Month: September 2020

Two fisherman had a very harrowing experience off the coast of Colombia when they saw a woman floating in the water. She was face up and some reports say wearing a life jacket and other reports saying she had some sort of rubber ring. The story is very confusing as some say she was in the water for eight hours and others say she was trying to kill herself so why would she have on a rubber ring. She had been missing from home for two years (not in the water all that time, of course) and told rescuers that she had escaped from domestic abuse. What a sad story, I hope she manages to find some happiness when she recovers.

The big story yesterday was the big debate – Trump v Biden. Mostly described as chaotic with the two presidential candidates acting not very presidentially and interrupting each other constantly. The moderator tried to restore some order but eventually had to shout ‘stop’ and then said ‘I hate to shout but why should I be any different from you two.’ He reminded them that they could each speak for two minutes and the other one should not interrupt when it wasn’t their turn. Biden wanted a bathroom break every thirty minutes and was mocked by the POTUS and asked what he would do if there was a crisis that needed his attention for longer. At the end of the so called debate  Google later informed the world that queries such as ‘move to Canada’ and ‘how to move to Canada’ soared in popularity following the showdown. Other searches were ‘how to apply for Canadian citizenship’, ‘relocation’ and ‘how to obtain a Canadian passport’. Yhey could of course just put both candidates on a slow boat to China and start anew.

BoJo’s dad Stanly was spotted in a newsagent’s without a mask. Someone of course took a photo and posted it for the world to see – isn’t that against the data protection act? Stanley said he had just arrived back from abroad and hadn’t yet managed to catch up on the rules. That’s ok dad, neither has your son who made them. And, by the way I think the one about wearing a mask in a shop has been in place for quite a long time. I have to admit that I’ve forgotten to don my mask a couple of times but I do know how to admit ‘oops, sorry I forgot’. Or just put one on when I’ve seen others wearing one. Nothing worse than a stupid excuse.

A London Art School took delivery of 29 tonnes of carrots today which were dumped on a forecourt and students hanging around wondered why. One suggestion was it was to help with student’s night vision. It seems though that it’s part of a fine arts exhibition to highlight the divide between town and country. Better than a few tonnes of manure I suppose. The carrots will be fed to animals when the exhibition finishes.Good night bunnies everywhere. 😴💤😴

Ever since BoJo had coronavirus he’s been losing the plot. Today he was holding a press conference and absolutely proved the point. Questioned on the new restrictions for the north east of England he started trying to apologise for confusing people. He followed this with the general rule being six people could meet indoors and six outside however in areas where special measures are in place, to check the local authority restrictions but as he understood it it was six in your home, six in hospitality but not six outside. I’ve no idea what he was talking about.

A Merseyside artist has been giving art lessons online during lockdown. He ended each session by saying and writing Be Boss Be Kind. He explains that in Liverpool everyone will recognise that Be Boss means be great. As he signed off with these words in a nice bright script several viewers asked if they could get a t shirt or some other piece of closing with this slogan. Sounded like a good idea and he started selling a new line of clothing with his slogan embroidered on. Hugo Boss got to hear about it and has said that it infringes their copyright. Surely you can’t copyright a word that’s in the dictionary and in every day use. I do hope the artist wins, he gets my vote.

The boss of  Halo night club in Bournemouth said that with everything having to close at 10pm he might have to make all his staff redundant. He is running a trial of opening from 6pm till 10pm but isn’t sure if it will take off. Is that allowed anyway? I thought that people in bars had to be sitting down and the whole idea of clubs is surely the dancing and moving around. He said that the whole night time economy could be lost if the curfew continues.

Exciting news for Bournemouth and more precisely Boscombe today. The government has said it will grant BCP council around £25 million in the Town Deal project. One million of this will be allocated to Boscombe to help transform the area into an urban neighbourhood. New family housing will be built around the high street, with arts, culture, cafes and promoting community living. I think they will have to first do something about the druggies that hand around all parts of Bournemouth and can often be seen dealing in the streets. Will be nice to see Boscombe becoming a thriving family neighbourhood again though.

