Lads, beware the women round your Christmas table '“ Verity Lush

Women share things that men just don't '“ at least, according to the men I've asked. Apparently, this was why the TV series Sex and the City caused such a jaw-dropping stir among some menfolk.

The poor blokes had no idea of the intimacies that girls and women are happy to share with their buddies.

I'm not sure why this is? But it is certainly true. Our deepest feelings, fears and joys, are all open fodder for dissection and dwelling.

Do women think too much? Probably. Are they more open emotionally and therefore happier to share this stuff? Probably.

But then, in a new age of mental health awareness, perhaps the blokes will also suddenly become unburdened of their own emotional load and baggage?

Will we suddenly see men huddled over flat whites in Costa, weeping openly and moaning about the spouses or partners who are giving them grief? Will the mechanics of the land arrange to meet for face-stuffing cupcakes and extol their deepest sympathies for their friends who've been unable to fix a stubborn engine?

Am I, possibly, writing with my tongue firmly in my cheek? Well, maybe. But only maybe '“ because the kind of stuff that women really share, is simply not appropriate for The News.

Suffice to say, if you're a man and you're reading this, and you're straight or have ever had a female partner, then sit safe (or concerned) in the knowledge that your wife's friends, mother, and sister/s all know details about you you'd rather they didn't.

The tiniest, most humiliating, and most personal details that you have shared '“ whether about your psyche or physicality, have most certainly been shared (and shared again) over a pinot grigio or a slice of coffee and walnut.

Now there's food for thought lads. This Christmas you may find yourself looking differently at your missus's female relatives over the turkey.

 

Pumpkins do not grow in the supermarket '“ so go pick one

If you fancy a treat (or a trick) this weekend, then head to Rogate Pumpkin Patch with your younger kids. It's only a 30-minute drive.

The patch itself is full of a huge variety of squash, all ready for picking and with handy little wheelbarrows supplied. They are also well-priced '“ unlike a pumpkin farm we visited down the road from there last yea. That was exorbitant and amounted to nothing more than a few pumpkins (about three) scattered across an otherwise bare field.

There are also drinks stands and a few fairground attractions, but it's the pumpkins that were the big draw for me. Much prettier than a supermarket aisle and great for the kids to see where they were grown.

 

Sun-drenched 2018 has been fab but not for spud growers

By the time this is in print, apparently we shall be in the depths of a big freeze. That, of course, is according to the Daily Express.

But won't it be strange to see an end to this amazing sun and the warmth so far this season? After such an everlasting summer and the months of heatwave, 2018 must be shaping up to be one of the warmest UK years on record.

A farmer in Wales was recently telling a friend of mine that because of the weather there is a likely to be a potato shortage later in the year. I suppose supermarkets will simply ship them in from other countries as they tend to do anyway, but it's a stark reminder of the stark realities of farming.