.

She's one of those ladies who you could imagine either living on Ryvita's or purging after a meal.

She looks after herself and looks well, so there's nothing wrong with that. It is just that when you are at the other end so to speak - the conversation gets a bit repetitive.

Anyway. I am up. It is 6:10 am and looking through study window it is dark.

Julie was up earlier and is on her way through the woods with the hound.

I'll have to move one of the cars in a bit as Lewis Arrand - the tree surgeon is coming to trim the conifers - those which one of the town councillors were complaining about.

I'm also expecting a call from a kid by the name of Jamie Churn - who is a local landscaper, and who I am hoping will drop us a new lawn.

He was texting back and forth last night and seems amiable enough.

Animation. Opposite (and the photo above) - Jenny Mellor in the bathroom.

Again, the close-up animation on the non-pro software is quite good. You back off a bit, however, and you start to lose the detail. It has got better, but it still needs to improve.

Music. Yesterday, I uploaded six albums by The Bluetones onto the B2. These were: Expecting to Fly (1996); Return to the Last Chance Saloon (1998); Science & Nature (2000); Luxembourg (2003); (Self-titled) The Bluetones (2006); and A New Athens (2010).

As of today, I have 18,696 tracks on the B2.

Right. Onwards and upwards.

18 September 2025

Good morning.

I was up at 7:10 am. It is a nice autumn morning - the sun rising from the east as I got through the woods.

I saw a lady by the name of Kim Woolgar as I walked up the tarmac path towards St Andrews Church on our way home.

She is married to a guy who owns an insurance company in the town. Between them they have a Doberman who is the most un-Doberman-like dog you could ever meet and which has had a right chunk taken out of its neck courtesy of some rescue dog.

I have never seen their dog off its lead so it did have me scratching my head a bit as to how it happened.

I told it, whilst giving its head a rub: "You're a big enough dog to look after yourself."

The Rottweiler we had - Obi, would never had stood for that. He was everyone's mate until a dog attacked him - and they did.

I remember us walking down High Street and past the town's Post Office when this little dog on one of those fucking stupid twenty-foot-long leads had a go at him. He just flipped it on its back, held it down and growled in its face. It looked bad but it wasn't. Everybody was screaming.

"That dog should have a muzzle on," it's owner said.

"Yeah - and so should your wife," was my reply.

It was Obi's thing. He just flipped them on their back and held them down. I can never recall him biting another dog - ever.

As I've said before. We have never had a bad dog.

90% of the time - it is the owner's who are the problem.

Last night we went round to The Curry Leaf and had a meal - Julie having the Tandoori King Prawns due to her not being able to eat anything really spicy.

Just to piss her off more than I already do, I had a Maharaja Chicken curry walloped up to a Vindaloo.

After eating shite for a week it was a nice change.

Day 13 of no alcohol, today. I will do some cardio in a bit.

Animation. Opposite is a really nice one of Anita Pallenburg.

Anita is another lovely character - who is a good wife to Mason and is extremely good with Jenny.

In Series 2, when Gaynor comes back on the scene, it is quite interesting - especially as the latter is seen by Anita as becoming increasingly needy.

Anita doesn't suffer fools. Not from Gaynor and not from any of her three sisters.

In the Episode - The Arabian Princess, she and Gaynor have words. Well, they don't really. Anita is extremely calm and forthright and just says it how it is.

Music. I uploaded quite a bit on to the B2 yesterday.

She Hangs Brightly (1990); So Tonight That I Might See (1993); Among My Swan (1996) and Seasons of Your Day (2013) all by Mazzy Star - and Happy Nightmare, Baby (1987) by Opal, which is the band they evolved from.

17 September 2025

A sort of very good morning to you.

It is 12:10 am and I am ready for bed.

Jamie and Lianne are flying home from Cyprus at 6:10 am (+2 GMT), so I have just texted them to make sure they are up. They are long days.

Animation. Opposite is something that again happened between Series 1 and 2.

This is the marriage of Mason Green and Anita Pallenburg up in the fictitious Norfolk village of St. Anne's-on-Waveney, where Anita's parents moved when her father - Olaf, retired.

There is a story here, but one that I cannot really tell without ruining the plot.

What I can say is that Gaynor was living with her and Mason's ten month old daughter, Jenny, at her parents house, and trying to juggle university at the same time.

She heard the day before, that Mason and Anita were to be married 0n 28 December 2024.

On New Years Day 2025 - and just four days later. Maureen and John awoke to an empty house. Gaynor and Jenny had gone.

This was just how Gaynor dealt with things, both as a child and as an adult.