Went over to daughter Sam’s tonight for dinner and then to watch GBBO with them. Dinner was delicious and the Bake Off was not too exciting. They did make some nice looking Florentines which made me think I should think about making some for Christmas. I do think it was more entertaining when Mel and Sue were harassing the bakers. Not much excitement so far. I had a nice evening though. Good night all you bakers. 😴💤😴

 

 

Looking to move house? If you have won the Euromillions you might be able to afford London’s most expensive property currently on the market. The Glass Mansion in Mayfair is available to buy for £50 million. It can be purchased as two separate properties with each costing £25 million, quite affordable. What do you get for your money? Only four bedrooms in each I’m afraid but each has a gym, spa, garden as well as all the normal mod cons. There is a swimming pool, parking, cinema but I don’t know if you can enjoy a drive-in movie. Would make a great Airbnb destination.

Not so easy to sell even though it has a smallish price tag is a property in Malton, North Yorkshire. The reason the estate agents are having a struggle to sell is because it’s next to a graveyard. It looks good to me, a pretty house with three bedrooms and a decent sized garden on the market for £250,000. I personally don’t see what the problem is, nice quiet location. In fact I live only a few yards from our local graveyard where the author Mary Shelley resides and she wrote Frankenstein. Should I be scared?

Next week the state pension age is set to rise again. Anyone born after 5th October 1954 will have to wait until they are 66 to claim their pension. I wonder how old all those MPs have to be. I remember that people were often cross that they had to retire at a certain age and felt that they had ‘a few more years of work left in them’. I guess with people living longer it’s understandable they will have to work longer. Anyway they’re going to need a few years to pay off their student loans.

You might have noticed that supermarkets around the UK are already selling all sorts of goodies for your Christmas festivities. M&S have a Snow Storm in a bottle gin in two different flavours, Aldi have giant Ferrero Rocher and Sainsbury are offering a sausage dog yule log. Something for all tastes and plenty of time for hoarding if that’s what you are up to. I’d better think about making some mince pies or at least the mince meat.

Much has been made of David Attenborough visiting the Windsor’s and meeting their children. He was there for a private showing of his environmental documentary A Life on Our Planet – not to be confused with A Life on Mars. Anyway like many visitors before him he went bearing gifts with a special one for the future king Prince George. The young man was very excited to receive a prehistoric shark tooth that the tv personality had found while on holiday in Malta over fifty years ago. The Maltese Culture Minister has suggested that it should be returned to Malta as it forms part of their heritage. Others say that the tooth is not at all rare as sharks shed teeth throughout their lives and there are thousands of them to be found and are quite common. Not quite fit for a king then? Good night everyone. 😴💤😴

The airline industry is having a very bad time thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Reports say that EasyJet is hanging on by a thread and although they have sold aircraft to raise money – they will be leasing them back as required – the next twelve months will be crucial. Summer 2021 will see a drop in income even if people have started travelling because many passengers have carried forward their cancelled bookings from this year. It’s a real shame. I always liked the inspiration of their then young founder Stelios who did then what they are doing now. He leased planes from BA to start an airline.

It seems that BoJo’s 10 pm curfew is causing a few headaches around the country and I’m not just referring to the hangover kind. As pubs around the country shouted ‘last orders please’ in time to shut their doors and not incur a fine, young people carried on their parties in the streets of cities everywhere. Can’t really blame them can you? Liverpool reported packed streets. Their mayor said that this was why curfew would never work, they’ve already had a few drinks and they’re not going home. In another city a neighbour said ‘it was dreadful, this shouldn’t be happening, this is York!’ Well it seems that the young people of York had forgotten where they were.

Some university students have been confined to their rooms following covid breakouts on campus. The locked in students mostly have food parcels delivered but have responded with notices in their windows. Some just say ‘Help’ others are asking for beer to be delivered and some are referring to the PM in a not very polite way. Manchester Metropolitan University have sent an email to all students asking for the notices to be removed. Some universities have threatened to fine the lockdown breakers. So let’s get this clear, they take their money for tuition which obviously they won’t be getting and then they impose hefty fines. Someone’s taking the mickey and it’s not the students.

A poll to try to find out who are the most admired people in the world had Barack Obama topping the polls for men and Michelle Obama for women. I have to say though that only 45,000 people were interviewed in 42 countries, only just over a thousand per country. There was also no clue as to who those 45,000 people were. Sounds like a rather strange poll to me.

Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith has been warning people against taking LSD. She has admitted to trying it out in the sixties in her hippy heyday and it left her with nightmares that continue even now. Prue said it was one of the worst experiences of her life and she did not enjoy the hallucinations she suffered. Well we would never have guessed that of good old Prue, would we? I’ll take a bet that Mary Berry or Delia never did anything like that. Sweet dreams everyone without nightmares.😴💤😴

More protests in Trafalgar Square against the government’s reaction and handling of the pandemic. Jeremy’s brother, Piers Corbyn was there, of course and so were the police. The crowd’s chant was ‘We do not consent’. Well neither did the police who didn’t mind them protesting but said they had to abide by covid guidelines, social distancing and face masks. That would rather have defeated the purpose of the rally. Some protestors were interviewed and they said it was a conspiracy to control people. When asked what would be the point of that the interviewer was told to watch Hunger Games and he would find the answer to the whole conspiracy. And they want to be taken seriously.?

There’s no doubt that New York’s Central Station is famous around the world and even if visitors don’t need to catch a train, they go there for a look around and then maybe to eat at one of there many restaurants. It’s an enormous concourse and I’ve no idea how many people are employed to keep it running. Three of the employees however managed to hang out in a secret hideaway and not work. They discovered an old storage room under track 114 and installed a fridge, a tv and a futon sofa. The men used it when they were supposed to be working and got drunk and partied. Someone tipped off the bosses and the men are now suspended without pay pending a disciplinary hearing. Just goes to prove that you have to be careful who you invite to a party.

It’s monsoon season in India and as often happens when the rains come a building collapsed in Mumbai. A man was trapped in the rubble and couldn’t move because his leg was trapped. He used his phone to record a video for his wife in case rescuers didn’t find him in time. He was there for ten hours but eventually rescue workers found him and he was later filmed looking remarkably well. I’ve often wondered what I would do in a similar circumstance, I would be scared too use to much of the phone’s battery because then there would be no form of communication left.

A man from Manchester had planned to cycle from Russia to back home to raise money for charity. Sadly lockdown happened and he was unable to complete his challenge. He posted on social media that if he got 10,000 re-tweets and £1000 he would cycle from Glasgow to Wythenshawe and back on his daughter’s tiny pink bike. The money was pledged and he set off and took six days to complete the round trip and managed to raise £5,000 to be divided among four different charities. The bike really was tiny and he was really quite big. Well done that man.  😴💤😴

Could the weather really have been that bad across the UK? I’ve heard it snowed in Leeds and Bradford, a mini tornado was spotted near Ilkley Moor in Yorkshire and Norfolk had to close some schools following stormy weather. Here on the south coast the sun shone and although it was a little bit breezy it was a glorious autumn day and it looks like continuing over the weekend. I’ve still got my balcony door open at 10pm because it was too warm with it closed.

Sad report of a police officer shot dead inside a Croydon police station today. The shooter had been arrested for carrying ammunition and no weapon had been found on him. He apparently pulled the weapon from his trousers and shot the custody sergeant and then shot himself in the head. The victim was there doing his job. Fatal crimes certainly seem to be increasing and this in a country where we do not have a gun culture. It’s time something changed.

Today I was talking to friends on zoom and the subject of the NHS track and trace App came up. I was asked if I was going to install it and my reply was a very stroppy no. My reason? mainly because whenever I’ve heard about any national/government software it always seems to have come with problems. After my zoom reunion I had a message from a U3A colleague, what was it about? The NHS App of course and if I want to enter the building where we have the U3A office I will need to download the App. I’ve actually checked it out now and it seems that if I want to do anything in the future from having a coffee at Costa’s to going into a public building I will in fact find life easier with the App. Plenty of people though (especially older generation) who still choose not to use a smart phone.

If you’re at a loss for something to do this weekend – although this is rather short notice – tomorrow, Saturday Waterworld in Staffordshire is holding their annual nude family event. Organised by British Naturism who say the event will be going ahead this year and they take their health and safety responsibilities seriously. No need to worry on that score then. Children have to be accompanied by parents or responsible adult but although it’s a family event you don’t need to have children to attend. If you are thinking of attending, please leave your camera or smart phone at home, or in the locker, The taking of photos is only permitted by their official photographer. I wonder how much he charges for his prints or in some cases to destroy the negatives. Bit too far for me to go tomorrow and the weather forecast is better down here. Could always make do with a nude dip in the briny. Good night weather watchers everywhere.  😴💤😴

 

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Gin started off as a medicine around about the 17th century and was quickly called Mother’s Ruin because so many women managed to get hooked on it. In my mother’s time it was believed to be useful in getting rid of unwanted pregnancies and young girls were told to have a hot gin bath. When I first heard this story I was quite young and couldn’t decide if the gin should be put in the bath water or in the potential mother. Anyway, it seems that gin is back in favour and is being sold in fancy bottles and in many flavours. Sadly there is a threat to the UK gin as the juniper tress which produce berries used to make the tipple are being attacked by a fungus. Once established in the tree the fungus will spread throughout the plant and kill it. So while you’re stocking up on toilet paper and flour in case of a new lockdown, you had better grab some bottles of Gordons just in case.

