2023 - Back to the Blog

 Well, here we are again - I have decided to continue my blog again. Since the pandemic I have got a new job - I work in a wonderful care home called Hempstalls Hall - where my dad is living now. I am a Well-Being Co-ordinator - so I basically look after residents welfare - my lovely colleague, Karen and I take them out to coffee shops, garden centres, the theatre and shops, arrange entertainers to come in and play quizzes and words games, do gardening and give them treats like a drinks trolley, afternoon teas or chocolates. It is such fun (and very hard work!) Definitely the best thing about the job is the residents. They are amazing and every one has a story. 

So, what else have I been up to?

Well, I started this blog as a cancer blog - and just recently, out of the blue I was phoned by Paula from Cancer Research UK who said "We are opening a CRUK Superstore on your toen - and we'd like you, as a Cancer Survivor, to cut the ribbon on the day.

Of all the things I thought I might do in my life - I never imagined that I would be asked to open a shop!

It happened on 8th June and I had such a lovely day. There were lots of volunteers, managers, staff from CRUK media team and a photographer (and another one from The Sentinel) present too. I went into the shop with Nathan, and we had a look around and met everyone. The head of media gave a talk and then they asked me to talk about my journey through cancer. it was wonderful - and they gave me a massive bouquet of flowers. Then came the ribbon cutting. There was a huge queue outside waiting to be let in and the Town Cryer, Bill, announced the opening. I used some oversized comedy scissors for the photos - then cut the ribbon with actual scissors - just as everyone poured in. You couldn't move inside the shop - and it was massive!

Laura had taken the day off and my brother Dom and his wife Sharon came too. Karen brought some of the residents of the home - including my dad and Betty and Shirley. It was a fabulous occasion!

Life in Time of Coronavirus 12

June has been really wet and stormy - some spectacular lightning shows. One night we went out in the back yard to watch the sheet lightning lighting up the neighbourhood! Until it started raining heavily!
Walks have been curtailed quite a lot - so feeling sluggish and more tired - weirdly.
Slowly working our way through or new Marvel jigsaw.
Yesterday (21st June) was Father's Day - so all 3 of us went for a very pleasant drive to Endon to visit my dad. We had to stay in the back garden and my dad chatted to us from the conservatory at the back of Marjorie's bungalow. Tried to chat - although M did interrupt a lot to tell us how marvellous her family are and to utter racist threats against Chine - as they have obviously trying to take over the world by making this coronavirus in a lab and unleashing it on the world. Didn't really explain how it works when their own population were the first badly affected. She still wants to nuke the whole country though.

I had bought my dad some Eat Your Drink novelty jellies. They are made from whisky - which he likes - and are proper strong. "Eat 5 and you can't drive!" Also came with socks with CHEERS on them!

I also had got a variety cocktail pack for us to try - and they are really nice! You can tell they have a good amount of alcohol in them. I had read about them in The Metro - and ordered them from their website.

This week is predicted to be another heatwave - at last! I have a new fence panel in the back yard waiting to be cut to size and installed and thee is some more fence along the bottom to paint in my cool green colour.

Hopefully it will get done!

Last Friday I had a Zoom get-together with the box office team from the theatre. Mandy (manager) didn't turn up until the last 5 minutes - and Linds seem to try at the very end but failed. Talked to Taz, Lou, Emily and Pete though - and Kay (who is marking person and Pete's sister) Taz says she's been doing nothing during lockdown - apart from all our quizzes! Lou has got herself an extra job at Tesco - she works 2 days  week 5am-10am putting together online orders for delivery. She was very rpoud to have met her deadlines everyday. She has also designed and built a wardrobe from scratch - which looked really good.

Pete seems to have a grown a beard and Emily had to spend the money she had saved to buy a pole (for her pole dancing practice) on a Shark hoover as her old hoover packed up. She has also become addicted to crossword puzzle books.

I asked for people's Netflix suggestions - and Pete's wife, Lisa piped up from somewhere in his room about a load of true crime ones. Not sue fi they are my cup of tea though. Taz had watched Afterlife - and loved it though it was so sad. it must have been a hard watch for her as she lost her dad just at the start of this pandemic. (Not Covid though) I really rate Ricky Gervais now - fantastic series. He is writing series 3 right now.

