Month: May 2020

The trump visited the Ford factory in Michigan today and although he had been asked to wear a face mask in line with current state law he was not seen wearing one in public. He said that he had worn one while in a back area but didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing him wearing one. He also has been saying for three years that Michigan named him ‘Man of the Year. This has been checked out and shown to be a complete lie.   Lock ‘im up! I say.  A retired butler, Wilson Jerman who served eleven presidents in the White House having started work there as a cleaner has died aged 91 after contracting coronavirus.

David Beckham’s been a naughty boy again. He lost his driving license for six months last year for using his phone while at the wheel.  Just recently, in the Cotswolds where he has been in lockdown with his family, he has been spotted not wearing a seat belt and twice parking on double yellow lines. It seems our sporty hero doesn’t like to walk the few yards from an approved parking spot when popping into his local shop. Or maybe he just thinks he’s special because he earned a lot of dosh kicking a ball around. Lock ‘im up! I say.

I’ve been on the beach today in Southbourne, went with my friend Margaret and we took a sandwich and had a little picnic. Not overly busy and heading east towards Hengistbury Head it became even emptier. Such a lovely, normal feeling day, a lady asked us to watch her bag while she paddled in the sea, kids were playing with buckets and spades and we sat at one of the tables on the beach munching our picnic and having a coffee.  This evening I popped off to Lidl and that was also norma inasmuch as I bought more than I needed, didn’t find a couple of things I wanted and I got into trouble with the self serve checkout again. Nothing new there.

An Irish military helicopter had been on a life saving mission taking a patient to a Dublin hospital. On their return journey a rear door fell of the plane and landed in the grounds of a secondary school. No one was hurt and the door was collected by the local Gardai and returned to the Air Corps. Somebody is going to be in trouble.

Now all you grandmothers out there who are spending lockdown posting photos of your grandchildren beware. Following EU Data Protection ruling a grandmother has been ordered by a court in the Netherland to remove photos of her grandkids. If she fails to do so she will be fined fifty euros per day up to one thousand euros. It didn’t say if that was per photo. It seems this poor old grannie has fallen out with the mother of the kids and just wanted to show off a little in front of her facebook friends. Some mean old mother out there. I’ll have to be careful, my granddaughter Elizabeth and I spent one outing taking selfies around Bournemouth and our favourites were the ‘toilet selfies’ snapped in a restaurant in the square. Time for bed sleepy head, nighty night.

 

 

 

Language changes in  strange ways, Sometimes it’s because of new inventions and therefore new words are needed, for example the whole of the computer and internet industry . Other times it’s to be politically correct and sometimes, it seems to me, for no good reason at all. I find myself slightly irritated by the statement that two people are ‘sharing a baby or child or children’. Instead of saying Jack & Jill have two children or are mum and dad to two children I read Jack and Jill share a baby or are parenting a child together. Then they will refer to the owner of a dog as the dog’s mum. Where did all this tosh come from?

Talking of tosh, the POTUS claims that having one and a half million cases of Covid-19 in the US and 92,000 deaths is something to be proud of as it shows they have good testing. He told reporters that he doesn’t look on the figure as a bad thing but as a good thing because they have more testing than anyone else (back to mine is bigger than yours). He also defended his decision to take the anti malarial drug in spite of health professionals stating that there was nothing to prove it would prevent or cure the virus. The trump said it was an enemy statement  There are many who hope he keeps taking it and in bigger doses.

The government’s plan to entice furloughed workers to help harvest fruit, veg and other crops got off to a bumpy start when the web site crashed soon after launch.  The web site ‘Pick For Britain” was set up in the hope of replacing European workers who normally arrive in the summer. It wasn’t clear if the crash was due to the amount of traffic or technical problems but sadly it appeared to be the latter. The reason we used so much labour from abroad was because local labour preferred to go on the dole.

