Supsliskans in Lockdown. March - August 2021

Ian 10 March 2021

I thought things had gone a bit quiet recently - a relief in a way as the flurry of emails had made me feel a bit daunted about gathering them together for Peter. In fact, everything seems daunting during this third lockdown and communication in general seems to have tailed off - although my inbox is swollen with inconsequential messages and junk. 

We hope things continue well for you all and that Pat's sons' health problems are resolved. At least the fall in cases is encouraging but we mustn't be too complacent. The four grandchildren have returned to school this week and we did see the Exeter ones for a carefully distanced picnic in the garden on a recent fine day - but perhaps that was pushing the boundaries a bit. 

This morning daughter Kate called for a coffee (we have all had our first jags, Kate because of her carer's role) and she then drove away Modestine. We have finally decided to dispose of her. Jill's eyes are not improving after her ocular shingles and she had been losing confidence after not having driven her for several months - we do all our shopping on foot with rucksacks. We had fitted the fourth seat, so they can go out as a family and we generally tidied her up and cleared out our clutter. We did drive her for her MOT during February, which she passed with almost 218,000 miles on the clock. It was sad to see her go after so many years of travel, almost a rite of passage as we watched Kate drive her away.  

And, talking of rites of passage, a significant one is coming up for us, as is happening for many of you, our golden wedding on St Patrick's Day. We had hoped to have some kind of celebration but that is not possible, so we have put up a special web page on the Modestine blogsite. No cards, please, but ...

The Men's Walk 2021 in aid of Hospiscare is taking place on 20 March. Usually it is a very laddish affair. It is normally done in groups and for the entry fee participants normally receive a smart blue Men's Walk sweatshirt, a pasty, a pint, and the chance to watch the Exeter Chiefs rugby match (apparently they are doing rather well at the moment).  I hated rugby at school. I was always the last to be chosen for teams and was positioned at full back. I put more effort into running away from the ball than the other 29 players combined put into chasing it and consequently I lost many of my friends every Wednesday afternoon. This year however, instead of parading up and down the canal for eight miles, you can make up your own socially distanced route. So I registered, spurning the sweatshirt, pasty and pint and devised the sort of walk nobody else would dream of going on - a walk round literary Exeter with the idea of putting together some sort of guide that would fit in with Exeter being Britain's UNESCO City of Literature. I have put up my working notes on my Devon bibliography blogsite and have also put up a fundraising page. I appreciate that not many of you will be interested in sponsoring as it is very much a local hospice charity but, like so many charities it is stretched at a time when charity shops are closed and so many fundraising opportunities are denied them. And it does get me out of the house with a purpose and give Jill some space for a day. 

Well, the days are longer, daffodils and primroses are blooming and the world is waking up (except for those in the southern hemisphere). There are some days when we almost feel optimistic. Hope you do as well. 

Love from us both, Ian and Jill

Janet 10 March 2021

Congratulations to you and Jill on your forthcoming Golden Wedding Anniversary. I should have very much like to send you a card but if you say you'd rather I didn't, so be it. But I will make a point of making the charitable donation you suggest. Whether it be for a funeral or, as in this case, for a celebration of a happy event, I am always pleased to do so, however local the cause.

As it happens, that will make St Patrick's Day a doubly important day in this household as it will be our eldest grandson's 17th Birthday, on which he will be able to have his first driving lesson in a second-hand car he has bought and refurbished himself. He (Alexander) has already passed his first aid test and theory exam - both of which are obligatory before the issue of a provisional license - but won't be able to sit the actual driving test till St Patrick's Day the following year. Hard to believe time has passed so quickly. He is hoping to go to university in Zurich but plans to live at home (in Dintikon, near Lenzburg) throughout and so a car will be pretty much essential for travelling to and fro.

I am so sorry you are having to part with Modestine but at least she has gone to a good home. I wouldn't want us to part with Dora until neither of us could drive, even though she only did a few hundred miles in the past 12 months - one trip for a family get together in our son's back garden last August in honour of our daughter's 50th birthday and a few trips to Crosby, Merseyside, to pick up some paintings, old photos, and other memorabilia from my mother's flat. My mother had left the flat to my younger sister, Caroline, who lived nearby and had been a welcome source of extra support for her during her last few years but Caroline had wanted the flat emptied so that she could rent it out unfurnished. We have always found camper-vans handy for transporting furniture between houses as well as being ideal for day trips out with the grandchildren or for when you need to visit someone in Covid times and can't go indoors to use their loo.We sometimes just go and sit in Dora out in the garden to have our lunch or an afternoon cuppa, if it's too cold, wet or windy to sit outdoors in the ordinary way. We won't be travelling to Dintikon this year but we do hope to have some day trips to National Trust gardens and the like and are planning another trip South in May for an outdoor celebration of our son's birthday. But perhaps you are able to see family without the need to bring your own "facilities"? Anyway, I expect you've thought it through and do, of course, still have the option of either renting one or perhaps borrowing Modestine for a week or two should the urge for a stay-cation arise again.

Yes, it's lovely seeing the snowdrops, crocuses, cowslips, and now the daffodils come out in the garden. I think it's all happening earlier than it did last year, which is a blessing as I think a hard winter like we had in the early 2000's would have made lock-down even more depressing. We have been very lucky in that we had joined the local U3A just in time, last February, to be able to participate in all their lock-down meetings and quizzes over Zoom and that our usual twice monthly lectures in Manchester were also transferred on-line so we have been treated to plenty of intellectual stimulus and have had the joy of Skype or Zoom get-togethers with family so we have not fared too badly. The hardest part has been the not being able to visit friends for a cuppa nor even to visit friends in hospital. We have felt very guilty to have been restricting contact to emails, Zooms and phone calls but we have absolutely not wanted to catch anything if we could possibly avoid doing so. As soon as the statutory 3 weeks have passed after we (hopefully) have had our second doses of vaccine we will be inviting friends round for a cup of tea out in the garden - under a gazebo if raining - and/ or calling round on people who don't drive to stand outside their door for a face-to-face chat or two, albeit from behind a face-shield. I think we'll be sticking to masks/ shields and social distancing for the rest of the year, even if everyone has at least had the chance of being vaccinated but we will try to be more sociable than this year.

I do hope everyone who has been ill is now well, or at least on the way to recovery.

Very best wishes to all Supsliskans and their families and congratulations again to Ian and Jill. Janet.

PS I hope that old bomb explosion in Exeter didn't affect you or your family, Ian? I think they said no-one was hurt but I guess windows could have been cracked or walls shaken?

Anne 11 March 2021

First of all my big news: I have just had my first jab/jag! They have finally finished doing the 80 year olds. I feel very relieved. 2nd jab due on April 1st.

Ian and Jill: Congratulations on your 50th wedding anniversary - I hope it won't be too long before you can celebrate properly with friends and family. At the same time commiserations at the loss of Modestine. But at least she is not far away and still able to lead a happy and active life - she is a game old lady! Í have happy memories of your visits here in her and she has visited some amazing places all round Europe, as your blog shows. I know how you feel in losing her as we had to say Goodbye to Caroline after many lovely holidays in her. Why do all our camping cars have female names?

There has been a long silence in the group. I suppose , I hope, that means that all are well and adapting to the situation. Pat, I wonder how your son is doing? Hopefully reacting to the treatment.

I am also looking forward to the possibility of my courses starting up again, either next week or then after the Easter holidays. Otherwise I have been doing lots of walking! We should all be very healthy, there has been a huge decrease in other winter ailments - colds etc, as protected by lack of contact and use of face masks.

I hope to hear some more news soon, love Anne

Margaret 11 March 2021

I was only thinking the other day that it was time for a Supsliskans update, but it needed a sudden influx of emails to get me going.

The current topic seems to be the jab. I have to confess to being one of the lucky ones. I had my first jab before Christmas and returned for the second one on 9th January, only a day after most of my Wolvercote friends had their first one - I was then told that 3weeks hence I could consider myself safe. I am not top priority but, whereas most of my friends go to a GP in Summertown, mine is in the city centre and they joined up with a few other city practices, one of which is the Jericho Health Centre, a purpose built medical practice with drop/off, parking and a large central area in which to seat lots of folk, suitable spaced.

After jab 1, I left with an appointment card for jab 2 and they didn’t subsequently increase the interval from 3 to 9 weeks.

Congratulations, Ian and Jill, on your 50th wedding anniversary. You have now entered a new phase of life without Modestine, but it sounds to have been a gentle letting-go. And she’s still around, not far away. Sylvia, I hope the shingles soon clears up - good that it has not attacked your face.

