Category: Blog Post

Yesterday BoJo addressed the nation and informed us that we are once again in lockdown and this time it includes all schools even though the previous day he had encouraged parents to send the kids back after their Xmas break. Very depressing news even if we did expect it, especially as it seems that it might continue until March or even longer. I’m not sure if there are any Tiers left in England but there are certainly a few tears. The oldest identical twins who are 96 years old have contracted Covid although they say they have been isolating and sticking to all the rules.

I went grocery shopping today, first proper shop for two weeks I think. I really was scraping the bottom of the barrel. Plenty of food in the freezer but I really had to get some fresh fruit and veg. I believe I would have been on route to getting scurvy if I’d left it much longer.

Brexit has happened although we are told that there are still many points that need to be fine tuned and finalised. Meanwhile, Brits have been stopped from boarding flights to Madrid and told that even though they’re Spanish residents their travel papers needed updating. Travellers with EU residences have also been unable to enter Holland, Sweden and Germany. It seems that it has something to do with a certificate saying they are Covid free which should have been issued in the country where they reside and not where they might have caught or not caught the virus.

Rumour has it that the Trump could be planning a golf trip to Scotland to avoid attending Joe Biden’s inauguration. Prestwick airport has been told to expect a US Military Boeing 737 to land on January 19 and that is the type of plane used by the president. There has been a lot of military activity around the area but nothing is yet official. What is official is that the Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon said that the outgoing President would be subject to the same Covid travel restrictions as anyone else. This limits arrivals on the basis of essential travel only and a game of golf is not essential. I don’t often say this but “good old Nicola”.

A thief has been jailed for eight months for stealing items from Buckingham Palace belonging to the Queen. If she wants my advice it’s “off with ‘is ‘ead, ma’am’. The North Yorkshire servant with the very unYorkshire name of Adamo Canto stole several items including signed photos, medals and a complete photo album of the POTUS’ & FLOTUS’ visit. He was a bit short of money at the time and so proceeded to sell them on Ebay. I would have loved to have seen that listing. Would he have said “Her Majesty would like to sell a few photos of her grandchildren, please place your bid here”. There was also a personalised phone belonging to Prince Andrew. I would have placed a bid for that. Too late now, Good Night isolators everywhere.😴💤😴

During lockdown in Italy, archaeologists have been quietly chipping away in old Pompeii. They have discovered an almost intact, well preserved thermopolium, or ancient snack bar which in its day would have served the local population with drinks and hot foods. Apparently there were plenty of these snack bars dotted around the Roman world with eighty of them in Pompeii alone. Sounds a bit like Bournemouth, every time a shop closes another snack or coffee bar opens. The next one could be called Thermopolia. Anyway although several had already been uncovered this is the only one found in its entirety. There are still life scenes painted on the walls, urns, food residues, animal bones and even victims of the eruption. I visited there once it was very hot and dusty and also very sad to think of how quickly disaster had struck.

Meanwhile, in Ireland and while we are talking about old urns, a 20″ Chinese, urn shaped vase was put up for auction. It had been purchased in 1938 by an ancestor of the mystery seller. It was valued at around £450 as there was no proof of provenance but had a stamp on the base suggesting it had belonged to an emperor during the Qing Dynasty. Bidding was brisk and it finally sold for 1.1 million pounds plus fees. I’m going to check out that little Chinese cup I’m keeping my make-up brushes in.

One million people have already been given the Covid jab in the UK but there is obviously still a long way to go. On Monday the Oxford vaccine will become available and as long as there are enough people qualified to administer it the government say that the number of people receiving it will be 2 million per week by February. I wonder how many there are in front of me?

Did you know that Britain’s richest man who also happened to be a Brexit supporter has decided that his company will move to France to build its new Grenadier car. Sir Jim Ratcliffe had previously promised to build them in a new factory in Wales but changed his mind having found a ready to move into plant in Eastern France. The new 4×4 vehicle which is based on the Land Rover design is not even going to be electric. Take away the man’s title I say, he’s letting Britain down.

Spain and Britain have come to an agreement over Gibraltar which means that there will be free travel between The Rock and Spain. It will remain a UK territory but its borders will be managed by EU officials. This means that workers will be free to continue working there.

