28th September, 2020. 198 days in lockdown/isolation.

Imagine being born in 1926. You have been lucky enough to miss The Great War where 22 million died. You missed a pandemic of Spanish flu where 50 million died.

Your family survives the global economic crisis that started with the collapse of the New York Stock Exchange causing inflation, unemployment and famine. Your survival was due in no small measure to your parents.

When you were 7, Hitler came to power.

You were 13 when World War 2 began and 19 when it ended with 60 million dead. In the Holocaust, 6 million Jews died.

When you were 26, the Korean War began, When you were 48 the Vietnam War began and ended when you were 59.

A child born in 1985 thinks his parents and grandparents and great grandparents have no idea how difficult life is now but between them they have survived several wars and catastrophes including wars in the Falklands, Iran and Iraq and witnessed natural disasters like tsunamies and global famines.

Today we have all the comforts of a new world amid a new pandemic. But many complain because they need to wear a mask. They complain because they are confined to their homes where they have food, electricity, running water, wi-fi and Netflix etc. etc. None of that existed back in the day. They are not forced out of their homes which have been bombed into oblivion, they are not strafed by planes as they run away from a rampaging enemy army. They are not being evacuated to a strange house with nothing but a few clothes and a gas mask, at under 10 years of age. But humanity has survived all that and has never lost it’s joy of living. So stop complaining about pub opening and closing times, being stuck in halls at university and being like spoilt brats. You are lucky.

A small change in our perspective can generate miracles. We should be thankful that we are alive. We should do everything we can to protect and help each other.

(This rant is not all my own work)

Ronnie’s team won 3-1 on Sunday morning. He played up front in the first half and in goal in the second. A real all rounder and he had a very good game earning the praise of his coaches.

Our Scottish trip is still on and although the weather looks bad, our friend Sue may come down from Edinburgh for lunch.

There seem to be the origins of a divide between old and young as to who is to blame for the second wave. May I just say that over 50’s don’t go to raves or pubs and hang around after they have been “thrown out”. Maybe when they shut pubs altogether, things will improve.

24th September, 2020. 194 days in lockdown/isolation.

Our holiday break to Scotland is still on but we are keeping our eyes on the news. Andy rang last night to chat about the arrangements and confirmed they want to pick us up and stay here with us the nights before and after. I hope it all comes off as we are really looking forward to it.

We got an invite to go to Portugal and meet up with Pete and Donna in Porto for a short break in October. It would have been great but that is a busy month for us, having the bathroom redone and our break in Scotland. To be honest, we had already written off 2020 in terms of travelling abroad and whilst we are not really bothered about going into quarantine, we should really avoid putting our heads into the mouth of a lion. Any other time we would have jumped at the chance to see our good friends

I went to see Mum on Tuesday as usual but went in the afternoon for a change. Catherine was booked to do her hair. Mum had a full perm and looked really nice. We all had a good time chatting and if I didn’t know better, I could swear her memory is getting better. I don’t think that I once had to repeat various facts to her. She even remembered that we have had our front garden block paved. Remarkable!

Jenny had to go to the dentist on Tuesday following the loss of a crown and everything else, post and all. We expected a big job (appointment was 0830) but all he did was fill in the gap. All the nerves were gone so we hope for no more pain.

We are enjoying our new leather suite but I am still waiting to have an extended turn on the reclining armchair. Even Maisie has had more time on it than me. I’m not bitter!

The rain, ie Autumn, has arrived with the appropriate drop in temperature. Even the heating has been on a couple of times We are still waiting for Jim (block paving) to deliver our top soil. Jenny is anxious to get some plants in.

Well, Boris? After your speech to the nation, am I any the wiser? No! I am not. Can we still go to Scotland in October? Will four of us be allowed to travel up there in one car? Will we need to wear masks in the car if we are allowed to travel? Can we call in at Barnard Castle on the way up as it may improve my eyesight? Add to all of these questions, we have to consider all the slightly different rules in Scotland. So that depends on the saintly, narrow lipped Nichola Sturgeon, who I dislike intensly. The whole thing is a shambles and shutting pubs at 10pm is a waste of time. For goodness sake, close them altogether and force the 18 to 30 spreaders to have cans of rubbish lager at home.

And finally some nice news. I met neighbour Simon in the street who announced the birth of a baby boy on Monday 21st September. He is called Elijah. He and Mum Shareen are back home and are doing well. I will check on his name spelling and weight when I speak to them later on. Well done them!!

