Feest Isolation Days

Feest Isolation Days –14 May 2021

Thank you all – a thousand times thank you!  I have been nourished and fulfilled over the past year and then some by knowing that we were connecting.  The pandemic is not over but unlocking is occurring, and life is slowly but surely returning to something that feels more normal than it has for fourteen months. 

Deciding to write to you all in order to reach out and keep in touch was an important and valued part of these past months. You enabled me to share what was going on with us, as well as offer some light-hearted moments that I’m told brought a smile to many faces. 

When I began, I had no idea that I would be at it for so long! I doubt that you knew my daily, then weekly, musings would become a part of your Isolation Days either!  Thanks for keeping up the reading.  We were able to reach out to people all over the world and for that I am truly grateful.  This blog was always a joint venture with Terry.  He did all the back room work and for that I am truly grateful.  Before you read more from me, here are his doctorly comments on where we are now with Covid. 

Hello from the Editor.

We are no longer isolated!  Life is not yet normal as we used to know it, that will take a long time, and perhaps it never will be – BUT – we can see friends, eat together, stay overnight within the UK.  We no longer feel isolated, hence the end of “Feest Isolation Days”.

To my amazement, our government has finally made some good decisions.  Perhaps they learned from our earlier awful experience and finally properly listened to the scientists.  More likely they just gave up the struggle and let the scientists rule!  We now have by far the lowest current covid rates and covid death rates compared with Europe and most other large, developed countries outside Australasia.

There seem to be two main reasons. 

First, we instituted a further serious lockdown at the beginning of January, well before the rest of Europe, and the graphs show this had an immense effect on our infection rates.  Other European countries have been slower to react this time, and have often started stuttering, patchy lockdowns.  Then the easing up is also taking place in a very different and controlled way compared with the past.  Very slowly, with 5-week intervals to observe the effects before going further: if only we had acted like this before rather than the shambolic easing of restrictions in the past.

 In addition, most people seem to be taking their own responsibility seriously, making their own decisions, not taking what they perceive as risks just because they are allowed to. 

So many of us still socially distance more than legally required to, avoid unnecessarily going into indoor spaces with people we do not know, continue good hand hygiene, only socialise with those we know are also careful – and vaccinated!

Second, we have the highest vaccination rate per 100,000 population of any large country in the world, although the USA under Biden is catching up. 

The government decisions on this were superb.  We invested in vaccine research, which not only speeded up development, but gave us immediate access to vaccines when they became available.  We purchased vaccines early.  Then there was the decision to concentrate on first vaccines and delay the second if necessary, a decision which has been vindicated by the results and subsequent research, and which has now been followed by many other countries.  The careful planning of the roll-out to those most at risk and the vulnerable has reduced deaths at a rapid rate.  It is not clear who the people were who were really responsible for these decisions, but I suspect Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance and many other scientists had strong hands in this – and perhaps some of the others like Kate Bingham who were appointed to head up various parts of this programme and quietly got on with it while politicians huffed and puffed!  It has now been clearly demonstrated that vaccination not only reduces severe illness and death, but lowers infection rates, and also lowers transmissibility in the vaccinated who develop mild infections.

There have been other better performances recently.  After a stuttering start, we have one of the highest rates of testing in Europe, and track and trace is much improved.  There is evidence being published in Nature that, coupled with the NHS App, this has saved thousands of lives.  This could be even more effective as infection rates drop.    The ability in the UK to sequence viruses and identify variants has also protected us.  As a result of this followed by surge testing and, where appropriate, travel restrictions, the potentially worrying Bristol Variant seems to have died out, the South African and Brazil variants seem to have been contained.  The Indian variant is spreading in some areas, but luckily although more infectious than the original virus, it seems reasonably susceptible to the vaccines: surge vaccination is being deployed in highly affected areas.

So, there are grounds for cautious optimism.  Infection rates are low at present.  Seventy percent of our population now have antibodies to Covid, and with vaccination that will rise.  This should keep infection rates low in the future.  Some restrictions are in place to prevent the influx of new variants.

There are plans to give booster vaccinations to all adults in the autumn, if needs be with vaccines modified for new variants.  There will be ups and downs, but there is reason to believe that with reasonable care we will not experience another massive wave of the virus infection, and when there are increases, the hospitalisation and death rates should be much, much lower.

Life is not normal.  We are still cautious, but especially with vaccination, not anxious.  We are in a protected bubble at present, somewhat dependent on what happens in the rest of the world – our Kiwi friends will understand that.  The virus is rampant in so many places.  The world needs vaccine production to be massively increased, let’s hope there can be agreement to stop the patents on vaccines and thus facilitate massive production.  Until we are all safe, no-one can fully relax.  One effect of this is that foreign travel is still severely limited.  Sadly, we suspect we will not be able to visit New Zealand and see all our friends there this year, but there is always hope. 

Meanwhile life is looking much brighter, I have had a professional haircut,

and we are going on holiday on Exmoor nest week and are planning visits to other parts of our very beautiful country, although we will not be going to Glastonbury!

 If we cannot overwinter in New Zealand there is much British seaside and countryside to hunker down in for the odd week or two.  Even better, we can see the family and friends, and give hugs!  Isolation is over!

– So Goodbye from the editor.

I hope that whatever you learned from the lockdown experience manages to enrich your life going into the future.  There will be positive changes that we will take forward and I am sure that will be true for you as well.

We are delighted to tell you that from the 17^th of May, we are allowed to invite people into our home again. There have been a few tiny sneak previews of this with girlfriends.  The doors were open, we were wrapped in blankets and became, for a short time, the Grannies that we are!  When you are heading to Bristol and fancy a cuppa in the garden, a bed in the spare room and a meal together in the dining room, let us know! There is nothing more special to us than our family and friends and we can’t wait to see you all and give you a great big LEGAL HUG!

Drop me an email any time. 

If we head into any lockdowns again (and we hope against hope that doesn’t happen!!) I will return to this method of keeping in touch.  In the meantime, get out there and live your lives and ENJOY! 

Finally, many of you suggested that I should make a book of this blog.  We did!  Pixxie Books has done a fantastic job for us and these two volumes of books are now on the shelf!  When we (or our grandkids) look back on this part of our lives in the future, there will be a record of what it was like here at Chez Feest.

Saying goodbye isn’t easy….saying welcome and hello is much easier….come visit.  The hugs will be longggggg…

I have rounded up a few cartoons that made me smile…hope they do you as well!

How could I not let Randy Rainbow finish off?  He’s a hoot and always makes me smile! 

Enjoy!

THE END

With love,

Kathy xxx

And

THE BEGINNING!

