31st December, 2021

648 days since our first lockdown day.

.And here we are. The last day of 2021 and it can’t finish soon enough. 2022 must get better, surely. Normally I would reflect on the happy and good times of the year before but this feels different. We had no holidays abroad nor were we able to visit Sally and Jim or cousin Petra. I will remember 2021 with fondness, our friends and close family and good neighbours. But not the, what seems, like the eternal lock down or restrictions imposed on us by our leader. The narcissistic Boris Johnson.

First of all, the Covid pandemic never abated and even though there was some light at the end of the tunnel, along came Omicron to spoil the party.

Second, we had the continuing corruption of our government. I have seen the corruption in Kenya and Romania and found it insidious. Once a government gets away with giving favourable contracts to friends and award contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds and making them lords, they can lie with impunity and get away with it all.

Third, we have the constant lying of our PM and his henchmen and women. This has been a cancer on our country.

There are many other bad memories of government failures:-

To get people out of Afghanistan, particularly those who worked as translators for the government They were effectively condemned to death.

The failure of Brexit.Where is the £350,000,000 a week for the NHS whose heroic workers were offered a derisory 1% pay rise? Much less than #liarboris# and his mates and family who raked it in with dubious and unfulfillable government contracts.

More defence cuts. Can we even protect ourselves against a small European country? Unlikely.

The UK is doing virtually nothing for climate change. Electric cars are, at the moment, useless and overpriced. We are still selling diesel cars which have a short shelf life now. We will soon need masks just to walk down the street. And that’s without the worry of Covid.

Farmers and fishermen have been betrayed for example, all licences for French boats have been renewed without a whimper. Just a little bit of bullying was enough. It is the usual pattern with Europe taking revenge on the UK. Farmers have lost most of their subsidies. Well done #liarboris#.

After 4 years, the Grenfel Tower enquiry has not been sorted.

I nearly forgot the parties for which we are still awaiting an explanation. And how could we forget Matt and his filmed grope. But I bet he’ll be back after a while.

If you haven’t watched the film “Don’t Look Up”, make point of doing so. I think it is soon on at cinemas if, perchance, you do not have access to Netflix. It is a powerful satire on the pandemic.

It only remains for me to wish my small readership, a very happy new year. It must be better than 2021 and I for one am looking forward to, hopefully, have a few breaks abroad. Have I any predictions? Well, I think there may be an election but first there will be a change at the top. Boris will go and take his wallpaper and wife and kids with him. He has lots of “pals” who owe him a financial favour. There will continue to be by-elections. The Tories will lose them all. Hull City will not make the playoffs. Our England cricket team will have their worst year ever. Women’s Rugby will be more and more popular. I love it for their total commitment. We will still be taking Lateral Flow Tests for most of 2021. We WILL have a holiday in Germany to visit Petra and Manfred during the year sometime and more than one visit to Sally and Jim in Bucharest or Spain. My eyesight will improve. My knees will not. Our son David will have a simpler, happier and successful year. I will watch less TV and do more walking.

HAPPY NEW YEAR one and all.

28th December, 2021

645 days since our first lockdown day

Our government and in particular the PM, is totally corrupt. Especially with the awarding various contracts to themselves (family), friends and Tory donors who, in great numbers are awarded peerages and now govern, un-elected from the House of Lords. I was, in the past, a staunch supporter of the idea of a second house but am now totally against the whole thing which is now being used to shore up a Tory party whether they are in government or not. As the Tories look to have a problem in holding on to their seats and the projected result of the next election, were it to be held today, is an overall Labour /LibDem win. Even the PM is likely to lose his seat so they appear to be audaciously filling the Lords with Tory supporters. An election cannot come too soon and if, as is muted. Liz Truss becomes the next PM. Boris would be a shoe in for the Ermine Cloak in the Lords. Please, no!!!!! on all counts!!

