26th 621 days since our first lockdown day November, 2021

614 days since our first lockdown day.

We went to see Mum on her 95th birthday, Angela and Christina were there too.

We went again on the Sunday when all her siblings and their families were there except Andrew and his family as they are in Dubai or somewhere Arabian. It was a lovely afternoon and as far as all the great grandchildren were concerned, they got on like a house on fire even though they had not been together since last Christmas. It was good to see everyone else, who with one or two exceptions, were fit and well and it was good to catch up.

David and kids came for tea on Friday and we did meatballs in bolognese and spaghetti. Nothing was left on any plate and I had made a lot. I was hoping for a snack on the next day but no!! They even had pudding. Good to see.

We went to watch Ronny play football and Ronnie had a great game (3 all) scoring a goal in the “comeback”. Sadly, he badly twisted his knee and had to miss Cricket in the afternoon and swimming in the evening.

On Tuesday we welcomed Andy and Lindy for three days of fun and red wine. On Tuesday we had dinner and red wine and generally caught up with all our news. On Wednesday we had a drive to Flamborough Head which was bracing. The restaurant that was recommended, was closed for renovations but we found a lovely place at Sewerby called “The Old Forge” which was outstanding. Parking was a problem though and although we could park on the road, it was only for one hour and I moved it halfway through the meal. It was the first time I had driven more than 50 feet in four months. It was fine but I wouldn’t fancy a long journey. On Thursday we went to the Cottingham Market and had a very nice lunch at the Duke if Cumberland. The cheesy chips are highly recommended. Yum!!

David’s financial settlement with his ex wife is drawing to a close. It could all so easily have been settled over a year ago but she changed overnight almost, and became awkward about everything resulting in both of them incurring unnecessary huge legal fees and court costs. In the end, apart from a couple of tweaks, they will end up with a value of assets and income of about half of everything. Precisely what had been provisionally agreed nearly a year ago. Stupid woman.

Sadly, earlier this week, Jim’s dear Mum, Olive, passed away after a long illness. Her last days were spent at home and Jim was able to be with her at the end. Sally will be joining him tomorrow. She was a lovely lady and will be sadly missed by all of us.We send our condolences to all family and friends whom we hope to see in due course. We are hoping that Sally and Jim may be able to pop to see us in the next few days.

Today, I let Jenny loose to go into Hull to do some Christmas shopping. She has cleaned my wallet out.

To finish on a more cheery note, Hull City have now won three games on the trot moving out of the bottom three in The Championship.So the Manager misses getting the sack for now.

And now we have our “boat people” trying to get into the UK. Some are dying and the rest don’t seem to be welcome.Have we forgotten that most British are of mixed heritage and I myself am the son of a German refugee? I despair of the final out come.

The news on Covid is not good but it does seem to be settling down and the numbers are getting worse on the continent.Germany and Spain do not be fairing very well and our holiday plans for the near future seem to be doubtful. Still, we can always go to Scotland, which may be “abroad! in the near future.

Our politicians are still playing silly b’s. I cannot be bothered to comment any more. They are all corrupt liars.

16th November, 2021.

611 days (recalculated) since our first lockdown day

I received an Email from Manfred recently. I had sent him a very long reply. It was disappointing to find the very high number of people in Germany refusing the Covid vaccine and the infection rates, as a result, are worryingly sky high. What is more worrying is that most are very intelligent people who should know better. Including a relative (by marriage) who should definitely know better. Her husband, who is a strong character, cannot persuade her otherwise. There must be a very strange atmosphere in that particular household.

We went to watch Ronnie on Sunday and his football team earned a creditable 4-4 draw. It was all the better as they had been 4-1 down. Ronnie had started the comeback with a goal driven into the corner of the net and in the final seconds could have had the winner. However the opposing coach named Ronnie as Tickton’s player of the match. He said he was a typically robust centre forward who made a great target man who was also a good header of the ball.

We picked Ronnie up from school on the 4th and went back to David’s house to celebrate Maisie’s 12th birthday. She is almost a teenager now. David had bought her a make up table which came flat packed in three boxes!! Guess who was nominated to do it. I spent about 9 hours over three days putting it together. It looks great. David sent me a bottle of Talisker single malt for doing it. That was not necessary but much appreciated!!