Feest Isolation Days –7 May 2021

We are both double jabbed!  The return of some of our old life is slowly beginning to occur. By the time I sit down to write this next week, we will be packed and ready to head to a holiday home for a week.  We loved the place on Exmoor so much we booked it again for December after having been there in October. Lockdown put paid to that though!  (That expression, put paid to that, by the way, comes from account keepers who literally placed a paid stamp or simply wrote paid across bills of sale that were complete.  It has been used since the 19^th century in counting houses).  Our December trip was cancelled along with everything else, but we are returning on the 15^th May for another stay!  We will be joined for one night later in the week by friends when it is legally a possibility.  Can’t wait!

As the time draws near to meet more and more people and life returns, our isolation will finally draw to a close.  That means that this is the penultimate missive that you will get from me!  One more next week and then I will return you totally to your own devices.  By now, you too will have begun to move into the world again.  My hope is that you will take some of the lockdown lessons you learned with you and will be happy to incorporate the good bits into your life. 

The numbers in Bristol are lower than they have been for months and months with only 11 people per hundred thousand with Covid, and the hospital beds all over the Southwest are now filled with people who have conditions other than Covid.  There are only 44 people in hospital throughout our area with the disease.  Nearly 69% of the over sixteen’s have been jabbed once in our region, with many already having received two vaccines.  All of this is going in the right direction.

Today is Polling Day!  As these are local elections, I have carefully looked at the candidates and will vote for the people and not any particular party.  As it happens, I will be voting, Green, Lib Dem, Independent and Labour for the various positions that are to be filled.  I hope I get the names right when I come to mark my ballot paper, but I feel certain I will.  There were no Conservative candidates in any of the areas that I felt I could vote for.  Nothing new there…

We will find out the results of the votes next week as there are so many counts that need to take place.  All 70 Bristol City Councillors are up for election, as is the Mayor, The Chief Constable and the Metro Mayor.  Lots to think about. I’ve done my homework though…let’s hope that those unlocking us have done theirs!

Have a great weekend and week and see you next Friday! Whatever you get up to…enjoy!

With love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –30 April 2021

It is increasingly feeling like we are nearly at the end of term.  I have my second jab on Saturday and that really will make my world of Covid feel much less scary.

Our hearts go out to those in India who are struggling with the ravages of the virus. The world does seem to be sending help as they can, but the country is huge and the problem enormous.  Let’s hope that the help they receive makes a difference to many. 

Here, life is beginning to really open up again!  After a walk into the Village last week, I went into a shop and bought a new plant stand.  Our old one was about to fall apart and I’ve looked and looked online, but couldn’t find anything.  The first visit to a non food shop since last March!  We picked up the new-to-us plant stand (it’s an old one) on Friday and decided that we would go for our first coffee out  together since last March.  The Village was stuffed with people and there was nowhere to park.  The cafes which can only seat people outside have taken over many of the parking spaces and it seems to have worked…the tables were all full!  We headed to Ashton Court estate instead and ended up having lunch outside at their very well organised café. I went inside to order and was yelled at!  NO!  Wait outside until we call you please was the request.  Excellent provision of safeguards all round and we felt happy to sit in the sun eating our mushrooms and avocado on toast.  Another first!

On Saturday we had an early dinner with friends and arrived at their place outside at 5:30 in an attempt to beat the cold, and we stayed until 10:00!  What a treat!  They  purchased a standalone electric halogen heater and it made the evening possible. We plan to buy one of those as well.  They don’t take a great deal of energy apparently and does make socialising possible. I will have to swallow my concern about the environmental impact of heating outside as there isn’t an option at the moment of seeing people without some warmth.  

Sunday was the final day of wonderful firsts!  We visited the family.  What a treat.  Sitting outside together even though we were all huddled under blankets was a joy.  There were hugs…but don’t tell anybody… We are all vaccinated and the granddaughter who isn’t is getting tested at least twice a week at school.  The family also did a lateral flow test before we arrived. 

These moments of unlocking are the best.  Hope that you too are able to meet with family and friends and that life is beginning to open out.  It does seem such a long time doesn’t it? 

I leave you with some funnies….

Randy Rainbow reminds us of two guys still in the American Senate who really ought to go….

The Best line from Line of Duty to date…who do you reckon said it?

And more from the same person….

And for those of you who have been watching Line of Duty Series Six ends on Sunday.  When asked whether or not there is to be a series seven, the BBC allegedly responded with, “No Comment.” 

Have a great weekend and week and see you next Friday! Whatever you get up to…enjoy!

With love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –23 April 2021

What a week!  A beginning!  Friends in the garden for lunch, visiting a friend for lunch, walks in the warm spring sunshine, plans being made for family visits!  We are lucky people indeed.  This Sunday we will travel to see grandkids and their parents.  We haven’t seen them since the summer.  Wonderful to look forward to.

I must admit, having friends round felt so normal.  As we are all of an age, and all of us long vaccinated, hugs, though not part of the rules were given out.  There is something about a hug isn’t there?  Shhh!  Don’t tell the Covid police!  When did hugs become such a no no?  If we very careful vaccinated people can’t hug it seems quite wrong. We sat in the garden, and there was plenty of fresh air! Maskless hugs…how divine!!

The garden remains magnificent and as it changes so much at this time of year, another little video seemed in order.  This week, I invited my postman in for a peek, and he didn’t want to leave!  It truly is a magical place to be.  Exquisite is the word I keep hearing myself say.  Thank you to my gardener and his wonderful ability.  And thank you also to the maker of the bulbs. 

It is strange getting out and about. Driving is a weird experience.  Not only am I not used to it ( I have filled my petrol tank no more than two times since last March), but the roads are different.  There are bike lanes everywhere, not to mention bikes, and dozens of potholes.

We now have scooters to contend with as well. These things have popped up everywhere and their riders seem to think passing bikers and getting in to traffic lanes without looking is totally okay.   Just as well that we have a twenty mile an hour zone in almost all of Bristol! This doesn’t, however, seem to apply to some bikers and most scooterers! These vehicles seem to have become a new urban look.  They take up room on the pavement and it is impossible to go far without running into some. Perhaps they have the makings of a new art installation?

It would be difficult not to discuss the court case in America this week.  The murder of George Floyd by serving policeman Derick Chauvin captured on a mobile phone began the Black Lives Matter movement last year around the world. Mr. Chauvin’s trial, which was difficult to watch, came to its conclusion on Tuesday evening.  The jury of five men and seven women took eleven hours to find Chauvin guilty on all three charges. Following the reading of the verdict, he was handcuffed and taken to prison.  There are many heroes in this story.  The prosecuting team were outstanding.  The jury were outstanding in their swift and unanimous decision.  But the real hero was seventeen-year-old Darnella Frazier who was with her nine year old cousin out at Cup foods buying snacks when Chauvin had Floyd pinned to the ground with his knee on his neck.  Despite Chauvin telling Darnella and the rest of the people who stood across the street telling the policeman to take his leg off of Floyds neck, that if they didn’t stand back he’d mace them.  Darnella stood her ground.  The video was the most powerful evidence offered in court.  The world was watching thanks to Darnella.  She testified, as did her nine year old. It was difficult for both of them.  She still has nightmares and wishes she’d intervened.  She didn’t save George Floyd, but her actions meant that justice was served.  America has a long way to go.  A sixteen year old teenager in Ohio was shot dead by police the same day the Floyd verdict was handed down.  But as President Biden says, “this can be a giant step forward in the march toward justice in America, but we can’t stop here.”  The giant step wouldn’t have happened without a seventeen-year-old, her mobile and her innate humanity.  

