Month: February 2021

Feest Isolation Days –26 February 2021

There are lots of people who have clearly had enough!  The local news last night had footage of several teams playing football up on the Downs, not just one team, but several.  The police had tons of calls from the public and soon dispersed the teams.  They were in their football team jerseys and clearly someone had organised them.  A friend tells me of people in his building, who should know better, who are having dinner parties and another going to their holiday home!  These, thankfully seem to be the minority of people and not the rule.  It does make me, along with many others, angry though!  We haven’t come this far and done all this to have the end in sight in order to go backwards by fools who are not abiding by the rules.  I hope they all get fined!  Humph! 

Maybe the writers of this tune need to update it and show it to the footballers…

Rule breakers are a curious lot. I must confess I, too, am capable of breaking rules, but not if it means putting others in danger; and not in the Dominic Cummings sort of disregard lying kind of way.  My rule breaking this Lockdown has meant a friend in the garden once or twice when we weren’t supposed to be having them in the garden.  They could have, within the rules, stood outside the gate or on the other side of the garden wall.  It seemed to me that there wasn’t much difference between standing socially distanced on the other side of the wall or inside the garden.  I did break the rules. No one else was put at risk, we are talking about one person and we both have been scrupulous about not seeing other people, not going into shops and all the rest.

There was another item on the news last night about a man who had Covid.  He was in hospital for months, struggled to learn how to stand and walk again, and is now on a long, long road to recovery. He lost the tip of a finger and a thumb to gangrene caused by the disease.  When he left the hospital under his own steam, the way was lined with health care workers who applauded him.  Clearly, his journey back to health has been hard won.  The footballers think they are invincible!  They are outdoors, they are healthy, what does it matter?  I am delighted that the police explained to them why it matters.  Because it isn’t over yet.

We all want to run away from this endless drudgery of Lockdown,  Of course we do.  But we have to follow the Lockdown timetable and as Boris tells us, we need to be driven by the data not the dates.  However tempting it is to let rip, now is NOT the time!  We have to be careful and cautious as we come out of this.

On my walks now around town, I must admit I don’t take such a wide berth around elderly people out walking.  Grey hair and old means vaccinations have occurred.  I still move out of the way and hold my breath when younger people pass close by, especially heavy breathing joggers.  I won’t miss that bit of Covid.  In fact, there isn’t much about Covid that I will miss.  How about you?

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

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –25 February 2021

Stuff! My study is filled with it…I can’t find things sometimes and wonder why!  If things go to plan I have another four and a bit months until we are back to whatever normal is going to be!  Perhaps it’s time to clear the decks and have a good session of tossing.  But wait…how long have we been in lockdown?  Nearly a year. And I haven’t done any of these clearing things, so will I do them now?  I doubt it!  What about you? What clearing haven’t you done that you totally intended to at some point.  When there was enough time. When you could focus on the job at hand.  We aren’t going to do these things that we haven’t yet done in Lockdown are we? Finally, after thinking about this for some time I’ve come to the realisation that I LIKE my study the way it is!  OK so occasionally I can’t find an important item and after twenty minutes or so of searching I give up. What will help sort that?  My entire life I’ve not been able to find things once in awhile.  Did it stop me from being productive?  Or happy?  Nope! 

That’s that then.  No sorting to do in the next four months.

What else did I want to do when Lockdown arrived?  Write.  I think we could all agree I’ve done a bit of that. Now you’re talking!  It hasn’t been easy, I don’t always find the words I want or the ideas that I’d like but I do it anyway!  Funny that.  So no to clearing rooms, yes to doing what I really really want to do.  My study is clean by the way and I’m not too much of a hoarder so it will do.

What did you want to do?  Or what have you longed to do and never thought you had enough time?  The clock is ticking! We have another four and a bit months of lockdown to fill.  Go for it!  This time will never ever be returned to us again…at least we hope that’s the case!  So it’s now or eventually. If you are never ever going to get around to it, maybe it isn’t all that important to you.

Get stuck in to whatever YOU want to do…we’ll soon be back into cafes and theatres and films and museums and trips to London and there won’t be enough time to do the things you really want to do anymore.  Or maybe there will be.  Perhaps Lockdown has taught us a few lessons.  I hope so!  I like all this writing.  And my study is pretty amazing just the way it is!  It’s had a few additions over Lockdown, but I can’t say I got rid of too much.  Ah well.  Such is life.  Lockdown or no lockdown!

Enjoy!  Stay safe.  It isn’t over yet be we are getting there!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –24 February 2021

What a day!  Not only did we get the first convincing information about when  Lockdown is likely to end, but we had a few more firsts.  We have booked a holiday!  Along with the rest of the country it would seem.  The holiday home we went to last year and hoped to visit again, is now booked for May! The editor doesn’t even know this yet, but I also have a saved booking for the other place we weren’t able to visit last year in Cornwall.  Both are self catering cottages and we will love being in them, of that I have no doubt.  With a bit of luck, we hope that friends will be able to visit for a night or two when we head to Exmoor.  Can you imagine how thrilling these latest developments are?

We are travellers.  When we were working, for more than twelve years we had a weekend away abroad once a month.  Our time usually centred around work, but was often extended to enjoy the cultural attributes of wherever we were.  We have visited most major European cities.  We have been fortunate and I’m constantly amazed by what we have done. I don’t take anything for granted and remember at the time of all this travel being deeply grateful and I still am!

Yesterday we had a few other firsts.  On our Bristol walk we went a different route and visited places we hadn’t been to before.  There is a lane in Bristol called Pitch and Pay, a strange name for an area, an apartment complex and a road.  There was a helpful plaque on the wall that explained the name.  During the plague of the 1500’s  “A wooden stile at the end of the lane leading from Stoke Bishop to the Downs was the line of segregation between the plague-infested city and the countryside. The villagers brought produce to the stile and pitched it over to the townsfolk who threw back their coins in payment.”  Half of the population of Bristol, some 2,600 people died during this time.