Laura and I finished Dead to me - which was brilliant, funny, sad and surprising all the way though. Now waiting for series 3 of that too. Loved both characters and their complicated friendship!

Emily did say that all was well with the theatre and its cashflow (not sure how - what cashflow?) Today (Monday) they are starting to rip all the old seats out and the builders have set up a "wellness tent" on the car park for their workers welfare. Not sure how they are working - hardly anyone is allowed in the building. So the theatre will look fabulous soon - but who knows when it will reopen>

Bojo is meant to be making another announcement today about the 2m distancing rule - which businesses are clamouring to be reduced so they can open and make money. However, it is only meant to be safe if we have a track and trace system in place. The government have abandoned the "world-beating app" they were testing in the Isle of Wight - as it doesn't work with the Apple system. Not sure if they are going to use the one that does work - made by Google and Apple - that the rest of the world is using.

Most non-essential shops are now open - although we haven't been tempted to go out at all. No news on pubs and restaurants yet - although they are hoping the proposed date of July 6th could happen. It will depend on the 2m rule though. it had been suggested for that date if they had tables outside and people ordered via an app rather than crowding around a busy indoor bar/counter.

We shall see...

Life in the time of Coronavirus 13

Well, on Monday Laura had a phone call asking her to go back into her office on Wednesday 1st July. She has been staying here with us for exactly 3 months. We packed up her stuff and food and went back to her flat on Tuesday - I helped her clean the bathroom which gets black mould in it . Spoke to her after her first day - via Duo video calling. She'd managed to get back into her work jeans! She was the only one from her team in the office - and when she got there she had a computer there with her name on so she knew where to sit. There are 2 other guys from the other team in there with her and they are spaced out. There are anti-bac cleaning stations thee too. They all had to do some retraining via video links again - then were given simple tasks to start them off. It is hard to get straight back into something when you haven't done it for over 3 months.

She seemed quite happy though - so hopefully she'll be okay. The call centre is in another room - with around 60 people in there - but there are still 100 of them at home.

One good thing is now that she is back on full wages she can re-apply for her mortgage. The estate agent said they are ready to go with the flat as soon as she has that back in place. I think a visit to the flat might be in order before she buys it as it is over a year since she viewed it! Hopefully it is still in good order as it has ben empty all this time.

So, we managed to finish our Marvel jigsaw before she went. The box had said it was impossible - but we did it!

Also while we were in lockdown together we managed to grow some plants! M&S gave me some seeds once when I shopped there - so I grew the peppers and L grew the violas. Then Dom brought over some rhubarb plants from my dad's garden in Cheadle.

They are all doing really well and have now been transferred outside. I don't have a garden here - just a yard - but they are doing okay in pots!

So, L went home to her flat on Tuesday - and tomorrow (Friday) we are having another visitor! My neice Zoe is hoping to do an intensive training course down at Stafford Uni -so that she will be able to be a relief ambulances driver for the NHS. She has been in St John's Ambulance for years and she really wants to do this. As she lives in York she needs somewhere to stay. The first day will be an assessment to see if she is suitable - and if she passes that then it could be the next 3 weekends. As she has been at home with her mum and dad - after Bournemouth Uni closed, where she was studying forensic science - and both Damian and Jan are working from home I think she should be safe in our bubble.

The latest from the government is that despite daily deaths being 170-180 they are opening all the pubs and restaurants on July 4th - a Saturday. Boris is telling people to be careful and not go crazy - but I can see carnage happening! Checked our local The Wulstan - and it is also opening. You have to book a table - whether you are eating or just going for a drink. They need a contact number in case you have to be traced later if someone had it. They say that the inside of the pub is very different - with tables being spaced out. No-one is allowed to congregate around a fruit machine or in a smoking area. You are also encouraged to order food from the app instead of going to the bar. And pay remotely.

I can't see many people keeping to those guidelines for long - especially when they've had a few drinks. Seems like a recipe for disaster - so we are not going any time soon. Even before all this happens they have already had a massive spike in Covid infections in Leicester - so that whole city is on lockdown again.

Life in Time of Coronavirus 11

Every day seems the same now.