A little light relief is always a good thing and this little video made me laugh. Enjoy!

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=5552666234773787&id=217293018312810

Take care, stay safe and see you next week! 

With love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –16 April 2021

The first two or three leaves have appeared on the beech tree at the bottom of the garden!  There are about a zillion more to come but seeing those first ones is always special.  Why did those arrive first?  What made them the rugged individualist leaves that would grace the tree days before the next ones popped into life?  Who knows?  They are currently alone as the rest of the buds are still preparing to become leaves. In time those first leaves will merge with the others as the tree fulfils its destiny and they will be lost among all the many others. For now, though, they are it.  Pretty special!

Being first at anything is usually fun!  Somehow or other I was the first person having my hair cut at my Salon this week. The first time since last Autumn.   It felt odd and great at the same time.  Wearing a mask while having one’s hair cut is strange. And it was freezing!  Both front and back doors were open to keep that all important air circulating to keep us all safe.  My hairdresser and I threw caution to the wind and hugged when we saw each other.  It’s been SUCH a long time!  I was first of the day, we both had masks on and there was that circulating air.  To be honest, I didn’t think of any of that, and I suspect he didn’t either, we just greeted each other the way that seemed to come naturally to us both.

The world is gradually, slowly, slowly, unlocking.  We in Britain are doing better than many countries, and here in Bristol the figures are really good. Only one person in 6000 has the virus.  That feels safer and safer.  The vaccine count here is high, too.  Nearly 65% of those over 16 have been jabbed in the Southwest. We also have the lowest hospitalisation from Covid rates in the entire country.  All these measures mean life is returning to something akin to normal.  Not normal, but moving in that direction. 

We still aren’t allowed to go into other people’s houses, I haven’t yet rejoined the gym, so I haven’t started swimming yet, but those second vaccinations as well as the next bit of unlocking are in sight. Terry has his second jab today, and mine is in two weeks. 

It is interesting watching what people are getting up to and what they missed the most.  The shopkeepers are delighted that people were queuing around the block on day one to get into many of the shops. Primark did a rip-roaring trade!  As did every pub and restaurant with an outdoor seating area.  Although it has been cold, people bundled up and sat outside with up to five other friends and enjoyed the camaraderie.

It is still necessary to organise life, the spontaneous visit to a pub or even to a National Trust property is not yet possible.  You can’t casually wander into a coffee shop and sit down and have breakfast.  Yet. We all have to continue to be careful.  The virus is still circulating.  There are variants around. Things are shifting though!

The next big unlocking takes place on the 17^th May.  That’s the date when people from separate households are finally allowed to stay together inside a house. We will be on holiday at a holiday home and friends will join us for a night together. We might even manage to have lunch in a pub by then.  It will be legal and we will just have to wait and see how we will feel about it at the time.   

Some people are moving forward faster than others, and some of us are still maintaining an abundance of caution.  Whatever works for you works.  The roadmap is a plan not a decree that thou must…fill in the blanks. We all need to be careful as we change our behaviours. The last thing we want is to get this unlocking wrong!

On Saturday the funeral of Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh will take place. It seems to me that the Duke was a unique and special person.  If he was a leaf, he would no doubt have been the first to be seen on the tree.  To Philip, thank you for your service and may you rest in peace.

Take care, stay safe and see you next week.

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –9 April 2021

I know I shared photos of the garden last week with you, but if you have a resident gardener as good as mine, the garden is a place of ever changing magnificence! Here’s a video this time that shows you the current state of play. If you’re local and fancy a cuppa, give me a call and you will be more than welcome to come see for yourself!

The weather has reverted to cold and wintry days.  Tuesday, it snowed!  It was only fifteen minutes or so and I was in my nice warm study as I watched the flakes swirl around outside. Thankfully, the cold waited to arrive until Easter Monday!  That meant Easter Sunday was a special day for sitting in the garden in the glorious sunshine with our friends. What a difference a day can make! The temperature plummeted on Monday. For once, though, mother nature got it the right way round. 

Speaking of the right way round, the EU has been giving the wrong advice to their citizens regarding the Astra Zeneca vaccine.  According to our Deputy Chief Medical Officer, JVT (Professor Jonathan Van Tam) at a scientific press briefing yesterday, the vaccine is safe for those over thirty.  There are however, indications that younger people might, although the evidence is not yet conclusive, have a small risk of developing a blood clot.  The EU was suggesting earlier that those over the age of 55 or 65 should not have the vaccine.  It certainly seems that waiting for the evidence provided by science is far better than drawing conclusions based on…hmmm on what did they base those assertions? 

It looks like the AZ vaccine might produce in a tiny fraction of people, this unwanted side affect.  However, there are also reports that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are also responsible for the same very rare risk factor. The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) report on the 5^th of April that “Blood clotting needs to be watched with All COVID vaccines.  You have to dig to find this information, it isn’t being splashed all over the headlines and on the news. The AAPS refers to an article in one newspaper in the States, the US SUN, which talks about several people who have developed the same  blood disorder that the Astra Zeneca vaccine is researching.

Doctor dies and 36 others ‘develop rare blood disorder after getting Moderna and Pfizer Covid vaccines’ (the-sun.com)

Professor Adam Finn from the University of Bristol who sits on the JCVI, the national Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation has tried to set the record straight on what the new recommendations for the vaccine are in the UK for those under thirty.  He says, “there are some news outlets & politicians incorrectly reporting and criticising respectively MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority) for advising against use of OxAZ in under 30s. Neither MHRA nor EMA (European Medical Agency) have done this. JCVI have expressed a preference for alternative vaccines for healthy under 30s in the UK.” 

He also expressed his dismay that the Astra Zeneca vaccine does seem to be constantly in the firing line.  He points out that it is the only vaccine in the world that is being produced at cost, meaning big pharma are not going to make any money from these jabs.  Perhaps these two issues might be connected?  Vaccinations are a significant contributor to our way out of the pandemic.  Let us all hope that the latest information does not put people off having their jab and the vaccination programme continues apace!  There are nearly 32 million people in the UK who have had their jabs…and the death rate has plummeted.  Another coincidence? 

From Monday we will all be able to do a bit more!  Here at Chez Feest, it means I will be stepping out for a much needed hair cut.  I wonder how many other people will be doing this over the next days and weeks?

What will your first unlocking steps be?  Go for it and whatever it is, enjoy!  You’ve waited long enough for the moment.

