Month: December 2021

I know Christmas is on its way, but I have wafted about today like a puppet with its strings cut. Indecision is such a hard thing to deal with. Should we go or should we stay? Having agreed we’d stay at home due to the contact with a COVID case, I wanted to change my mind – I so wanted to go to Paul’s for a big family Christmas. But we are going to play it safe and I shall try to adjust my thinking and swallow my disappointment.

Naturally, I had stocked up with food and drink to take with us – so I shall deliver as much as I can tomorrow for the Kenilworth Sleaths to enjoy.

In an attempt to displace all those horrible churny feelings, I got on with jobs mostly today and watched a film. Beds made up; a tidy round and the ham cooked – well, burnt, actually. I always cover it with brown sugar which, if you don’t keep your eye on it, quickly cinders. Unfortunately, John had shut the kitchen door to keep the cats out, as he didn’t want them messing with his cake decorating, and I didn’t hear the beeper on the oven……ah, well, it’s still edible.

John has spent the day icing the cake and he has gone very traditional and sedate this year, with a snowy scene of Santa ice-skating on a shiny blue lake, with penguin accompaniment.

This evening I had a lovely chat with the college girls on Zoom, when we all dressed up in silly Santa hats and raised a glass to each other and absent friends. A nice way to spend an evening on Christmas Eve ‘Eve’.

COVID figures are still rising and everyone knows someone who has had it or currently got it now with Christmas plans being amended at the last minute. It hasn’t only affected us – Anita is now stopping at home alone as her future son-in-law is sick with the virus, and Liz’s son is now making a midnight dash having had COVID last week.

119,789 people tested positive for the virus today. 147 people died in the community and 1,004 people were admitted to hospitals. 51 people died in hospitals in the previous 48 hours.

I may not blog for a few days over the Christmas period, so I wish everyone a happy, healthy and blessed Christmas.

Take care everyone. May His light shine upon you.

P.S. Susie Dent’s Word of the Day: (because it’s time) is ‘scurryfunging’: madly dashing about in an effort to tidy up before visitors arrive.

We spent the day gathering things ready to take over to the Kenilworth Sleaths, popping items into boxes, and making long lists of ‘things to do’ and ‘things to take’. We nipped to the shops for those final items, like the turkey and all the trimmings, and lovely cheeses and pâtés. Getting very excited for the big day,

This afternoon, Harriet phoned. “Are you still at the shops?” she wanted to know. No, I was home. “Ah… good…. my sister has just told us that my nephew, Arthur, has tested positive for COVID. And they were here, staying over, on Monday…. so….. what do you want to do about Christmas?”

Arthur had shared a room overnight with Freddie on Monday. Hmm…… I mulled it over, “I think it’s a bit risky if we come, Harriet.” I said. She agreed. Everyone has agreed. And so, Plan A has become Plan B? Or maybe Plan C? We haven’t quite made our minds up as to which plan we are going to go with yet, because, of course, I was there yesterday, and we have yet to evaluate the risk of that.

Upset? Upset? I should say so! We were all so looking forward to being together. It’s not so hunky-dory now, is it? Hmmm……. best laid plans and all that.

Upsets seem to be coming thick and fast one way or another and, one that emerged yesterday was my friend, Tim, who was admitted to hospital. If you could spare some positive thoughts or prayers just now, I’d be very grateful. His illness is not COVID-related, but it’s worrying nonetheless.

In other news, John has started decorating the Christmas cake. Apricot jam is de rigeur as the glue for attaching the marzipan to the cake, but did we have any? I rummaged and found some, and put it ready by the cake. John didn’t know I’d found a jar and thought that we didn’t have any, so he spent ages researching alternatives on the internet. When he finally came down on the side of the home-made plum jam we’d got in the cupboard, he went through into the kitchen only to be pleasantly surprised by the jar of apricot jam waiting patiently by the cake. More cake decorating tomorrow……

The post brought lots of Christmas cards, and also one or two medical letters with reports of tests done and appointments in the New Year. John also had an e-report ping through on his phone regarding the x-ray recently taken on his dodgy hip. Things are crumbling nicely, apparently. Fancy a hip replacement, John? Ha! Now there’s a decision to make. He’s an interesting case and, with his history, I wonder what the medics are going to suggest. We’ll find out, no doubt, in 2022.

