Newsletter. Late April to early May 2026
Published late in mid June because of technical difficulties
Cats
So here are our new cats. Calico again but shorter haired, sisters, and about 5 years old. The house is a bit strange for them but plenty of places to hide, lie in the sun (we do get some here) and computer keyboards to sit on. What is about cats and keyboards? Fiona tells me they like to interrupt phone calls as well; I do have long phone calls occasionally but as yet Fiona is the go-to human for that. Named Nala and Lola when they arrived, but of course they take no notice of that, we have decided to change their names to Fudge (upper) and Dot (lower) for their facial features. Both have the same characteristic as Custard did in that she presented their tummies for rubs. They throw themselves onto their sides but Dot thinks claws are a necessary addition. Fudge (top) is calmer. Both seem to be settling in well, they won’t be outside for a few weeks yet but are exploring the various conservatories as they are introduced to them. Loft spaces (mice) and spare room (visitors) will be next and eventually the outside world with its multiple sheds, garages and compost heaps (more mice) As summer approaches there should be plenty of sunny spots and sheltered entertainment areas. Amongst other attractions there are bird feeding stations for non-interactive cat-TV and a wide range of other animals that show up on trail-cams and house security cameras.I Don’t know how much behaviour is down to just being a cat and how much is Calico, but both have the same habit as Button and Custard running up and down stairs like a herd of elephants, leaping onto the tallest furniture and crashing about at night. Curiously like B&C they don’t seem interested in cardboard boxes. They follow tradition in their carpet clawing and rejection or previously demanded cat-food types. This gets written over a week or more so their behaviour may have changed by the end of it.The Weather
So what else? The weather is continuing to improve. I favour this time of year, the winter freezing is almost done (although you can’t be certain until June) and the midges haven’t arrived. Fortunately the odd late frost can knock the midges back by quite a bit, and the spring gales mean they can’t go anywhere for a while. The weeds are starting to make the place greener but I don’t need to strim the footpaths yet. The trees could do with a bit of thinning, especially where I hope to put in some more solar panels, but the birds are starting to argue about suitable nest sites so I think the trees will get another year before they get any serious attention. The ‘new’ house (93 Crosswood) should get some panels along with a new roof. I’m told the solar panels cost less per square metre than concrete roof tiles, if true that’ll keep the costs down and I might be able to salvage enough roof slates to re-cover that which isn’t suitable for solar. With a proper vapour barrier and a spot of insulation I should get the traditional slate look, solar power and better heat retention. I guess it’ll actually be the occupant that gets the benefits, but it’s nice getting the thing working efficiently. That’s all assuming the orange idiot doesn’t push the big red button instead of the ‘Coke and a Burger’ button. Fortunately he should fall off his perch soon. I really do hope he is restrained, as the last noises I heard him make indicated a desire for genocide. Odd that nobody over there considers it worth sectioning him, or at least hitting the mute button. Half of them must be thinking a modern version of armageddon will be profitable. There used to be a joke that half the USA is below average intelligence. Since I’ve never heard anyone challenge it I guess either it’s true or the half worked out the actual meaning.
