Wednesday 31 Dec 2025 post begun 1449hrs GMT (2:49pm)

 

Welp, that's 2025 nearly over, nine hours to go on what has been something of a dismal year for us Brits thanks to the horrors inflicted on us by the totalitarian Labour 'government'. And islamic terrorism. And ever increasing anti-Jewish hate (not all of it owing to spreading islamic hatred and violence against Jews including here in Britain).

 

I pray every night for deliverance from Labour and islam. In vain, it feels, when a cretin like el-Fattah is wide-open-arms welcomed to the UK by our idiot 'leaders'. A few days ago I heard a Labour apologist admit all his Jewish friends and acquaintances have BOBs (bug out bags) in their front hallway in case they need to flee.  

 

Labour is also 'encouraging' (read as 'forcing') councils to turn over new-build and refurbished council housing to 'migrants' (read as illegal migrants who've pitched up to the UK without documents and visas). Meanwhile British homeless are rough sleeping or sofa surfing and British families who have been on council housing lists for years have been bumped to the back of the queue.

 

And Labour has cancelled (again) several local elections, this time effectively disenfranchising close to eight million voters from their democratic right to vote for local governance. 

 

Honestly most of us are not optimistic about 2026 being better - Labour has been hit with scandal after scandal after scandal since taking No.10 in July 2024 yet somehow they cling on. 

 

So, goodbye 2025 and may God save us in 2026 - sooner the better, Lord, please! 

 

 

Post begun 1443hrsGMT MONDAY 1 Dec 2025 

 

Oh damn. Long story short, I bought a WIP (Work In Progress) bag promising to be the 'perfect WIP bag' prefilled with lots of nifty knitting and crochet tools - including several aluminium crochet hooks and several more 'ergonomic crochet hooks'. 

 

Bag arrived. Bag is actually nice and will be a handy little WIP bag. Nifty tools turn out to be cheap rubbish for the most part ('safety scissors' won't cut, locking stitch markers so brittle they break if you dare look at them much less try to use them, plastic tape measure inaccurately marked...) but the aluminium hooks are brilliant. I was going to donate the 'ergonomic crochet hooks' to the local Red Cross charity shop...

 

And then I thought 'I'll  give them a try, who knows, perhaps I no longer hate the clumsy fumbly hooks.' Then I laughed because every time I've tried those hooks in the past my Essential Tremor got in the way. In a great big fat hairy way. 

 

And, well, I don't hate ergonomic crochet hooks any longer, in fact I now love them so much this morning I ordered the sizes not included in the bag set I received Sunday (gotta love EVRi, our regular AND his subs are SO good!).  

 

What happened was, I am working on a lapghan so I switched my beloved HiyaHiya 5.5mm aluminium hook for the ergonomic 5.5mm one thinking yeah, five minutes and I'll switch back... Oh. Five hours later (no really, five hours later) I realised I was still crocheting with that ergonomic hook and had watched a Nicholas Cage movie (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent) AND the Qatar GP (WOOT, Max Verstappen won the Qatar GP last night!),  and my arthritic hands felt great - not a twinge or spasm or any other reminder I've had arthritis since childhood - and BONUS, my Essential Tremor not only didn't get in the way, the ET seemed to like the slight weight increase and 'fatter' hook shaft of the ergonomic style. 

 

Well who knew that was going to happen?! I damn sure didn't. But honestly the ergonomic hooks are serious game changing tools and I'm glad I gave them a go. BONUS - the set I received Sunday includes the tiny stainless steel thread hooks all neatly cushioned and weighted - WOOT, filet crochet here I come again!

 

I'm going to have to retire all my lovely HiyaHiya aluminium hooks (sob) and all my Milward ones and all my Boyd ones (yeah, I think I have over 150 aluminium crochet hooks all together - I have grandchildren so I'm keeping those hooks). I'll polish them regularly remembering to thank them for the years of service despite the arthritic pain using those hooks inflicted. 

 

Christmas came early with that set of ergonomic hooks. Yippee!

 

Speaking of Christmas, we're fluffing the PE green tree - it's not going well so the lights won't go on before tomorrow if then. Sigh. 

 

Posted 1513hrsGMT MONDAY 1 Dec 2025