This evening, it was Quiz Night. It felt quite a hectic one because my brain was still reeling with disappointment, the internet was occasionally intermittent and we had a couple of additional voices in the mix with the Connor’s grandsons joining in, too – but who seemed to know more answers than we did, so we were grateful for their company. Great quiz questions which raised plenty of debate both during, and after, the quiz.

On the COVID front, there have been 106,122 people who have tested positive for the virus today. 140 people died in the community and 813 people were admitted to hospital. 50 people died in hospitals in the previous 48 hours.

We are trying to be careful with the contacts we are meeting up with and the activities we undertake, but that blooming virus is sneaky and seems to slide in before you even know it. Do hope there’s no infection carried forward from Arthur’s visit to the rest of the family. Fingers crossed…..

Take care everyone. God bless.

Gosh, there’s such a lot going on, isn’t there? Not only is Christmas almost upon us, but the Winter Solstice is here, and everyone is very excited about that! No-one more so than John, because his mood will improve with every passing day now that the days are going to get longer and longer.

I offer you a pagan and heartfelt greeting that I have pinched from one of the priests I follow on Twitter, the Reverend JacquiT. Just this:

In addition to the excitement of the Winter Solstice we had those bundles of joy, William and Thomas, from Sutton Coldfield over today. What a blessing they are and how we love to see them. Honestly, they are just such good company.

It was play, play, play all day. Except when it was making the Gingerbread House, which was serious work undertaken by Grandpa and William. What a grand job they made of it and how they enjoyed themselves – especially William, who couldn’t stop sniffing the gingerbread, of which the aroma was just divine. Here it is, ready to be demolished and eaten by the children, big and little, on Christmas Eve…..

One of the good things about having the children round to play, is that they like to be upstairs, then downstairs, then upstairs and back again about a dozen times a day. It certainly keeps us fit – and helps Grandpa with his breathing exercises. He is so grateful…….

It also helps me tidy up my cupboards. Thomas has a penchant for opening each and every drawer and cupboard door that he can find, and then emptying the contents, very carefully, by passing each item to you, waiting for you to say ‘thank you’ before moving on to the next one. Wonderful. Sometimes he puts things back. We did manage that with the breakfast cereal cupboard, but not before he’d helped himself to a spoon, a bowl and some Cheerios first….

With every generation, I harbour hopes of an excellent musician emerging amongst them. My own sons, although they are keen on music and play a little – either guitar or keyboard – I would say they play for their own pleasure rather than anything else. Anyway, every time a child climbs onto the stool at the keyboard and plinkerty-plonks a tune, I have high hopes. Here is the next generation of the hoped-for brilliant musicians:

This evening, I popped over to Paul and Harriet’s to help with some gift-wrapping. After the hectic-ness of the last week following Harriet’s father’s death, time seemed to be running away on the Christmas preparation stakes. We had such a lovely evening. So companionable and cordial as we shared the wrapping of the gifts for the family. What a blessing to be able to do that together.

On the COVID front there is no decision by the government to prevent everyone gathering at Christmas, and we are grateful for that. Although we are taking our own precautions to try and prevent any spread of the disease among the family at least – and we are so very grateful to every family member who is helping to support us in the effort.

Nationally, there have been 90,629 people who tested positive for the virus today; 172 deaths in the community and 847 people admitted to hospital. 52 people died in hospitals in the previous 48 hours.

The data on the virus is interesting, with the figures on a plateau. I am hoping that because people are self-regulating a bit more, this will help keep the spread lower. Scientists are making some positive noises so that’s an uplift, isn’t it?