Mind you, we just sat there like Giant Gormless as Boris, May, Mogg and the wide mouthed frog drove the bus into the vale of despond. I do wonder about Homo Sapiens occasionally.Technology
On an entirely unrelated matter I recently found it increasingly difficult to charge the battery on my somewhat out-dated iPhone with its now out-dated lightning connector. I used to have a small plastic plug that prevented fluff from blocking up the charging port, but that stopped working as a charge port so I decided to get a phone that would charge on an electromagnetic pad, (thereby going from an iPhone SE to a 12 pro) The new one was rather large and certainly had a powerful battery, more storage and, obviously, a inductive charger. All was sweetness and light until the new phone started acting up when I put it on the charger. It always worries me when equipment throws the equivalent of a fit. Trying to transfer the settings I put the old phone down, to free up a hand for the buttonry. Imagine my surprise, dear reader, when it promptly started charging from the inductive pad on which I had carelessly placed it. To shorten the slightly embarrassing story I have returned the new phone and claimed a refund. The new one was redundant and seemed to have epileptic properties. The old one is happy to charge without the disco lights effect.Mobile phones now have a few more abilities than before, even if the manufacturers keep changing the way they work. On the rejected iPhone the finger-print device had been removed and facial recognition replaced it. My question is does the phone remember my face or is the image stored somewhere else? The story I heard was that the chances of mis-reading a fingerprint were in the order of 1/1000 and a facial mis-read was an order less likely. Then I discovered that a photograph of your face was an easy substitute. Then the question is ‘can I just photo your face with my camera or do I have to print it? Tracking is another ‘extra’. I’m not alone in forgetting where I put my phone, keys and wallet so I was pleased to find some reasonable priced tracker devices that my phone can find. I can now locate my wallet and other trackers using my phone or watch. That would have been useful when Mum wandered off at Ephesus. Of course new technology often fights with other elements, so the electro-magnetic shield which prevents scammers accessing my bank card may hide the wallet from the phone. I guess that’ll only matter as long as we carry wallets, cards, and cash. My slight worry is that a lost or stolen phone could soon leave us without any proof of identity, but then so can missing passports. An implanted chip, which both cats have, would be an answer but I can imagine there would be quite a lot of discussion about that. I think an earphone or glasses will probably be the next stage of development but I think there will still be a mobile phone or some other portable device involved for a while. Privacy is a worry for many, but would it be worth knowing that anyone within a couple of metres of you or your house would be identified and recorded?
So much stuff gets ‘upgraded’ that a lot of science fiction is out of date very quickly. We are all ‘carrying a wire’ as the old spy and crime movies put it, and the street level cameras can track us quite easily in cities. What is not considered so often is that, although I have no proof, cars are often mobile movie cameras, and could quite easily report to central data bases as could mobile phones, fridges and toasters. In China (reportedly) they do, but any government can quite easily track or arrest any civilian, they can track your payments and your car. Privacy is already compromised, perhaps we’d be better off simply thinking a bit harder about which political parties and candidates we vote for. Of course some people don’t vote, which means they cannot logically complain, while some territories don’t allow a free vote and the population should complain very loudly. What I am immediately concerned about is two party systems where they just take turns to be the government and it really doesn’t matter who you vote for. Near 100 years ago (shortly after WW2) somebody pointed that out to my father. It is still true; ‘No matter who you vote for, you always get the bloody government’ as he put it. I would substitute the ‘establishment’ as a better term, nobody can know who really is in control, but that’s conspiracy territory. Strangely, relating to the story of 'always getting the bloody government' we were recently watching a program with historical photos of British troops in France during the war, some of the references were close to Dad's time-line. This photo flashed up. (we usually record and play later, it saves watching adverts) I very much doubt it would have been Dad and I imagine an historian would be able to prove it in moments, but the similarity came as a bit of a surprise
More Tech
Moving on to a new subject I’ve just spent a couple of days struggling with the new router. As phones go digital the electricity that used to mean you could make a phone call in a power-cut is going to stop. Fibre doesn’t carry electricity so whatever replaces the land line phone cannot rely on copper wires. There are backup systems, most obviously mobile phones with their own power supply. Good for a day or two and, if you have a solar panel or two, not a problem. I anticipate a kit of a small solar panel, a 12 volt and an inverter (if you want to use the car and caravan technology) or a 5 volt battery to charge a mobile phone directly. That will resolve most problems unless the phone towers go down in which case you’ll need a satellite phone and frankly if the collapse gets to the point of taking out the satellites, you won’t be as focused on phone calls so much as fresh water, shelter and food. So, getting back to the present, the new router turned up. The extra bit is a socket for the land-line phone (as opposed to the internet ASDL socket) so that you can ring out with the old phone. I am slightly puzzled by their continued existence when a mobile with WhatsApp means you don’t need a landline hand set. Presumably it could be for those who don’t have a mobile or to make sure that those who haven’t worked out the cheaper and more convenient method go on paying for phone calls, which must bring in a tidy sum for the phone companies. Consider if you would the advantage of systems like WhatsApp. It is, as yet, free. You can have an optional visual feature, still free. One less bit of kit on the wall or desk and all your contact numbers in one place. Everybody in the house can have their own with them all the time if they have the app and they can all make phone-calls at the same time. The only downsides I can see are that, being digital, it is easier to use AI to analyse your conversation and you would now be able to lose your phone as it’s not tied to the wall plug. I have of course done that several times, but my watch can not only show me where it is but can make it play a little tune. (Slightly embarrassing when the phone turns out to be in my pocket.) Thinking about security and US instability combined with the US president indicating a desire to disassemble NATO, the EU and anything else that he or his replacement takes a scunner to; I pinched this evaluation of non Whatsapp apps off the internet, if you wanted to avoid US dependency, although of course it’s difficult to tell who has the ultimate control of international businesses.
