Month: July 2020

Did anyone watch Escape to the Chateau on channel 4. Lovely quirky couple, Angel and Dick Strawbridge, renovating an old chateau surrounded by a moat and then welcoming wedding parties to tie the knot and celebrate their big day there. Angel is the creative one coming up with ideas and hubby Dick an electrical engineer and ex Sandhurst army lieutenant makes the changes. A new series has started called Escape to the Chateau Make Do and Mend. I haven’t seen it yet but they’re helping other people fix things so not sure how interested I am. Did enjoy their original series though.

The weather didn’t seem as hot as promised in Bournemouth today but thanks to the forecast the beaches soon became crowded. The police were out and about and arrested a woman and a man both 16 years old and from Southampton. The black woman could be seen being escorted into a police vehicle and calling the officers racist. They seem to have been involved in a fight which took place between two rival gangs. With the miles of beaches we have here you’d think they wouldn’t have to all be crowded into the space next to the pier. The locals will be glad to see the end of summer if this carries on.

A 65 year old engineer who has worked for Dyson vacuum company for twenty years was included in their restructuring when 600 UK members of staff were made redundant. Ed  D’Cruze had started working for the company when James Dyson first set it up. Just before lockdown he was in talks about his retirement but stayed on and worked through the pandemic. Now Dyson’s say they do not need to pay him redundancy money as he was retiring anyway. They presented him with two pencils with the company name on, one for 15 years service and one for twenty. James Dyson topped the Sunday Times rich list this year. Let’s not buy any Dyson products although I don’t suppose that would hurt him as he is a billionaire. Reminds me of when my boss sold the software company for a few million and never gave a penny to any member of staff. But he always was a tight arse.

I haven’t been in TK Maxx since before lockdown. A shopper has posted on the internet that she managed to buy a £4 bag in their mega sale and showed pictures of the bag and price ticket. It showed that the RRP was £125 but it was soon pointed out that it also showed that the bag was from River Island and they were unlikely to sell such a high priced item. I’ve always wondered about TK Maxx’s price tickets and their RRPs. Once upon a time their prices seemed quite good but although some things are reasonable many others seemed completely over the top. The best thing about the shop is that they do have some one off pieces especially in their Home Sense depot. I think I might pop in tomorrow when I’m in town. Good night everyone.  😴💤😴

It’s a good thing that there are still a majority of sensible people in the US. The Trump has been trying to convince everyone that postal votes would be open to fraud. His latests twitter suggests that they should delay the November election until presumably after the pandemic and who knows when that will be. His own party however are not backing him on either count. One senator said ‘He can suggest whatever he wants, the law is what it is’. Congress is the only authority that can push back the date of the election and they have voted against delaying the election. Trump’s republicans have shown their support for voting by mail. The POTUS has said this week that it seems that people don’t like him and he can’t understand why. There’s a good few people around who can bring him up to date on that little problem.

Well who would have guessed that London, Devon and Ipswich are considered among the best places in the world to visit. This is according to TripAdvisor’s Travellers Choice Awards 2020. Ipswich came in 14th as an emerging destination that I don’t think I’ve ever visited. I’ll have to ask our family over there in Suffolk and see what they have to say. I do know that they certainly like Suffolk. A Torquay B&B has been voted best in the world. The 25 Boutique B&B came out on top with their location giving sea views and the hosts giving full attention to detail. Guests staying there enjoyed a completely relaxing experience that can’t be beaten. I went to a B&B in Torquay when I was very young and I don’t remember that being a good experience. One of those places where you had to go out after breakfast no matter what the weather and you couldn’t plug in your hairdryer because it used their electricity. These were often referred to as ‘the good old days’.

Went into town with my two daughters today. We had a bit of lunch in the newly opened Turkish Cremma restaurant, café or pastelería. Anyway Sam knows the manager quite well as she’s best friends with his wife. We sampled the delicious little pastries and then shared the breakfast platter although we were lunching. It included various cheeses, fresh fruit, salad, jams and honey and fried eggs. We were very spoilt by the friend’s husband whose name I believe is Ape. We sat outside in the sunshine but I can say the the interior looked lovely. They sell little boxes of nuts and authentic Turkish Delight and you can buy a selection of pastries to take home.

