Month: October 2020

Today has been one of those days. First thing to remember is that it’s Halloween and I think witches have been castings their spells everywhere. It is the anniversary of my husband who died eleven years ago today. Well to be absolutely correct he left us at about 5am on November 1st but he would have preferred it to not have been on All Saints Day. It went against his heathen beliefs. I think we all miss him still. Sean Connery also died today aged 90 managing it on Halloween. That’s quite a good date for James Bond to go. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a James bond film and Sean Connery never appealed to me, definitely not my type. He always reminded me of a ventriloquist’s doll when he talked. Still I wish him well on his journey to wherever he might be heading. I was going to say ‘be headed’ but somehow it didn’t sound quite right.

Storm Aiden battered us all morning and we can look forward to it coming back tomorrow. This afternoon we waited for the PM to come on TV and give us a Covid update. He was supposed to be on at 4pm and then it was delayed until 5, then 6 but it was nearly 7pm when he finally showed up with his cohorts. We all knew what to expect and from Thursday we will all be in lockdown for four weeks. As much as I hate the thought I know it can’t be avoided but sadly I don’t think that will make the virus go away. I can’t help thinking that the four weeks is to enable people to have a little bit of freedom over Xmas and then it’ll be back in lockdown in 2021. If anyone says to me that this is the new normal I shall probably be locked up for murder.

While we’re talking about the PM, he will be back on TV tomorrow with his fiancee Carrie Symonds. They will be praising and thanking NHS staff and other frontline workers for all their hard work and of course for looking after BoJo while he was being treated for coronavirus and Carrie when she gave birth to their son. I’ve no idea what time it’s scheduled for but I believe it’s part of the Pride of Britain Awards. You heard it here first.

Some of our frontline workers must be surprised at the duties they have to carry out. Essex firefighters were called to a derelict laundry, not because there was a fire, but because three young men had got stuck in a disused dryer. My imagination was working overtime wondering what they were doing in there, or what they hoped to do in there. Two of the men had managed to get in without too much trouble but the third got his ankles trapped in the door. They were later treated by the ambulance crew. Only in Essex. Be careful of flying broomsticks if you’re out and close your windows if you’re in.  Spooky night, sleep tight. 😴💤😴

 

After all this time it seems that Dominic Cummings might yet be charged in relation to his trip Durham. Not only might he be charged with braking lockdown regulations but with the much more serious charge of perverting the course of justice. As if this isn’t bad enough, his wife could also be accused of three counts of breaking lockdown regulations. A former crown prosecutor has sent a dossier to authorities which contains statements from witnesses who say they saw Cummings out and about in Durham when he had said he was self isolating with his wife. Will police take this further and investigate and maybe prosecute? Your guess is as good as mine.

The photographer David Bailey has written a book called Look Again which tells stories about the rich and famous that he has snapped over the years. He says that lawyers made him remove lots of things before publication. He will appear on the Jonathan Ross Show tomorrow and tells his host that he ‘hates’ Mother Teresa. Thats a bit strong but he claims she constantly asked him for money demanding $100 every time she saw him. I’ve heard all sorts of stories about that lady and I’ve certainly got some doubts about her. He did however like Princess Diana but thought she had terrible hair and bad posture. I never thought about her hair but she did stoop slightly, as do many tall girls, especially when she first came into the public eye. She dressed badly then too but there’s no doubt she learnt on the job and could like quite stunning. Bailey said she was thoughtful and treated people around her well.

That old Rocker Rod Stewart got his girlfriend pregnant when he was just 18 and they put their daughter up for adoption. When the girl was 21 she was allowed to find out who her birth parents were and was more than a little surprised at her discovery. She turned up at a recording studio where he was playing with his band and asked to see the singer, her father. There didn’t seem to be much doubt about THE claim as she had the same nose and dimples as her father. I’m sure they must have done a few more tests but he now treats her like another daughter and she seems glad to have found her birth dad.