As a child she would seek refuge in the dark airing cupboard at the top of the stairs; and as an adult - she would run away. It is just how she was.

It broke Maureen's heart.

There is much more to that story - however, it would be five years and nine months later when Mason brought them home... Series 2 - Episode 1 - A Carrier Bag Full of Secrets.

A lot had passed.

Music. I have six albums by London dream-pop band Still Corners to upload to the B2.

Creatures of an Hour (2011); Strange Pleasures (2013); Dead Blue (2016); Slow Air (2018); The Last Exit (2021); and Dream Talk (2024) - the stand out track thus far being Black Lagoon from the Slow Air album.

I copped a decent song that I'd never heard before - Fade into You by American alternative rock band Mazzy Star.

It is very good. I need to have a better listen at them.

Right. Jamie just texted back.

I'm off to bed, now.

Kalinýchta!

A second good morning.

I was up at 7:00 am and through the woods with the dog.

It is absolutely hounding it down.

Zero dog walking traffic this morning!

I have just checked on www.FlightRadar24.com - the kids flight set off 20 minutes late and they are just flying over the south of Nuremburg in Germany.

16 September 2025

Good morning.

I was up and out through the woods with the dog at 7:10 am.

Being a bit late I hit a lot of dog walking traffic.

It's not a problem as our dog is ultra social - it's just that when I'm walking her I like to switch off and think - and you cannot do that when you are saying "Good morning" and "Hello" to everyone, and in some instances, and to be polite have to stop to discuss the weather and what have you.

There is a reason I generally stick the headphones on.

I'm on Day 11 of no alcohol.

I really need to get the cardio out of the way on a morning as the longer that I leave it, the more I don't want to do it. It was the same with making something to eat.

On Sunday, I transformed two packs of minced steak into beef burgers - mixing it with sage and onion stuffing and a couple of eggs - but being on my own - seven burgers were a bit too much - even though the dog had three. Not all at once, I hasten to add.

Those last two burgers needed eating and the last thing I wanted to do was to eat them.

Anyway at 8:30 pm last night I slung them in the frying pan with a pack of mushrooms and had them with scrambled egg. And then had to clean the cooker/hob down. Talk about making yourself work!

Animation. Opposite is a school one.

There are two schoolfriends in there that aren't that nice with Jenny. These are Tuesday Weld and Holiday Grainger - both of who I named after female actresses.

(Above) Tuesday Weld and Holiday Grainger.

As I've said, due to her high I.Q, Jenny was moved up a few years to Class 6A, and even then she was much cleverer than the other kids, which causes some bitterness... even more so when older girls, such as the very popular Dottie West (the girl with blue hair) in Year 11 befriend her...

The teachers in the animation are Ms Joanne Hayes (Maths), Mrs Karen Rowland (Head of Humanities and Year 11), and Mrs Tracey Westcott (Headmistress).

The video camera that Jenny is holding was given as a present to her by Julie Kingdom K.C in Series 2 - The Arabian Princess.

15 September 2025

A very good morning to you.

I was up at 6:50 am and out through the woods with the hound.

I've just poured myself a coffee and Julie's just phoned to say that she's driving past the windmill (landmark on the A161 coming into town) and asked me to open the front gates.

I managed a couple of scenes on Series 2 of the script last night after I'd done 60 minutes cardio and copped a bath.

I debated making myself some tea - but it's shit cooking for one, therefore I didn't.

Julie called round yesterday morning and did us poached eggs of sour dough bread with rosemary and sundried tomato, so I had sort of eaten.

I managed a few slices of Soreen Sticky Toffee Pudding flavoured malt loaf with a cup of tea, however.

I wrote up a couple of scenes on The A's - Series 2 - The Arabian Princess and played a few albums on the B2 - three of which were: The Clearing (2025) by Wolf Alice, Wait for Me (2007) by The Pigeon Detectives, and Forever Now (1982) by the Psychedelic Furs.

The animation opposite is something different.

(Above) a 31 second animation of Jacob Gotleib, Israel Kingdom and Roger De Wiart.

Jacob is the owner and CEO of JSG Merchant Bankers; Israel a former Queen's Counsel Barrister, owns his own Law firm in Hammersmith - Kingdom Temperton & Price; and Roger De Wiart is the Conservative MP for Chelsea and the government's Minister for War.

This was created using three frames with transitions from an image that I created with Adobe Photoshop 2025.

Israel is the cousin of Jacob.

Jacob's elder sister Devorah is married to Roger.

Their father, Shevtiel, who was a child in the Second World War, saw all his family murdered in an extermination camp at Treblinka in Poland.

