Money, midlife and mating.

23/09/2026

🐾 SINGLE & LOVE DOGS? This is your sign to find love! 🐾

A brand-new reality dating series called ‘Dog Dates’ is officially casting single dog lovers in the UK, and they are looking for real people to take part!

The concept is simple: you, a fellow single dog lover, and your furry best friends enjoy a fun, relaxed blind date in a beautiful London park. 🐶

I would definitely be up for this but things are going very well with Mr Torquay (more on that soon) and Caramel has already given him her approval. ❤️

Who they are looking for:
👉 Singles aged 18+ (with a specific call-out for single guys - straight, bi, gay, or trans - aged 25 to 75).

👉 People living in or able to travel to London for filming.

👉 You don't even have to own a dog to apply - if you're a dog lover without a pup, they can arrange a friendly four-legged stand-in for your date.

The Details:
🕒 Very low time commitment (maximum 4 hours of filming, completely flexible around your schedule).

📍 Shoots are taking place in London throughout 2026.

💰 This is an unpaid, fun digital series experience for real people looking for genuine connection.

If you’re ready to see if sparks fly - or if your dog approves of your next date - give it a shot.

Tag a single friend who needs to see this! 👇

👉 Apply here: https://www.mandy.com/uk/jobs/london-uk-reality-tv/

21/09/2026

🐑 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR A MA-AAD SCIENCE ADVENTURE!

🧪Are your little ones ready for their 15 minutes of fame?

Team Bristol Dockyards is looking for a few families to join them for a short, Shaun the Sheep-themed media shoot!

📅 When: Thursday, September 24th (around 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM)

📍 Where: Bristol Dockyards🧒 Ideal Age: Children aged 5 to 8 years old

What to expect: Lots of fun, a bit of dressing up, and some crazy science-themed activities! 🥼✨

🎁 To say thanks for helping them out, participating families will receive free tickets to return to the Dockyards!

📩 Interested? Drop Bristol Dockyards a message and tag someone you know who’ll love this.

18/09/2026

🍔 £1 BURGERS TODAY ONLY! 🚨

To celebrate National Cheeseburger Day, Frankie & Benny's is offering Classic Cheeseburgers and Beef Burgers for just £1 (Friday 18th September).

That's a massive saving of £15! 🎉

👇 How to get yours:

Sign up online on the Frankie & Benny's website to get your unique voucher code.

Buy any drink.

Show your code to your server and enjoy your £1 burger!⚠️

Hurry - there are only 5,000 codes available! Excludes airports, event days at select sites, and chicken/signature burgers.

Share this news with a friend who would love a £1 burger today!

25/08/2026

Why does visiting a loved one in hospital cost so much money? 💔

I’ve been quiet on here for nearly two weeks because my life was recently turned upside down. My brother Craig was rushed into the Critical Care Unit at Royal Preston Hospital. It was the phone call everyone dreads receiving: “He might not make it, it would be best if you came as soon as you can.”

I don't even remember the 40-minute drive to my mum and dad’s house. All I know is my dad then drove us straight to Preston for Craig's emergency brain surgery.

During that long drive, my head was just swirling with childhood memories. Craig is only 11 months older than me and just turned 50. Growing up, I loved February because I'd tease him that we were finally the same age.

By March, he’d have the upper hand again. I kept thinking about the Christmas we were 4 and 5, living in Burnley, when he woke me up because it was snowing. He got a record player that year and played "Hey Jude" by The Beatles on repeat.

As he got older, his taste shifted to heavy metal. So, sitting by his hospital bed, I played him Metallica. I was trying so hard not to burst into tears as the words to "Nothing Else Matters" resonated like never before.

Thankfully, Craig woke up from his induced coma! He’s now on a ward and on the mend. 🙏

But this whole nightmare got me thinking… how on earth do people afford the travel when an emergency strikes?

I’ve been back and forth from Bristol to the North a few times now, and train tickets can cost up to £200 a pop! Why is there absolutely no travel cost support for families visiting critically ill relatives? It would be so easy to prove with a quick email confirmation from the hospital.

To make matters worse, National Rail has a discount railcard for almost every age group and dynamic out there: 16-25s, 26-30s, over 60s, couples, families.

But if you are a solo traveller aged 31 to 59? Nothing. We are completely left out. It's another example of the singles tax and it bloody well needs to change. Why should a family emergency break the bank just because of your age or because you're not in a couple?