I didn’t make it to the live-streaming of the Carol Service at church this evening, but I plan to lift up my spirits and my voice by tuning in tomorrow morning. Put your fingers in your ears, folks!!

Take care everyone. God bless.

I managed to decorate the Christmas tree yesterday, after it had waited so patiently for over a week to get its robes on. Here it is in all its glory….. a bit wonky, but it’s all there.

Symbolically, I have placed the star to guide us; the lights to light our path and remind us of Jesus’ mission; the baubles to ‘feed’ us (they symbolise apples) – and I have added the ropes of beads to link us to those we love, near and far. Oh, and I added little crackers, too, because Freddie likes them…….

Today, then, there was just the last minute putting up of a few lights. Traditionally, we like to put a rope of lights over the ‘arch’ in our lounge. Those lights, too, had been sulking in their box waiting to be liberated. However, I finally got the steps out and started thinking about how I’d done it in previous years, when John offered to help, and between us we had them done, ready and waiting to shine for any guests who may arrive.

Talking of guests, we entertained David and Darrell today for an hour this afternoon, to exchange Christmas gifts. We were grateful that they had made the effort to come up, as it’s a bit heavy going doing long journeys these days. We had planned to visit them a couple of weeks ago, but when they offered to make the journey instead…….well, how could we refuse?

We had a lovely time, drinking tea and coffee and enjoying a warm mince pie and a bit of Panettone. We had lighted a fire to keep us cosy while the west wind whistled through the open windows; we maintained our masks and our distance; and I monitored the Co2 in the room….. is this how we do it now? Either that, I suppose, or outside in the cold, or not at all…..

After they had left, I wrapped the last presents and tidied all semblance of Christmas presents away. The Sutton Sleath boys are coming tomorrow and I am keen not spoil the magic….. I hope I haven’t missed anything.

In the meantime, John was pretty exhausted having set the fire – he’d had to empty the ash-pan, which was full to over-flowing, and then hump a load of wood and coal in from the store outside. So, once David and Darrel were on their way, he simply went to bed for an hour or two and then, when he came downstairs – ostensibly to watch a bit of TV – he settled on the sofa and I found him snoring his head off. Obviously still very tired.

I watched another film today while I was doing the ironing – not a Christmas one, but an old musical: ‘Carousel’. I had never seen it, but Grandma had had the sheet music from it, which I remembered her playing, so I thought it might be good. But, heavens above, it hasn’t really aged well at all. The only thing I did enjoy was the song, ‘You’ll never walk alone’. I never knew that it originated from this film. There were a couple of brilliant renditions of it, so it was worth the watch just for that.

The Prime Minister made another announcement today to tell us of his decision regarding how we should manage ourselves over Christmas. It was a bit of a damp squib, wasn’t it? No decision made yet regarding further restrictions, but we seem to be more self-regulating than we were – which is a good thing. However, get Christmas done, and we’ll be in lockdown. Anyone want to take any bets?

Meanwhile, we need to be as careful as we possibly can be. Which means that I shan’t be going to service of Nine Carols and Lessons tomorrow evening. I will watch it on line though and sing my little heart out all by myself to my computer screen. Yay! What fun that will be.

91,743 people tested positive for the virus today. 44 people died in the community. 11 in hospitals over the last 48 hours. 919 people were admitted to hospital today.

Take care everyone. God bless.

Wow! A very foggy start to the day, which gave way to mist and then reverted to fog again as the day went on. As I was out driving in it over to visit Mum this morning, it dawned on me that it is a long time since I used the fog lights on my car – and could I remember how to operate them? Could I heck. Had to check the instruction book….

Mum was on top form again when I saw her this morning – delighted to see me as always, and she was in good spirits. She looked very well and didn’t seem quite as forgetful as in recent visits – although she still had no clue as to which grandson was which, and was amazed to find Freddie had auburn hair like his Daddy! She delighted in looking at all the family photos though, and was keen to pass very fond comments on everyone she saw.