All Shevtiel wanted, was a large family to continue the Gotleib legacy. He had two boys and a girl - the other boy being Jacob's younger brother, Ayrah.

Shevtiel thought he was cursed by God as none of them could give him children... only Jacob... but to a girl that he vehemently disapproved of...

And here lies the story of The A's.

Music. Shalom Aleichem by Pavel Levin.

14 September 2025

A very belated good morning on this autumn Sunday.

It is 12:30 pm.

I was awake at 4:00 am and could have got up as I'd had my sleep out. As it was, I dropped back off, to be awoken by a phone call from Julie... 8:00 am.

I'm on Day 9 of no alcohol and I am sleeping extremely well.

Am I missing it? No.

I had a steady day, yesterday doing more or less what I wanted after I'd done an hour on my day job.

I bought quite a few albums which I uploaded on to the B2.

Eight by Glasgow-based indie band Primal Scream.

These were: Sonic Flower Groove (1991); TRMNTR (2000); Vanishing Point (2001); Give Out But Don't Give Up (2001); Evil Heat (2002); Riot City Blues (2006); Beautiful Future (2008); and Screamadelica (2011).

I also bought. Psychocandy - a 1986 album by The Jesus and the Mary Chain.

I also have three more on order that haven't arrived yet.

Two by Psychedelic-band Hawkwind - In Search of Space (1971) and The Anthology, which is obviously their greatest hits compilation; and one by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd - The Collection, which is another greatest hits compo.

I also uploaded four albums by London-based acoustic-stroke-alternative rock band Wolf Alice, whose vocalist is Ellie Rowsell, who was born a stones throw away from where Rod Stewart was born - 101 Archway, in North London.

13 September 2025

Good morning.

Julie phoned at 7:00 am and woke me up.

My idea to have an hour extra in bed turned out to be half an hour.

The four dog walks a day plus cardio must be tiring me out.

Julie should be here in an hour or so. Her Saturday routine - do the ironing and do the upstairs.

My jobs?

I've done it. Walking the dog.

I'm now drinking my coffee with the bath on upstairs. We have a shower both here and over in Cyprus and I use neither.

Well, yesterday, they caught the murderer of Charlie Kirk, and it looks like he'll be getting the death penalty.

It doesn't bring him back, however.

I've seen lots of shit posted on social media some of which is disgusting.

The man was a Christian conservative - his values, Christ, family and country. And the amount of lives he helped turn around was phenomenal.

Schools, colleges and universities are full of woke, left leaning teachers - brainwashed by the left leaning media who help radicalise those who are very easily led.

Very sad. However, the world is changing.

In Series 1 of The A's, Gaynor becomes interested in politics through female friends who go in The Hammersmith Vaults - most of who are in college or university. Clara Margieson is an exception as she is working when Gaynor first meets her... As is Sarah Percy who is Deputy Leader of Hammersmith City Council and the wife of the former Conservative MP Anthony Percy - who at that time, and like his wife, holds a fictitious post - his being the Mayor of White City.

It is isn't a big part of the story, but Sarah encourages the female contingent to get involved, and points out that the root of what is bad within the city has been caused by divisive politics, with the chief culprit being the Mayor of London - who is labelled by Gaynor's friends as the Idiot King.

There is lawlessness out on the streets, but outside of hearing it on the radio and moving from one establishment to another in Hammersmith, Gaynor rarely sees it, as she is shielded by her middle class life over in leafy Chiswick Green.

Animation. Opposite is Jenny with Julie Kingdom K.C - who is a good friend of Sarah Percy.

(Above) This is a 57 second animation of Julie Kingdom K.C with the youngest member of her family - Jenny Mellor.

I created this with seven frames which took an eternity to cut due to a glitch with the professional software.

Music: Excerpt From a Teenage Opera by Keith West.

There is a story here.

Julie Kingdom is the elder cousin of Jenny's father, Mason Green and during Series 1 was the youngest King's Counsel barrister in the UK.

Julie used to refer to Jenny's mum, Gaynor, as "Our Beautiful Distraction".

Now why would that be?

When Jenny found out who her family really were, at times it overwhelmed her, especially as they were so very close.

The animation with Julie and Jenny really happened in Series 2 - The Arabian Princess, when Jenny asks her Auntie Julie for some help with her history project.

Julie Kingdom is an absolutely awesome character.

12 September 2025

A belated good morning.

I was awake at 5:30 am and out through the woods with the dawg an hour later.

She'd never be able to survive out in the wild that much is for sure. This morning she was chasing rabbits up the path to the church when there were loads right next to her on the waste ground before you get to the woods.

The other night was funny. She went bolting towards what she thought was a rabbit and ended up chucking on the brakes before hitting a hedgehog.

