Something I wish someone would invent

 After a week away in the Lake District and Blackpool, I'm back and considering this topic from Long and Short Reviews. What would I want someone to invent? 

I'm sure many people would come up with things which are much more useful, to do with household management or saving lives possibly, but the thing I came up with was a little more personal. I want a foolproof cat attractor.

Why?

My two cats Dash and Spot, who I love, are most definitely not lap cats. Spot is reasonably friendly, but Dash is a moody bugger and hardly ever comes over. Catnip? Don't make me laugh. If I sprinkle it on the floor they'll roll in it, but attempt to attract them with a catnip mouse and they'll just look at me like I'm weird.

We also have a lot of cats in the neighbourhood who I would love to get to know, but most of them leg it the minute you try to approach them. So I would love a foolproof cat attractor so I can finally get some kitty attention.

So what do you wish someone would invent?

Books to include in a time capsule and why

 This topic from Long and Short Reviews was an interesting one. Should I choose current books that would showcase recent times, or books from a wider range because they're classics?

In the end, I went with the classics. Well, some of them anyway.

I think it would be vital to preserve Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters for posterity. In the case of Jane Austen, I chose "Emma". I know many people prefer "Pride and Prejudice", but I've always found the wordplay and style of "Emma" to be more up my street.

As for the Brontes, I'm going to take a more unusual route and say I would preserve "Wuthering Heights" and "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall". Okay, I might agree to "Jane Eyre" at a push, but I personally have always preferred Anne and Emily over Charlotte.

And finally? It may be undeserved, but I'd add my own "Photograph" in there. It's my favourite, and probably the only chance I'd get at being remembered past my own lifetime.

So what would you include?

What I do to recharge

 After taking a break last week, since I never cook, I thought I'd put in for this topic from Long and Short Reviews. During lockdown and as we come out it's been important to find things to do to recharge, particularly when trying to switch off after working from home all day. So what do I do?

The first thing I do is read. A lot. Not just fiction, although I usually have at least three books on the go at any one time. I'm fascinated by America, so at the moment I'm reading books on American history, including one about the vice-presidents of America.

I also love to see films and plays. Now that we're allowed back out I've been going to the cinema and theatre - I seriously missed that - but I did a lot of streaming during lockdown too. The Globe had a lot of plays on YouTube, as did the National Theatre.

And now we're allowed out...

Bottomless brunches. What it involves depends on the restaurant, but generally it's a brunch dish plus unlimited prosecco, beer, cocktails or whatever else they specialise in. I've become addicted to them.

So what do you do to recharge?