Month: December 2020

Feest Isolation Days – 31 December

Well here it is, the last day of 2020!  It’s been a long and lovely holiday season despite the Covid around, and boy is the Covid around!  This country is going into near total Lockdown again and everyone has been warned NOT to visit anyone or party tonight outside of their own households. I baked a cake with Terry’s help… he made the caramel for me.  This is cake  we will be eating a bit later. 

We had a cold night last night, this morning was the frostiest so far this winter and it was one degree.  So of course that would be when our central heating boiler decided to pack it in and stop working.  That was what tipped me over momentarily.  I was fine, and I cope with most things, but not a cold house. I was especially upset since in normal times we’d be in a New Zealand summer by now. My plumbing began to work and the tears did well up.  We turned on the electric heater and stayed tucked up in our warm bed. This morning my resident plumber whipped into action and by late morning had managed to figure out and resolve the problem.  Sometimes a good night’s sleep is required: last night he’d made the diagnosis, this morning he fixed it! 

Ahhh.  Warmth.  So required.  We were delighted by the boiler repair, and our actual plumber will come and service the thing next week.  I think he was impressed with Terry’s new found skill…mind you he was a Professor of Kidney medicine and that does involve the body’s plumbing!

Today was a glorious cold, sunny, frosty day, and we found a beautiful country walk very close to home.

My plan originally was that we would both write something today, but like many best laid plans, that isn’t going to happen.  At least I managed to put something up for you to peruse before you turn the calendar over.  You’ll get a double dose of the Feest’s soon I promise! I’ll let you know. 

The Kiwis have already celebrated New Year!  These are the fireworks at the Sky Tower in Auckland.  I will NEVER complain about the firework display while I watch it there ever again!  They have been somewhat thin some years…not this year from the look of things.

Let’s hope that the way this year is drawing to a close will mean that next year will be better for everyone.  There IS a Brexit deal!  Boris, or as the Telegraph on line misspelled his name today, “Borks”, got a deal.  It’s thin apparently, but it beats no deal.  Even most of the Labour party seemed to agree with that.  And Trump is leaving!

But the most fantastic news of all is that the Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine has been approved!  Hurrah and Hallelujah!  Without a doubt, that will make the biggest change to our lives next year. Thank you to the Scientists and the head of the team who is a woman.  Hip Hip Hurrah!

As this year draws to a close, it is worth remembering to be grateful that we are still here.  There are many who are not.  And it is also useful to remember that the pandemic isn’t over yet.  Keep up the good work, the social distancing and the mask wearing and hand washing and sanitising and give thanks to all those NHS workers who are on their knees and doing their jobs so brilliantly. To all the NHS staff as well as all the many key workers out there, thank you and Happy New Year.

Stay safe, stay in and enjoy!

To all of you please have a

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I’ll be back again as normal on the 4^th of January.

With love
Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 25 December

Merry Christmas!

Enjoy your day!  See you again next week.  One last round up before we say goodbye to 2020….look in again on the 31^st. Terry and I will do a joint missive.  Until then, I’m off to drink mulled wine, eat Christmas yummies open some presents and contemplate the splendour of it all.  

SO much to be grateful for!  Covid or not….

And Boris got a Brexit Deal…. Things are already beginning to look up….

May your day be filled with Love and Light and the Joys of the Season.

Enjoy!

With love and kisses,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 24 December

Its Christmas Eve!  Santa is coming!  Not long now…The children all nestled snug in their beds…

The presents are all wrapped and we will become like children again tomorrow when we open them! 

The Baby Jesus was born 2020 years ago. That seems a long time doesn’t it?  Puts our near year of Lockdown into a different perspective. 

This always seems a good time of the year to be thankful and grateful for all that we have and all that we are.  More so this year!  It’s been a lifeline for me communicating with you all like this during our Covid period. I hope you managed to learn a little something, laugh a bit and keep up the day to day of living with a smile on your face some of the time.  It’s not always been easy. The worst, however, is apparently nearing the end.  We are still awaiting the announcement of the Oxford vaccine, but Pfizer has already started to be a game changer.  Our local surgery coordinated a thousand jabs in our area last week of the over 80s and those at most risk.  Well done team!

We are blessed to have a house filled with love, even though it isn’t filled with people!  So many cards, and notes and packages and What’s Apps, and emails and the rest.  We hope you, too, are hearing from friends and loved ones and if you haven’t, give them a call, or drop them an email or send a card.  Not everyone copes with things the same and many people will have felt lonely and uncared for.  Show you care!  It’s the Season to do so. 

We are the first ever group of humans who have faced a pandemic and been able to respond so quickly with vaccines that will become our way out of this situation.  It truly is a miraculous undertaking when you think how long vaccines normally take to make. 

We all have SO much to be thankful for!  To each and every one of you, thanks for reading – for helping me stay connected – and for helping me grow and thrive even through lockdown.

See you briefly tomorrow!