When I left Mum at lunchtime, I sped home to get changed into yoga gear to go to a Yin Yoga class and Gong Bath. Don’t ask.

I had debated whether to go or not, and last night I thought, ‘I’ll go’. Then, this morning before I set off to visit Mum, I said to John, “I don’t think I’ll go to yoga this afternoon….” but by the time I came home, I’d changed my mind again and decided it really wasn’t very risky and I would go.

It was a great class and just what I needed, so I was glad I went. I didn’t go near anyone, no-one came near me, I wore my mask throughout and there was no vigorous exercise, so no heavy breathing. Fingers crossed…… fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, John had asked me yesterday if there was anything he could do. “Start decorating the tree?” I suggested. But, in the end, both he and I were too busy to do that little job yesterday. So I suggested it again today before I went out. “I’ll see.” said John, “I’ve got one or two jobs of my own to do.” Right.

It transpired that he planned to change the room thermostat on the central heating today, as well as some thermostatic valves on the radiators. I would say that’s quite big job. And so it’s turned out to be. He’s still on it now……still, the heating is still working so far.

At tea-time we had a family conference. What to do at Christmas. Our plan has been to spend Christmas at Paul’s. But with the current state of play on the COVID horizon, we thought we’d better have a ‘Plan B’. We came up with a Plan A, a Plan B and a Plan C. Let’s hope that Plan A comes off – it’d be nice if a plan came together, wouldn’t it?

I know the Christmas season has started because the films are coming thick and fast. I started watching Elf this afternoon; and then another daft Santa film, The Christmas Chronicles, which had a very silly story line but was quite spectacular. I’d like to say I have sophisticated taste in films, but clearly I don’t. Ah, well, too late to cultivate it now, I think.

Such films take your mind off the horrors of the rotting landscape of politics and disease though, don’t they? On which topic, even Lord Frost can’t quite stomach the current storyline that the government is spinning and has quit. And the COVID figures are still high – though not quite as high as yesterday.

82,886 people tested positive for the virus today; 45 people died in the community; and 900 people were admitted to hospital.

Take care everyone. Get your enjoyment where you can. God bless.

Everyday, we are blessed with greetings from friends and family in the form of beautiful Christmas cards landing inside our porch. These are much looked-for from everyone because they contain a heartfelt sentiment and send us love – which we rather appreciate.

They are much-looked for from many others too, because they often contain an update on what everyone has been doing since we last saw them. In some cases, it is over forty years since we last met, and yet it is so lovely to keep in touch – even if is only once a year.

For others, of course, it is much less time since we last met up, but nonetheless it’s been a while. The pandemic has certainly got in the way of us catching up with some of our friends and family. But, the pandemic has also made our hearts grow fonder and, in some cases, we have been galvanised into setting up meetings where we can. I am hoping that, in the coming months, we learn some decent strategies for living our lives in this distressing pandemic, so that we can see our wider circle in person and make the most of whatever time is left to us.

In the meantime, we have sent out our greetings cards for the most part, and just have a few hand-delivered ones to put through letterboxes locally. We have sent them ‘with love’ as always, but this year it seems even more meaningful.

In other news, we are watching the COVID situation closely, because we are wondering whether we might need a ‘Plan B’ for our Christmas arrangements. There are so many of us that one false move and someone might be introducing the virus into the household. Generally speaking, everyone is consciously keeping themselves to themselves – so we’re crossing our fingers and toes that it’ll be ‘alright on the night’. I am, naturally, still anxious about John’s vulnerability, but he is fed up of it now……

We have done a spot of sorting out at home today. We have a plan to look after the Sutton Sleath boys on Tuesday, so we were busily tidying nooks and crannies so that we can hide Christmas presents away from prying eyes and fingers when they come. Heaven help us if William says, ‘What’s in this cupboard, Grandma?’ and chooses the one with all the presents in……..anyone know any good distraction techniques?