The FLOTUS has joined hubby on the drumming up voters campaign. Hopefully it’s the original this time and not an actress dressed up as Melania. Anyway she’s been up there on the platform in Florida accusing the media of spreading hate. She added that her husband’s administration had focused on the future, health and safety of American people and education and well being of the children. She shouldn’t have gone there, critics have been quick to remind her of all the negative statements and tweets made by the POTUS. Never mind, only four days to go. Nighty night.😴💤😴

Only five days left before the US elections and I would have just completed my 200th blog. Which of the two is most exciting? I have to admit that I can’t get up much enthusiasm over the Trump/Biden contest, it’s a matter of dangerous compared to boring but I think I’ll go for the latter. The polls suggest that boring will win but at the end of the day it could be down to which side of the fence the undecided fall. If they decide to vote that is. Some critics suggest that the Trump has run a bad campaign but then maybe he doesn’t really want to win. He has hinted that he is missing his old life of freedom.

France is having a terrible time at the hands of Islamic terrorists with yet another three murders in the city of Nice. This has been in the past one of my favourite destinations and one of the few that I don’t mind returning to. I can’t imagine what their government is going to do about the situation. They are very determined to allow freedom of expression but what to do about perceived provocative and often offensive images and articles? The attacker had only been in the country just over a month. Just along the coast from Nice the Cannes Film Festival was being celebrated. Organisers quickly swapped the red carpet for a black one in respect to the victims. They were lucky they weren’t targeted, too much security I suspect.

I was hoping to get out for an exercise walk today but the weather as you all know was dreadful. I went over to meet Margaret but just stayed in her place drinking tea and putting the world to rights instead. I had already planned to do some shopping on the way home and took a different route which I thought would be quicker. I managed to hit a kerb on one of those little islands in the middle of the road and busted my tyre. Fortunately I was a few yards away from Aldi which is opposite a small car workshop. They swapped the wheel for my spare while I shopped and said the tyre was knackered anyway. I’ll have to find the time to get to a tyre depot now and have had good recommendation from some friends. Life is never boring even in covid times.

Talking of Covid my grandson was tested positive. I hadn’t seen him on his visit home from Uni so I’m ok but their family are now in quarantine. Hope they manage to survive two weeks of being locked up with each other. That’s all for today. I’m tired and no other news caught my attention. Good night everyone. 😴💤😴

 

 

 

 

Drivers must be getting careless but I don’t think they can blame that one on the pandemic.  A driver crashed his Ferrari 812 Superfast into a wall on Lambeth Bridge yesterday. Having pulled up at some lights he must have seen a clear road ahead and put his foot down hard – it’s no good having a Ferrari and going slow, is it? – . The car spun out of control and he crashed into the wall on the opposite side of the road. Fortunately he didn’t hit any cyclists or pedestrians. Not long ago a driver from Yorkshire treated himself to a rare Ferrari 430 Scuderia and one hour later he lost control, the car went airborne and burst into flames. The man was able to walk away unhurt (except maybe for his pride). The attending police officer asked him what car it was and he replied “it was a Ferrari”.

The British Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who has been under house arrest in Iran during the pandemic has been informed that she must return to court on Monday to face a new trial. She was previously charged with spying which she denied, and received a five year sentence which is nearing its end. She doesn’t know what she will be charged with this time. I feel sad and angry every time I read about Nazanin, this is nothing compared to what she and her family must be feeling.

As if there isn’t enough to worry about in the world at the moment it seems that some travellers are hell bent on making it worse. A fight broke out among some passengers on a Ryanair flight from Spain to Manchester. It wasn’t clear what started the fracas but a small group of men and women were involved hitting and punching as the plane came in to land. Police boarded and just one man was escorted off. Is it just my impression or are people getting angrier, quicker these days?

A bar owner went to open up one morning to find that his place had been broken into. There has been no money in the till but he could see some food and drink had been taken. Suddenly he heard snoring and found the burglar sleeping soundly next to a half eaten cheese cake. The police were called and the thief appeared bewildered when awoken, even more so when arrested no doubt.

In St Ives the council decided to turn on the Christmas lights a month early this year to cheer people up and promote a bit of festive spirit. The town residents were asked to nominate the person they thought should switch them on. They chose their local DPD driver Dale Perry and as the one with the most votes he pressed the button and the lights came on. He is known in town as DPD Dale and was described as a great chap. When asked why he thought he had been chosen, he replied “it’s just the deliveries and the little bit of help I do here and there as best I can”.   😴💤😴

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has accused the PM and his government of making U turns at every turn. Well now it’s his turn as after hitting a cyclist while driving he has been accused of causing the accident while trying to do – well yes, a U turn in the middle of the road. I’m not sure if the eye witness actually saw his manoeuvre or just deduced it as he admitted to hearing the accident before going over to see if he could help. The labour leader claims he was going to park and not turning around. Either way it seems to have been a bit of very careless driving.