21st September 2020. 191 days in lockdown/isolation.

Jim Soanes turned up today with six men to do the front garden. That’s 7 altogether. Under the “rule of 6”, do I report them? They got to our house at 0730 and they got to work immediately. The first thing to go was the huge cactus. we were glad to see the back of it. They had five vehicles here and they really worked hard. They had hoped to be ready in one day but did not quite make it. Some minor finishing off remained for the next morning. It is all looking really good.

The worries about the pandemic seem to be escalating. Jenny and I have talked about curfews for ages and it seems that to some extent, the powers that be, are considering it, starting with shutting pubs at 10pm. Why not just shut them completely and introduce a general curfew at 10pm. Anyone found outside their home after that time would have to prove they were working of have any other genuine reason to be out. In Romania for example, to be outside at all, some weeks ago, you had to have a paper which had a full explanation of why you needed to be out. If you did not produce it, you were heavily fined for the first offence, I believe. Boris is giving a major speech tomorrow so we will see what his proposals are. Hopefully the scientists and the politicians are at one with their proposals to reign the virus in.

One thing that is apparent is that the rate of increase of the virus is the lowest in the 70 – 80 age range and the highest amongst those between 18 and 39. This latter group is precisely the one that ignored all the instructions as they thought they were immune. Numpties.

Sunday was a busy day. In the morning I went to watch Ronnie Play football for Tickton. He started of up front and in the second half played in goal making a save in the final seconds that kept the score at 2 – 2 against a very good Kingswood side . Their supporters were a vociferous lot who gave the referee more abuse than I have ever seen at that level. It was disgraceful and I hope the referee puts in a report to the governing body.

In the afternoon David brought the three grandchildren for lunch. As usual they didn’t leave much food but we discovered the girls do not like mustard seeds in their gravy. But they do love crumble.

Am I the only person in the world who is now bored sick of sports men “taking the knee”. OK, at first it was relevant, even moving (and current) but now I find it embarrassing. It is never edited out of every match shown on “Match of the Day” or at the beginning of every Formula 1 Grand Prix. How long is respectful? I can’t help wondering how many weeks we would be in mourning for The Queen should she pass away. Would we have a minutes silence before the aforementioned events for months on end? I doubt it. It’s time to call a halt. Who will dare to be first?

We had a lovely meal here with friends Val and Nick last week and then went to sister in law Carol for a meal the next day. All socially distant and within the rules and safe.We have speculated for months that there would be a “Second Wave” and here it is now. Boris gave a big speech today but really swerved making any decisions about any sort of lockdown. He seems petrified about closing down any institution (pubs) that will make him unpopular. There will be some decisions made tomorrow. Hopefully nothing will affect our trip to Scotland. The way our luck has been with holidays this year we could be staying at home again.

Our new two piece suite has arrived. Crucially, Maisie likes it, thank goodness. We sold our old three piece suit on the internet to the first enquirer. Jenny has claimed the recliner. I’ve not sat in it yet!

14th September 2020.184th day of lockdown/isolation

We are still getting used to losing two holidays this year and really need a break. Thank goodness for Andy and Lindy and our two nights in Scotland. They wanted to pick us up which will add 80 miles each way to their journey so we are dead chuffed they are staying with us as a break to the journey. Watch out pubs in Cottingham with which I hope to acquaint them. We can then have a leisurely drive their and back.

Our neighbours, Simon and Shareen are about to become parents. She is due today so we hope everything goes really well. She will be giving birth in Hull Royal Infirmary. And then she gets about a year off. There will be very little “wetting the baby’s head” or just popping round to see the newborn child. Very different times. They will need to be careful with “The rule of six”. We will just stay in I think.

Had a couple of lovely video calls with Sally and Jim in Bucharest and Murcia respectively. Jim is now back in Romania with Sally but as the Ragwort pollen is still pretty virulent, he is effectively in isolation. It can be really bad for him so as a precaution (in temperatures in the late 20s) all windows have to be shut and air conditioning left on.

I watched Ronnie in his last two cricket matches over the weekend. Football is now in full swing so I will be watching on a regular basis. He is getting better all the time.

David is slowly on the mend. We are not able to see him but is a lot more comfortable. He is off on sick leave for a couple more weeks.