The UK’s hottest day of the year and changes in lockdown guidelines brought people out in droves if we can believe the photos dotted around the internet. Trouble is the pics showing crowded beaches, traffic queues and full car parks could have been taken last summer or at any time. I didn’t make it to the beach today but the previous few days was not terribly busy and the large car park I can see from my flat was virtually empty as it has been for the last few weeks. A woman who was visiting Dorset with her family said that she was shocked that so many people were on the beach at Durdle Door. For some reason she thought she would be the only person in Britain with that good idea. Bournemouth council have opened two public toilets, one just east of the pier and one just after Boscombe pier but they close at 4pm. I’m meeting my friend Margaret tomorrow and we’re taking a sandwich so hopefully we’ll manage without needing a loo as the one at Southbourne is still closed. Meanwhile it seems that Ryanair has taken to the skies in spite of their lack of bookings. Some spiteful reporter suggested that maybe it’s cheaper than refunding cancelled bookings which they would have to do if there were no flights available. As if Michael O’Leary would think up a trick like that. It won’t keep us awake though, sleep well, Night night.

 

A man who is being forced to leave his London flat has posted a video on social media showing all the faults the property has and it has gone viral. It shows that the bins are under the living room window and smelly and unpleasant especially in the summer. There is a problem with ants and he says the kitchen appliances are rubbish. Shelves are hung at an angle and he says, jokingly I believe, that there are ghosts. He then photographs himself in his girlfriend’s underwear. What some people will do for a moment of  fame.

All families can have their problems no matter how rich or poor we only have to watch the Royals to know that. Now it seems the Barclay brothers offspring have had a falling out. It appears that three of Sir David Barclay’s sons are being sued by their uncle Sir Frederick Barclay for invasion of privacy. He claims that they planted a bugging device in the Ritz hotel to listen to private and business conversations. Somehow, and don’t ask as it’s a long and convoluted story, because of information obtained the Ritz was sold for half its value. The nephew was filmed inserting the bug in a socket in the hotel’s conservatory. Sounds like someone was spying on the spy. It’s very difficult being a billionaire.

Police in Cornwall were using a drone to try to catch an escaped offender when they were surprised to spot an unexpected and unusual image ploughed into a field. Someone had used a grass cutting machine and left an image of a large penis. Various comments were made following the report such as ‘it must have been a hardened criminal’. Oh dear, I read all the best daily newspapers don’t I?

Cambridge University has announced that no face to face lectures are planned for the next academic year. Instead all lectures will take place online. Other universities might follow suit and they will be allowed to charge full fees even if courses are taught online. Nothing mentioned about accommodation or the full campus experience which for many students helps them make their choices. Our young people are facing a pretty bleak time with rising unemployment, erratic education (strikes as well as virus) and lack of social interaction with their peer group.

And finally, the news I’m sure you all know, Captain Tom Moore has been awarded a knighthood. BoJo said the centenarian had provided the country with a beacon of light through the fog of the coronavirus. Well done Captain Tom and well deserved. We followed every moment of your walking and fundraising and couldn’t be more pleased with this latest tribute.  Sleep well Sir Tom and everyone else, of course. Night night. 😴💤😴

An international student has been charged with breaking and entering after a video showed he had broken into Australia’s oldest museum. He used nearby scaffolding to gain access at night when it was closed. He could be seen wandering around, taking selfies next to a dinosaur exhibit and he also stole a work of art and a cowboy hat belonging to a member of staff. I’m not sure he shouldn’t be applauded for showing such resourcefulness and museum security rapped on the knuckles for carelessness. Meanwhile West Midlands police carried out a drugs raid in a property in Birmingham (yes, Birmingham strikes again), officers entered at the front of the building but others who were watching suddenly saw a man emerge from a skylight in the loft and throw out a safe. It slid down the roof and landed on a flat roof below. It was found to contain £27,000, the man was arrested on suspicion of money laundering. Also in Birmingham a group of youths who didn’t show signs of social distancing were approached by a police officer, one of the group shouted ‘high knees, everyone, now jumping jacks, and again everyone’ and turning to the officer said ‘just exercising, sir’.  The lockdown is bringing out the best in many, even in Brummie land.