We also visited the church of St. Mary Magdalene in Stoke Bishop.  The doors were open!  Sanitizer was everywhere and the high vaulted ceilings meant air circulation would ensure safety from the virus.  We masked up and went in.  A choir I have been in rehearsed in this church in the past. so it wasn’t new to me.  Yet the feeling of stepping into the vast place was awesome.  Built in the 1860’s, the church is light and serene.

I have missed visiting churches!  There were lovely little stations set up around where people would normally sit where you could have a moment of reflection and also do something.  One station provided stones, and suggested  you place one under a small cross, another offered a tree to hang a hand written message on the “leaf” provided and another provided round smooth crystals that you picked up and placed in a small bowl of water.  All of these suggested the sort of things you might consider as you carried out the tasks.  They required nothing more than a moment and were powerful and beautifully constructed.  Even with no one in the church, it felt communal and inspired.

Our final first (at least for this year)when we returned home was a real treat!  We kept our coats on and sat in the garden in the sun and ate our lunch!  Like basking cats, we sat in our comfortable chairs and drifted for a few moments and enjoyed the sounds of the birds, the warm sun and the love that we both share.  Not a first. 

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

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –23 February 2021

Are we nearly there yet?  That childhood refrain that came from the back of the car on long and not so long journeys is a question we are all beginning to ask.  Are we nearly there yet with Covid?  Sadly, the answer is not quite.  Not even close!  How did we reframe our answer and try to get our kids out of their funk and boredom of the back seat? Maybe some of those tips and techniques will help us all now.   There were games and tapes (remember them?), if they hadn’t got all snarled up in the tape machine and it was possible to sort out and drive at the same time. 

Ahhh!  Tapes…Maybe we could play a few tapes and that would help?  Covid has to be so tough on the kids! 

To the question of “are we there yet” at the moment the answer is a resounding and heart breaking “no”.  We have MILES to go yet!  Last night we discovered what the plans are for unlocking the next phase of Lockdown.  The Commons were given the information first and then at seven o’clock, much later than usual, Boris led a Downing Street Press conference.  Now we know.  The government is being cautious and there are good reasons for that.  The virus is still around and remains in circulation and thus it can mutate and change to escape the vaccinations we have.  Vaccination is important to protect everyone, so too is ensuring that the infection rate remains low so that we can stop so many people becoming infected and mutations become difficult for Covid.  The really good news today was from real live field studies which show that the current vaccine programme is being incredibly successful.

After so many weeks and months of Lockdown, it would be grand to have an opening up of everything all at once.  That isn’t possible.  We have to accept that there will be a gradual return to life as we once knew it.  We need to wait at least two more weeks before we can meet up with one other person outside when we will be able to sit together enjoying a coffee or a nosh on a park bench. Kids will return to school then, on the 8^th March. It isn’t until the end of March that we will be allowed to meet up to six people outside – including in our own gardens.  This seems such a long time away!  It’s been a tough winter and we are not finished with lockdown yet!

The next date for more unlocking is 12 April.  From then we will be able to go back to the hairdressers, to gyms and sit outside at pubs and restaurants.  From the 17 May we will be able to meet again in a limited way indoors.  From the 21 June, all restrictions will be over.  Lockdown, it is hoped will end.  There are five weeks between each date to ensure that the plans are working before we progress to the next stage.  These dates are not set in stone, but will be led by the data.

An important part of these plans is that every adult in the country will be vaccinated by the 31^st of July.  Then we will begin to be able to live more normally.  We have many days and weeks and months to live before we get there!  What all these new measures mean is that we must carry on as we have been for a bit longer.

Plenty of time to go and find that box of tapes up in the attic and see what we were listening to all those years ago. Why not?  Memory lane is not a bad place to be while we travel patiently- well, while we travel to our next destination.

No,  we aren’t there yet, but it will be wonderful when we finally arrive! 

With love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –22 February 2021

We have landed on Mars!  When I say “we” I mean that the scientists and engineers in Cape Canaveral have successfully launched and landed a space craft on Mars. And I should add again.  The first successful Mars landing was in 1976.  The Russians sent a spacecraft prior to that, but sadly their rocket suffered a crash landing. There have been nearly fifty attempts since then to return to the red planet. 

The distinct difference between the other landings and the latest is that, if all goes well, there will be a return to Earth in 2031 with soil samples. That will be the first time that samples from another planet will be returned. Ten years from now!

Last week’s rover spacecraft was called Perseverance or Percy for short.  (If you Google Mars Perseverance I promise you a golden treat!)  NASA put out a call to name the Rover and 28,000 American school kids sent in their ideas. There was then a judging panel and finally, 770,000 people from around the world voted on the semi finalists.  Alex Mather, a fourteen year old, won the competition. Alex said,  “I named the rover ‘Perseverance,’ and I hope that people in the future will look at this rover as a shining example of human perseverance for years to come.”   

Alex Mather future Scientist!

The team from NASA made sure that the 155 semi finalists names and their accompanying essays made it to Mars as well.  Their efforts were placed on a silicon chip and mounted on rover for the trip. 

The team who involved with the Perseverance come from a varied background. They include engineers and scientists who are women and people of colour along with their many white male colleagues. The diversity of the group is inspiring. 

 You can meet the team here: https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8662/meet-the-people-behind-nasas-perseverance-rover/

You might want to listen to Holst’s interpretation of Mars.

Then there are those who think perhaps we shouldn’t be going to Mars at all! 

( There were other ruder signs too!)

Hearing from young Alex and his friends who are excited by the landing does make one feel like there is hope for the future.  Very bright people will not stop doing the things that they need to do.  Exploring and pushing further the frontiers of space or back here at home, medicine. 

We will hear about the UK government’s plans for Unlocking later today. Thanks to the Scientists, life is about to improve on Earth!  Well done teams!

