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Life outside Ambridge
Life outside Ambridge
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Life in Ambridge
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ReplyDeleteMrsP Ambridge - November 18, 2020 at 9:36 PM
One year ago all but three weeks I had many good wishes on this blog for my broken finger as a consequence of the behaviour of my dog Lady.
Some days later, I wrote of the unfortunate behaviour of the woman I hired to look after Lady in her demands for reparation in the form of £400 plus.
On Monday afternoon this week she had ' her day in court'.
Due to the current restrictions the judgment was held by telephone conference which lasted for one hour and Forty five minutes.
We had a lady judge who explained to us what would happen, why and how. She questioned the other party before asking me the relevant points she needed to discuss.
My family and close friends knew what was happening on Monday and all were thinking of me.
I was confident that I could and would account for myself with honesty and dignity, and without being nervous.
I had less faith in the other party doing so.
I had been advised by a legal friend that under no circumstances whatsoever was I to interrupt the judge. It was not necessary to tell me this, as my daughter said afterwards
' you have respect for authority mum'.
I did not interrupt.
The other party interrupted her Ladyship six or seven times and interrupted me also.
In her summing up she was interrupted yet again by the other party.
The claim was dismissed.
This person, unable and unwilling to accept a curved ball reaching her has not only lost the £400 plus that she demanded but has also lost a year of her life ( there have been many court papers and submissions during that year including her refusal to accept mediation, where I would have been willing to make some compromise despite knowing that she was at fault ) her expenses, and the court fees.
And a massive loss of face !
Lady R - November 18, 2020 at 10:16 PM
Congratulations 👏🏻 Mrs P and very well done any other outcome would have been a travesty. The other party deserved the result that was administered.
So pleased for you - however I cannot believe that the incident happened that long ago.
Archerphile - November 18, 2020 at 10:31 PM
Oh well done Mrs P!
It sounds as if you handled the whole situation perfectly and the other party did herself no favours at all.
I find it hard to believe she was so determined to go ahead with the case. She must be a very bitter and vengeful woman. And somewhat stupid!
I am so glad you came out on top. Congratulations.
Janice - November 18, 2020 at 11:40 PM
Well done Mrs P. I am sad that you had that hanging over you for a year, but really nice that it has been all done and dusted before Christmas.
Mistral - November 19, 2020 at 12:44 AM
Congratulations Mrs. P. You can relax now. Do you have any trouble with your mended finger?
Well done you, MrsP! I remember you telling us about that hideous sounding woman - it must have been hard not to punch the air & shout "YES" when the Judge announced the verdict. As Janice says, it must have been hard to live with this for over a year but you must feel great to have finally been vindicated.
ReplyDeleteMrsP, I'm glad it's over. You patiently waited for the outcome before telling about the progress.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to add my Well Done thoughts Mrs. P!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for congratulations, but they are not really deserved.
ReplyDeleteIt was around for a year but not really much more than an irritant. Although filling in forms and getting them copied and posted, in other words ' admin' was very stressful because i am so hopeless at admin.
I maintained a pragmatic view throughout that period.
If I needed to pay up if the ruling was against me I would offer a tenner a month and she would have to wait three or four years to receive her total.
My financial situation would be suffice for this to be the case.
However I was confident, because of advice from others who know more than I know, that she didn't stand a chance of winning her case.
She offered me a service by giving me her personal details when we first met and telling me what she charged. She received payment from me for her service.
She claimed that our arrangement was casual, but in law it was deemed to be a commercial arrangement.
Furthermore she had not and did not provide any proof that ' the dog had done it '.
And no I was not punching the air Gary. Just calm and accepting.
As I write that sentence I have a vision of my mother who I never saw gleeful about anything. Yet another example of how like her I am.
Nevertheless thank you all again.
I take thanks for my controlled attitude throughout the year and for my dignity in dealing with this matter.
Mistral-
ReplyDeletethanks for asking about my finger which in itself is not too bad. It is a bit stiff and hurts a bit now and again, but my hands are a considerable problem on a daily basis. I have severe arthritis in several fingers, though not the form that is disfiguring.
I've had a lot of help over the years from hand therapists and my current one, Maria, is brilliant and between us we have made several protective aids which I wear as necessary.
But I don't deserve Maria's help because I am not good at exercising my hands as I should, and I am ashamed of that.
Mrs. P - the eventual outcome of the situation would have been predictable to anyone except your excitable and combative 'other party'. I'm sorry that you had to live with this 'irritant' for such a long time, and congratulate you on your accurate perception of how events should be handled.
ReplyDeleteGary ........ I should have thanked you for the very clever cartoon you have found.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Most appropriate.
And thank you too Sarnia.
It was her combative stance that first alerted me to danger on the evening of the second occasion when she collected the dog.
She didn't want to hear about how to treat her, she was far more interested in telling me wild tales about how she was in legal dispute about a property jointly owned with her son, and how her daughter's house was filled with boxes of dubious content, as well as telling me that both son and daughter were breaking into her house and stealing things.
My thoughts were, this woman leans on the law to sort out her problems.
This concerned me deeply and I did not want her to take my dog, but it was gone 8.30 and I still needed to eat and prepare for being in hospital at 7.30 the following morning.
It was not an easy decision.
So when on returning Lady, she demanded money or " she would take me to the small claims court " I was not altogether surprised to hear it.
The judge asked her, before speaking to me, if she had said this at the beginning of her demands and she replied that no, it was said as a last resort.
I said nothing upon hearing this, but I'm sure my gasp was audible.
When asked for my version I was very firm in my response that Mrs W had resorted to this possibility at the very beginning and had repeated it a number of times.
All this was in my letter to the other party which the judge had in front of her.
Sorry.... I'm going on rather a lot........ so perhaps there is an element of relief for me.
I will shut up !
I’m glad it turned out well for you Mrs P. There are some awful people around and happy on this occasion awfulness did not win!
ReplyDeleteI felt a bit sad today. My glasses broke recently and had to take them into Ryde to possibly get a new arm. Since March I haven’t ventured into Ryde or Newport doing my shopping online. Today I had to wait at the door of the opticians until someone came out to deal with me. People were in masks, the town was very quiet and I thought back to the days when we could walk freely into and out of shops. I passed French Franks once a busy cafe which is now only open for takeaways with all the tables and chairs removed. A shop where they sold vintage clothing etc was firmly closed with heavy furniture pinned against the inside of the shop front. Edinburgh Woollen Mill was emptied out. It is all so surreal. Please, God, that a solution is found and we can go back to normal. We took it all so much for granted!
Situation summed up in one Ev 😕
DeleteGlad you managed to be seen at the Opticians but a very different experience of course.
Well Done Mrs P. Justice was done in the correct way.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of my car incident in 2017, with a little knock with no damage, then a personal injury claim for him + his ficticious passengers, 3 months later.
It went to court, a further 12 months on, but I didn't appear, as my photos + signed court statement were enough.
He was found guilty of fraud, fined and had to pay all costs.
However, as I was deemed at fault, in spite that all costs were redeemed and I didn't make a claim, I am still paying a much higher motor insurance premium!
The reason, which as been told to me, is that I am now an "at risk" driver, even though it was a set-up!
DeleteEv. That is so true and upsetting. At least in L2, you were able to get them fixed.
ReplyDeleteIn L1 my presciption reading glasses, did the same, but had to wait until it ended, to get them repaired. Luckily I had an "off the peg" pair, which were nearly as good and were close enough, not to cause problems.
Am worried today, as my "area" along with the neighbouring one, are in the top 20 places in the whole of Cheshire, to have the highest rate of +ve tests, last week. Wish I knew why!
ReplyDeleteStill, I will continue to take every precaution and stay positive. 😁
Mrs P....glad that’s all resolved.