With much love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 23 December

The house is becoming filled with Christmas cards!  Both the paper as well as the electronic variety.  I must say, I’m an old fashioned sort of woman, I like opening the cards that come through the letterbox.  We play the identify the sender game and it seems I’ve become quite good at recognising handwriting! 

It got me wondering about the origin of sending Christmas Cards and who was responsible for the ritual many of us continue to adhere to today.  A civil servant, Sir Henry Cole started us all off. He worked in the Public Records Office and in 1843 he and his artist friend John Horsley worked on his idea together and the first card was produced.  A thousand cards were made and cost a shilling each.  That’s about five  pounds in today’s money! Prior to 1840 when the Penny Stamp was introduced (and Sir Henry had a hand in that…) the recipient of the letter had to pay the postal fees.  There has been a form of mail in the UK since Charles the Second established the first “Royal Mail” in 1660.  Look at the stamp you are using today.  Both first and second class.  Do you notice something missing?  The UK is the only country in the world that doesn’t have to put the country of origin on its stamps!  As the first issuer of stamps in the world they have the privilege of not needing a country identifier! That continues to this day. 

This is the first Christmas Card ever sent.

In 2010, 1.5 billion cards were mailed in the States, they liked Sir Coles idea!  Here in the UK during the same year, 700 million cards were sent. Only 15% of cards are purchased by men.

Make sure you buy Charity Cards, they really do help! Over 580 million pounds is raised annually for various charities through their Christmas card sales. One of Henry’s cards was sold at auction for £22,500.  Wouldn’t that have been a nice little earner for one of the Charities?

I like the idea of sending and receiving cards.  When our postman (we’ve never had a postwoman!) delivers them to us each day, whether it’s pouring or sunny, we are happy to see him, or usually just hear him.  Our current chap likes to bang on the door rather ringing the bell if there is a package to be delivered by Royal Mail.  He likes the sound of our knocker apparently.  I don’t mind, I like the twang of the post box when he pushes our cards through the metal slot.  Keep those cards coming!  I love them! They get displayed around the house.  And this year, we get to open them before March! (as we would normally now be in NZ.)

 I almost forgot to mention Coronavirus – it’s still here.  Our borders are currently closed because of the mutation.  Nevermind, we were benched long ago…the cards are more special than ever.  Here they are displayed around the house.  Thank you one and all!

Happy Holidays! Enjoy!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 22 December

With only three more days left until Christmas, it must be time for a few carols! 
We would have been in California, in San Fran with our dear friends by now and listening to the marvellous Chanticleer.  That is not to be!  So here is an offering from this marvellous male choir.

This year’s people choice for favourite carol on songs of Praise is in French. It’s a well known tune and this rendition is marvellous.

There has to be a COVID parody song this year and here is Chris Mann from the States giving us exactly that.  I know how he feels….

Here in the UK we have the Lancashire Hotpots with Santa is Covid Secure!

And we all have Dr. Fauci in the States to thank as he has told us he has been to the North Pole and personally vaccinated Santa!  What a  guy…no not Santa…Dr. Fauci!

Enjoy!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 21 December

There is a new Tier. It goes along with a new mutated virus.  Apparently the latest Covid 19 mutation is 70 per cent more likely to be transferred between people than the old virus.  Boris looked wan and quite depleted when he gave the country the news at the press conference on Saturday. Tier Four effectively is a Lockdown in London and the South East where the virus is running rampant.

In addition, Boris announced that the entire country is to halt the daft plans to have a five day break over Christmas with three households allowed to meet.  Now, the rules say you can meet, but only on one day, Christmas Day, and no overnight stays. 

Professor Chris Whitty when asked what people should do who were planning on going away said, unpack your bags.  Many, many, irresponsible people didn’t listen.  Instead they raced to get out of the city and caused huge jams of people in terminals and on the roads.  Their selfishness knows no bounds.  Christmas isn’t cancelled, it’s just going to be different.  As the Scientists keep telling us, wait until next year to celebrate with Granny and Grandad.  If you do wait then they might still be here. People are asymptomatic and unknowingly infecting those around them, especially indoors.  Matt Hancock the Health Secretary says everyone should behave as though they have the virus.  If too many people keep flouting the rules everyone might just get it!

Here at Chez Feest, we are bedded in and waiting for the vaccines to help end the pandemic.  There is an app you can use to discover when you are likely to get the Pfizer vaccine. https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/vaccine-queue-uk

Those over 65 will be jabbed mostly before the end of January.  It would appear that the Oxford vaccine will be with us from sometime just after Christmas, which would speed things up further.  Hang in there people, help is coming!

Be sensible and do Christmas as well as you can. Use the phone, What’s App, Face Time, Zoom, whatever you need to be in touch with your loved ones.  Stay safe.  The vaccine is coming.  So is Christmas!  Appreciate those nearest and dearest.  If you are lucky enough to be outside of London and the South East, go to a garden and visit a couple of friends outside.  That’s still possible. 

Keep going… not long now….