I am learning how to zoom into various events and so appreciate being able to listen to concerts and talks. Meetings are more of a challenge, particularly if there are more than 4 of us but am learning to wait my turn!

I think this current lockdown has been the most challenging. That said, I am surprised how I fill the days. Now I have this iPad I much appreciate iPlayer and ITVHub and watching programs at a convenient time because I go to bed quite early and most of the best programs are past my bedtime. I am also enjoying Netflix and films - particularly enjoyed “The dig”. I know that area well and have been to Sutton Hoo a few times. I thought the acting was superb, particularly Ralph Fiennes.

Normally, I have difficulty finding time for leisure reading, always thinking I should be doing something else, so it’s good to get dug into a good book. Also, enjoy The Times and kid myself that a daily dose of SuDoku keeps the old brain ticking over.

I think that’s it for now. I look forward to hearing from more of you. Love from Margaret

Angela 12 March 2021

Thanks to Ian for getting us chatting again and many congratulations to you and Jill on your 50th anniversary. I am sure parting with Modestine was a big wrench, but it’s good that she is staying in the family.

I agree that this lockdown does seem different. Hopefully we won’t have to face any more and with more of us getting our jabs and the increasing signs of Spring, things are beginning to look up. Like a lot of people we haven’t seen the family for many months, but are making tentative plans to get together outside when it is safe. Facetime and Zoom are great links, but nothing can beat the real thing. Our grand daughter went back to school in Ealing on Monday and seems to be settling in OK. The previous week, her teacher asked the class in a Zoom session how they felt about going back and Freya summed it up pretty well I think by saying she was ‘excited but a bit anxious’.

I had a nice chat with Margaret yesterday and it was good to hear her sounding so well. We are beginning to make appointments for essentials again, dentist, hearing test and hair, though with the first hair appointment not available until the beginning of May, I think I shall have to risk having a go at it myself again!

Although we apparently have all the time in the world, this time round, we are finding the days seem to pass almost too fast. After almost a year of them, I am finding the fitness, ballet and Jazz Dance sessions on Zoom have now become a part of daily life. They are not too strenuous and as I am sure other people who take part in any kind of class find, it is good to feel part of a group, even if it is ‘virtual’. It is very interesting to see how the expertise of the instructors has developed over the past year. We also have weekly Zoom sessions with friends living locally which we all enjoy, especially three who live on their own. The stone painting is still challenging and I have attached one of a little Celtic man from the Book of Kells. He reminded me of stories from people who have tried to do yoga on Zoom and got tied in knots!

We were surprised by the huge amount of snow we had here last month. Cley Marshes looked stunning, but cars were unable to get up our track to the house for a week. We had lots of wildlife visit us in the snow including a Woodcock, groups of Red legged Partridges and lots of Muntjac deer. I have gone off the deer lately though as they have systematically demolished my newly emerging tulips, cyclamen and dwarf irises!!

The now famous ‘Llandudno Goats’ continue to hit the headlines and have recently gone international. Locals are concerned that they will get to prefer the cushy life down in the town and may not want to return to the mountain even once the visitors start to arrive. I have attached a recent picture of them as they look just like the ‘Three Billy Goats Gruff’ in the fairy tale.

I do hope Trish’s son’s health is improving and that Sylvia fully recovers soon. It is so good keeping in touch from places all over the globe – keep the news coming!

Love, Angela 

Jane 12 March 2021

Good to be back in touch and get all the messages. Congratulations, Ian & Jill, on your 50th - and on joining the ranks of the Green and vehicle-less!  And to Anne, for getting the 'jag' (as it is called in Scotland apparently) and an appointment for the 2nd dose soon. We have both had our first and David has a date next month for the second but I must wait till May, no date yet but that will come by letter. No wonder the Post Office has made a profit - we have been bombarded with NHS Scotland leaflets. You cannot turn television on without adverts telling us how to behave, but still so many people show no regard for others. And how dare Our Nicola turn up every day with immaculate hair when she is not going to allow hairdressers to open until 26th April. I last had my hair cut for our 50th anniversary on 12th September! Wales is relaxing that closure today I gather - but it is a long way to go!

We have been happily spending our holiday refunds on work in the flats. We had the two large front windows in the 1st floor double-glazed last autumn and have at last had the room painted and new curtains hung, then the whole flat recarpeted. That involved a week of book-moving - 35+ yards of shelves and books which we put downstairs, on landings, and in boxes on the stairs. Fortunately there were no residents in the other flats (although postgrad Hermann the German - his way of introducing himself - returned on Monday, we think so he could play golf as his lectures are still online). Then the joiner came to remove the fender from the fireplace in the 'study' (aka sitting room) in the ground floor so that David's desk could be pushed back and give more floor space. At the same time I got them to cut off the top half of the meter cupboard door and fit shelves above, so I now have another 10ft for the overflow books. But in all the book-moving I have found only one duplicate and four other books no longer required - and have bought more than that in the same time, even with bookshops closed for browsing. Monthly Postscript catalogues are a Bad Thing!

It is a year ago tomorrow when I first used hand sanitiser, at the reception after the funeral of a St Andrews friend. So many funerals since but no chance of going to any of them, particularly those of retired senior staff from Durham UL. David is one of only two contemporaries who worked with them and who are still alive, so I am taking extra care of him. But my co-author with whom I have worked for nearly 30 years is now in a hospice near Nottingham and it is over a year since we last met. This has been a horrible year, not made any easier by rules and regulations. I wish we could be encouraged to think for ourselves, make our own decisions - and not have Boris and Our Nicola in competition. It looks as if the Salmond-Sturgeon spat will not even stop her. Scotland is not taking part in this year's Census apparently - yet we are going ahead with Scottish Government elections.

Enough grumping! I have enjoyed transcribing a huge late 17th century Indenture (3 folios measuring 73cm x 73cm with a piece 20cm x 73cm attached at the bottom by tapes) and trying to identify some of the 15 people mentioned. It was handed in to the Preservation Trust Museum but has nothing to do with St Andrews or even Scotland so will be offered elsewhere, probably Dorset Archives as the chief person named was Humphrey Weld of Lulworth Castle , a dodgy character if ever there was one, I think. Now a bundle of title deeds from a house across the road await my attention before they are passed to the University Special Collections. In the meantime I have been helping with an article to celebrate the centenary of the hall of residence where I lodged as a student, to be published in the University Alumnus Chronicle. The hall was only 41 years old when I went there - makes me feel old to realise that was nearly 60 years ago!

Ian and Jill - we may well visit Exeter sometime next year (if Our Nicola allows us out then) as grandson Tom has been offered a place at the University to study French and Spanish. We hope that if he does go, there will somewhere for him to stay as we gather The Bomb was found and exploded in the studenty area. We wonder what the damage was.

Time for another meal - and perhaps a brandy. This afternoon Parcel Force delivered a box which I assumed was from younger son for Mother's Day. Then I read the delivery note - from elder son addressed to David. It turned out to be rye whisky for him as we had muttered when sent a picture of their weekly cocktail containing that whisky that it was no longer available in local supermarkets. And they included a bottle of Courvoisier so that I would not feel left out.

Looking forward to all the other news, and hope all is well with everyone. Love, Jane.

Sue 13 March 2021

I'm trying to decide whether it is tactful or not to send news from NZ; I gather there is an etiquette for these things, and the more fortunate are advised not to flaunt the normality of their lives. On the other hand, I don't want to lose touch by not contributing.

So what would be safe to talk about? Ah, yes, the weather... We had an amazingly sunny summer (I hope you all get the same in due course) but not being on mains water and having no way of knowing how much water is in the bore, as far as the garden is concerned we are reluctant to water anything non-essential. The result is a very dry and shrivelled garden, so it will be interesting in September to see to how many spring flowering plants have survived. I have a whole heap of daffs to re-plant, the birds having tossed them out, but currently I'd need a pick-axe to do that. We are hoping the Autumn will be wet enough to continue planting out the "natives" we have in pots under the carport; we are trying to fill a small paddock as a counter-balance to the dairy farming that surrounds us. Hard work, as we trying to avoid using herbicides to clear the spaces for the natives, though we have put chemicals on the very invasive blackberry. Of course we could go a long way towards having more water for the garden if we set up a roof collection system, but somehow we haven't so far got round to doing that...

