Week 22 10-16 August 2020
Anne 13 August 2020
Dear Supsliskans
I assume no news is good news?
I'm just wondering how everyone is doing, coping with 2nd wave of the virus, the heat, the storms, going out or staying at home? I miss all your contributions, do stay in touch.
You may have read that Covid-19 has appeared in various hotspots in Germany, especially Bavaria, but thankfully not where I live. Our local region, which has a population of about 100 000, has of today 2 known cases. However, the hop harvest is due to begin in a couple of weeks time and I am slightly worried. Normally foreign helpers come in, mostly fom Poland, some from Rumania and I understand that it isn't even clear at the moment whether or not they will be allowed to come, whether or not they will have to be tested on arrival or go into quarantine. Their sitution will not be as critical as that of the cucumber harvesters recently There were far more of them and their living conditions were much more unhygienic than the hop harvesters experience.
More disturbing are the demonstrations by 1000s of people for their "freedom", refusing to abide by the regulations, not wearing masks etc Holiday makers are crowding the beaches on the North Sea coast and the lakes and mountains here in Bavaria. I believe it is the same in UK. My reaction is to stay at home, or only go out when I am meeting friends and /or when I think it's safe. The present heatwave limits my activities anyway. My Fell pony doesn't like the heat and the horse flies like him too much so he prefers to stay in the shade of his shelter. I must say I thank Ray every day for his foresight in installing air conditioning in the living and bedroom.
So what is the situation where you are? Sue, NZ now has some new cases but has reacted quickly. Margaret, how are you coping? Still enjoying the meals with chives? Jane - raining in Scotland? Ian - heatwave in Devon? (I still have Exeter on my weather app and it was as hot there as here the other day - poor you), Howard - still corona-free on Sark? Pat - enjoying your garden? How is your son's romance developing?
So many questions, do keep writing, keep cool and stay healthy, Anne
Pat 13 August 2020
Hello Anne and everyone,
You guessed right - not a lot is happening. What I’d really appreciate short-term is a big thunderstorm so that I don’t have to water the garden for a bit. It is promised but all we’ve had so far are five minute wonders of rain showers. My veg could do with a deluge.
Got myself a taster of culture just now by watching a lecture on Zoom from the Churches Conservation Trust on English stained glass. It was sort of ok, but what can you do in an hour beyond pointing out a few examples? I am tempted to say “Ah, but haven’t you seen such and such?” Hmm, mutter mutter.
I’ll finish my grouses with my second cataract op being put back from Sept 12th last week (I could just about hang on that long) to Oct 10th this week. The first one was done in January and my sight is quite unco-ordinated and I’ve got into the bad habit of closing the eye that’s been done when reading and writing. Bah humbug.
Yes, Anne, my son’s romance has been entertaining to watch. He started off all enthusiastic in the first week, wooing her with fruit, veg and flowers from the garden on the first date, followed by cooking a roast dinner for her and her kids and taking it round on the second. After that he begun to have his doubts as he got to know her. He doesn’t want the three kids, who still live with her, as part of the deal as he’s gone through all that himself and what is worse is that she doesn’t seem to have a sense of humour, or at least doesn’t get his. He’s laid down his position but she’s not giving up easily. He’s a bit soft as he doesn’t want to hurt her, but on the other hand he wants time to himself. I’m not doing a Margie Proops act here - I say nothing.They went to Glastonbury yesterday at her request as it was her birthday. Hey ho.
Have any of you been watching Michael Mosley On C4 and his 800 calorie diet with willing guinea pigs meeting weekly for three weeks in his house and garden? I bought his wife’s recipe book as my average blood sugar tested last week, although normal, is quite near the pre-diabetes range. I can’t believe I’m going to follow the diet to the letter but the low carbs idea makes good sense. Tried a smoothie for breakfast on the first morning made with avocado and cucumber and it was disgusting! The one with strawberries and blueberries the next day was more palatable.