My amaryllis display for our eyes only…

Enjoy!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –18 December

What’s our Tier?  The government met and decided and Bristol is now moving down to Tier Two!  The number of cases in Bristol has gone from 432 per 100,000 to 121 and case numbers are still falling.  This means that restaurants will be able to open if they serve main meals. Pubs can open if a meal is eaten but must close at 22:00.

Seems to me that the NHS and Scientists have a different view than the boys in the government..and they are mostly boys.  We will see what difference this makes to the rate of infection, but for us, not much changes.  We won’t be taking advantage of the restaurant openings, we still can’t have people in the house, but at least the garden is no longer off limits.  IF the weather holds we might have a drink in the garden over the Holiday with our “bubble” friends!  In fact, we will most likely have bubbles with our bubbles!

In Paris, the city government has been fined for having too many women in senior positions.  This breaks the gender equality rules from 2019  which require 40% of new posts in government be allocated to each gender.  However, when Mayor Anne Hidalgo became the mayor for the second term, 69% of the team she appointed were women.  Anne told a meeting of the city council this week that the appointments helped give women a louder voice in government in France. She said she was delighted to pay the 90,000 Euro fine.  “In Paris, we are doing everything to make it (equality) a success, and I am very proud of a large team of women and men who together carry this fight for equality.”

Economists at Reading University and the University of Liverpool surveyed 194 countries and discovered that by mid-May, those countries with women leaders locked down sooner and their residents only had half the number of deaths by those countries led by women. Take note gentlemen of the world.  And listen up. 

In America, Trump told his advisors he didn’t plan to leave the White House on the 20^th of January, the day of the inauguration.  He still doesn’t believe he lost.  Poor baby.  Despite losing all the law suits, he’s hanging on.  And pardoning everyone who could hurt him in the future.  Can he pardon himself for crimes we don’t yet know about?  That remains to be seen.

Have a look at his possible last day in office….

Enjoy!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –17 December

I went to four different places yesterday until I was able to find a Christmas Tree!  Bristol Zoo sold out a few days ago and their doors were firmly locked.  The garden centre only had a few paltry offerings so I persisted.  My intention was to have a big ten foot tree this year!  Ha!  Not to be…The next place I tried had nothing bigger than just over three feet.  Finally, I remembered on one of my round Bristol walks a few weeks ago, that I saw a garage that fixes cars, (as opposed to a garage that sells petrol) with a sign up saying they were selling trees. I scooted around and bought one of the last three trees in the place.  The seller had bought in two hundred.  And then were two. Not quite ten feet. More like six. But not bad! 

It seems that everyone wanted a tree this year!  Or two…Apparently, people are buying more than one this year.  That was something we once did.  When the kids were younger and the house was filled with the excitement of Santa, it was also home to two Christmas trees. One very large one the drawing room and a smaller one in the dining room where we spent a lot of time.

Today we trimmed this year’s tree and here it is…..  Have you put your tree up yet?  If not better get a move on.

It wasn’t until we started on the trimming of the tree that I finally cracked about not seeing the kids. There is something about Christmas and family and friends and socialising.  And none of that will happen this year.  We will be two.  It will be fine.  But boy will I miss the noise, the running up and down stairs, the piles of towels to put out, the beds to be made, the supermarket shop, the cooking, the piles of presents to wrap and then the opening of gifts and the laughter. SO much laughter. At least we are here and healthy. There are families where that isn’t the case.  We will make our laughter spread a bit further this year.  The carols will be listened to instead of being sung, and the few presents we open between us have been designed to make us laugh.  We don’t normally do presents for each other but this year we will. We are grateful for so much! 

Boris Johnson held a press conference yesterday with Chris Whitty and they are trying to get people to rethink their plans for eight days time.  The law isn’t changing, there will still be five days over the Holiday period when three families can mix. That remains the law.  But Chris Whitty gave an excellent analogy.  The law says you can travel at 70 mph down the motorway.  But when its dangerously icy and you could skid, you don’t do the speed limit.  You slow down.  You use caution.  The entire country is being asked to slow down, to show caution and not to mix and mingle normally at Christmas.  We are all in this together and we all have to be careful.  Of course there are bound to be moments when people are upset by what they are missing.  Wouldn’t it be a thousand times worse though to unknowingly give a family member Covid?  Most people will be sensible.  They have been so far and they will continue to be so.  Christmas will be fine.  Different.  But fine.  Zoom here we come!

When you need to get your mind off Christmas for a minute or two, there is still the States that you can turn to for some light relief!  Randy Rainbow has arrived just in time to put a smile on our faces…..

Enjoy!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –16 December

In an unprecedented British Medical Journal and Health Service Journal joint editorial, the medical  magazine’s editors have weighed in on British Christmas plans.  They said,

“We believe the government is about to blunder into another major error that will cost many lives.”  They predict that on the current numbers of Covid, up to 19,000  people will be hospitalised by New Year.  And that does not factor in Christmas travelling and “bubbling” where three households can mix over five days of Christmas. 