David’s ex is playing mind games with everyone again. This year was David’s turn to have the kids on Christmas day and beyond. This was agreed Last year (2020). However, the kids were told that the ex’s twin sister had arranged a lunch on that day at her house at 1pm. They would go to David on Boxing day. Then, at the last minute it was announced that the ex’s two sisters had gone to Lanzarotte for a winter holiday. The ex still kept the kids and they had Christmas lunch with her, and the other two grandparents. THE question is, when was Lanzarotte booked? Surely not on Xmas day??!! The Ex must have known some days before but chose not to announce it. That is, if there was a planned overseas break anyway. See!!! A true narcissists mind games. David does not tell the kids any of this but it must be painful. Still, the end is in sight and everything will be clear to one and all. I really hope so!!

Visits to see Mum on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day went well with every one staggering visiting times so not too many were there at once. We went on both days. Mum was quite confused about who had been and when and was not sure where she was. It was quite worrying but one of the carers assured me that one reason was that she was very tired. I hope so but I will keep checking.

On Boxing day we went to David’s for tea. The kids opened their presents from us. There were some lovely things and apart from one of them, there was great appreciation. Good, because Jenny had spent a lot of time and effort (and money) finding nice gifts. The two girls flounced off later without a proper goodbye but no one chose to go and stay at their mum’s. It’s what had been arranged over a year ago. More mind games as they had clearly been lied to. David dealt with it very well. David’s ex was probably not in anyway. Maybe she had gone to Lanzerotte??

We managed to see a few people in the last week. Neighbours David an Thelma for a cuppa and “street chats” with all our neighbours and Wrighty when we delivered hi Christmas card but only on his doorstep. Simon and Shareen have not yet given birth to their second boy (due on the 24th) we wait with baited breath. WE also called to see Uncle Raymond and Auntie Phyllis for a cuppa. Sadly we have not seen Pamela or her family. WE have had numerous WhatsApp calls with Sally and the Pywells. They are all fine and Gillian is coming home from hospital most days Richard (bless him) fetches her in his car.

It has been a relatively quiet Christmas for us and the weather has been horrible so not much walking has taken place. Still, we have managed to eat all three joints that we cooked. Pork, Ham and Duck Breast. I dare not look at the scales. WE have had loads of different veg so not all was unhealthy. Lots of biscuits, marzipan and brandy snap though. Not much in the way of alcohol has been quaffed, more Bison Grass than anything else.

Jason came to look at the kitchen unit at the sink and found a water leak which had blown the carcass and the supporting plinth. It goes down as our problem so have ordered a new carcass and plinth. £241. Jason will come and do the fitting and fit the garage units at the same time.

The spread of the Omicron variant has not affected us. We are very careful and are doing regular Antigen Rapid tests which have all proved negative. The numbers are still rising and an email from my cousin in Germany is as frightening as it is here.One day this madness will end. I hope it’s soon!!!!

21st December, 2021

639 days since our first lockdown day.

It has been a busy week. Sally and Jim came from Romania last week but because of Covid rules, they self isolated for the two mandatory days at our house. No problem for us as we enjoyed their exclusive company during that time. They then went to London/Croydon to help with preparations for Jim’s Mum’s funeral. Gillian is not too well and they were hoping she would be able to come out of hospital for Olive’s funeral at St. Georges Church on Monday of this week.

David’s ex is still causing problems with the divorce settlement. As I see it, David has tried, to his financial detriment, to reach an agreement, which she has chosen to block at every turn and has now dismissed her barrister and continues with her “not fully qualified” representative. She does herself no favours by sticking with this poor lady who is, effectively, controlled by her. The latest offer by David and his representative, seems to indicate a possible end to the whole thing but it depends on whether or not his ex feels she will lose control. Because that is what it is all about. There are many parallels in behaviour with Boris Johnson, albeit at a different levels. I think that the Judge, if it gets that far, will recognise this and my feeling is that she will not let things get that far as she then loses control. Although she is squeezing as much, financially, as she can, it’s “winning” that counts. I think she is operating the same way with the children but sadly for her, they are growing up and can no doubt work out what is going on for themselves. David is a great and very caring dad and they will see that.

We went to London on Sunday by train, to be at Olive’s funeral. The Hull Trains journey was perfect and comfortable and Sally met us at Kings Cross and we took a bus and a train to our hotel, The Innkeepers Lodge in Beckenham. We then went for tea to see Ken and the family in Shirley, Croydon. Sally took us back to the hotel which we went to by bus. It was lovely to find that arrangements had been made for Gillian to get “time off” from hospital t attend the funeral on Monday.