On a positive note my son took me out on Sunday on a long circular drive through villages south and south west of Bath. Very hilly terrain, so wonderful countryside views and idyllic villages. One we stopped in near Bath is called Newton St Loe. It is owned by the Duke of Cornwall, ie Prince Charles, so you can’t buy a house there. All the properties look pristine, as you can imagine. I took a photo of a lovely old wooden studded front door which was the old free schoolhouse, founded in 1698. We had a coffee in a pub called the Fox and Badger in a tiny village off the beaten track called Wellow. We started and ended the loop in Pensford on the A37 road to Wells, where there was an old lockup and next to it a bench dedicated to Acker Bilk., the jazz clarinettist, who was born there in 1929. It was so good to get out. Apart from venturing down the road to Tesco Metro, I hadn’t made a substantial journey since May.
Yes, I feel the same about all these gatherings on beaches. I saw the scene from the main street in St Ives on the news and it was heaving. A friend told me it was the same in Bourton on the Water in the Cotswolds. The police won’t stop these crowds. Bad for the economy of course, but you’d think people would have more sense and not think it’s all over.
On that cheery note I’ll end and look forward to hearing how others of you are faring. Keep safe and well, Love from Pat
Sylvia 13 August 2020
Dear Pat (and everyone),
You really should be careful what you wish for. Until yesterday, I too was praying for rain as the predicted storms were all bypassing Hereford. Not only did we have storms for about six hours yesterday evening, but my garage and covered side passage leading into the kitchen flooded to a depth of about three inches. It was just one massive downpour which lasted about half an hour and then subsided into heavy rain, but the drains couldn’t take it. As some of you who have visited me will know, the road slopes down to my drive which slopes down to the garage, so it was like a river which ran to the back of the garage and out through the side door into the passageway. Two hours of sweeping and mopping cleared it and the heat has more or less dried everything out. There hasn’t been any appreciable damage, but it was no fun.
Apart from that and my daughter Helen and I choosing the only cold day in two weeks for me to join the family in their garden last Sunday, when we all froze, all is well here. I’m now venturing out to do my own supermarket shopping and also had my hair cut today. It’s the first time I ventured into the city centre and it wasn’t too bad, although I sometimes felt I was having to do a dance round people who made no effort to keep their distance.
I read your email about dieting while eating the first of 10 cheese scones which I had just taken out of the oven! I’m going to have to freeze most of them so that I’m not tempted to demolish the lot in short shrift. I haven’t put weight on during Covid and am happy with my weight, but cheese can be my downfall.
Anne, officially we haven’t got a second wave of Covid, although it probably isn’t far away. I think we are probably mirroring what’s happening in Germany and the pub-crawling young are fuelling the spread. My “shopping angel “ has been stood down but if we have a second lockdown, it’s a comfort to know she’s happy to shop for me again. Lucky you with the air conditioning! Today my bedroom is registering “only “ 25 degrees. On previous nights it’s been up to 28!
I’ll look forward to hearing from others. Love to all, Sylvia
Jane 13 August 2020
Dear All,
Come and live in the cool breezes of this northern town beside the North Sea aka German Ocean! We have sat out in the garden several times but it has never been unbearably hot, and winds and haar [a cold sea fog on the east coast of England or Scotland] are frequent. We also had thunder and rain a couple of nights ago but no damage in the immediate neighbourhood, unlike elsewhere in Fife where chalets slipped down hillsides and roads and railways were flooded. And of course there was the awful train accident near Stonehaven which should never have happened as that stretch of line is known for landslips. Under normal circumstances that train would have been packed with commuters and holiday makers.
The problem in town now is People. Visitors and the young have no idea how to show respect to the elderly residents by allowing us past on pavements at a safe distance. The harbour and beach are no-go areas for us during the day so we go for walks early in the morning. Fife Council have been given pots of money for 'Safe Spaces for People' some of which they planned to spend in St Andrews on banning parking and pedestrianizing roads in the centre - until shopkeepers rose up in arms and the elderly contacted councillors. So plans are on hold for the moment but pubs and cafes are being given permission to set up tables on the pavements and some parking spaces, which means we have to risk life and limb by walking on the road which cannot be closed as it is a main thoroughfare. The secondary school went back today which will have made town worse at break and lunchtime as the Rector said there was no guarantee they could keep pupils away from the junk food available in town. Lock them in, I say! And University students will be back in the next few weeks so we will be in danger of being knocked over by some of them glued to their phones. One of the roads due for a ban on parking has had double yellow lines on both sides since 1983 - proof that those dreaming up the plans in offices in Kirkcaldy or Glenrothes have never been to St Andrews.