Sadiq Khan the Mayor of London has called on Boris to change the Christmas rules as London begins its Tier Three status. 

The rules are not a target!  Matt Hancock told us at his latest press briefing that people needed to be responsible.  And Professor Whitty was trying his best to calmly steer us all away from getting together.  Children will still need their visit from Santa, but Granny and Grandad might, just might, have to be see on Zoom!

As a Granny who hasn’t hugged a grandchild since March, I get it!  But with a vaccine around the corner, the hugs will have to wait a teensy bit longer.  Put up a tree, enjoy the season, and use the phone or zoom.  It’s not much longer to wait! 

Sending and receiving gifts is different this year, but we have been blessed with all sorts of presents from many friends and the family. We would prefer to be in New Zealand, we would prefer to be with the kids.  But as realists, we reckon the odds of being together and out of the virus’s way is probably the best thing to do at the moment.

Fill up on memories!  Go through old photos and enjoy the experiences you have had in the past.  Be grateful for what you have been able to do and be.  Life is not on hold unless you press the button.  Laughter helps. 

Try this….for a quick tee hee! And if you’re still feeling glum, have another mince pie! Go on its nearly Christmas!

Enjoy!

With love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –15 December

When I was a girl, Christmas was always a visit to my grandparents’ house.  My Dad’s people.  They had plenty to eat and a warm cosy house, but didn’t have a great deal of money.  Their son, my Uncle Joe, always made sure that Christmas was a time when the kids in the family always had a pile of gifts.  He was a man of few words, but many Christmas gifts!  We used to open a pile of presents and each one was carefully chosen and exactly the sort of thing we would want. I remember my favourite dolls and their pretty dresses all came from the stack that would sit under the small Christmas tree emblazoned with my name.  The gifts were always, but always, wrapped in newspaper.  Uncle Joe was an ecologist before his time.  My brother and sister and I would have to wait patiently until after lunch before we were allowed to open our treats.  Our grandparents loved watching us open the packages almost as much as we loved doing so.  I can’t remember when the tradition stopped, only that it was part of my childhood and who knows when that stopped?  What are your childhood Christmas memories? They are warm treasures to cherish especially this year me thinks!

The new dishwasher is in!  It took the two chaps all of about twenty minutes to install and they took the old one away. Not bad.  From purchase to installation in three working days.  Good companies are still out there and doing what they have always done brilliantly.

Londoners are now headed into Tier Three which means a hit for the hospitality and cultural sectors.  But my oh my, don’t they need to do that!  The crowd photographs just keep on reminding us all that some people left to their own devices are just not being sensible. The worry is that the stores are still open and the push to shop is not abating.

In America, the Electoral College has met and despite the Trump nonsense, Joe Biden will be declared the next President of the United States.  There are wigglers in Congress who will have to validate the Electoral College Votes on the 6 January, but any shenanigans will be quickly stopped as the Democrats still hold the house.  Any antics would need to pass through the house and that is not going to happen. Trump has given democracy a nose bleed and it is deeply worrying that there are so many who still seem to think that the election was rigged.  Let’s hope Joe can pull things round a bit and the genie that was let out of the bottle with all the hate and vindictiveness can be somehow neutralised by some common decency.  We shall watch what happens in the States over the next months.  It isn’t going to be easy to roll back all the Trumpers. 

A few laughs from the fellas at Mock the Week….unlikely things you’ll hear at Christmas…but where are the ladies and their gags?? Hmmm…

Enjoy!

Love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –14 December

Reading the Sunday newspapers is a treat that I have enjoyed for several months now.  I like going into the newspaper shop and having a few words with the owner and scurrying out and back to my car again.  Only three people are allowed in the shop at any one time, and masks must be worn.  Today for the first time in weeks there was one other person in the shop at the same time that I was.  I held the door open as he left and then stood in the draft while the owner and I had a chat, him behind his counter, mask and Perspex screen, me by the moving air current.  He asked me what we were doing at Christmas, and lamented the difficulty he is having making a choice about what to do.  This is increasingly being echoed by many.  What to do?  The scientists are warning that the Christmas get together is going to cause a spike in cases here akin to the Thanksgiving bounce the Americans are seeing.  They are recording up to 3000 deaths a day, the highest since the pandemic began.  Excruciating.

We shall see what happens come the Holidays.  Christmas, our Advent calendar tells us, is only twelve days away!  Our key worker delivery people are already sending us notices about their last days of delivery before Christmas.  The butcher and fruit and veg shop will stop on the 19^th until after New Year.  Our food planning has become even more careful! There are just two of us and the freezer is packed so all will be fine. 

This week we will hear what Tier we will be in for the next phase of the virus.  We are hoping for Two.  We shall see. London’s numbers are going up, while here in Bristol ours are going down down down.  This picture of Regent Street yesterday may explain some of the London virus bounce!

Antivaxxers staged a demonstration in Bristol on Saturday but only about two hundred people attended.  They didn’t bother with masks but seemed to keep their distance.  They marched into the city centre but there weren’t numbers like the Regent Street crowds anywhere to be seen.  Bristolians for the most part do seem to be being careful!