Take care, stay safe and see you next week.

With love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –2 April 2021

This week we began teeny tiny little steps to opening up again!  From Monday, we were able to enjoy the company of either six people or two households in a garden. We visited a friend’s garden for dinner on Tuesday! One of the first meals we haven’t cooked for nearly a year!  Wonderful!  No hugs though…

At the start of the week the weather decided to play ball.  It was sunny and we had one of the warmest March days on record for fifty-three years.  The Downs and every park and seaside resort in the country were inundated with people.  They seemed to be mostly young and non mask wearers.  And why wouldn’t they be?  It’s alright for we oldies with our large houses and big gardens and vaccinations, but most young folks don’t have spacious homes and many don’t have even a patch of green, let alone a sizeable garden.  I just hope that they don’t spread the virus.  We could all do without any more variants that might resist the vaccine.

The garden is spectacular at this time of the year!  We are indeed fortunate and enjoy our sanctuary every day. Here are just some of the flowers that are cheering us up at the moment.

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The vaccine programme continues apace in the UK!  There have now been nearly 30 million first dose vaccinations and as of today, 7.8 per cent of the population has received their second dose.  This equates to many of the first doses jabbed in some European countries!  While they are lagging behind on the doses, they are soaring ahead with the virus numbers.  France is once more locked down, and will remain so for several weeks.  We are hoping the wave in Europe misses these shores this time.

A dear friend came round for lunch in our garden yesterday, and it felt so totally and wonderfully normal…ish.  Nothing feels quite as it was.  We didn’t hug, and sat away from each other at the table. Her quick trip inside to the loo was carefully orchestrated, and the meal was served with social distancing in mind.  Nevertheless, we were together!  Two women having lunch in the sun in the warmth of the lovely garden as though there was no pandemic in sight. Nevertheless, our conversation seemed to circle back to Covid no matter what else we discussed!

Unlocking is going to be tricky as we have to decide what we are prepared to do when we have been given an official go ahead.  Will we hug the kids when they come to visit sometime in May?  Probably!  Will we be happy for them to spend the night?

Today, a person spent two hours in my house!  And it wasn’t Terry!  I had a massage.  My body insisted and I decided it was okay. Dear Theresa has had Covid, and the vaccine, and wore a mask.  She also gave me some top tips on a few exercises to keep my upper back and neck from totally seizing up.  This could become habit forming once again!  Deciding what we will and won’t do is a decision we all must make each time we are presented with a new possibility.  When did something so normal become a challenge?  Since Covid!  Ah well. We aren’t over this yet.  But we are getting there!

A little something to perk you up as you move into the weekend….this remarkable little boy is THREE! If you don’t smile at some point in this go eat some chocolate or whatever you do to cheer yourself up…

This is Easter Weekend and on Sunday we have plans for friends to join us for Easter Sunday lunch.  Typically, the weather is NOT going to play ball!  The cold bitter weather is returning.  If we can’t manage the garden, we might regroup to their place which has an outdoor stove, and a canopy and if it is really grim, we might revert to Plan C…Zoom.  I sincerely hope that isn’t the case. I’ve had enough Zooming for awhile.

Whatever you get up to this Easter, be safe, and don’t forget to eat plenty of  chocolate. It’s part of what we are supposed to do this time of year apparently! Chocolate Easter Eggs have been around in Britain since Cadburys first produced them in 1875.  Before that, people ate hens eggs.  We will be having both.  Why not?

Enjoy it’s Easter! 

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –26 March 2021

This week we discovered that many of the people who live in countries in the  EU don’t  really want the UK developed Astra Zeneca jabs. Vaccination centres are not filled to the brim with people waiting to receive the AZ vaccine. In too many EU countries vaccines are sitting in fridges instead of being pushed into people’s arms.  Despite test after test clearing the Astra Zeneca vaccine for use, some European countries are refusing to use it.  Yet, they don’t seem to want us to have it in the UK either! 

Sir John Bell, a member of the UK Government’s vaccine taskforce when asked about the French approach to the AZ vaccine said, ‘It doesn’t make any sense – the whole thing looks completely crackers. They are changing the rules almost every week.”  They don’t seem to be guided by the science.  There is a huge amount of data available, and visible evidence of the effectiveness of the vaccine here.  Nearly half of over 18s in the UK have received their first dose of the vaccination since December. Nearly 29 million people!  Here, the death rate, hospital rate and case rates are dropping rapidly.  Yet recent figures show just 12.9 doses of vaccine have been administered per 100 people in the EU compared with 44.7 in the UK and 37.2 in the US.

The UK leads Europe…and yes, last I looked, we were still on the continent of Europe…in vaccinating its population.   

Today, the EU are holding a video conference to discuss what to do about exporting vaccines to the UK and elsewhere.  Apparently, the vaccines, including the one they don’t seem to want, the one sitting in fridges, may not be shipped to the UK.  In EU speak, however, this is not about an export ban.  Could it have something to do with the fact that many in the EU are unhappy with the British success?  Or politicians diverting attention from their own failures? One does wonder.  We wait to see what the outcomes of the latest talks are.  We could do with a sensible European Leader on this issue.  Perhaps we should send them to watch the dogs….

In Bristol this week the worst riots in over thirty years occurred.  A dreadful time for the city. The irony of this is that the protestors were protesting about the right to protest! Crackers again! What started as a peaceful protest turns ugly and those who threw stones and bottles at the police injuring over twenty officers are now being sought via social media. 

Here at Chez Feest, we have been tearfully riveted to the documentary, “Football’s Darkest Secret” on BBC.  This documentary powerfully details the horrific abuse of young footballers all over the country for many years.  We were proud to see Adam Feest appear in the second of the three instalments in his role as QC. It was the first time I had seen Adam since July. More tears.

The pandemic isn’t over yet but we are moving in the right direction.

In the meantime, stay safe!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –19 March 2021

Twenty one days.  That’s how long it takes to form a new habit.  Then if you carry on doing whatever it is for ninety days it becomes a part of you and you’ll miss it if you don’t do it.   That’s not long. In the scheme of things what’s three weeks?   The other little tip on making new habits for yourself is that you don’t have to begin with more than a little bite. Teeny tiny steps are the key to setting a foundation for whatever it is that you want to do. 

I’ve been writing to you for five days a week for a very long time.  Now that I’m changing that to once a week I need to adjust.  I forgot it was the day to write!  I didn’t put it in my diary because – heck – I know I’m writing to you don’t I?  I changed my habit and along with that change comes, well, the requirement for more change!  We are all about to change our habits. We have been given a roadmap out of Lockdown that means we will change what we do. Or will we? How have we changed over these months and what new habits do you want to begin to think about for your future?

