Tag: covid

Still here

Published on by FfiftyplusesLeave a comment

For the record COVID 19 has not gone away. People generally are just not testing for it and going on as usual. I’ve had it this week, the new Nimbus strain. It’s nasty. Razor throat, extra sleepy, runny nose, like a cold on steroids. I went out after 5 days because I needed to buy over the counter medication and that is one thing you can’t get delivered. I wore a mask. I stayed away from people as much as possible. I explained to the checkout assistant why I was masked having been asked if I had a cold. I was thanked for having taken it seriously. The woman behind me in the queue looked mildly irritated by someone bothering to take such precautions.

It’s surprising to me that the postman was unaware. Is it still a thing he said.  Before launching the parcel into the porch when I told him I had it. Not a thing but still scary then! It’s still here. It will still seriously damage vulnerable people. It still requires people taking care of each other. Rant over.

New Years Eve

Published on by FfiftyplusesLeave a comment

It’s been a busy year. Lots of pre booked and in waiting post (lol) pandemic fun to be had now we have been allowed out. That said, gigs were missed due to covid and bad weather this year, too, but not the trip down under. The world looks a little different. Some people didn’t make it this far, yet others were born. Same as any year and not at all like anything I’ve experienced before. I trust that the future will be just as unpredictable as the past was when it, too, was the future. My best wishes to one and all. I’ll keep trolling on about my stuff here, and who knows, maybe you’ll stay with me. I wish anyone reading all the best for the future however long it lasts.

Two little pricks

Published on by FfiftyplusesLeave a comment

So last week was the ‘flu jab and today Covid 4, the much anticipated but unwanted sequel. I arrived home to the announcement that a friend we dined with on Friday has tested positive. Ah well, the test won’t work on me today anyway. It’s officially lockdown for us as of today whatever. The big adventure is but days away. Single figures. Supplies are laid in and the house sitter is confirmed.

Burning desires?

There are logs enough to keep the home fires burning until we slope off. TBH I’m more than a tad nervous. It’s been a while since I’ve left the country to be sure. The pandemic has its continuing effect. Collecting the holiday cash this very afternoon made it all a bit more real but I suspect that until I set foot on that plane. It may be a while before the next update. I’ll be out of signal range. Allons y.

Paperwork

Published on by FfiftyplusesLeave a comment

Visa applied for and received… 10 minutes.  Wife’s visa applied for ….. still waiting. Flights ( multiple) checked. Hotels checked….oh shit…that one is booked for next year … free cancellation and rebooked for this year (oops!). Train tbc but that’s the last part of the puzzle. This year’s trip is a big one. Oh, we’re not off yet. No first there’s a wedding and gig and all ki ds of normal stuff to to but the anticipation is becoming palpable (big word for a Sunday).

Ivwr the coming weeks and months the there will be the arrival of the wife’s visa (hopefully), the unofficial quarantine just in case. The test packing. Repacking. Unpacking and re test packing. The camera practice. Perhaps a little dietary adjustment to ensure the fit of the prepacked clothing. Jabs, extra medicines… all the usual pre trip things. Oh..insurance… don’t forget that.

Cat/house sitter confirmed. Money to change. Bank to be informed.

And then again the new fireplace needs fitting. Then there’s the re plastering bu ti doubt the decorating will get done this side of the exodus. Not that there’s any pressure. None. Really. Well maybe a bit. Oh, did you remember…

Sunshine and Showers

Published on by FfiftyplusesLeave a comment

We do not do heat well in the UK. Usually summer falls on a damp Wednesday in July and we sit around drinking our teas slightly more tepid than usual so we can cool off. This year however we seem to have had almost a week of extreme heat. To all my Australian chums I say, yes 40 degrees C, in London (!) and even in Lancashire 37 degrees. I accidentally left my diving computer in the car and it reached 43 degrees in side there before I rescued the poor thing. Dogs and computers die in hot cars. The hype is such that there is talk of disallowing any sun cream under factor 30. I know that Aussie chums will sniff and state that nothing under factor 50 will do…except staying indoors until winter.

Naturally the moment the schools break up for the summer it begins to pour down and winds blow up to 40 miles an hour up the Welsh coast ruining your ‘staycation’ which you were secretly gloating over when your mate got stuck in a 7+ hour queue for the ferry at Dover because Brexit and the end of freedom to travel. Not so many LOLZ as the tent came down in a hooley eh? As if the new strain of Covid and a stack of staff illness/resignation etc. hadn’t overworked the NHS enough now there’s a crop of folks with heatstroke. I’m feeling particularly political and contentious today (so hang me) and suggest that nurses need a decent pay rise and the promised ‘Brexit dividend’ needs to reach the NHS pronto alongside the extra funds from the new higher National Insurance.

On a lighter note we managed to persuade even the most skittish of our cats to lay on the cool mat we bought for them… when we weren’t using it of course. Apparently there’s another heatwave on the way. That should be fun.

Wireless for Sound

Published on by FfiftyplusesLeave a comment

So I started the process of getting my radio ham beginners license. I’m enrolled in an online course. The calculations are going to mess with my brain for a while but practice, practice. Next stage is to book an exam but I’m going to leave that until I’m through the programme. I told you this blog would be eccentric.

The little Chinese walkie talkie arrived today. A Baofeng. It’s cheap and hopefully cheerful. I’m not allowed to PTT (push to talk) until I pass my exam and have a call sign and license from HM Government. I can, however, listen and I am told that it may be possible to hear the ISS (International Space Station) as it passes overhead. I can also get Radio 2 from the BBC no doubt!

Today’s adventures in amateur radio seem to have included a lot of information about electrical circuits and radio frequencies which is to be expected I suppose. I’m thankful that there’s not currently a practical requirement for the first level due to Covid 19. No doubt that will come. In the meantime I’ll sign off.