Speaking of water, we had some fun and games with our water system, inevitably the day before the Easter long week-end. One of the pipes goes above ground just over the fence in the neighbour's paddock.  We'd noticed that the pump was clicking on and off even when we hadn't run any taps, so suspected a leak. Fortunately the very dry weather enabled Neil to spot some too-green grass over the fence and he found that a junction had come partly adrift, allowing slow seepage, presumably because a cow had stood on it when trying to reach a Photinia bush in our garden. Great that the local farm water supply experts were able to come at once and fix it for us.

Oops! Yes, I have to admit that we are leading the sort of normal life where tradesmen can come and go. But from Jane's story of their refurbishments etc, the same is true for you, too - so long as you are careful? Where do you and David get that sort of energy from????

Are you still interested in libraries? They did, after all, enable most of us to earn a crust, and even in some cases, have a pension...  The village of Tai Tapu (means sacred place), about 30 km from here, has a delightful looking library, built in the 1930s as a memorial to the wife of a local landowner. Of course that's "historic" as far as NZ is concerned. The building had always intrigued me, but being open just 3 times a week, and then for just a couple of hours I hadn't had a chance to go inside. A couple of weeks ago, I was pleased to be passing when it was open. Run by volunteers, but with some support from the local district council, it is just a delight. Lots of built-in wooden shelving - clearly designed for the paperbacks of yesteryear, so much of the stock has to be shelved horizontally.  There's some sort of a card issue system, and no fines as the volunteers know their readers too well... Here's a link, if you are interested https://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details/4394

The NZ- Australia travel bubble starts on the 19th; the bubble will be pricked if the situation in either country changes between now and then. This is timed so that we will, hopefully, get the skiers from Oz, but ideally just the healthy ones. It seems there are no vaccination requirements, only evidence of a recent negative test, but apparently no isolation/quarantine on arrival in either country. I do view this with a degree of trepidation as neither country has made the same dramatic progress with vaccinations as the UK and Europe. Here in NZ, we codgers will be a long way down in the list, with top level sports folk, needing to travel overseas for major events, being done after border and health personnel. We have been suffering from a shortage of fruit and grape pickers - typically this work is done by seasonal workers coming over from the Pacific Islands. With some Islands being covid-free, we've had some come over this season, but apparently not enough. There are tales of apples (particularly) left to rot on the trees, so watch out for dearer prices when the reduced number of NZ apples reach the UK! And of course a whammy for the Islands who rely on this income coming back to boost their economies, especially when the tourists are absent.

Continue to take good care of yourselves, won't you; there does seem to be light at the end of the tunnel now, and it doesn't seem to be an approaching train.

Love, Sue

Anne 14 April 2021

How good to hear from Sue again and to hear about life on the other side of the globe, it's always very interesting. I had been wondering how everyone is faring these days. In UK all out of lockdown and besieging

the shops and pubs, so when will the next surge be? Although far more of you are vaccinated than here. I am very pleased to be able to tell you that I now belong to the 6% of the German population which has been vaccinated twice, a good feeling. However, generally there is so much public uncertainty about the safety of the vaccines and the current restrictions, depending on which Bundesland you happen to live in so no-one ever knows what is allowed and what isn't. Now Mrs Merkel put her foot down and has said that everywhere, with an incidence over 100, which is just about everywhere, but not quite, should have the same rules. At the moment the incidence is increasing, I suppose as a result of the Easter holidays, so we are in lockdown again, or still!!

I was hoping to do more work in the garden but icy winds and snow showers put paid to that ambition! My main pleasure is going for walks, often with a friend. We have an on-going project of going to find certain trees in our area which have been designated as protected. We got a whole list from the local government nature protection office, we combine finding the trees with a nice walk in the area and are gradually working our way through the list - there are quite a number! They are mostly oak or linden trees, 200+ years old. On our walks we very rarely meet other people, we are very lucky to live in such a lovely, undiscovered area, as opposed to those who live in and around Munich and can hardly move at the weekends for people all wanting to escape the city. They fortunately haven't discovered the Holledau yet, Munich people don't do north of the city! Even though recently I saw the Holledau described as the Tuscany of Bavaria and Hobbit land!

To end with a special note for Ian and Jill. I know you will be thrilled to hear that the Spargel (asparagus) season has now started! I haven't eaten any yet, I think it has really been too cold, but I shall see if I can get some for the weekend and will think of you as I peel, cook and eat them! They have flown in a whole crowd of seasonal workers from Rumania and Georgia to harvest them and they are living in containers under very strictly controlled conditions.

Sue - re NZ apple etc harvest. I think you are not only missing the helpers from the Islands but also all the students from Germany. At one point 2 years ago I think half the students from Bavaria were in NZ doing work and travel.

So, hope to hear from some of you soon, take care, stay safe, Anne

Jane 14 April 2021

A message from Grumpy Jane! Here in Barbaricum we are allowed from tomorrow to travel outwith county boundaries. From 26th up to 4 people can socialise indoors in a public place and pubs etc can open until 8 pm indoors but without alcohol. Puritanism rules! David got an appointment for his second jag at the end of the month when he got the first. I have to wait for an appointment letter and should get the second by 6th May if the letter does not get lost in the post and Astra Zeneca does not run out. We will not be voting SNP or Alba that day.

It was the funeral of my friend and co-author yesterday and I could not go for fear of Nicola's border guards at Berwick.

If you have the impression that I am fed up, you are right!

Love to all, GJ

Sylvia 15 April 2021

Really lovely to hear from people so far.  Sorry you're feeling so fed up, Grumpy.  I had my hair cut this morning, so feel pounds lighter, and am getting my second jab tomorrow.  Having spent the day last Sunday with Helen and family in beautiful Church Stretton, including walking in a blizzard of what looked like polystyrene beads, I'm feeling pretty chipper at the moment.  Of course, the next risk will be restrictions being eased on foreign travel and if today's report about queues at Heathrow is anything to go by, where people returning from green and red countries were waiting to be processed cheek by jowl, we might well be back in full lockdown rather than coming out of it on June 21st.  I'm doing as I'm told!

Sue, I do envy you, but as much for where you live as anything else.  As you know, I fell in love with NZ when I was there in 2014 and it seems even more attractive now that you have such a sensible government.  Don't apologise, just be thankful that you aren't here!

Anne, Germany is another country I would have been happy to live in in the past.  How things change!

Trish, I realise I haven't heard how Howard is faring.  I do hope the hospital has sorted out his problems.

It would be so good to hear how everyone else is doing and to know that you are all well.

Love to all, Sylvia

Howard 15 April 2021

Lovely to get all your news. As Sylvia said, all mostly OK. Things don't change much here but there are one or two things to report. 

Sark was in lock down for a few weeks but the whole Bailiwick is out of it. Little contact to anywhere else so no chance of getting to the UK. Pity because we now have a new grandchild. 

Haven't been to the UK for over a year.

I heard about a new biography of Philip Larkin which is shocking. I have read quite a bit about him. I used to live near him when I was in Hull. I like his poetry and I was at Hull Uni. Also he was a librarian as we all know and we had Brenda Moon in Sheffield. I must buy a copy of it.

I have had both doses of AZ. Mandy is due to get her second in a couple of weeks. I feel sorry for developing countries as they have to rely on AZ or J and J as many don't have equipment for the others -freezers etc. Some European politicians are to blame for spoiling AZ's reputation.

I really want to meet up sometime but we have to be patient of course.

Our garden is doing well. Potatoes in the greenhouse should be ready in a few weeks. An important event in our lives in a pandemic!

Lots of love and stay safe, Howard

Pat 15 April 2021

Lovely to be reading the beginnings of another round of emails. I have been to Oz but did not manage to get to NZ, Sue. My mother went to school in the South Island for a short while. Much more recently my brother was on a cruise that circumnavigated the islands, but it was the school holidays when he visited and the school was all shut up. I forget the name of the town but it was in the south west. I’ll remember it for next time. 

Sylvia - you must have felt good to have a hair cut. Mine was last done in December and is starting to look rather unruly. Thanks for asking about Howard. He is still ill unfortunately. He spent 6 days in hospital with a urinary tract infection  coming out 2 weeks ago, felt quite good for a few days and then caught another infection, which hasn’t yet gone away. His ill health has been a real strain on both of us. He gets very confused as the day wears on and needs me to remind him of things. This is quite distressing. He went back to work a week ago but the first day floored him and he’s only been able to stick it for one or two hours a day since then. He’s still very weak and the jobs are all physical, although his employer has been very sympathetic and is hoping to move him on to driver training which will be much less exerting. We’ll see. 

