"for the happy, the sad, I don't want to be, another page in your diary"

Sunday 31 January 2021

The Long Road Back

We still have snow on Monday and it’s very pleasant to walk in it even with the dogs. Sainsbury’s is even quieter than last week, so the snow has perhaps succeeded where Covid hasn’t and managed to keep people at home.

Or maybe it’s the fact that the UK hits 100,000 Covid deaths this week and that’s by the Government’s own measure which is lower than everyone else’s. The really shocking thing is it took eight months to get to the first 50,000 deaths but only three months to add the second 50,000. So we’re not really getting any better at this.

Even now the Government is prevaricating about closing the borders and may, at some point, announce a new hotel quarantine system but only for certain ‘target’ countries.

We celebrate Burns Night and why not? So we have Haggis, Tatties and Neeps with a single malt on the side.

The rain is back by Tuesday and threatens to wash away all the lovely snow. By Wednesday it has just about succeeded.

The Lad has a busy Wednesday. He de-bobbles L’d bobble hat in the morning while I’m in the shower and then rips up the washing up sponge (again) in the afternoon. It appears we’re not giving him enough attention.

The weekend arrives looking very much like the rest of the week and there is even confusion on Friday as our Friday night is somewhat compromised by a wonderfully indulgent Friday morning. At least the football is still on a Saturday this week as Derby County win their third match in a row. Then on Sunday I attempt a run, a massive 1.3k without a dog. It's a long road back.

TV wise I start watching The Bay on catch up, which is actually quite good although L isn't impressed. As I've said before she doesn't really do TV series.

(Sunday 31st January)

Sunday 24 January 2021

Get Buzzin

The week starts with what is known as Blue Monday, which is supposedly the most depressing day of the year. Seems just like any other Monday to me.

L livens it up with ‘Get Buzzin’ With Bez’. Bez from the Happy Monday has launched a workout routine after apparently two and a half years of sitting on the sofa. He says to get fit to keep up with his personal trainer girlfriend who is 22 years his junior. More importantly to L, he has a sausage dog.

Derby aren’t feeling too blue and win two games this week beating Bournemouth and QPR.

My parents get their first dose of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday while L’s parents get theirs on Saturday. Even L is impressed with the smoothness of the system they have going at Derby Arena. The dose takes up to three weeks to kick in, so I do hope that both sets of parents are responsible and don’t go out on a bender just because they've been vaccinated.

We stay in to have our bender, just a mini one as more Christmas Ale arrives from Lenton Lane Brewery which they have now rebadged Winter Ale. This is at L's request. She does like something with a bit of spice.

Britain announces it is thinking about shutting its borders and maybe quarantining everyone who arrives. You know like all the successful countries did back last March. 

Meanwhile we’re not even supposed to travel to Derby where they have set up a Six Pack Challenge. At least this gives my knee more time to recover.

The week that started with Blue Monday ends with White Over Sunday as we get a decent covering of snow. 

 

I take the boys on the park for a ball session and a walk while L does a one-to-one meet up with Daughter, keeping well within the rules by walking there.

 

I’m not sure many others are being as compliant judging by the groups on the park which are small but not looking particularly household-like.

 (Sunday 24th January)

Sunday 17 January 2021

Government Mandated Walks

Heading to Sainsbury’s on Monday, the roads and the supermarket itself are both much quieter today. Perhaps the message about the current grim Covid situation is finally getting through to the public. We were told that the winter would be bad but nobody listened, least of all the Government. 

However our local Primary school seems almost as busy as normal. There seems to be far more key workers this time around.

Wollaton Park seems a lot quieter than it was. Perhaps it’s because the Police have been told to clamp down or perhaps it's the thought that if you don’t comply with the current ‘rules’ the Government will simply make them even more complicated. At the moment it appears that you can go for a walk with someone for the exercise but not for a social. So just make sure you only walk with people you don’t want to talk to.

L has been going out early every morning for her Government mandated walk. The boys and I are invited but it's a bit early for us and we also feel we'd be intruding on her 'me' time aka us-free time as well as preventing her listening to her audiobooks. To be fair she did try to take the Lad with her but the subsequent commotion woke the entire neighbourhood.

Derby Arena is now Derby’s main vaccine point but neither my parents nor L’s have heard anything about getting vaccinated yet. Hopefully they will all hear something soon.

We start watching The Serpent on L’s boss’s recommendation, which mean she feels almost compelled to watch it despite her dislike of TV series.

Later in the week we get a few flurries of snow but nothing to get excited about.

(Sunday 17th January)

Sunday 10 January 2021

All Hail Hermes

The first week after the Christmas and New Year break opens with the revelation that the Government’s pandemic advisers had told them to call another lockdown way back on 22nd December but I guess they hadn’t wanted to ruin their own Christmases, so they call one from this Monday instead. Nearly two weeks later. Not that I think it changes much as I haven’t really been doing anything for a month or so now.

L’s office subsequently decides to immediately close, so she can’t go into work but I once again have someone in the upstairs office at home to talk to.

Wollaton Park belatedly tries to limit its superspreading capabilities by closing its external food and drink traders but keeping its own open. I’m not sure how longer queues at the two remaining ones helps? But what do I know? While, to limit numbers, the overspill car park will be closed. Although as it currently resembles a lake due to flooding I’m not sure it was usable anyway.

Derby County are hit by a Covid outbreak and are forced to play their under 18s at Chorley in the FA Cup 3rd Round. They unsurprisingly lose 2-0. Leeds United however, voluntarily opt to play a reserve side against Crawley Town and lose 3-0. I know which I thought was funnier.

America supplies a bit of drama to break up the monotony as Trump’s mob tries to seize control of the country with a riot in their Government building.

The brightest news of the week is that my beer that went AWOL before Christmas finally arrives and it is, bizarrely, Hermes to the rescue.

Hermes is the Greek god of many things. His CV says he's the god of trade, wealth, luck, fertility, animal husbandry, sleep, language, thieves, travel and he's also the patron of shepherds but he's not the god of lost parcels. So now you know. 

(Sunday 10th January)

Friday 1 January 2021

All Is Quiet

I am back at work on Tuesday, but at home obviously, and feeling a little festive as a bit of snow falls.

As usual most of Derby’s daytime TV matches over Christmas and New Year get moved to evenings, totally trashing the point of games over the festive period. It’s not quite as annoying as when you can actually go to the matches but it’s still annoying. Particularly so because for some reason I have been locked out of my Now TV account and this is the only way I can watch tonight’s game. They tell me it will take 48 hours to fix, so no game to watch then.

With ‘The Plot Against America’ being so dull I intersperse the series with ‘Industry’ which has far more drugs, sex and alcohol as well as its fair share of odious people. They're just not as odious as in ‘The Plot Against America’.

As the vaccine roll out starts L works out that, according to the online calculator, she'll get her Covid Jab around about May/June. So she’ll be able to go to the pub again around about September. Just not with me as I’m further down the queue,

On Wednesday she gets in a final swim, and apparently it’s lovely in the outside pool, before as expected Nottingham enters Tier 4 on Thursday. Which also signals the end of Dog Training. 

I had been delaying doing the training schedule for our sessions that were due to start on 5th January because I was so sure we’d get locked down again and didn’t want to waste all that effort. It’s not nice to be proved right though.

I’m back on holiday on Thursday which is New Years Eve and of course the chance to catch with up old friends. Which in our case is Jools Holland as we spent the New Year pretty much as usual with Hootenanny..

Friday is New Year’s Day and as Bono once said ‘all is quiet on New Year’s Day’. As it is everywhere.

(Friday 1st January)