Grombles

70 YEARS YOUNG At last my hubby’s seventy – though hard for us to see, He went bald at forty, yet he’s aged so gracefully. Less Jerrer’s the Rave, more Jerry the Mellow, what will the future bring, He might stop shouting at his screen or even start to sing!   The youthful signs keep showing, they’re honestly quite clear: He dresses smart in Loakes, and splashes cash around with cheer. The biking leathers are long gone, now it’s Gant and Charles Trywhitt— Yet once a year as Elvis, he still looks quite the tit!   He’s been a tech adopter, plugged in right from the start— On TikTok, X, and Facebook, a true social-media tart. He podcasts, doomscrolls, and watches documentaries all year And now walks around the house with speakers permanently in his ear.   He’s always been a twitcher; he can identify all their calls, And he forages for mushrooms – from penny buns to giant puffballs, We’ve had them in risottos, pastas, sliced and fried on bread, Although when following Heston B...

My parents were both Jews. Each of their parents were Jews, as were all ancestors I can trace. From a young boy I was always led to believe that 'marrying out', ie marrying a non-Jew known derogatively in Yiddish as a Shixa, is heavily frowned upon. Hence my bloodline, according to 23&me, is 99.9% Ashkenazi Jew, mainly originating in Western Ukraine (where both my grandmothers were born). Side note:- according to 23&me, 0.1% of my ancestry is Chinese! How exotic. In addition, according to the 'rules' of my tribe, to be a Jew, your mother has to be Jewish. But your Jewish name is inherited from your father... a Jewish name has three components: Your personal name, typically chosen from the bible, old testament of course!; Your father's personal name, where it's preceded by the word 'Benreb' meaning 'son of'; and your tribal name. Mine's 'Ha Levi' meaning 'from the tribe of Levi'.  There's a hierarchy where each of t...