This evening we watched the telly. It was the Strictly final and what a good show it was. Apart from the schmaltz of ‘….and what would it mean to you to win the glitter ball?…….’ and the teary responses, the actual dancing was immaculate. I absolutely loved it.

We were about to start making our way up the wooden hill when what should be showing but ‘The Full Monty’? One of my favourite films of all times, so we had to sit and watch it. It means Christmas has arrived, I think. Just need to watch ‘Love Actually’ and ‘Zulu’ and we’re set.

90,418 people went down with the virus today – well, at least, that many tested positive but we know that many more are home without having done a test, so it’s not quite the true figure.

125 people died in the community with the virus today and 900 people were admitted to hospital.

Still a lot of people and not much proper strategy for dealing with it. London declared a ‘major incident’ this afternoon as hospitals were overwhelmed with cases and there were too few staff to deal with it. This is what the NHS management has been telling the government since Day One. The government hasn’t listened and certainly not learned in my opinion. I wonder what is really going on? Muddled management to hide something they are planning to introduce? Or simply just muddled management? Who knows. Goodness me, I am getting cynical in my old age…..

Take care everyone. God bless.

Times are hard for many, many people right now. Whilst our current existence is sometimes a struggle, and the constancy of John’s various conditions make life quite a tough challenge, we don’t particularly class ourselves as being in the ‘hardship’ bubble. So I was overwhelmed this morning when the doorbell rang to find Claire, from church, on our doorstep, bearing gifts.

“This is to let you know we are thinking of you,” she said. “There’s no need to cry….” she added, as tears sprang up, unsolicited. I didn’t know what to say. To know that there a people in the local community thinking of us, is just beyond words. I am so, so grateful. I can’t tell you what a boost it has given us. Massive thanks to them all.

In other news, we are plodding on and prepping for a hoped-for Christmas get-together next week to celebrate the season of goodwill. The children are off school, the adults are mostly working from home, lateral flow tests (when we can get them!) are being used liked billy-o in order to be sure that the risk of COVID is limited. However, the rate of knots at which the infection rate is rising is worrying. And some of our number may not be quite as careful as we are, so it’s a bit in the balance. Fingers crossed……

On the plus side, John hasn’t been too bad in the last week or two. Still out of breath whenever he tackles anything physical and there’s lots of puffing and panting, but the nebuliser that he’s using religiously has made a real difference to the daily cough routine. It’s much reduced….. here’s hoping it stays that way for a long time to come.

You will, no doubt, have watched the news today, and seen that it has been dominated by the significant increase in COVID cases; the result of the by-election in Shropshire, which the Conservatives conceded to the LibDems; and the fact that the man charged with investigating the ‘party’ at Downing Street last year, Simon Case, held his own ‘party’ in the same month during the same lockdown…… you can hardly make it up, can you?

98,045 people tested positive for the virus today. 111 people died in the community with the virus. 55 died in hospitals in the last 48 hours. 900 people were admitted to hospital today. That is over 6 thousand people in the last week, a rise of 8% on the previous week.

I gather that quite a few of those infected are NHS staff. This is going to be fun, isn’t it? Scientists are offering dire warnings of the difficulties we will encounter in hospitals because COVID patients are occupying beds. And NHS staff themselves are telling us that they are exhausted and suffering from anxiety. Well, who wouldn’t, if you are faced with the possibility of a COVID infection, every minute of every hour of every day?

Already, the London Ambulance Service was reduced by 100 ambulances tonight because nearly 400 staff are off sick with COVID.

As it is the season of goodwill, we are staying in. That means that the risk of us catching COVID is reduced, and the possibility, therefore, of burdening those poor NHS staff even more, is very much lessened. It may not be much but at least it’s something. I’d rather not be gifting COVID to anyone….. or receiving it as a gift from anyone else, how about you?

Take care everyone – stay as safe as you possibly can. God bless.