I’m just going to say that I didn’t realise that today was my friend Gail’s birthday. So sorry my lovely, hope you had a happy day and we must catch up very soon. Maybe we can go to Cremma together?  Nighty night everyone. Sleep well.  😴💤😴

I had a couple of friends round for a spot of lunch today which made for a very lovely afternoon. So nice to spend proper time with Judith and Richard (not a couple) and catch up on all the gossip. I think we all ate too much even though it was supposed to be a light lunch. I almost felt that life was back to normal.

Joe Mills is an amateur gardener who has been growing his own vegetables on an allotment in Christchurch here in Dorset. He had taken to talking about his progress on youtube and had ten thousand followers. They watched and learnt as he grew lettuce, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, etc.  Joe has suffered from mental health problems and encouraged viewers with similar problems to try growing stuff to help themselves. A few days ago he arrived at the allotment at 6 am to find that he had been targeted and all his hard work had been lost. Vandals had thrown varnish and paint deliberately over all of his plants. Nobody saw anything and nobody knows why anyone would do such a senseless thing.

The police in Germany are digging up some land in the search for missing Maddie McCann It’s been reported that a cellar has been discovered and also that the suspect Christian B. lived for a time nearby, Nothing has been confirmed by the authorities there and they have left the the area. It would I believe be a relief to the McCann family and indeed to many people who have been following this case if something were discovered. I have always admired the parents for continuing to push for an answer and for not letting the world forget that their daughter is still missing and unaccounted for.

In Hertfordshire a little boy asked his dad if he could grow a sunflower as big as their house (a two story dwelling). In typical dad fashion he replied ‘yes, of course son’. He bought a seed, or maybe a packet of seeds and his sunflower is now twenty feet tall which is quite a bit taller than the boy’s house. It has to be supported by a step ladder but well done that dad.

Now I know that most of us aren’t going on holiday this year choosing to stay at home in spite of the on off weather which typifies the British summer. Some however have decided to drive to the continent supposedly to avoid airports and crowded flights. One British family have done just that travelling via the Eurotunnel to France. They stayed overnight in Calais to rest up before their journey. The following day they stopped for fuel in Normandy and thought they heard a noise from the luggage box on the roof rack. They couldn’t believe their eyes when two illegal immigrants emerged. Police believe they targeted the car because of the British number plates not realising that the family were just arriving in France and not on their way back to England. Surprises all round methinks. Good night campers. 😴💤😴

 

I know we’ve had the day of the mask but sadly they’re not going away any time soon although some people would like to make it happen. In a Yorkshire seaside town a takeaway restaurant put up a notice banning face masks on their premises (I think this must be a one off). The notice said that face coverings  were for ‘hooligans, vigilantes, superheroes, criminals and asbestos workers’.  They could have added Covid ward personnel but perhaps that’s included in superheroes. It then politely asked customers to remove masks when entering. A photo was taken and posted on social media and soon after the notice was removed with the bosses saying it was inappropriate. In the meantime M&S have launches their 5 pack of face masks in a variety of colours and patterns. They look quite cute in the photo and are washable. One pack could be used one a day for 5 days and then start again having put them in the laundry.

There’s always someone who doesn’t want to follow rules or even guidelines. Two British men who went to Guernsey to work in a hotel broke the island’s two week isolation rule and went to the pub for a drink, or maybe two. They were caught and hauled before the judge who sentenced them £6,000 and £3,000 or spend 300 or 150 days in jail(one of them broke the rule twice) and they also lost their offer of employment. Having said they were broke one of the men at least is serving a prison sentence. Not quite the working holiday they visualised.

BoJo has come up with yet another bright idea. This time the headline read ‘Bikes available for obese patients on prescription’. The idea is that GPs  will be able to assign bike hire subscriptions to those people who need to do more exercise or lose weight. What a load of tosh. I can remember when GPs could get the overweights a subscription at the local gym. Many people seemed to think that all they had to do was sign up but not bother going. Hundreds of wasted memberships. Can you just imagine all the overweight people getting on their bike on a day like yesterday when it persisted down all day? Or all through the winter?  Utter tosh and BoJo might ride a bike but he’s not exactly healthy looking is he?

