The Madhouse frenzy of San Franpsycho has increased considerably since my last visit.

The public cocktail is definitely more colorful. Purple hair and blue lips are very prominent along with grand tattoo displays on any available square inch of bare skin including the occasional forehead.
Cycling is also now very much in vogue. Boris’s American cousin is doing a roaring trade. The resulting morning and evening mayhem, with 4 wheels, 6 wheels, 8 wheels and the 2 wheels, challenging for the same piece of tarmac, should be avoided. And definitely when the motorized standup scooters and skateboards join the mix.

Since retirement, a visit to the Hermitage museum in St Petersburg has been on the wish list. Finally we looked up the flights and found to our delight that such a trip wouldn’t break the bank. The hassle of visa collection in Lisbon proved to be what it was “hassle.” But still thrilled at our panache and courage we set off for an early Christmas present in Russia.

Visitors to London from the States have to be entertained, and what better way than an open top tour of the Capital on a double decker bus.

The “hop on, hop off” availability appeared to suit all concerned and we were soon determining our “hop on” and “hop off” spots. I must admit that initially I had trouble understanding the tour maps. Red and Blue routes criss-crossed and the directional arrows were seemingly randomly placed. Finally I got the hang of them after a “tour conductor” explained.

An observational poem for those 'by the sea', by ADN reader Richard Thurman.

"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."

The signs advertising 'free tasting room' increased to 3 per mile as we wound our way through the beautiful rolling landscape of the Sonoma valley past Calistoga along the Russian river and onto Healdsburg.

The rewards of grand-parenting are many and varied. They bring exposure to different environments, new sets of people, baby bottles, little fingers, bowed legs and of course nappies.

Having completed the early shift and despatched mummy off to work and the younger "pair" to the nursery we took to the streets for a late morning coffee and a re-familiarization tour of the local surroundings.

It is so sad to read some articles that the media believes will cause impact or damage, but which never explain the crucial impact on our actual society under PSD rule which is pretty much a right wing party which has taken us back to the time of Salazar.

Media censorship is being updated and is again being introduced in today’s journalism and TV news reports.

A short witty poem by Richard Thurman...