Nearer to home, we have endured, without warning, a week and a half of noise and dirt while the kitchen and both bathrooms were replaced in the second floor flat. There were up to 10 workmen in the flat none of whom wore masks or gloves on the stairs because apparently the 56-page document from the Scottish Government did not say they had to, only in the work area. We think the work is now finished as cleaners were in yesterday afternoon. They did not clean the stairs so stiff emails are being composed to the owners, and agent who told me they could do what they liked with 'their property' without telling anyone else in the building. She will have common courtesy explained to her. I met the agent for the attic flat (who was there to show a potential tenant round - a handsome young man) and asked her to contact the other agent to ask for the stairs to be cleaned, but I have to say her reply was a bit lukewarm.
And our lovely neighbours have moved out - two lads who have been in the second floor for three years (and left a beautiful crystal vase of flowers outside our front door when they left with their girlfriends) and Flaminia, the Italian PhD student, who has lived in the attic flat for a couple of years (and when she came to clear the flat, brought us a bottle of wine to thank us for forwarding her post). We are really sorry to see them all go but the lads at least will be back next year for a proper graduation ceremony, this year's having been on line. In the meantime, we expect to have three new students to train - where the bins live and when to put them out for collection, and bring them in, warn us when they are going to have a party so that we can retreat to our ground floor flat, not to have too many guests at the parties as our sitting room shakes when the room above is full, keep the music down, and please make sure the front and back doors are locked without letting them bang!
I had my first trip out of town on Monday for an appointment at the hospital in Dundee for laser treatment on the eye which had developed 'capular hazing' after the cataract operation several years ago. My brother came for the weekend and took me to the appointment. On the way back we stopped at Dundee airport and Leuchars for him to spot planes. I thought he had grown out of that. I was very apprehensive about the treatment but it was quick and painless. I expected to feel tired and emotional thereafter so felt slightly done out of the cossetting which I planned when David could see there was nothing wrong with me. Sight in the eye is now better than in the other one so not sure what the next stage is. At least I can watch television without spectacles again - although that might be partly because we bought a new set with a huge screen.
David has wandered through so I think he is looking for food and I should take the hint. Hope you are all surviving well and not getting as Grumpy as I am on occasion.
Love, Jane
Anne 13 August 2020
Oh Jane, lovely to read your grumpy moans again; send me some of your cool breezes, though I think we're in for a drop in temperature soon or maybe even some thunderstorms, though hopefully not as fierce as experienced by Sylvia. I suppose it could have been worse.
Anne
Sue 14 August 2020
Hi All
Many thanks for getting the conversations going again, Anne, I'm so relieved to hear you are not in a hotspot. Great to get your updates,Jane, Pat and Sylvia. Glad the laser zapping went well, Jane, hope you get as nice students upstairs this time round. Wow, flooding in the midst of a heat-wave, Sylvia, you would be different! What a lovely tour you had, Pat, good luck with your cataract operation, and many thanks for bringing Acker Bilk to mind after all of these years.
Speaking of jazz, anyone remember hearing Ian Carr's band playing in one of the parks whilst we were in Sheffield?
Meanwhile down here we are all in something of a state of shock. After 102 days of no new cases, other than those that were identified amongst returning kiwis (and therefore already isolated) we've had a cluster pop up with no clear link to inward travel. So the experts are a bit puzzled as to where the new infections have come from - perhaps it means there have been asymptomatic folk spreading it all along. And the family at the centre of this had recently visited Rotorua and Taupo, and even an aged care facility, so plenty of places to check out.