ReplyDeleteBeen a significant day for daphne today......her first walk. Met a friend up the track behind us thinking it would be quiet for her first walk. Turned into a bloody disaster. Must have rained overnight. I was up to the ankles in mud. The low sun was dazzling me on my ok eye side so I was fair blinded the whole time. (once again back to patch wearing on bad eye)?
Then it turns out that they are wood harvesting right up the top of the track.....so a huge wood wagon came down and frightened her to death, hence why the track was so churned up and muddy. A pheasant flew out and surprised us and she reckoned nowt to a field of cows.
This was all in the 15 mins of the walk.
Probably traumatised her for life. Won’t be going up that track for a long time.
Going to walk her down Main Street of village in the dark later to get her used to cars going close by. Hope that goes better.
She is now 13 weeks old and weighs 2 stone!!!
Good afternoon, Bravo Smith. What is the purpose of the links you attach?
ReplyDeleteAnother one I deleted Sarnia!
DeleteJust a personal word of praise for the NHS.
ReplyDeleteAs I told you all, Mr A visited the GP with ear pain on Tuesday and whilst there the Dr. noticed some irregularities on his scalp, saying he would be referred to the hospital to get them checked.
Well, the hospital actually phoned us this morning (only 2 days after seeing the GP) offering an appointment on 1st December.
I think that is fast work and belies some reports that GP surgeries aren’t working, or it’s difficult to get appointments. Or perhaps we are just very lucky with our Surgery and the local hospital.
(Unfortunately he still can’t hear a thing, at least that is what he says, although the ear pain is much less )
It will resolve, but still early days. At least Mr A is more comfortable with the pain level.
DeleteWish you both well.
That is great NHS care. At least it will sorted.
DeleteI think you have been very lucky with your surgery Archerfile. Our lovely neighbours with the chickens have had an awful time. Some time back he noticed a sore caused by new shoes that didn't heal. He was refused an appointment at his surgery ( not my surgery thankfully) but was told to send in a photo which he did and antibiotic cream was prescribed. It still didn't heal and was getting worse but he was still refused an appointment at his surgery and was advised to send in another photo. To cut a long story short by the time he eventually went to A and E it was too late. They removed one toe, then another, and finally took off the leg below the knee. Apparently he is severely diabetic but had no idea he was. He was a month in Truro hospital where they did not allow visitors because of the virus. Then he was sent to a cottage hospital a bit closer to home, and myself and my daughter were doing our best to give practical help,and to take his wife, who can't drive, for visits. He was in a downstairs room and the hospital had put chairs outside beside the windows which open a crack, so his wife could talk to him. Twice she got absolutely soaked by the pouring rain. He is home now with aids and with a wheelchair, and by February will probably be fitted with a prosthetic leg.
DeleteIt has been a huge shock for them. At the age of 49 they are having to totally rethink their lives. He won't be able to return to the long distance driving he did taking a refrigerated van all over Britain and Europe delivering food made in Cornwall.
He is going to try to get an adapted mobility car because in the rural area we live in there are no buses and it is nigh impossible to live here without being able to drive.
His wife is looking so pale and drawn, and was so stressed she stopped eating, and I am worried about her. I am helping get prescriptions and things but it is difficult when you can't make things better. They are more like family really than neighbours. Our houses are so close together, on different sides of a walled garden.
He came out in the wheelchair today and we made him laugh by telling him we were getting him a parrot and a pirate hat for Christmas.
Janice, it just goes to show how life can change for people so quickly doesn't it? Poor couple, but they are lucky in the respect that they have great neighbours and friends like you!
DeleteOh Janice how absolutely awful for your neighbours but thank goodness they have you and your daughter (caring and also practical friends).
DeleteArcherphile and I are both in Hampshire served by Basingstoke Hospital and which we have always found great even in the current situation and also seem blessed with efficient surgeries. I feel so much for others that are not able to access similar service 😕
Gary 3:21PM , Bravo Smith still seems to be lurking.
ReplyDeleteI saw this. Not sure what it was about, now I know...
DeleteThanks Cheesy, thought I'd got them all!
DeleteGG The Simpsons - is this a hint???
ReplyDeleteI wish Miriam! But, no...
DeleteI am not sure who Bravo Smith is.
ReplyDeleteI see there is a post from him/her, as a reply to Lady P at 3.21pm. with a link. Is it genuine, or a "scam" and how can GG be alerted to this, to make a decision?
It would be lovely to hear from, and embrace new bloggers, which seem genuine, but not sure this is one.
DeleteMiriam, anyone who posts a link on this blog is after your money. Plain and simple as that!
DeleteWho is Lady P do I have competition? 🙃
DeleteJanice, what a sad story of your neighbour and he didn't know of the underlying condition. Sometimes we are failed by doctors by not being persistent enough. I remember you telling us about your neighbour and his food deliveries.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds of Archerphile who drove MrA at speed to the A&E when he injured his foot, knowing he was in danger, being a diabetic.
I am horrified by the tail of your neighbour Janice.
ReplyDeleteBut at the same time very concerned that the man did not realise that he had diabetes when there is so much information available.
I do realise of course that many people, men especially will refuse to go to a doctor even when they know that something must be wrong.
My son in law is amongst that number.
I was raised to understand that I was responsible for my body, my health, and ensuring that it was healthy.
I am daily indebted to my father for drilling this home.
Perhaps this man will use his very distressing experience to speak up to other men and raise the issue of diabetes and health in general.
Janice, the story about your poor neighbour is horrendous. It is always impressed on diabetic patients that even the slighted injury to a foot must be dealt with immediately. I was aghast to read recently how many amputations are carried out on diabetics each year.
ReplyDeleteIt is also very concerning that he didn’t realise he was diabetic, that his surgery had’t picked up on it at some stage or that the symptoms hadn’t caused him to seek help before.
I think we are very lucky here in Hampshire to have excellent diabetic services. Mr A has routine checks, blood tests, retinal photography and chiropody twice a year at our surgery and once a year with the hospital specialist. It should be like that all over the country but obviously isn’t. I would feel inclined to make a complaint of medical negligence if I were your neighbour.
I wish them well.
The strange thing is Archerfile that he didn't seem to have symptoms. He did often feel very tired but put that down to the long journeys he was driving. He was in hospital a couple of years ago with pneumonia and his wife can't understand why it wasn't picked up then, although they have been told it may have developed more recently. She is angry with his doctor who refused to see him. She said they trusted her because she is a doctor, whereas as Basia mentioned above perhaps we have to be persistent; and trust our own judgement more.
DeleteChrome has changed its icon, the three-coloured circle is now on a square white background.
ReplyDeleteI knew that something was not quite right and then checked about the update.
Well I did not notice this Basia so well done ⭐️
DeleteArcherphile- as far as I understand Diabetic services were rolled out throughout the nation long ago. And of course it is normal too for annual health checks to be carried out. But as I had suggested in my post, some, men in particular, will not go to a doctor if they perceive that all is well. They will often refuse even when they are unwell.
ReplyDeleteMy son in law is one such a man and I live with the constant belief that my daughter will become a young widow.
We are all free in this country to make our own choices about how we live our lives, and I am very very sorry for Janice's neighbours and understand the wife's distress at the disastrous change in their lives.
Mrs P 19th 7.41 I think your dad was a very wise man. I have always been rather in awe of doctors, and the idea that we (rather than the doctor) are ultimately responsible for the health of our own bodies is helpful.
DeleteOur neighbour is only 49, and I think at that age you just get offered a check up once every 5 years. He was in hospital 2 years ago, and it wasn't picked up then so it may have developed more recently. It is puzzling. His parents have never been diabetic , but apparently one of his grandmothers was. Their only child and his elderly parents live the other side of the country so can't really help other than with moral support on the phone. It is ironic, a nurse is now calling in every day to dress the wound which is weeping, whereas before it happened no one would see him. This virus has a lot to answer for.
