Aka Monday 27th November to Saturday 30th December 2023
…once again (hopefully the last for a while) we romping through this month as we’re still playing catch up…was a bit of a lazy month, a couple of drinks nights out and only had one Morning Walk this month, and right at the start, Thursday 30th November:
...which covered 6.31km in one hour, 20 minutes and 14 seconds and 8,559 steps, burning 593 calories...two big things this month, first up was CHRISTMASSSSSSSSS! I did some prelim prep, basically watching ‘Deception’, ‘Die Hard’ and the Avengers episode ‘Too Many Presents’…gave and had prezzies:
...and got some Kyle Stark Sticker Club goodness:
…and then to my sisters for a mega Christmas lunch…I still feel a tad full up now! But the biggest thing is that I, twice, visited my nephew in the hospital unit (on Tuesday 19th December and Thursday 28th December 2023). His observation had been completed and the doctors decided that there us no psychoses, just the autism, but that he would be best served by not going home, but by going from the unit to a residential place (which we don’t have yet), so he’s staying unit for now.
And it’s not bad, it’s close to home, so visiting is easy, and the unit itself kinda resembles a student hall of residence, with a touch of prison (at least the parts I saw) as all the doors lock and you have to call a nurse to open up the room if you need something or it’s time to go home. And it was super great to see him, it’s been a good few months and I’d swear that he’s grown a good few inches and was skinner, but aside from that he was the same as always. We chatted and he saw me some of this animation work and we read few some of his stories and then he’d had enough and we left. The second visit was pretty much the same.
After visiting I was relieved that he was okay and that the unit was just normal, and not at all like ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’, but it also brought up feelings of having let him down, but I guess we just have to remember that this is what’s best for him…and coming away from this before the emotions get to much…this month I got some great CDs:
…including the Andy Bell Space Station pack, which has tons of great ambienty, E2-E4-ish, looping, effects pedal laden guitar workouts, and the latest StephenClarke1980 work, a KLF Xmas card…I also continued to get Lego Marvel minifigures (again with plenty of duplicates):
…I’m really searching for one more Moon Knight…and a few Lego magazines, but have only made a couple of them:
…I also got the latest ‘Uncut’ and ‘Mojo’:
…and ‘Knowtes’:
…and these four-colour gems:
…and I picked up some meagre Lottery winnings:
…and I did the first week’s G2 Crosswords:
…and this crossword week gets off to a tres terrible start, as we had to cheat on 20% of the clues (aka five out of 25). I don’t know if it was the toothache putting is off, or if the little grey cells were just off their game, but we missed so v obvious answers, like ‘itches’ from ‘feelings of irritation’ or ‘avast’ from ‘stop (on board)’, but we did learn that a ‘phaeton’ is a ‘horse-drawn vehicle’ and that a ‘lunette’ is a ‘semicircular recess, or moon-shaped case’…hopefully the rest of the week will go better…
…and things get very slightly better with Tuesday’s crossword, as we only had to cheat on 16.67% of the clues (a la four out of 24)…much better than 20%...not! So many easy ones missed, like ‘off-the-record’ from ‘unofficial (communication)’, but we did learn that the ‘Tango’ is an ‘Unesco-recognised South American dance’ and that ‘A Priori’ means ‘how something may be assumed’. But I’d argue that ‘spot the difference’ is not a good clue for ‘discriminate’, the clue is neutral, but the answer is a negative…or I’m annoyed that we didn’t get it…
…and things dramatically improve with Wednesday’s crossword! We only had to cheat on 4.55% of the clues (or one out of 22), the little grey cells were back on form! And powered through the clues, like no-one’s business! We only stumbled on not knowing that ‘Corpus Christi’ is a ‘moveable feast celebrated after the Trinity’…hopefully this means that we’re back on track…
…and we stumble a little bit with Thursday’s crossword, we had to cheat on 7.69% of the clues (aka two out of 26), which is well within norms. And this is the best we could have done as we didn’t know the answers! So, we learnt that ‘division in two’ can be called a ‘dichotomy’ and that the ‘congregation’s contribution’ is the/known as ‘Offertory’, which is nice to know…