Of course there are huge efforts to try and stop the spread, but NZers are so aware of the way Melbourne got swamped so quickly by its "second wave" that the realists amongst us are not optimistic. Currently Auckland - by far our most populous city - is at our level 3, with the rest of NZ at level 2. Level 2 means out comes the hand sanitiser, physical distancing and contact registers of one kind and another. Definitely a move towards face masks in Auckland at any rate.
A quick flurry at the pottery group to conform with level 2, including taping shut the cupboards in the kitchen so no food or drink can be prepared on site. Instant emails to our pottery class students to say only the first five out of nine can come to Thursday's class, as otherwise physical distancing can't be observed. Not sure how we will proceed next week, much will depend on the news from this afternoon's briefing. And we have extensive roof repairs to the elderly building scheduled for the end of September thanks to a grant of $10,000 (=approx £5,000); our rent-free tenancy from a philanthropic trust requires us to keep the building weather proof.
And like the US we have an election looming, though ours is scheduled for Sept 19, and will probably be postponed. The opposition party (Nationals) have been somewhat in disarray as their recently elected new leader resigned and they are now onto their third leader, with some very negative publicity involved, and the current leader - Judith Collins - even so has a fair number of enemies in her own party. It will be interesting to see how the whole thing plays out, as there is still a considerable amount of support for Jacinda for the clear messaging and decisive action, so much of the electioneering will likely hinge on the economic costs and future planning, but with a second wave threatening even that could be difficult.
Our son and his wife are getting used to giving lectures which are live streamed to the students who can't be in Wellington, and, for those who can be there, the lecture theatres are sufficiently empty for physical distancing to be observed. Exams will be (randomised!) on-line multiple choice and only available for limited periods. It sounds as though the UK school exam results have been a bit of a bumpy ride for all concerned.
The local library now has a couple of free streaming services available (Kanopy and Beamafilm); their catalogues have both old and new movies and some TV programmes. We recently enjoyed an evening of nostalgia with "A hard day's night", but I'd have to admit that watching "La dolce vita" after all this time was hard work. I'm sure it is the thin end of the wedge as far as the library is concerned and we will likely get fewer new DVDs bought. I wonder if your libraries offer similar services; perfect for that big new telly of yours, Jane.
Take care every one and stay safe, Love Sue
Ian 15 August 2020
Hello Supsliskans
Interesting to hear all the updates which have been arriving in fits and starts since I last ventured into print more than a month ago. Lots going on, some things quite alarming, such as Sylvia's flash flood, not as disastrous as the flood that caused the railway accident in Scotland though. Jill can sympathise with those who have been having eye treatment - her ocular shingles is still having its side-effects and it has sapped her confidence in driving and even walking as she has to keep her eyes firmly on the ground to avoid stumbling on the uneven flagstones resulting from years of austerity. At least we have not been suffering from haar - I had to check that up, Jane. It has been overcast and humid down our way but little rain, and the heat was sometimes intolerable last week, up in the mid-30s. The grandchildren hoped to camp in the garden last night but the threat of thunder storms (which failed to materialise) meant that had to be a sleep-over indoors together with our daughter. Today we are exhausted!
After our first tentative venture masked-up on the buses to Exmouth mentioned in my last, we have finally come out as members of the LGBT community (local grey bus transport, that is), brandishing our free crumbly cards to ride to Dawlish, Budleigh Salterton, Sidmouth, Tiverton, Powderham and Crediton. Crediton included meeting up for coffee with a work colleague who used to manage Exeter Library but was made redundant during a round of austerity cuts. He's as happy as Larry running the excellent Crediton Community Bookshop, now open again. We have also met up with another friend who used to run Okehampton Library in her garden. (I realise that came out wrong but you know what I mean). We have also had some quite lengthy walks.One along the clifftops from Budleigh to Exmouth was seven miles - alarming how the Jurassic Coast is crumbling away. Another from Powderham along beside the Exe Estuary to Exminster was five miles and we arrived in the village to see our bus disappearing. Gasping for a drink, we went into the pub for a coffee each and were charged £2.20. We discovered that we were inadvertently "eating out to help out". We had thought that Rishi Sunak's gimmick was a grossly misdirected use of taxpayers' money (or rather leaves from the magic money tree), but we have since joined the other pigs at the trough on more than one occasion. Generally crowds of holiday makers and shoppers have not been too bad where we visited, but we sometimes put masks on outside when the streets are too busy. We also wear masks in restaurants, except when we are eating of course, and even then if we are wearing lettuce masks. Some people have strange ideas over how to wear masks, looking on the presence of a mask somewhere in the vicinity of the face as a sort of talisman or lucky charm regardless of whether or not it covers the nose or mouth.
