Typecast

The scariest thing Strictly could have done for Halloween would have been to make everyone dance a Rumba. Thankfully, we were spared that particular horror, although a three-way dance-off feels like production having a bloody good go.   Our Facebook group has a long-running Neil joke, to the extent that he features in one of the questions you answer to join. Halloween production could save a fortune on special effects by just flashing up that question instead of Neil hovering in the background and Neil doing the socials...  First, last week’s unfinished business. I wasn’t particularly surprised that Shaun left, despite how hard he was trying. The gap between him and the others was getting wider. However, Jaime being back in the dance-off was more worrying, although her leaderboard position hadn’t helped. As for Shirley voting to save Shaun… I would love two minutes inside that woman’s brain. Onto Halloween, where everyone had apparently received slightly different instruc...

Last week I enjoyed a Rumba. This week I’m about to praise a Couple’s Choice. If this continues, somebody needs to check whether I’ve been replaced. Don’t panic. I still found plenty to complain about. Anton appears to have brought his own scoring system, the Faffing Police have a coat-and-hat incident to investigate, and Craig described somebody as chewing toffee with their bottom. This is your Saturday evening entertainment, everyone! We said goodbye to Sarah and Julian last week, with Bethany and Nancy surviving the dance-off. Delta and Kai are back after their injury bye, and we had a relatively normal week before Halloween arrives with its wigs, props and inevitable opportunities to conceal the footwork. Not that the costume department was taking the evening off. It hadn't gone unnoticed that somebody possibly secured a bulk discount on hair gel. Lauren had sculpted waves, Nancy and Alexis had little curls, and Motsi looked as though she’d just stepped out of the shower. Emma,...

Suddenly, the temperature has dropped and it's jumper season. However, I appear to have been preparing for this for most of the year by challenging myself to make at least one wearable per month. Four jumpers and a summer top later, I have a small collection of handmade clothes, a better understanding of my crochet tension and several reminders that having 'plenty of yarn' is not a guarantee. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nickie O'Hara (@oh_nickie) I’ve shared each finished project on Instagram - both the wins and the disasters - but I wanted to bring them together here to show the progression. Looking back through the captions, there’s a recurring theme: lovely pattern, enjoyed making it, sizing needs some attention. There has been progress, though. I’m checking things earlier, making adjustments and getting more confident about changing a pattern to suit me. There have also been occasions when I’ve had to put the whole thing down ...