Stay safe.  Enjoy!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –19 February 2021

It’s pouring here!  The sort of wake you up in the night it’s so loud rain.  The garden will be swamped with water and country walks will be a mud bath. Staying on the indoor bike and the Pilates mat for a bit!  Our Wednesday night Pilates has become a feature of Lockdown and therefore a feature of our life. Lockdown being the place where our life currently is spent.  We’ve moved up a few notches in Pilates routines lately.  Using a Swiss ball, a theraband and small weights means we are challenging our muscles even more these days. Not bad for a couple of oldies!  Our instructor is thirty-five and does the hour of exercises with us. We are pretty limber I’d say!  The clue is to start simply and build up.  After all this time it’s amazing what we can do!  Core strength and stability is something to keep working on.  When we are in New Zealand we go to the studio, now that we are home the studio has come to us.  Another keeper for post lockdown for certain! 

Boris has announced a competition for kids!  Over half term he’s encouraged kids to draw something they are thankful for.  There are two groups, the under 11s and the under18s. The winners will be displayed at Downing Street.  I’m not sure who the judges are, but it’s great to know that someone at Downing Street has come up with a good idea for kids!  They upload their entries to a website and everyone is encouraged to participate.  Maybe they ought to have a second competition for writers.  I couldn’t draw for nuts at that or any age, but I can write!  Maybe I’ll send that suggestion in.  Writing about something you’re thankful for.  Now that opens up a few possibilities! 

I keep a journal.  Not every day but certainly most weeks.  So often it expresses what I’m thankful for.  There is so much!   For the moment, heat and warmth are high up on my current list.

It’s snowing in Texas!  This rare occurrence has caused havoc. It’s also enabled President Biden to help them out with FEMA funding.  This is the state whose leadership only a few weeks ago was trying to stop his election.  A state whose power supply is not on the national grid and therefore unregulated. The Governor and his fossil fuel buddies placed the blame for the outages on the Green New Deal saying it was responsible for the problems – causing frozen wind turbines and solar plants to seize up. Only 13% of Texas energy comes from these sources, Blame anyone but the real culprits seems to be the plan.  Some mills were frozen, but there wasmuch more power loss from freezing and other problems in the generators!  The natural gas pipes were frozen, because the suppliers refused to spend the money to make them reliable.  Power (of the electric variety)  is controlled through the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.  Seems one thing they aren’t is reliable.  Maybe they should have a word with their friends in El Paso.  Their  electricity isn’t part of the stand alone electric power grid in Texas but are part of one of the three grids in the States, so they did not suffer the problems of the rest of Texas. .

Biden instantly made sure help was on the way to the people of Texas.  Will they remember this in the spring?

There’s a lot to be thankful for! As I slide onto my Swiss ball I’m grateful that I can stay on it for a minute or two longer than I once could.  There was a time when that wouldn’t have been possible.  Life is full of things to be grateful for!   What’s top of your list today? 

Stay safe.  Enjoy!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –18 February 2021

Spring is inching its way towards us.  The birds are chirping away and the bulbs are  beginning to show.  In addition to the snowdrops and the crocuses already out we watch for the imminent arrival of our first daffodils.  Soon!  All in good time.

Covid restrictions relaxations aren’t going to be announced until Monday but papers are already telling  us what they think they know will happen.  They can’t wait!  Ministers are in discussions with, not just scientists, but industry leaders, and of course that means there will be much speculation swilling around. 

The Daily Mail lays out all the plans as they see it over the next few months and the good news is that, along with the rest of the press, they seem to think the process of unlocking will be gradual. All the papers appear to be in agreement that there will be no firm dates announced for easing lockdown, but instead, there will be plans based on science and the evidence. For once, they don’t seem to be moaning.  It is somehow heartening to see that even the more right-wing press are suggesting that the unlocking will be gradual.  Who knows if they have all their facts right, the government has yet to formally comment, but preparing people in this way is actually not a bad idea.  We shall see the official information soon enough!

In America, the political landscape is changing. Trump can’t stop himself from tearing away at the Republican Party and internecine fighting might be on for a while.  It is good to have him out of the limelight.  He remains a dangerous man.  Let’s hope he’s stopped.  Roll on criminal charges for his shocking behaviour in Georgia in trying to skew the election his way.  That might help shut him up for a bit. We can live in hope.

Here, it’s scheduling day again.  Each Wednesday we plan our week’s food and place our orders online  for the next week.  It comes around so fast!   It will be interesting as we unlock to see how comfortable we are in going back to “normal.”  A bit of science to help us make non-covid decisions will definitely be needed.  Will we wear masks in shops, or on public transport when we return? When we go to London (!!) will we wear masks and distance in museums, or at the theatre?  When will we feel more confident about these things? It’s been nice spending an entire year without having a cold or flu.  What can we take forward to ensure that we don’t pick up other people’s other viruses in the future?  The fact that we are beginning to think about such things is indeed in itself healthy.  Spring, as well as the end of lockdown is on its way…not here yet, but we are beginning to see the beginnings of baby green shoots! 

Take care, stay safe and enjoy!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –17 February 2021

Celebrations! The editor celebrated his birthday yesterday and here we are once more doing unLockdown friendly things in Lockdown!  There will be no days away, no breakfasts, lunch or dinner out in the world. No gathering of friends and family.   But we manage.  The weather is warmer, we have kids who have all sent gifts and called and my key workers from Amazon and Royal Mail have delivered birthday packages!  Everything was wrapped and waiting for the oldish man to wake…

And of course I baked a cake…

And made dinner…

Well some of it!  The birthday boy himself had to make the crown roast of lamb because that’s out of my comfort zone, and well in his. 

Suffice to say we had a lovely day and a special time. Thanks for joining us.  It’s great to know you are all there even if you can’t be here, or we there!

Life is what you make it and we sure do our best. 

Take care, stay safe and enjoy!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –16 February 2021

We’re having a heat wave!  This week we are promised temperatures up into the low teens!  As it’s been minus degree weather on and off for a few weeks this is indeed welcome news!  A day, or even two, without rain would be good too!  We will get into the country for a walk before the mud arrives.

Next week we hear what the plans are for unlocking.  Reading the Sunday papers, it would seem that everyone is fed up. Journalists who write columns as opposed to news are all moaning and feeling the irritation of the pandemic.  They seem to have collectively stopped being positive and started whinging.  It doesn’t help though does it?  I suppose if I had kids to home school as well as a job to do in a dinky flat I might feel like moaning a bit more though.  Still it really doesn’t help!