The shenanigans of the Europeans possibly withholding vaccines aside (and that’s admittedly a pretty big aside!) and no new major outbreaks, or virus mutations (!!) we will hopefully be out of lockdown by June. That gives us all plenty of time not only to think and plan, but to begin to bed in any new habits we might like for the future. 

Now’s the time.  It is never ever too late to make a start. Small steps. Five minutes a day.  Put your plans in your diary.  Write them down.  Remind yourself what they are. You can do it. The clock is ticking.   We will hopefully soon be sitting in packed restaurants once again.  Travelling here and there and rushing about. Start those new habits now, that will take you past lockdown and into the rest of your life. As they say – there’s no time like the present!  This adage was first recorded in 1562 and it remains true today. John Trusler, a compiler of proverbs, noted “no time like the present or a thousand unforeseen circumstances may interrupt you at a future time” in one of his many books, Proverbs Exemplified, in 1790.

The present is a gift and it’s yours. Twenty-one days later and that new habit is also yours.  Go for it! 

Here’s a little something to enjoy while you think about what it is you want to do next…thanks to Mike in Exmouth for this one…

The pandemic isn’t over yet but we are moving in the right direction. In the meantime, stay safe!

Enjoy!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –15  March 2021

The saying “the first day of the rest of my life” seems appropriate on the first day of the second year of lockdown.  Officially lockdown began in the UK on the 23 of March, but we started early, so year two begins early as well! 

When I started writing Feest Isolation Days I had no idea how long I would be at it. And now the question is – when should I stop?  When does it make sense to say goodbye and return to keeping in touch with all of you in a different, more conventional way?  As we begin to take small steps to entering some of the ways of our old life, my plans for writing will also take a different turn.  Many of you wonderful friends who have been reading these missives tell me that they have helped you during this lockdown time. For that I am truly grateful!

As we move into the next phase of Covid, we are all going to have to make some adjustments to our routines once more.  The roadmap that has been set out for us in the UK is gradually moving us forward into society.  As there is a plan for unlocking our future, I, too have made a plan for Feest Isolation Days.  Most of you seem to be reading these words on a weekly basis.  From this week, I will begin to write on a weekly, instead of daily basis.  I will carry that on for the next few months and hope to end with a fanfare when, hopefully, restrictions are lifted for us all in June.  From this week, you will find an entry every Friday.  Perhaps it will become part of your end of week routine!

Thanks so much for continuing to read what I am writing and for your many kind words over the year.  I’ll see you on Friday!

In the meantime, have a great week, and don’t forget…it isn’t quite over yet but we are getting there!  Wear those masks, wash those hands, socially distance and Enjoy!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –14  March 2021

A WHOLE YEAR OF LOCKDOWN!!

I’m lost for words.  I know, I know that doesn’t happen very often!  But I really don’t know what to say.  It’s been a year.  A whole year.  An entire year of our life spent in Lockdown. 

For us, that’s meant a great deal of time spent not seeing family and friends, not travelling, or going to the theatre or out to dinner or to concerts or swimming or to cafes or having friends over for dinner or going to their place for a meal.  No impromptu breakfasts out, or pub lunches after walks in the country. No visits to shops to buy the weekly food or the occasional shop to try on the latest outfit.  No choir concerts or weekly rehearsals among friends.  No chats with shopkeepers about this or that, no people.  This year was NOT in our retirement plan!

How have we managed? 

After an entire year, we are thankful that we have made it so far without picking up Covid and having to deal with all of the horrific ramifications that could entail.  We managed because there is nothing else to do but carry on.  However, not only have we managed but somehow we seemed to have grown and thrived during this strange time.  How does that happen?  We are fortunate.  We are a happy caring couple and are grateful that we had each other to spend the year with.  Somehow an excellent relationship deepened in ways we couldn’t have imagined.  Creating new routines both together and separately helped us to readjust to a new life.  After the realisation hit that we would have to dramatically change how we live, we did.  There were a few tears at times as the frustration of what we couldn’t do needed to be accepted, but then we set about our “new” Lockdown lives. 

We have the sort of resilience that comes with age and experience.  We also have the good fortune of living in a big happy house with a magnificent garden.  We learned that if exercise couldn’t be swimming it could be cycling indoors and out, if we couldn’t do our Pilates in class, we could do it at home.  It isn’t the same, but we could keep in touch with our family and friends on Zoom, or by phone or text or What’s Ap or even write to them regularly!

This blog project belongs to us both.  I do the lion’s share of the writing, and Terry posts what I write.  I haven’t a clue how to do that after a year as I never have done it!  That’s what partnerships are about – not being clueless but about having roles that work for each of you.  I wash, you dry, I shop you cook.  I collect the bins from inside you carry them out.  These activities develop, we play to our strengths and importantly we share the load. We are still, after all these years, very much in love.  How does that happen?  One of the enduring and beautiful mysteries of life.  You know it you’ve got it, and can’t imagine it if you don’t.  I hope your Lockdown time has also helped you to thrive and deepen your relationship.

The next hurdle for us all now is going to be unlocking!  We are exceedingly pleased to have had the first dose of the Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine.  Covid numbers are falling in the UK. The roadmap to Unlocking has been published and each increment means more easing of our situations.  What will we be happy to do?

Years ago, long before we were married, Terry made a series of educational videos for transplant patients, and I was the presenter.  There was one scene that stays with us now.  A man who had home dialysis returns from hospital after having had a successful kidney transplant.  His dialysis machine is still in the room.  His wife asks him if he’d like a cup of tea and a biscuit?  “No dear, I can’t, too much fluid”.  How about an orange?  “No dear, I can’t, too much potassium”.  Some cheese?  “No dear, I can’t, too much salt and protein for my kidney condition “ the man says.  The wife looks at him and says, “you did have a transplant didn’t you dear?”  He had not come to terms with his new reality, his new normal.

We are all going to be stepping gingerly into the next phase of our life.  We will all have to tiptoe into the things we feel comfortable doing and accept that we can move forward out of lockdown.  Slowly, carefully and deliberately.  After an entire year and then some, we will have to learn to once again live together in a different way. 

We are vaccinated and ready to move forward.  Who knows what we will be getting up to in the months ahead?  Whatever it is, we will do so feeling pretty certain that we will be fine.  We’ve managed a tough year with aplomb (great word).

If I had to give us a grade on a scale of one to ten, I’d say we both come out with tens!  Not bad for a tricky year.  What would you give yourself and your partner for these many weeks? Don’t be hard on yourself.  That’s one thing we don’t ever do anymore.  And we try not to be too hard on others either.  Everyone has struggled in one way or another with this year. 

Love and being loved is never ever to be taken for granted.

You’ve helped to give me focus.   Thanks for reading.  Let’s see what next year brings!

Enjoy and keep up the good work.  We aren’t out of this yet but we are getting somewhat closer as each day passes. 