Apart from being all things maternal I’ve been gardening a fair bit. Yesterday I planted 5 dahlia corms that I started off in the greenhouse. Probably should have waited a while longer before putting them out but let’s hope there won’t be a hard frost to polish them off. I bought them from Sarah Raven from a friend’s recommendation and they weren’t cheap. I’ve been sowing seed in the greenhouse. I have all of 4 chilli plants emerging and 5 cucumbers. Manageable you could say! Cosmos and broccoli coming on better. 

Reading-wise I am tackling “Wolf Hall” for the third time. This time determined to finish it and get on with the other two books.

Tomorrow I have a tree man coming to cut down some apple tree branches that are fighting with a pine tree and to trim up other tall shrubs that I can’t reach. He is starting at 7.30am which is a challenge. 

I look forward to hearing more tales of how you are all faring. Must say it is nice that more shops are opening up. I had my 2nd jab last week and am looking forward to the time when I can do some more garden entertaining. Had my other kids and their families and dogs on Easter Sunday. Had to do my 10 year old grandson’s Easter egg hunt in double quick time as they have a new puppy and I learned that chocolate is poison to dogs. He still managed to get one and devoir it. Plus the silver paper I think!

Best wishes to all, Trish

Lesley 15 April 2021

Jane, I can now travel to Perth from Inverness on a day return (Senior Citizen pass, of course) to meet you for lunch?  Could this work for you?  I'm sure we can refrain from being 'grumpy' about 'ON' and SIP?  Let me know what you think.

Life in Strathconon seems well 'up with the times' - hair cut on April 6th and second jab a couple of days ago.  Covid has had considerable ripples (not yet a tsunami but could be?) on the housing market up here.  Building costs have risen from the usual £2K per sq m to £3K per sq m because of post-Covid, post-Brexit impact on UK supplies and within Europe, the rebuilding of Beirut is, apparently, sucking every material needed away building within Europe. Equally, competition for ready-built homes is intensifying as those who can work remotely are realising Inverness and environs are actually not so 'remote'!  We are coming onto the housing market, delayed by just over a year due to Covid, at exactly the wrong time.  Hey-ho.  C'est la vie.

Apart from Trisha's son, Howard, most of us, and our families, sound in a reasonably steady order?  Our daughter, Beth, the respiratory consultant and head of NHS Highlands Research is, according to her husband, coming across some interesting cases of very healthy, fit and active young people exhibiting long Covid symptoms; she has, of course, been contributing to all the NHS Trials on the re-purposing of existing drugs to help manage and reduce the severity of C-19. 

Our son, working in the Merchant Naval/commercial side of shipping, specialising in transporting LNG has been in Spain for the month of March overseeing the dry dock repairs of one of the ships he is responsible for. We find the detail of these highly technical and potentially hazardous operations fascinating and how they are adapting to keeping everyone safe as they have to travel the world during C-19.

All from the far north where we are enjoying a few days of Spring after the long 'frozen February' of -16C night rising to -8C daytime; our poor bulbs are severely affected - probably the cell structure completely 'blown, by the action of the ice.

Hear from you, Jane, if you fancy a bite to eat, glass of lunchtime vino and chatter.  No offense if your life is too busy at the moment.  Mine is as I've just been appointed to the National Cancer Research Institute as a 'consumer rep' on the ovarian cancer workstream...a job, no-one would ever hope to have the experience for!!!

Warm wishes to all, Lesley

Ian 19 April 2021

It is now more than a year since Sue set the ball rolling, and it was fitting that it was she who jollied us along recently to stimulate us to update each other on our progress. We all seem to have survived remarkably well in the circumstances and finally we seem to be emerging blinking into the sunlight at the end of the tunnel. although progress is so variable from place to place. It is strange that people on Sark have had two jabs/jags while others much more at risk are still awaiting their first. We had our second jab on 27 March. No blood clots yet, but I have not dared to get up in the morning since then, as putting on trousers is so much more dangerous than receiving a vaccination, particularly for older people - or so the statisticians in the NHS say. 

Many thanks to everyone who responded to our announcement of our golden wedding last month, sending emails and even cards. Thank you as well to those who responded to my suggestion that you sponsor me for the Hospiscare Men's Walk 2021 a couple of days later, on Saturday 20 March. It was a wonderful day weatherwise, a surprising proportion of it along footpaths lined with primroses and daffodils. I did not wander lonely as a cloud, as my cousin accompanied me for most of the eleven miles. The following Monday Jill accompanied me for a further eight miles to pick up literary locations I had missed, particularly in and around the University campus. So, I covered almost two myriameters in decimal coinage in pursuit of Exeter's literary heritage and raised more than £600, which put me in the top 20%. I'm somewhat flabbergasted as it is the first (and perhaps the last) time I have done a sponsored activity. As I creosoted both sides of the lengthy fence at the bottom of our garden over three days during the following week, I felt that I should have got sponsored for that. It took more time and was much less enjoyable than the walk. 

We are adjusting to life without Modestine, and the recent relaxation in lockdown has meant that we have begun to venture, masked of course, on buses to more remote locations from which we then walk back towards home. Walks this week were along the waterfront from Exmouth to Lympstone, a picturesque village on the Exe estuary where we sat at one of the outside tables in the local pub for our first half of bitter in months. We repeated the experience yesterday (Sunday) when we took the bus to Lympstone and walked inland this time, across Woodbury Common to Budleigh Salterton for a sausage bap on the pebble beach, a total of eight miles. On the way home we discovered that the staff club for County Hall at the foot of our garden had reopened earlier in the week - so another al fresco beer was called for. No sign of masks by the seaside but generally the crowds were not closely spaced. 

The Devon Heritage Centre also opened last week, and I managed to grab the last available session to go to look at three previously unknown 18th century maps of Exeter that have just been discovered. I have been asked to write an article for the IMCOS map collectors' journal about them and their interesting surveyor. I have also delivered a Zoom talk on the manuscripts that Sir Thomas Bodley nicked from the Cathedral Library in 1602, and am preparing talks on Exeter's literary heritage for the Friends of the Museum and on printing for tourism n 19th century Torquay, both by Zoom and both in July. So life is busy on the book history front and we have participated in several Zoom meetings. I suspect it will be something that is here to stay but hope it doesn't altogether replace live events. 

On Saturday Kate brought the grandchildren round in Modestine, which she has fitted out with LED fairy lights and new curtains, in order to put up an emormous marquee type structure on our top lawn. Modestine is rather small for two adults and two rumbustuous children on their future expeditions, so this palatial residence will serve as extra sleeping quarters. The kids became noisy and excited so we hustled them indoors around three o'clock to view the key moment of the funeral which impressed them by its ceremony and solemnity and led to difficult questions about the journey of the soul, and perhaps the body into the afterlife Where is heaven, is it under the floor? Is the Prince in heaven already? Can any of you tell them, please?

Onwards into summer, but we need more rain (gently overnight, please) and less freezing mornings. One day recently I even found myself gardening in a hailstorm. 

Stay safe everyone, Ian

Sylvia 19 April 2021

I can't understand how I never got your email about your golden wedding. I hope the news about passing on Modestine and the invitation to sponsor you for your walk, Ian, came in the same email. Otherwise I've missed more than one from you. I'm very impressed to see how much walking you've been doing, despite not getting out of bed!! I can't match that, although I do try to get a walk in most days. The weather, despite early frosts, has been wonderful and the spring flowers are bursting through, but we do need rain. As always, we're never satisfied with the weather we get. 

I had my second Pfizer jab last Friday and had quite a strong reaction with the shivers, a very achy arm and a slight temperature, but it all lasted about 12 hours and then, apart from a tender arm for a couple more days, it was all over. 

I'm still waiting fairly patiently to see Chris and family. We What'sApp'd this morning when Chris was taking Stanley for a walk past the oil-seed rape near where they live. Stanley, at nearly 2, didn't stop chattering, which was lovely, but I gather he's very uncomfortable if approached by anyone outside the family as he hasn't been exposed to any strangers in over a year. I fear that will be a big issue for him and his contemporaries who haven't attended a nursery and therefore aren't used to seeing other children at close hand. At least he has his older brothers, but it might well be some time once lockdown has ended before he learns that it's OK for anyone, including his grandparents, to approach him.

Otherwise, all is well here and it's really good to hear from other SUPSLISKANS, particularly those like Lesley, from whom we haven't heard in a while. Let us know if you and Grumpy manage to meet up.

Love to all, Sylvia

Jane 20 April 2021

She is slightly less so have had a haircut last Friday and received a Blue Envelope that day with an appointment for the second jag this coming Sunday.  A whole week and a half earlier than expected. But she is still not voting for ON on 6th May.

