Author: June

Only one day left of freedom although I will still be able to take a walk with a friend, one friend at a time. I can still be in a bubble with one family group and I can go shopping for essentials. I wonder if essential shopping when I’m bored will be allowed. If I’m offered one more programme on tv via zoom I shall ask for a refund of my tv license fee, well I would if I’d remembered to pay it. Something to sort out after Thursday. 5th November is a busy day, Sandy and I moved house on that date, step daughter Lizzie has a birthday as does my friend Liz in Wimborne. It’s Guy Fawkes day and now lockdown. Everything should go with a bang. Not forgetting that although voting is taking place as I write, America might have to wait for the results until November 5th or even later. This is partly due to the large numbers of voters turning out this year and also, because of coronavirus, many people are turning to postal votes which for some reason take longer to count. Don’t wait up, there’ll be plenty of time to find out tomorrow or whenever.

In Chelsea two houses have collapsed and been completely destroyed during ongoing building and renovation work on the properties. Other neighbouring properties were having basement work carried out. It seems that this type of work on London properties is popular as there is a shortage of large homes and buyers hope to increase the amount of living space. This time it was in a street where properties are worth millions but seem to be continuously surrounded by builders and the obvious noise, dust and general upheaval. A neighbour said ‘it’s a nightmare, Kensington and Chelsea is one big building site’. I think I’ll change my mind about that house I was keeping my eye on.

In Sri Lanka rescuers have managed to save 120 beached whales which seem to have lost their way and swam into shore. Sailors from the navy and coastguard along with volunteers managed to pull the whales, one by one, back into deeper water. They all had a long night but all but two of the mammals were saved. No one knows why whales beach themselves but it’s nice that so many people are willing to work together to save them. My granddaughter Elizabeth did her Duke of Edinburgh gold in Sri Lanka.

Lots of people have trouble sleeping, some are anxious, maybe about work or some relationship, others because they have aches and pains and many more because their partner snores. I’m sure there are many more reasons keeping people from their beauty sleep. Queen Elizabeth like to get a good night’s sleep and believes that the answer is the perfect mattress. She spent a whopping £125,000 on The Royal State Bed. Well I’m guessing that she won’t be needing another in her lifetime. Sleep tight on yours, don’t let the bugs bite.😴💤😴

 

At last the rain stopped. I was beginning to think it might end up like the town of Macondo in the wonderful novel One Hundred Years of Solitude where it rained so much that everyone and everything had mould growing on them. Still the sun came out today and I went to meet my friend Paula for lunch, always a treat, and we had a good old catch up before the not so good lockdown. Then I got the new tyres put on my vehicle and back home for a cuppa and a biscuit.

I couldn’t resist watching the much heralded ‘The Undoing’ on Sky Atlantic with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant. I found the first episode slightly weird but the second one which I saw today became quite sinister and definitely interesting. Quite the best since lockdown and restrictions started, but then I have always loved a good serial.

Amongst all the bad news which keeps pouring in was the wonderful rescue of a three year old girl from the rubble following an earthquake in Greece, The poor child had been buried for 65 hours and the firefighter rescuer, thinking she was not alive, asked for a body bag as he wiped the dust from her face. The girl opened her eyes and grabbed hold of his thumb. I loved that the rescuer wiped her face even believing she had died. She is now recovering in hospital and other members of her family had been rescued two days before. Also found alive a few hours before was a 14 year old girl, altogether 106 people were pulled out alive. Let’s stop moaning about lockdown.

Today is the last day before voters leave their homes to decide who will win the US elections. A mystery punter has placed a bet of one million pounds for Joe Biden to win. The bet was placed in the UK as political betting is not allowed in the US and is the largest ever political bet. If he wins he will receive just over 1.5 million pounds. Not sure the odds are good enough to risk losing that much but then it depends how much you can afford to lose. Then again a video in which Joe Biden appeared at a rally with Barrack Obama is doing the rounds. It seems that Joe was having yet another senior moment or two, or three and this might put a few people off who are still sitting on the fence.

Andrex has assured the UK that they have 100 million toilet rolls on standby. I’m sure you are all relieved to know that.  And a brewery boss is incensed at the news of the latest restrictions. He said it didn’t make any sense that he couldn’t sell take away or home delivery real ale as he did during the last lockdown. He said he will have to pour his beer down the drain as real ale has a short shelf life. I know a few people who will help him get rid of it before Thursday. Good night my darlings  😴💤😴

I watched the Pride of Britain tonight but somehow managed to miss Boris and Carrie addressing the nation. Did I blink and it was gone? Can anyone tell me if it actually happened please. I did take a phone call in the middle so maybe that was it. Now I’m going to be catty meow, didn’t Carol Vorderman look a mess, sometimes I have to wonder if people own a mirror. She obviously can’t have many friends or someone would have told her to go home and get changed.

I was pleased to hear of another government U-turn, this time regarding the import of meat. The new Trade and Agriculture Commission will be made properly independent and given the power to scrutinise each trade deal before it is made. This should ensure that we do not import chlorinated chicken and hormone fed beef. I was seriously considering becoming vegetarian after Brexit if we didn’t get some sort of proper food controls.

In London a new butcher shop has opened but it won’t be selling any actual meat products. Everything they sell will look like meat, taste like meat and have texture like meat but it won’t be meat. Makes me think of that old saying ‘if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck it probably is a duck’. My question here – yes, I know I always have a question but someone has to – is why do vegetarians need products like this? I like vegetarian meals and often eat them but I also like them to look and taste of what they are.

Over the pond there are only two days left before polling starts. Melania’s been on stage talking rubbish and forgetting that her husband is rubbish and now it’s Ivanka’s turn (the first daughter). She has likened her dad to Winston Churchill during WW2 calling him a warrior – not enough of one for him to do any national service though. I hadn’t realised that Republicans believe that it’s their Christian duty to vote Republican and an evangelist leader has been telling his 20 million strong congregation it is their duty to get out and cast their vote. However a large number of evangelicals have decided that the bible permits them to vote for the party that will do the most good and are preparing to back Biden. And while all this is going on the Trump has criticised European lockdown and his friend Nigel Farage is threatening to rebrand the Brexit Party as Reform UK opposing lockdown as he’s ‘had enough’.

And the panic buying has got off to a good start. Toilet rolls are sold out in many supermarkets and customers are piling their trolleys high with anything they can’t live without. I thought the shops were staying open but maybe people have been in the habit of stealing their toilet paper from pubs and restaurants. Good night my lovelies. Don’t let storm Aiden keep you awake. 😴💤😴

 

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.  😴💤😴