There has been a few out just lately. Lovely animals.

Johnny Welsh hit me on WhatsApp when I was going through the woods.

"Arts for Arts Sake - what a load off bollocks," he text.

Radio Caroline playing shite.

It was a song by the Stockport-based rock band, 10cc.

You want to hear how they got their name?

It is claimed Jonathan King of the-then UK Records, had a dream. in which he was standing in front of the Hammersmith Odeon where the boarding read "10cc The Best Band in the World".

Hammersmith - again?

Ten cubic centimetres, however - is a volume of semen that is supposedly the average amount ejaculated, which is why they were called what they were called!

I'm not in Love is a nice song - the others are neither here nor there and just remind me of when I was a kid.

Founding member of the band and co-writer of I'm Not in Love, Graham Gouldman was a great songwriter and wrote For Your Love and Heartful of Soul which were sung by The Yardbirds; Look Through Any Window by The Hollies; and No Milk Today by Herman's Hermits - all of which capture the mood of the mid-1960s.

He also wrote Yummy Yummy Yummy which was a bubblegum hit in 1968 for Ohio Express.

It's now 9:30 am. I have just replenished half a dozen Air-Wick fresheners, wiped round, hoovered and mopped both the kitchen and the dining kitchen, and the bath is now running.

Yesterday was a nothing day. I got drenched on dog walk number 3 (Jamie's hounds) and had baked cod loins and smoked trout with vegetables for tea/dinner...

One of the fish went in the dog and half the vegetables in the bin. Eating on your own is crap.

I worked from the breakfast bar last night so as to keep the dog company.

I'd ordered a Soreen Sticky Toffee Pudding Malt Loaf. If you've not tried one - then I urge you to. Very autumnal in its taste. A bit like my nan's Parkin, but better.

£1 a loaf from Tesco.

I've ordered another five to come on Saturday evening and to bump up the order I've ordered the first batch of sweets for Halloween and Christmas.

Five tubs of Celebrations and one of Quality Street as the maximum you can order because they are on discount at £4.50 is six.

Being the ultimate hoarder I hate having restrictions placed on me. It is the same with Domestos bleach - maximum order 12. That is a product that pisses me off as it fluctuates from 99p to £1.50 depending when and where you shop.

Jesus Christ - I'm getting boring.

I did 60 minutes cardio yesterday and today I am on Day 7 of no alcohol. I don't miss it when I'm on my own. Stick Julie in the house and when 5:00 pm comes The Red Lion starts calling me.

She says we are a bad influence on each other.

She has lost 7lb since last Friday, so for anyone wanting to shed some lard - gallstones, cholecystitis and near death is a great one for weight loss.

I had an hours and half working on the script last night whilst listening to Radio Caroline and having two cups of tea and three slices of the toffee pudding flavoured Soreen..

11 September 2025

Good morning - if you can call it that.

I was up and out through the woods with the dog a 5:40 am.

The first of four dog walks.

Julie is a couple of villages away as the kids are over at the house in Cyprus.

They got there safe and drove up for a Chinese/ Japanese meal at The Red Ruby in Ayia Napa.

Jamie's just been on the phone telling me that the weather is good and that Kris is there with the vacuum in the swimming pool. He is, without doubt, the best pool cleaner we have had.

My advice to anyone out in Cyprus who has a pool. Don't ever employ an expat to clean it - as whilst you're not there, they don't give a shit and will scam you.

Me - I didn't get to bed until 11:20 pm.

Social media was awash with the assassination of Charlie Kirk. If you've never heard of him, he was your archetypal All-American God-loving family man. He co-founded Turning Point USA (TPUSA) in 2012, a conservative non-profit focused on promoting right-leaning conservative values on high school and college campuses, and a voice that spoke common-sense.

And this morning, it is awash with the unhinged, dirty, leftist deviants celebrating the loss of a husband and father.

Leftists. They all look like they could use a bar of soap and a boot up the arse. Social media - it can be a cesspit. Thank God it isn't fucking real.

Julie booked our flights back out to Cyprus on 2 October - the day after she is due in hospital for her first consultation for her operation. Pure escapism. I can't wait.

Last night I did 60 minutes cardio. I should really do the cardio on a morning and throw some weights around in the evening. Mix it up as to spend two hours upstairs in the bedroom does my nut in.

APC have just dropped off a delivery.

I ordered a Smeg Microwave Combi Oven the other day. It should have been £469 from Smeg UK - but I got it online elsewhere for £30 less.