The weather is grey and we are in the bleak mid winter.  But the longest day is not far away and then the light will begin to return!  Must be time for a quick quiz. 

Over the past twenty years, has the proportion of the world’s population that lives in extreme poverty,

a) increased by 50%

b) increased by 25%

c) stayed the same

d) decreased by 25%

e) decreased by 50%

While the papers and media are full of doom and gloom, and the weather is foul, do take heart. The answer was correctly chosen in a survey by a mere one in a hundred people.  If you said decreased by fifty percent you can join them.   The world isn’t as bad as many of us seem to think sometimes. By many measures, our world is doing a better job in many areas than it has for a long time. 

Nevertheless, tis the season to be generous spirited and a few extra pounds towards your favourite charity won’t go amiss.  And you do have to do your bit by staying safe!

Enjoy!

With love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –11 December

I definitely had a wobble on Wednesday.  After the thrilling news that the vaccine is on its way, my hopes of getting it were dashed.  Two people who are healthcare workers in the UK who received the Pfizer vaccine had a reaction to it.  These people both carry epi pens as they are anaphylactic to something or other.  As I am anaphylactic for shellfish, I won’t be able to have the Pfizer vaccine – at least for the moment.  It was quite a shock to read that on the BBC I must admit. I always said I would prefer the Oxford vaccine which is made differently – but I would take what I was given.  Seems like it’s going to be the Oxford vaccine for me.  I did try to become a participant in the drug trials for the Oxford vaccine and they wouldn’t have me because of my allergy.  Maybe they should have!  In any case, it would seem that the regulators are doing what they need to do and we should have the Oxford results and the vaccine becoming available by Christmas.  What a present!  I did have a wobble though.  It’s passed.  A big hug from my darling husband and a gulp and an adjustment and off we go. It will all be fine in the fullness of time.

This was the week we spend a morning doing the cleaning.  Whew.  I won’t be unhappy when we can have someone else do this for us again.  Lugging the hoover up and down the stairs and the rest does become more and more of a challenge.  Knackering this cleaning business.  We share it out between us which helps and the house is gorgeous when it’s all done so all the effort is worth it in the end.

Doing the cleaning, going for a walk with a friend and doing Pilates all in the same day reminds me that I am no longer young.  But it must be said, reasonably fit!

I promised you a few more things to laugh about…try these….answers at the bottom

A. Which Government scheme supports Christmas dinner?

B. How can you get out of talking to your boss at this year’s staff Christmas party?

And another video to make you laugh…

Christmas Dinner?  Sorted!

Go on have a giggle…..

Enjoy!

(A) Eat Sprout To Help Out

(B) Put him on mute

With love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 10 December

After fourteen years our Neff dishwasher packed up and we needed to buy another one. Very straight forward. We contacted the company where we bought all of our appliances when we redid the kitchen fourteen years ago and the very helpful young man sorted us out.  We will have a new installation on Monday. My details were even still on their system!  The new dishwasher has a special feature that enables you to change the height of the top basket. This means stemmed glasses will fit.  Amazing.  However.  When Terry looked again at our fourteen year old dishwasher he noticed something neither of us had in all those years. Our old dishwasher has a feature that enables you to change the height of the top basket. We were rolling on the floor laughing!  All those washes. All those years and we never noticed!  Tee hee.  Grab your fun where you can I say! 

We do what we can to make sure we laugh at least once a day. A big fulsome belly laugh.  It sure does make the difference to a dark winter day.

The Christmas cracker jokes have started…The channel Gold has a competition for the best of the bunch.  They have to be topical and relevant.  A panel of judges short lists, then 2000 randomly chosen people vote on their favourite. Here’s the winner for 2020

What is Dominic Cummings’ favourite Christmas song? (See A below!)

And we all know Boris doesn’t like to be left out of anything so here’s one for him..

Why can’t Boris Johnson make his Christmas cake until the last minute? (See  B below!)

Watch this space for more of these as the season progresses.  Feel free to send in your best attempts. Remember they need to be topical and relevant…The Brits are always there with a good few jokes to cheer us all on.  Despite Covid, The British sense of humour remains intact.

Tuesday was a gold letter day for all of us.  The first person in the world to receive a vaccine was Margaret Keenan who will turn 91 next week.  Margaret is a grandmother from Coventry and has made history today!  Roll on more vaccines.  We are all waiting with sleeves rolled up…well many of us are anyway!

Enjoy!

With love

Kathy x

A)   Driving Home for Christmas.

B)  He doesn’t know how many tiers it should have.