Greetings to all. GJ

Angela 28 April 2021

It is quite a thought that it is over a year since Sue set the ball rolling on our updates. I am not sure if my e-mail is the last in the previous round or the first in a new round, but in any case, it is really good to hear how we are all managing our lives in our various locations and situations and that we are on the whole doing OK.

Sleepy North Norfolk is starting to wake up with visitors now allowed to stay as families in B+B’s and with outdoor eating and drinking. It is good to see local businesses opening up but there are noticeably more speeding cars and motor bikes and even some traffic jams in the centre of Cley! Our nearest town, Holt, is now open for business which is good for local traders, but it still feels strange going into a shop. We have now met up with some local friends in their gardens recently which has been a real treat.

We felt very fortunate to be able to finally see Heather, Nick and Freya two weeks ago, after 7 months. As the rules didn’t permit them to stay with us, they rented a mobile home in Wells next-the-Sea for four days at the end of the Easter holiday which worked out really well. Freya called it the ‘Camfer Van’! It was very near the woods and the beach and only 20 minutes from us. Although the wind made it pretty chilly, we had lots of sunshine for our beach visits and their verandah was beautifully sheltered. I do feel for those of us like Janet and Howard who are still patiently waiting to see their families. Hopefully it won’t be too long. We are planning to catch up with ours again this weekend when we are going to Hertfordshire for a few days. It will seem strange leaving Norfolk after nearly five months here, but we are also fitting in seeing some friends outdoors, and visiting the dentist (Leo), and our long-term osteopath (both, for maintenance) – sounds a bit like MOT’s! I have now seen dentist, hygienist, optician and hearing people up here – only a hair cut left now. Despite booking in early March, May 5th was the first available appointment!

Although it is wonderful being able to see the marsh and the sea from the house, the only downside is the bitter wind we have been having for so long. We are now planning a small summerhouse to provide some shelter. This will unfortunately involve first shifting a large heap of soil which was piled up when the pond was dug out. Our first estimate was from a large and very forceful Norfolk gentleman who made it all seem very complicated and kept muttering about his bad knees and ‘foreigners’, by which we assumed he meant us!! We hope we have now found a more friendly chap who actually sounds keen to do the work. Apparently so many people are now spending money on gardens that landscapers are getting fully booked. It was concerning to hear Lesley’s comments on how Covid / Brexit is affecting land prices where they are. Apparently supplies of white goods are also affected, which we noticed when we had to get a replacement for our elderly and leaking dishwasher. The same applied to a replacement oven part. We are however now thankfully luxuriating in a functioning dishwasher and a quiet oven!

As you can gather, our life here is jogging along OK with lots of gardening, walks and Zooming with art and fitness groups as well as with friends and family. Heather told us that as she hasn’t met any of the colleagues in her new job in person yet, only seeing them on Zoom, she has no idea how tall they are!! It is interesting how varied the timings of jabs are. We have now had our second Pfizer jabs, luckily with no side effects. I just hope that those of us who are waiting for jabs have them soon and those locked down can be released safely. Also that our own opening up is handled cautiously.

I do hope Howard’s health improves Trish. It must be so worrying, but good that you were able to see some of your family. I do like the idea of walks to visit protected trees. Are you photographing them Anne?

Poor India, it is a really desperate situation which needs world-wide help right now. The Downing Street rumpus seems so insignificant in contrast, but it will be interesting to see what bombshells Dominic Cummings produces.

I hope everyone keeps well and cheerful and do keep the news coming. Love to everyone, Angela

Sue 17 June 2021

I know I shouldn't mention the cricket ... but I can't resist doing so, and it would be as well to do so before the all important event against India.

Of course some umpiring decisions and the weather were in NZ's favour, but even so it was a lovely boost.

All's well down here, though the vaccination process seems to be going at a snail's pace.   No clues yet as to when Neil and I will get our jabs; sounds as though the UK is the clear winner there.

Take care. Love, Sue.

Howard 18 June 2021

New Zealand deserved the victory. Streets ahead both batting and bowling. It will be interesting how it goes in India.

My wife Mandy came across this. It was new to me: A history of the Information School at the University of Sheffield, a study by Melanie Benson, 2012. 

No mention of our year as far as I could see!

Best wishes to all, Howard.

Sylvia 20 June 2021

Mentioning the cricket is fine by me.  I used to be a real fan and wouldgo to watch County matches at the Chesterfield Cricket Ground in my youth.  It was one of John Arlott's favourite grounds.  The England/New Zealand result would have satisfied me either way.  As you know, NZ is my favourite country, bar none.  Now, I really only watch tennis, which I've been feasting on for the last 3 weeks, with Wimbledon still to come.

Sorry the vaccination programme isn't forging ahead for you, but you have so few Covid cases that the urgency probably isn't so great.  My kids and their partners have had at least one jab and have been promised a second by July 19th.

My exciting news is that, unless things go pear-shaped again, I will be visiting my son and family next weekend.  This will be the first time I've seen them in the flesh since January 2020 - almost a full 18 months ago.  Their youngest of 3 boys was 7 months old then.  It will be interesting to see what his response will be.  My daughter-in-law's sister and family visited for the day a couple of weeks ago, but stayed outside all the time.  Stanley gradually adjusted to that, but I will be sleeping there for 3 nights, so we will have to see how he accepts that.

Trish, please tell us how Howard is now.

(Our) Howard - please thank Mandy for pointing us in the direction of the Benson dissertation.  I presume no one from our year was approached for comment.

Hope all is well with everyone.  Maybe we'll be allowed to meet up in 2022! Love to all, Sylvia

Tony 23 June 2021

Well done to the Blackcaps. A few nervous moments, but what a great team. Lots of happy Kiwis in Southampton.....

Best wishes, Tony

Jane 23 June 2021

It was good to hear from Sue and responses - even if I don't approve of cricket, tennis, football or any other sport cluttering up TV schedules. My hatred of such comes from having a mother glued to cricket or tennis radio broadcasts when I came in from school bursting with news, and being married to a Yorkshireman who encouraged our sons to follow his passion. I did go to a Durham cricket match once but that was only so that I could have a share of the strawberries and fizz which David won at a Durham School raffle.

One of our local 'giftie' shops has a mug in the window which has the inscription 'Grumpy'. I am tempted to buy the whole stock as I have several grumpy friends and they would make appropriate presents. The usual things annoy us including visitors cluttering pavements  (many from infected parts of Glasgow),  a rash of airbnbs in the area including one two doors along with a hot tub in the tiny garden, bicycles being ridden by adults on pavements, and now students leaving overfull bins on the street when they leave their flats. A rat was seen during the day running up the middle of the road round the corner and we have had rats in the garden so I have had to stop feeding the birds. This is hard on the pair of blackbirds raising a second family so they come up to the 1st floor window ledge at the back and scowl at me until I put food out for them - porridge oats naturally for Scottish blackbirds.

Better news is that younger son and granddaughter visited us for two days over the bank holiday, an excuse to go out for dinner.  Twice! I went on a train a week ago for the first time since February last year - only to Edinburgh to have lunch with four schoolfriends. This was a trial for a longer journey on Friday when I am going down to the village near Nottingham where my good friend and co-author lived, to go to his wake. It will be good to see all his friends again but it will make me regret even more that I did not get to see him for the year before he died, and that there is no chance of finishing our third Civil War book. At least I do not expect Nicola to be guarding the Border now but I am ready for her if she is. I envy Wally the Walrus who is allowed to travel where he wants without politicians of all sorts sticking their noses in. I wonder if you have seen him, Howard?

An interesting dissertation on the Library School - many thanks, Howard, for the link. Of course it is incomplete as it does not mention the Annus Mirabilis, or Mrs Dragswoop. Perhaps we should write the alternative history . . .

Time for another meal - for David and me, not the birds this time. I hope everyone is well and less grumpy than me. Love, GJ

Sue 24 June 2021

I do hope the Covid situation in the UK stays stable enough for Sylvia and Jane to do that planned travelling.

I chose the wrong days to travel to Wellington myself, to catch up with family, as a visitor from Oz tested positive when he returned home after spending last week-end there.   He would have flown out just before I flew in, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he didn't leave any aerosoled virus suspended in the airport... But it was great to see my pre-school grand-daughter after 18 months, and she didn't miss a beat. Interesting that in "playing shops" she creates an arrow on the floor, so that "shoppers" know to come in and go out via a different route in the sitting room.   I bet there will be lots of opportunities for research on variations in children's play during a pandemic.