The autumn is well and truly upon us and the leaves are starting to fall, therefore it'll be ideal for comfort foods such as baked potatoes, pies... and more to the point - Christmas puddings. It'll also come in handy for defrosting and nuking those ready meals that Julie likes when she's cutting down.

I was sick to death of dragging the old microwave out of one of the upstairs wardrobes just to hump it back up two flights of stairs ten minutes after.

Music. I had Radio Caroline on last night and I have to admit - from 9:00 pm to me going to bed, there wasn't one bad track. No Queen, no Springsteen, no Phil Collins... awesome.

With Julie being out of the house, I really need to play a few albums.

(Above) A 41 second animation of Gaynor Mellor and Mason Green in her mum's kitchen at the fictitious address of 8 Marquis Gardens, Chiswick Green.

I made this using four frames from an image that I did with Adobe Photoshop 2025.

There are a couple of other animations of a similar theme that I did during August 2025.

In Gaynor's mum and dad's house the kitchen was always the focal point - with the kettle being continually on.

"Do you want a cuppa, love?" Maureen once asked.

"No thanks, mam - nineteen is my limit," Gaynor replied.

Mason absolutely loved it there.

10 September 2025

Morning.

Julie got the house up at 5:45 am and I came down to a coffee. There is a mad week ahead.

The kids are currently in Luton Airport waiting for the 9:55 am flight out to Cyprus, which means that the next seven days will be sort of... life-changing.

As I said yesterday - I'm now committed to four dog walks per day and for the most part, have to look after myself. You know - cooking and cleaning.

I did two Tesco's online shops. One for when we got back and one which was delivered yesterday.

The reasoning?

I generally get the dog' food from Iceland as it is generally (again) £11.50 per 40 sachet box of Winalot.

It wasn't the other day - it was £14.00 - therefore, I ordered it from Tesco's along with six bags of finest King Prawns, some San Pellegrino sparking water - as I'm off alcohol for a bit, fresh fish (Cod loins) and other stuff... including these Tesco finest soups.

Julie said whilst she's waiting for her operation, she'll take it easy from a food perspective, and soups are an easy option whilst she's stopping at our Jamie's.

Last night she tried a tomato soup and an hour or later she was crippled. The label read Creamy Tomato Soup.

Cream is absolutely no good for an iffy gall bladder and cholecystitis - hence why she was up half the night.

Anyway, she's taken a carrier bag of stuff down to our Jamie's from both Tesco's shops including the fish and the other soups.

"I'll buy a couple of salad boxes," she said.

Yesterday, I did my first proper cardio in ages. Two hours on the cross trainer.

I need to get back into it again.

Animation. Opposite is another clip of Jenny's christening that is on a video/CD that was in Maureen's loft (Series 2).

Gaynor and Mason with their daughter.

And check out a rather emotional Maureen in the second clip. I am extremely pleased at how that animation turned out.

Maureen is a fantastic character.

(Above) A 36 second animation post-christening of Jenny Mellor.

I created this from five frames with transitions and from an image I created this morning using Abode Photoshop 2025.

Here, Gaynor and Jenny are pictured with, Jenny's father - Mason Green.

At this point, Mason and Gaynor have been formally split up since November 2023 (The end of Series 1) - and this is June 2024.

As you can see, from the first two frames - the relationship is strained.

It was something which broke Gaynor's mother's heart.

9 September 2025

Good morning.

I was up at 6:30 am to an empty house.

Julie was out through the woods with the dog.

From tomorrow, and with Jamie and Lianne being away, I am on four dog walks a day - three with ours and one with both our Jamie's - as the elder one of his has to be on a lead as at takes off. The other one just wants to fight every other dog it sees.

Hard work?

Not really.

As I've said before - 90% of the time bad dogs are through human failing. When you interact with them - be firm, never appease, feed them properly and walk them regularly, and you'll rarely have a problem.

We've had four - three Alsatian's and one Rottweiler. One we bought - the other three we inherited.

Today, I'll upload the magazine to the printers - and set up the October 2025 issue.

I cannot believe how quick this year is going. Next month it is Halloween. That is what happens when you are chasing deadlines!

Opposite is some 2D animation of Mason and Gaynor's trip to Galway in Ireland, where Gaynor's family from her mum's side once lived. The backdrop, however - is actually Donegal.

This happens in Series 1.

8 September 2025

A belated good morning.

I was up and through the woods with the dog at 6:30 am.

I then had to go and retrieve The Beast from Johnny Hanson's garage in Crowle as Julie will need it for hauling Jamie's dogs backwards and forwards when she is dogsitting from Wednesday, as he and Lianne will be over at the house in Cyprus.

Well, as it stands, that is the idea.