With love,

Kathy x

And to all of you Mothers out there….Happy Mother’s Day!  Here’s a little extra something all about that for you which I wrote for today on the Joy Club

Joy Club Blog – Thoughts on Mother’s Day

Anna Jarvis, founder of Mother’s Day in the United States

March 14 2021

It’s not Mother’s Day yet!  Surely there are nearly two months to go until Mother’s Day!  It’s the wrong month, it’s only March, Mother’s Day is in… Ahh… “Toto, I don’t think we’re  in Kansas anymore!”

It never occurred to me in a million zillion years that I would be a Mum and not a Mom for a start.  Or that my son would have  an accent that would make American girls swoon with delight when they heard it.  I grew up in America, and moved to the UK when I was twenty six.  Marriage wasn’t on my mind then, let alone children.  Sometimes these things just happen.  And happen they both did. But March for Mother’s Day?  Nope that’s held in May! If you reside in the States that is. As it happens, Mother’s Day occurs somewhere in the world in all but three months of the year, January, April and September.

Where did this celebratory day come from? In Britain, along with so many British traditions, it’s been around for a long, long time.  Since the Middle ages in fact. In the UK, Mothering Sunday always occurs on the 4^th Sunday of Lent.  Originally, the celebration was about Mother Church.  People went to the church they were baptised in, or their local cathedral which was the “mother” church for all of the parish. In 1644, “Gone Mothering” was a phrase that people used to describe what eventually become known as Mothering Sunday, or more recently, Mother’s Day.

Inspired by the American Anna Jarvis, who was lobbying for a Mother’s Day celebration there in the early 1900’s, Constance Adelaide Smith wanted to extend the celebration in Britain beyond the church to include all Mothers, and Mother Earth as well!  We have these two women to thank for our modern Mother’s Day festivities.

Ladies both, I ask you, why only one day?   Do these women have ANY idea how hard it is to be a Mother?  Actually, they didn’t.  The modern founders of Mother’s Day on both sides of the Atlantic were childless. 

I bet I’m not the only Mother who has kept those Mother’s Day cards that were given to her over the years. They remain stored away along with the memories from another time; all those nights of lost sleep in the early years, the tricky bits later on when a thousand and one things conspire to convince you that you haven’t a clue how to be a Mother.   

It’s not always easy trying to figure out what on earth you are supposed to DO in order to be a good mum.  One of the biggest lessons of Motherhood, especially as the kids get older, is that, sometimes, what you need to do is absolutely nothing.  Nada.  Zilch.  For so many Mothers, this one included, that was the most difficult Motherhood lesson of all!  Mothers all over the globe want to race in there to fix, to help, to support, to make “it” better.  Whatever “it” is that needs to be made better.

Maybe we should be lobbying for a “kids” day!  Turn the tables and tell them how grateful we are for them.  Our lives would not have been the same without them that is certain!  They helped us to grow, to thrive, to live, and to love.  Without our kids, we would be different women.  Not better or worse, but different.  It’s hard to imagine Mother’s Day without our kids. Yet it was two childless women who gave us our modern Mother’s Day celebrations.  Thank you ladies.  And to you all, whenever it occurs where you live, Happy Mother’s Day! 

Feest Isolation Days –12 March 2021

Today for the first time in many a year I ran a workshop!  It was on Zoom and definitely not something I’ve ever done before.  The Joy Club invited me to run this workshop and if you are over 65 (!) and live in the UK, you are welcome to tune in next week through Joy Club Presents.  It was great fun and involved writing, and sharing that writing, as well as thinking about a few things when writing for and about yourself.  Talking and sharing is always good to do at any time that is for certain!

The winds are still roaring away, and today we have had rain, hail, wind and sun.  A totally mixed bag for the day.  Apparently this weather is set in for a few days now so we too are set in!  No long country walks or meeting friends.  But look out next week.  So far there are three planned walks with friends. The indoor bike and the exercise mats will have to suffice for the next while.

We are beginning to make longer term plans.  It is a strange feeling.  We expect to have overnight visits with the family in May, and prior to that, weather dependent of course, in April when it is allowed, we hope to have garden visits once more.  What a treat that will be! We are already thinking about an in-house family visit.  Probably eight to nine weeks away, but we are inching towards each other.  I stared longingly at the many dining room chairs that are lined up against the wall waiting to be used once more.

 Everyone has now had a Lockdown Birthday as it’s been a year, and we will have to celebrate those past birthdays and anniversaries when we meet.  After all this time, another nineish weeks doesn’t seem too long a wait I suppose.

As Lockdown has been going on for nearly a year and this blog started a year ago Sunday, unusually there will be a Sunday blog.  Heavens knows what I will share, but then I never know until I sit down and put keys to keyboard what topics might be covered on any given day.  There are probably some thoughts swirling around but they aren’t nailed until I press send and off it goes. Strange how that works.  We have all developed new ways of doing things over the year I suppose. 

I leave you with one of my favourites…Randy Rainbow! BIDEN NOT that other guy…..

See you on Sunday!  In the meantime, enjoy!  Stay safe. The pandemic isn’t over yet but we are getting there!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –11 March 2021

The storm is on its way. It’s dark and a bit windy, but as of yet we haven’t had the full force of the winds.  They are heading our way though and today will be an indoor sort of day!

The latest fallout from the Meghan and Harry Oprah interview is a response from the Queen.  In sixty one words she answered the two hour interview.

‘The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.

‘The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much-loved family members.’

“While some recollections may vary” is bound to become a response that is used by many over the coming weeks!  One of the outcomes of all of this is that Piers Morgan stormed off of Good Morning and resigned over a verbal altercation about this on set.  At least all this drama takes us away from Covid for a minute or two.

Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance both spoke to a Parliamentary Committee yesterday about the country’s response to the virus.  When asked if the government was following the SAGE advice, Sir Patrick replied, “broadly”.  Another response to keep tucked up our sleeves!  Chris Whitty explained why the dates for unlocking have been set and why the government won’t change them.  Backbench MPs will be pushing at those dates but let’s hope that the response they get remains firm.  We all want this Lockdown to end and life to go back to normal, but we must be patient. Follow the science; remember, backbench MPs, it led to that jab in your arm and the fall of cases!

By the end of March, we will be able to visit with another household in our own gardens.  Let’s hope the winds and the rain blow themselves out now so that becomes possible in a few weeks. We all need to keep up the effort that has been ongoing for nearly a year for a while yet.

The swimming pools will be open soon!  I for one am looking forward to getting back in the water.  For now, I will have to settle for watching other people swim.  This is an impressive team of Artistic Swimmers at the Artistic Swimmers World Series 2021.  No, I didn’t know there was one of those either. The commentary is excellent as well.

Enjoy!  Stay safe. The pandemic isn’t over yet but we are getting there!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –10 March 2021

The calm before the storm.  We are promised winds of up to fifty miles an hour and lashing rain.  But that’s for tomorrow. Today is sunny and ten degrees.  The weather is so important to us all! The warmth and sun makes such a difference to our days.  Being able to sit in the sun is such a pleasure. We shall enjoy it while it lasts and batten down the hatches that will be battered tomorrow.  Just as well the daffodils are a strong tough flower,  and the emerging tulips are tas well. 