My recent “discharge” from the hospital examination of my right knee, seems to me to be a bit of a con. In his final few words he said the x-rays showed nothing and the only way to get to the bottom of the pain I am in, is to have a bone scan. If the pain persists (I told him it has been part of my daily life for over a year so far) I should go to my GP and seek a referral for a bone scan. By discharging me I am another reduction off the waiting list. When I go back on the list for a scan, my waiting time will start again. What a sneaky, underhand thing to do!! If I am correct, I may put in a complaint. I am thinking about it.

After over 50 years, friend of mine, Mike Best has retired from his various duties tor Cottingham Cricket Club. Over the years he has been a player and skipper of the first team, 2nd and 3rd teams as well as playing friendlies and latterly as 1st team scorer. His biggest task over most of that time, was to be the club secretary and chairman. It is a job which asks so much of you and your family as it eats into your free time and daily life. He has always needed, and got, the full support of his wife and family. He will be sadly missed and I know this to be a fact, When I was the secretary, manager and player for Walkington Football Club, my duties were divided amongst five people.

The pound/euro rate is still bad and it is not being helped by Boris’s latest shenanigans. I have no real idea what it is about but Ed Milliband seems to have torn Boris to shreds to the point where he shuffled out of the chamber after he was utterly exposed by Milliband. He is just a coward who cannot justify his actions. So not only is Europe, and the world, laughing at us for electing an Eton buffoon but with his and his cabinet’s handling of Covid 19, he may even end up killing us all.

10th September 2020. 180th day of lockdown/isolation.

I realised that we could check in with Easyjet for our holiday flights on 3/9 and 7/10. Log in was easy except that there was a notice that our flights there and back had been cancelled. Their web site offered a change of flight to another date or a voucher for the full cost. It took a few minutes to find that they also offered a refund but it looked deliberately hard to find. It was not given as one of the initial options. However, once found, it was only a click away to very quickly claim the refund which should take up to 30 days. An email confirming all of this was in my inbox within seconds. I then cancelled the hire car at Munich airport. Very simple and a full refund will be with me soon. This was quickly confirmed by Email. I also cancelled the accommodation through Booking.com. I had paid no deposit and I was six days inside the time where there was free cancellation. Again an Email confirmation followed within minutes. All very satisfying and surprisingly stress free.

The only complaint I have is that Easyjet never informed me of the cancellation. If I had not thought to check in I would not have found out in time to qualify for free cancellation of our apartments in Salzberg which would have cost the four of us over £1000. Very naughty. When did they make the decision?

Went for tea and cake to see Auntie Phyllis and Uncle Raymond this afternoon. Cousins Pamela and Carol were also there. We were all socially distanced and the sun behaved itself for us to have a lovely afternoon in the garden. We all had our stories to tell but the main thing is that we were all well.

Good news. We have booked a weekend away in Eyemouth, north of Berwick. Andy and Lindy have been before and recommended it so they got us all booked in, in October. I hope the sun comes out.

The Pound/Euro exchange rate is very bad at the moment at 1.08 so maybe a good thing not to travel to Europe. I think the rate for the Scottish Pound is favourable.

We had a quick visit to Morrison’s this afternoon. Jenny is baking again.

We are booked in for a flu jab in October. Is it too much to hope for a Covid 19 vaccine to be available?

9th December 2020. 179th day of isolation/lockdown.

I rang the Austrian Embassy in Manchester regarding our forthcoming trip. It turns out it was a Consulate and I should ring the London Embassy between 2pm and 4pm. There was no reply so I sent an Email. The way things are moving in the world at the moment means, to me, that the odds are against us going later this month unless we drastically amend our plans and possibly change the accommodation to Germany only and leave Austria for another year. The Embassy replied by Email (the Ambassador himself) and said that as of this moment we can cross the border both ways and we should not need to self isolate in the UK on our Return. But we should remain vigilant as this could all change in an instant. If Easyjet cancel the flight to Munich, then the holiday will all be cancelled anyway and then we will have to fight for a refund. I have confirmed that the conditions of car hire mean a free cancellation up to 48 hours before booking due.

I went to my Mum’s yesterday. She was very alert and any random visitor would have found her quite switched on and normal. It’s such a shame that we cannot all go to visit although she gets enough daily human contact to keep her alert.

Finished Series 2 of “The Bridge” and would have loved to see series three but, as is common nowadays, can only be seen on Satellite TV which I refuse to subscribe to. Maybe in the future it will find it’s way back to BBC 4. So I have started rediscovering all series of “Luther”. After episode 1, I cannot wait for the rest.