The local copper who killed his lover in a pub car park in West Parley has been cleared of murder but is guilty of manslaughter. He had a wife and at least two lovers and he claims he killed one accidentally during an argument. Except for the poor victim who was a nurse the women and their husbands all worked for Dorset police. I think they’ve been watching too many cop programmes on tv and think that that’s the way to behave. I wonder how many will be visiting him in prison.

We all know that the Trump has been going on rallies to convince his believers that they should vote for him. He likes to let them know how powerful and knowledgeable he is and his latest claim is that his son Barron had covid for just 15 minutes. That’s how weak the virus is, he told supporters, you can get it and fifteen minutes later it’s gone. Nothing to worry about there then.  The American business magazine Forbes has claimed that Trump owes at least one billion dollars on the many properties he owns. If he did get voted in again the debts would become payable while he is in office. he’ll manage, somehow.

A UK student who flew from Salford which is a virus hotspot to Jersey to visit her parents has been fined nearly seven thousand pounds for breaking quarantine rules three times. She wasn’t at home when the covid tracing team tried to visit her, she went to a restaurant and posted pictures on social media, she went shopping and visited a friend. She could have avoided the fine by going to prison for six months but chose to pay up. I bet it was her parents who did the paying up.

Had to mention this one as Anna Elston might have missed it. In Sicily the town of Salemi is auctioning off its abandoned houses with a starting bid of just one Euro. Bidders have to agree to renovate the houses though. Before offering the properties improvements to the town have been  completed making it, we suppose, an ideal place to move to or invest in. There are a few rules to follow but could be a way of making an Italian dream a reality. Buona Notte 😴💤😴

 

Who would have guessed it? Pirates off the south coast of the Isle of Wight. Well, maybe not exactly pirates clambering up the side of a ship with a kerchief tied around their heads and a knife in their mouth, more like a few stowaways who became aggressive when they were found and threatened the crew. It seems that in these modern times the crew all retreat to a safe room and call the police or harbour master or someone and ask to be rescued.  Hampshire police, Royal Navy police and helicopters and Special Boat Service came to the rescue and overwhelmed the seven stowaways in nine minutes. I wonder what took them so long.

Boots the chemist are offering a 12 minute turnaround coronavirus swab test. Could be useful if you can afford the eye watering price of £120. Most people now are managing to get one done quite quickly under the NHS so I can’t imagine their will be a queue at your local Boots.

Are you looking for employment? Kate and Will are advertising for a housekeeper at Kensington Palace and to travel with them to their other homes. Don’t bother applying if you’re a gossip, confidentiality and discretion are a must. Not for you? then the Royal Mail is looking for seasonal staff to help with the Xmas rush. It seems they are expecting a surge in the number of temporary jobs this year. Not for all those cards that you won’t be sending because you’ll be making do with the email version, but for all the stuff ordered online from Amazon and a few others retailers. There are quite a few vacancies available here in Bournemouth and Poole.

I haven’t mentioned the Sussexes for a while. I don’t like to gossip but there is a rumour that although George Clooney and his missus were at their wedding they didn’t actually know the royal couple. Princess Diana’s old flatmate was there and while sitting in the chapel waiting for it all to start she asked the couple next to her how they knew Harry and Meg. Oh, we don’t, they replied. Well they do now.

There’s another story that Meghan has over £650,000 worth of jewels that once belonged to Princess Diana. I should imagine that if they ever get divorced and she finds herself in need of some spare cash, it could be sold for a lot more than that. An auction sale of Wallis Simpson’s jewellery in 1987 brought in more than $33 million.