Val and Nick came for tea on Friday. Jenny had cooked curried chicken breast with the usual trimmings and a wonderful crumle for pudding. It was all lovely. We had been shopping in the afternoon and despite being really tired we chatted until nearly 11pm, which is a long day for old people!!

On the way back from a walk to Cottingham, we remarked on how lovely the village looked with a profusion of golden leaves on the trees and on the ground. Whilst kicking the leaves, Jenny spotted a nice new ten pound note which she picked up and pocketed. There was nobody around who could have dropped it. So, finders keepers I’m afraid.

We have visited Mum twice in the last few days. She is well and told me needs a new strap for her watch. I think this is the one that went missing a couple of weeks ago. So mystery solved. We are on the case for a new strap.

10th November, 2021

600 days since our first lockdown day

Tuesday was a big day. I made 5 large jars of Seville Orange and Whiskey Marmalade. I use a kit called “Marmade”. It is very simple but I boosted it with cheap Aldi whiskey. I’ve done it before but used double the amount of scotch as last time. My goodness, it does taste good. I can’t wait for toast in the morning!

My eyesight can be affected by a Vitamin D deficiency but is rare. Other symptoms can include several that may be applicable to me also. Fatigue, lethargy, breathlessness to name but a few. But my eyesight is still a problem. Looking at a car in front of us with my right eye only, reduces the size of the car by at least 30% so car driving is still a no no for me as I can clearly not judge distances. An eye test and new spectacles, may eventually sort the problem out. But not yet!!

The weather has been very mild for the time of year. So winter may well be the opposite.

We went to watch the grandchildren at swimming training in Beverley. It has been nearly a year since we last went. Ronnie finished his session first and David took him home. We stayed and took the girls home. It seemed strange being there after all this time which has passed incredibly quickly. Nothing much has changed except I think most people are taking more medication than they did a year ago.

COP26 is still going on but without China who are still opening up new coal fired power stations almost weekly, So what’s the point? I’m not in a hurry to take my last breath but I don’t want to wait until the air that I breath, burns my throat.

The pandemic in Germany gets worse with 15,000,000 unvaccinated. We are much better in the UK and those who have jumped on the anti-vaxx bandwagon will, hopefully, jump off when they realise they may lose their jobs for a misguided principle.

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.

31st October, 2021

590 days since our first lockdown day.

I’m just watching women’s rugby union having just watched women’s football. I have come to two conclusions. First, I reckon I could, in my younger days, have held my own against the lady footballers who although fairly fit do not have the skills that men have but the lady rugby players would tackle a brick wall and I would definitely want them on my side in a fight. Their handling skills are excellent and they can run. Second, I must be bored watching this on a Sunday afternoon.

Sally and Jim fly back to Bucharest tonight from Heathrow Airport. They have achieved alot at the Pywell household and can be happier with the situation there. Ken and Gillian have changed bedrooms and much “stuff” has been moved. Sall and Jim will be teaching from home in Bucharest as they have been doing in Croydon. Isn’t the World Wide Web a wonderful thing?

I recently messaged our old friend Diego in Alhama in Spain and he replied with photos of his partner Ana and their daughter, Vega. What a lovely family they make. We do miss them but us and Sally and Jim will always keep in touch. They are really good friends and maybe when we are unrestricted with travel again, they will come for a visit to Cottingham. In the meantime, thank goodness for WhatsApp.

Luke, our 2nd Joiner came on Thursday to fit a new loft ladder. He did a great job for us for £140. He was her for three hours so I gave him £150. We have pencilled him in for a couple more jobs including fitting all new doors upstairs, fitting a handrail up the stairs and fitting a couple of old kitchen units in the garage.

I am now taking vitamin B12 tablets and like most pills it may take a while for any improvement to manifest itself. I still don’t feel right and may also start taking some Vitamin D and Cod Liver Oil capsules. I’ve never been one for taking supplements but at my age, what have I got to lose? The effect of the B12 will be most interesting as it may improve my eyesight and poor balance.

It was strange not cooking lunch for anyone today but we nevertheless treated ourselves to a lovely ham shank and vegetables with onion gravy. The weather has been cold so no chance of getting a decent walk in. Maybe next week. I may treat myself to a “diet” wine later.

26th October, 2021.

585 days since our first lockdown day.