And, just before I go, here’s Christina Rosetti’s seasonal little ditty that reminds me that possessions aren’t everything.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man, I would do my part;
Yet what can I give Him?
Give Him my heart.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

We had an interesting day yesterday. We were going out. We had weighed up all the pros and cons and agreed for everyone to do the lateral flow tests, we’d keep our distance, wash our hands, wear masks when appropriate etc etc.

So we set off in high spirits to meet dear friends Anita and Linda at The Dog Inn in Whittingham for a Christmas lunch. It was lovely – the pub, which is run by Laura, Linda’s daughter, was decorated beautifully and there was wonderful food and drink. We sat in a secluded corner, well away from any other guests and opened the windows to improve the ventilation. I intended to take a photograph of us all but we were enjoying ourselves so much that I forgot. Not only that, but we were all enjoying ourselves so much that we forgot the time as well and it was dark by the time we set off back home. We had felt very safe and were blessed to have been in the company of great friendship.

Once home, we had a rest before we girded our loins to go to our next event. We had been invited round to friends, Margaret and Chris’s, for a Christmas drink and nibbles in the evening. We arrived on time and settled in for lively discussion. We were half an hour in when my phone rang. It was Paul with some bad news. Harriet’s father, John, had passed away and they needed me to shoot over to look after the children while they sorted things out.

It was unexpected, even though John was very poorly and had been bed-ridden for the last year or so with Parkinson’s disease. A shock for everyone. And especially poignant as it was this time of year two years ago that Jill, Harriet’s Mum, had passed away. If you are so inclined, positive vibes and prayers might be helpful for the family.

I know that this is life, with its rich tapestry and all that, but it hurts nonetheless and is rather sobering, just at a time when you are planning to make the most of family time together.

We had a change of plan today. I had originally intended to visit Mum this afternoon and then collect Lily from school in order to decorate the Christmas tree. In the end, Lily didn’t feel great and didn’t come over, and I wasn’t feeling great as a result of my cold, so I cancelled the visit to Mum. I wasn’t awfully keen on taking the cold across to the care home. She always hugs me, and she’s always keen for me to remove my mask, so I thought it was a bit risky. Re-scheduled for Sunday – all being well.

We just pottered about at home today instead of going out and about. Pete and Dawn called in this morning for a coffee, which was wonderful. Always such a pleasure to see them. Then we put the Christmas tree up, although we’ve not yet decorated it – maybe tomorrow? And we decorated the house a little bit. And this evening was Quiz Night which, needless to say, was super fun as always.

Now then, what are your thoughts about going out? We are thinking twice about it now – did you know that 78,610 people had tested positive for the virus today? That’s a phenomenal number, isn’t it? 165 people have died in the community today and 54 in hospitals in the last 48 hours. 774 people were admitted to hospital today, taking the total for the last 7 days up by 10%.

When I say, ‘stay safe everyone’ I really do mean it. Look after yourselves and take every precaution you can to prevent catching the virus. We still don’t know how serious the Omicron strain is going to be. Better to be safe than sorry, eh?

God bless.

I am reminding myself of the Serenity Prayer again – thought I’d share:

God, give me the grace to accept, 
with serenity,
the things that cannot be changed;
courage to change the things
which should be changed;
and the wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
enjoying one moment at a time,
accepting hardship as a pathway to peace;
taking, as Jesus did,
this sinful world as it is;
not as I would have it,
but trusting that you will make all things right, 
so that I may be reasonably happy in this life 
and supremely happy with you in the next.

Amen

Oh……. would that the fleeting thought get the deed done!!! My house would be as neat as a pin and the gifts would now be wrapped and ready. Alas, the thought in my head does not quickly turn into the deed, and there’s lots still to be done.

I mean, it’s not as if any of these things are important, it’s just that I’d like them completed. For example, last year’s amaryllis – still sitting on the side and now turning green with new life. It’s long been on the ‘job-list’ to pot on. And then my poor orchids which are dying from neglect – all need a freshen up, but are waiting on the side, hopeful, but not yet fulfilled. And there are a few pictures to be hung. Leaning against the wall, with the space all ready, they await the hammer and nail…..