Trump’s position looks more and more precarious. He is down on Biden in many marginals by a fair bit, by USA standards. Of course you cannot believe ALL the negatives in the news. Trumps opposition is just as capable of fake news but the polls do show a fairly consistent pattern with Biden ahead in most and in one or two states, way ahead. However, with the USA system, nothing can be clear until the day, unless Trump’s vote totally collapses. We can but dream.

We collected David from Castle Hill hospital after a minor operation and two nights in Ward 10, for observation. He’ll probably need to rest for a week or so. It’s good that we are able to help with transport etc. but he is being looked after on a day to day basis.

Oh Boris! What are you up to now? You have put through a Bill which is apparently illegal and which will, apparently, be tantamount to creating a “rogue” state. Also, why do all four nations have different rules for gatherings? Is it not beyond those that make these decisions to have a quick conference call and come to an agreement to all be the same? As for the rules for pubs and/or a potential curfew, just shut all the pubs. Simple. I do not care about the louts who don’t socially distance when they are drunk. Let them buy some cans at Tesco and get drunk in their garden shed. There is now some evidence that this group’s infections are on the increase. Good!

Boris took the Downing Street briefing this afternoon and I learned very little except a new phrase that kept being repeated. It was all to do with the six people maximum that can gather together. His speech consisted of “waffle, waffle, waffle, rule of six, waffle waffle waffle”. And no amount of public praise can hide the fact that we are not doing very well.

6th September 2020. 176th day of isolation/lockdown.

I started the day with a nice little drive to watch Ronnie play for Tickton under 11 football team. Really enjoyable. Particularly as he played at centre forward in the first half and scored. In the second half he played in goal (he is good at that too) and earned an assist with a clearance that went straight to a Tickton player who easily slotted home. Eventually they won 3-0. Whilst I was out Jenny polished all the wooden floors.

After that a quiet day in watching England v Australia T20 cricket and then the F1 Grand Prix in Italy. An easy win for England followed by a bizarre race for Hamilton and the rest of the drivers. Hamilton came from last place to seventh and therefore get some points. I don’t particularly like him but that was a hell of a drive.

It’s getting close to decision time about our holiday to Salzburg. Assuming that Easyjet don’t cancel the flight, everything hinges on the situation about criss crossing the Germany/Austria border in the hire car. I am tempted to base the whole holiday on the German side and cancel the Salzburg apartments and book new ones around Berchtesgaden. I am awaiting the result of enquiries made by Manfred and Petra.

I see the figures of new cases in the UK are up to nearly 3000 today. Ironically the majority of them are under 50, probably those that believed they were immune because they were younger and never wore masks. 18 to 30 holiday participants spring to mind. Serves them right. Now we must persuade those morons to stay away from their grandparents!!!!!!!!

5th September 2020. 175th day of lockdown/isolation.

The travel situation is becoming comically confusing. We may know that we can fly back from certain countries but whether or not you isolate depends upon where in the UK you are flying to. Scotland and Wales are imposing isolation whereas England and Northern Ireland are not. This is what having devolved parliaments was always going to result in. A shambles. As far as Scotland is concerned, it is a foretaste of things to come if a referendum, if held, results in full independence. I still hope that common sense prevails and a referendum does not happen. However, the pandemic has resulted in common sense flying out of the window. The idiots of “Extinction Rebellion” are a perfect example which, sadly, includes an Archbishop of Canterbury.

Ronnie’s final cricket matches have finished for 2019. His last 2018/19 football finishes tomorrow and the 2020/21 should start soon. Swimming training starts in Beverley for our three stars, tonight. There will be a social distancing plan in place and they have to go already changed. A logistical nightmare but at least they will be back in the water on a regular basis.

Normally, we would look forward to a Saturday night at home with a glass of something nice and watch some decent TV. Britain’s Got Talent is back so that’s ITV that won’t get switched on. I really dislike Amanda (No Talent) Holden. The rest of the main channels are littered with repeats. Dad’s Army, Total Wipeout, Would I Lie To You, Great Continental Railway Journeys, to name but a few. Thank goodness for our Smart TV and catch up TV with it’s European murder mysteries.

3rd September 2020. 173rd day of lockdown/isolation.

The day got off to a great start in the early hours. ERNIE had delivered 4x £25 wins for this month. It will go straight into the holiday spending fund. Goodness knows when I shall be able to spend it.