Signal: Generally considered the best for privacy, offering end-to-end encrypted voice and video calls with no data collection.
Telegram: Features excellent voice calls and "Voice Chats" in groups, allowing for drop-in, audio-only conversations.
Viber: Offers high-quality voice calls and "Viber Out" for calls to non-Viber numbers.
Discord: Ideal for frequent voice chatting with groups, offering persistent voice channels.
Skype: A reliable, traditional, multi-device app for high-quality voice and video calls.
Threema: Focuses on privacy by not requiring a phone number for registration, allowing for completely anonymous calls.
Berty: A peer-to-peer app designed for high privacy, even working offline.
Key Considerations:
Privacy: Signal and Threema offer maximum security.
Functionality: Telegram excels with massive group voice chats, and Viber offers excellent voice quality.
Convenience: Discord is superior for managing large communities or groups, similar to a perpetual phone call.
No doubt there are alternatives.
Cars.
I have finally sold the Red Midge, to the chap who invented them (or at least developed the conversion from Triumph Herald). This Midge varied somewhat from the original plan as the original builder (ie the builder before me) made a change to the back end and I made a ‘bespoke’ radiator grille and added 15” wire wheels. After that I took the body off the original red Midge and put it on the ‘blue Midge’ thereby re-bodying a re-bodied Herald.I’ll direct the curious to https://www.jimhewlett.com/Ford-midge.html
When the transporter arrived (5:30 in the morning) The Midge actually drove up the ramps. Which was a relief as I had enough difficulty getting myself up at that time in the morning. 12 hours later it has safely arrived with John C. He has insured it and I’ve transferred my remaining insurance to the silver Midge. In case you are worrying that’s not me putting on a bit more weight, that’s the driver. Similar coloured hair.Homework
Also on the home front, 93 Crosswood is up and running and the tenant is moving in. Most of the furnishing is in (although it’ll need quite a bit of sorting) and only the kitchen and the phone line remain incomplete. The loft conversion and fire-wall construction are well ahead here. The new hot-water tank and stench pipe are a bit of an obstruction but the space beyond is much roomier than it looks. The lower image shows the fire-wall in construction and the beginnings of the un-raised mezzanine, now floored for storage.
Fortunately the tenant wants to do the decorating and is currently doing the kitchen. It was in need of a fairly hefty upgrade. We’ve known him for quite a while so the arrangements are home-made but we are putting it all onto an official agreement with a letting agent etc. The house, which is quite small, is now heated, insulated and carpeted. The loft is panelled, fire-walled and properly lit. It all takes longer than expected, and obviously costs more. (I wasn’t expecting the 8% second property tax for instance.) It may seem a bit odd my buying houses to rent but with inflation eroding savings and with two significant sums (Retirement lump-sum and Mum's bequest) that would soon be frittered, I needed some way of holding the value by way of an inflation resistant pension. I hadn't intended to become a property magnate. Buildings tend to hold their value unlike cars, big televisions, and flash furniture, so investing the money in the form of housing at a fairly low rent-rate seems like the best bet. I don’t trust stocks and shares, which wile profitable to those clever enough to play that game is essentially a concept rather than actual stuff, banks ditto and I can’t see the point of expensive paintings / diamonds / gold etc entombed in bank vaults as a tax dodge. This way the tenants appear happy, the money is 'working' and being taxed and there are always jobs for local tradesmen.
