What I remember 50 years ago was inflation running at 17% and IRA bomb threats accepted as a fact of life. But I was on the threshold of adulthood and looked forward to the future.

I read it as Frick on Threat.

I thought I recognised it as Plas Newydd! We visited nearly 40 years ago but I was very taken by the idea of a special chamber to apply your wig powder.

Is it a small chamber where you apply the powder to your wig circa 1800?

The Diaries of Mr Lucas: Life in 1960s Gay London by Hugo Greenhalgh. I'm only 30 pages in but it's fascinating. Real life diaries with explanatory commentary.

I’m reading Whale by Cheon Myeong-Kwan for my book group. Three quarters of the way through. Some larger than life characters leading an adventurous life through mid-century Korea. Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023.

I’ve just raced through Judi Dench’s Shakespeare the Man Who Pays the Rent. Fascinating.

Of course it’s a woman’s woolly- it’s got pockets.

I had a cork notice board in my kitchen in the early 80s that I was rather proud of - so up-to-date and modern. No notice board in the current kitchen - it’s all fliers stuck on the fridge with fancy magnets these days. Fashion!

Ooh, I remember when cork tiles were fashionable. (I’m old.) Was it the 1970s? 1980s?

But is it a major or a minor emergency? (That should strike a chord with all musicians 🎶😄.)