…and Friday’s crossword was a tad chewy, but the little grey cells managed to tame it and we only had to chest on 4.17% of the clues (a la one out of 24). We only got stumped by ‘laid down the law’, maybe if we’d spent a little longer considering it we would have gotten the answer ’ruled’, but c’est le vie and still a good, good performance…
…and we end a topsy-turvy crossword week on a v meh note, as we had to cheat on 12.5% of the clues (aka three out of 24). We learnt that the ‘Contralto’ is the ‘lowest female singing voice’ and that ‘Quadrille’ is an ‘old dance – or card game for four’, but we did miss ‘renting out’, we guessed ‘leasing’, didn’t bother to check the intersecting letters and missed the real answer of ‘letting’! So close, so far away from the right answer! Hopefully next week will be a better crossword week…and I did the second week’s G2 Crosswords:
…which went pretty damn smoothly, as the little grey cells only had to cheat on 4.76% of Monday’s clues (a la one out of 21). Well rested after the weekend the little grey cells sailed through the clues, only stumbling on not knowing that moue is the French for a pouting look. Will this rock steady start continue for the rest of the week…let’s find out…
…and the smoothness and rock steadiness continues with Tuesday’s crossword, as we only had to cheat on 4.35% of the clues (aka one out of 23). The little grey cells continue to sail through the clues like a mighty, mighty longship, only being buffeted by learning that to ‘repudiate (someone)’ is to ‘disown’ someone…
…and there’s not much to say about Wednesday’s crossword as the little grey cells absolutely smashed it! Didn’t have to cheat on any of the 21 clues. It was a chewy grid and took a while to work out all the answers, but the little grey cells did it…which suggests that the rest of the crossword week will either go super smoothly or v v badly…let’s find out…
…and we have a teeny tiny bump back down to Earth with Thursday’s crossword as we had to cheat on 4.35% of the clues (a la one out of 23), which is still damn fine going. We only failed on not getting ‘lapses’ from ‘failings’, which is Londa ironic…kinda…
…and Friday’s crossword performance is the worst of the week and still pretty damn fine going, as we only had to cheat on 8.70% of the clues (otherwise known as two out of 23). We failed to divine ‘aqua’ from ‘Roman bath essential?’ and forgot that ‘nobble’ is a synonym for to ‘corruptly influence’, which is a tad annoying, but only a tad…
…and we end this crossword week on a damn fine note, as the little grey cells only had to cheat on 4.00% of the clues (aka one out of 25). The whole crossword week has been damn fine and smooth all over…even if we did forget that to ‘quench’ can mean to ‘put out’…a bit of a d’oh moment there, but roll on next week’s crosswords…and I did the third week’s G2 Crosswords:
…and we get this crossword week off to a pretty damn fine start, as the little grey cells were able to solve 90.48% of the clues (that is 19 out of 21). There was a teeny stumble when we forgot that an ‘Apse’ is a ‘Church recess’ and we’re a tad annoyed that we didn’t figure out ‘trigger-happy’ from ‘likely to hit out without thinking’, as I thinking that being trigger-happy isn’t quite the same as lashing out, but hey ho…
…and Tuesday’s crossword doesn’t go that well. We only solved 86.33% of the clues (a la 20 out of 24). Not good going, but it was a v v chewy grid and I think that we were lucky to do as well as we did! And we learnt that Jane Asher and Damian Lewis are redheads, that ‘Chianti’ is a ‘hilly wine-growing region of central Tuscany’ and that ‘Agave’ is a ‘pointy-leaved succulent, such as one used to make tequila’…hopefully today is just a hiccup for this crossword week…
…Wednesday’s word puzzle went better than yesterday’s, it was still a tad chewy, but we managed to solved 94.44% of the clues (aka 17 out of 18). The little grey cells were back on dazzling form and we learnt that ‘chanson’ means song in French and explains why the clue was ‘French number’, we were literally think about numbers in French, rather than thinking of what else number might have meant…
…tumbling is the theme for Thursday’s crossword, as we could only solve 78.95% of the clues (a la 15 out of 19). We just couldn’t get to grips with the clues, missed a couple of easy ones, but we did learn that ‘kine’ means ‘(old) cattle’ and that another name for ‘foxglove’ is also called ‘digitalis’. I guess last week’s performance has burnt out the little grey cells a tad…