Have you ever faced ridiculous travel costs during a family crisis? Do you think National Rail should introduce discounts for travellers visiting sick relatives or railcards for us middle-aged peeps? I'd love to hear your thoughts below. 👇

13/08/2026

Which will I get bored of first: Mr Torquay or the train journey to see him? 🚂

Date 5 is lined up with Mr Torquay this weekend and things are still going surprisingly well!

He hasn’t stepped out of line yet - though I can’t help wondering if he’s just on his absolute best behaviour because he knows I write about midlife dating and publicly roast middle-aged men on this blog! 😉

I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for now. But it did get me thinking about the trip from Bristol Temple Meads to Torquay...

If you’ve never done the Riviera Line section after Exeter St Davids, it’s stunning - literally running right along the sea wall. It actually ranks in the UK’s Top 10 Most Scenic Rail Routes (alongside stunners like the West Highland Line and Settle to Carlisle).

Question for you lot: Who has been on the Riviera Line - or any of the UK's top 10 scenic train rides? Are they actually as good as travel writers claim?

Drop your verdict in the comments - bonus points if you have a picture from your journey! 👇

12/08/2026

🌒 BRISTOL, LOOK UP TONIGHT! ☀️

We’re in for a massive celestial show this evening as the Moon blocks over 92% of the Sun! It’s the most significant partial solar eclipse Britain has seen since 1999.

⏰Key Times:

6:17 PM: Eclipse starts

7:12 PM - 7:13 PM: Peak eclipse time

8:06 PM: Pub time.

📍 Top spots in Bristol to catch the view (West/WNW facing):

Sea Walls & The Downs (Clifton): Should offer a great vantage spot for watching the eclipse later.

We The Curious and the Bristol Astronomical Society have solar viewing telescopes and will be handing out free solar glasses.

Clifton Suspension Bridge & Observatory: Panoramic views across the gorge with an iconic backdrop.

Brandon Hill & Cabot Tower: Elevated central spot giving a wide view over the city skyline.

Ashton Court Estate: Wide open grounds - perfect if you want plenty of space to set down a picnic blanket.

⚠️ Don't forget, you’ll need certified eclipse glasses, a pinhole projector, or a colander and white paper/card. Never look directly at the sun!

What do you remember about 1999 and does anyyone have any pics? Would love to see them if you do.

Bristolians, where do you recommend watching the eclipse from tonight? 👇

11/08/2026

If you’re in Bristol, We The Curious has something special planned for tomorrow’s solar eclipse where they’ll be giving out free glasses… 😎

Did we mention there’s a partial solar eclipse next week? And there won’t be another this visible here in the UK until 2081?

We've got a few things planned to mark this celestial event as you might imagine... Here's how you can join in:

🌞Join our Planetarium team at the Downs Sea Walls Viewpoint, Clifton for a safe viewing session with the Bristol Astronomical Society.

🔭 It's never safe to look directly at the sun, so we'll be handing out free eclipse viewing glasses and offering the chance to view the eclipse through our solar telescope.

🎨Back at We The Curious, head to our Investigation Station from 5 – 12 August to make your own eclipse, get hands-on with a tactile 3D-printed moon and ask all your burning space questions to our Live Science Team.

✨You can also check out the special eclipse scene and other wonders of the summer skies in our seasonal stargazing show, Colossal Cosmos.

For more information on how to observe the eclipse safely, check out these tips from the team BBC Sky at Night Magazine: https://bit.ly/4wIpogL

📷The moon passing in front of the sun during a total solar eclipse. Credit NASA/Joel Kowsky

11/08/2026

Day 5,646 of the school holidays… and your kids have officially run out of things to complain about. 😅

Want to swap screen time for sword time this Saturday? Send them back to the 1600s with sword fights, dodgy historical fashion and zero WiFi. Just as the Tudor gods intended.

This Saturday, Wardlaw’s Dragoons are taking over The Red Lodge Museum in central Bristol for a full-on English Civil War re-enactment day! It's something a bit different and is just a fiver per person.

Here’s the battle plan for Saturday:

🎶 Tudor tunes (absolute bangers from back in the day - allegedly)

🎲 Historic games (no screens, no batteries required!)

👗 Costume dress-up (your next profile picture sorted)

⚔️ Living history with sights, sounds, and authentic historical smells (apparantly it adds to the experience)

Come explore one of Bristol’s oldest (and coolest) buildings!

📅 When: Saturday, 15 August 2026 | 11am – 4pm

📍 Where: The Red Lodge Museum

🎟️ Entry: Only £5! Perfect for all ages.

Tag the history nerd in your life before they find out you went without them. 👇