Like everyone else in the UK , I have a lot of admiration for Sir Colonel Tom who managed to raise (with a huge push from the BBC) over £33 million. One heck of an achievement, it has to be said. The government, and particularly Boris, jumped onto the “praise bandwagon”. An interesting statistic about the total raised tough, is that the government could have more than matched that figure by putting 0.005 pence onto the basic rate. That’s five thousandths of a penny. In other words, by putting 1p onto the basic rate of Income Tax, they could raise an extra £6.5 billion. That would sort the NHS out. And leave a bit for education, the homeless and other things. No further comment necessary except I expect they will increase the basic rate to cover the cost of the pandemic and the “help schemes” like Eat Out to Help Out and Furlough.

I saw the consultant about my knee today. He had a good look and in the end said that I should live with it and go back to the GP for a referral if the pain increases and/or it “gives way” more often. Thanks very much!! I think on reflection that the appointment was to get me off the list and NOT to offer a solution. He admitted there as a problem and the only solution to identifying it was a bone scan yet he gave me a form to hand in at reception. He had ticked the box marked “Discharged”. S when I see the GP again it will be a NEW case.

The BBC have made a U turn. Not, sadly, over the license fee but over the singing of the lyrics to Rule Britannia. The lyrics, and more specifically, the line “Britons never, never, never shall be slaves”, were deemed to be racist by the mention of “slaves” Absolute poppycock and at least the new Director General of the BBC, Tim Davie, has reversed the ruling. Thank goodness At last some common sense about the poem written and put to music in 1740. Ironically, one of the co writers of the original poem was James Thomson, a Scotsman, who spent a large part part of his life in the pursuit of fostering a British identity, transcending the older English, Irish, Welsh and Scottish identities. Good for him.

I watched the last of 154 episodes of Hill Street Blues today. A highly satisfying time watching them all. However, the final episode had so many loose ends, they could have made more episodes. There were so many characters I had come to love, I suppose it was an impossible job. There was not even a book to go and buy to find out what happened to Mick Belker, J D La Rue, Captain Frank Furillo and dozens more. As the series ran from 1981 to 1987, It will never come back. It was so interesting though, watching police work without computors or mobile phones. I shall miss it.

2nd September 2020. 172nd day of lockdown/isolation.

It looks like this madness is set to continue for a while longer. I think we will be walking on eggshells until Christmas and beyond.

Some kids are back at school and some are not. Some parents are allowing their children back to school and some are not. Many people are wearing masks in shops and some are not. Why can’t people just do as they are told?

Every day, some countries go onto “the list” and some are taken off or the rules change. Nobody can plan ahead and so be it. We are all in the same boat and we accept it. It will all work out in the end but we have to help each other.

I saw on the news an item about illegal raves. The 16 to 25 age group are apparently missing dancing, having a drink, cuddling and chatting. Poor things! And he forgot to mention the sex and drugs. It seems to me that this age group is the one that will extend the pandemic. They are the ones we often see in large groups in their hundreds, drinking, jumping into fountains and involved in general debauchery. The police should use their full powers and impose maximum fines.

We had a lovely day on Saturday with David and his three little terrors, I mean darlings. They went swimming at our gym and then came to us for a curry. We played dice and Scrabble and Ronnie downloaded the solution to getting solitaire down to one marble in the middle. Thea and Maisie worked on a training programme for their swimming. Ronnie is not as concerned as he is now in the middle of playing lots of cricket and football. All a very welcome change from the doom and gloom around the world.

And don’t get me started on loony tunes Trump. That man gets more unbelievable (literally) every time he opens his mouth. He is accusing Democratic mayors and governors of mishandling the violence and it seems to me he is the one stoking the tensions. He refused to meet the family of Jacob Blake as they wanted lawyers to be present. So he’s a coward too, it appears. Although we all know he hasn’t got the capacity to deal with intelligent people. The nearer we get to the US elections the more exposed he is going to be to people who have a higher intellect. Mind you, we all said that last time and look what happened then.

Winter is coming in the UK (although not in Romania yet) and we are starting to get ready. We’ve bought teak oil to treat the garden bench and bulbs to put in ready for spring. On Sunday morning, the heating came on albeit for just 30 minutes so it won’t be long now although we may still get an “Indian Summer”. We have 14 days to decide whether or not our Austria holiday will go ahead. That would give us time to cancel the accommodation in Salzburg and re-book apartments in or around Berchtesgarten. We would the keep the car hire booking and obviously, if Easyjet don’t cancel the flight we will still fly to Munich.