And yet another conspiracy theory is that the Melania doing the rounds with the POTUS these last few days is not the FLOTUS. Rumour has it that she refuses to go on the political trail with him so he is using a double. I’m not sure she’s been seen since it was said she had covid so who knows? Something to think about. Good night gossipers everywhere.  😴💤😴

The oldest person in Britain has died aged 112 and was born on 29th March 1908 which was before Selfridges came to London. Joan Hocquard died at her home in Poole Dorset yesterday. It sounds as if she had a good life as well as a long one. Her nephew (he must be a good age I should think) said she didn’t believe in dieting and enjoyed butter and cream and other tasty morsels that she fancied. She had travelled with her parents as a child and in the war drove an ambulance in London. (As did my mother in law although probably in Manchester where she lived). Joan came down to Poole because she loved sailing and seems to have enjoyed her life there. On her 100th birthday she refused a birthday card from the queen as she didn’t want people to know how old she was – I’m sure no one knew. Curiouser and curiouser is that she shared the exact birth day with Bob Weighton from Hampshire who until May this year was the oldest man in Britain. That must have been a good day to be born in 1908.

Today my Spanish sister in law Maria Teresa was 80. I don’t know what she’ll think of me splashing the news around the world but from a video I saw she seemed to be having a jolly time with the family. And, I must say you would never guess how old she was if I hadn’t told you. Happy Birthday or Feliz Cumpleaños Tere.

The Manchester Evening News has reported that a coronavirus vaccine could be available to BHS staff within a few weeks. Now I don’t wish to pee on anyone’s fireworks especially just before Guy Fawkes day, but I’ve been hearing about a vaccine nearly being ready since the beginning of the pandemic. I was always told when I was growing up that ‘nearly is as good as not at all’. Just saying and waiting.

I hope you remembered to adjust your clocks today – those ones that are not digital. I hadn’t and thought I was a bit late having dinner tonight but then remembered the kitchen clock needed a bit of tlc. Anyway you’ll be glad you’re not working for the queen. There’s a man at Windsor Castle who has the job of turning back 400 clocks for the queen. He then has to wind them all up every week. I don’t know what his job title is but could it be The Royal Winder Upper? I doubt it, it’s more likely to be something boring like the Royal Time Keeper. There are another 600 clocks at Buckingham Palace. It does make me wonder if Her Maj. doesn’t have a watch. Time to sleep and sleep to dream. Nighty night.  😴💤😴

Flatteringly I’ve been told that people are missing my posts, so I shall try to keep going if I can find something to write about. The news is super boring right now with three main subjects. The first is obviously the pandemic, the second is the Trump and the third Brexit. You do not need me to bang on about any of these.

Today my son Peter came across an old video of daughter Liz’s wedding to Andrew and decided to post it to a family group. The video showed her dad (my husband) Sandy walking her to the ceremony which was in a hotel and then him giving the father’s speech. He looked very relaxed and proud and it brought up lots of memories for myself and the family. I have to say that I didn’t recognise myself at first and wondered who the woman was sitting next to him. Our lovely Lou remembered that she met her husband Ben, at a Halloween party I think, just about the time he died. Lou also sent me a photo today of a white rose still in bloom which I gave to her family in memory of baby George.

I also heard from Elizabeth, currently trying to enjoy university life in Brighton. We seem to be able to chat for ages about food, family and the government which she wants to change, or at least their policies. I reminded her that it’s up to her generation to get on and do something about it. The grandchildren all seem to have an opinion on what’s going on and there are enough of them to get together and maybe make a difference. The nannyjune tribe could storm parliament.

We’ve got a whole load of new expressions and meanings to get our lockdown brains around. Take that word lockdown – it’s what happened to prisoners when they were misbehaving before 2020. Then we all spent summer on the beach ‘social distancing’ or not and waiting for the ‘second wave’. Not the one the surfers were hoping for nor the olympic Mexican one but the one quoted whenever possible by the doomsayers. Now we have the ‘third tier’. Used to be the top tier of the wedding cake that we were supposed to put away for the first baby’s christening hoping that it didn’t take too long. Did anybody actually eat it?