Our friends in Auckland are in three days of lockdown while the government tracks the three cases of Covid they have discovered. Other friends in Melbourne and Western Australia are also now locked down for five days.  I feel very sorry for them all. We want you to be Covid free and get back to moving about with restrictions! Let’s hope it doesn’t last long and they can soon go back to normal.  It’s good to think of people in cafes and restaurants and museums and the rest without restrictions.  Enjoying the sun and their summer.  And we hope by our summer that we can begin to carefully do some of these things again.  There are those here in parliament who want all restrictions lifted by the first of May.  Fortunately, Boris and his team do seem to be listening to the scientists.  Let’s hope so.  Of course we all want life to return for everyone, but we don’t want to have to lockdown again.   This third time, hopefully, will be the last!  

A mathematical modeller has done some fascinating work on the amount of virus in circulation.  He did some quite sophisticated maths which is beyond me, but you can read all the numbers here.  

https://theconversation.com/all-the-coronavirus-in-the-world-could-fit-inside-a-coke-can-with-plenty-of-room-to-spare-154226

Suffice to say, that all of the virus in the entire world, the cause of all of the deaths and destruction could all fit into a coke can.  The author chose that because he thinks it’s the most vile drink in the world.  Certainly is one of the most vile viruses. That’s for sure!

But tiny tiny tiny.  

Some times good things do not come in small packages.  

With the UK the third most vaccinated country in the world behind Israel and the United Arab Emirates, let’s hope we can kick this can far down the road sooner rather than later.  Then we can get back to the other issues the world faces.  

Whew. It never ends.  See? Might as well enjoy yourself!   

Take care, stay safe and enjoy!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –15 February 2021

I’ve had the jab! I’m among 15 million people who have received a Covid Vaccine.  I joined dozens of other people inside at Ashton Gate Football ground on Saturday morning and have now had the first dose of the Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine.

 Terry had been trying to book online for me for awhile, but on Friday it was announced that the over 65’s would begin being vaccinated next week.  My step daughter sent a link, Terry organised it and then told me I was booked in for the next morning – would I prefer 9:10 or 9:25?  The entire experience was well organised with social distancing markers everywhere, hand sanitizers required going in and out, kind and helpful ushers everywhere, and a wonderful team of nurses who delivered the jabs. There were no doors to open, and a few heaters scattered around to take away the worst of the chill. The ceilings were high and the gentle hum of voices was a novel experience!    We stood on our markers as we waited and slowly walked through several stations where we were checked in and were asked various questions.

The post jab waiting area seats were swabbed down as soon as someone left, and the chairs enabled social distance.  When someone came close to me to have a conversation, the usher was there in seconds asking them to take a seat please.  The NHS has done a remarkable job.  It felt like being at the airport! Maybe this will be takeoff!

In another three weeks, I will feel less worried about getting Covid when I’m out in the street or pass people in the open air, but we won’t be changing too much yet.  We need to see what the plans are for unlocking and we both feel we will maintain our caution for quite a time yet. Nevertheless, it does feel like there is a way forward.  All of our friends who have been vaccinated are continuing with caution, but when we have had our second jabs, and if the variants don’t mutate to stop them working, we will no doubt be able to see some people again.  We need more information on transmissibility, and whether the vaccinated can carry the virus even if we have had the jab and are symptom free.  It sure does feel hopeful though!

Another development this week, that may be of interest to those in the UK who are retired, is a website and Club I’ve joined.   It’s called the Joy Club and has lots of good content. They haven’t yet opened their online doors beyond these shores…yet!  They only began in December.  They kindly commissioned me to write a piece for Valentine’s Day!  It was my pleasure to do so.  You can find a link to my piece and the Joy Club here…

https://thejoyclub.com/blog/kathy-feest-what-can-i-say-about-love/

Take care, stay safe and enjoy!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –12 February 2021

This morning by happenstance, I heard the book of the week being  read on BBC Radio 4. It’s called “Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell” by John Preston. The BBC says “Henry Goodman reads this jaw-dropping life story of the notorious business tycoon and newspaper owner, Robert Maxwell, from birth to his mysterious death at sea.”  All five episodes are available from today on BBC Sounds.  It is a fascinating insight into the man.

I was a small cog in the Maxwell organisation for a brief time.  One of his companies bought an arts magazine that was published with the support of the Arts Council.  It was a glossy high spec monthly that was meant to replace the Arts Council listings sheets in the South West.  I was lured away from my job as Managing Director of a Free Newspaper to establish the magazine with a view to eventually making it a national glossy.  The job combined my love of the arts with my experience of print publishing and seemed the ideal next step.  The position came with a company car.  It didn’t take long to learn that Mr. Maxwell was a total control freak.  My company car couldn’t be ordered until he signed it off personally.  That took about six months.  In the meantime, the company paid for a hire car for me on a weekly basis.

His son, Kevin Maxwell, was the head honcho of the project and several months after working there I was told I needed to meet with him.  There was no agenda other than I needed to meet him in London at his office.  On the morning of our meeting, I met a friend who had just flown in from New York and brought me a present of Hershey’s kisses. These silver foil wrapped sweets aren’t shaped like kisses but instead take the shape of the street lights in Hershey Pennsylvania. I digress.

Kevin kept me waiting for ages and I had the bag of sweets in my hand when I was finally ushered into his office.  After I shook his hand, I asked him if he’d like a kiss.  After a perfect actors beat, I shook the bag of Hershey’s at him, pointing it in his direction.  I can’t remember if he took one or not.  The meeting didn’t last long and I never saw him again.  The job didn’t last long either.  It was a dreadful company to work for, and I was dropped when they decided to amalgamate the magazine with another local glossy. 

Listening to the story of Maxwell, I felt sorry for his wife and his kids. He was a sad man, a gambler and no matter what he did, he didn’t ever seem to be enough for himself.  Shame.  What a life.  He was in a prison of his own making, and he could only find one way out. 