Kings Cross in London looks set to be a new tech hub in the capital. Google has confirmed that it will continue with its plans to build a vast new office housing four thousand workers. There will be another three thousand people in the existing premises together with a third building they plan to move into. All will be in close proximity creating a huge Google campus. Currently most of the workers are working from home but they will hopefully be able to move into their new premises when the pandemic allows. Facebook also has plans to move into the Kings Cross area. All good news for university graduates.   Time for bed sleepy head. 😴💤😴

When I realised we were really going to go into lockdown I thought that at least I could do some of the jobs that I keep putting off. Like for so many people,  it never happened. However, I’m proud to say that I have now done two that I really didn’t have the heart to tackle. Number one was my guest en suite which always had a quick wipe around and didn’t look too bad but…. It’s now been scrubbed, bleached and polished and I think it’s looking quite good. Number two was my oven. I had thought of replacing it but this seemed a bit extreme. Today I sprayed it, hot steamed it, scrubbed it and wiped it. Does not look like a new oven but it certainly does look better. You can blame the weather for this, the persistent rain kept me home, couldn’t bear watching it so I cleaned my cooker instead. Am I the only person who hates English summers?

Have you ever had a bike stolen? Well I have and it was stolen from the underground car park where I live and I had locked it to a post. Anyway passersby in Dublin were more than a little amused to see a hand written notice where a bike had been. It said ‘if you are looking for the grey bike – I stole it back – it was mine,  photos + serial no to prove. So long sucker! ha ha – loser.’ I love that but I would have had to hang around to see who came to collect it. Mine was stolen a couple of years ago but I still look when I think I see a similar one.

A man in Colorado, Kenneth Feltz, realised he was Gay when he was twelve years old but because he was scared of not being accepted by family and friends he never told anyone. When he was in his late twenties he fell in love with another man and they had a relationship for a year but he decided he needed to live a straight life and moved on. He married, had a daughter and divorced. His daughter is gay and has a wife and two children but Kenneth never told her about himself. Not until this year when he is ninety years old. The pandemic made him start writing about his life and he realised he would have to come out which he has done. He is at last happy that he can be honest and it seems that he has received a positive response from everyone. Maybe I should write my life story.

In the US there’s a chain of fish restaurants called Red Lobster, I’ve eaten in them many times with Sandy. When a member of staff found an unusual looking lobster in their delivery she realised at once that it was a rare blue lobster and the local aquarium confirmed that it was. The creature is now living comfortably in a zoo in Akron, Ohio and being well looked after by the keepers there. Just goes to show that Red Lobster has very fresh lobsters. Good night    😴💤😴

Having shut eighteen stores Debenhams has now put themselves up for sale. They called in administrators in April and have been working alongside them in the hopes of saving the remaining one hundred and twenty four stores. Covid, of course hasn’t helped and neither has the fact that more people have been buying on line during the crisis. Would be a shame if another department store closed in the centre of Bournemouth.

Officers arrested and handcuffed a 12 year old boy who was playing with a toy hand gun. A neighbour had seen him and called the police to report that they had seen a male with a gun. Another report said that the neighbour had seen a black boy with a gun. I guess we’ll never know. Having handcuffed the boy the officers led him away to a police vehicle while they searched the house. Miles away in Southampton a lecturer was sacked from his post following a conversation he had with a colleague. He happened to say that he thought that Jewish people were the cleverest in the world and maligned because of it. He then went on to say that he often helped young black students because so often they came from underprivileged backgrounds. She called his remarks racist, made a complaint and he lost his job. I sometimes think the world is going mad.

The national lottery has spent 115 million pounds on marketing that could have been spent on good causes which is what the lottery is supposed to be about. The lottery organisers agued that having spent more on marketing  it’s revenues had increased and therefore more has gone to good causes. The fact that they doubled the cost per line might have had something to do with the increase too. And I know that the money doesn’t always go to particularly ‘good’ causes.

A couple of weeks ago a fire broke out in Nantes Cathedral. A Rwandan man who was a volunteer there was arrested but soon released. He has now been rearrested as further evidence has pointed to him and he confessed to the local gendarme what he had done. Makes you wonder why the man would volunteer to look after the place and then set fire to it. Doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it?

I wonder if it’s too much to ask that we don’t see any pictures or read any mention of the royal family for at least two weeks. I’m beginning to realise how completely useless they are and yet miles of so called news items are written about them. I don’t care if they get married, if they run away, if they get divorced, have a birthday or anything else. I do care if they cause another person harm and for that they should face the courts like anyone else. It’s time they gave some of their many properties to the state and most of their money.  They’ve got way more than they need. Good night one and all.  😴💤😴

More bad news for travellers just as we thought we were moving forward, The UK has imposed two week quarantine for all arrivals from mainland Spain. So having encouraged people to book a holiday including families, anyone who is already there or are about to travel will have to isolate on their return. My daughter and her family are included in this and they wouldn’t be doing much when they get there, just hanging around family property. It could be lifted but probably not in time for them.