Every day at 5pm there is a Corona briefing - rarely given by the PM usually some poor government minister who has to try to defend their record and the chaos since Dominic Cummings broke the rules. It was actually Boris today - no-one sees him from one week to the next - he only comes out because he has to attend PMQs and get his weekly grilling from Sir Keir Starmer. No-one knows what he does for the rest of the week. he is never prepared for the questions or briefing he does do. Seems to make it up as he goes along.
The most damning nws recently was today when one of his scientific advisors said the it the lockdown had happened just 1 week early the death toll - currently over 50000 would have been HALVED.  
BBC News

"The number of coronavirus deaths in the UK would have been halved if lockdown had been introduced a week earlier, a former government adviser has said.

Prof Neil Ferguson, whose advice was crucial to the decision to go into lockdown, said the outbreak had been doubling in size every three or four days before measures had been taken."

It is true that we are one of the worst affected countries in the world.

In other news - now that my windowsill peppers are growing so well, Nathan bought me an avocado growing kit. Just need to take the stone out of an avocado and peel off its skin - and put it in this avocado boat and float it in some water. In 1-3 months it will sprout and start to grow into a tree. I'll let you know how that goes!

Have finished another 1000 piece jigsaw - this one with shelves of Christmas books. It was fun to do - might do it again nearer Christmas!

Laura has now ordered a Marvel 1000 one - so we are making a start on that one. It says it is "impossible" - but there are so many faces and outfits it shouldn't be too difficult to get it done.

We are going to have a massive collection of jigsaws by the time we are allowed out and things get back to normal - if they ever do!

The last Zoom meeting at the theatre was a bit dispiriting - as now most staff have been put on furlough "for a period of pause and reflection" The Board Meeting last week sounds like it didn't go so well. Fiona said they could see a few "cons" with her plan of opening again in September. However the refurb is actually going ahead this week - we have been sent plans and an artist's impression of the new auditorium with its new purple seats. At least there will be SOME activity at the theatre over the summer. Not sure when I will be called back in again. Still no news from the government when theatres can reopen.

Boris is considering reducing the 2m distancing rule to 1m - under pressure from businesses - but our Covid R rate is still too high to consider that safe just yet.


Still streaming 3 quizzes a week on Mixer - as well as hosting a Community Games Night online on Saturday nights for people from Interference and the quizzes to play some silly Jackbox games - which you can join in via your phones. I enjoy that - although it was better when Rubbafish was doing it (he started it) but he is struggling right now and not feeing up to it. So, Nathan has to set it up and take control. It is still fun though.

Life in the Time of Coronavirus 10

 On Monday - with the lockdown regulations being relaxed - we were allowed to see up to 6 people in your garden as long as we still stay 2 metres away from each other. So, I got to see Dominic and Sharon! I let them come in through the back gate into the yard - and they sat on our swinging seat.

They had just been over to Endon to drop some medication off for my dad. They'd chatted to him through the door - he didn't come out to them.

It was lovely to see them both and have a proper conversation. Much nicer than a phone call. They both looked really well - they are walking over 10000 steps everyday. They have discovered a lake behind JCB full of ducks and another at Hales Hall. They stayed less than an hour - maybe I might go over to Cheadle soon and visit their garden.

The next day we had a special delivery - arranged by Nathan's dad. It was a Survival Pack - from Lymestone breweries! It was delivered by Brad who said that he was doing okay. He has 2 pubs - one in Stone and ne in Newcastle which are both closed at the moment. He said that they had always meant to set up an online shop for their brewery - and had never got round to it. Now they have had to in order to survive. He said it was going pretty well - in fact sometimes better than when he was selling to places like Wetherspoons and had to wait 48 days for payment - this way he gets paid within a couple of days!

The pack contained bottles of Lymestone beer, Stray Cat cider and crisps! he'd even included two glasses, beer mats and some puzzles. it was great!

The weather has been gorgeous - but it changed today (Wednesday) L and I made a chocolate chip banana loaf which was yummy. We didn't go for a walk as it was rainy. We are almost finished with our latest 1000 piece jigsaw - which is of shelves of Christmas books! We are running out of jigsaws!

 

Life in the Time of Coronavirus 9

Apparently the Health Secretary (or Death Secretary as he's being called on Twitter) Matt Hancock has said we can start to loosen the lockdown and see up to 6 people outside . Boris said we can have bbqs - but Chris Whitty stood awkwardly next to him in that Daily briefing looked very uncomfortable and added that we had to still observe 2m social distancing and bring our own food plates condiments - and if you have to go in the house to the loo - wash everywhere down afterwards! Doesn't sound much fun.