Julie is currently over at the South Axholme Practice in Haxey to see the doctor about the impending operation to remove her gall bladder.

I have just emailed the insurance company that American Express use for their insurance (Departamento Médico - Europ Assistance España (Asistencia Medica)), all the medical reports and scans, along with the flight details and the invoice that we ended up having to pay.

Very fucking time consuming as the .pdf files post-scan were 30MB apiece. No doubt, they will want some more shit sending over before we get reimbursed.

On another note, a guy from North Lincolnshire Council has just been round with his clipboard asking, "Can you trim your conifers?"

That is the 8m-high hedge than runs down the side of our garden.

There has been a complaint from a councillor.

My reply: "Which one?"

His response: "I can't tell you that, but what I can say is that it was one of the Town Council."

Here they all are. Anyone from nine. A set of useless busybodies.

No wonder they don't want to be named.

I've lived here 27 years and apart from the gadgy with the big face I don't recognise any of them - and we are out all the time, which really does tell you something.

They. Do. Not. Support. The. Town.

Why?

Because they don't spend any fucking money in it.

Hypocrites.

Yesterday, our Jamie came round for his breakfast.

Four poached eggs and fresh salmon on sour dough.

I had the same but with Tesco's finest sunflower and rye bread as sour dough, although it is better for you - is quite bland in an eating cardboard sort-of-way.

I worked on The A's last night and I shall do the same today.

With Julie being poorly, we are back on the wagon.

I've not had any alcohol since Thursday.

There you go - Day 4.

I'll also start and do some cardio.

(Above) A 32 second animation post-christening of Jenny Mellor.

I created this from three frames with transitions and from an image I created this morning using Abode Photoshop 2025.

This happens - along with a lot of other things, between Series' 1 and 2 - therefore it is only seen as a flashback.

Jenny was born on the same day and month as her mum - Gaynor, and was christened by Father Maloney at the fictitious St Margaret's Catholic Church some months later.

Gaynor maybe thought that by her having Jenny it would bring Mason back. It did not. And the fact that it didn't caused lots of stress and arguments at home - especially as her mother, Maureen knew the reasoning.

There is a framed photograph of the christening at the side of Jenny's bed at her dad and Anita's, and on the wall in her and her mum's house in Chiswick Green.

There is also a video, which Gaynor finds in her mum and dad's loft, which is something that happens midpoint in Series 2.

7 September 2025

Good morning. Nice to be back in the UK.

I got up at 5:30 am and took the dog through the woods, came back in and gave her her breakfast.

She is glad that we are back.

Yesterday was a tiring day.

We landed in Luton at 9:05 am and got back in the house just after midday.

Julie was in a much better place than she was on Friday - that much is for sure, but she's still ill with cholecystitis. She counted a staggering 19 stones in her gall bladder from the scans, and that's not including the ones that went into her pancreas.

It is now becoming clear that it was these causing all her problems. The doctors on the Isle of Axholme and indeed the so-called specialist's at both Scunthorpe and Doncaster hospitals all failed to pick up on it.

According to the specialist at the Lito Private Hospital, our diet in Cyprus is the huge factor in what has brought it on. Foods with fat in them. Sheftalia, keftedes (meatballs) liver, burger, kalamari (squid) and of course chips... and dry white wine doesn't help.

In the UK, bar copping one or two curries a week we eat sensibly. Lots of fish, chicken, salad and greens. And if we have, say a steak - it is a fillet - with zero fat.

Last night we had cod loins, salmon fillet and greens.

It's now 7:30 am and Julie is still in bed.

I am sat at the breakfast bar rendering a couple of frames of animation of the Gaynor character - again, sort of mid point in Series 2.

Radio Caroline has been on since we got home and last night between 5:00 - 7:00 pm it was extremely good.

I'm signing off now, whilst listening to American psychedelic rock band The Electric Prunes knocking out their 1966 track I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night).

6 September 2025

Kaliméra

It is 1:30 am (+2 GMT).

An early start of a long day.

We were only away for 6 days as opposed to a week.

Yesterday was eventful.

The Lito Private Hospital wanted to keep Julie in for 3 days. They put her on several drips to get antibiotics and painkillers into her system.

She needs her gall bladder removing.

Gall stones - and I mean a lot, which she never knew about - even though she has been under the specialists at both Doncaster and Scunthorpe Hospital for her Diverticulitis amongst other things, missed it - and a couple of them made their way into her pancreas.

That's your wonderful NHS.

Bogged down by left wing bureaucracy, diversity and fucking useless staff.

The Dancing Nurses on Tik Tock during Co-Vid are mentioned by Gaynor in The A's when in Series 1 she looks at studying towards a doctorate.

