16th, October2020. 216 days in lockdown/isolation

I have a complaint for the BBC. Angela Ripon using except instead of accept. She would get the right word if she wrote it so why not say it correctly. News readers on the BBC are some of the worst. It would never have happened in the 30s, 40s and 50s with old style news readers

Bathroom furniture has gone in. All tiling finished and grouted. It is looking good and Dave will return on Monday to finish off.

Our new NEXT chair arrived today. There were two in the van but the driver kept it and made a note for head office.After the messing about changing the order, all is now well. They had mistakenly thought we wanted a set of 6. The full amount for them was taken out on VISA. 4 have been re-credited with one to go. It should be sorted out by Monday. There is a bonus though as for each of my two phone calls, they are sending me a £15 voucher. Result!

21st fish and chips from “Frydays” tonight. The 1st debit of £9.10 was on the 30/5 every Friday (with the odd Saturday instead) since. But up until then we had paid cash since lockdown. That’s another 10 visits so that is fish and chips for every Friday since 15th March. 31 in total. What diet?

I have not mentioned the “R” number for a bit but it started to pass the magic number 1 in early September. It is now 1.3 to 1.5 so the infections are growing. Surprise surprise!! Boris gave yet another poor briefing asking questioners to refer to the appropriate web site. Appalling.

15th October, 2020. 215 days since lockdown/isolation

Washed the car today after checking the tyres as warning lights were flashing on the dashboard. One tyre was overinflated and one under. After visiting the air machine in Morrison’s forecourt, the pressures were put right but the warning lights were still on. What now?

Took Mum’s washing back today and paid the window cleaner who visited while I was there. Whilst there, I also took the opportunity to have a shower. We are still unable to shower at home and the plumber estimates we will have the job signed off on Monday.

It is pleasing to see that we have been allocated tier 1 status in our area and although things are a bit clearer for us, it may not be for some others. This is why…….

Can people from different households meet?….No

What about a pub?….Yes

Can you meet in groups over 6? ….No

What about schools?….Yes

Can we go to the theatre if we wear a mask?….No

What about an aeroplane?…Yes

Do you know what you’re doing?….Yes

Really??!!!…No

This may not be entirely correct at the time of publication, but you get my drift. What is also worrying is that Dominic Cummings may be behind some of this mess.

13th October, 2020. 213 days since lockdown/isolation

What is it about Americans that permits them to only use half a phrase so that the sentence becomes gobbledegook? Or is it just me? Sadly, it has spread to the UK. The worst thing for me is when they say, for example “as far as the election, voting could be rigged”. What happened to “is concerned” after the word “election”. It does not make sense. I imagine myself living in the USA and criticising them for their bad use of English and their spelling and me thereby, becoming very unpopular. I don’t have a problem with use of different words such as elevator, automobile or sidewalk but changing spelling makes my teeth itch. For example, colour/color, through/thru. Also, listening to them trying to pronounce “mirror” is hilarious. I was once trying to find some instructions in English for an electrical item bought in Spain. There was nothing there but under “American” I found full instructions. On computers, You can choose “English-UK” or ” “English-American”. It seems, therefore, that a separate language is evolving on the other side of the Atlantic and I should accept it. Maybe I should get out more?

Speaking of which, I have started watching Series 3 of “The Bridge”. It is brilliant as before but there is an addition to my “bucket list”. I am determined to drive across “The Bridge” which joins Copenhagen in Denmark with Malmo in Sweden. It is an awe inspiring piece of engineering.

Dave the plumber has continued his work in the bathroom. I guess he will finish in two days maximum.

I went to see Mum today. She was very well. I brought two machine loads of washing back for my hardworking wife to do. I should be able to take them back on Wednesday.

We had an estimate for a new loft ladder today. How can an advert show “from £277 plus VAT” to include steps, flooring and loft door and they wanted to charge over £600 for wooden steps only? It would have been £350 for aluminium steps. The salesman was wearing a Covid mask but should have been wearing a Dick Turpin one. Robbing so and sos. We will be looking elsewhere.

I couldn’t be bothered to listen to Trump today. I am just concentrating on East Yorkshire being awarded “Tier 3” status. That’s the one with the least number of restrictions on our freedom. Hoorah!!!!

12th October, 2020. 212 days since lockdown/isolation.

WE both had our flu jabs on Saturday. The doctors surgery was a hive of activity. They must have done hundreds on the day. And it was totally painless. Let us hope that like Trump we are virus fee of the influenza bug.

Sister in law, Carol, came for lunch yesterday. She is really coping well on her own and takes every opportunity to see her two daughters and their families. The subject of Christmas came up and it is very clear that things will be different this year and, who knows, for many years to come. The usual gathering of the Clark clan at my Mum’s will definitely be a casualty on Christmas Eve.

Our new top soil came today. The quality is superb and Jenny and I emptied the 1 tonne bag in the area for which it was planned, in no time at all. Now to buy rocks and sand and gravel to get it ready for planting. It is beginning to look good.

Our plumber came again today and started the tiling and the installation of the shower tray. Dave (Green) is a fantastic worker and is leaving us with a quality new family shower room. With luck, he may finish tomorrow. I have already paid £1000 and will pay the balance by bank transfer when he gives me the final bill.