I see that Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia have filed an intent to go into administration. I liked both of those chain restaurants and I was also reminded that another one I was fond of, Carluccios UK has also gone into administration. How many more jobs are going to be lost?

Today I’ve been along the seafront again with my friend Winnie. I saw several people I knew which was nice and felt almost normal and everyone as I’ve said before was keeping their distance. Winnie hadn’t been out of Ringwood since lockdown started and she really enjoyed the sea air and ‘having the cobwebs blown away’.  I’ve spoken to my cousin Angela over the weekend which is always a pleasure as I grew up with her in my life when we all lived in Essex. She called back today and said she had been reading my blog for which she has been awarded a virtual gold star, it seems she read from day 1 to the present in a single sitting. A friend of hers happened to ask if the toilets were open at Bournemouth beach as they wanted to come and spend the day here. She was able to know the answer and told them to read page so and so on nannyjune.com website. How’s that for fame? I can confirm they’re still all closed, I managed nearly three hours today before rushing home.

In case anyone is having withdrawal symptoms from news on the POTUS here’s an update. He started taking the anti malarial drug hydroxychloroquine one and a half weeks ago. He stated that it was preventing him from contracting covid-19 although scientists say there is no evidence that it helps prevent or cure the virus. When asked what evidence he had to say it worked, he replied ‘I get a lot of positive calls about it’.  I wonder who calls him? He might just as well drink tonic water which also has quinine.  Good night everyone, Sleep well 😴💤😴

 

Sotheby’s have sold a pair of sneakers for $560,000. They had been worn by NBA champion Michael Jordan in 1985 for his first season with the Chicago Bulls. Nothing was mentioned about who was selling them nor who was buying. I have to wonder how a second hand pair of shoes can be worth that sort of money.

We are being told that temperatures will be rising this week. I thought the forecasters had said that it would be hot this weekend, well it didn’t happen, wasn’t bad but not hot. My plants are coming along nicely and I wish I could say the same for me. Like most people I’m getting exceedingly bored and am fed up with sitting around reading, watching tv, etc. etc. I did some watercolour painting yesterday and today, just practice stuff and it helped the time go by. I’ve no idea how people become couch potatoes, I need to get out there, see what’s happening and mix with people. I once worked at an estate agents, maybe I could go back and show people around houses.

The Sunday Times has released its list of the richest people in the UK. The net worth of of our wealthiest has dropped by more than fifty four billion. I find it hard to think in billions, don’t know about you. Making it to number one for the first time is British inventor Sir James Dyson, for some reason I find this pleasing. Several of the names on the list are using the emergency furlough scheme meaning the government is paying 80% of their employees salaries. This I find troubling but I didn’t see any names, I might have struck pins in an effigy if I knew who they were. There are actors and singers and the richest woman is the Swedish heiress of the Tetra Pak company. Why am I so irritated by Posh coming in at number 62? I keep reading that she has incurred massive debts, her husband has had to bail her out, she applied for the furlough scheme and yet she is still a millionaire and so unpleasant.

For the animal lovers out there. A man in Japan found an abandoned puppy on the side of a road, felt sorry for it and took it home to care for it. He named it Luna and thought he’d better try to find out if it belonged to someone so posted a photo of the animal on Twitter. He asked if anyone knew who it might belong to with several people replying that they thought it was a baby fox and not a puppy dog. He told the twitterers that he would visit a vet the following day and give them an update. In the morning he posted another message saying that he had slept well after eating rice and that this morning he had a good appetite with defecation and urination (perhaps this is normal information in Japan but don’t worry I’m not following suit). He later found that indeed it was a fox, he kept Luna for a while longer but it is illegal there to keep foxes as pets so he took it to Kita Kitsune Farm where if you wish you can visit if you can find a plane to take you there of course. In the meantime, get some sleep and look forward to more lockdown sunshine. Good night.