I peg away at my various bibliographical projects and have also become involved in this year's Heritage Open Days, putting together a walk round lockdown Exeter for the Exeter Civic Society. You may remember it as similar to the walk I devised for your group last year, Anne.
The "new normal" as we haltingly emerge from lockdown is not starting very well. The announcement of A-level results is a shambles and manages to insult teachers and students and leave the universities uncertain as to how to respond. Quarantine regulations come and go with bewildering rapidity and the return to school looms ominously with implications for increased infection rates as winter approaches. Despite all this we do not see why we oldies should be locked away indefinitely and are determined to learn to live with the virus as positively as possible.
We hope you all are too, while staying safe of course.
Best wishes, Ian and Jill
Sylvia, 16 August 2020
Good to hear how adventurous some people are being! I'm afraid I'm being quite cautious still, although I have now been to a couple of non-food shops to buy essentials and will venture out to another in a day or two to buy doormats and a new bucket and mop, all of which were damaged irreparably in the flood. My neighbour across the road has sent me the attached video which he took at the height of the storm. My house is the one with the red car and the water pouring down the drive! I'm girding up my loins to tackle the council tomorrow, demanding sandbags for the garage plus a drain across the top of my drive, even if they refuse to insert an extra gulley where even they agreed there should be one many years ago. Wish me luck!
Sue, I wish NZ all the luck in the world with your efforts to control this recent outbreak. Somehow, I think you'll manage it since it was managed so well the first time. I still think you should be the benchmark we should all aspire to.
Pat, I'm wondering if you ever got your rain. Everywhere is sodden here. How ridiculous is that?
Jane, keep chuntering on. I love it!
Love to all, Sylvia
Margaret, 16 August 2020
Hello everyone!
I'm enjoying all the tales from far and wide. So on Friday I decided it was time I got my Smartphone out and attempted to get my little finger moving. I had got quite a way into an email when, for no apparent reason I lost it. I tried all the usual clicks to retrieve it, all to no avail. Then I gave up in disgust and it's only now that I have felt the urge to start again.
Sylvia, I hope you are recovering from the flooding. It must be awful and leave you dreading further heavy downpours. We have had rain here but nothing exceptional and the odd flash of lightning. Living between the Cotswolds and the Chilterns we are sheltered and often on the edge of a storm.
My Cameroon carer continues to present me with gourmet meals. Tonight it was chicken a la pisces - how does a Smartphone produce an accent? or for that matter inverted commas? She had somehow made the chicken fish - shaped,but not fish - flavoured and then stuffed it with herbs and slices of spring onion - delicious.
I have been feeling the need for a bit of physio so rang St Lukes. They are not able to visit patients in their homes but I can go there for a session in the gym. I went last Monday and found it very worthwhile so am going again tomorrow. I have to do exercises in between. I am certainly feeling a lot better in myself and all my visitors remark on it.
It is good that lockdown is easing and I hope that there will not be a second flare-up.
The A level results are a fiasco. Penny,s son Jasper has got a place at Manchester, his first choice so all is well. But Serena, Manda,s daughter, who is living in Malta, has been turned down by UCL and Warwck, though she has been top of her form in Malta. She's going to appeal.
Well, I go to bed early these days and Juliana has appeared so I had better sign off before I lose it .
With love from Margaret
Angela 18 August 2020
Hello Everyone
It is so good to hear what people have been up to - we certainly do cover a large geographical area between us.