The private hospital hit us for €1,200.

The insurance policy as part of Julie's American Express Platinum card will cover it, and they emailed confirmation to both us and the hospital to say that she was covered.

The hospital, however, said: "No - you pay us, and you claim it back."

They have obviously been hit by non-payers in the past.

Julie said that they were like vultures.

Nevertheless - in the real world, you pay and you get treated.

In the utopia of non-payment using the NHS, it is anyone's guess.

See you in Larnaca Airport.

--

Well, we are in the Lounge at the airport and I'm on my second double Macchiato. The proper breakfast generally comes out at 5:00 am. I'm not hungry and I rarely eat breakfast, it is just that it is here... or will be.

(Above) This is a 68 second animation of Gaynor and Jenny Mellor - which is an extension of the animations from yesterday and the day before and is supposedly a part of Episode 4 and 5 of Series 2, where Jenny gets hold of a French dictionary.

I created it using six frames with transitions. I am trying to get a feel for how the Gaynor character will eventually look in Series 2.

I say eventually, as at the beginning of Series 2 she has let herself go and is quite weighty and of drab appearance.

Music. Turn by Feeder

5 September 2025

Kaliméra

I have been up since 4:30 am (+2 GMT).

I have been tossing and turning for the last hour as Julie is feeling ill in and has been out of bed all night throwing up.

She has always suffered from Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), but she says this is not IBD, and is probably Diverticulitis, which she was diagnosed with maybe four years ago.

Diverticulitis is the inflammation of irregular bulging pouches in the wall of the large intestine.

She's also mentioned food poisoning, but we have eaten similar food, so it probably isn't that.

I've asked if she wants to go to the general hospital in Deryneia, or the private Lito Hospital on Sotira Avenue in Paralimni, the latter of which we have used quite regularly - especially for all the co-vid tests we had to endure to enable us to fly.

We fly home early tomorrow morning and she fears that the doctors may make her stop in.

These are some of the perils of travelling abroad.

Fingers crossed that it eases up

We didn't get to bed until late.

The last few evenings we have eaten and then called at the small white church that sits above Agia Triada harbour to feed the feral cats.

There is around 15 of them, so Julie bought a dozen tins of cat meat yesterday and distributed most of that.

There is a black and white kitten that gets bullied, which was there for three days and which wasn't last night. I did look, but to no avail.

We got in and finished watching Series 3 of Happy Valley.

It started slow and built up momentum, but I have to admit, it had me scratching my head at some of the stuff in it - as at times, it seems like it has been written by some social worker.

Siobhan Finneran isn't an actress I particularly like, but maybe it is the characters she portrays. In Happy Valley she is annoyingly pathetic from the get go.

I'm not sure it is good acting as her character was just as annoyingly shit in Benidorm.

The deadpan Mancunian accent, the beady eyes, and the shit clothes they dress her in certainly doesn't help.

--

Well, it is 8:50 am and I am just back in from the Lito Hospital. They are keeping Julie in for the day to do some scans.

She succumbed about an hour ago and said that she needed to go. It made absolute sense. Her blood pressure was up at 185/115 (I think she said).

All she is worried about is everything being okay for when the kids come on Wednesday.

Very selfless, but that is who she is when it comes to her family.

4 September 2025.

Mia polý kalí méra gia esás

We got knocked up 8:30 am (+2 GMT) by The Terminator's son - with his commercial insecticide and pump.

It is very hot outside.

Just having my coffee under the air-con.

Yesterday was a very uneventful-stroke-pissy-offish day in that the FTO came back as it went.

It needed another part - this time the inner console as they had also damaged that when installing the radio.

As I said, 30 years - with the majority of that in the sun, had made it extremely brittle.

(Above) The outer floor console £160 (Already bought and in Cyprus).

The car is beginning to be an expensive hobby.

I've just bought the inner console from the same (car parts) place in Western Australia.

Fingers crossed.

Anyway, it gave me a chance to get au fait with the power of The Hog - the nickname we gave for the scooter, with its blistering top speed of 63 mph.

The Red Ruby was mentioned, but I couldn't be arsed with driving over the hill and into Ayia Napa.

We ended up having a couple of beers up in The Lionheart and had a meal at the beach bar, where it was getting quite dark.

I have to admit - the beach bar is really nice and the food quite good.

I have no idea what we are doing today.

Animation. I am trying to firm up an idea of what the Gaynor character will look like in Series 2.

So, the animation opposite will give you an idea.

(Above) This is a 30 second animation of the Gaynor Mellor character - with me looking at different angles for her appearance in Series 2.