And another popular change following Brexit is that the 5% tampon tax on female sanitary products was abolished on 1st January. The EU had considered the items as “non-essential” and therefore subject to VAT. I wonder how they worked that one out? I could come up with a few suggestions but not here. Nighty night everyone, hope your year started well.  😴💤💤😴

The younger readers won’t remember but there was a programme on TV called That Was the Week That Was and I thought of that as I looked back over 2020. Anyway it’s over along with all the shopping for Xmas, eating too much and if you’ve been lucky meeting up with family or friends. Now we’re already being inundated with offers to join weight watchers or similar, diet foods and gym at home. Sod it all I say and let’s do something inspiring, adventurous or just plain naughty. Have fun.

Tonight also brings an end to free movement between the EU and the UK for all us Brits. As the mother of three Spanish born but now UK residents I do not feel at all happy about this turn of events. I’m also old enough to remember that life wasn’t better when we were on our own. I hitch hiked to Spain in the very early sixties when it wasn’t a free country but ruled by a dictator and the UK was class ridden, racist and close-minded. Both countries have benefitted from membership of Europe. And Stanley Johnson, 80 year old daddy of our very own BoJo who just negotiated Brexit is applying for a French passport. Well, daddy dear, do you have or need a wife?

So, in 2020 we’ve had Brexit, Megxit and a few other Exits which used to be called runaways – I’ve done that a few times myself, the first one being when I packed my brownie uniform and left home. No going anywhere now though although the stupid airlines keep emailing special offers as if we were going to suddenly pack a suitcase and fly off to Timbuktu. Richard Branson’s space flight is probably a better option. I wonder if I can afford it?

So, I started my blog www.nannyjune.com way back in March and I thank you all for reading, commenting and coming back for more. It’s been read here, in Spain, Germany, the US and Australia. You have definitely kept me going especially when suddenly someone mentions it to me and I didn’t even realise they were following. Family, friends and sometimes their friends. The grandchildren like to get a mention and let me know if they think they’ve been forgotten, as if a would – or could. It’s helped me to get through a couple of lockdowns and if nothing else it kept me in touch with the news. I thank you one and all and I wish you all a Very Happy 2021 and a speedy vaccination. Lots of Love, stay safe and well. This is nannyjune signing off in 2020. I’ll be back next year.

We’re not alone but Bournemouth (BCP Council) has jumped from Tier 2 to Tier 4. Back to the beginning when we couldn’t meet up with more than one person, shops, restaurants and cafes closed and no indoor gatherings. I feel very sorry for our hospitality sector and all the workers. Shops were recouping some money to their coffers from Xmas shoppers and the sales and eating places were doing the best they could. The only good news is that the Oxford vaccine has been given approval and the first doses will be given on Monday. We were told that 100 million doses have been ordered which is good but no one said how long it is going to take to manufacture such a huge quantity. I’m just hoping that the weather stays dry and sunny like today and at least we can get out for a daily walk.

The Trump, in case you’ve been wondering, is in Florida, playing golf and looking forward to his annual New Year’s Eve bash at Mar-a-Lago. It’s not expected that he will respect the pandemic and ask people to wear masks (there are some very fancy ones in New Orleans) nor to maintain social distancing. The outgoing POTUS does expect everyone who attends to pay $1000 for their ticket and they have to be members of his club. I wonder where the name comes from Mar a Lago translates as Sea to Lake? So far he has sold 500 tickets so maybe if you want one they could be discounted tomorrow.

We’ve more or less finished with all the tv Xmas specials which were not very special at all and now we have the New Year specials which look to be equally exciting. I’m definitely going to clean my paint brushes and sharpen my pencils and start trying to get creative in the new year. Any more sitting in front of the box watching nonsense is like to send me into mental breakdown. Hopefully I’ll also get some of the jobs done during this lockdown that I promised to do in the last one but didn’t. I’ve still not got around to posting my Dorset Apple Cake recipe which I promised Annie. Maybe mañana.

On the other side of the world an Australian sailor was knocked off his boat in the Pacific Ocean. It’s summer over there and our man was dressed in just his shorts. So there he was swimming around and watching his boat get further and further away with its engine still running. He swam for a while and was lucky enough to find a marker beacon (a large pole with a light on the top) and climbed onto it. He clung to a ladder on the side and removed his shorts to wave in the air trying to attract the attention of passing vessels. After a few hours when the light came on he tried to send an SOS signal. The naked man was eventually rescued by a passing cargo ship. That’s all for now. One day left in 2020. Good night everyone.  😴💤😴

You might have heard but in case you haven’t, Margaret Keenan the first patient to get Pfizer vaccine has received her second dose. I’m so pleased no one was listening to that idiot Tony Blair who suggested that only one dose was given to make it go further. I wonder how many people in the UK have received the jab in the three weeks since it started? I read that in Israel in the world’s fastest inoculation drive they have vaccinated half a million in nine days. Mine certainly won’t happen in 2020.

