January 6, 2026 by Mike Madden
Aligning The Stars
Health Warning
Many of you will have been watching the darts, and the sponsors Paddy Power donating more than £1m to prostate cancer research. The stats on prostate cancer are horrific, and a lot of men put off getting tested because they don’t want an embarrassing episode with a doctor and a rubber glove. Well, I got tested before Christmas, and it was a simple blood test. No great drama, in and out in a few minutes, and you get to keep your clothes on (except for your coat). Within 48 hours, the results were available on the NHS app, and fortunately mine were all good. I will probably have another one in a year or two.
You might have seen Sir Chris Hoy at the darts final. He has terminal prostate cancer, not helped because he ignored a symptom. Many prostate cancers have no symptoms, so the only way to be sure is to get tested. I would encourage all men, particularly those over 50, to call in at the GP and request a test. Its free, it can be scheduled within a few days, and it takes seconds. The blood test is not the all singing all dancing answer, and its not 100% accurate. The alternative does not bear thinking about. You can find more information here.
No Particular Place To Go
It has been a very hectic end to 2025, with Ole going off on his travels to the other side of the world. He headed to Thailand with girlfriend Abbie, and that would be followed by Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.
Gonna miss you bro
Zac said farewell at home as he was up to his eyes in university work, but he will definitely miss his brother. On this occasion he was able to console himself with some chocolate cupcakes with his favourite Nutella buttercream topping.
We went to the airport to see them off, and all was well as they headed to the far east.
You Never Can Tell
It did not take long for them to hit a problem. Ole was ill in Thailand and may never eat Thai food again. They were due to go to an ethical elephant sanctuary, but had to delay it whilst he got over his bout of Delhi Belly, or should it be Thai Trots? However, he had fully recovered by the time they had Singapore Slings at Raffles. It hardly seems like they have been away with video calls and regular photo updates, but the discussion around how many children they wanted was a bit unnerving!
A Sad Ending
There was some sad news just a couple of days after they left. The vet called and told me that Thomas had unfortunately passed away after being hit by a car. Fortunately someone took him to the vet but he was killed almost instantly. I picked him up and we buried him in the garden. Zac Googled whether we should let our other cat, Bo, see the body, and the consensus was that we should. So, Bo jumped in to the grave and sniffed around. She tolerated Thomas rather than them being actual friends, but she certainly seemed to know that something had happened. We broke the news to Ole who thought that we should have kept it from him until he got back. That would be three whole months!
Worse was to come when Gabi was discussing a visit to ours on Boxing Day. She explained that Ole would not be there, and Miles said that at least Zac, Thomas and Bo would be. Gabi then said that Thomas had died, and that induced floods of tears.
Down In The Mouth
Two days after Thomas’s demise it was Sally who was suffering. She had to go into Manchester to have a wisdom tooth extracted. I went to Haydock first to drop off some merchandise for the Injured Jockeys Fund, and with traffic and roadworks this took longer than expected. I helped to set up the stand and made a few sales, then I had to head home to give Sally a ride into town.
Navigating the traffic through Manchester was not easy, but I dropped Sally off then went to get my car valeted for the bargain price of £20. I followed up with a trip to an Asian supermarket where I stocked up on spices, and I returned to the dental hospital after about 90 minutes. Sally was still not ready, eventually appearing about 20 minutes later. It had gone well, but not without incident. The root was a little bulbous, and they had to remove some bone to get at it. She was still under the anaesthetic, and we managed to get home before that fully wore off. Her mouth was so sensitive that she struggled to speak. I know! Terrible!
She was settling down for the evening when her friend called. Her friend’s dad was ill, suspected heart attack, so she rushed across to give her medical opinion and assistance. In the end all was well, but if this was our advent calendar I was beginning to dread opening doors!
The following day I had a check up at the dentists, and I was mightily relieved when I was given the all clear for another 6 months.
Window Dressing
And speaking of advent calendars, Zac appeared to have ignored his. Mid way through the month Sally picked it up and none of the doors had been opened. This was not like him at all. Then, she turned it over. Turns out that Zac had not bothered with the doors. Instead, he had ripped the back off and eaten every single chocolate, even though it was only the 12th!
A pristine Advent Calendar… …until you look round the back
Christmas Kitchen
The kitchen has been predictably busy with all kinds of festive treats. Chilli jam is not particularly festive bit it does make for a nice home made gift. We Facetimed Ole, and suddenly it dawned on me. Ole loves chilli but hates mushrooms. So whenever he’s at home the chilli is mushroom-free. With him being away for 3 months the mushrooms have appeared in abundance. I’d forgotten how much better chilli is with them!
Mushrooms… …in chilli!
Gingerbread is essential, and I decided to add an egg to my usual recipe (which was my mum’s) to make the gingerbread men just a little tubbier.
Don’t think these gingerbread men will be running very fast
Dressed to kill
I could not decide which biscuits to make, so jammie dodgers, Nutella dodgers, chocolate digestives and chocolate chip cookies all made an appearance.
Biscuit anyone?
I made Nixie’s favourite lemon drizzle cake, but the star of the show was the Creole Cake. Sally dispensed with the sparkles to give it a rustic appearance, and it is certainly worth its place in the Creole Cake hall of fame.
Creole Cake 2026
Last year I made Zuccotto Di Panettone, and it was very popular. I decided to try it again. No cooking. Delicious!
