28th September, 2021. 564 days since our first lockdown day.

Today was the 5th and last day of our visit from Bill and Irene, We covered alot of ground showing them Hull and East Yorkshire at it’s best. We had lovely weather and although evenings were spent at home having a wee dram, we managed to fit in visits to Hornsea, Beverley (where we met our niece, Stephanie), Had meals at The Duke of Cumberland and Pascoe’s in Cottingham, and a wonderful leg of lamb at home on Sunday. We managed to take them to see mum who recognised them and we all had a good chat. We had picked them both up from York and took them back today. All went smoothly and they were picked up at their home railway station. It was really great to see them and we really enjoyed talking about the times in Spain. None of us regret coming back to the UK.

I went to Mum’s today as Catherine was going to cut her hair. She did a cracking job and Mum looked great.While we were there we took the opportunity to harvest some pears from the tree in the garden which are large and potentially juicy. We picked some for Catherine to take.

I had my second eye injection last week. There has been some improvement but I feel I am still unable to drive. Jenny is a star as well as a great chauffeur. We managed to get fuel for the car and should now be OK for a month. WE did not panic buy but the whole country seems to be going mad. Just like the old days with toilet rolls.

The attempts by Boris and his merry men to solve the problem are laughable and going nowhere. Why would any European HGV driver come back here for a couple of months to help us out when we effectively threw them out of he UK. I wouldn’t!! This government really is the pits and unless things change very soon, we will all be in the mire. There is not one person in the cabinet, current and replaced, who has my confidence. Not one of them is up to the job, unless you count feathering their own nests, at which they are all VERY good.

We had a couple of WhatsApp calls with Sally and Jim. Things in Romania are getting worse and our chances of getting together again soon are slim but we live in hope. It is not good news from Jim’s family where his sister is unwell. We wish her well.

Ronnie was away with his school on a residential outdoor activities course last week. They experienced climbing, canoeing, archery and lots of other stuff. He looked like he had a great time and went to bed as soon as he got home. Sadly, it is possible that he brought covid home too. We are awaiting test results.

Maisie had some of her pals around last week. It was nice that she wanted to show David’s house off to her mates.

20th September, 2021. 556 days since our first lockdown day.

The kitchen is not yet finished but it is mainly due to the injuries suffered by Jason the fitter. There are some small adjustments to make. The tiling is still to be arranged.

Jim’s allergy is still causing him problems in Romania. It is ragweed season which is longer this year than normal. Thank goodness I have no such allergies as it must be awful to have to stay indoors simply because of pollen in the air.

Max Verstappen is a bully and should be held to account for the crash with Louis Hamilton last weekend. Whose fault it was is a matter for debate but at the time, Hamilton was still in his car and Verstappen just got out of his car and simply walked away without checking on Hamilton’s condition. A callous and nasty decision. Hopefully he will get more than the pathetic 3 grid position penalty.

It seems that travel rules as regards the UK have been altered to make it easier for us double jabbers to come back home. We will look at going to Romania but will ask Sally to check the rules for us. They are after all, experts. At least we don’t have that problem with travelling back from Scotland, which is just as well as we await the visit of Bill and Irene on Friday. As a result, I will miss the Junior Cottingham Cricket Club presentation night on Friday but at least David will be able to go and take a few photos for us.

We are all still being affected by Brexit. There are already food shortages due to the lack of HGV delivery drivers. These are in turn affected by the return to their home countries of many foreign drivers. Local bus services are being reduced for the same reason. Drivers are going elsewhere and East Yorkshire bus services are 70 drivers short with only 20 trainees to replace them. This is all going to end badly and we are definitely due for a bout of panic buying. It seems daft that there is no food shortage as such. With farmers digging crops back into the earth, next year may in fact produce actual shortages. I can’t wait. Boris and his mates continue to line each other’s pockets whilst reducing the incomes of the poorer Brit by increasing National Insurance payments and withdrawing the Universal Credit. Now I know what a double whammy really is! He has to go but I believe he is getting to like the job and he won’t go until he is rich enough or until Carrie says he can.

Ronnie played football on Friday night at Pocklington under floodlights. We left with 10 minutes to go when they were losing 3-1. David’s Ex was there and posted on Facebook what a great game it was. Well, not the game I was watching. I thought they were poor on this occasion.

David moved house this weekend. It is a 4 bedroom town house with four bedrooms so he and the kids have one each. There are 4 bathrooms. Perfect. Jenny and me (a bit) have been there a couple of days emptying boxes and doing a few DIY jobs. He and the grandchildren can now live there properly.

12th September, 2021. 548th day since our first lockdown day.

Jason the carpenter, came for his last full day working on our kitchen. There may be some tiny bits to finish after the tiler, Carl and the electrician, Ryan and the worktop team have done their bit. Jenny has already painted the kitchen so it will be about done before Bill and Irene visit. She has also filled most of the drawers and cupboards and the house is looking much smarter.

Went to see Albert Lee with Angela and Paul, last night at the Cottingham Civic Hall. We booked the tickets as we knew that Paul was a big fan. Although Lee was still a very accomplished guitarist, he was really boring and although he had played with so many stars including three albums made with the “Crickets” he had no stories to tell. He did tell us that he was shortly to play on a cruise ship. The holiday makers will want more than “the next song was written by….” Overall, I think brother in law was a bit underwhelmed.