Feest Isolation Days – 9 December

Some days are brighter than others. But in our house we now have brightness every day.  We bought the most amazing lamps. In 1986 Alex Pratt designed a light for Singer the sewing machine people. Alex and his team did a great job.  They became commissioned by airport control towers, RNLI lifeboats, and even the Space Shuttle! The success of the company grew and grew.  It wasn’t until his Mother asked him to come up with a light that she could read by, that the lights we have just bought were born.   With the nights getting dark at four and the light going so quickly, reading becomes more and more difficult for aging eyes.   Serious Readers – that’s us but also the name of the lights – have come to the rescue. They are expensive and worth every penny!   We both can read again.  Terry can also see to tie his flies and I can see to read and write.  Totally wonderful.  Amazing how something so simple can change so much.

The Sunday newspapers in print are an indulgence I enjoy each Sunday and usually finish by the middle of the week. I buy the Observer and the Sunday Times.  Two papers with very different agendas.  Sometimes I scream at each of them in turn for being too whatever they are.  And turn the page.  That’s the beauty of the written word.  You can turn the page and carry on.  Something usually sticks though and on we go. Now I can see all the words!  Result.

People are beginning to make some really bad choices these days. I totally understand this.  Lockdown fever is taking hold and without the release of the pubs and restaurants and socialising people are queueing outside shops instead.  Primark!  Debehams!  What is it that we must have?  Normality.  But as that is not here yet, there are those who stretch the boundaries as far as they can.  It’s not easy.  We miss a lot as well.  Covid numbers will no doubt rise again if people don’t become more sensible.  A packed Christmas market in Nottingham had to be stopped by the police as people were behaving as though social distancing was not required at all outside, and masks were not necessary or important.

 I’ll keep up my walks with one friend at a time somewhere where there are trees and paths.  Mind you the paths are getting more and more muddy as I am not alone in my diversions from Covid!  A friend had organised a special walk at Dyrham Park, not far from Bristol and we were both looking forward to an expanse of ground.  Until I realised that our walk is not possible. Dyrham is Tier Two and we are Tier Three.

The tree will go up next weekend and we will have another Zoom dinner party with friends.  We have excellent imaginations and memories and we can think about the past and imagine our future while enjoying what we can of the present.  Presents!  They figure this year as well.  I better get on and get buying and then wrapping.  It’s not long now…

Have a listen to this chap’s advice on Covid. 

Enjoy!

With love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 8   December

Have you managed to get that wreath on the door yet? I’m sorry to keep on about this wreath business but it is an important part of this time of the year.

Besides keeping us busy either making it or finding just the one for us, a wreath reminds us that Christmas is indeed coming! A wreath traditionally is evergreen reminding us that life is constant. It is also round symbolising the never-ending circle of life. This is currently gracing our front door.  Made by Beth at Reg the Veg!

There’s another Christmas is coming tradition in this house.  Terry makes the Christmas Puddings from his mother’s hand-written recipe.  They take eight hours to steam and need a watchful eye so they don’t boil dry.  One of them will be kept until we can get the entire family gathered again.  Easter Pudding perhaps?

The advent wreath is another tradition in this house.  Each of four Sundays before Christmas we light a candle.  We have now lit two candles.  The simple glass wreath was a gift from an Aunt more than thirty years ago and has announced the coming of Christmas ever since it arrived in our home.  Sadly, she is no longer with us but we remember her with love and deep affection especially at this time of year. 

As the nights seem to get dark earlier and earlier, it’s useful to have some of these timely things sorted out. What are your traditions and why are they important to you?  These Covid times have surely slowed us down enough to ask ourselves and listen to our answers,

A few jokes from an old American comedian.  One of them is bound to have you giggling….and these were told way before there was any Covid around. 

Buddy Hackett’s Duck Joke Has Everyone Rolling on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson – YouTube

Enjoy!

With love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 7 December

When the choice is Christmas Carol singing on Zoom or watching England play France in a Rugby final which would you choose?

I chose the rugby!  If we were singing something meaty like Mozart or Vivaldi, I might have made a different choice but as it was carols, I went for sport. Neither option involved the ability to record them to watch later, so a choice had to be made.

It had to be the rugby Autumn Cup final between France and England.  There were 2000 fans at Twickenham, a stadium that takes nearly 80,000 spectators, but as these remain Covid times, limits were imposed.  The NHS was given nearly a quarter of the 2000 seats, with another quarter of the tickets going to family and friends of the team.  Other lucky folks paid £75 a ticket to see this match. They got their monies worth. What a game!  France came out fighting and England were chasing them through much of the first half.  During the second England picked up, but Owen Farrell missed three penalty kicks and the score was still in Frances favour.  During the last seconds of normal time, Owen scored a two point conversion after a brilliant Cowen Dicky try and the score was tied at 19 all.  Because it was a final, the game went to sudden death – the first team to score any points would win.  It was SO exciting!  During the final seventeen minutes of extra time I was mostly hiding behind the settee.  Owen kicked a penalty that went over and the win went to England.  It was thrilling, exhilarating and exhausting to watch.  Having the rugby to watch for the past month or so at the weekends has been terrific.  There probably won’t be another Autumn Cup, but this one was a cracker!  At least they didn’t call it the Covidcup but that is what it was.

