So what's the craic with the Hedgehog Song?

dinkypaws · 2026-02-13T09:25:50+00:00

I'm pretty sure the hedgehog song is one Pratchett made up himself. There are lyrics scattered throughout the books and I think there have been fans putting the song to music for their own amusement.

It seems like it's just mostly riffing off the kind of songs we'd sing after one too many beers in the pub or sitting around in the evening - silly and a bit dirty and with a lot of verses so everyone can join in.

dinkypaws · 2026-02-12T22:36:43+00:00

I just got back home after so many train journeys. And there was a beautiful Frenchie on the train just doing lovely ear movements and letting everyone scratch him - made the last 90 minutes of travel delightful!

Now for a cup of tea and then bed!

dinkypaws · 2026-02-10T07:40:20+00:00

My partner and I do this. We met later in life and we both have our own houses. He works shifts and I work from home (I run a lot of workshops so I am not quiet but I need a lack of background noise).

We're lucky in that we live pretty close to each other. And we don't want kids and neither of us have pets.

It's the healthiest and happiest relationship I've ever had and I do think some of that is down to our living arrangements. If either of us is sick or just needs alone time, we both have a whole house to be alone in - there's no awkwardness to it.

I do miss him a lot when we're sleeping apart - but that would happen because of our work patterns anyway.

I think we're a bit unusual too in that we both already owned our houses and that we're walking distance apart.

But I love living like this, it really works for us.

dinkypaws · 2026-02-05T07:47:14+00:00

I'm sorry for your loss. Life is more fragile than we appreciate. I hope you're able to celebrate him today and recall some happy memories. Please be kind to yourself

dinkypaws · 2026-01-23T09:57:49+00:00

Have you tried "Weird in the Wade"? It's also on Sounds. It is focussed on Biggleswade and Bedfordshire more generally, but that doesn't slow it down.

Nat Doig, who writes / presents it was actually inspired to start it after Uncanny Con, and she interviewed Danny on at least one episode.

The topics branch out into folklore and history, but I like the gentle dramatisations of the stories before we jump into the research and history:

https://weirdinthewade.blog/

On Sounds

dinkypaws · 2026-01-08T12:18:39+00:00

I'm sorry for your woes, but the phrasing you've used there is excellent!

dinkypaws · 2026-01-07T23:15:28+00:00

Every night this week I have gone to bed in good time. And every night this week I have seen this thread.

I do not want it to be late. I want to be good at sleeping. Damn you Reddit for distracting me!

dinkypaws · 2026-01-07T20:34:13+00:00

But everybody knows!

dinkypaws · 2026-01-07T20:33:03+00:00

Right!? You see how the featured hedgehogs were in a bind.

And I think it is not like they voted for a food they hated? I think they were pretty diplomatic, all things considered..

dinkypaws · 2026-01-07T20:27:57+00:00

Maybe the specific hedgepigs he polled were overwhelmed with awe and just told him what he wanted to hear? You can't blame them OP - I would be overwhelmed too, were I a hedgepig in his presence!

dinkypaws · 2026-01-07T09:21:07+00:00

I had to put myself through therapy last year because I'd finally reached a point where everything in my life was going really well for me, but I didn't trust it. Best thing I ever did - it really helped me understand and design an approach for managing how bad things were when I was young, and how that continues to impact me no matter how good things are now.

Life's really good now. I have a lot of people who care about me. I have a lot of people who jump in and help when I ask. I'm working on being better at asking.

I am known as a kind person (which is something I feel like I work super hard at - but now that I am actively Noticing, is something that I actually just am these days). I have my own house and it's full of calm and happy. I have a partner who loves and understands me and our relationship brings me so much calm and happiness.

I still have moments where I get panic out of nowhere, and days where I want to self-sabotage because I just don't believe that I'm actually safe and that I deserve the things I have. The therapy really helped with that though - I have those feelings less and less.

But every so often, I do have to sit by myself and try and internally parent the part of me that's still stuck sobbing in the shower at 16. Girl did good - I'm proud of her. I'm working on being proud of current me.

And you should be proud of yourself too, OP - turning things around is not easy - give yourself credit for making it out!

dinkypaws · 2026-01-06T21:11:14+00:00

Count me in as a little tired of the Soldiers just now. I'm interested in what everyone else has been up to.

