5th January 2021. 300 days of Lockdown/Isolation.

On our last trip to Aldi before lockdown. I opened the car door only to be hit by a falling branch. I looked up and a very large bird was just flying away. The car did not appear to be damaged but blood was drawn from my thumb. Was I being reminded that I should stay at home? That is our intention. This should certainly be our last “big shop” in a while. The last time we had full lockdown there were long queues to get into the store and we are not going through that. We will have deliveries from our local garden centre which provided high quality produce at a very slightly higher price. There was nothing we couldn’t get from there and it was always delivered within 24 hours.

Boris’s announcement that we are all on Tier 5 from (legally) tomorrow morning, is going to be hard but was no surprise. All schools will be closed and there will be no restaurants open although they will be allowed to do takeaways (but no alcohol). All gyms will be closed and ours has already sent us an Email saying they are shut down after tonight. I had already cancelled my subscription and Jenny’s will now also stop. That’s a total  saving of £47 a month! We are also saving on minimum car use having driven only about 2000 miles in nine months. We shall use the bus but maybe after we have been vaccinated

Things are not so bad in Romania and Sally and Jim are touring around in their friends car. I think that when they get home they will be in lockdown and teaching from home. I wish we could be there also.

Petra has been in touch and they are as bad if not worse than the UK. Both she and Manfred still have to go into work and Petra’s colleagues are less than cautious.  She is quite rightly worried. What is wrong with these people?

I called to see mum today. She is well and commented again on how she enjoyed the plated Christmas dinner we had taken her. She has not yet received a vaccination letter but Sue, one of the carers said that surgeries should be issuing letters now that the vaccine has started to arrive. Apparently the government have promised that all keyworkers and people in care in a home and at home and everyone over 70, will be vaccinated by mid February. I am not holding my breath.

We took our Christmas tree down on Sunday. That and all the trimmings are now in the loft. Mum still has everything (such as it is) on display and will keep it out until the 6th. Some traditions are hard to give up.

Sally in Romania.

4th January 2021. 299 days after lockdown/isolation.

Happy New Year dear reader. A lot has happened in recent days and I have been waiting for mum to get her letter to be called up for a vaccination. No letter or phone call has been received as yet, despite her being 94 years of age. Boris is on at 8pm and is likely to announce a full lockdown.

We have four main groups of Brits in the UK. Brexiteers, Anti vaxxers, Remainers and those who welcome the vaccine programme. Of those groups, I have found it rare that Brexiteers admit to their voting history. The rest are quite happy to stand their ground. Maybe the Brexiteers are waiting for it to be successful before they “come out of the cupboard”. Well, at the moment they will be keeping quiet as each day brings more bad news for the whole of the UK or individual groups of Brits. One emerging story is the Spanish authorities treatment of ex pats who have property there and those who might want to move out there. Pensioners have to have proof of income (minimum €26000) and restrictions on those already living there with challenges if they leave the country for a holiday. As an example (and I don’t have any details) I would site the purchasers of our Spanish house in Murcia in December 2018. After less than two years they have put it up for sale.

New years Eve was different this year. Most of our neighbours came out on the stroke of 1200 and we wished each other a Happy New Year. There was no singing or clapping but it was lovely and friendly and may become a tradition. Many years ago when we were in our 20s, we would go to the Barham pub until midnight and walk to our friend Liz’s house but on the way we would be invited to have a wee dram in a lot of houses where people were stood on their doorsteps listening to the boats hooters going off in Hull Docks, and watching fireworks. That’s a tradition that is long gone but would be lovely to revive. If only in part.

Lockdown Tier 5, has been announced. It applies from tomorrow unofficially but will be made law from Wednesday. The biggest thing is that schools will close down until at least February half term. Exams will probably not take place this year. More information will come out tomorrow.