Sunday is Valentine’s Day!  Have a wonderful and heart filled day filled with love.  Lockdown Valentine’s Day here we come….

Stay safe and enjoy!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –11 February 2021

Wow!  When the government finally got their travel strategy in place they have not messed about!  Anyone travelling from a red zone (there are 33 of these countries) and not declaring it could find themselves ending up in prison with a 10 grand fine to pay.  Travelling in from anywhere means tests and fines if these are not taken.  No one can say they aren’t taking this seriously anymore. They can complain that it should have happened sooner, and they might want them to put the plans in place for entering the country from anywhere, but there are now plans. Some are saying they are disproportionate.  There is definitely no pleasing everyone in these tricky matters!

The weather people promised us that we would have cold weather this week and they were not wrong.  It is bitterly cold.  Indoor mats and bikes are the exercise answers at the moment. That cold wind blows and we shiver.  It is February after all. And it’s not 2019. That’s when all UK records were broken for warmth in February.  It was 21 degrees on the 26^th of February, but that was preceded by cold bitter weather.  The coldest ever February was in 1960 (records began in 1910). We still have time yet to get some warmth in Feb – or more cold!

It is lovely to see yet more golden sun and blue skies. I do love a blue morning sky!  But why is the sky blue?  The Met office tell us about that! “When the Sun’s light reaches the Earth’s atmosphere it is scattered, or deflected, by the tiny molecules of gas (mostly nitrogen and oxygen) in the air. Because these molecules are much smaller than the wavelength of visible light, the amount of scattering depends on the wavelength. This effect is called Rayleigh scattering, named after Lord Rayleigh who first discovered it.

Shorter wavelengths (violet and blue) are scattered the most strongly, so more of the blue light is scattered towards our eyes than the other colours. You might wonder why the sky doesn’t actually look purple since the violet light is scattered even more strongly than blue. This is because there isn’t as much violet in sunlight to start with, and our eyes are much more sensitive to blue. The blue light that gives the sky its colour, is sufficiently bright to make all the stars that we see at night disappear since the light they emit is much dimmer.”

Ahh. That explains it!

According to the Chakras of Indian origin, the colour blue is associated with speech and hearing and the throat. Opening this chakra apparently encourages communication. Some say spiritual communication.   I wonder if heaven is blue?

Some people see everything in the world with a blue tint.  These folks might be forgiven for wanting a bit of grey in their lives.  Cyanopsia is the medical term for what is commonly known as blue vision. The condition often follows the extraction of a cataract but also can occur as a side effect of taking Cialis or Levitra. 

These people may be feeling blue!  For the origin of that phrase we have to turn our eyes from the sky to the sea.  Old sailing ships would fly blue flags if they lost their Captain or any of the officers during a voyage, and a blue band was painted along the hull when returning to home port. 

No sailing here at the moment, so no feeling blue.  Instead, I’ll put on another sweater and stop shivering sometime soon.

Stay warm!  If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, give a thought to your pals who are not – and enjoy the sun.

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 10 February 2021

This lockdown seems longer!  I am not sure if it is or if it’s just that by Lockdown Three it is all getting a wee bit tedious! We are fine. We carry on and actually are achieving quite a lot in our own lockdown way.  But gheez!  I wish it would end!  Me and the rest of the country, if not the world! It’s like a good film that never quite makes it as a sequel.  In fact as a film in this case even the first one was not very good.  But you know what I mean…by the third time the plot is SO tired!

Covid isn’t gone yet and like everyone else we are still maintaining lockdown. It is very cold and the exercise mats and bike are getting a fair old workout.  The garden swing gets us our (very cold!) fresh air every day and today the sky is blue and the sun golden. The golden moments are worth breathing in!

When do you think the lockdown will end?  This is a question that keeps coming up at Downing Street Press Briefings.  When? How?  The answer sadly, is that nobody knows! People don’t like not knowing. It causes a great deal of angst.  The how will be set out on the 22^nd February. The government has been consistent on that.  Cases are coming down, yet they are still higher than they were at the last lockdown.  The death rate is coming down, too.  These are two figures we watch for signs of improvement.  They are better but not enough to unlock us all. That means we live our lives with lockdown.

A pair of gold crests have decided to visit us in the garden and these little creatures have made life sweeter. This morning our little robin joined us as we had our swing time. 

For all of the tedium, we are doing well in Lockdown Three.  Maybe experience has taught us how to manage it better?  Perhaps it’s the knowledge that the vaccines will soon open things up a bit?  We continue to enjoy the bursting forth of the buds. Snowdrops and crocus give us some much needed colour. 

The red camellia showing its first flowers is a joy!

Somehow for all the tediousness and the sameyness of Lockdown, the day sped by yesterday.  I was busy writing away.  Bliss.  I couldn’t believe it when five o’clock arrived!  I’m fairly certain the trick to this latest Lockdown is getting stuck in.  Whatever you love to do…..do it!  Time is ticking.  Before you know it, we will be back to something approaching “normal” and there will be no time again.  Remember that?  Not enough time to do what you wanted to do?  Well, you’ve got it my friends.  Use it!  The time is now. 

I’m waiting for a text from the surgery or a note from the NHS inviting me for my vaccination. It’s like teenage days when you went out with a boy and sat around waiting and yearning for his call.  That was then, this is now.  With age comes wisdom.  I know this call will come.  As I know this will be over.  In the meantime, enjoy the birds, flowers, the golden sun shining in the morning along the way…

Stay safe and enjoy!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 9 February 2021

There is a lot of news about the efficacy of the vaccines swirling around at the moment.  In South Africa they have decided not to use the Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine because they don’t think that it will protect against the SA variant. Professor Sarah Gilbert, who heads the team that produced the vaccine, says that the preliminary findings are from a small group and they can’t yet establish its rate of efficacy but that they were confident it would offer protection against serious cases and death because it created neutralising antibodies. 

Here in Bristol, they seem to have identified yet another mutation of the virus and there are twenty-four post codes in the city being asked to have testing – what is known as surge testing.  We have only seen information about this in the media and have yet to receive information officially about how to access testing.  In Liverpool where they have also identified a mutation in some areas, people are going house to house to offer tests.  We will sit tight and see what happens.  We are not going anywhere.

