is here! Well that's the news over.

Just kidding, there's more to the week than just days and weather reports, leastways i think there is. But why change a proven formula? I was reminded of this on Monday when i picked up a few bits of food in my local B&M (think Costco/Walmart on a smaller scale), Anyway, they always have food stuffs that you thought had disappeared years ago or in new flavours that the big supermarkets just don't want on their shelves. So anyway, what caught my eye was an old school classic, Fray Bentos tinned pies - those guys will tin anything! Well i like steak & kidney so picked up a tin which proudly proclaimed a return to the original recipe. Yep, they'd previously 'improved' the gravy or something except no one liked it so they've returned to something close to where it started.

Of course the 'new improved' version of many products often suck, everything from bike technology to Dr Who has suffered, sometimes like the tinned pie the error is put right, other times the brand owners just don't listen and the product withers in popularity to eventually disappear or becomes a niche product. This can apply to writing as much as anything else, stories that have reached their zenith have collaborations and spin offs which don't always compliment the original, net result is the same as the Austin Allegro (pilloried for having a square steering wheel), a short life and extinction.

So how do we determine when our writing has reached a zenith, a break point? It could be sales (if you do that), reads, comments, kudos - take your pick, it's difficult for the writer to know, we are too close, have too much invested, maybe the last release was a temporary blip or was it truly a sign that all is not well in Oz?

On that note, what's been going on in my world so far this week? Well Monday had a mixed forecast so rather than go for another good walk i restricted my activities to a trip to the shops for the aforementioned food shop although i spent as much again on an established chilli plant! The growing stuff is doing okay so far and the 'greenhouse' looks like paying for itself in one season, peas, beans, tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, peppers, all have done quite well and the arrival of some warmth in the last ten days has seen a rapid session of growth in everything in the fruit department as well as the root and leaf crops - well except for the rhubarb which seems to be struggling this year.

Yesterday, Tuesday, i went for a ride out to Clevedon, a regular destination but with countless variations of route. This particular ride used a new to me route out through Brizzles southern housing estates and over the hill past the airport. It was only just over 80km but did have almost 800m of up which is quite good for this neck of the woods. It was a bit cooler than the weekend, a stiff wind taking best part of 10c off the temps we had last week.

And so to today, it's almost a typical May day, sunny, warm rather than hot with a bit of breeze thats not too upsetting. Once the laundry was out i spent a while doing some gardening stuff, potting up, planting out etc and next up will be a walk, nothing too exciting, i'll save that for the weekend - maybe.

This time last year i did a charity bike challenge which some of you kindly supported, this year its my daughters turn. On the basis that such endeavours should at least require some effort she's signed up to walk 100 miles (162km) during May to raise funds for the charity she works for, Cancer Research UK. If you'd like to follow her progress and perhaps donate to this very worthy cause you can do so by clicking here https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/susans-giving-pa... , i shan't be doing a fund raiser this year so this is my families 2024 effort.

Well that's it for today, i'll be back on Sunday,
Wiedersehn,
Madeline Anafrid