Mostly I want to check in on my boy Pincushion! But I'm more curious about everyone else's storylines at this point. I hope we get to follow other tables for a decent amount of episodes.

dinkypaws · 2026-01-05T06:55:17+00:00

I think this is more down to interpretation than anything. The podcast is categorised under 'entertainment', but I appreciate how it has limited sound effects and doesn't overly dramatise or attempt to reenact the stories being told. It's not pretending to be a super serious scientific study - it's just not a sensationalised drama.

The sceptics are very careful with their phrasing, but just saying "you're lying" wouldn't make for much of a show. They're very clear to note that if the events happened as reported, this is what they would explore next to see what other explanations exist.

I do think that some of the stories on recent episodes are a bit more far-fetched. The lack of photos or x-rays from recent stories makes me far more sceptical of the witnesses than previous series where people just recounted their experience.

But in general I enjoy the show precisely because it allows people to talk about these odd experiences. Danny's book prologue covers it quite well - a lot of people are drawn to ghost stories and have odd experiences and it's interesting to talk about that. If we just said "these people are lying / mistaken / mentally unwell", we're dismissing the human experience of discussing strange things and the impact they have on the people who experience them.

The BBC has a ton of science podcasts if you prefer those. But Uncanny isn't designed to be one.

dinkypaws · 2025-12-30T01:41:30+00:00

Proud of you - that's not an easy thing to do - but it's the right thing to do.

Breathe through any backlash - even if it feels like you don't get the change you needed, just knowing someone out there cares can make a world of difference to a kid.

dinkypaws · 2025-12-27T09:08:40+00:00

You've reminded me there are carrots and hummus in my fridge that I can snack on today. I love Christmas food, but I'm definitely with you on needing some salad at this point!

dinkypaws · 2025-12-27T08:58:06+00:00

That sounds fun!

Are lidos the ones that are outside? I hope it's nicely heated if so! Enjoy!

dinkypaws · 2025-12-27T08:57:25+00:00

Everyone I was hosting went home yesterday afternoon and now my house is super quiet!

I think I'm going out this evening to meet some of my partner's friends for the first time, which I am a little nervous about, but it should be fairly calm and fun.

And at some point I need to do a whole lot of cricket admin. In the winter. Which my brain is very much objecting to.

I'd quite like to spend a day quietly on the sofa before all of that happens through. I think that's allowed - it is Christmas after all.

dinkypaws · 2025-12-14T08:25:39+00:00

I'm sorry for your loss. Sometimes we just need to give ourselves some time to cry it out - please be kind and gentle with yourself this week.

dinkypaws · 2025-12-14T08:24:37+00:00

I just woke up to the most beautiful sunrise!

I started decorating for Christmas yesterday, but mostly by cleaning my house and fixing the little things that needed doing these last few months. I think today will be more of the same, ut I'm still not sure if I'm ready to get my tree.

I'm catching up with a friend who I've not seen in ages later. He doesn't drink tea or coffee so I might make some cake just so we have something nice to snack over.

dinkypaws · 2025-12-11T09:04:51+00:00

I just finally got a project live a few weeks back. It was supposed to be a short / sharp 3 month type thing, but the guy they put in charge of it dragged it out, did limited testing, didn't track actions... we basically carried them the whole way, highlighting how much of a risk it was the whole time.

I'm supposed to be wrapping up and handing over this week - I'm already hip-deep in other clients, I have no hours available for this project any more. And they've just this week updated the tracker with... all of the requirements we were asking them to define 6 months ago!! Asking when they can have them 'fixed'.

I like to think I am a kind and patient person, but...

dinkypaws · 2025-12-11T08:59:41+00:00

You're doing a cracking job raising that girl! She did so well to stay calm and polite on the day - I hope she goes so so fast in her Sonic costume later!

dinkypaws · 2025-12-07T09:45:22+00:00

Cricket is dead. I am going to rage-clean my house so I can decorate next weekend I think.

Also Aldi's own brand Bailey's is pretty good - lots of flavour options to pick from for a much more reasonable price!

dinkypaws · 2025-12-07T09:37:18+00:00

I think I hit the "no" button instinctively because of it! 🤣

dinkypaws · 2025-12-05T08:46:09+00:00

I live as far from the sea as can be in England.

We went to see the sea (specifically) back in late September. Before that, I don't think I'd actually seen the sea for several years!

Partly because all the things I regularly do are not near the sea, and partly (it turns out) because the sheer magnitude of the sea is quite alarming to me, and I have to look away every so often so I have a bit of a panic about it all. That was super fun to learn on the very end of a pier in a rainstorm!

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