The original image was created long before I started animating using a combination of Adobe Express and Adobe Firefly circa 2023/2024.

I reshaped the image and cleaned it up this morning using Adobe Photoshop 2025.

There is a blooper of sorts in that in Series 1 Gaynor has blue eyes, which is something that will be rectified when I eventually move to 3D.

Music. Automatically Sunshine by The Supremes...

Unfortunately, I didn't fade out the audio properly... That is what rushing does!

3 September 2025

Good morning.

I got up at 8:30 am (+2 GMT).

I was awake a few hours earlier but tossed and turned until I dropped back off.

It is another hot one. 34°c it says.

We have just taken the car up to the auto electricians. Fingers crossed that nothing comes back broken.

I think Julie is wanting to go for a nice meal later on as opposed to bumming around at the beach bar and eating up at the Bulgarian open kitchen.

By nice meal, she means somewhere that she can get dressed up.

Everything points to the Red Ruby - but who knows.

Right. Just a short one today.

Time for a coffee.

2 September 2025

Mia polý kalí méra gia esás.

A very good morning to you.

I had a proper bash at learning Greek a couple of years ago but I was driving Julie up the pole as she was trying to read whilst I was trying to string shit sentences together.

Everybody over here tends to speak English, anyway.

I was up at 5:10 am (+2 GMT) and straight into The A's and filling in some holes to make the story flow.

Yesterday, didn't quite go as planned.

Julie ended up washing the car and doing all the hosing around the pool and patio as the navigation bar on this website went AWOL.

I obviously did something that I shouldn't.

Cutting corners to make things go faster is never the answer.

It is the same when putting a magazine or book together.

I drove up to the auto electricians and booked the car in for Wednesday morning.

I'll have to write a big note: "Whatever you do - do not break the fucking floor console."

I put the battery back on the scooter and took it for a spin around Levanda Hills and down to the seafront and back again. Quite good fun, really.

As I said, I bought it for when the kids come over more than anything else.

We had a few beers at the beach bar, and later on ate at the Bulgarian open kitchen on Paralimni's Protaras Avenue - which goes under the rather limp name of Mr Food.

Ivan and Svetlana run the place - the latter of whom is very matter of fact in her delivery. It is an Eastern European thing. The cabin crew on Wizz Air are the same.

"It is James and Julie," she says. "How are you. You have a good trip."

They cook the best liver that I've ever had... however...

"We have no liver. The blacks buy all the cheap meat at the butchers."

I told her. "You said that last time."

"Yes, and I am telling it you again. Come tomorrow and I will have some liver."

And she swears like a trooper.

I mentioned that I was struggling to see the text on their menu and blamed the long hours in front of the computer over the years.

"Before we open the restaurant I used to work with computers and my eyes are fucking shit as well."

She's a character that much is for sure.

When we left last holiday, she came out on to the road as we were getting in the car and gave us both a hug, which was seemed very out of character.

It wasn't really. As I said, it is an Eastern European-thing.

1 September 2025

Kaliméra from Cyprus.

I was up at 9:00 am (+2 GMT).

It is glorious outside, but not so inside.

Myrmínkia - ants.

They are rife out here.

We have The Terminator - a guy by the name of Bandolis, come round to spray the house with some commercial insecticide a few times a year.

Julie will no doubt, phone him later.

The website was also playing up a bit. I'd lost the navigation bar, which was very annoying.

Julie is outside now, hosing round the pool as the pool cleaner generally comes on Monday's and Friday's.

In the coastal towns and villages in the United Kingdom we have seagulls. Here it is doves. And just like the seagulls back home, they have made quite a few deposits.

I'm waiting for Julie to come inside and get the bleach.

My first jobs. Washing the car, trimming the mini palm trees, and bagging up the debris. I've already been down to the green bins at the bottom of the street with two black sacks - one of which contained four boxes of cereal - Special K with red berries and Bran Flakes which were full of ants.

Yesterday evening, when we arrived, we went straight down to the beach bar on Agia Trias. A few beers and some (dry) Kleftiko at €15 apiece which was one of their Sunday specials.

All it is, is lamb that has been cooked in a clay pot for hours.

I'm no fan of Cypriot cuisine as it is quite bland, but Kleftiko along with Sheftalia's - Cypriot type of half-sausage, is okay.

Another job, is nipping up to Nikos - the auto electrician's to re-fit to new car radio and replace the centre floor console that they shattered the last time around.

Animation. Opposite is a montage of clips featuring the Angie Mellor character.

At present, Angie tends to get overshadowed by her younger sister, both on here and in the story. I need to level that up a bit as her character is an extremely good one.

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