A midwife was helping a woman give birth in a hospital in the US when the husband suddenly disclosed that he had been having an affair. As if that wasn’t bad enough for the poor woman he then declared that the ‘other woman’ was actually giving birth at the same time in the same hospital. The woman was screaming at her husband and the midwife started to capture the exchange on video. Not much could be understood but it was later posted on social media. I wonder if this could possibly be true? No names, no photos just the midwife and plenty of screaming. Sounds like someone getting bored in lockdown and making a home movie.

Some countries have been using a disinfectant that is claimed to be one hundred times more effective than bleach. They are spraying it in shops, schools, hospitals, restaurants, everywhere in fact to stop the spread of coronavirus. The product is hypochlorous acid known as HOCI and it is believed that it is effective in the fight against Covid-19. Furthermore it only costs pennies and is easy to produce. The UK has just agreed to trials taking place here and could be used when theatres open on 1st August.  Theatregoers would need to walk through a sort of tunnel where they would be sprayed with the HOCI, a practice known as fogging (sounds better than fumigating, I suppose). Tunnels such as this have already been used in airports in the east and are made in Dubai. Didn’t know they made anything in Dubai except money. Still they apparently have them installed at bus stops, airports, train stations and cinema foyers. Bring them on, lets zap the virus for once and for all.

Looking for a pad in London? You can make an offer on a studio in Notting Hill that is advertised at £200,000. You would have to sleep, eat, shower and crap in the small space of 79 square feet. Thats less than 8 by 10 foot. It does say that it need modernising. Mind you, there was a beach hut that sold on the Mudeford spit down here last week for £350,000 so I suppose it’s not bad. Reminds me of the last year I worked at the estate agents and house prices had soared through the rafters. The lowest price property on our books in Wimborne, apart from a studio in Bournemouth, was a converted pig sty that still had a corrugated steel roof. And we sold it, a proud moment. Good night everyone. 😴💤😴

My very favourite news item today – the day it became necessary to carry a face mask with us in case we decide to pop into a shop, along with the fold up nylon shopping bag of course. Anyway, back to my favourite news item. In Oxford Street, London a man was spotted striding along wearing nothing but a face mask and it wasn’t on his face. It was prudently hiding his private parts and I had to wonder if face masks come in different sizes. The man was photographed from a first floor office above the street. He looked serious and determined and I have to tell you girls that he was really very cute. (everyone rushes to google) The Evening Standard article went on to inform us how shoppers were reacting, who cares? just give us the pics.

With most of the news today about face masks, in Wakefield, West Yorkshire a reporter was interviewing a shopkeeper about how she was tackling the new requirement. The owner of the shop said she was going to be very strict and not let anyone into her shop if they didn’t have face covering. She welcomed her customers in, all masked up and invited them to use hand sanitiser, funny thing was this owner was not wearing a face mask herself. Fine her a hundred quid.

Up on Wandsworth Common police were called after a man was spotted floating in the pond. PCs Amy Bale and Red Haddouch called to the man but there was no reply. They noticed that the man was beginning to go under and without more ado waded into the pond to rescue him. They dragged him out and onto dry land and put him in the recovery position and saw he was still alive. While waiting for the emergency services, PC Amy chatted to the man building up a good rapport and then went with him in the ambulance. She was in her wet uniform for three hours then went back to the station to shower and change and back on patrol. Nice one Amy, I’ll nominate you for a promotion, so much better than a medal.

BoJo has said that his government got some things wrong when dealing with the covid crisis. To be fair no government could have foreseen what to do exactly but advice could definitely have been clearer. The whole of the government guidelines have been so difficult to interpret that not even his chief adviser could work it out. On the other side of the Atlantic and biting at the bit to get out on the campaign trail, the POTUS opened his mouth and put his foot right in it. He boasted that he has been mentioned in 79 rap songs and that before becoming president he had a great life. He then went on to to say that everything was going well till the China illness proved to be a downer and a dampener on his poll numbers. Never mind the 140,000 Americans who have died from the pandemic, but of course he wasn’t responsible, was he? 😴💤😴

Elton John is being sued by his ex wife for breaking the terms of their divorce agreement. I only recently knew that he had been married to a woman all those years ago, still they have been divorced thirty two years. She is after three million pounds because, she says, statements in his memoir ‘Me’ and in the film Rocketman are untrue, she also did not give permission to be portrayed in the movie. I can only wonder if she needs some money or if she thinks that suing him for a hurtable amount will stop him in the future. I’ve never been an Elton fan and although no one agrees with me I find his music boring. Just saying.