Zuccotto Di Panettone soused with sherry and filled with ricotta, chocolate chips, cocoa, almonds and peel, then covered in cocoa
Premature Creation
The chocolate log was probably a little early, and had no chance of making it to Christmas. After a day the logging company (Zac) had demolished two trees and a sign. Another day later the habitat of the deer population was under threat. Predictably, I had to make another one.
An environmental crisis as the loggers moved in and destroyed the natural habitat
Finally, pastel de nata was a huge hit for breakfast, lunch and supper on Christmas Day.
Pastel De Nata
Age Is Just A Number
Like everyone I am getting older, so when it was suggested that our annual lads meet up in Manchester should be an afternoon session I jumped at the chance. The idea was that we would meet around 4pm rather than 7pm, and if I left after around five hours I would be home three hours earlier than the normal midnight.
So, we met at Head Of Steam, a bar I had not been in before, but which had plenty of tvs to watch the World Cup draw. It also had a large variety of lagers and beers, a small food offering, and a very expensive pastime called “social darts”. I made sure to get some food, and the 4.2% Czech lager was great. It started to go south when shots were ordered, but I did manage to get a train one hour earlier than I normally would, but two hours later than I really should. So, rather than get home at midnight it was around 11pm, though that extra hour of sleep kept my hangover at bay.
Freezing Football
Although Ole was on the other side of the world, Hayfield FC continued without him. It was a very cold and wet Saturday afternoon that I headed to Silverlands where they had a Derbyshire Cup quarter-final against Tintwistle. Despite going a goal down very early, Hayfield came through easily in the end, despite the gale force winds and horizontal rain. I think Ole was on a beach when I told him the result.
Just A Game
Abbie’s mum has launched her own range of pottery, and she has been touring the Christmas markets with her wares. We headed to Haddon Hall to support her, and to deliver some Rocky Road, a welcome sweet treat. Sally bought a pot rabbit and some other stuff, then it was time to go. On the way out we had to pay £4 for parking, but Sally is an expert of avoiding that kind of thing. She approached the booth, ready to hand over her cash. Then she slipped in the idea that she had been delivering to the Peako Pots stall, and with this information the staff said that she was a trader and let her off the parking fee. It might only have been £4, but to Sally, it meant that she had won the game.
Haddon Hall with free parking
We also went for a stroll around Tideswell, and Sally managed to bag herself another bargain. The village was fairly deserted, but in front of one particularly imposing building there was a wicker basket sat on some bins. It was empty, and I suggested that perhaps someone leaves eggs in it for the locals to help themselves. Sally was dismissive of this, thinking that someone had thrown it out. Then, a woman appeared from inside the building. “Is this yours?” Sally asked, and the woman said that it was, but she had thrown it out as she did not want it any more. “Help yourself,” she suggested, and Sally did. There was certainly a skip in her step as we completed our brief tour of Tideswell, with the basket taking pride of place on her arm.
Sally won again on Bargain Hunt
Breaking Point
Christmas is always a favourite time, and it seems to intensify the closer it gets to the big day. Sally really excels, dressing up the house and garden, and yes, preparing a faultless Christmas dinner.
Ready for Christmas
This year there was a pair of incidents that restored my faith in the joy of Christmas. We had finished dinner, when my nephew Ben leaned forward on his chair. The chair was a sturdy wooden thing that is only used a couple of times a year, including for Christmas lunch. No one heard a break or a snap, but we all heard the crash and thud. The chair simply disintegrated, and Ben found himself on the floor.
Once we realised that Ben was ok we dissolved into hysterical laughter, particularly as Zac explained that the chair had collapsed before, and he had tried to glue it back together. As the laughter died down there was another crash and thud. This time it was my brother-in-law Peter’s turn to end up on the floor, as an identical chair collapsed in an identical manner. After briefly considering the odds of such an occurrence, we just laughed, and this time the laughter never really died down. Brian Rix could not have scripted it better.
The chairs will not see another Christmas
Winter Sport?
I played golf at Shrigley Hall between Christmas and New Year, as part of a cricket club competition. Lost a lot of balls and generally played terribly, except for one or two sublime shots and some good putting. However, my biggest mistake was the day before. I agreed to play a warm up at Chapel-en-le-Frith. My intention was just to play seven holes, but it got competitive. I ended up playing 18, and that was the first time I had played a full round since August. By the time I got to Shrigley I was stiff as a board. Note to self – ensure at least 48 hours between future rounds.
The first snows of 2026 arrived this morning. Chaos on the roads as someone forgot to mobilise the gritters. Hardly Snowmageddon!
The first snows of winter
Aligning The Stars
There was an extensive debate around Star Of Lady M’s mating plans, but we settled on Starman. He stands at Tally-Ho stud in Ireland, which meant that we could firm up plans to get her over there. Unfortunately we could not get a discount or a foal share as Starman is one of the hottest stallions at the moment. However, with a foal by Starman out of Star Of Lady M, let’s hope that the Stars align.
Transport was arranged for 16th December, and she was scheduled to arrive at Mount Coote on 17th. We headed to David’s to see her off, though as her departure was later in the evening we just handed out some cakes and Rocky Road and fussed our horses. Star Of Lady M was looking very white, but full of herself as usual. She was ready to go, though she did not quite know what was in store for her. Percy’s Daydream was as sweet as ever, wanting plenty of attention with her woolly winter coat.
Star Of Lady M ready to go
Percy’s Daydream seeking attention
Luke messaged me early on 17th and sent a video showing her arriving in Ireland. Two days later she was happily grazing in a field with two other mares. It was a very strange experience for her, but she seems to have taken to her new life very well.
Star Of Lady M at home in Ireland
You can read the previous edition here:-
End Of An Era