As luck would have it, I got to do some Carol singing this weekend anyway. Our neighbours joined in with the idea of doorstep singing…a bit like doorstep clapping for carers we all did earlier in Lockdown.  Inspired by that community effort, two Bristol women set up the idea of doorstep singing, published the song sheets online that we could download, and off we went. Residents of my street joined with a street a block away as someone there planned to play the piano, and the pianists husband hooked up a microphone and we could all hear what was going on.   It was cold. Very cold.  But socially distanced and community was experienced by all inside and outside.  The spirit of Christmas has begun!

We had a Zoom dinner with friends on Saturday and shared the cooking. They did the main we did the starter and I made a pumpkin pie.  Oh for the day when we will be able to invite people here again!  The dining room is waiting. 

The vaccine euphoria of last week is still with us a tiny bit.  We await the info from Astra Zeneca and the Oxford vaccine and then we really will be happy folks. 

Saturday was market day and I was at the front of the queue at eight in the morning. The market doesn’t officially open until half eight and the pouring rain didn’t deter anyone.  By the time I was served, the queue was at least twenty people long.  To say that they sell the best croissants on this side of the channel is an accurate statement. As it’s coming up Christmas they are also selling mince pies.  All I can say is thank heaven I only bought two of them!  Yum! Sorry France, the English have beat you at your own game again!

If rugby and carols aren’t your thing, have a look at these Welsh chaps who certainly have managed to bring a whole new style to sheep farming!

Enjoy!

With love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 4 December

Just what will Christmas look like this year?  It would seem that many many houses will be filled with Christmas trees (and doors with wreaths!).  The sales of trees has gone through the roof and it is still early December. UK growers usually sell about eight million trees a year but the British Christmas Tree Growers Association which has over three hundred members says that this year that’s likely to be more like ten million trees.  The wholesale to retail market is already up 24% on 2019. The Tree growers group speculate that people like the idea of the smell of the outdoors, or that they can’t go shopping for anything else at the moment and outside venues selling trees fill a shopping need.

The Tree Growers Association have some tips for how to manage your tree once it is with you.  Useful information for all of us as we will get ready to untangle our lights and get ready to put the baubles on the tree!

A picture of one of our trees from previous  years……

Take the tree out of its net and place it in a bucket of water outdoors until you are ready to decorate it.

Avoid placing it too close to a fire or radiator, as it will dry out and the needles will drop off, says the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)

Saw 1in (2.5cm) off the bottom of your tree before placing it in a stand with water in the base, advises the RHS

Check the water levels daily and keep it topped up

Turn off any underfloor heating near the tree, or place a mat underneath it

Cut trees should last about four weeks inside

If you have a living tree in a pot, display it in a cool room. Bring it indoors as late as possible, preferably the weekend before Christmas

Living trees should not be in the house any longer than 12 days

Local councils and members of the BCTGA often offer Christmas tree collection services, so they can be picked up and recycled after Christmas

We have Prince Albert to thank for our love of Christmas trees.  He so fell in love with the German Christmas tree that he sent decorated trees to schools and the barracks around the Palace.  In 1848 an engraving featuring the royal family trimming their tree sealed the fate of the tree.  As you untangle the lights just be grateful you don’t have to fill the candle holders on your tree!

We plan to get our tree up a bit later in the month so we can keep it going well into January.  By that time the presents will all be unwrapped, and we will need the cheer of the glittering lights to get us through the darkness that is January!

You might be delighted to hear that even though we are in Covid times, Santa will be getting a special dispensation so that he can make his rounds. The Irish Parliamentary minister wanted to alleviate any doubts from children that Santa would indeed be arriving this year.

Watch this and please share as widely as you can to children who may need the reassurance this parliamentarian so ably gave. I’m sure we will see unilateral acceptance of this principle throughout the world over the next few weeks.  Well done to Ireland for leading the way.

https://news.sky.com/video/covid-19-santa-claus-is-exempt-from-coronavirus-restrictions-irish-parliament-hears-12144179

Enjoy!

With love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days
– 3 December

Its arrived!  No not Christmas….that’s still twenty something days away.  The VACCINE!

I think I’ll say that again…Louder…..

THE VACCINE!

The UK is the first country IN THE WORLD to vaccinate, starting next week!  The NHS Team  are geared up and ready for the roll out, with help from the army.  It will be administered on the basis of clinical need, the NHS workers and carers first, then those in care homes and the elderly and the clinically vulnerable, then younger and younger people until it has been offered to all.  This is as it should be. And it costs no one a penny.  It’s called socialised medicine.  Eat your heart out America.  This is what happens when you have a National Health Service.

It is an American company, Pfizer that got to bat first.  But the Oxford crowd will be hot on their heels.  This isn’t a competition….still.  Nice to be first isn’t it Pfizer?

We will let you know when we have been vaccinated.  You will be able to tell because I intend to go quiet then.  I have always said I will stop doing the blog when the vaccine arrives and I have had my doses.  If there is any reason anybody thinks this isn’t a good time to stop let me know….