The Trump has once again had to cancel the Republican party convention which was planned for next month in Jacksonville Florida. It had already been relocated from Charlotte North Caroline but the sheriff of Jacksonville has said that the city is not ready for a party jamboree. The US is recording 2,600 cases hourly and have now passed four million. Of course, the POTUS will say that it’s because of more testing and is not his responsibility. He has moved forward slightly though as he now recommends that everyone wears a mask.

In a rural village in SW Wales. a postmistress, mother of two carried out her duties in the post office and also in her small store. Some local customers however knew her as Deirdre the Dealer as she also supplied locals in the know with cocaine. Now as we all know many people buying and using coke are quite often financially embarrassed and this was the case in rural SW Wales. So Deirdre being a kindhearted soul gave them credit when they were hard up . She allowed them to owe up to £3,000 but then no more. One peeved customer felt so upset when she stopped his/her credit that he told the police all he knew about Deirdre the Dealer. All she got was a two year suspended sentence and ordered to go to rehab.

Anyone who is a keen radio listener will have heard Dame Jenni Murray presenting Woman’s Hour on Radio 4. Dame Jenni has hosted the programme from Monday to Friday for over thirty years but has now decided to move on to something different and will be leaving the show. Not bad for a 70 year old. Good luck to you mam. She has also recently had gastric band surgery and has gone from a size 24 to a size 14. She has since written a book to try to understand ‘how a highly intelligent, extremely well educated woman became morbidly obese’. The book’s title Fat Cow, Fat Chance – The Science and Psychology of Size. Very brave too.

It’s going to be hot tomorrow, or so they say. Don’t get too excited, downpours on Saturday and going into next week. I might get something done indoors, ever hopeful. Good night. 

Two children aged three and ten were left on their own in a  third/fourth floor apartment in Grenoble, France. Somehow a fire broke out and they were locked in and unable to leave. The older one called from the window shouting that they couldn’t get out, they didn’t have keys. A 25 year old student Athoumani Walid ran over on hearing the commotion and was joined by other neighbours, he called to the child to jump telling him they would catch them. The older boy dropped his brother first who was caught by the men below who had formed a human shield for them to jump into. The ten year old then hung over the ledge and let himself fall into the arms held out below. Neither of the boys were injured but two of the rescuers had broken arms from the impact on catching them. Athoumani said at first he was scared of not catching them but then just concentrated on the boys. Heroes for sure.

A man was sacked from Southampton railway station after selling a ticket to a traveller to help out. He usually worked on the gates but was on restricted duties due to a broken ankle. His colleague was away from the ticket office, maybe gone to the loo or to buy his lunch, or maybe he was a smoker and went for a quick puff, really doesn’t matter. A customer wanted a ticket and our man decided to help out and sold it to him. Next thing he knows, he’s investigated by Southeaston Rail (I bet that was fun) and they sacked him. An employment tribunal lated overturned the ruling and said it was unfair. The union said the man had always been an exemplary worker who was appreciated by both his colleagues and customers. I wonder how much this little comedy cost the public. The man received £25,000 and there’s all the people involved in getting him off.

Jeff Bezos the founder of Amazon has just added thirteen billion dollars to his fortune in 24 hours. Yes, I did say billions and not millions. It’s quite obvious that the pandemic has benefitted some people, or at least one person. We are all to blame as we all, or nearly all, like to go online and order something we sometimes don’t even need. The man is now worth 171 billion dollars and hardly pays tax in the UK as his company is registered in Luxembourg. Neither has he given much to charity although this year he pledged ten billion dollars to tackle climate change. He is making billions daily so why does he need all that money? Well I guess it’s mostly in shares but Bill Gates manages to give much of his fortune to his charitable foundation. Will I stop buying from Amazon? I doubt it, it’s much too useful. 😴💤😴