Before we get into all the exciting stuff that’s been happening around the world, let me give you the promised update on the demonstrations that were due to take place in Bournemouth today. Short and sweet, they didn’t happen. I went for a walk with my daughter through the gardens and along the east cliff seafront this afternoon and there were a few walkers, some sun bathers on the sand and quite a few cyclists, all maintaining social distancing, no crowds and no demonstrators. Daughter Sam had already been out for an exercise jog in the morning and didn’t see anything then either.

The news showed that there there was an anti-lockdown protest in London’s Hyde Park . Hundreds of protestors took part and nineteen were arrested including Jeremy Corbyn’s brother Piers who had been one of the speakers. In the current situation it’s difficult to know where one’s freedom of speech starts and ends. Meanwhile the other Piers (Morgan that is) is facing pressure over his GMB job. A petition has been doing the rounds to have him sacked with over 50,000 signatures so far. Ofcom has received thousands of complaints over his abrasive interviewing technique during the pandemic. The petition called his behaviour heinous and took issue with his attitude to transgenders. Ofcom didn’t agree and said he had done nothing wrong and was well known for his combative style. I’ve never seen GMB, I wonder if I should?

The POTUS has been having a ‘mine is bigger than yours’ brag. During a Friday presentation at the White House Trump informed those present that Russia claimed to have a missile five times bigger than anyone else, China said they were working on one five or six times bigger. Well, said the world leader?? we now have one which is seventeen times bigger, referring to it as a super duper missile.  The chief political analyst at ABC news said it sounded like an 80s porn star. Trump has also vowed to remedy the ‘command and control’ of social media by the radical left. This would include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google who according to the POTUS were involved in an illegal situation although he declined to say what that was.

A woman has taken advantage of her time at home to organise her home. Every single thing was folded, rolled and sorted, items were placed in boxes, baskets and plastic cases. The receptacles were all beige or opaque see-through white. I nearly had a nervous break down looking at the pictures.  I cannot imagine having to put something back exactly where I found it. All those tidy shelves and cupboards would take away a large part of life’s fun. Never again to come across some long lost pair of scissors, or a wedding hat, a book or a gift you had forgotten you had. I bet she loves lockdown, everyone in their own cubby hole, neatly put away. I remember losing a crocheted waistcoat thinking i had left it somewhere while on holiday. I found it a couple of years later in the pocket of a suitcase, didn’t fit any more but oh the joy of being reunited. The thought of all that tidiness might keep me awake but I hope you all sleep well. Night night.

Tomorrow in Bournemouth and I believe up and down the country there are to be demonstrations taking place in opposition of the lockdown. Residents are being encouraged to gather in public places, take picnics, play music and generally enjoy freedom. As always it probably won’t be mainly residents participating but individuals who just like to rebel and have travelled in from other areas. I’ll have a stroll out and see if I can report back on anything.

Everybody who is anybody is on youtube cutting and dyeing their hair. A friend of mine showed a pile of cut hair on FaceBook the other day but no picture of the result.  I caught a glimpse of it on zoom a couple of days later and it was looking pretty good. Scarlett Moffatt (no idea who she is) hit the headlines having cut her hair with kitchen scissors, didn’t look bad either. As you might remember, I trimmed my fringe with a small pair of curved nail scissors and I fully intend to have a go at the colour this weekend. I’ve been colouring mine on and off since I was thirteen so no big deal and the good thing about hair, it always grows out. Unless you’re bald of course. Hairdressers have often been overrated, I know they make us feel better but in times like this we have always managed.

The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names is going to be available online, free of charge until 21st May to help people in lockdown search for the origins of their family name.  It’s being heralded as something exciting but I’m afraid I don’t get it. I looked up Blandford and found it’s been around for donkeys years and always in the south of England. Shows other spellings and not much else. I was much more excited when helping my mum sort through some papers a few years ago. We came across an old birth certificate of a Henry James Blandford, I think he was my grandfather and I had a grandson with the same name and we hadn’t even realised. My mum was going to throw it away but instead it went off to the current incumbent of that name.