Sally and Jim came last week for a few days. They had been to London to see Jim’s family. His mum is very ill and his sister is now also very unwell. His dad is about 90 and there is a lot of weight on his shoulders. They do have some Social Services involvement but nowhere near enough. After Sally and Jim arrived here, both Mum and Sister ended up in hospital. It was almost impossible to get sufficient help so they both had to plan to go back to London asap. There were some obstacles, especially with their school in Bucharest.

Romania has no government at the moment and so their Covid statistics are frighteningly poor. They have shut down all state schools but the public schools were resisting, no doubt under pressure from owners and parents. One to protect profits and the other toe protect fees paid. In the end and after alot of poor decision making by the school authorities, Sally and Jim decided they could teach from the UK on line which enabled them to go back to London to help out with the family situation. They went from Cottingham yesterday but missed the connection in Hull as the train from Bridlington was delayed. Luckily a lovely lady at Cottingham was doing the same journey and was able to ring Hull Trains and confirm they could use their tickets on a later train. It all worked out very well although they did arrive at Kings Cross about 30 minutes late. Not bad!

Sally and Jim are on the case at the Croydon family home, getting rid of mould and sorting out bedrooms. We are hoping we will see them again this month but it depends on the progress of both patients.

As far as my situation is concerned, I saw the doctor last week and she ordered a blood test after I had listed all my “ailments”. I had that on Thursday morning and they rang me to say the GP wanted to talk to me about my low B15 levels. An appointment has been made for two weeks time. In the meantime we all researched Vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms and there was, more or less, my list of ailments. So, we have bought some B12 supplement pills to start taking immediately. I may check with the GP that it is ok. I hope that is the problem solved because the next time I fall down, it may not be onto a carpet. And I may not fall asleep at the drop of a hat. Who knows, all my joints may feel better, including my knees.

Budget day tomorrow I can’t wait! I wonder how much richer Sunak, Johnson and their cronies will be at the end of the day.

We had a lovely Sunday lunch (shoulder of lamb) with David and Sally and Jim. We dpn’t get together like that and sadly I forgot to take a photo. A lovely memory nevertheless.

20th October, 2021.

579 days since our first lockdown day.

Monday was a strange day. Nothing to do except watch the TV and lounge around at home. In fact I only managed 273 steps and a shower. Strangely I’m not remotely ashamed of myself.

I was more active on the following day with my visit to the eye hospital where I received my third eye injection. It was a bit more painful than the first two and quite uncomfortable for a few hours. I was told that I should wait until I have had 6 jabs before I have an eye test for new specs. For the left eye it would be OK but the right eye may change alot. Hopefully for the better. For the moment though, Jenny will do all the driving.

David maybe close to solving Jo’s housing dilemma with a possible purchase in Thorngumbald. Fingers crossed. More later.

Absolutely awful weather today so called at mum’s and picked up her washing which we will take back tomorrow and visit with Sally.

Apparently, Boris tells friends of murdered MP Jo Cox to back Brexit , if they want to stop getting death threats. What a shallow, insensitive moron we have as Prime Minister surrounded by acolytes of the same ilk. I despair. Where will this fool lead us next. He seems to have already influenced the BBC not to report on any Brexit or Covid bad news but they do broadcast his lies (eg lorry drivers story etc.) so often that the public believe them.

17th October, 2021. 576 days since our first lockdown day.

We had a lovely time with our mates Andy and Lindy in Sutton in Craven near Kieghley. We had a really good catch up, with wine, and a beautiful drive on the Monday morning to the Old Dairy at Wycoller, quite close to Colne in Lancashire. followed by a super lunch at a pub in the middle of nowhere. We had a good drive home, enabling some mileage to be put on the milometer.

Unbelievably, I have managed to get a face to face appointment with my GP, albeit not until next week but beggars cannot be choosers. It will be a busy week with visits to the eye hospital, the Covid booster and giving a blood sample.We had David and the grandchidren fo lunch on Sunday after watching Ronnie’s football match in Beverley. They lost 3-2 but it was a tight game with Ronnie scoring near the end with a well headed goal. It made for an exciting last 10 minutes. Melanie did not attend but she is finding any excuse to see David’s new house. He will have to watch that she does not use the kids as a reason to gain entry while David is at work. David will be talking to his barrister soon prior to the court case next month.

