It’s the Monday of WWDC week which means Apple Keynote day, and it is always a lot of fun to see where they think technology is going next. This time, it’s all about the mixed reality headset, something which has been discussed for a while and leaked more seriously by tech journalists recently. So it wasn’t a surprise when Tim Cook announced the Vision Pro headset, but it was a surprise to see how space age looking their set of goggles were, and also quite shocking to see the price.

I’ve just wrapped up watching A Small Light, the series that chronicles the life of Miep Gies, the secretary and incredibly brave woman that helped hide Anne Frank and family during the Second World War. The series is incredible, beautifully made and well told, but also difficult to watch - eight episodes that chronicle the build up to the war, the hideous slide into occupation and oppression, and the terrible aftermath.

I feel like it’s been a slow start to the year, vegetable gardening wise. I somehow managed to start things off too soon, before all danger of frost had gone, but then also the things that I did time right have been so slow to start coming through. However, we are starting to see some greenery and things are looking more promising as the sun comes out. Radishes, meanwhile, are always a saving grace, as they grow so quickly.

I recently finished watching the mini series Daisy Jones & The Six on Amazon Prime and what a journey that was! The show documents the rise and fall of a new band in the 1970s who gain popularity very quickly but find that drugs, rock and roll, and the intricacies of managing relationships on the road can be a downfall just as fast. It’s basically watching a fictional version of Fleetwood Mac’s story, which is echoed in the amazing music that accompanies the show.

Last year, I, along with a lot of other people, watched in joy and awe as Ukraine won the Eurovision Song Contest, closely followed by the UK with our best performance in a good long time. I’d actually sworn off Eurovision for a bit, despite being a fan since before I can remember. I’ve had, and still have, an issue with the scoring but I won’t get into all that again.

My obsession with the UK’s National Trails has taken a bit of a backburner recently, but I decided to go in search of another starting point. This time, I looked for the trail that practically divides two countries - Offa’s Dyke Path. The path is a wobbly straight line hovering around the border between England and Wales, following the 8th century Dyke construction by King Offa. Lots of history. I only did a few kilometres of the actual path, and it’s a weird mixture of housing estates and hilly woodlands.

Season three of The Mandalorian wrapped up last month to very mixed reviews, and it’s taken me a while to decide how I feel about it. Overall, I liked it. I don’t think it quite lived up to the hype and quality of previous seasons but there was plenty in there to amuse. One of the biggest complaints I’ve seen is about the pacing of the show, which was, admittedly, a bit off.

I wanted to just practice the feeling of knitting and test out my endurance and patience levels, so decided to go with a superbly basic garter stitch scarf next. I didn’t think this wool was particularly good, it was labelled as craft wool rather than something you might make items of clothing out of, but as it was just practice, I wasn’t bothered. Turns out, the end result is really quite soft and is super stretchy.

I was so happy with the result of the little blue hat in all aspects except the size of it, I immediately had another go making it a bit bigger. This turned out just as well and has the added bonus of fitting on my head, so a big step forward. I made my first tassle to go on top, with a cardboard circle method. It was a bit fiddly and didn’t turn out that well, so I immediately invested in those little gadgety tassle maker things.

After some of the early bits and pieces, I wanted to knit something actually useful so opted for a hat. I wasn’t ready for circular or double pointed needles (still not, if I’m honest), so this fantastic pattern which knits a bobble hat on straight needles was a gem of a find. I dived straight in without thinking about measurements or gauge or anything, so the end result was way too small to fit on any adult-sized head.