Politics, religion and other social activities
Sooner or later I have a thought, usually in response to a question or somebody’s opinion. Theirs not necessarily conflicting with mine but I get the urge to add my ha’porth. The opinion voiced was that as empires grow so the grip on morality fails and that religion (religiosity?) declines.I was thinking that religions start as social thing, a protector when out in the dark, a common belief and a social compass. Often focused on a perceived healer or wise person. Now it's just another power group or empire headed up by the ambitious, usually a male. The average priest is little different to the village elder, your grandparent, a healer. They often appear well-meaning, are rarely paid much, are usually modest and not ambitious. Once one of them starts climbing the competitive structure, ambition takes over and height (superiority and wealth) become the objective replacing farsightedness (wisdom). People look like and are treated as ants from up there, a few look up to them, regarding them as ‘elders and betters’. Personally I see that as laziness, letting somebody else take responsibility.Inevitably power groups compete or cooperate with other power groups. I would set a slightly arbitrary threshold of three levels of authority. (Priest, Bishop, Archbishop, but it’s the same for nobility, military and wealth) I suggest the higher the authority the more out of touch the occupant is. The same ambition tends to be characteristic of military, political, medical and educational hierarchies and they quite often compete or encroach on other group territories. Theocracies taking over governments, military coups, simple ‘royal’ invasions, careful assassinations and marriages, politically motivated charity or aid manipulation. Obviously the ruler directed armies of one area conquering another irrespective of the explanation are following the same plan. It is usually power translated into money, taxes, minerals, driven by greed and unfounded confidence in the leader’s judgement or megalomania.Although the churches now tend to avoid violence, it saves having to support a more than token military, but all power groups will eventually use any ploy to gain more power because their leaders are not really wedded to their supposed convictions and will join forces with other power groups to achieve their ends. Consequently right wing groups will cooperate with left and religious with financial. One political leader might fragment another’s population by funding a political party that can split the vote while both invoking the support of the same god, and assassinate, bribe, and seduce where appropriate. It’s cheaper that way. Arch Duke Ferdinand was unpopular, but not to the point where a few million would die (and kill) to avenge his death. The days are gone when young soldiers could pillage a bit in recompense for the risk of death, disfigurement and unreliable pay. I think the treatment of veterans is beginning to be noticed by serving soldiers and potential volunteers. Something which may turn on the politicians that ignore retired soldiers who are still trained and capable of revenge.Anyway, that’s quite enough philosophising, religious analysis and politics, today’s news is that the cats have survived their lock-down. The general advice was that it’s worth getting them used to the house, and us, for 4 to 6 weeks before letting them explore the outside world. We have a large garden and there are plenty of places to explore so we didn’t want them getting lost, disoriented or frightened by too fast a change. Both have quickly learned how to use a cat flap, even my bespoke creation which allows them to access the outside world from a safe place if we are not there to open doors for them. When their ‘waiting for the out’ ended they were in the middle of a few really sunny days. Outside was warm, full of active interest like moving clouds, birds and mice, buzzing insects and people walking nearby. Although cautious they seem relaxed and haven’t started chasing birds yet and haven’t ventured as far as the road. It’s only 50 feet away at its nearest, but relatively quiet and is cordoned off by a fence which, while not cat proof, is perhaps less interesting than the compost heaps, garden and wood sheds on our other three sides. We do get the occasional idiot but generally people drive sensibly and sometimes a pet will run out at exactly the wrong time. That is rare, I’m glad to say, and most pets, children and elderly humans have time to vacate the road. Bicycles are steadily more popular and several locals use electric bicycles, which are even quieter than electric cars, but less massive.In terms of our own activities, life is fairly steady. Spring approaches and there’s lots to do like rearranging garage space, fixing things, gardening. (a dark art to me) and various village activities. One bonus was in a delivery of office chairs. They must have been dropped off from some height. We had to reject one as it was fractured. I sent pictures of the damage and the battered box. The supplier didn’t want it back so I undertook a spot of repair which seems to have worked. I’m sitting in it now and it hasn’t collapsed. The fix isn’t pretty. Frankenstyle I’d say, but seems robust enough.I shall pause here and pop over to the farm and see what needs doing. There are a couple of mis-functioning urinals and the poly-tunnel sprinklers usually need adjustment, especially if somebody has borrowed a bit or tweaked the system with more enthusiasm than understanding. No fixes seemed immediately necessary so I just had a chat and a sausage sandwich, which is really the purpose of the farm. That and carpentry, catering, bee keeping, vegetable growing, walking, musical events, community transport and jumble sales. Or that’s what springs to mind. Suggestions welcome.Cheers all,
Jim