…and we’re back on form with Friday, as we solved 91.67% of the clues, so much better than yesterday’s performance! Even if we did miss an obvious ‘sealant’ from ‘it’ll fill a hole’ and ‘pedigree’ from ‘origin’, we make on track baby!!! Hopefully…
…and we end this crossword week on a sweet, sweet Illuminati sweep, as we solved all 23 clues, easy peasy, like Sunday morning, roll on a well deserved day of rest for the little grey cells…and I did the fourth week’s G2 Crosswords:
…and we get the Christmas Week Crossword Week off to a grand start as we solved 95.65% of the clues (aka 22 out of 23). The little grey cells were on top form and chewed through the clues like a hungry woodworm through a nice wooden table! We only stumbled on not getting ‘assumed’ from ‘fake’, which seems obvious in hindsight…
…and the little grey cells top themselves with Tuesday’s clues, solving all 100% of them! All 24 clues were kung-fu’d into answers! Even the ones where we had to guess, we’d guessed right! Like ‘rhubarb’ from ‘sour sticks’ or ‘Titlark’ from ‘Meadow pipit’! Just a great performance…
…Wednesday’s crossword keeps the pretty damn solidness going, as we solved 94.74% of the clues (a la 18 out of 19). Although I’m expecting a down turn as we start hitting Xmas party/drinks time! But today, we learnt that a ‘Pueblo’ is a ‘Spanish American community in sun-dried brick-built houses, which is nice to know…
…and Thursday’s crossword doesn’t go quite as well, I guess that the little grey cells are a tad burnt out from the preceding good cue solving and the Xmas spirit(s)! We only solved 83.33% (or 15 out of 18) of the clues. But we did learn that ‘wysiwyg’ is an ‘abbrev. Meaning “The printout will look exactly like this”’, that ‘Madeira’ is both a wine and an island, and that ‘humus’ is an ‘organic material’. Still, I guess, not a bad performance and we learnt some stuff…
…Friday’s crossword was v chewy, and kept the slightly downward trajectory going, as we only solved 85.71% of the clues (aka 18 out of 21). Yeah, we just couldn’t get to grips with this grid’s clues and we missed a couple of easy ones, ‘black spot’ from ‘plant disease – dangerous place’ and ‘Lothario’ from ‘Romeo’, but we did learn that ‘sauterne’ is a ‘sweet to semi-dry white wine’, hopefully things we pick up for this week’s last crossword…
…and we do bounce back with Saturday’s crossword and bounce back v well, solving 95.83% of the clues (a la 23 out of 24). A damn solid performance from the little grey cells and I’m amazed that we got ‘cedilla’ (the clue was ‘French mark’) from just the intersecting letters and semi-informed guesswork! We also learnt that ‘obloquy’ means ‘censure’, a damn fine end to the Christmas Week Crossword Week…and I did the fifth week’s G2 Crosswords:
…no Crossword on Monday as it was Christmas Day, so we get the last crossword week of the year off to a grand start on Tuesday, especially as we only had to cheat on 4.17% of the clues (aka one out of 24)! Looks like the Christmas break has rested the little grey cells and they are on kick ass performance, only stumbling on not knowing that the ‘Latin Quarter’ is ‘part of Paris’s Rive Gauche’…
…and there’s not much to say about Wednesday’s crossword, as the little grey cells aced all of the 22 clues. A clean sweep! We even got ‘dotard’ from ‘one showing weakness in old age’! We didn’t know it was the answer, but it seemed must likely. And it was! Whoop whoop! Roll on tomorrow’s grid…
…and like yesterday, there’s not much to say about Thursday’s crossword, just that for the second day in a row the little grey cells smashed it! A second clean sweep! We didn’t have to cheat on any of the 26 clues. Like a hot knife through butter, the little grey cells just surged past the clues straight to the answers…
…and Friday’s crossword makes it three in a row clean sweeps! We didn’t have to cheat on any of the 24 clues, although it was a chewy grid at times, but we took our time and the little grey cells aced all the clues…
…and we end the final crossword week of the year on a damn solid note. Unfortunately we didn’t make it a fourth clean sweep in a row, but we did solve 91.67% of the clues (otherwise known as 22 out of 24 clues solved). But, on the positive side we did learn that ‘Napoli’ are ‘current Serie A champions’ and that ‘Toscanini’ was an ‘Italian conductor, d. 1957’. Roll on 2024’s crosswords!!!