The loft ladder expert called round and has already given us an estimate of a total of £140. Bargain!! He is coming to fit it onThursday 28th November. He will only need a half day. Brilliant. After that the two major items on the calendar will be decorating downstairs and landscaping at the back. We should finally be done for next spring, hopefully.

The big news this week has been the murder of the Conservative MP, Sir David Amess. It is irrelevant which side of the political spectrum he represented, or that he voted for Brexit. He was doing his job by seeing his constituents at his weekly surgery and was killed by one of them who had even made an appointment. We need to protect all our public servants who are regularly targeted with violence and trolled on the internet.

I am a bit worried that a UK government which makes lying to it’s electorate normal, is attempting to bring in legislation to “correct” human rights court judgements that ministers believe are “incorrect”. Oh dear!! When the Nazis rose to power in 1933, the German system of justice underwent “coordination”. All professional associations of justice were merged into the National League of German Jurists. There are some frightening parallels here. Fascism can creep up on you but Johnson seems to have picked up the baton and Raab will surely follow. My Dad and my German grandfather (who was an ardent anti-fascist) will be turning in their graves.

I found a tweet where Boris is quoted as saying “The best way to ensure that every MP is properly safe is to GET BREXIT DONE” which could be translated as “Follow my political agenda or die”.This allows people like Gove to put a number of favoured companies into a VIP lane for test and trace contracts. Were some of these companies also Tory donors? I think we should be told!

As for the Covid pandemic, I am pleased that our two granddaughters have been vaccinated but as a whole the UK is losing he battle compared to many European countries. At one time we had less new cases and less hospitalisations but now we lag way behind many others, such as Germany and Spain. Thank goodness for Romania who continue to make us look good.

12th October, 2021. 571 days since our first lockdown day.

It has been a while since my last entry so I have had plenty of time for reflection and assessment of the current state of affairs as it affects me and mine.

I have not been in 100% health recently. Not just my eyesight and orthopaedic problems but more general condition. I have struggled with balance and am often falling backwards, although I have usually rescued the situation, I really need to concentrate on my normal movements such as going upstairs or simply getting out of an armchair. I think I need a proper session at my GP surgery and pay for some proper physiotherapy. That is, if I have the energy. I am sleeping well at night, up to 8/9 hours but am also constantly sleeping during the day for anything from a few minutes to a couple of hours. That and the lack of energy and even motivation will, I think, need a proper visit to the doctor as opposed to a phone call from a locum who doesn’t know me and who is reduced to diagnosis of my knee problem as gout and doubling the dose of daily alopurinol medication. What balderdash. When I have had my next eye injection and 3rd Covid booster (both next week) I shall make the appointment. I shall also look to book some physiotherapy and or rejoin my gym and seek advice from a personal trainer to try and build up my muscle strength which seems considerably weakened of late.

I have recently given more thought to the state of the world in general both politically and environmentally. A current tv series called “The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet” fronted by Sir David Attenborough. Who Else? There are a few positives in the programme with lots of relatively small projects to reduce carbon emissions. Particularly with the increased us of solar power. However, the big players in pollution production are those that we need to convince. If it is not financial incentives for the USA that are needed it is some sort of global boycott of Chinese goods as long as they keep building coal fired power stations to meet their needs. A country that is stealthily seeking world domination with it’s money is not interested in saving the planet, to the point where they deny there is even a problem. And you can add Russia to that list. My worry is that my children and grandchildren will have to live in a world of pollution, changing weather and shortages. A bigger worry is that things are moving so fast that My generation will experience the same things, It is for us, an unstoppable consequence of all our excesses.

On Sunday we took cousin Pamela to Leeds Bradford Airport for her flight to Kos, Greece. We picked her up at 0615 for her flight at 10 am. Poor Jenny had to do the driving, We carried on from the Airport to Keighly to see our friends Andy and Lindy and stay overnight. We were happy to have the opportunity to to have a good catch up and a couple of bottles of wine. It was lovely to see them. They are really good mates of ours.

Cousin Martin was over for a flying visit last week and he, Pamela, Uncle Ray, Aunty Phyllis and us two went for a cracking meal at the Villa Rosa in Anlaby. We shall go there again. Definitely! I will put in a review somewhere Soon. 5 Star, of course.