Ah, well. Maybe tomorrow.

In truth, we haven’t done an awful lot today. I have a bit of a cold. I think I picked it up from one of the grandchildren, but I am not sure which, so can’t quite pinpoint the moment of infection. I did do lots of grandchildren cuddling last week though, so it could have been any one of them.

Our main excitement of the day was the shopping delivery – and John groaning every few minutes as he found he’d mis-ordered. Or had he? Was it Tesco’s who’d given us erroneous items? Well, actually, it was a bit of both. The whisky wasn’t the Monkey Shoulder that he’d wanted – clearly they were out of stock. And I know tissues are tissues, but those silly little individual packets are no real substitute for a large box from which you can easily whip out a tissue in an emergency, are they?

However, can anyone make use of coconut yoghurt? We have twelve cartons of the stuff. Two trays. Obviously, it wasn’t so clear at the time of ordering that it was two trays that were input, rather than two cartons. It is delicious, but will we get through it all before the ‘use by’ date?

This afternoon we did a spot of Christmas gift ordering and hope that the things will arrive in time. I had thought I might make a trip into town today for a change, but with the advice being ‘stay at home’, we decided we’d do the online thing. Fingers crossed. I am still waiting for some items from Dunelm, who keep sending me nice little emails saying ‘we’re really sorry but due to COVID and staff shortages delivery dates are delayed….‘ Someone may not get a Christmas present after all…..might be a New Years’ gift instead.

And what are we all doing about our Christmas arrangements of meeting up, now that there’s revised advice? I mean, we’ve got plans for between now and Christmas day! Well, we are weighing up each circumstance and going to go ahead with some of them, knowing that everyone is going to do Lateral Flow Tests, ventilation will be happening and we’ll be keeping our distance. And hoping for the best…..

In the spirit of Christmas, I braved the loft this afternoon and hulked the Christmas decorations downstairs. I know I’ve got a bit of a cold, but I suddenly felt old as I laboured up and down with the heavy boxes. It wasn’t half an effort!! I caught myself making ‘old man noises’ – except they were, of course, ‘old woman noises’ and it made me laugh, despite the struggle.

That was it, though. The boxes are down, but staying put until I can summon up some energy to rummage among their contents and actually put the decorations up.

The news is full of the current advice from the government, with everyone scrambling to get their boosters booked. That’s a good thing – but what about the children? They are also vulnerable and in school which is hot-bed for incubating infection. I’d like the government to be offering the vaccination to them, too.

The Omicron virus is increasing at ‘a phenomenal rate‘ according to the news this evening, with 20% of the cases in London now attributed to the new variant. So far, we have no data on its severity of infection, however, so let’s hope it’s mild.

54,661 people tested positive for the virus today; 38 people died, of which one was was from Omicron. 926 people were admitted to hospital today which brings the total for the week to 5,677 and an increase of 5% over the last 7 days.

Stay safe, people. God bless.

We said ‘Happy Birthday, Freddie!’ on WhatsApp this morning as his 6th birthday strove into view – and we then popped round to Paul and Harriet’s to drop the cake off ready for the trampoline birthday party. We think Freddie liked his cake – his face suggested he did as he blew his candles out at his party. We have no idea if it hit the mark – not being Minecraft aficionados….. but here it is anyway.

Other than the run round to Kenilworth, we have done very little all day other than wrap Christmas presents (again!) and watch the Grand Prix which had a very exciting finish….

I drank copious amounts of wine this evening – copying John’s approach to life last night – and watched the final of ‘I’m a Celebrity’- and was rather confused by the public choice of winner.

Lots of people (48,854) tested positive for the virus today and I read an article that suggests the figures are 50% under the actualité. Ha! Lots of concerns about the new variant and so on – well, what’s new? Two years of ‘shock/horror’ and we’re now numb to it all, aren’t we?

All for now folks – sleep calls, so take care and look after yourselves as the new week beckons. God bless.