FutureDiary : 08 January 2030 - Guns, Trump and PolliDrones

We're back home.

Valentina is resting and doesn't seem to have suffered any lasting consequences from the bang on the head.

It shook us up. Big time.

You hear about these sorts of muggings and armed robberies all the time in the cities.

That is why we try to stay out of them, and why we worry about Izzy living where she does in Cardiff. It's not the best part of the city.

But we really didn't expect this sort of thing in the Welsh countryside.

We are going to be more wary, more careful of where and when we go now.

Those new StabSkins should be arriving in a few days. I'm not sure we are going to convince the girls to wear them though.

I wonder if I should 'tool up' a bit...

I always carry a length of copper pipe under the seat in the car. Maybe I need something with a bit more punch to it.

Danny and Maggie came round to see how Valentina was doing as soon as we arrived back from the hospital.

Danny offered to help me get a shotgun licence. If I apply now before my 70th birthday it should be pretty straightforward.

I've been clay pigeon shooting with Danny a couple of times. He keeps telling me I should join the local club and get into it. Maybe I will now.

Valentina's never been keen on me getting a gun. But I think Maggie is talking her round to the idea. Times are changing.

What would we do if people like that came to our house...

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Danny brought a package round for us that he'd picked up while we were in Cardiff.

It was from China would you believe.

Anne had sent it as our Christmas present but it got delayed.

Guess what it was.... it's a set of PolliDrones.

I'd read about these being developed but I didn't realise you could actually get them now.

They are little tiny drones that you can release into your polytunnel or greenhouse and they will fly around pollinating your fruit and veg just like bees do. Or used to do. We don't see many of them these days.

It's going to be fun trying these out. And they'll be useful too to improve our yields.

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Nia called Danny and Maggie last night.

Danny said she was worried him getting made redundant and whether they should change their wedding plans. He told her about selling some of her granddad's land to us.

Nia was very close to Noel so I'm not quite sure how she feels about it.

Danny had asked Nia about Trump and Daryl joined the call at that point. Apparently his sources are telling him that there is more to the story than the public are being told.

The official announcement said that President Trump had suffered a mild heart issue - arrhythmia I think it was.

Doctors have ordered him to take complete rest for a couple of weeks before resuming his duties as President.

Daryl reckons there's more than that, but he wouldn't say anymore.

He just said to keep watching Amazon News.

I guess Sandford will be in the hot seat for a little while longer.

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Hold on, just getting a call from Anne, back shortly....

Back now.

That was great to hear from Anne. She called to see how her mum was doing.

She'd only just got the message as she'd been travelling the past 24 hours and there was a problem with her net connection.

Valentina was sleeping, and Anne didn't want to wake her, so she will try to call earlier tomorrow.

She has been on the train to Quanzhou.

The visit to Taiwan to see her friend didn't happen in the end.

All the flights were cancelled as there had been a major problem with the air traffic control network across Taiwan.

It was down for nearly two days and then it was too late to rearrange the trip, so Anne decided to head straight to Quanzhou.

She is going to catch up with some of the people she knows at the university before she starts work on the new job.

I thanked her for the PolliDrones. Apparently they are not on general sale yet but she got to know the Marketing Director of the company in China that invented them while on the trade mission. He sent them as a special favour for her when she had mentioned I was a keen gardener. He's interested to know how they go.

I'm looking forward to having a play with them. They've got little mini cameras in them too.

But first I need to sleep and recharge my batteries. It's been one heck of a day.

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If you have missed the previous diary entries, you can catch up...

• FutureDiary : 01 January 2030 - It's 2030 and we are still here...

• FutureDiary : 02 January 2030 - That was quick, that was crap and we sprung a leak

• FutureDiary : 03 January 2030 - Excellent news from Anne in China

• FutureDiary : 04 January 2030 - US President in hospital, Vice President on standby

• FutureDiary : 05 January 2030 - Acting President sworn in, NATO's Over, and the Solar Dragon comes to life

• FutureDiary : 06 January 2030 - A panic in Cardiff

• FutureDiary : 07 January 2030 - Valentina robbed at knifepoint

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[ graphics by @pennsif]