8th November, 2021.

598 days since our first lockdown day.

It has been a busy week, one way or another. We were not able to spend any time with the grandchildren as it was not David’s turn for his allotted 2 days out of 10 but we were able to go and watch Ronnie play football. He had put them 3-1 ahead with a great header. To satisfy sponsors and other favoured parents the coach made several substitutions with less than 15 minutes left. I would not denigrate any of them but the team is carrying too much deadwood and they all get a game, no matter what. Suffice to say, Tickton lost 3-5. It’s a shame as Tickton would otherwise have enough talent to win the league.

The Pandemic still dominates and it continues to dominate our daily lives and routines. We still still manage to get one big shop at Aldi and individual items at our local stores and markets. We have had some visitors, namely sister in law Carol and cousin Pamela who we had picked up from Leeds Bradford airport after a three week holiday in Kos, Greece. Lucky thing!! My mate Mike Gibson had also called in while his wife Maria, had an hospital appointment. Mike has had a hard time with illness lately but hopefully he is slowly on the mend. It was very interesting to hear about his holiday in Iceland. He and Maria were very impressed with the island, as were we when we went a few years ago.

Corruption in the government continues to be rife.Having failed to change the rule to protect one of his mates, Boris has done a U turn and not changed the rules, so his mate had to resign. Owen Paterson had allegedly been a in receipt of money to lobby parliament and had obtained contracts to provide NHS equipment without a normal bidding process. A Twitter storm ensued and Patterson has gone. Is it too much to hope that Johnson will follow?

I went for a chest X-ray on Thursday following on from a GP appointment. I can ring for the results next week, unless they contact me first. The X-ray is as a result of reporting a shortness of breath.

Sally and Jim made it safely back to Bucharest and have continued with their lessons on line to students. They keep in regular touch and are both very well.

I am now taking regular Vitamin B12 an D. I can see no noticeable difference yet, although with the B12 pills, my GP advises it could take a while. At the moment, I can still sleep for England.

I have had a lovely Email from my cousin Petra in Germany Who longs for us to visit. The numbers there are going up in the wrong way and I cannot see us going any time soon. Sally and Jim also want to meet us in Germany so there is a long term plan to incorporate both wishes in one trip. We miss them in Laboe and hope to meet soon. I hope Manfred’s eye problems with his cataracts are soon overcome.

I spoke to my GP today about the recent blood test. Apart from the B12 deficiency, all the numbers are normal or within acceptable limits. This includes the prostate test, which is great news. I will have to have another test in about eight weeks.

I went to Mum’s today to tighten the arms on her spectacles. I think mum needs new ones now as the nose support is broken and it is a long while since her last test. She was in good form but as recent visits and phone calls have shown, this can change very quickly.