It does seem bizarre that a country that finds it hard to have two consecutive days of fine weather in the summer months would develop a game that requires several such days.

Many thanks for the links to such interesting reading, just the thing for winter days down here. Take care. Love, Sue.

Sue  18 July 2021 

I hope the fact that the new Minister of Health in England has Covid19 symptoms isn't a bad omen and that you can all relish the next steps back to the new normal in safety.

Sylvia - I hope your trip to reconnect with your two grandsons went well.    And Jane  - that you made it to Nottingham and back safely.

I'm sure you will have enjoyed the tennis, especially the 50th anniversary win for Australia in the Women's.    We can't watch much sport as it is mostly "pay to view" and not high enough on our list of priorities to lavish cash on it.   So we've been watching highlights of the Tour de France via the internet -  a great way to see some spectacular scenery from the comfort of my armchair - and Neil is enjoying the cycling aspect.    I can't help feeling that the Tokyo Olympics might turn out to be a mistake from an epidemiological perspective, even if it does fulfil the need for bread and circuses.

Horrifying to see the flood damage across Europe; we had to remind ourselves that it is "your" summer at the moment!   How about you, Anne? I hope you haven't been affected.

Take care, Love, Sue

Jane 18 July 2021

Thanks to everyone for recent emails. And good to hear, Anne, that you are safe. I did not appreciate the extent of the flooding until I saw a map in The Times and had an email from a friend who lives in Sinzig who said that the water came within 1 km of his house. He and I organised the final Hadrianic Society trip to look at Roman remains in Germany, and that centred on the Ahr valley. 

If the extremes of weather are caused by global warming, I feel that we have probably left it too late to make significant change now. This latest has happened just after Branson went up in space. What, if any, damage are all the satellites and exploration of space doing? I have not seen any comments on that and know no scientists who can answer the question. Having made a mess of earth some seem determined to do the same elsewhere in the universe.

Nearer home, we are seeing more and more tourists arriving by car and campervan in St Andrews where previously we had bus parties. And the cottage two doors from us has been turned into an airbnb - with a wood-fired hot tub in the tiny garden. So we now have smelly smoke coming into our flats for up to 12 hours most days, just when we should be ventilating our buildings by opening the windows.

I counted up recently with the advent of airbnbs all around - we have 11 buildings at our end of the street (excluding school and university premises) in which there are 32 individual dwellings, 4 of which are houses and the rest flats. 3 of the properties are owner occupied (and that includes our two flats) and there is a permanent tenant in another flat. At least 5 of the others are airbnbs, judging by the number of key safes installed - one of them attached by chain and padlock to a downpipe.

The world is mad and as you can deduce, I am still Grumpy. However I had a good trip south for the wake. It was good to meet all Peter's friends again - only one person missing. I was able to look round his house again (and came away with four books, a tartan rug and a tablecloth!) and visit his grave. I will go again when the stone which he designed is in place sometime next year, and hope that some of his friends will come north before then.

Finally an apology, Howard - I thought Wally the Walrus was in the Channel Islands not the Scillies. I never was very good at geography (or reading newspapers carefully)!

Take care everyone on Boris's Freedom Day! Love GJ

Janet 14 August 2021

Thanks so much to everyone for their news and it has been good to hear everyone who has responded lately has come through everything that has happened on their patch reasonably well, so far. Very sorry, though, to hear today that the Corona virus now has a toe hold on Sark. I do hope you and your family have not been adversely affected thus far and can manage to keep it that way.

Very best wishes, Janet. 

Sue 22 August 2021

Yes, a very disappointing situation here in NZ. But fortunately the tradesman from Devonport in Auckland who is regarded as the start of the cluster, had been meticulous in using his tracer app so there is cautious optimism that we may be able to contain the outbreak. It is definitely the delta strain, and got here from Oz.

Both Neil and I have had our first jabs, with second ones coming up shortly. Our son Toby and his wife and daughter are in Wellington, and the adults will get their first jabs soon. There are just a small number of "places of interest" in Wellington, with times when infected folk are know to have been there. So fingers crossed... As of this morning, I don't think it has reached South Island. Meanwhile the whole country is in lockdown at our most restricted level, which will be reviewed on Tuesday. Yes, our rate of vaccination has been slow, but we have also been able to watch with dismay the speed with which outbreaks have spread in Oz, which is serving as a bit of a wake up call to NZ.

There's a certain amount of amusement about there being a tradie living in Devonport; it's a very up-market suburb, so it's a surprise that anyone not amongst the professional classes might be living there! NZ is a class-less society, yeah, right...

At least we are moving into spring, down here, which should reduce the rate of spread, even of the delta strain, and make having to stay at home easier.

Great to hear you were able to catch up with so many family members, Janet, and also great to hear how cautious and sensible you were whilst they were with you. You are right, we have become complacent here, with some quite daft behaviours. For example when I flew to Wellington in late June, masks were required on the flight (but not in the terminal) and tea, coffee etc were served during the flight, so off came the masks!

Take care, stay well, all of you - Love, Sue

Jane Aug 22, 2021

Greetings to you all from The North!

Good to hear from you, Janet and Sue. What a weird world we are living in. I have given up on the news - usually fall asleep during the BBC 10 p.m. news and read only the newspaper headlines. The Dundee Courier is full of knife attacks, paedophiles, drug deaths and car accidents with the occasional rant about the uselessness of local councils, and now the SNP cosying up to the Greens, so almost as depressing as the national and international news.

We have a friend who had his first jab in Australia and the second in Scotland when he finally got back - and is still trying to get a vaccination certificate. In Scotland we have no proof of vaccination and have to apply to NHS Scotland for one, whereas I understand England issued them as soon as the second jab was given. And I want a card/piece of paper. I may have a fancy mobile but I do not do apps.

We have a lovely couple staying in our ground floor flat at present, parents of a postgrad I met when she was walking Henry, the elderly collie belonging to a neighbour who can no longer take him out. I spoke to Henry first, naturally! Sherrill, her husband and small son had not seen her parents since January last year and she was worried about quarantining rules if they visited so I offered the flat. Boris and Biden changed the rules just before they set off so they only had to self-isolate on arrival until tests proved negative. They were a day late in arriving because of a plane delay which meant a transfer in Amsterdam instead of Frankfurt, when they were told that, although their papers were ok for the journey as far as Amsterdam, they were not correct for arrival in Edinburgh. Sherrill has been finishing off her thesis and has not yet made space in small son's playroom for her parents to sleep there so they are staying downstairs for a bit longer - to our delight. Jon is very handy and likes to keep busy, so we now have a working washing machine downstairs, the shelf unit in the bathroom now has four feet so no longer wobbles, and all the shoogly furniture is fixed. We also had an old garden bench which he dismantled, then directed me to a website selling bench refurbishment kits and I have spent the last three days painting the bench ends so that he can bolt on the new slats. Only the silent grandfather clock has defeated him! And I found toys which came originally came from my Grandmother's house - a Triang crane, porter's barrow, Corinthian bagatelle, and small chair, which Eoghan [Owen] has enjoyed playing with.

David and I are going on holiday on Friday - a Northen Belle day train trip to Dumfriesshire! It will be the first time David has been on any form of public transport since February last year. And a whole day for me when I don't have to cook! I have just had a Fred Olsen email with details of a 5 day cruise to Antwerp and Amsterdam which coincides with David's birthday in November when we could see Peter and Laura for the first time in two years. It is very tempting but we cannot decide if it is wise. It would be so frustrating if we could not get off the boat in either place because of re-introduced restrictions, particularly as my rum-running grandfather had business dealings with a firm in Antwerp and we might have seen where it was.

But Ian and Jill, beware! Grandson Tom with 2 x A* and 1 x A in the non-A level A-levels is about to start at Exeter University (Spanish and French) and we have promised to visit him once he has settled and it is safe for us to do so.

Nearly time for my snooze in front of the BBC News. Take care everyone! Love Jane

Janet 22 August 2021

It is so good to hear you and yours are getting your jabs, Sue, and that it is coming up to Spring where you are. It is so much better to be outside when getting together - even if you need some woollies/ gilets and some sort of overhead shelter, like a gazebo or awning - and that is only enjoyable if the weather is kind.