The Funeral itself was quite “churchy” but lovely, and Sally was one of the speakers, and talked well about Olive’s later life. She was a very interesting lady. Afterwards we went to the church hall for nibbles. It was lovely to see Co;in and Ivy and their “kids” Luke and Rosemary. It was also great to meet up with Dwight, Jim’s pal since they were 11. We had met him before but not for two or three decades but he greeted us like old friends. A really lovely man and clearly a good loyal family friend. After the “wake” we went back to Kens house for a short while before we set off home. Jim’s brother, Richard, took us to West Wycombe railway station. At KIng’s Cross our train left bang on time. Everything was perfect until we got to our house.

We waved to our taxi from the station and went into the house. I realised I had lost my wallet containing nearly £300, bus and train passes and VISA and debit cards. We jumped into our car and chased the taxi and I got out of the car at hull station and looked for a mask in my man bag. Guess what I found? You guessed it. The damned wallet. What a numpty! Enough said. Jenny had been driving and was not impressed.

On Sunday I went to watch Ronnie play football. They did not play well and lost 4.1 but Ronnie scored a tremendous volley. It was a horrible morning, damp and cold.

Visited mum a couple of times. She remembers she has had her booster but not much else. A neighbour had reported seeing her stood on the front step of her house, very confused. She went back in and Angela rang to make sure she was OK. She was. We will have to keep an eye on the situation.

The Covid pandemic rumbles on so I took a swab test and with just one line showing, I am clear again. Jenny and I always wear masks. Enough said.

Boris Johnson rumbles on as usual. Or should I say “rambles”. What with becoming a father for the “nth” time, parties at number 10, Liz Truss, most of his cabinet being incompetent and just awful Tory performances, he has had an awful year. He deserves no better. We need Alan Johnson to step up but it would require a Labour government. Anyway, he doesn’t want the job.

14th December, 2021

632 days since our first lockdown day.

It has been a long time since my last post. My lethargy seems to have kicked in again and it’s all i can do to get out of bed. I’ve also not been motivated due to the complexities of getting Mum’s booster jab. Firstly we were told that her GP would not be doing it having outsourced to a pharmacy in Bradford. They in turn, promised to come last Monday between 10am and 6pm. I was there for 8 hours and nobody turned up. I rang the Bradford pharmacy several times and eventually got a phone number which I rang several times as a means of pressurising the person “on site”. It worked and yesterday they rang they would go to mum’s between 4.30pm and 6pm. Two nurses came at 5.30pm and duly administered the jab. All done. Phew!!

Sally came for a couple of days last week before joining Jim in Croydon. The news there is not good. Having lost his mum, Olive, Jim’s sister,Gillian is now very ill and needing a lot of care and Sally and Jim will be returning, after going back to Bucharest, before Christmas to help out. They arrive back in Doncaster tomorrow and we will be picking them up. They will be with us for a couple of days to self isolate and then they go to London. Olive’s funeral is on the 20th and we will also be going, by train.

Boris has been his usual useless self and he does not help by continuously denying that a party took place at Downing street last year. His senior ministers are lying to protect him but it just makes things worse. Everyone in the world knows the party took place whilst every one else was in lockdown. Boris and his team don’t seem to realise that people have mobile phones nowadays, that take films which will reach the media and the public. He is now so much in denial and scared of the press that last night he gave a “briefing” about Covid that was pre-recorded in order for him not to have to face any awkward questions.

There is a bye election this Thursday and all indications are that the Lib/Dems will turn over a huge majority and win the seat. Whilst I can understand that, I cannot work out why anyone who reads the papers or watches the News, would go into a polling booth and put their cross against the Tory candidate’s name. There is definitely a case for trying to get one of the opposition candidates to stand down and try to persuade the voters of the other party to go with them. In fact if there were to be a General Election, this should happen in every constituency, purely as a tactical move to get the Tories out. After all, things could not be any worse than the right wing lot we have in charge at the moment, who seem to be working towards a dictatorship.

We have seen the grandchidfen a couple of times for a meal and whilst they will eat anything, they seem to really favour our spaghetti bolognese recipe from last night. They seem to enjoy plenty of herbs. I could watch them at the table via a new security camera in the kitchen through my mobile phone. Very impressive with a very sharp picture and the facility to speak to them through the camera via the microphone in the mobile phone. I love it (£20) and may get an out door one covering the back garden. It would be good if I could get a wireless model.