I haven’t bothered catching up on the details of the the Brexit agreement. I shall but Christmas seemed the better option over the last few days. Items do pop up in the news and the one that caught my eye today was from Madrid. The Spanish government has set a 72 hour deadline for Britain to reach a deal over Gibraltar to avoid a hard border with Spain. The rock was excluded from the last minute exit deal between Britain and the EU. Now decisions have to be made or there will be slow border checks for everyone crossing over. Spain has secured an exemption for about 15,000 Spanish workers who travel to the Rock every day. I wonder what that many workers do there? I only visited once and found it to be full of tourist shops and not much else. I wouldn’t be rushing back.

Which? informed its readers today that British travellers can still access free healthcare in Europe after Brexit. If you have a current European Health Insurance Card you will be able to use it until it expires. The card can last up to five years so I wish I had applied for one when mine ran out. Still I understand I can apply for a Global Health Insurance Card which will eventually replace the old EU one. No idea what it will cover me for but it’s worth looking into. If we ever get a chance to travel again, that is.

Now all you lot out there that like a life on the ocean waves, Carnival Cruise Line have been building a new “fun ship” called Mardi Gras. The vessel has been built in Finland and will carry (if it ever gets permission to sail again) 6,500 passengers. And to keep them amused there will be a roller coaster on top of the ship and it will also have its own brewery on board producing craft beer using filtered sea water. This all sounds like my very worse nightmare, please don’t give me a surprise ticket.

I’d like to mention a moan I have. Why do clothing manufacturers suggest you wash a winter dress by hand and dry flat? It’s a ridiculous idea that most people just ignore. I did today. I popped it in the machine (although it explicitly said don’t), set a wool wash programme and it came out perfectly. I’m sure no one ever dries anything flat let alone hand washes. That’s my moan for today and maybe this year. Good night revellers everywhere. 🎄😴💤😴🎄

A lot of noise tonight coming from Central car park which is below where I live. I didn’t take much notice as there is often the odd boy racer revving up his engine but when I eventually took a look the place was full and all the cars had lights full on. I think they were probably planning a motorised rave. Suddenly blue flashing lights arrived and everyone started to move. Quite funny as it isn’t easy to get out when there’s a crowd. Cars were still arriving as the others were leaving and in no time at all the place was back to normal. I wonder if someone phoned the police? It would have been fun to see what they had in mind before they were all evicted. We could have joined in from our balconies.

Yesterday and last night Storm Bella arrived. It was certainly felt around The Pinnacle although as far as I know no damage was done here. I believe that in Dorset trees were blown down along with fence panels etc. but it was worse in other parts of the UK. Bad flooding in some places. As if things aren’t bad enough with the pandemic, people are having to leave their homes because of high water levels. I hope they find somewhere safe and dry until they can return to their homes.

On Christmas Day in Bristol a large sinkhole appeared in a residential road. A large tree collapsed into the hole and will have to be removed by tree surgeons. No one was hurt but with the storm which followed I imagine it will make work difficult.

We had a great Christmas by the way. I went to spend the day with my daughter Elena and her family and Sam and her family came along too. We had presents and I was very spoilt and then we had a delicious meal. Our starter was a shellfish soup made by the hostess and very tasty it was too. We had our traditional turkey dinner and Xmas pudding. Honestly, I don’t know why we eat so much just because it’s Xmas. We played games and ate chocolates and they all drank more than was sensible. Lots of laughs though. Alice made a scrumptious chocolate log, she’s a great baker.

The temperature has dropped across the UK and even in Bournemouth we’ve had a heavy frost. Now snow is predicted and I have a handy suggestion for clearing your driveway. A man in Kentucky has posted a video of himself removing the snow from in front of his house using a flamethrower. Tim Browning is seen in bathrobe and slippers and the flame shooting out is at least 6 feet long. A voice can be heard in the background announcing ‘Browning snow service removal now available’. And the caption on his post just stated ‘Browning Snow Services. God bless American Rednecks’. Indeed, I couldn’t put it better myself. Good night, wear your warm pyjamas 🎄😴💤😴🎄

I haven’t blogged for four days, don’t know if I should apologise but I don’t think I will. I’ve been busy with Christmas stuff although Boris has stopped the event for a lot of the country. I’ve also been suffering with toothache, exposed root and had a couple of trips to the dentist. The dentist had a go at fixing it with some sort of filler covering the problem and although it’s a lot better it’s still bothering me somewhat. I’m not sure what could be done differently.