Amusing to hear of the snobbery re "trades". It was like that in Montreal - I horrified some of my acquaintances in Montreal by taking bottles back to the shop to get our deposit back as it seems the done thing over there is to give them to the local scout group for them to return for the deposit money. And in Germany I offended some neighbours by inviting some fellow renters to our house-warming, having been told I needed to invite the whole street, as it turned out that by "whole street" they meant just their fellow house-holders. Apparently, we were accepted because it was known we had a house in the UK, but otherwise they were sharply divided. It takes a while to get used to the "rules" wherever you live.

Jane, I am so glad your spontaneous act of kindness has been so well rewarded. Sounds like a nice new friendship has been established there, with surrogate grand-child for good measure. For what it's worth, I would encourage you to take a chance on a cruise in November. You will enjoy it anyway and it may be the only chance you have for a while yet to see your family in Amsterdam. Once we get further into the winter, especially at Christmas and beyond, we could well see lock-downs return.

With love. Janet.

Ian 24 August 2021

This latest flurry of exchanges, and particularly the warning shot across our bows from Jane, has finally spurred me into action.

I had been daunted by the prospect of providing my next summary for Peter and the blog as things have been so busy here and time has slipped by alarmingly. I notice to my shame that it is now more than a month since Priscilla visited Exeter on 22 July. She was house-sitting with a friend in Somerset and wanted to take the opportunity to visit to see the early herbal that Peter and I had sponsored in memory of Ray. As luck would have it, the volume could not be viewed but for the best of reasons; the total sum had finally been raised and it was away with the conservator. But there was a little display in the foyer of other books that had been conserved and the latest special collections email newsletter has an interesting account by the conservator describing the work she does. So, we had coffee in the library, and we took her around to absorb the gentleman's club atmosphere of the Devon and Exeter Institution Library in the Cathedral Close, and also the Cathedral Library (closed), and then let her loose on the sites and shops of Exeter. It was a very agreeable interlude for us all.

The following day was our first train trip for several years - necessary now we are without Modestine. It was to Salisbury for the funeral of a school and university friend (the first of our little group to leave us). A fitting send-off in the wonderful church at Wilton and the trains were almost empty, but a family got on next to us, unmasked, so I commented loudly that they must have exemption, how sad for young people who looked so healthy, and we moved to the other end of the carriage.

We have seen a lot of Neil and family in recent weeks. On my birthday in July Kate offered to take us for a riverside walk to a village pub deep in the Devon countryside. As we looked for the table that she had reserved for lunch outside we noticed a masked figure. It was Neil who had driven down from Beverley as a surprise. It was a wonderful lunch and we all returned home for a second surprise. Kate had been leading us up the garden path during the morning, giving Neil the chance to fix a blue plaque to our front wall, very much in the style of the Exeter Civic Society ones that I help to organise. A little awkward though, as recipients are supposed to have been dead for at least twenty years and I'm not quite there yet, so it has been moved to a less conspicuous position. Neil was back with the family for a week at the start of August, splitting their time between us and Kate but we saw a lot of them and were able to have vigorous walks on the moors and heaths, something we have been missing during lockdown without Modestine to take us to the remoter parts of Devon.

The men's walk I undertook for Hospiscare in March raised more than £600 and the literary theme has since been further developed into a series of six walks with a literary theme which tie in with Exeter being UNESCO city of literature. They are on the web and will feature in Heritage Open Days in September. A publication of some sort may result. One recent publication that has seen the light of day is The story of the book in Exeter and Devon which I had printed with the rather mad idea of donating any profits to support the public heritage libraries in Exeter (including local studies) which have been disgracefully neglected over the past decade. I have a long way to go before I break even, and the piles of boxes disappear. I have also been roped in by the Devon Heritage Centre to provide a Devon dialect display for a regional launch of some initiative or other by the National Sound Archive in September and there is no librarian in post in Devon who could undertake this. Jill's patience is wearing a little thin at the time I spend pulling other people's chestnuts out of the fire; it sometimes seems a full-time job.

It is interesting to hear your news, most of it shining as bright lights in an increasingly dark world. Personal contacts are tentatively resuming but it is not all over yet, and levels of infection in parts of Devon are above the national average. It is concerning too to see the recurrence of the virus in Australia and New Zealand, especially as levels of inoculation are so much lower than Bojo and your Nicola have managed to achieve. And the sudden manifestations of climate change with the fires, floods and heat waves, the earthquake in Haiti, the wretched exploited masses of humanity seeking a better world in Europe, and Afghanistan's return to a pre-medieval world. Jill is becoming quite depressed at the dismal nature of the news but feels guilty at closing her eyes to it.

We do seem strangely isolated from all this though, our garden much more verdant than usual at this time of year and every Sunday on the historic quayside in Exeter there is a free jazz concert with people of all ages dancing, right down to the little children who cannot keep still when they hear music. How can that joyous sound be the voice of satan, as the taliban and their ilk would have the world believe?

And we look forward to welcoming you both to Exeter, Jane, once Tom is installed. He does sound rather daunting as a linguist. I have increasing difficulty in scratching my German and French together, and even the Devon dialect that I am attempting to document at the moment is well nigh incomprehensible. Did you know by the way that its earliest manifestation is in King Lear? I didn't and it was one of my A-level set texts.

Keep cheerful, all of you, Ian and Jill

Sylvia, 25 August 2021

In case you've been wondering why, when I usually respond quite quickly to any exchange with SUPLISKANS, I'm (relatively) well, but have been battling an infection under a tooth for almost two weeks now. The first antibiotics didn't touch it and it proved difficult to get an appointment with my lovely dentist (yes, they do exist!). Having almost finished the second course of antibiotics, which did seem to be helping, I finally managed to see Rui, who is Portuguese, today when he began the first stage of root canal work. Apparently the infection is still there, so although he has killed the nerve, he can't yet give me anything other than a temporary filling and we will have to wait for about 4 weeks to make sure the infection has disappeared. I'd never had a root canal filling, or many fillings at all and wasn't looking forward to it, especially given the reactions of others when I told them of the plan, but other than the pain of and the recovery from the injections, I haven't really suffered.

My son, daughter-in-law and their 3 young boys, aged 10, 7 and 27 months` are due to arrive this evening from Hertfordshire and will be staying for 5 days. In anticipation of a rough day today, I rushed to complete all the preparations yesterday, including battening down hatches, hence a little time today to write this email.

Sue, I wanted to contact you much earlier, when we first heard of new Covid cases in NZ. I still think that because the situation is being handled so much better with you than here, you will come through much better, although it's a shame that vaccinations weren’t higher up the list of priorities. On the other hand, since we're now being told that immunity is unlikely to be so effective after 6 months than originally thought, that might be less significant than we thought.

Jane, you seem less grumpy than usual. Are you OK?

Ian, I'm sure you and Jill are missing Modestine a lot. Since she is in Kate's capable hands, could Jill not be put on the insurance so that you could have the odd day out together?Priscilla, I'm very pleased that you were able to meet up with the Maxteds. As we agreed when you visited me, it helps to be able to maintain those links with Ray's past.

Trish, I asked you some time ago how Howard was faring and have heard nothing. I do hope that isn't bad news.

I trust everyone else is managing OK. The Covid numbers are rising rather alarmingly in Herefordshire and I, along with my friends, am remaining cautious, which is more than can be said of most young people.

Hoping we can ride the next wave and with love to all, Sylvia

Pat 26 August 2021

Goodness Sylvia, what a saga with your infection taking a long time to be resolved.

You are right in your thinking about me not being in touch. Howard’s problem persists. He was in hospital for a week last week and as a final test they did an endoscopy on Tuesday. They went right down to his stomach where they found a serrated wire across the entrance! 15 cm long! In Dec 2015 he had a gastric bypass operation in Adelaide and since has had no invasive procedures. We are assuming this is an operating tool that has been left inside and shifted position. The gastric team are discussing what to do. It would explain a lot of his discomfort, retching and inability to take some foods. We hope to get an opinion about what can be done soon. It’s been a gruelling time for him, but at least we have some answers if not a solution.

I am just as cautious as the rest of you about Covid. Cases are on the increase, particularly in younger people (surprise surprise). I have been on a bus a few times. About 60% of passengers wear masks. I am meeting two friends today in this village for a pub lunch but we’ll be sitting in the garden.

I’ve enjoyed reading all your posts.

Best wishes and love to all - in a noisy atmosphere. Work started today on re-rendering the external walls. Drilling of a different kind, Sylvia!

Love, Trish

Margaret 26 August 2021

It seems that another wave of Supsliskan emails has started so, having missed the last one, I will see if I can find something interesting to contribute to this one. But I lead such a simple life these days - I don’t want to bore you!