We had a wonderful Zoom dinner with friends at the weekend and after the inevitable discussion about all things pandemic we talked travel.  They were on one of the last planes out of Columbia before Lockdown, and fell in love with South America and want to return when it’s possible to do so.  We encouraged them to include the Rio Carnaval on the list of must do’s when they return.  It took me back to our adventure there in 2012. 

We spent several weeks in South America and met all weathers.  In Patagonia, I was buying gloves and a scarf as it was so cold.

And a few days later I was in my swimsuit on Copacabana beach.  The wonders of travel!

We didn’t know exactly what to expect of Carnaval but soon discovered that it is a focus for the lives of many people of Rio.  It takes place every year starting on the Friday before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. With over two million people converging on Rio, it’s considered the biggest festival in the world. The festival has been around since 1723.  Carnaval is the pinnacle of the year in the Samba Schools.  Although Samba Schools aren’t places where teaching occurs, there are about 200 of them and they are devoted to dancing, marching, drumming and performing the African- Brazilian dance. They are called schools because they began rehearsals in the playgrounds of schools. Each area of the city has a team of up to 3000 people that will process in their costumes and with their floats in the purpose-built stadium over one of two nights when the main festivities are held.  The back up team for these 3000 numbers into the many more thousands.  The Samba Schools offer community and they are also very competitive! 

The Main Procession itself doesn’t perform in the streets, but only in the stadium. It takes 90 minutes for the troupe to dance and send their floats from one end of the stadium to the other. When they begin there are fireworks to precede them. About a dozen Samba Schools perform each of the two evenings so that all the schools can be accommodated.  There are all sorts of knock out competitions to get to the stadium.  The organisers set the annual theme and the Samba schools create floats and dances that interpret the theme.  There are points given to each School based on many factors, and they all take the results very seriously!  The day after we saw the first evening’s procession (evening being from 9pm through to 6am!), we were already rooting for our favourites.  The television is on in every bar and café and hearing the reports among the locals is like listening to the scores of a football match.  Groans when some are awarded points people don’t agree with,  and cheers when your “team”  wins.  Elsewhere in Rio, there are events everywhere and music throbs from each corner of the place. It’s one of the most special events I’ve ever attended.

Nice to remember some of these past events as we continue with lockdown and virus and await vaccinations!  Enjoy and stay safe.

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 8 February 2021

This is a sports warning…to those of you who don’t like sports…look away now. I remember the Beeb telling us to do this before they were going to show scores of games that were going to be viewed on their station after the sports news.  If we didn’t want to see the score before we saw the game we were informed to look away as they showed us the results.  Although it was largely about football, if not exclusively, I always liked that warning.  Very kind. 

SO wonderful to have some rugby on a cold winter weekend.  We normally watch the opening of the Six Nations in New Zealand and see the final games here.  This year all of them will be viewed from our at home in England settee. 

Saturday we watched England get slaughtered at their home ground.  The score line didn’t actually reflect the intensity of the one-sided game.  Scotland creamed them at Twickenham for the first time in thirty-eight years. The Scots played brilliantly.  The England team forgot to show up.  The English chaps were overwhelmed. Scotland had over seventy percent of possession and in about the last five minutes we finally saw England with eleven phases of play.  But it was far far too late, and by then the rain thundered down along with the brilliant Scots.  It was painful to watch.  The Calcutta Cup is now in the hands of the Scots and the game will go down in history as one of the worst ever England has played in this new century.  Afterwards, Eddie Jones, the English Coach said he didn’t prepare the team well enough. Gregor Townsend, coach for Scotland, certainly did.  Let’s hope that this opener of the Six Nations is not what we will see for the rest of the season from the English chaps.  Scotland 11 – England 6. Whew!

I know I’m hooked on rugby when I first turn to the sports pages of my Sunday papers to see what those who know a great deal about the sport have to say about the English game on Saturday.  The consensus?  Scotland were brilliant.  England were not.  Come on England. Hit the reset button.  You’ve just had your wakeup call!

I do like my rugby!  Not only do I watch England, but I’m heading back to the settee to watch the Irish/Wales game.  There are no crowds in any of the stadiums, but the players are there. And what a welcome diversion they offered us from pandemic thoughts!

And over in America, the Super Bowl is being played today…(It’s Sunday as I write)  I will be fast asleep when the outcome of this game is known.  I’m afraid I gave up my allegiance to American football many years ago.  It used to be a fixture in our household when it was on telly on a Sunday evening but that was over thirty years ago!   Times changed and without access to the American game, and my growing understanding and interest in rugby, I stopped following the American game. I still appreciate how many Americans love the game though. 

Even Americans who don’t watch a lot of football usually tune into the Super Bowl.  It’s become a February treat for sports fans up and down the country. 

All eyes will be on Tom Brady, the quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Tom is forty-three and looking for his seventh Super Bowl win with his team.  Tom was a Boston Patriots quarterback for nearly twenty years until he fell out with his coach and joined Tampa.  The Buccaneers are playing the Kansas City Chiefs.  Forty three!  Wow. Those poor knees of his!

Apparently, in other sports news, there is an English hero whose name everyone will soon know.  Joe Root.  I am Danot a fan of cricket, it’s not my sort of game. I’ve tried, really I have, but I can neither understand it, nor spend hours watching it.  However, I can appreciate excellence wherever it appears, and Joe Root has scored a double century twice in three games, I believe.  (over two hundred runs).  Well done that man! 

There is still a virus out there. Hopefully, you too, will find something to take you away from thinking about the pandemic for a bit.   That’s it on sport for now. At least until next week! Enjoy whatever you get up to and stay safe.

