Shopping List

Welcome to a sunny but cold South Manchester and also welcome to 2026. 

I’d like to wish you a Happy New Year, dear reader and, if you are interested, you can read my thoughts on 2025 right here:

Goodbye 2025 

Let’s start this year’s nonsense with some silly questions from Sunday Stealing. 

1. What would you rather be doing right now?

I’m quite happy writing this post to be honest, but if I had a choice, I would rather be checking into a hotel in a different country with a plan to explore. Typically for me, January and February are the worst months of the year because here in the UK it is usually dark, cold and miserable. However, since I’ve retired, I can tolerate this time of year because I don’t have the added frustration and bleakness of doing a job that irritated me. Moreover, this year we are off to Malaysia at the end of January for two weeks, visiting Kuala Lumpur and Penang before calling into Hong Kong for a few days on the way back. I am looking forward to it because Malaysia is a country I have yet to visit and also I just love Hong Kong. It will be like visiting an old friend.  

2. What is always on your grocery list?

The single most important thing on the list is cat food for my two bosses.

After that the other items are usually salad, vegetables, fruit, bread, eggs, milk, cheese and other things that we need to replenish on a weekly basis. A lot of people like to do their grocery shopping online but I prefer to go to the actual supermarket because I spot things as I wander around the aisles. The last time we did our grocery shopping online was when both Mrs PM and I had Covid and they messed it up big time. In fact every time I have tried it, they screw something up by forgetting something or “substituting” something you asked for with something that you didn’t. 

I am not a huge fan of going to the supermarket at all but since I am retired and Mrs PM still works, it is one of my many new tasks as her Personal Assistant. And I always get it right. 

3. Have you ever used a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose?

I have never used a fire extinguisher. 

4. How many times did you text yesterday?

I don’t send texts anymore. I use WhatsApp these days. I think I sent a few messages to friends and family wishing them a Happy New Year. 

5. Would you prefer a slow-paced, relaxing vacation or one filled with new sights and experiences? 

I would prefer a mixture of the two. An example of this is our holiday to Malaysia. We are going to explore the bustling city that is Kuala Lumpur for three or four days and then fly to Penang for a relaxing few days by the beach before setting off to Hong Kong where we will once again explore parts of the city we haven’t been to before (there aren’t many such places to be fair but we will have fun searching for them).