Cordless lamps

I have a cordless lamp I really like. It's this Taotronics one — and I like that name too, and that it has a little Tao symbol for its brand logo. 

I had pictures of it in a January post , and at the time it looked like this:

I think cordless lamps are brilliant, for two reasons — firstly because I can charge it during the day while the sun is on the solar panels (it has a USB charger rather than taking batteries you change like a torch), and secondly because it isn't tethered to a wall socket. It's dimmable, which I also like. I get up early, when it's still well dark during the winter, but if I start switching on lights it disturbs the household. I have good night vision and don't need a light to go down to the kitchen, but I carry my lantern with me and once I'm there I sit it in a dark corner and put it onto its dimmest setting, so it gives me just enough light to see to fill my mug of tea and so on.

The one thing I don't like about it — as in, intensely dislike — is the white light.

Then one of my grandchildren had a birthday, and I got a spotty yellow and white disposable tablecloth and napkins to make the kitchen look festive for his birthday tea, and afterwards I had an idea. 

I cut a length off the end of the tablecloth and wrapped it round the lamp, stuck it in place with regular sticky tape, then another layer of the paper cloth so the spotty design would have a dappling effect and the yellow intensify. The tablecloth spottiness was white on yellow while the napkins were yellow on white. So I folded one of the napkins in two to go underneath on the shelf where the lamp stands by my bed.

Now it has a warm light I love it absolutely. 

Next to it there (I stood two books alongside, one a regular paperback, the other a larger format paperback to give you an idea of size) is my bottle for if I get thirsty in the night. I love chilled water, and this little bottle is steel and thermal — keeps water cold through the night, especially because I start it off with a few ice cubes in the water, since it's only small and needs what help it can get. I didn't especially want bright pink, and I suspect no one else did much either, hence it was substantially cheaper than all the other more subtle colours — which was why I got that one. I've come to feel a certain affection for it, especially since it does a good job of keeping my night water cold.

Right then, time to stop writing to you, get out of bed and leap in the bath. See you later.