Last night I watched Red Joan on Netflix. I had missed it when it was at the local cinema. Not as good as I had expected, rather superficial and romanticised but did keep me mildly entertained for a couple of hours. One phrase caught my attention, ‘after this is over, the next generation will have to reconstruct the world’. I think that our next generations will be responsible for that task, between global warming, plastic pollution and pandemics they won’t have much choice. I hope they are capable, somehow I think they will be.

I’ve been thinking about things and I’ve decided that it’s more than a little surprising that I’ve managed to write this blog for 53 days and I have also done it on time for all those days. I am well know for being able to put things off until tomorrow, definitely a mañana person and another thing that I’m not particularly proud of, I am quite often late. Not late, late but not the first person to arrive. I arrived at a committee meeting two minutes early once and everyone applauded, I thought it was very rude of them. What keeps me going here is that you guys keep on reading. And for that I salute you. Good night comrades.

 

Two pandas which in 2014 were loaned  to Canada from China will have to be returned The animals will only eat fresh bamboo and there is a shortage in Canada so it will be impossible for them to stay. A gardener Sandy and I used on our garden in Wimborne planted bamboo, it didn’t seem difficult to grow. In fact it spread everywhere, popping up even in the neighbours lawn. Shame I moved, I could have made a bit of money on that plant.

There was an altercation in a Yorkshire wood between two retired ladies and a 17 year old cyclist. It was filmed on his head camera and later shared on social media as is the way with young people. The ladies, a retired teacher and a former parish councillor,  built a barrier using rocks and branches to stop cyclists using the woodland area. The teenager was polite throughout the altercation and the ladies were not, maybe they hadn’t realised they were being filmed. They asked the cyclist if he had permission to be on the land which would have been unnecessary anyway. They also said he shouldn’t be there because of Covid restrictions. He was one mile from home and exercising alone. The ladies should not have been there together as they did not live in the same household. Later in the day they were visited by police and told that if they had caused an accident they would be facing criminal charges. Isolation is certainly getting to some people.

An East London brewer has taken to driving around Hackney selling draft beer from kegs he has loaded into his van. He describes himself as a ‘tactical beer response unit’ and pulls pints on people’s doorsteps. Peter Blandford, didn’t you live in Hackney or was it Stepney? never mind, the next question is whether. when your home brewing is ready, are you going to be flogging it around Sevenoaks from the back of the Tesla?

While on the subject of alcohol, a murderer who was about to be assessed for release after twelve years in prison held an alcohol-fuelled party in his cell to celebrate. The Parole Board adjourned their decision as they felt the prisoner was not yet ready. They have recommended him to open prison to undertake additional training. The widow of the murdered man has said that he committed the crime while under the influence of alcohol and is obviously still under the same influence and is disgusted with the decision that has been made. I must say that I agree with her. Lock ‘im up m’lord.

Drones will be used to transfer medical supplies from Hampshire to the Isle of Wight. This is happening sooner than expected due to the reduced ferry service. The drone is not like your normal garden variety that people use to video their neighbours and things that they can’t see with a pair of binoculars (wink, wink), It is the size of a small plane and can travel at 100 mph taking only ten minutes to reach the island. Someone had better inform the US navy who report having seen UFOs again recently, we don’t want them getting confused.  Time for bed sleepy head. Night Night.

 

 

 

Robert de Niro obviously doesn’t have any kind feelings towards the current POTUS. In fact it would be fair to say that the actor has nothing but criticism for Trump. Today he has said that Donald Trump is a lunatic who doesn’t care how many people die from coronavirus. What did he expect of an obvious narcissist? De Niro who originated in New York has nothing but praise for their mayor Andrew Cuomo and has said he wouldn’t mind playing him in a movie about the pandemic. So, let’s not worry about the devastation in his city as long as there’s a movie role in it for him. Meanwhile New York City has had the longest period without pedestrian fatalities since records began, 58 days. It’s a bit like saying there are no road accidents on a desert island.