Sylvia, what a rotten time you’ve had with your teeth. It reminds me of my experience some years ago, not so long after moving to live in Oxford. I had had a very good dentist in Nottingham for some years and decided to continue with him and not try to find one in Oxford. When bI told him, he reassured me by saying he would treat me as family, so if I had an emergency not to hesitate to call him. Well, not long after, I had bad toothache on holiday so called the surgery on the Monday morning. True to his word, he told me to drive up to Nottingham that afternoon and he would see me at 5.30pm. He then proceeded with root canal treatment which took about 2 hours - I don’t know who was the most tired - him or me! I then had a 2 hour drive back to Nottingham. I seem to remember it was quite intricate work but it did the job. I hope you get on alright, Sylvia, and the infection soon clears up.

Howard, fancy leaving tools for the job inside you. I trust you make good progress now without them.

Well, COVID is still around and I just hope the easing of restrictions doesn’t lead to another outbreak. We have an influx of people in Wolvercote at the weekends walking on Port Meadow and by the Thames (and in it!). My carer enjoys a walk on the Meadow and last week returned home with a large bag of blackberries. Now I’m enjoying apple and blackberry crumble.

My goddaughter, Amanda, who lives in Malta, has been over - first time for months - for a wedding in Somerset. We arranged for her to come and see me after the wedding but Steve had to return next day as they had left the girls on their own. Then she had an email from Track and Trace telling her to quarantine for a fortnight because someone on her flight had tested positive for COVID. So she self isolated with her sister in London and came here last Monday, taking the last flight to Malta that evening. Fortunately, Steve had booked different flights so was able to return to Malta next day.

I can hardly bear to watch the TV pictures from Afghanistan. It’s hard for us in England to imagine what it must be like to live in those conditions. Carl, who ran the local shop, recently left us to go back to his roots in Norfolk and we feared for the future of the shop. Then we heard that a family of refugees from Afghanistan were taking over. Already, they have improved the shop and they are so pleasant so good luck to them. They seem to have been made to feel very welcome in Wolvercote, which does have a real sense of community.

Well, I think that’s about it from the dreaming spires so bye for now and love to you all, Margaret

Angela 28 August 2021

It is really good to hear news from so many parts of the world.

I'm sorry Sue that you are locked down after such a good run. Hopefully it won't be for too long and that the vaccinations will now start to speed up. Seeing family after long periods apart is the best medicine I am sure for everyone, for Janet and their family in Switzerland, also Ian and Sylvia. I do hope the tooth problem is resolved very soon Sylvia, it sounded very unpleasant. Hopefully Jane's cruise to see her family will all work out too. What a discovery for Trish's Howard. Now you know the cause, let's hope he can get suitable treatment and that his health will improve.

There's not an enormous volume of news from the North Norfolk coast as life gradually opens up, but, like many others, it is still with plenty of caution.

We have also been seeing much more of the family up here and with the weather being good have had lots of beach trips and swimming plus rides on a zip wire in Blakeney. We and they all do flow tests before and after their visits and are as careful as possible. They are coming up again over this Bank Holiday, so hopefully the weather will be kind to us. On their last visit, we also had Heather's partner Nick's father staying and we met up with his sister and her family who were staying nearby. We had a lovely day on the Broads in a little motor boat. Freya and her cousin Lilly enjoyed having goes at steering, though we did get some alarmed look from passing boats at the sight of a 7 year old in charge!

We had a few days in the Yorkshire Dales at the beginning of July with friends from Welwyn. It was our first break away since Covid. We based ourselves in Richmond and really enjoyed exploring the town with its working original Georgian theatre also visiting the surrounding villages and impressive waterfalls. We came back via Tamworth for a family wedding which gave us a nice opportunity to catch up with Leo's side of the family. The couple were quite strict about everyone doing flow tests before the wedding, but it did feel a bit strange at first to be in a large group of people, even with spacing and ventilation!

We hadn't been to a wedding for ages, but we had another one, my godson Matt's wedding, in June. It was a very relaxed do in an old church in Norfolk with the reception in the garden at Matt's Mum's cottage. It was quite unconventioanl with speeches by both mothers and gift requests of contributions towards their own re-willding project! They do both work in conservation.

We have been meeting up a bit more with local friends, often in our gardens. Our garden, facing the North Sea, is often windy, so we decided that a summerhouse was the answer. It took a while to organise it as so many other people are now doing garden projects and there is also a shortage of materials, but last month it was finally completed and we are enjoying having tea and drinks in it out of the gales. A few friends seem to be having staycations in Norfolk recently, so it has been nice having them pop in to see us. Cley village is, however, now very often blocked with traffic and daft drivers and although it is good for local business it is sometimes difficult to get around. I suppose we can't have it all ways though and so far, the infection rate in this area is fortunately still quite low.

We have had a few trips down to Hertfordshire to check on the house, but I haven't wanted to risk going into London by train, so we just see one or two people there and do a bit of shopping in exciting places like John Lewis and M & S! After being away from big shops for so long though, I felt quite overwhelmed and came away from M & S with just a pair of socks!. We were pleased that our next door neighbour's mother and brother were able to use our house to shield in during the first lockdown and it was used again just recently when one of their family who was 7 months pregnant and unvaccinated needed to be isolated from another family member who had Covid. They left everything spotless and probably cleaner than when they arrived! Leo also goes to the Brent Reservoir from there as he is involved in more conservation work following on from what we started over 50 years ago! The threats to the wildlife of the reservoir from housing and pollution never cease!

We have face to face Book Group meetings now, usually in the garden, and the art group has also re-started. Our tutor has a large and airy barn, so we feel quite OK there when we can't go outside. We went to our first live concert since Covid in Blakeney Church last week which was quite an event. It was a recital of French love songs performed by the owner of Cley Mill, who is also a retired GP from St Albans, accompanied by the wife of the new vicar who used to teach at Cheethams School. We feel very lucky to have such unexpected talent right on the doorstep! Everyone was masked until they sat down and we were well spaced out with lots of ventilation and drinks were outside, so we felt quite safe. Our local Norfolk Wildlife Trust has been meeting to consider future arrangements for winter meetings and talks. It is interesting to see the knock on effect of Covid as, following a questionaire to members, we are now planning more walks and workshops and very few of the traditional evening talks and teas. Our garden has gone wild with the mixture of sunshine and heavy rain so that it feels more like tackling a jungle. I just do small bits at a time and am beginning to make some progress.

I do sympathise with Jill over hearing so much tragic news at the moment and sometimes feel I have to ration it. It is awful to see such dreadful suffering in Afghanistan and nearer home increasing infection rates and the poor NHS struggling. Despite all our national problems, however, we are lucky to have so many freedoms in comparison.

Hoping everyone keeps well and as cheerful as possible.

Love to all, Angela

Jane 28 August 2021

Just to let you know that the Watkinsons have survived yesterday's Excursion unscathed (so far . . .) and can recommend Northern Belle and Dumfries House. After a 3-hour champagne brunch, all 230 passengers were transferred from Auchinleck Station by buses (6) to the House where scheduled hour-long visits for small groups were arranged and the rest of time could be spent in the amazing gardens. There followed the bus journey back to the train and a 5-course dinner on the 3-hour return journey to Dundee. We could hardly move when we finally reached St Andrews, we were so full of fresh air, food and wine. If you do ever visit Dumfries House, wear sensible shoes. The paths are all gravel and the ladies who had come dressed for fine-dining on the train with stillettos and winkle-pickers were struggling by the end!

Our American lodgers have moved in with their daughter and family, leaving a gleaming ground floor flat here - far cleaner and tidier, not to mention with mended furniture, than when they arrived. Quite embarrassing!

The next excitement is the felling on Monday morning of the cherry tree in the garden which has grown so much this year that all the local phone wires are affected. I hope I do not regret the decision to have it removed rather than pollarded, but we have offered some of the main trunk to a wood turner we know so hope to have a bowl or two as a memento. 

I sympathise, Sylvia, with your tooth problems. On Friday I go to the dentist at last, having suffered three bouts of toothache in the last 18 months, cured temporarily each time by Ibuprofen in the morning and gin in the evening. I finally decided three bouts were enough even although I know the visit will end with the removal of at least another two teeth. Why do wobbly adult teeth not fall out like first teeth - and will the Tooth Fairy be generous? But this is nothing, Pat, to the problems your son has had. I do hope he can be helped at last.

Students are returning here, and there are Bank Holiday crowds with countless dogs on long leads. Rest assured my Grumpiness is due to return very soon. But time for a cup of tea first.

Love, Jane