Elsewhere in Europe they have some sun, but sadly they also have much more Covid about.  Italy, which was the first country to go into lockdown, has now recorded 100,000 Covid deaths. Unfortunately, they are experiencing an increase in people with the highly transmissible UK variant. So far they have only vaccinated 5 million of the population of 60 million people.  Their government is changing tack on vaccinations, as it’s been stockpiling them in order to give two doses. They have now decided to give the vaccines out to as many people as possible and request that people wait for the second jab.  

The UK has done this, and the numbers of deaths and new cases are dropping dramatically.  All of Europe is lagging behind the UK in vaccinating, and the figures are stark.  In the UK the virus is receding, elsewhere in Europe it is growing.  The world needs to be vaccinated. And sooner rather than later.  The EU officials got procurement of vaccines quite wrong and people throughout Europe are paying the price with illness and death. The UK government and the people of the UK have embraced vaccination and there are now nearly 23 million who have had their first jabs. 

It’s hard to open a newspaper, or listen to a news bulletin here at the moment without hearing about Harry and Meghan.  I have yet to watch the Oprah interview, but it all seems so sad.  A family airing its angst in public is never going to be a pretty sight.  With everyone still locked down and with little else to do,  17 million Americans watched the interview on CBS.  We wait to see how many people tuned in on this side of the Atlantic.

Here, it’s a delight listening to the early morning sounds of children’s voices again! As they walk by our house on their way to school their excitement reaches our ears. The UK is beginning to open up and there can be no doubt that the vaccination programme has been a significant part of the reason why that’s become possible. As we begin to move forward, it’s hard to watch the huge numbers of cases on the rise in Italy, and elsewhere in Europe.  Perhaps people will become less reluctant to have the jab when they see the positive results here.  

Let’s hope so. Science is leading the way. And the UK has backed the Scientists. 

Enjoy!  Stay safe. The pandemic isn’t over yet but we are getting there!

With love,

Kathyx

Feest Isolation Days – 9 March 2021

The vaccination roll out continues apace in the UK.  Some 22 million people have now been vaccinated and those between the ages of 55 and 59 are being called up this week for their jabs.  Unlike the French, the British are responding positively and people are happy to get the vaccine. French GPs are finding it difficult to find ten people a week who will take up the jab.  Scepticism and false information abound.  

The tourism department however, is trying to sell France to their biggest market, the Brits, but they had better get their people to start lining up for the jab.  Such a small percentage of the population is taking up the vaccine that they will not be on top of Covid for quite some time – according to one tracker, at the current rate it will be March 2023 before the population is vaccinated.  Interesting to see what the 12.5 million British visitors will make of that information.

Meantime, the Sunday papers were filled with adverts of the sunny beaches and glorious blue skies of Greece.  It would seem that appealing to a vaccinated population is a plan that our European neighbours intend to pursue. Last week, Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said: “A vaccine certificate would allow you to enter Greece without being forced to provide a negative test and without any quarantine restrictions and we do intend to go down that path.” That’s not on the EU agenda, but certainly on the Greek agenda.  Greece has vaccinated 5 percent of their population to date and at the current rate it will take them another 77 days to inoculate a further five percent.  The UK has given first jabs to 42 percent of the population and over a million people have already had their second jabs.  It would seem that the sceptical French and the welcoming Greeks might see a few Brits headed their way from the end of June.  BUT – before we become too eager, perhaps we should wait and see what the science says about transmission and bringing back unwanted variants even if you are vaccinated.  We await with interest the studies that are going on at the moment. 

Britain and all those involved deserve a big thank you from all of us for the excellent job they’ve done with vaccination so far.  It does feel different going out having had a jab and done the three week wait.  Facemasks are still worn, and sanitizer is always in the pocket, but it does feel much less scary.  I’m heading to the post office today. Haven’t been there in over a year…that sort of says it all really. Make sure that you pick the important outings when you head back out in the world again.  And don’t forget to social distance!

Maybe we don’t need to go out. I could use sunflower oil instead of olive oil for the biscotti.

When the British get things right, they soar.  Here is a wonderful clip from the 400^th Celebrations of Shakespeare’s  birthday at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 2016.  It’s a total delight and well worth the six minutes of your time today.   

Enjoy!  Stay safe. The pandemic isn’t over yet but we are getting there!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –8 March 2021

How much longer will we wash the vegetables and fruit when they arrive by our key person delivery man each Friday?  I suspect for a long time to come!  This week the baking potatoes I ordered arrived and they looked like they’d just been dug up.   I suppose I should be grateful, but I moaned as it takes ages to clean all the dirt off potatoes.  However, not only am I going to get used to it, but armed with more information I won’t complain anymore!   Mud is good for me and my potatoes!   Tesco’s did a trial in stores in Bristol to see how people responded to muddy spuds.  Apparently my fellow Bristolians were impressed.  Tesco approved and now plan to sell muddy spuds in all their stores. 

What I didn’t know before reading about this, is that mud protects the shelf life of spuds. When covered in dirt, potatoes are not exposed to light.  That means that they don’t produce chlorophyll and won’t turn green!  It means my potatoes are going to last longer. Knowing that, I’ll certainly keep up the newly acquired habit of washing everything when it comes through the door, and when I finally get to pick my own spuds off of a supermarket shelf, they will be covered in dirt!

And on yet other important potato matter, in America, Hasbros, the toy manufacturer, created quite a stir this week when it decided that in the interest of gender equality, it would no longer identify their well known toy as Mr. Potato Head. From now on, it will be merely Potato Head.  Hasbros have managed where the Congress could not…they have united Republicans and Democrats!   Apparently nobody likes this idea!  The Republicans couldn’t agree to an economic stimulus package with the Democrats, but all appear to share the common interest of what to call Potato Head – Mr.  I find it extraordinary that there was even one poll done about this issue that asked for party affiliation!  I wonder where these two groups stand on cleanliness of spuds – washed or muddy? 

Today, kids all over England, some eight million of them, are heading back to school. They will be offered Covid tests twice weekly in school for the first two weeks and then they will be given tests to do at home.  One of our grandsons is excited about going back to school and reckoned it will be a great week.  He also figures that by this time next week it will just be, well, school again! 

Enjoy!  Stay safe. The pandemic isn’t over yet but we are getting there!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –5 March 2021

We had our Pilates last night via Zoom with Auckland.  Our teacher was already a bit jaded by the Lockdown – and that was on day three!! I pointed out that we were hitting day 356 and perhaps they should count their blessings.  But that’s the thing isn’t it?  Five days is tough!  You don’t have time to get into a routine, and you expect that life is going to be back to normal really soon – like another few days – so it’s just irritating. 