Our son’s tribulations continue but should be resolved soon. At least he was able to watch his son Ronnie play and score for Tickton Cobras who won 4-3. Unfortunately I was unable to see him this time.

All is well in Romania with Sally and Jim but with Jim’s Sister being quite poorly and his mum showing no improvement, they, and us, are quite concerned. They were hoping to fly over but that is now unlikely. I wish we could all jump on a plane like we used to before this madness, but it is still very difficult.

We heard from two old friends in Spain recently. Ann has had her car resprayed. It looks good. The Clarkes are coming over for Christmas and we are going to do our best to go to Burton on Trent to see them. Amazing to think that Harry has just turned 21.

Boris and his cohorts are still at it. They would not keep the furlough payments going and that has now finished. They have “authorised” 5000 visas so that European lorry drivers will come and work here until Christmas. Take up so far is 127 Visas. Bah, humbug!! Pigs are having to be put into landfill as there are not enough European workers to butcher them. It looks like chlorinated chicken from the USA for Christmas. Wonderful.

The kitchen is finally done now Karl the tiler is finished. It is looking really great and we now await Luke to come and fix a new Loft Ladder. £140 all in. Bargain. He was recommended by Karl. I need to get hold of Jason to check how he is doing with his broken jaw. I also need the electrical work signed off by Ryan.

We’ve been to see Mum a couple of times. She still seems well and still looks nice after her hair cut. She has had her flu jab at home and the GP is on the case to arrange for someone to call and administer her Covid booster vaccine. I think all the family (Clarks and Edwards) have had at least two jabs but most have had all three.

On a final note today, Boris and his cabinet are being criticised for their slow approach to the Covid crisis in the early stages causing hundreds of unnecessary deaths. Get out of that one Boris!!! No doubts he and the rest will try to lie their way out of it. At least most deaths were old folk. So that’s alright then!?

3rd October, 2021. 569 days since our first lockdown day.

It’s been a busy 5 days since the last entry Including having David and the kids for tea. They made short work of the chilli I had prepared. They were little angels apart from that with Thea doing homework in our office and Ronnie and Maisie doing “important” stuff on their smart phones.We caught up with David’s on going situation with his Ex but at least he is very happy with his new posting within the constabulory. Only 18 months to go.

Although I have said it a few times, the kitchen is nearly done. The tiler comes tomorrow and will complete the grouting on Tuesday. Karl came on Friday to prepare the walls in advance so it would be easier to affix the tiles.

We went to Sandhill Garden Centre at Preston for plastic garden chairs on Friday but they had none so we tried at B & Q with a similar result. We may try our local centre on Wednesday.

We called at Mum’s on Thursday and Angela an Christina and Stephanie were there so we had a nice catch up. Christina’s partner, Graham is not very well so we wished him well. Jim has told us of his sisters illness and she remains under observation in hospital. We wish her well also.

Jenny and I, having had our flu jabs are still awaiting a phone call about the Covid booster which is due any time after the 4th October.

The weather has turned and it is much colder and windier. I believe autumn is here and winter will not be far behind. Leaves are already filling the gutters but the council appear to be on top of keeping all the gutters clear to avoid flooding.

The lorry driver shortage does not seem like it will be solved any time soon. It is OK for Boris to issue 5000 temporary VISAs for foreign drivers but will they com? I doubt it. All European countries have shortages of their own. I don’t think we will cover shortages in land workers, hospital workers or “chicken pluckers”. Our beleagured farmers are already talking about culling turkeys and pigs due to the shortage of workers and feed for the animals. There are also shortages of butchers . At least petrol shortages seem to have been avoided although the army is on standby. Is that to shoot queue jumpers?

There have been some “heavyweight” interviews and speeches lately. Sir Kier Starmer made a big speech at the Labour party conference which, although it went down well may not be enough to unite the party into a credible opposition. Boris was interviewed on Sunday by Andrew Marr and even he was loosing patience with the bluster and habitual failure to answer any question. Every time he started his answers with “What we should be concentrating on is…..” something a million miles away from the actual question. I thought Sunak was different, but he is not and more and more is being revealed about how he and his family have got MUCH richer during Brexit and the Corona pandemic. I don’t believe or trust a single one of them.

My eye progresses but not much. The injection I had recently seems to have made no difference so I am still not driving. I have my next jab on 19th of October so I hope that one works!!