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 5 February 2021

I made a boo-boo yesterday.  Isn’t that a great word?  A boo-boo. Now where does that come from?  It’s an American phrase.  The Brits would use the word boob or clanger in its place.  A boo-boo, according to Merriam Webster, is a small injury or a slight mistake.  My boo-boo was indeed a slight mistake.  I haven’t written a letter for months.  At least I put that right – no boo-boo there.  I sent a few Christmas cards I suppose but letters?  Emails and texts and What’s Ap are a daily occurrence, but letters?  Nah.  Except yesterday I sent an article and a few pieces of a special kind of  paper that I found in my never used anymore wallet to my son.  I hope he gets them. I forgot to put a stamp on the envelope!  I don’t know what I was thinking.  I placed everything in the envelope then sealed it with some extra tape as the sticky stuff wasn’t sticking and put it aside. Later in the evening, I walked the 100 yards or so to the post box and popped it in.  While speaking to our son on the phone later I remembered. No stamp! My  boo-boo.

I wrote a nice note to the postman and stapled onto the pink paper a couple of stamps that could easily be removed – those new fangled ones that you don’t have to spit on to make them stick – and popped the note in the box. From the sounds of things I don’t think there were many other letters in the box. We shall see what happens.  If he noticed his note and is feeling kind he’ll no doubt put the stamp on the envelope. If he doesn’t or isn’t I suspect it might cost my son to receive his letter.  And I didn’t put a return address on it either.  My boo-boo made me cry boohoo!  Silly me!  I suspect we are all making these sorts of mistakes at the moment.  My husband told me he nearly did exactly the same thing. He got as far as the post box and just before he put his letter in, he remembered he didn’t put a stamp on it. Good to know I’m not the only one!  But he managed to come back home and get a stamp before it was sent.  Oh well. 

When things are not normal and you spend so much of the time thinking about what you might do or used to do or have done, these things are bound to happen. Have you done anything like this in lockdown? Or is it just me?

There was another Downing Street press briefing last night with Professor Chris Whitty and Boris. It was a good one. Earlier in the day, in London, Professor Whitty was verbally attacked as he queued outside a place where he went to buy his lunch sandwich by a young man.  The teenage chap was filmed saying.  “Oi! Big man what you saying. You lie. You’re a liar. You lie about the Covid 19 cases man. Come on man stop lying to the TV man.” The press asked Professor Whitty about it and his response was wonderful. He said,  “The odd young lad showing off occasionally does happen.  I don’t think anything of it all, and frankly, I was surprised it was picked up by the media at all.  I’m sure he’ll become a model citizen in due course and much more like Captain Tom.”

What a guy!  That’s Chris Whitty on the left…in case you didn’t know…

The briefing was a good one. Boris was clear and set out his thinking on several issues that made sense.  He didn’t duck and dive.  The country has delivered ten million vaccines. The press have stopped being quite so hostile and many of them asked intelligent, interesting questions.  Perhaps the tide is turning.  Fewer boo-boos all round is no bad thing! 

Stop Press!  This is the response I had from the Postman…it did bring a tear to my eye.  Not only did he stamp the envelope, but he put this through my door to tell me he had.  Sweet! 

Stay safe!

With love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 4 February 2021

We sat on the swing with our morning drinks in total sun!  We went to Judges Bay and Dove Myer park in Auckland.  We are so fortunate to have been there so often that we could jointly visit the place again and almost smell the roses in the rose garden and certainly hear the birds in the little secret garden tucked away around the corner from the main rose garden. The Nancy Steen Garden.  It’s strange knowing places so well that they can so easily come to mind. Our visits everywhere at the moment take place in our minds.  Just as well we filled up with plenty of good stuff through the years so we have it at our disposal now.

The Nancy Steen Garden. I can hear the birds! 

Staying with the Southern Hemisphere for the moment, poor Perth!  They are in a lockdown and now have raging fires to contend with as well. As if Covid wasn’t enough!  Let’s hope they manage to come safely through both of these events.  Not a nice memory for any of those affected to have.

Covid does seem to be rearing its ugly little head a bit here.  A new variant has been discovered in Bristol and Liverpool to add to the South African and Kent variants.  That is what these viruses do…they mutate. 

We have to keep up the vaccinations and drive down the disease. The fewer people who get it the fewer variants will be around. 

Some great news on the Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccination front!  Studies have shown that their vaccination does indeed have an effect on transmission. That means that as well as protecting the person jabbed, it will also protect others because the vaccinated population won’t pass on the disease.  The study done at Oxford also showed that the vaccine offered a 76% effectiveness from a single jab for 12 weeks.  The effectiveness increased to 82% protection when the second jab is then given.  With nearly 10 million people in the UK now inoculated, this is indeed very good news.  Let’s hope the vaccinators can keep up the marvellous work. 

In the meantime, we will continue to remain as cautious as ever and hope you will, too!  Nice as it is to think about NZ, I’d really like to head back there for real and be there this time next year.  We all live in hope.

Stay safe!

With love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 3 February 2021

Poor Boris!  He really does find taking the difficult decisions tough. Yes Boris, that’s what being a Leader is!  Apparently, the Scientists of Sage warned him weeks ago that he needed to shut the borders and have everyone entering the country quarantine to stop the flow of variants getting into the UK population. He didn’t follow their advice.  The new South African variant is here. There is now a plan to go house to house to test people in particular post codes where the variant has been identified. There are more than a hundred cases.  Matt Hancock, and even Priti Patel, wanted to shut the borders. Boris overruled them. Yes, it’s a tough call. Yes, it’s the right thing to do. Perth in Australia had one case. One. And they went into a five day total lockdown. Come on Boris. Follow the science!  These guys know what they are talking about.  In the end you always seem to listen to them.  Please try listening sooner!  You say you follow the science, don’t delay!

A tiny bit of blue in the skies does make lockdown less onerous. We are promised rain and more rain for the next few days but before it arrives we’ve been treated to what has become an unusual burst of sunshine. Wonderful.

The other bursting with wonderfulness at the moment in this house are the gorgeous flowers that arrived with Reg the Veg on Friday.  They are a joy to behold and bring sunshine into our house even when it’s hiding outside. Tulips!  Before we know it they will be in our very own garden!

