Charlotte's Mum, I don't think you and I have ever disagreed on anything. 😅. This is our special first time. It was a brilliant move. From a strategic comms point of view, in an election year, it was brilliant. Melodramatic but brilliant. It demonstrates the magnitude of the problem. The fact that Helen can actually swim in the pothole shows neglect and - an old problem that's gotten worse. Lastly, her swim caught the attention of the mayor, who now looks hapless. And that's the point of electioneering - make the other side look as awful as they are. What works in her favour, is that she is using the truth to make her point.
there's a woman at this gym who's been doing the exact same workout for the past 3 months.
same machines, same order, same time.
someone new tried to give her advice.
she smiled and said, "I'm not trying to improve. i'm trying to maintain. this body carried me through divorce and cancer. we have an agreement now."
fitness culture doesn't know what to do with contentment.
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. 🤍
I'm an alpha MAGA. I fear nothing.
Except trans people. And gay people. And books. Brown people, black people, women, fair elections, vaccines, rainbows, cities, education, affordable healthcare, taxing billionaires, pronouns, wind turbines, electric stoves, drag queens,
A must read on heritage day :
“The fact that the first forms of Afrikaans were used by Muslim descendants of slaves at the Cape has been thoroughly documented in various theses and books by, among others, Davids and Afrikaans professor Hein Willemse and can no longer be disputed.” -@MaxduPreez
Cognitive Doctor discusses Donald Trump's Brain Damage #TrumpIsNotWell
It's not a joke, it's not sarcasm. #TrumpisaDementedWeirdo
"This is a neurological smoking gun."
https://t.co/dNdzPaFM3e
Demanding that your fellow citizens adhere to the strictest interpretation of the Bible while not requiring any adherence to the Bible from your preferred presidential candidate is one of the clearest ways to express that you see the Bible only as a tool for your own power.
A conversation I had with a Trumper last night...
Him: "I like Mellencamp's music. Sucks he's a stupid liberal Democrat, though."
Me: What's your beef with Democrats?
Him: "Are you a Democrat?"
Me: Yes.
Him: "You need to change your ways."
Me: Why's that?
Him: "You actually like Kamala?"
Me: I do.
Him: "You need to change your ways. She's a communist-Marxist-socialist."
Me: Those terms aren't identical. Do you actually know what they mean?
Him: "Yeah"
Me: Okay, what do they mean?
Him: "What about inflation?"
Me: What about it?
Him: "She had 3.5 years to do something about it, and nothing."
Me: That's not true. First off, she's Vice President, not President. Secondly, she broke the Senate tie to pass the Inflation Reduction Act. Not a single Republican voted for it."
Him: "Yeah, inflation"
Me: Inflation was 9.1% and is 2.9% today.
Him: "That's bullshit. Look it up. Look it up."
Me: :: I look it up ::. Here you are. These are the inflation numbers. June of 2022, it was at 9.1%. In the latest report, it was 2.9%. Those are facts.
Him: "Fake numbers. That's bullshit. What is that, a fake news site?"
Me: It's the U.S. Bureau of Labor.
Him: "Whatever"
#MAGACultMoron #VoteBlueAsifYourLivesDependonit