The problem is the R rate - which is how many people get infected from each infected person is supposed to be below 1 before you do this. It is only just under that - but we are still getting way over 300 deaths per day. I am not sure if I trust this instruction.

As Dominic Cumming is still in the newspapers every day - with criticism of his actions mounting - Boris is trying to give people something to distract them. He knows how much we are missing friends and family - and he is trying to just deflect attention from all the calls for him to sack his SPAD DC.

In other words it is a political decision - not one guided by the science. He'd rather have extra people die than lose his special advisor - and that is disturbing.

So, our instincts are to continue to stay home as much as possible I can't see that I will be called into work for a while yet - as who would want to be in a theatre full of other people in an enclosed space yet? Or ever? So I will stay home as long as I can.

Laura has had emails from her work that say they are putting in distancing and safety measures in place and bringing a few people at a time. She doesn't know when she will go back though. She has been refused a mortgage extension though - while she is on furlough - so if her flat purchase does get ready for completion - she no longer has a mortgage! It has already taken over 12 months - it seems like it is never meant to be!

I don't like the idea that once she does go back to work - she will have to move back to her rented flat. It would be risky for us if she stays here and is working with loads of other people. We'll have to see.

Little Easter Bunnies

Posh Fox for Sharon

Lemon Biscuits

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dom and Sharon have asked if they can come round one day next week. They have to go over to Endon to take my dad his latest batch of medication. So I aid thy could come into the back garden and we can distance and have a chat. I am actually really excited to think we can see them again. They have been isolating really well - and so I trust them to be okay. They still have Nathan's birthday gifts - and I have their Easter Eggs here. Well, kind of. I got them little Easter bunnies crocheted by Tracy - and each with a Cadbury Crème Egg inside. I did eat the eggs though - so I have ordered some more from Amazon!

I still have the fox head that I knitted for Sharon too. Would be lovely to see them.

Me and L have been baking again - this week two types of cookies - lemon drizzle ones that I made and choc chip pnut ones from Lol.We are gong to emerge from lockdown much fatter than when we went in!

Life in the Time of Coronavirus 8

Getting a bit fed up of lockdown now.

All this week there has been nothing on the news except how the (special advisor to the) PM Dominic Cummings has been breaking lockdown and driving to Durham with his sick wife and child. Then had a day out to Barnard Castle for his wife's birthday. Quite extraordinary - given that he was the guy who made the rules and the slogan STAY HOME SAVE LIVES. Needless to say everyone is livid - but BoJo will not sack him. He really doesn't have a clue what to do without him I guess.

I think Marina Hyde explained it best in The Guardian

Here I have had a second staff meeting via Zoom with the New Vic. Still not a lot of concrete information - given that the general consensus is that theatres will be one of the last places that will be allowed to reopen - and who knows what restrictions will still be in place.

The Plan A - is to commence productions from September. They have put together a new schedule some of the plays we were going to put on and a few one night events they have managed to reschedule. They are not selling tickets or letting the public know yet - as there is no guarantee that it will happen.

They know they may need a Plan B ( and possible Plan C) - but haven't come up with that yet.

One good bit of news is that the refurb may still go ahead over the summer. The company that is making our new seating has reopened its factory - and the colour has been chosen - a deep purple! The tenders for the new toilets have been received and some are now coming in for the new stage. So, the theatre will be all ready for the next 30 years. 

The furlough scheme is still being used - and we may have that extended after June - or some of us may be asked to come back part-time. I am already employed part-time - so I am not sure when I will be back. Unless we get the go ahead for our new September Programme I guess there's not a lot for the Box Office to do. Will have to see what transpires!

Me and Laura have been doing lots more baking - and we are also running out of jigsaws. Just ordered another 100 piece one - with lots of books on it. We started that one today! 

Here are photos of our lemon drizzle biscuits and chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. Both were delicious. 

The weather has turned gorgeous again - so we had a barbecue on Bank Holiday Monday (was like every other day - except N didn't have to work from home!) We have a new swinging seat which was delivered by Amazon. 
The other photo is Grumbles enjoying snoozing in the sunshine by the window.