He is the one who listens/ed to the Archers while driving, and when Grey Gables was on fire he stopped driving to text his wife to come over and make sure I was listening!
DeleteWhat a sad story from Janice about her neighbour.
ReplyDeleteMy surgery is really good, however.... My yearly prescription for my monthly meds, ran out the first week in L2. I ordered on-line as usual, expecting an e-mail or 'phone call, to say I need my yearly check-up and to book an appointment. This I would have been happy to go to.
After picking up the meds. a few days ago, it was found these have been approved for
another 9 months.
I can only assume, that this is due to the logistics, of arranging the mass Covid vaccination programme, which is still 🤞
I am not sure how I feel about this.
I will know if things are not as they should be for me, but others might not spot symptomatic problems....
To change the subject of my last post.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awful, dreary, rainy and cold day, today, so much so I boosted the CH on, an hour ago.
I am still watching Doctors, but record it to watch, usually whilst eating breakfast, so I saw yesterday's this morning. I was horrified to see the dress Valerie was wearing. I have the identical, never worn, in my wardrobe. The wedding it was bought for, has been postponed, with no new date planned for 2021. Will I wear it now, doubtful and it was quite pricey.
I am really enjoying the nightly ITV programme, from a castle in N.Wales. I have driven past this castle, many a time.
Tea tonight, fish + chips, from the freezer, but the decision is Toms or Baked Beans?
We are having a sweet and sour chicken and a spinach and ricotta ready meal that were dying in Lidl this week. I don’t usually buy ready meals but as they were 70p each it would have been rude not to!! Lol.
DeleteI'm having gin for dinner!
DeleteGG Have you tried the Tanquery
DeleteI have Miriam, but I much prefer gin. At the moment it's Martin Miller's mixed with a little Martini Extra Dry...
Deletethe Tanquery, Jaipur Lime one - it is lovely. I bought it once on sale, (£10), never to be seen again 😢
DeleteMiriam re the castle, my daughter was at Bangor at the same time as Mark Baker. They both belonged to the "Speculative Analysis" society ha ha! Basically it was a ghost hunting club. They went round to different creepy places at night with an EMF reader, as you do when a student! and Gwrych castle was one of the castles they went to because the Mark was already involved and interested in it. Sylvan said it was incredibly atmospheric with furniture still there mouldering away and long corridors. Now you have mentioned the programme we are going to have a look at it.
DeleteWe have been watching the Bake Off, and I expect you have too. I wonder who will win next week. I wish it lasted twice as long.
PTBY What a bargain and sounds so tasty.
ReplyDeleteI never buy ready meals, but then I never look, so perhaps I will now.
Last week, I bought a small smoked gammon joint, for £4. This has made me 8 meals, of 2 differing types, utilising veg etc. already in situ. but how many gammon meals; do I want! Still these are cost effective.
I’ve got a pork shoulder joint for £2 this week. I shall put it in slow cooker on Sunday.
DeleteI’m a big believer in bargains.
Mr PtbY got a Lidl veg box for £1.50 , had heard about em but never seen. Had 5 green peppers, 2 red peppers, a bag of British rainbow carrots, 8 apples, 4 bananas and about 6 easy peelers. Brilliant.
I have a pork shoulder joint also, but mine was costly £3!
DeleteMay I add an extra post.
ReplyDeleteAll here, are very intelligent, have had, or a still having, fulfilling careers. Many of us are very specialised, in our own fields of expertise - be it English, Maths, History, Medical matters, Science etc.
It is lovely to read all thoughts + ideas, posted as to that persons expertise.
I admit I don't understand some, but then many won't understand my frequeng posts.
Great to read and try to understand, another aspect of all posts.
That's All, for tonight.
PS Toms. won, with rapeseed oil, basil + chilli.
Miriam, I've often wondered about the size of your freezer. Mine can just about cope with enough meat portions for a week, reserve frozen veg, a tub of ice-cream and a couple of gluten-free desserts for my daughter-in-law's visits. Until I turfed out the tubs containing Mr S's 2018 broad bean crop there wasn't even room for the results of my once-a week shopping expedition!
ReplyDeleteWe had to get a small chest freezer as during lockdown our two under counter size freezers were overflowing! We have got used to buying things like gf bread in bulk, large bags of chips etc and it is nice to have extra storage. It is in the outside store which was built to accommodate Mike’s mobility scooter. I held onto it but finally sold it to a man in Ventnor who hires them out to tourists. It was sad to see it go but we badly needed the space and it was doing no good sitting there. In our early days with a family of five I had a huge chest freezer bought out of my gratuity on leaving the WRNS. It was so fashionable then to have shop sized ones! It was good to cook in bulk and have ready meals on busy days of which there were many! Life is quite busy now and I wonder how I managed back then. Of course being 40 odd years younger helped!!😉🤔😊
ReplyDeleteThis is my latest effort, an autumn scene not in the wonderful mould of the artist Gary topped a previous blog with but I enjoyed doing it which is the main thing!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous Ev 🍁 ⭐️🍁 ⭐️
DeleteMiriam, added a comment under your 4.09.
ReplyDeleteEv that is a lovely autumn picture. I wish I could make it come up much bigger. Is that a dog beside the two walkers?
Yes, but he isn’t too clear!🐶
DeleteLovely, Ev.
ReplyDeleteLovely painting Ev! I especially like the shadows, very skilfully done. I feel I could walk into that scene!
ReplyDeleteI am currently trying to come up with something for Christmas
It will have to be a botanical-plant-type study; so new searching for something seasonal to paint and have ready for 1st December.
Unfortunately I can only see a tiny picture of your painting Ev, but it looks very good.
ReplyDeleteJanice.
ReplyDeleteI have never liked the, now Welsh Castle programme. It was out of curiosity about the place, that I started watching. Now I am hooked, as all the participants are so funny together and interact well.
I believe that a lot of the TV crew workers, have "experienced" strange things at night! 👻
Do I believe it, not sure.
Miriam, why so shy of mentioning the programme by name,
Delete‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out if Here’?
We used to watch some of the earliest editions, when it was a new and very unusual idea and we knew almost all the the participants.
More recently we tired of the format, especially the shrieking young females and the fact that we hardly knew any of the ‘Celebrities’ taking part.
Perhaps the new location will refresh the programme and give it the fillip it needed to attract more viewers.
The line-up and location is great and so very different this year. To be honest, the revamp seems to be working well
DeleteMind you I don't envy them in that castle, as it so cold, windy + rainy, in this part of the world. The castle is only 20mins drive away from me.
Sarnia asked about my freezer.
ReplyDeleteIt is an upright one, in the cupboard under stairs, so not that roomy! Remember I live on my own, so all in it, is just for me.
The top cabinet takes 18 containers (all the same size) of individual portions, for meals, eg casseroles, chilli, mince, roast meat in gravy etc which are all cooked by self.
What I do with meat, fish etc. is to pre-pack into bags, which then take up a lot less room.
As I love jigsaws, I fit all around each other!
I also keep a list of what is stored, so plan meals, shopping etc. Also, I hardly have any frozen veg, except chips + peas, as I always use fresh veg.
It works for me, but then I only have to feed myself and perhaps am are a bit too organised. 😣😮
PS I always have a pack of sliced peppers (red, green + yellow) in freezer. This is invaluable, to be added into meals when cooking and can be used from frozen.
DeleteMy freezer?
DeleteImagine the opposite of Miriam's!
All containers different sizes, probably unlabelled. Squashed in any old how.
I should add that OMiaS is the cook, not me.
I do try to rationalise the plastic containers cupboard from time to time but the forces off entrophy (aka the other shoedwellers) always manage to win.
Miriam, I'd invite you to visit after lockdown but I fear our freezer 'system' is past redemption!