Harry and Meghan’s little speech to the American people about getting out to vote doesn’t seem to have gone down too well with – well anyone. In the White House especially which is not surprising as there is no love lost between the couple and the President. A Trump advisor said that they made Britain great again by leaving and he hoped they’d do the same for the US. The POTUS said that he wished Harry luck, he thought he would need it. The royal couple certainly don’t get any less irritating.

There is talk of students being advised to stay on campus over the Christmas period to avoid spreading the virus. There is even a talk of a ban on university students travelling. I think that is going to be a big ask for most of them, I’ve currently got four grandchildren away at Uni and I can’t imagine them missing the festivities at home. That’s before I get around to wondering what their mums would do to Boris or Matt Hancock. Merry Christmas everyone.

Have you been having a good lockdown clearout at home? A man in Derbyshire did just that and found what he thought was a small teapot. It had been purchased in China by the man’s father who was stationed there during the war. His mother had it on display in a cabinet but then along with many other bits of ‘junk’ it was put a a box in the garage. Lockdown gave the family time to have a sort out and the teapot was taken to be valued. The auction house said it was in fact a Chinese wine ewer and probably worth £20,000 or maybe more. It was eventually sold for a whopping £390,000. I had loads of junk in my garage when I moved but I had a struggle to give it away. I think I might have a look around some charity shops just in case. Are they open? Good night everyone, don’t let any of this keep you awake.  😴💤😴

I finished my musings yesterday with the story of a Welsh couple who managed to leave the whole of the village without internet access when they switched on their tv in the morning at 7.30. It didn’t surprise me to learn that it took BT 18 months to find the reason why the whole village had lost their broadband. Anyway this morning Piers Morgan was interviewing the couple on his show. I’m sure that man gets some of his ideas from reading nannyjune’s blog it just seems to happen too often to be a coincidence. Just a suggestion.

Back in the news is the infamous ferry company which was given a £13.8 million contract to run a post Brexit ferry service across the channel. The problem was that the company didn’t own a single ferry but was hoping to acquire some. Chris Grayling the then Transport  Secretary said he couldn’t see what the problem was. The ferry company has now gone bust owing £2 million to creditors and some loans. I wonder who would lend money to a ferry company with no ferries. Chris Grayling is now working as strategic advisor to a ports services company. He is being paid £100,000 a year for seven hours work a week. How do we get idiots like this in government?

Another bright spark in the news is former PM David Cameron. What’s he up to? Not a lot, just trying to get planning permission for a heated swimming pool in his back yard in the Cotswolds. He’s already installed a £25,000 shepherds hut with wool insulation which he needed as a getaway to write his memoirs. He needn’t bother as I don’t suppose anyone will spend their hard earned cash on buying a copy. Might make good Xmas presents for his cronies in The Commons though. He should remember not to wrap it in red paper and ribbon, could be misunderstood.

I watched GBBO and I can’t say I was that impressed this year. I found the contestants a little bit dull and in fact my favourite was Loriea who was first out. They didn’t seem to have much idea either and their pineapple upside -down cakes were a right mess as were most of the battenbergs. Neither of these specialities are something I would want to eat let alone bake so that might have something to do with it.  I’ll keep on watching though and no doubt will find another favourite next week. I did like Prue’s hair cut.

In Florida a young married couple were enjoying life in a boat near the Keys. The husband had jumped into the water and was snorkelling around a reef when he was bitten by a shark. His pregnant wife realised what was happening and jumped into the water to drag him back and onboard. The man was airlifted to hospital with a severe injury to his shoulder and they later found out a 7ft bull shark had been spotted where they were swimming. What a brave young mum to be. That’s it. Good night bakers everywhere.  😴💤😴

 

 

I’m feeling so much better following my op and it seems to have healed remarkably quickly. Wish I could say the same for the cold I caught two weeks ago. It appeared to be getting better but has taken a turn for the worse and my head feels as though it’s wrapped in cotton wool or something. Still in the overall scheme of things at the moment, it could be a lot worse.