Early hours of tomorrow the clock will go back, no not back to the shop as one joker suggested, but back one hour. At least these days we don’t have to spend the extra hour adjusting our clocks, watches and other appliances like we did in the past. Our electronic stuff will magically adjust itself and when we wake up it will all be done. If you’re like me the microwave, oven and other items will just get done when I notice they’re wrong or I need to time something. My old Freelander usually spends half the year one hour out of sync with the rest of the country. Makes me feel strangely in control. Good night sleep heads, enjoy your extra hour.😴💤😴

The Detective Sergeant who was sent to the home of the Russian intelligence officer who had unknowingly at that time been poisoned with Novichok in 2018 has left the police force. Sgt. Bailey was himself contaminated in spite of wearing a forensic suit and spent time in hospital. Two years later he says that he has tried hard to get back to work but it is impossible. He was mentally and physically affected by the trauma as well as losing his home and possessions which had become contaminated with the nerve agent. I sincerely hope that he receives some sort of pension and compensation for everything he has lost. Let’s face it we read of prisoners who receive payment for some perceived wrong while in prison and I’m not referring to people who have been wrongly convicted.

Rolling Stones star Ronnie Wood has put his six bedroom London home on the market for £3.85 million. So, my lovelies, if you have that much cash lying around and you fancy a colourful home, this could be for you. Plenty of artworks by the look of the photos but I don’t imagine they will be included. Ronnie and his missus already spend most of their time in their country property (I bet he never expected to say that before he was famous) and will make it their permanent home. Is our Ron starting to gather some moss?

Meanwhile in Nevada a 35 year old man had set up home in the roof of a supermarket unbeknown to management of course. He was caught when his foot broke through the ceiling and was seen by security dangling down during closing hours. It seems he had made himself quite comfy among the rafters and was in the habit of creeping down and stealing items from the deli. counter. Well I don’t know about you but I’m giving him full marks for initiative. The man refused to come down and police with a dog were sent to handle the situation. Unfortunately the dog also got stuck like the crook. Eventually the man was arrested and no one was hurt.

You might not have realised but it’s only six weeks to advent calendar time. Well ladies if you fancy a treat and you can persuade your love to splash out, John Lewis has launched a jewellery advent with 25 drawers to be opened in the run up to Christmas. Plenty of bling to get you through the festive season if we manage to have one and your person wants to spend £199. Aldi will be selling boozy calendars with a bubbly version at £60 and a mixed wine choice at £50, 24 bottles in each and on sale from 1st November.  Something for you to dream about until then Good night, sleep tight.😴💤😴

It’s definitely time that I posted something for my blog, obviously no longer daily. Bournemouth as always was beautiful today and I had a lovely wander along the prom watching people enjoying a day out in the sunshine. As I went back through the gardens and into The Square I heard a lot of noise and realised their was a ‘freedom’ protest taking place. The few people (maybe a 60/80) taking part were marching from and to I don’t know where. They seemed to be demanding freedom to not wear masks, to open everything and to generally to stop all covid restrictions. It’s a good thing they don’t live in Indonesia. Residents there who are caught not wearing face masks have a series of punishments awaiting them depending on which village they live in. Some have to dig graves while others are required to lie in a coffin for a short period or ride in the back of a hearse with an occupied coffin. All this is to remind offenders of how many people have died from the virus. I can just imagine if they tried that in the UK. It’s a good thing they can’t as I found myself in a shop without my mask a couple of days ago, it was in my bag but wasn’t doing much good in there.

Meanwhile in Zambia a wedding was being celebrated in a church with the bride to be dressed in white and her groom by her side. Suddenly the ceremony was interrupted by a voice shouting ‘Father, this man here is my husband’. The man she was referring to was the groom and she had three children with her whom she said were his. The priest stormed off not knowing what to do. The wife said that they were not divorced and her husband had been at home that morning. He had lied saying he was going out of town on business but neighbours tipped her off. The bride and her family knew that the groom had been married but believed he was divorced. The man was taken to the police station and the priest told the guests to go to the reception while he spoke to the two wives. The husband was released without charge, the guests were well fed, the priest no doubt got paid but I’ve no idea what happened to the poor young bride.

So, I’m sure you’ve heard or read that Dominic Cummings – the one who flouted covid restrictions at the beginning of lockdown – has just managed to NOT pay council tax on properties he and his family built WITHOUT planning permission. Isn’t it time politicians and their cronies were made to abide by the laws they vote on and pay their taxes like everyone, or nearly everyone else in the country? He managed to NOT pay in the region of £50,000 and he does not have to pull down the illegally built properties. He will have to pay from now on but not a lot. And it’s now time for bed. Nighty night.😴💤😴