It will most likely be January or February before the vaccine is inside of us. We will certainly let you know.

Meantime, its here.  And we are delighted.

A HUGE thank you to the SCIENTISTS in the world who have made this possible.

THE SCIENTISTS

We are indebted to your intelligence and skill and send you big thanks. The world is beginning to right itself. 

To you all.  There is little else to say on such an important day.  Well done!

Meantime, stay safe, wear masks and keep up the good work.  Until every person on the planet has a vaccine it isn’t over for us all. 

With love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 2 December

Lockdown is over!  Hurrah!  We can shop all hours it would seem as many of our stores plan to be open to midnight in the run up to Christmas.  And the hairdressers and gyms are open and the world is back to Covid normal! Or is it?  Wishing does NOT make it so.  There seem to be far, far, too many people who forget that a return to what was normal five weeks ago is not a return to “normal” normal.

Bristol, like a great deal of the rest of the country, which includes some 55 million people, are now in a “new” lockdown. The Tiers are keeping us in check. At least those who are following the rules – which – to be fair – is probably most of us. 

I get how tough this is.  We are in a fortunate position, I’ve said that many times before. We have the sort of resilience that comes with age and experience.  We don’t have young kids and we are on a secure fixed income.  All these things make our experience easier.  Not perfect.  But easier. 

Give a thought to the poor souls of Wales and much of Scotland.  Pubs and restaurants can open but alcohol cannot be served. And what they do serve has to  stop at six o’clock.  That could have something to do with the soaring rate of infections there with an R number running above 1.4.  Alcohol fuels socialising and also a lack of adherence to the rules. Here pubs and restaurants can only open and serve alcohol with a main meal.   People are fed up.  They will become more fed up with their lives if they experience this disease from an inside of an ITU! 

Yet many in government decided to vote against the government’s plans for Tiers.  Labour, in a clever political move, said they would abstain from voting on the plans.  They don’t think they go far enough but aren’t going to thwart what attempts the Conservatives are putting in place to manage the control of the disease.

As Christmas plans loom, all of the Scientists are speaking about the cautious approach that needs to be taken.  No hugs for Grandma! Or Grandpa!  No cousins sleeping in the same room.  All those moments we take for granted cannot occur. Covid doesn’t know Christmas is coming!

We do though…Each day over the weeks until Christmas there will be something to help us count down the days. 

Today is wreath making. Here are plenty of ideas for you!

https://www.gathered.how/arts-crafts/how-to-make-a-christmas-wreath/

And if, like me, you don’t fancy crafting a wreath, you could always order one on line from your local florist or greengrocer. Stay local this Christmas if you can. Our traders need us! 

Enjoy!

With love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 1 December

Why would anyone want somebody else’s prescription glasses?  This is the question I ask myself as whoever broke into my car on Saturday night thought they were worth having!  My sunglasses and driving glasses both were stolen but not the cases.

There was no sign of a break in and the alarm didn’t go off.  They might have managed to nick a few pound coins or twenty pence pieces from my parking money but to be honest I can’t even remember if there was any money in there. Probably not and if they were that desperate they probably needed it more than me anyway.  But my glasses?  The thing is I wear contact lenses and the glasses are for on top of those when driving. One of them is blank glass the other my prescription. Finding someone needing that sort of arrangement won’t be easy!  Petty crime. 

Why petty? The word comes from the French, late 14the century.  It’s a small offence (petite) and a crime of small or minor importance. Nevertheless, it is an irritating event. Especially because we had an instance only three weeks ago of someone trying to break into the garage if you recall.  They didn’t succeed but we have had to spend a bit on the garage door which they managed to break. 

Apparently crime statistics tell us that the crime of all varieties is down since Lockdown.  The biggest fall is in shoplifting. No surprise there as the shops aren’t open!  Still the thieves are about and doing their best to keep up their thievery during the long November days.  The police said they know they have learned how to break into cars without damaging the door, but they aren’t sure how they are doing it.  Perhaps as the police must have a bit of time on their hands over the next few weeks they might see what they can discover.

In Wales, which is a hop skip and a jump from us, the pubs are now not allowed to sell alcohol!  Food only and they must shut at six p.m.  Maybe someone noticed that the problems of people not following the rules had something to do with alcohol consumption?  I can almost hear the uproar about this from over here in England.  People don’t seem to understand that there is still a long way to go with Covid.  It is not over yet. The hospitality sector have been hit hard, but they are super spreaders of the virus.  Still, brave of the Welsh First Minister, Mark Drakeford to impose these restrictions.  Here in England, the government is facing a backlash on the Tier System.  Some Conservative MPs don’t like it.  Well none of us do mates!  Come up with some alternatives that keep people safe or stop moaning.  We shall see what happens later this week when the vote is taken on what to do with the Tiers. 

Definitely a need for a little something to giggle about.  Try this one sent across the Atlantic from Cape Cod…..

Enjoy!

With love

Kathy x