Yesterday I was talking about what I was watching on the Tele. In answer to Gen’s question, I hadn’t realised but Succession is on Sky. I did a search first on Netflix but then went to google and got my answer. Not what I wanted when I found that series 1 is only available to buy. I think that’s a real cheek considering what Sky charge for their monthly payments. I can get series 2 and 3 on catch up and I’m wondering if I really need to bother with the beginning. After all I’ve already read what it’s about.

Tonight I had BBC’s The 7.39 on record and managed to miss GBBO on channel 4.  I’m not very good at keeping up with what’s on the tele and don’t recollect ever having heard of  The 7.39 which is a repeat from a few years back. I wasn’t very keen on episode 1 as I found myself getting irritated with most of the characters especially the two on the train. I’ve now got the bakers on record later tonight. Why did I think that it was going to air on Friday? I can’t quite see me turning into a couch potato as I keep getting mixed up with my viewings.

Boris was on tv as well tonight – needless to say that passed me by completely – and upset the fans by delaying GBBO by fifteen minutes. He would actually make a very good contestant for the celebrity version wouldn’t he? I’m smiling just thinking about it. What did he have to say? from what I can tell looking at the online news, he confirmed what had already been predicted. Pubs and restaurants closing at 10 pm, Rule of 6, office workers to work from home if possible (another u-turn), masks to be worn by retail staff including in restaurants and other hospitality workers and fines to be imposed for not following rules.

A new symptom of the coronavirus has been identified and that is a rash that could appear on different parts of the body. It seems that it might come at any time during the illness and more or less on any part of the body photos can of course be seen on the internet.

In Wales a few months ago, a retired couple bought a second hand tv. They’ve been watching Piers every day on GMB. What they didn’t realise was that every time they switched on at 7 am they wiped out the internet signal for the whole village. BT eventually found what was causing the problem, a high level impulse noise. Who would have thought of that? The couple now purchased a new tv. I’m off to watch my recordings. Nighty night viewers 😴💤😴

I didn’t notice a lot of new covid restrictions being brought in today. I was feeling very apprehensive about possible new measures but it seems that at the moment it will be localised rather than nationwide. What they have said is that in the areas where stricter regulations are in place, grandparents who are required for childminding will be exempt. Did make we wonder if those same grandparents received furlough pay when they were in lockdown. No chance for me if things get worse in my area, I don’t think my 21 year old will let me babysit him unless it involves a pint at the pub (before 10 o/c of course.

In Madrid – my old stomping ground – thousands of protestors are demonstrating over the new covid restrictions. Infection rates in the city have exceeded 1 in 100 in some of the worst affected areas. Residents have been advised not to travel outside of their own area except for work or emergency medical matters. The worse hit areas are those of low income people and higher immigrant population. No surprise there then as the same has happened in the UK and many other countries. I know that many of these people in Madrid go to work in wealthier homes either cleaning, child minding or caring for the elderly. They will still be allowed to travel to work because they are ‘needed’.

The Emmys have their winners and I noticed that Succession got some prizes and is getting some great reviews. I haven’t tried watching it yet but between the pandemic and the weather about to change I’ll have to find something to do in the evenings. I’m going to give it a go. Also, Schitt’s Creek took most of the comedy awards and this I have watched. The characters are completely bonkers but manage to make me laugh out loud sitting here alone. Each episode is only about 15/20 minutes so, spot on for a quick unwind.

A woman who was an aide to Fergie Duchess of York murdered her boyfriend because he refused to marry her. She was caught and given life imprisonment which of course is never life. She did fifteen years before being released on parole but whilst in jail she sold two properties. How does that work and should it be allowed? Anyway the real story is that she was released and within a short time had a new boyfriend who was already married and threatened to kill him. She was thrown back in prison for another year. Now she is out, funding her lifestyle with the money from the two properties and selling stuff online. Some of the stuff belonged to the boyfriend she murdered. My question here is that if someone found guilty and imprisoned owns property, shouldn’t they pay for their own stay at Her Majesty’s pleasure? Good night everyone  😴💤😴