Watched Ronnie play cricket once and football twice. All the players were rusty for the indoor cricket competition where Ronnie bowled really well. He was clean bowled a couple of times so some work needed there. As for the football he had two great games and scored in both. However in the second game, where he was the main striker in the first half, they put him in goal for the second half. Why? He is not a goalkeeper and duly let in two “soft” goals which could almost be classed as own goals. Ronnie was clearly upset and at the end of the game, the opposition coach went to Ronnie to sympathise with him. He was probably pleased that Ronnie’s coach had taken Ronnie off, effectively, Tickton’s best outfield player. The trouble is that David and Ronnie never complain about less good and even useless players who are sons of sponsors, regularly getting full games. Ronnie loves hi football and I am sure, would play for any team. Many would sign him up. Maybe he should move, say to a Beverley team. After all, he lives there!!

We have had every kind of weather recently. Mild and then cold air. Drizzle rain and sun. The forecast for Christmas is cloudy, cold but dry. No snow, which we had 10 days ago. It only lasted a day.

I spent a couple of days writing Christmas cards. It was quite difficult as my writing has almost become illegible and is small and tapers off at the end of each word. I usually write a message on the cards. I did this year but they were very short. Although I thought my eyesight may have improved a bit, it clearly has not. The troublesome right eye has settled a bit but the left eye is getting more blurred. I am to get my fifth injection tomorrow so we will see what the eye tst shows. Last week I had a long phone chat with the Eye Consultant who assured me that there was still time for improvement. It is early days yet and they are hoping to clear the blocked veins which are black and right in the centre of my vision. He was very encouraging. I still have not driven more than a few yards since August and will see how it goes after my 6th jab in January.

I have had my front tooth repaired. The dentist said again, that if it did not work he would have to put a crown in.The new filling has hardly any tooth to latch on to so it will inevitably fall out in due course leaving me with a Terry Thomas gap again. (Sadly, I remember him but nobody else does). That will be another £200+ thank you very much!

I had a fall outside Tesco’s in Hull last week. I was on the upward moving slope (no steps) telling a lady behind me about a short film on YouTube showing a lady falling all the way down to the bottom with her trolley. I missed the end of the stairway and fell straight down, A very nice (Eastern European) gentleman lifted me up, no bother. Although I was embarrassed I was not injured. I have clearly missed my vocation. I should have been a stuntman as I clearly know how to fall. It’s just as well as I still lose my balance a lot. The B12 supplement pills seem not to be effective. Yet.

Christmas Tree up and decorated tomorrow. Oh joy!!! It means going into the loft.

1st December, 2021.

619 days since our first lock down day.

Visited Mum yesterday. Whilst there I rang Rimmington’s to get an update on her booster. They had hoped to come on the 30th November but had been hampered by the weather. The young man was concerned for mum and promised to prioritise it for next Monday. He will ring me in advance so I can attend. No problem for me. I rang Angela and updated Sally did a WhatsApp call and updated us on the happenings in Croydon. Gillian had a hospital appointment where more tests were done. Interestingly they gave her a Vitamin B. 12 injection and loads of prescription medication. Ken has also had ultra sound testing for prostate cancer. No results yet. Sally, who went with them, spent the time wandering around London around Tower Bridge. She arrived in Hull today where we picked her up from the railway station. We had a chlli supper and Sally prepared some lessons for her students in Bucharest

Compulsory wearing of masks in shops and on public transport started yesterday. I popped to our local shop this morning and there was a 50% adherance to the rules. On the bus from my mums it was 100%. Interesting that the demographic on the bus was largely over 60. The “non-conformists” in the shop were about 30 years old. I think that says it all. They don’t give a monkeys about us oldies!!. Do you, Boris?

Found a great little vignette on twitter. A short film by “charlesTdale” who I remember as the porter in “Casualty” who went on to train as a nurse. He is Welsh. He recites a poem called “Don’t be a dick” which, basically, has a go at anti vaxxers. Absolutely brilliant. I am now one of his growing band of followers.