Couldn't manage without our tall upright freezer even though it's only for two of us.
ReplyDeleteMe neither Cheshire! We have a tallish fridge in the kitchen for all the daily food, dairy stuff, milk etc. Too tall to fit under a worktop but not as tall as a fridge-freezer. It is about 25 years old and I am terrified of it breaking down as that size isn’t made any more. Then out in the Laundry Room we also have a tall freezer with 7 pull-out drawers for all the frozen stuff. Mostly meat, fish, bread, our own fruit, frozen and as Miriam says, peas and chips. I know that seems a lot for 2 people but living where we do,
ReplyDeleteI like to keep a freezer full of food as it’s a long way to shops and impossible to shop daily as my Mum used t to do.
We've just ordered a new freezer as ours is pretty ancient and showing signs of wear and tear.
DeleteAh, mine is a fridge-freezer with only three pull-out drawers. I also live alone, but bearing in mind that I can only shop once a week it's a tight fit!
ReplyDeleteThat's the point Archerphile, I've never owned a freezer but I live a ten minutes' walk from the shops and do some shopping on most days. I only freeze some bread for the weekend, but it's not the same. My sister has stopped using hers. Always passionate about food, on some days she cooks for the grand/children. These days it's a take away system and they return the containers. She goes shopping on her bike several times a week. Apparently the food retains the memory of being frozen...
ReplyDeleteOne of my grandmothers didn't have a fridge until I was about ten and was an accomplished cook.
I remember summer holidays when butter in a plastic container used to float on top of a bucket of water drawn from a well in the yard.
Every day is a school day! The other day my son had pruned his lemon tree and I went to pluck a lovely shiny green leaf to crush between my fingers to breathe in its wonderful lemon scent and discovered - the hard way! - that lemon trees have huge thorns: one and a half inches long!!
ReplyDeleteAnother fruit tree I find surprising is the persimmon tree. At this time of year all its leaves have fallen but the bright orange fruit is still on the bare branches. It looks very striking.
Hilary, have you ever picked and eaten a persimmon? I’d love to know what they are like. Are the the rather ugly fruit that looks like a cat’s bum (forgive me!) or am I thinking of something else?
DeleteThey are orange and here are called kaki, they look nice but I didn't like the taste and texture.
DeleteArcherphile, I’m afraid I don’t have a cat to hand to see if your comparison is right! I have eaten “cachi” as they are called in Italy. The skin is very smooth and thin and they must be eaten only when perfectly ripe and soft. The flesh is a kind of sweet orange jelly, most easily eaten with a spoon. They usually contain a couple of shiny dark seeds which when split in half reveal either a spoon, fork or knife shape which according to a country legend predicts what kind of winter it will be.
DeleteThank you Hilary, they sound lovely, I think I may have thinking of the appearance of the quince fruit which is very ugly and has a structure in the centre which looks a bit like a pair of pursed lips ( or the previously mentioned cat’s rear end!)
DeleteI think they look like a beef tomato but have only seen them in the supermarket!🍅 Must be lovely to pick them off a tree!
ReplyDeleteGood description Eve, I prefer to look at them rather than eat.
DeleteI have a quince fruit on my window sill, which is yellow, smells nice but is very hard to touch, I was advised to boil it to soften.
OWiaS - (22nd 2.33pm) I seem to recall a mention of sermon-writing some time ago. Doesn't this mean that your chef's true title is actually ORiaS ? Or perhaps OPiaS?
ReplyDeleteOViaS : )
DeleteAh, Anglican!
DeleteWe have just had an enormous great generator delivered by Southern Electric which has to sit at the end of our drive for a week. It’s about a big as a holiday caravan! The lorry bringing it was so huge it has snapped branches off our trees backing in, has left deep gouge marks all through the gravel and broken the kerb stones.
ReplyDeleteApparently they are working on the electric transmission line to our road so have to turn the power off for all the properties along here. It seems that our drive is the only place they can site this generator close enough to connect it to a pole.
It’s sitting there, making a noise like an aeroplane taking off (24hrs a day) and will stop me getting my car out of the garage!
I’m not happy but suppose this is the price we have to pay for getting more reliable electricity to the cottage without frequent power cuts ...or ‘outages’ as they now seem to be called!
Archerphile, as you say, an improvement to your every day life and an advantage point if you decide to move on.
DeleteArcherphile is Mr A car accessible? You need to be mobile living where you do. What a year you are having. How about ear plugs for night time at least...
ReplyDeleteLast week I was invited by the NHS (via letter) to take part in a survey to do action a home kit COVID-19 test, completed and collected Friday - negative result texted to me this morning 🤗 Also a pre and post online survey (not compulsory) but why not little enough to be able to do for the cause.
Lady R, you've had more success than us!
DeleteWe signed up for the Office of National Statistics Covid testing months ago.
They *eventually* rang back and booked to come on Saturday 7th. The confirmation phonecall due the on the Friday never happened, so were weren't completely surprised when they didn't turn up. The person at the call centre had no more information than we did.
Last Thursday I got a call saying they could come on the Friday - I repeated what we'd said before: that it needed to be after school hours or on a Saturday. The caller said he'd relay that information. We await the next phonecall - we'll probably get offered 5am on a Tuesday!
Still, at least we know we've got a 'world beating' system in place ...
(And at least the vaccines are being created by scientists and experts rather than quangos and financing firms.)
Owias - my test was delivered by post very quickly once I had registered my interest online, the next step was to book a date (also on line) to arrange for a courier to collect the test which one completes on the morning of collection.
DeleteThe online bits can be done by phone for those not online or do not want to use it in this way. Same for the surveys (I think)
The trial we're supposed to be doing involves someone coming to the house in full PPE and includes a blood test - 'though you still have to do the Covid swab yourself. Judging by how long we've waited sofar, I expect to be reading about Covid in my grandchildren's school history books by the time they actually turn up to test us.
DeleteHave just popped into both pages. I have nothing to add, nor say, except I loved the Sunday omnibus, and it was thick frost this morning.
ReplyDeleteThat's me until tomorrow.
Stay Safe + Take Care all 🤗
Tomorrow is my normal weekly shopping day. It is a small one, as only need fresh veg. bread, crisps, milk and a couple of bottles of wine. It will be nice to see + talk to, living people again. L2 is so much harder.
DeleteIt is great to hear the news about the vaccines. It is still early days though. Many tests, as to safety, efficacy and production, along with the massive logistics of providing a mass vaccination programme, still have to be sorted. It will take time, as much as another 6 months, as the worst scenario.
ReplyDeleteBut what do I know, not a lot.
Hopefully 💉 completed by the end of May Miriam 🤔
DeleteWith 7 days a week working between Dr’s, nurses, pharmacist’s, St John’s Ambulance, firefighters, and the Army.🤞🏼
Spiceycushion- I fear you are a resident of Swale District North Kent where today it was announced that the highest number of C infections has been found.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you will be careful but I'm also sure all of us on here wish for you to stay safe.
Miriam- did you hear the talking project yesterday ?
A retired female pharmacist and a young man discussing the differences in their experiences. I'm sure you would be interested.
The second conversation was between a man in his seventies who has recently developed Alopecia and a younger woman who has had the condition since the age of two. I was interested !
I'm still in Cornwall though I'm definitely beyond my welcome.
I have received very mixed messages from my daughter and S in L.
He jokes all the time about me leaving, staying beyond my welcome, or sending me home, then half a minute later says " of course you can stay ".
My daughter says " well perhaps go homeThursday or Friday " then changes it a day or so later when I try to confirm, to " Saturday or Sunday " finally it was decided that I would leave today, Monday, but when she realised that I hadn't got to sleep until six thirty this morning she insisted that I stayed another day because " they would worry about me driving having had such little sleep.
There are also inconsistencies in how independent I need to be or should be.