So, what else have I been doing? A trip to the hairdresser, I’m glad I got that in before Xmas and a probable lockdown. A bit of shopping and a couple of meetings with a friend for coffee and a tapas lunch. U3A voluntary work has taken up quite a bit of time as we have lots of registrations arriving for the new year even though we don’t have hardly any groups at the moment – only a few on zoom. But we have to keep things running for when we can start again properly.

In the news this week I read that Queen Liz wrapped up warm for a ride on her horse around Windsor Park. I don’t know about wrapping up warm but I think there aren’t many 94 year olds climbing up on a four legged beast to go out for a ride. I’m not sure I would try it. And another great woman, Prue Leith became one of the first people in the UK to receive the Covid vaccine. Hard to believe she’s 80 and she showed a photo of herself getting the jab and said ‘who wouldn’t want immunity from Covid-19 with a painless jab’. I’m going for mine as soon as it’s offered.

The PM has been on tv and announced that the government is tightening Covid rules. The new tier 4 has been introduced and will cover The East and South East where my son Peter lives. So I won’t be able to see him, Claudia and the grandchildren up in Kent. Haven’t seen them since February and I’m missing them. The proposed three day break over Xmas has been scrapped and now people can only meet up on 25th. I think we will hopefully be having a big Easter celebration next year.

Over the pond Joe Biden has selected a native American, Deb Haaland to be Interior Secretary when he forms his government. The nomination will have to be confirmed and if it goes through she will become the first Native American to hold this position and lead a department. There are 1.9 million native Americans in the US so It’s probably about time they had a voice in government in what is technically their country.

I’ve just made some mincemeat. As always I followed the Delia recipe which I looked up on line and found that it’s the same as the one in her Xmas book but she now adds cranberries to the mix. It’s simmering away in the oven so I’m waiting to see if the giant cranberries break down – before me.  Time for bed, sleepy head. 🎄😴💤😴🎄

 

I’ve been trying to avoid the subject of Brexit. It’s been going on forever, in case you’ve forgotten the so called referendum took place in June 2016. Few knew what they were voting for and believed the  many lies they were told and here we are four and a half years later waiting to see what trade deals we will end up with, if any. BoJo said yesterday (Sunday) that a no deal scenario is still the “most likely”. Today (Monday) it was reported that the pound went up in value as hopes rise of a Brexit trade deal. There’s a lot of flying over the cuckoo’s nest.

London and other parts of the south east of England will join other areas in Tier 3 meaning that apart from your own household or bubble you can only meet in groups of six outside. All other mingling is forbidden. There will be no restaurants, pubs, cafes, gyms, theatres etc etc. Nothing, just go and sit on the grass with five other people in the middle of winter. I think it’s time to hibernate. While I’m on the subject I went for a walk into town with a friend on Saturday. We popped into a coffee place which was busy, in fact very busy. They didn’t seem to have made any effort to space out the tables and they were all full. This seemed to be allowed but I couldn’t say to that one friend, come up to my flat for a coffee or a bite to eat, it’s against the rules.

Monoliths continue to pop up around the world, some have been owned by artists who say they wanted to be part of the event. One has been seen on the top of a hill in Glastonbury and had the words “Not Banksy” although it also had a stencil drawing of a rat. Sadly the weather did not cooperate and it blew over soon after being erected. One in Australia was covered in cryptic coordinates which were codes for different locations around the world from the Pacific Ocean to an Egyptian desert. I’m hoping one will appear in Bournemouth gardens, it will make up for not having Xmas trees this year.

Banksy definitely painted on the side of a house in his home town of Bristol showing an old lady sneezing out her dentures which appear to knock over adjacent houses. An estate agent told the owner that their home which was already on the market could now be worth millions. The owner has spent money on having the painting covered with perspex and an alarm system but will have to wait to have the artist’s work officially valued.

I quite enjoy watching Antiques Road Trip but am intrigued by one thing that occasionally pops up. When the experts are trying to bargain with the dealer they are often told they can pay “so much for cash”. I have to wonder what the tax man thinks if he’s watching. Just saying…  Good night bargain hunters everywhere.  🎄😴💤😴🎄