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All About Chris


Use it or lose it!
I have been practicing my Swedish somewhat sporadically through much of my adult life, but over the past 15 years or so have worked...
chgbayliss
Jul 22, 20233 min read
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0 comments


Oklahoma, you're OK!
My daughter has recently set out a (long) list of films she wants to watch, and some are on my list, so that's encouraged me to make a...
chgbayliss
Jul 11, 20233 min read
7 views
1 comment


Being rebellious
I don't know about anyone else, but to me 'rebellion' has quite negative connotations. We talk about rebellious children, refusing to...
chgbayliss
Jul 7, 20237 min read
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Same Sweden, but different
Ever since I was small, I've known of the Sami people in Sweden; I have a dim memory of visiting 'Lappstaden', the Sami village in...
chgbayliss
Jun 30, 20234 min read
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Messing about on the river
Some of you may know the old song When the weather is fine Then you know it's a sign To go messing about on the river It's a fun song,...
chgbayliss
Jun 26, 20234 min read
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We're going on a treasure hunt...
I was introduced to Geocaching around ten years ago now, when my children were still fairly young. We enjoyed it as a nice way of adding...
chgbayliss
Jun 23, 20233 min read
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Unwell Women by Elinor Cleghorn (critique of a review)
I read the review on the BMJ blog as I thought it would be interesting to get a ’medical’ perspective on the book. Overall I wasn’t...
chgbayliss
Jun 19, 20233 min read
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True to Myself
As I was looking at some of the 'Self-Aware Rebel' badges, the tagline for My Powers caught my eye: Be true to yourself. Anyone who has...
chgbayliss
Jun 16, 20236 min read
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A matter of routine
Somehow it has taken me until this year to realise just how important it is for me to have routines in my life, but this understanding...
chgbayliss
Jun 9, 20233 min read
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The joy of camping
Having been put off camping by the one guide camp I attended in my youth (sorry!), I was eventually persuaded to try it again once our...
chgbayliss
Jun 2, 20234 min read
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A bit of light, a bit of water... how hard can it be???
Having admitted my failure to look after my indoor plants as well as I should (and indeed to keep my little chilli alive!), I decided it...
chgbayliss
May 26, 20233 min read
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Indoor gardening
I happily admit that although I enjoy gardens and having a nice outdoor space, I'm really not a keen gardener at all. I do like indoor...
chgbayliss
May 19, 20234 min read
22 views
0 comments


Some more detection
Continuing the Detective badge (not one I'd originally thought I as likely to do!), I've read up about blood pattern analysis, blood...
chgbayliss
May 12, 20234 min read
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Detecting a theme...
...or, Detective badge part 1 (clauses 5, 7) Given the number of crime/detective books I've read in recent years, and my enjoyment of all...
chgbayliss
May 8, 20233 min read
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Lost in translation
Having grown up knowing a few essential phrases of Swedish for basic survival when meeting up with family, I've spent much of my adult...
chgbayliss
May 3, 20234 min read
15 views
1 comment


Bored? Games!
Like many people, of my generation, I grew up with a few board games at home - Ludo, Monopoly, chess and draughts etc. We had a couple of...
chgbayliss
Apr 28, 20233 min read
16 views
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Me, myself and I, or, the importance of self-care
Like so many others, my childhood imaginings about the freedom of adult life turned out to be far from the truth. Instead of indulging...
chgbayliss
Apr 23, 20232 min read
23 views
0 comments


It's a puzzler...
I've always enjoyed all sorts of puzzles - from jigsaws to crosswords, word searches, logic problems. When I was young, before family...
chgbayliss
Apr 13, 20233 min read
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Me and my camera
I’ve been a keen - albeit decidedly unskilled - photographer for many years, and developed a limited amount of knowledge when I bought my...
chgbayliss
Apr 9, 20234 min read
22 views
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The Moomins and me
I’ve recently been listening to a recording of Moominpapa at Sea, and am appreciating again Tove Jansson’s skill in writing a story...
chgbayliss
Mar 31, 20233 min read
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