I bring my own food and know that I will be invited to eat with them on occasion, but then my S in L tells me to come over to eat at eight o'clock almost every day.
Talk about insecurity !
I'm thinking of declining the invitation for this evening, having a scratch supper by myself and taking a sleeping tablet and bed at eight o'clock so that I wake relatively early tomorrow.
🤞🏼for a good nights sleep Mrs P and a safe 🚘 journey home take it steady!
DeleteSpicy yes indeed ensure you take extra special care right now 🥰
Mrs P Thank you for thinking of me. Luckily (?) we are about four miles from the border of Swale and Medway, and although Medway is rising it's not as bad as Swale. The trouble is the Swale (which covers the Isle of Sheppey) has three prisons there and apparently they have had outbreaks in them all. Hopefully the numbers might go down once everyone in prison has had it! Although the southern BBC news reporter was complaining that he was in Sittingbourne and few people were wearing masks while walking around.
ReplyDeleteYoungest son and future dil came over today having done some Christmas shopping for me although obviously we don't know whether they'll be allowed to join us on Christmas Day. They also bought me an Advent Calendar with 24 portions of cheese!
Sounds like my ideal advent calendar!
DeleteI love almost every cheese but not Camembert. I think it is the smell that puts me off!
DeleteYou mean you camember it? (Stolen joke.)
DeleteI have a blood test due to be done Friday and this time I must remember I have to fast!
ReplyDeleteThen consultant's appointment Dec 7th so I don't have to go out much for the next couple of weeks. I had a Cub meeting tonight on Zoom but because I missed the last couple of meetings pre-lockdown because I had pneumonia there were a few faces I didn't know. Hopefully after Christmas we'll be bck to face to face meetings.
Jon does groceries on Saturday mornings and he has booked an appointment at the 'Tip' tomorrow as he's on holiday this week so I have been in the garage today sorting out off-cuts of wood and old tins of paint for him to take . Also more stuff in the garden and then that should be all set for the winter.
Thanks for good wishes.
Spicy
We’ve had a bit of a clear out. Friends of the Animals had their HQ set on fire with an accelerant. Must have been someone with a grudge methinks. Stock for their charity shop was destroyed so they had an appeal for stuff to be taken there on Saturday. We managed quite a bit of unwanted items and Katy took them over. We had the painter in this week and he replaced three cupboard doors and the gate we have to confine the dogs when necessary. Katy advertised them on Freecycle and they all went on Saturday. Tomorrow the boys are off for their walk and for the last week they have followed it with daycare. They will be delighted to come home after the walk tomorrow! In daycare they have two long walks per day rather than the usual one long and one short or sometimes just the long one. They are on their knees( if dogs do have knees!) and we haven’t heard hardly a peep out of them in the evenings!🐶🐾🐾🐶
ReplyDeleteO WiaS - 5.47, today
ReplyDeleteWe also volunteered for the ONS Covid survey and didn’t hear anything for weeks.
Then, late one Friday night, we got a phone call from a number we didn’t recognise - I nearly didn’t answer, thinking it was going to be yet another Amazon scam call. But I did pick up and it was a young man from the Covid team asking if he could come and test us the following week.
He duly turned up on thé day and went through the procedure with us. He has to stay outside the whole time, even though it was raining. We Answered lots of questions and did the tests with the kits he passed to us in a basket & we did them while he waited, then passed them back to him.
We got the (negative) results about 10 days later. They are supposed to come every week for 5 weeks, then once a month for another year.
But it has worked out at once a fortnight because they’re having difficulty getting enough kits and staff to deliver them. So far we have had 3 different people coming. They usually ring the night before to say they’re coming & see what time we are in.
The nice thing is getting a £25 voucher each for each test and £50 ones for the first appointment.
They do seem to be quite behind with their schedules because of kit shortages so you should hear from them again before long, I should think.
I'm glad they've managed to get to some people at least!
DeleteCommunication within the process seems to be pretty poor. When we phoned to ask what had happened to our first appointment, they had no record of it. I told the next caller we needed a Saturday but I don't know if the message got passed on. I'm fully expecting the next phonecall to offer me another week day during school hours.
Miriam, I'm actually finding L2 easier - the chiropractor is still allowed to practise and the Garden Centre is also open, so I don't have to rely on the weekly outing to Sainsbury's to get my thrills! Bad news is that during the second outing on the newly electrified bike I fell off going uphill and have damaged the motor. I'm off the road again until they can work out why it keeps growling at me. Therefore the Garden Centre is still out of reach, only being accessible by two different buses and a fair amount of walking, but I can dream... ...
ReplyDeleteI was terrified it was you who got damaged, the chiropractor would have had more to fix.
DeleteAah, thank you, Basia
DeleteThé saga of the generator continues. After a very disturbed night with the constant noise our neighbours (who are even closer to the thing than we are ) told us they had rung SE to complain.
ReplyDeleteSo earlier on, another lorry arrived with great big blue padded walls to erect around round the monster to try and insulate it a bit. Can’t say they are making much difference because the noise gets out of the top!
And, looking down the garden now, we have an full size oil tanker in our drive! Mr A has just been down to enquire why and apparently it will be coming every day to fill the generator up with petrol.
Fortunately, Lady R, we can get Mr A’s car out of the garage, though not mine. So he’ll have to take me shopping this week tee-hee!
I’m wondering if we could charge SE for the use of our premises and for the disturbance and inconvenience? Though I think electricity companies and suchlike have a right to enter premises to carry out essential works. Still, a bit of compensation would be nice! 😄
AP, I would encourage you to try and get some sort of compensation from them. They can only say no. (And then say yes after you have badgered them 24 hours a day and went to the local paper and kicked up an almighty fuss...) If it was me, I would be going mad. I cannot abide noise, especially at night.
DeleteThanks for the encouragement Gary. We will definitely enquire. It’s just unfortunate for us that the electricity pole is only accessible from the end of our drive although it actually stands in the neighbours garden. These cottages were built in the 1820’s, long before domestic electricity supply had been invented. We think the pole was erected mid 20C before the M3 was built, which is why they cannot access it from the other direction
DeleteI always put my glasses on the bookcase at night. Someone knocked them off today and I stood on them - argh!
ReplyDeleteSo I'm struggling with my pair from 5 years ago while OMiaS takes the current pair to Boots for them to put the lens back in. (We did have a mini screwdriver to do it ourselves but a shoedweller has lost it!)
The only upside is that it has spurred me to make an appoinment for an eyecheck - only about a year overdue. I need the powerful thin lenses and this lot are going to need to be varifocal. So I'll probably have to take out a second mortgage to pay for them.
Even if you get the prescription from Boots, OWiaS, you can take it to Specsavers to be made up and they usually have excellent offers on Varifocal lenses.
DeleteThat’s exactly what Mr A did last year and the completed glasses cost half what they would have done at Boots.
I can see again!
DeleteNow I've got to remember to be very gentle with my poor trodden-on glasses so they survive until I get my new pair.
Thanks for the advice about Specsavers, Archerphile. But I tend to be a creature of habit and Boots have served me well so far. We shall see.
Or perhaps I should take a drive to Barnard Castle.
I have been to Barnard Castle. It was for a wedding and spent 3 nights there, though many years ago. A lovely part of the country.
DeleteAs to opticians, when I needed help, a while ago, I found a lovely privately owned one, nearby. The service which has been given to me, since then, has been wonderful. I have now changed my allegience.
Archerphile - Were you informed, in advance, about the upheaval and what would be happening, esp. with the noise level? To my way of thinking, nothing should be on your property, unless you gave them permission to enter it, esp. as it is still lockdown. It is trespass on your property.
ReplyDeleteLike GG says - complain, get your local counsellors involved, and keep on + on!.
Compensation should be awarded, but it is the invasion of your property, I would be most angry about.