Over here, Morrison’s are going to introduce a speedy queue for customers who only wish to buy a few items and don’t need a trolley. I can see whole families going with a basket each, pretending they don’t know each other but secretly keeping in touch once in the store by phone. ‘Don’t worry about the beer Sharon, I’ve got it covered’. ‘Alright love, I’ve picked up the meat for the barbie and little Butch is getting the crisps and marshmallows’. Wish we had a Morrison’s here, I’d be going around filming them. There’s been a survey on whether nannies and cleaners should be allowed to go into private houses to do their work. The result shows that 76% of the population think they should not. I can’t help wondering what percentage of those surveyed have actually used the services of nanny or cleaner. I cynically think it’s about 24%.

We have been advised that sunshine and fresh air is good for us and that whilst taking our exercise in open spaces we are unlikely to catch the virus. As we are also allowed to meet up with one other person not from our household we can play golf, tennis or any other non contact sport. My friend Margaret and I are wondering whether to take our tablet or phone to the beach and do some zumba or aerobics instead of just walking. Today we were walking along the Southbourne promenade and noticed a welcome change. The tables and benches from the Bistro on the Beach, which is still closed, have been moved from in front of the restaurant on the prom onto the beach. They are all nicely separated and obviously for general public use. Margaret said that as she’s meeting her daughter tomorrow for the first time since lockdown, they will get fish and chips from the shop on the cliff top and take it down to the tables to eat. A great picnic area for the locals, we could do our aerobics workout on the beach there and entertain people while they’re eating. I’m sure they would love it. Don’t let the thought of this keep you awake, good night one and all and sleep tight.

 

Today has been international nurses day and is celebrated on the 12th May every year in memory of Florence Nightingale who was born on that day. I’ve always thought that was a wonderful name to be born into and would have encouraged the owner to strive for greatness. Florence was the first nurse to set standards for those who followed her. She trained in London and went on to lead a team of nurses caring for the injured  in the Crimean War. She found she needed to start with improving basic care in hygiene and nutrition and thereby improved greatly patients chances of survival. Today the world celebrates the contribution nurses make to society. I would personally like to thank my granddaughter Louise Perryman who is a fully qualified nurse in paediatric oncology at Southampton General Hospital and all nurses everywhere.

There’s a lot this week about schools opening up at the beginning of June. It seems that the youngest children might be the first to return and I’m not surprised that teachers are wondering how they will maintain social distancing. The little ones love to hug their friends and teachers and how sad to have to teach them not to. Sanitising will need to be practiced too, I sympathise with the teacher who asked how they can be expected to clean all the lego pieces and the crayons and pencils etc. after each use. Now there’s a conundrum for BoJo and his team.

Couple of items in the news today about hackers and solicitors. One incident was where the hacker managed to steal a solicitor’s email address (just changed the – for a .) and requested money from a client for a payment regarding a house that was being purchased. As it looked legit and the client was expecting an invoice they transferred the money and it was lost forever. In the US hackers managed to get into a media and entertainment law firm’s system and stole several files containing personal data and contracts of celebrities including Elton John and Bruce Springsteen. There’s going to be a few embarrassed faces around New York’s legal district right now.

Ryanair have announced that they will reinstate 40% of their flights as of 1st July. However to maintain social distancing and avoid crowds around the loo area passengers will have to ask a member of staff for permission to go. It will be like being back at school when you had to put your hand up “please miss/sir can I be excused to go to the toilet please?”. Mostly, of course, when we were at school we didn’t want to go to the loo at all, just wanted to get out and and smoke a fag or chat up the workmen or something. I’ve heard that some airlines will be handing out face masks and sanitiser, I think they might have to hand out some Tena as well, especially if it’s a Saga holiday flight. Oh dear, air travel gets less and less appealing.

Still, not today’s problem, we’ve survived 50 so far and tomorrow is another day. Sleep peacefully and I’ll be back.