grampz

☺️

[Cian McCarthy @arealmofwonder]

Rest in peace, Patricia Routledge 🙏🏻

In memory of her, I encourage everyone to read these words of hers from February last year.

Whether young or old, you're bound to get something out of it.

*****

"I’ll be turning 95 this coming Monday. In my younger years, I was often filled with worry — worry that I wasn’t quite good enough, that no one would cast me again, that I wouldn’t live up to my mother’s hopes. But these days begin in peace, and end in gratitude.

My life didn’t quite take shape until my forties. I had worked steadily — on provincial stages, in radio plays, in West End productions — but I often felt adrift, as though I was searching for a home within myself that I hadn’t quite found.

At 50, I accepted a television role that many would later associate me with — Hyacinth Bucket, of Keeping Up Appearances. I thought it would be a small part in a little series. I never imagined that it would take me into people’s living rooms and hearts around the world. And truthfully, that role taught me to accept my own quirks. It healed something in me.

At 60, I began learning Italian — not for work, but so I could sing opera in its native language. I also learned how to live alone without feeling lonely. I read poetry aloud each evening, not to perfect my diction, but to quiet my soul.

At 70, I returned to the Shakespearean stage — something I once believed I had aged out of. But this time, I had nothing to prove. I stood on those boards with stillness, and audiences felt that. I was no longer performing. I was simply being.

At 80, I took up watercolour painting. I painted flowers from my garden, old hats from my youth, and faces I remembered from the London Underground. Each painting was a quiet memory made visible.

Now, at 95, I write letters by hand. I’m learning to bake rye bread. I still breathe deeply every morning. I still adore laughter — though I no longer try to make anyone laugh. I love the quiet more than ever.

I’m writing this to tell you something simple:

Growing older is not the closing act. It can be the most exquisite chapter — if you let yourself bloom again.

Let these years ahead be your TREASURE YEARS.

You don’t need to be famous. You don’t need to be flawless.

You only need to show up — fully — for the life that is still yours.

With love and gentleness,

Patricia Routledge

*****

Once more, rest in peace. 🤍

[Maxi @AllForProgress_]

If you are living in the UK presently, you are living in an anarcho-tyranny rapidly becoming flavoured with religious genocide.

If you wish to join a group working to stop the descent into insane violence and lawlessness, DM me.

There is no time left.

[Crime Spotlight UK @UKCrimeWatcher]

A bigger story than the shocking findings...

The scraper that found all this information was a collective effort between myself and others who we recruited mostly from twitter.

In particular @bbqplx was an absolute machine.

[Dr Lawrence Newport @lawrencenewport]

We've just launched our Career Criminal Case Scraper.

We are finding cases of career criminals across the country - with dozens or hundreds of offences - regularly avoiding prison or receiving tiny sentences.

The government wants weaker and weaker sentences.

We disagree.

[Crime Spotlight UK @UKCrimeWatcher]

But let’s talk about knife crime.

Knife crime has doubled in 10 years (as has possession of weapons). Do you know what hasn’t doubled in the last 10 years? Kitchen knife ownership. In fact we’d wager it has stayed pretty much exactly the same.