If, as it seems, this is being done without you permission, take photos + lots of them. These will be time + date coded, so useful as your grievances progress further.
Can you video the generator with the overnight noise? Do if you can. It might be useful.
Also a main grievance, must be, you not being able to get your car out of the garage. If it was me, I would moniter and record things, as they happen and complain, constantly. Last week I needed to complain about something. I was "on-hold" for 35mins, but I would not give up. This is now in arbritation, so will take a while. I am prepared to fight this..
DeleteMiriam. We were sent a letter about a month ago saying this work was going to be done and that access to our land would be required. We were not able to refuse as they have the right to enter private property to carry out essential works.
DeleteEveryone along the road was warned that there would be a power cut yesterday morning while they connected the generator to the line, and there will be another one when they have finished. It only lasted about 15 minutes.
But we didn’t know how big this thing was going to be, or how noisy it would be or that it would necessarily block half the garage. Had I realised, I could have moved my car beforehand.
However, if the works to the line stop the very frequent power cuts we get here it will have been worthwhile. Our line comes very cross-country through lots of wooded areas, so whenever it is windy we are prone to cuts because of trees blowing on the line and bringing it down. During the ‘Big Storm’ in October 1987, made famous by Michael Fish saying there ‘would be no hurricane’ we were without any power at all for two and a half weeks!
As there is no gas here either we were unable to get any light, heat, hot water or the ability to cook anything or even make a hot drink for 18 days!
I have been grumbling about the generator but it will have been worth it not to go through that again! 🥶
Wow Archerphile how did you manage or did you stay with family for the two and a half weeks! A few years ago we had a 17hr cut and that was bad enough.
DeleteNo we were stuck here. We still had the farm then so all our frozen food was taken down to the big farm freezer which was running on a ( small) generator. The power was restored to Basingstoke very quickly so the two children still went to school and were allowed to use the showers there every day and have hot a hot meal.
DeleteMr A & I could only wash with cold water, including our hair! We kept warm with layers of clothing. We could only eat salad stuff, sandwiches, cold meat, cheese etc ....and cold baked beans, I remember.
We had candles all around the house. We all went to bed around 8pm to keep warm and listened to a battery radio for a while, or tried to read by torch light.
You couldn’t buy replacement batteries for love or money so once the torches ran out that was it.
Power was restored to the village after about a week and it was so frustrating being able to see lights on down there when we were still cut off.
On the 18th day the electricity men arrived in our road to restore our power.
I remember bursting into tears when our lights came on....the first thing we did was re-set the boiler to heat the water and after about an hour were able to have our first hot wash for two and a half weeks ... it was bliss!
What a terrible eighteen days you had, Archerphile. How ghastly for you.
DeleteYou said power cuts are called outages nowadays and railway stations are often called train stations which reminds me of how much I noticed expressions and words that were new to me once I was able to have an internet connection and could listen to spoken English regularly again. I started to pick up how spoken English had changed over four or five decades.
For example, we used to say " I suppose so" but now it's just "I suppose" and we never said "Thank you for that" but simply "Thank you" , perhaps adding " That was very kind of you". There were many.
Archerphile, you're well equipped for emergencies after that experience, but we were all much younger then...
DeleteI remember frequent power cuts when we were young, and as we had a large(ish) primus stove used for camping holidays the neighbours used to come round to make tea and toast at ours of an evening!
DeleteI remember the night of the great storm very well. I was in labour with my son listening to a terrific wind and things clattering and banging outside, and he was born on the 16th. I call him the child of the storm.
DeleteThe storm which has taken him to the Philippines with their unpredictable weather.
DeleteIndeed Basia 😉 I have recently received a whats app photo of palm trees blown over, and a video of them out in the street for fun seeing if they could stand up in it! They are staying in Manila at present and before the last typhoon street workers came round tying strap supports on the newly planted palms to try to protect them.
DeleteDan says it is looking very pretty at present. Our type of Christmas trees don't grow there but in the towns they decorate the street palms with Christmas lights.
He says that quite often the typhoons are no worse than a good Cornish storm coming in from the sea, but he may be saying that partly to reassure me.
Christophe Dominici 😢
ReplyDeleteParsley, I heard yesterday and knew nothing about him but it's tragic all the same, a young life cut short.
DeleteSo very, very sad. God Bless and rest in peace now. 💐
DeleteSo sad.
DeleteThe tree surgeons are hard at work as I type - huge jaggy monster bush and a fir tree in the front are already history. What a difference it's made. And they are super tidy workers!
ReplyDelete*** FIVE OF THE BEST ***
ReplyDeleteAutumnleaves, it's over to you... Enjoy!
I've already done it Gary..remember comedians?😂😂
DeleteMy brain is shocking at the moment Autumnleaves! Must have put your name back in or written it twice in the first place. 🤪
Delete*** FIVE OF THE BEST ***
ReplyDeleteStasia - now it's your turn. (I think...) Enjoy!
Quiet here nothing since 6.39pm yesterday 🤔 Just to kick things off -
ReplyDeleteHow are you faring Archerphile and when should you lose your noisy generator? Very cold here in Hampshire today our current feels like is3c ❄️ How about others from Gary in Glasgow to Cornwall.
Hello Lady R and everyone. Our noise-maker is still here. A tanker comes and fills it up every day but no sign of when it will go.
DeleteI’ve just returned from a shopping trip to Waitrose AND Sainsburys and the sun was so bright I could hardly see to drive as I the sun came in under the visors. I actually don’t find it cold at all, in fact went out without even a light jacket on.
Good news for our shopping here on the fringes of Basingstoke - a very large new LIDL is opening next week right opposite Sainsburys. I think there’s going to be a lot if competition going on, which is a good thing for us customers.
Not cold 😱 (I’m just a (Market) town wimp Archerphile 🤣)
DeleteKnow what you mean regarding the winter sun I have a pair of wrap around over glasses which are brilliant but even those are tested to the limit at times. We have not had any sun today though. Sounds like bargains a plenty will be on the cards with your new Lidle opening 👏🏻
Lovely sunshine again today in north Cornwall Lady R , although it isn't very warm. It was so nice yesterday that after we had had our weekly trip to the village for a bit of food shopping ( I mainly order online nowadays) my daughter drove us ( my car is in the garage!) up to the cliffs where we had a little walk looking at the sea, and lit a couple of candles in the church. It was looking quite dramatic because although beautiful sunshine there was a huge towering grey black cloud above the church tower. So that is the photo for the cover of next year's church electoral roll nicely sorted!
ReplyDeleteShall we see it as a blog photo?
DeleteWe haven't heard from Stasia since the loss of Carolyn from the blog.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if we will hear from her again.
I'm feeling very cold.
I turned the heating off when away in Cornwall and now it's taking time to heat through again. Bright sunshine outside though.
Lovely autumn sunshine here, cold but crisp and still. Had an enjoyable walk on Alderley Edge this morning.
ReplyDeleteOh lucky Ev!
ReplyDeleteIsle of Wight is to stay in tier 1 for Covid restrictions. Over the water here in Hampshire we have been put up to tier 2.
I know there is a lot of illness in Portsmouth & Southampton so raising the level to 2 seems sensible.
But up here in the rural north of the county, cases have been minimal so I’m a bit surprised we’re are all being lumped in together.
They’re doing it by county on the whole.but very hard on you, Archerfile. Katy reckons it’s because they want to give us the vaccine first to sort out any ill effects! IOW is a guinea pig as witness the app! What a cynic she is!!!
DeleteI thought of you straight away as well Ev (along with my sister and b-i-l in Shanklin) May you all be able to continue in Tier 1 🤞🏼
DeleteWell we now know, that almost all are in Tier 2, and I understand why. I hope none here, are in #3.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping that I can now cross the English/Welsh border again, to go to places + shops, which I have so missed.