Lockdown is not as irritating anymore, it’s our life. Yes, it’s tedious and yes, we all want it to change, but somehow we’ve all found our routines.  Settling into them didn’t take too long did it?  After nearly a year there is a rhythm and a tempo to our life that.  Yes, it gets a bit samey, but our routines help us to enjoy the day more than I would have ever realised. Our daily breakfast together is often the same and then different on the weekends.  The sitting on the swing in all weathers and talking and enjoying the garden and the birds happens every day unless it is pouring.   The exercise classes.  The writing. For Terry the fishing.  We are fortunate because we each have the luxury of a room of our own.  Each of our studies belongs exclusively to us.  We populate it with what we want. Some days it gets messy and others it is tidied up.  No one comments on the state of the room we call our own.  Having that place that we can retreat to has been, for both of us, more important than I realised at first.   We have space.  We can retreat when we need to. 

In my sanctuary, music always features.  First thing I do in the morning after my stretches and movement, is put on RNZ Concert– Radio New Zealand classical station.  My companion throughout the day.  

Today I found a new – to me – concert pianist who is worth a listen.  He was the BBC young musician of the year in 2004 – when he was eleven. Last month he released a new album.  This is him in action with Chicago Symphony a few years ago, Benjamin Grosvenor – Liszt Piano Concerto No.2 in A Major.

Lovely interesting moments even in this lockdown life if you pay attention. 

Enjoy!  Stay safe. The pandemic isn’t over yet but we are getting there!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –4 March 2021

I made a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority. I don’t often do this sort of thing but I saw an Ad in the Sunday papers…the Sunday Times Style section…and it was so grim I decided to make a complaint.  The Ad was a woman advertising a dress. Apparently, this woman who looks anorexic is selling clothes to other women. 

It made me annoyed that some young model turned up looking like this and instead of getting her some help, she was photographed as though it is perfectly normal to look skeletal in fashion magazines.  It isn’t.  I haven’t yet heard what the ASA will do about my complaint, but at least I made it.  It is shocking to me that this is acceptable.

The day is grey and cold and the week is meant to get colder still.  Sigh.  Just when you are really ready for that blast of Spring, it hides away for another bit.  Never mind, it will get here! 

Today in the Commons, we have had dishy Rishi’s budget.  There seem to be some good bits in it, including an extension to the furlough scheme until September, and a continuation of the Universal Credit £20.00 a week top up for another six months.  The NHS and Social Care don’t seem to have had any more money invested in them which is a bit of a shame given that the NHS is helping us all as we are still in the midst of the pandemic.  Taxes will rise for business and personal tax will be held to current limits.  This all seems a reasonable way forward.  The serious problem for governments all over the world is that the pandemic has caused more borrowing by governments than since World War Two.  It seems that borrowing was just paid back in time for the pandemic.  Let’s hope that the world economy can get going again soon. 

Enjoy!  Stay safe. The pandemic isn’t over yet but we are getting there!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –3 March 2021

How local is local? We decided to go for a walk and I was keen to be beside the sea.  We looked at the rules and they were fairly loose to say the least.  “Exercise

should be done locally wherever possible, but you can travel a short distance within your area to do so if necessary (for example, to access an open space).” This definition doesn’t offer a lot of help on specific distances.  An MP when asked if seven miles was too far said the most important thing to do was to follow the guidance wherever you were.  Further, “In situations where people are breaching the guidance not to travel out their local area but are not breaching regulations, officers will encourage people to follow the guidance.”

So were we breaching the guidance?  We travelled thirteen miles.  We went in our own car, didn’t go into any shops or anywhere else, and when we parked next to the Costal Path we walked together.  We didn’t meet anyone else. After parking, we headed towards the path without any problems at all.   We probably met about six couples on the path in the two and a bit hours we were out and we all gave way to each other.  There might have been about three other dog walkers and their pooches, but no one else.  When we finished our amazing walk, and picnic, we returned to the car and sat there drinking our thermos of coffee and dunking our digestives like the oldies that we are.  We weren’t stopped or challenged as there was no one about.  We both decided that we certainly weren’t breaking any laws, and we didn’t breach the regulations.  And it was wonderful!

It was only four degrees when we set out but the sun came out so our return walk with the wind behind us was warm and the views spectacular. 

There is something about being beside the sea that fills me with the sort of feelings that I will appreciate for days.  I don’t need to go there every day or even every week but once every few months I just need to see the sea!  As I grew up in a land locked State, I don’t know when this desire arrived, but now that it’s here it will remain forever I am quite certain of that.

Lockdown!  The hoops we go through in our own minds to justify a simple trip to the sea!  In the end, we both decided it was worth it, we wouldn’t feel guilty and we are glad we went.

Now for my new Tuesday night Yoga class…I shall be knackered of Clifton later this evening that is for certain.  And it feels great!  I think that was the whole idea!

Enjoy!  Stay safe. The pandemic isn’t over yet but we are getting there!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –2 March 2021

Pinch! Punch!  First of the month!  Yes I know that was yesterday, but hopefully there will be many more to come.  I wondered where this idea of pinch punch came from, so finally looked it up.  The consensus view is that it comes from the States, and we have George Washington, the first American president, to thank for this.  Every first day of the month, George met with Indian tribes and served them punch with a pinch of salt in it. Pinch punch first of the month! 

Firsts are always good aren’t they?  New beginnings, starting a fresh.  We are all happy to have something new to get into as we head into nearly a year of lockdown…except for those in Auckland who are on Day Two of their latest Lockdown! 

We have just finished watching “Call My Agent” and needed something new to get stuck into.  We found exactly what we needed and wanted in something called “This Is Us”.  We have only seen one episode so far but apparently, there are eighteen more to go and another four series.  By the end of Lockdown we may have managed to see them all!  I do hope they come to an end as Call My Agent did in the most believable and exacting way.

The Golden Globes were handed out last night and they were mostly on Zoom. A few “Best Moments” are here

The Crown won for Best TV Drama series and three actors who played, Diana, Prince Charles, and Margaret Thatcher all won best Actor Awards.  As people picked up their awards from their homes, they are surrounded by family and friends. Very different yet somehow quite special. 

A film to look out for is heading to your screens in June.  Although it didn’t win any Golden Globe awards, Anthony Hopkins staring in “The Father”, is bound to be electric.  It’s a film that began as a stage play.  We saw the first theatrical version in Bath several years ago and recommended all of our friends go and see it. We saw Kenneth Cranham as the Father and he was brilliant.  He won several awards for his unrelenting performance.   We saw it more than once with different casts. The playwright, Florian Zeller, understands dementia and it is powerful as a play, and no doubt will be as a film, too.

With lockdown keeping us away from the theatre at the moment, finding these gems is important! 

Enjoy!  Stay safe. The pandemic isn’t over yet but we are getting there!

With love,

Kathy x