Captain Sir Tom who raised over 33 million pounds for the NHS was admitted to hospital with Covid. At one hundred years of age, it seemed it would be a difficult recovery, especially as he had been intermittently ill with pneumonia for some long time before he caught Covid. He gave so many people all over the world a smile when he walked around his garden using his walker one hundred times. Thanks Tom. He got the best of care, like everyone else who is currently in an NHS hospital, but sadly he has died

The care staff continue to work tirelessly.  In Bristol, medical students are pitching in and helping in the crisis.  They are dealing with death much sooner than they normally would.  They have risen to the challenges of Covid and I have no doubt will become fantastic doctors.  Read about what they get up to in a short Guardian article.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/01/were-in-a-storm-medical-students-on-the-covid-frontline

Some days are definitely better than others but each day that we’re here is a gift.  Enjoy and see if you can find that tiny bit of sunshine in your day. Even if it sometimes feels like its hiding, I promise – it’s there!

A song for the older new Mums out there…..she didn’t win but got to the final of Britain’s Got Talent in 2019  Enjoy!

Siobhan’s HILARIOUS song for all the mums | Auditions | BGT 2019 – YouTube

Stay safe!

With love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 2 February

The Pandemic isn’t over yet, but at least January is.  It stays light a little bit longer every day and the garden is bursting with bulbs beginning to appear.  They are tiny but they are beginning. Lots of our friends have had the jab, we know a lot of people seventy and over.  It got us to thinking what being vaccinated and somewhat protected will mean for us.  What will we do with this new-found freedom when it comes?   

Seeing our kids and grandkids is high on the agenda. Being able to have hugs and conversations in person while sitting together for hours inside across a table in our dining room! 

In the outside world, one of the first places we will visit when it’s possible is a restaurant that will serve us breakfast!   It’s something both of us miss. Going out and having someone else cook our eggs.  And do the washing up and clearing. Just deciding on the spur of the moment that we want to leave the house. For someone else to cook our eggs. Or go into a pub after a country walk and grab a sandwich, and Terry can have a pint.  

I want to jump in a pool and swim for days!  As I haven’t been in a swimming pool since New Zealand last year, it will be strange.  My routine will change when that is possible again.  I no longer belong to a club so I will have to decide where to do this as well.   

But wait.  We aren’t there yet.  In some ways this bit is the hardest.  We can see the finishing line but we aren’t actually at it. We have a few more laps to go.  It will no doubt be summer before we can really change our routines.  And that’s if there are no new variants that mess us up. 

For now we have to carry on the way we have for months and months. We will continue to be super careful, stay out of shops and away from others.  We will wear our masks when we go for our in town walks, and continue to wash all the food that arrives. Packages will still queue up by the door waiting the three days before we open them.  Zoom will remain the place we meet friends for dinner. What’s app will provide us with the main family connection along with the telephone. 

Lockdown is not over. We need to keep up the good work for a bit longer The kids might get back to school by the 8^th March.  More than a month to that first milestone for us all.  We can begin to look ahead…but maybe we’d be better off not futuring too much…for now. The jabs some have had are only the beginning.  The shoots in the garden are inching forward, and like them, one day soon we will blossom.  But not quite yet. Still, January is behind us!  Well done one and all! 

Stay safe.  Wear those masks and dream those dreams…keep up the social distancing…but don’t forget to enjoy the day!

With love,

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days – 1 February 2021

As I write it is still the last day of January…Sunday afternoon and the snow is falling! Soft and pretty – when you are inside and cosy and warm!  Not sunny summer warm, but its hypnotic effect beats the rain and the gloom that we’ve had for a large part of the week. 

We move into February with great expectations. The pretty local television Points West news anchor, Alex Lovel,  said on Friday that it was the 350th day of January. She also said the month felt like the 13^th month of 2020. I know what she means!  But if that’s the case, Happy New Year!  It’s February! 

There have been over nearly nine million vaccines delivered in the UK so far – including  into my husband’s arm.  Mine is due this month according to my vaccine watcher app.  That should mean that within ten weeks we will both have had our second jab and the worst worries of lockdown will be behind us. By May the world might be a little bit more navigable.  However, Labour are politicising the vaccinations and want all teachers to receive the jab this half term, before older folks like me.  Could be enough to make me vote Tory…..

Our Bristol University specialist, Dr. Adam Finn sets out the reasoning behind prioritising vaccines as they are.  He says, “We worked out that if you give 20 people in a care home a dose of vaccine, you’ll save a life. If you give 160 people in their 80s a dose of vaccine, you’ll save a life. But once you get down to people in their 60s, you’re up to more than 1,000. If you go down to teachers or policemen, you’re approaching one in 50,000. It’s an extraordinarily inefficient way in the crisis to use vaccines – to start going out to these other lobbying groups who are perceiving themselves to be at enhanced risk of exposure, but who are not actually and demonstrably at enhanced risk of getting sick and dying. If in the next month you immunised 200,000 teachers, there will be 200,000 people in their 70s who won’t get that vaccine. You’ll save a few teachers’ lives, and you’ll waste the lives of a lot of people in their 70s. It is politically, socially and ethically unacceptable that we turn our back on older people and say, ‘It’s too bad, just stay home and die.’”

Follow the science people!  Every report and statistic agrees with this assessment. Let’s hope the government hold firm.  As it’s the Labour party suggestion it seems we might indeed be safe. As for my voting intentions?  We’ll see, four and a half years is a long time until the next election. I’ve never voted Tory in my life, I suspect I won’t now either. 

Vaccinations are now the hot topic in the papers. The EU shot themselves in the foot over their handling of the Astra Zeneca vaccine and on that the debate goes on.  The EU Commission had to back track on ridiculous statements and trying to invoke an article in the Brexit plan that would hurt Northern Ireland.  What were they thinking? 

As a Remainer, even I was pleased the UK weren’t part of the EU vaccine plans.  Oh dear! 

Well as we aren’t out of this yet by a very long way…I’ll have plenty of time to think about the politics of it all.  For now, I am just watching the snow and enjoying a quiet and contemplative Sunday.  Isn’t that what New Years Eve’s are for?

Stay safe!

With love

Kathy x