I have had a difficult chat with Big Sis, re Christmas, today.
I am standing firm as to my thoughts and ideas - as to why risk things now, after 9 months of abiding by the rules. I would prefer to enjoy many more Festive Seasons, with family, in the future.
But we are all different.
I absolutely understand your reasoning 🎄Miriam.
DeleteI have had a most enjoyable morning planting daffodil bulbs and tidying the front garden which is something I don't do a lot.
ReplyDeleteWe live in a quiet road and very few people walk down it but an elderly couple ,a jogger and three women having a stroll all stopped and chatted which was really nice.
Ah Alderney Edge ,Cheshire Cheese .1:20pm.
How lovely .
I knew the area well .
Re Christmas,Miriam.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that you and I are singing from the same Carol sheet!
Every year since our marriage ,Mr LJ and I have gone to my step daughter's on Christmas Dayan spent the time with her delightful family.
We have always had a lovely time.
This year we have decided that whatever we are actually allowed to do ,because of the virus and Mr L Js illness we will not be going .
I have a feeling that had families not been allowed to meet up many would have done so anyway .
I also think it will cause another spike , sadly.
Decisions are having to be made, in an almost harsh way..but a safe one, which I am not liking.
DeleteThis is just for this year though.
My family have decided to do Christmas, in June/July next year. My home-made Family size Christmas Pudding, will still be edible then, I hope. By then we all should have been jabbed, to then sociiase freely again.
Better Late, than never..
DeleteAgree, Miriam. Best to play safe. I remember the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice from my schooldays where she died and went to Hades. He went there and was given permission to bring her back but he wasn’t to look back at her until they were out of the shadow of Hades. He cleared the shadow and looked back but she hadn’t cleared it so she had to go back forever. Not a direct analogy with our situation but we are getting towards the end of the tunnel with the virus. we can’t relax yet and must plod on with restrictions until this awful thing is beaten.
Delete✔️✔️✔️
DeleteMy expectations have been confirmed - our family is in Tier 3 . This is until Dec 23rd, then it's the Christmas break. I'm hoping that after that, the rate will have come down so we can go to tier 2.
ReplyDeleteI am however very fed up with the moaning and grumbling by the media trying to find arguments. One minute is why are the rates going up; showing films of people not behaving and following the rules then when something is done that's wrong too!
I can have my hair done apparently on my booked appointment on Dec 17th. I have done almost of all my Christmas shopping i.e. presents and store cupboard so only fresh stuff to get in.
Eldest son has asked for pickled onions to be included in the boxes I'm about to send to him in Frankfurt! That is probably going to cost me one of my large plastic cake containers and loads of bubble wrap!
I will miss our 'traditional' Stollen cake which I have brought home in November from either Vienna or Frankfurt for the last 13 years! I have bought a smaller than usual one in Aldi so that will have to do! We always have a Pannetoni cake, a Stollen cake and a traditional English Christmas cake since eldest was at University in Frankfurt in 1994. He came home at Christmas that year bringing the two continental cakes and so traditions are born.
Miriam - If you have made your pudding with alcohol it will keep and will be all the more tastier for waiting that extra 6 months!
Yes...stout, barley wine + rum!!! It was made on Rememberance Weekend and is stored, in a cool, dark place.
DeleteA Delia Smith recipe from many years ago.
DeleteSpicy. Why not try to make a Stollen? There are lots of recipes on line to look at.
DeleteMiriam - I may very well have a go! 😀
DeleteI have spent the afternoon in Durham, a beautiful small city with some independant shops. Obviously almost everywhere was shut, (except Waterstones bookstore, which was odd).
ReplyDeleteIt was sad to see so many shops to let, shutters down for good, on the main throughfares.
There were a couple of pop-ups with Christmas tat, (why?), otherwise it was grey, chilly, empty. I went to the opticians, but there is nothing to tempt me back to the city again.
Tier 3 here, it will not make any difference at all. People either stick with it or they don't. I do, but work with people who refuse to use PPE, or follow any guidelines at all. I have complained to the manager, who issues warnings which nobody heeds.
It is very frustrating, but I keep myself anti-socially safe, and am waiting for the winter solstice to pass, and lighter, sunny spring days ahead.
I am really fed-up of dafties at work moaning all the time about restrictions, whilst not taking any personal responsibility at all. People are very odd.
Thoughts re Waterstones...the schools are still open, so children + parents, still need accesss to books?
DeleteMistral. It annoys me that some think that rules, just do to not apply to them. A member of my family, is of that mind-set and still meets up for gaming + party nights, with his pals. My eldest niece, his partner, justifies this by saying - we do our own risk assesment so are safe!!
DeleteHere in Bristol, and the neighbouring local authorities of South Gloucestershire and North Somerset, we are going into Tier 3.
ReplyDeleteI think the Tiers are due to be reviewed fortnightly, so we'll see then. The numbers of new cases have been high, but apparently lower in the last few days.
I was interested in the report on World at One today about us in South Gloucestershire being in Tier 3 and the fact that many people from the City of Gloucester commute to Bristol Zoetrope.
ReplyDeleteHere in Stroud C infection is low I understand as in Bristol too, but remains higher in Glos.City.
None of it makes sense.
If any one has been watching the three programmes about struggling Pubs, the third being this evening, The Prince Albert, one of the four pubs featured is my neighbour.
Lady R re. 1.02 Here is the photo. It is the bell tower I learnt to ring in. I used to really enjoy ringing for weddings and times like midnight mass, but the bells have been silent all this year.
ReplyDeleteMrs P and all others take care in tier 3. I think we are lucky and in Tier 1.
What a brooding photo Janice!
DeleteI don't know about everyone else, but here in Glasgow it feels like we only ever moved out of Tier 3 (or equivalent) for about a month since March. We have totally changed our behaviour now - going out to somewhere that ISN'T a supermarket feels about as likely as taking a trip to the moon. Been in a pub 3 times since March, eaten in a restaurant once and been "lucky" enough to have visited a cafe possibly 3 or even 4 times. Our neighbours invited us round to sit round a fire in their garden last Saturday night and we felt as if we were going on holiday!
ReplyDeleteOn a different subject entirely, all of our daffodils are now sprouting merrily in the front garden and one of them is just about to flower - is that normal?
Gary, what a coincidence! I have just logged in to report the dandelions and daisies still flowering in the park I walk to each day and there is your similar post about daffodils! There are also some tiny pink flowers in the grass and pale blue ones. There is frost till late morning but then the sun is quite warm..
DeleteJanice, I love your photo of the church.
I do enjoy reading about what you blogger-friends see on your walks and in your gardens.
Love your photo, Janice.
ReplyDeleteJust got back from our local "alimentation", fish day today ! Also such good fresh produce, local cheeses etc.
Cod with romesco sauce tonight 🤞😉
Yum! I really like both fish and artisan cheeses. Not this year as it was cancelled but normally we have a day at the Royal Cornwall agricultural show, and one of our favourite places is the Food and Farming tent, and we wander round scrumping the cheese samples, the bread, the sausages, the chocolate, the cider ......... and my daughter the Mexican food ( there is a link with Hidalgo in Mexico because a lot of Cornish miners went out there to the silver mines when the mines were closing here, and they still make the traditional Cornish pasty there.)
DeleteJanice thank you for your photo - love it⭐️
DeleteYour ' brooding' photo is lovely Janice. I love ' bleak ' !
ReplyDeleteAs for daffodils, there was a small clump of flowering daffs in the paddock at my daughter's last week.
The business next door to them is a nursery and she has recently discovered that an owner in the past was a breeder of daffodils and used all the local fields and paddocks for experiments. In February this year the other paddock was awash with daffs and now she understands why and how they got there.
Gary, I think you have had a full on social life this year from your description, in comparison to many of us.