Yesterday I went to Driffield to watch Cottingham 1st Cricket team play and hopefully win to confirm promotion as Champions. This they duly did by bowling Driffield CC out for 105 and knocking the runs off by losing only two wickets. I have enjoyed watching them this season and look forward to watching some games further afield against some quality teams.

It was a sporty day having watched the 1st half of a football friendly involving Ronnies ream. The opposition were a year older and when I left, Tickton Cobras were losing 2-0. The lads will, for the first time, have to get used to the offside laws for the first time. Good luck with that!!

Sally rang today. Covid is taking a hlt again in Romania and she is looking at having a third (booster) jab. So travelling to Romania has become a challenge again and meeting in Germany is back on the agenda. There is good news for Sally and Jim in that there is a massive new take up of children wanting to play instruments. This is particularly good news for Jim. We updated each other on health matters and despite a few minor problems, we are all relatively healthy. I showed Sally the (unfinished ) kitchen and she was really impressed.

Brexit is still a pain, especially with travel in mind. Now Boris has been caught lying about tax etc again. Although some shortages are appearing, we are not really affected as yet. But with liar Boris and a bent chancellor, I fear the worst. We will suffer in due course while the old Etonians and their ilk, prosper.

9th September, 2021. 545th day since our first lockdown date (15th March )

The biggest news of the past week is the increase in National Insurance Contributions. What is not news to me is that Boris is lying again to disguise the amount of the increase.They are publicly conning everyone by promoting the increase as a low 1.25%. This is bollocks. It may be 1.25% of wages but it is a 12.5 % increase of the previous payment. That’s a one eighth hike. Lie number 2 was that the Tories have broken a manifesto pledge NOT to increase Income Tax, VAT or National Insurance. There is a bit of a pledge to cap contributions towards care but many will still see life savings disappear. I am going to make it my business that should the occasion arise, They will get nothing from me. I think they call it “spending the kid’s inheritance”. Bring it on.

Managed to get to watch Ronnie play for Tickton Cobras U.11 and although starting badly and going 2-0 down eventually won 5-2 In a goalmouth melee, Ronnie scored the 5th. He was in midfield looking a bit lost but as soon s he went up front he caused the opposition problems. Helped in no small measure, that he can use both feet. Just like his Granddad. ie me!. His mum was there with an entourage but we ignored her. Her behaviour is getting more erratic with David but he is sorting it. She has now blocked everyone close to the situation on WhatsApp, email, phone calls etc. inlcuding Jenny and me. Why?

Our kitchen fitter who had a broken jaw from an unprovoked attack, has returned after a plate was screwed across two breaks. He is clearly in some discomfort but will work today and tomorrow and longer if necessary. What a star. The worktop people are coming next week followed by the tiler and then that will be it, hopefully. Just in time for the visit of Bill and Irene.

I went to watch Cottingham 1st Cricket team last weekend and was there to see them win the game, get 30 points and thereby ensure promotion. On Saturday next, they play their last game at Driffield and need just 13 points to ensure being league champions. However. Mike Gibson has prooved positive for Covid and will not be going. I have no symptoms (I saw him last Saturday) but will do a swab test today.

We are going to Cottingham Memorial Hall to see Albert Lee in concert. We are going with Angela and Paul, who is a big fan. It should be good.

We went to Mum’s yesterday to take her step ladders back At the same time we took a few Conference pears of her tree which is absolutely loaded with them. Mum is very well and alert.

1st September, 2021. 536th day since our 1st lockdown date (15th March, 2020).

I have been fascinated by the paralympics which, to me, are the pinnacle of human achievement over adversity. After watching any paralympic sport, you realise that it would be a great achievement to get to their standards. Table tennis. canoeing, running, cycling, botcha are just some of the sports that have enthralled us all. Money is put into the various sports although some events miss out. Most of the funding comes from the National lottery but I think that much more should come from central government.The lift that UK success has given us all in this horrible period in our lives is immeasurable and worth more than the millions spent on vanity projects. For those who have not been immersed in the paralympics, then they have missed something wonderful.

What has been emphasised, more than once, is the commitment of parents and friends to support them, in more ways than one, including taking them to their training facilities, sometimes great distances away. Able bodied athletes get the same support but it must be much more of a challenge for the disabled who will need specialist equipment also. Congratulations to them all who will no doubt share the excitement of winning Olympic Medals.

Some more Karma today as Weatherspoons announce difficulties in getting beer stocks to their pubs. Bud Light, Carling and Coors are actually unavailable in some branches. They will try to deflect the blame to Covid related problems but Covid did not create the HGV driver shortage. Brexit did. The driver shortage arose BEFORE the pandemic. Tim Martin, the Australian owner and fervent Brexiteer, must be dead chuffed. Especially after printing 200,000 beer mats in 2016, urging people to “take back control”. Yeh, right!! In the meantime, McDonald’s have run out of Milkshake, Nando’s are complaining about a lack of chicken and the boss of the Co-op said that shortages are at a worse level than ever seen before. Thank you Brexit!!

Watched Ronnie play football tonight. Not at his best but they won 6-2. Met David there and had a good long chat. Went toThe Fair Maid for a meal but would have had to wait at least 45 minutes. So we went home and had toast.