It was lovely to chat to you Margaret the other day. You certainly do sound very bright and great that you are re-starting physio now. Your video of the flood was horrific Sylvia. Hopefully it is sorted now. I have great sympathy with people having eye problems, hopefully they too will be sorted soon. It was a relief to hear that you are not in a viral hot spot Anne. I hope that continues. New Zealand's response to the latest outbreak news is as always reassuring. Pat's trip to the villages sounded lovely.
I admire Ian and Jill's determination not to be locked away indefinitely and learning to live with the virus.
We are also venturing out a bit more, but we are also aware that not only ourselves but the local friends we are now meeting up with, though active, are on the 'older' side and some of them have underlying health issues. It is much more of a balancing act now, making judgements day by day, but on the whole we are gradually getting out and about quite a bit more now.
We had a really lovely week with Heather, Nick and Freya staying here two weeks ago, especially as we had only seen them once since lockdown. They had waited two weeks after Freya's school had stopped and had both been working from home so had been pretty isolated. We were very lucky with the weather so spent a lot of time outdoors, in the garden pond dipping and playing badminton and swing ball and on Cley beach which, because it is pebbly, wasn't overcrowded as other Norfolk beaches were. For added interest, we were involved with the rescue of a baby seal which had wandered up from the sea onto the shingle. We were most impressed by the way people on the beach kept their distance from it until the 'Marine Medic' came with what looked like a large cat carrier and took it to the vet as although it looked more or less OK it had suspected dog bites.
We have also walked to Blakeney Point, probably a one off as it is a long way partly on shingle! and then returned there, a week later more easily in a friend's boat where we had superb close up views of seals and Terns. This year has been one of the most successful for breeding Terns and the young fluffy ones were amazing. It was a bit choppy though and I managed to avoid being a bad sailor by focusing on the horizon!
Like Sylvia, and probably others, I feel much better after a hair cut but Leo is still happy with my efforts, despite big hints from me that he needs a professional cut. My hairdresser said that I would do less damage to his hair using thinning scissors, but when I tried them yesterday, rather a lot of hair ended up on the floor, which he didn't see!
Your pottery sounds interesting Sue, but challenging with the restrictions. We had one 'open air' art morning which was good, but my back wasn't happy with two hours in a deck chair, trying to draw a frog and lily pad design from a garden gate. Lots of cushions and stretches next time!
Up here in the N Norfolk coast, we have had very little rain, apart from yesterday, but only 20 minutes from us, poor Sheringham two days ago had torrential rain with storm drains overflowing and people were advised to avoid sea bathing. Like Jane and Anne, we have experienced North sea 'haar'. It looks and feels just like a November day and takes a long time to shift.
One for Jane on the grumpy front! I have had trouble paying my TV licence fee online. I got to the very end of the 'verified by Visa' dialogue when a grumpy emoji appeared on the screen with the message 'The provider refuses to connect with the website'! Not wanting to pay twice and trying to sort it out by phone I just got an automated message but finally got to a real person by just saying rather rude things at the recording! I think the TV Licence people have form as I remember them threatening my 97 year old aunt with a visit by bailiffs, just to get her to complete a form confirming that she needn't pay! Do keep the grumps coming in Jane, they are a real tonic! I loved the protest photo you sent!
On a happier note, we have just discovered that our new holiday home neighbour, just below us, is not now planning to use pile drivers to excavate the sloping land beneath our house to extend his massive house to include a gym, office and garage! It is a huge relief as a few years ago, a similar operation just down the road using pile driving created massive cracks in our garage. The chap is a birder, so he and Leo have common ground which should help!
I won't even get started on the Exam fiasco. Grrrrr .... When will government learn to trust teachers!! I am so sorry for the students involved, many of whom are not out of the woods yet and for the unfortunate Universities having to cope with virus restrictions and extra students at such short notice.
Well, one positive thing about Covid is the way it has stimulated our wonderful exchange of e-mails!
Enjoy the sunshine while it lasts and keep well. Love, Angela xx
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