The most I've had is a couple of pizzas from the pub opposite, and one visit to my daughter in Bath. Plus my two visits to Cornwall.
Our local artisan baker, a relatively new start up, have launched their bread van today and have been at our community centre car park for an hour this morning. By the time the van arrived at ten thirty there was a long queue and we all stood in line, socially distanced for an hour. Lovely to have their sour dough bread and scrumptious pastries again after almost a year without now.
Yum I can smell the freshly made goodies from here Mrs P enjoy 😊
DeleteHooray! The generator has been switched off and we are back on ‘proper’ electricity! I assume a large lorry will arrive some time to take the wretched thing away - at least we’ll have a peaceful sleep tonight.
ReplyDeleteRe Christmas: since our 3 local grandchildren are almost all adults and thus find our cottage too small to accommodate 7 grown-Ups, we have been going to our daughters for Xmas day for the past few years. She has a larger house, much larger dining room and the grandchildren can slope off to their own rooms when they get bored.
We expected to be doing the same this year, and though it would now be officially allowed, we have decided to stay at home on our own, like others of you.
We saw a government warning film about what could happen. A large family all clustered around the dining table, passing plates backwards and forwards, talking and laughing loudly, no windows open, then all cramped in the sitting room, still no fresh air.......perfect conditions for transfer of the virus if someone unknowingly has it.
So as we are both 75+, Mr A is insulin dependant, we don’t think it’s worth the risk.
As many have said, we can get together next year - hopefully.
And as the Welsh Assembly leader so wisely said “just because you can, doesn’t mean you have to”
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 to your generator news Archerphile and the prospect of a good nights 😴 from tonight onwards!
DeleteImo your Christmas decision is a sound one ✔️for all of the reasons you have given.
Surprised we can still able to call today “ Black” Friday - PC brigade 🤔
My youngest son gets so cross with 'Black Friday' He is wont to point out on his facebook page and to anybody who says that phrase, "This is not America!" 😀
DeleteArcherphile, your last paragraph was exactly what I was trying to explain, to Big Sis yesterday.
ReplyDeleteWhat I got "miffed" about, was the suggestion that we all did a 14day isolation before-hand!
I am not prepared to do that - selfish yes. I can hopefully pop over, for coffee + cake in the garden, over the Festive Weekend.
PS I have lots of warm clothes, hats, boots + gloves.
...and can "show off" my new wheels, which still needs to been seen, and admired by many. 🚗
DeleteI am just 66. Big Sis is 67 going on 68, but her hubbie is 73 with a heart problem. I would hate to cause any problems...hence my decision.
DeleteI posted earlier (into the ether) that it appears Lanjan, Mrs P, Zoetrope and myself are all still posting next to a silhouette as we are still not showing the orange blogger logo. I think it happened to me after the last iOS update...tried to rectify but have not signed out in case a job to get back in at least we can still post right now!
ReplyDeleteLook at, up-date profile...There is a way to put an image onto this. I am an on android though, not sure if it helps.
DeleteI had profile before Miriam but still hunting 🙃
Delete5.00pm. CH on, curtains closed, lights on and frost already forming outside. ❄
ReplyDeleteAt least this bodes well, for defrosting the freezer tomorrow. It means that the drawers can be put outside, and not defrost...
Timely, as will be shopping to extras, next week.
Mrs P, I have watched the second programme about struggling pubs because it was mentioned by Melanie Reid who writes the 'Spinal Column' in a Saturday magazine, as her local pub bought by the community. When Stroud was mentioned, I wondered if it might be your neighbour, but I haven't watched it yet.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise Stroud was also in South Glos.
Janice, your photo of the church reminds me of where my godmothers' funeral was. I can't remember the name of the church, but it seemed very remote. She lived in Cawsand, so I suppose it was relatively near there. It was interesting travelling there from Bristol - by train to Plymouth, then at least 2 buses, with me asking where to get off for the next. On the final bus, I got on, asked for the fare and to be told the stop and either the driver or another passenger said 'oh, you must be the lady come down from Bristol'!
Lady R, my phone I don't see either the silhouette or the orange logo for my posts, nor for other bloggers you mentioned.
Yes Zoetrope South Glos here. Stroud is the most northern outpost I think. Then it becomes Gloucestershire proper as it were.
ReplyDeleteI've just been reading about the closure of Bristol Zoo.
I've only ever been once when we lived in Malmesbury and husband had a commission to photograph new baby (?) ------- it will come to me soon.
The orange monkeys, long straggly hair. Would it be orang-utans Miriam ?
I remember being allowed to hold it. Gosh, would that be allowed today ? This was in the mid seventies. I've been intending to visit since I came to live here, but haven't got around to it.
I thought the community owned pub in Scotland was a marvellous initiative.
When I first moved up here the pub in Minchinhampton where I rented for a year, had been closed for about a year. After several failed sales it was decided by the town to push for community ownership. I was prepared to buy a share and supported the initiative, but just as it was about to launch a buyer came along, finished the half done and then abandoned refurbishment and now it has become a popular pub again.
I personally don't like the Prince Albert, and I gather that none of my near neighbours like it much either, but I do support the pub because I believe that pubs are the last outpost of small communities. The PA is well loved by all its regulars, but most of them live at least five hundred yards beyond its premises. It is in what is known as the ' heart' of Rodborough where once was the village shop, the baker and the post office, but the pub is all that is left of that heart now.
I've just remembered that although I say I live in Bristol, I'm actually also in South Glos!
DeleteIt is very sad about Bristol Zoo. My family has had a connection with zoo since my grandfather bought shares in the early 1900s. My mother, then I inherited the 2 shares. I'm entitled to free entry and have 20 tickets per year to give to friends or family. For my older siblings, growing up locally, it was a very large part of their childhood.
ReplyDeleteThat is so very, very sad and feel for you. As you know, I am a member and supporter, of Chester Zoo, so totally understand how you feel.
DeleteWe went frequently when our children were growing up. For a while when they were very young I would take them early on Saturday mornings and take a picnic breakfast.
DeleteThe Zoo has a larger place, called Wild Place, they are going to transfer the animals and research etc to there. It's just that the original zoo site is closing after 186 years. It's also easy to get to on public transport and in the city,whereas the new site will be less easily accessible.
DeleteWell I’ve been into profile no pic here as yet!
ReplyDeleteYay it arrived 🥳
DeleteAnd just lovely. 👍
DeleteTears again tonight 😭 It was Michael Ball + Alfie Boe singing "I Believe" on the One Show.
ReplyDeleteI believe - we all can survive this situation, to emerge, stronger and different and more understanding.
I still get my Borough email daily from Wandsworth and have just read the devestating news that the BOAT RACE will be run on the river Ely in Cambridge next year and for the first time not the THAMES !
ReplyDeleteThis is because of the uncertainty of the safety of Hammersmith Bridge which has had problems for several decades now and has been closed yet again for some time.
The University Boat Race is the only sporting event that I have ever followed or had any interest in. There will be many other river events that this decision will impact upon.
Lucky you Zoetrope, I love zoos like Miriam.
ReplyDeleteMy husband had a similar connection as a child with London Zoo and visited frequently.
Unfortunately whatever that connection was did not filter down to his children.
I've looked up the wild place and it seems to be near to Cribbs Causeway, so whatever public transport goes to CC perhaps it will be extended to include the zoo.
Yes, you're right Mrs P, I'm sure changes to the bus schedule will be made, especially as the has always tried to encourage visitors to travel that way, rather than by car. In fact there is probably already a bus service there. It just feels less 'local' to me, even though the current zoo is a 20-30 minute drive away. Wild Place is probably only another 15 minutes.
DeleteWhich makes me realise I'm making a fuss about nothing! 😂
I have just done an "Alice" - no not drinking a bottle of vodka - but outside, looking at the stars, on this crisp, clear and cold night.
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful sight.