I went to watch Ronnie play football for Tickton yesterday. He was brilliant in midfield. That lad can play anywhere. His passing was very precise and was commented on by at least one Tickton spectator. I left immediately at the end so did not see if he won the Man of he Match award. He certainly deserved it.

Hull and East Yorkshire have been classified as tier 3 which means pubs shut at 10pm and we still have the rule of 6. Not bad but the country as a whole is still in a bad state. The second wave is well and truly with us and as long as numpties like Trump continue to refuse to accept that Corona is a reality, I can only see the wave getting worse. Watch this space.

Clearly Trump is a lunatic and I would not put it past him to have fabricated his illness to get the sympathy vote. It has clearly backfired with his popularity ratings at a low. His “discussion” with Jo Biden did him no favours and I hope he does not recover the votes he must have lost. His wife would make a better president. But then, so would I. President Clark has a certain ring to it.

After my fall a week ago, in Scotland, I was too unwell to go to York to see our friends Mike and Chris. After calling 111, the NHS helpline, they prescribed Codeine which, after getting the prescription from the pharmacist, helped tremendously and the pain went after four or five days. So no major damage done. It certainly felt like it but the pain is your brains way of saying “take it easy”

We have started Christmas shopping. We also have Ronnie and Maisie who have birthdays in November. Goodness, where has the year gone. I won’t be upset to see the back of it. Two holidays cancelled and a golden Wedding Celebration impossible. We did manage Scotland for a couple of days and are hoping for a visit to Derby to meet the Clarke family from Spain. So it’s not all bad.

6th October, 2020. 206 days since lockdown/isolation.

Got through to NHS helpline (#111) and my GP rang me shortly afterwords. They suggested my fall had resulted in a muscular injury and prescribed Codein. If the problem worsened I should go back to the GP. I should get lots of rest and do no heavy lifting. Not very satisfactory and I will get the pills from the pharmacy tomorrow. At least the injury is recorded on my medical history.

Boris has spoken to the Conservative Party Conference today, promising much but you have to be aware it is a conference and not the budget. I agree with one thing he said though. “It is not good enough just to return to normal after the pandemic”. We definitely want to be compensated by “better than normal”. He had lots of good ideas but they were all aspirations, short on detail, rather than promises with specifics such as cost. And he referred to Humberside as “Humber”. For his geographic knowledge of the UK, it’s a “C” from me!

The plumber came today and took everything out of the bathroom before lunch. We now have a bath in the front garden. Very handy! He has taken all but the bath to the tip and left the house nice and tidy. Back at 8am tomorrow.

I have always thought that Trump was a loonie. That has been confirmed by his latest “party piece”. Talking on the Whitehouse balcony, he looked distinctly unwell. After his mini trip around the Whitehouse so that his adoring fans could wave to their godlike president, he could hardly breath enough to speak. Many more people will probably be infected because of his reckless behaviour. Why do they go along with this lunatic behaviour? We will never know.

5th October, 2020. 205 days since lockdown/isolation.

It’s hard to believe we have been living through this pandemic for over 200 days now. I always thought there would be a second wave and we are now in the middle of it and it is much worse than before. Even Boris has had it and now, Trump has succumbed. This is the chap who declared Covid 19 as fake news and saw no need to wear a mask. He and many of his cohorts have now tested positive. The interesting thing is that the election is only one month away and who knows what spin they are putting on this situation. It could all be a fairy tale. If not, then his infection is surely KARMA.

In view of the worsening situation, we are socking up the freezer but not in the sense of panic buying. We have only a small freezer capacity left as we have made lots of meals made and frozen them for emergencies and have lots of meat and veg frozen packs, squirrelled away. We are fine for household items such as kitchen roll etc and have loads of tinned food. If we still get water from the tap for drinking and washing, we will be OK.

Tomorrow, the plumber is coming to completely refurbish the bathroom and change the bath to a shower. We are looking forward to it and it should be completed before the weekend.

David came for lunch with the grandchildren yesterday. We had not seen them altogether for two weeks so it was great to see them again. We had shepherd’s pie and it all disappeared. Even Ronnie ate all his even though he doesn’t like mashed potato. Doh!

Because of the “rule of 6” David’s visit had to be after our friends Andy and Lindy had left. We had just had a great few days with them in Scotland at Eyemouth, north of Berwick. We stayed at the Glenerne Hotel. A lovely hotel with a harbour view and beautiful rooms. We had the one with the four poster bed. WE had time in the afternoon for a walk around the harbour and a beer. We saw 5 seals as the tide came in. Then a quick shower and a meal at the Ship Inn. Jenny and I had a steak and ale pie with so much meat in, we could have shared one. Wonderful food.

The next day we walked along the coastal path to St Abbs. About 4 miles. With about one third of the distance left. I don’t know how but it was quite muddy and slippery and I fell forwards with my legs pointing uphill. Jenny and Andy had to swivel me round and lift me to my feet. The top of my pelvis was in constant pain thereafter and three days later I rang 111 and a clinician will call me back. We managed a meal out in the evening which was Italian and not so good. It was a very rainy drive home on the next day, Saturday.

Today was Aldi day. Nothing special about that but they have started selling Xmas sweet so my stock of marzipan has started early. Will it last?

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.