The Lockdown Gang - Carry on Regardless.

What fantastic shots Bradfordlass. I've tried to photograph lightening in the past, and failed miserably. Always too late. I hope you feel better soon, the telltale for Covid seems to be whether or not you have a temperature, although that's not guaranteed.

Where about a do you live Doodle? Hopefully not up norf with all the flooding. The storms are determinedly missing us.

I feel just fine, if a little tired. Thanks Doodle
Here's what you might have seen but for your rof:

www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-53764430

bradfordlass I do hope it is just a cold. Are you feeling ok in yourself?
I’m glad your son and his family are working from home and keeping themselves safe especially as the people concerned live in the same street.

I just had to write this down tonight. We have just had (and are still having) the most amazing experience I have ever had in a storm. We have been out on our balcony and we must be in the centre of an incredible storm. I have never seen lightening like it. We have been outside for 45 minutes and for most of the time the lightening flashes have been more than one a second. Constant flashes of light so bright it was almost blinding in some cases. Unfortunately, because of the angle of the roof we cannot see the actual lightning source just the flashes of light. The thunder has been growling all the time and the rain torrential. I have never seen a storm quite like it. It’s beginning to fade away now but what a night. ?

Oh dear Doodle I'm so glad sorry you can't iron
missedout I want to be a stowaway!

I feel the dreaded virus is creeping ever nearer.

Having freely associated with so many people on Sunday and read that my medical centre (I was there on Monday) has closed due to a Covid-positive contact, I rang the 0800 Helpline to find out if anyone could come out to test me. "You are 72nd in the queue" said the phone voice. I'm not kidding...and that's just a phone queue, not a testing queue which, I'm told, can stretch for a mile or more - all day!

Waipareira tell me no one is available as they are all flat out testing people who can drive in, so my sore throat, headache and sniffle will have to run its course.

But I'm isolated and will stay that way so no one else is at risk and it's almost certainly just a common-or-garden winter cold.

Had testing been possible, it would have been carried out through a small gap in the window, via gloves and santised equipment on both sides.

As an added anxiety, the family whose illness started this (poor things, they are being blamed ) new wave of 14 cases in South Auckland, live in the same street as my son and his wee family.

They don't know them but will have been using the same local shops and petrol stations etc.

My son is very sensible and their house has been sanitised to within an inch of its life (my dil is a meticulous house-keeper anyway - unlike me!) and he wears gloves and a mask if he goes out.

They are in total isolation; now working from home again which is reassuring.

This lockdown may be lifted pretty soon but the tracing process is a bit like working on your family tree - endless tentacles of people stretching in all directions

nortsat DH is the shielded one. So far all we have done is spend some time in the garden with our sons and their families strictly keeping our distance. We have not been in anyone else’s house and apart from an emergency plumber we have not had anyone in ours. We did go for a socially distanced afternoon tea yesterday but wore masks and gloves till we got to the table and sanitised our hands umpteen times.
No shops, no hugs with DGC, no mixing with people. When we go for a walk we turn our backs if people get to close. We are doing our best to keep a distance. No plans for doing anything different for the time being. Just remembered, prompted by Missedout’s post that I am having my hair cut on Monday. First time for 23 weeks ?
missedout cooler here today too thank goodness and two thunderstorms. I bet you can’t wait to get on your boat. Good idea to plan to take everything with you. Your room will be given a good airing and tidy ready for you when you come back. If you ask Jeeves nicely he will make a thermos of hot chocolate for you to take with you. He was looking a bit glum this morning. It seems he will miss you. You were nice to him when he hurt his nether regions. ?
nfk how lovely to be near the sea. Do you (or did you before lockdown) go there often? Good to be in a quieter area. Stops you having to mix with too many people.
My steam iron has stopped working for some reason so I can’t do any ironing (?) no, it’s really awful. I have a pile of ironing I can’t do (??????) . It’s such a shame ????
Hope you are all ok. Thinking of all the missing gangsters, kept safe.

Have a wonderful time Missedout. The weather looks as if it's going to be cooler but still summer so it should be wonderful.

Thanks Nortsat, we're not shielding now and in a very low infection area, although the Zoe research statistics are implying otherwise. The report in the local paper said there were only 19 new cases in Norfolk last week - and 8 of those were in Gt Yarmouth! Everyone in town is being really careful - except teenagers who, of course, as everyone knows, are invincible.

We're about ten miles or so from Cromer Doodle. That's why I say the north of Norfolk on the Good Morning thread - North Norfolk is the posh bit and we're not that! We're near enough to the sea to get sea mists on occasion and sometimes pink foot geese come over in winter. We do have tourists here but not many. Just the quiet sort who don't want to be noticed!

Hi Gang, today is not as sultry as yesterday when I spent the most of the time blotting the damp hair on the back of my neck. We had some thunder, sheet lightning and just a few heavy showers last night and the sun is now shining again, it is more comfortable though still muggy.

Apart from clothes washing, I've spent this morning sorting out more online food deliveries. We are on our narrowboat soon but plan to be completely self-sufficient (no meals out or trips to local shops en route) so need to make sure that we have all our needs for a whole week. This is tricky, I'm worried I will forget something vital. We have lists and we have lists of lists. Then we have another food delivery set up for when we get back. I have a headache but that may just be the weather.

Norstat, I'm still being very careful and am 'sheltering'. I have recently visited family and stayed with them but there have been isolation periods on both our part and the family visited too. I have yet to go into any shops, I don't plan to either. My DH (with face mask on) went into an almost deserted car parts shop while I waited outside in the car (my car was absolutely the best place to be yesterday, it has very effective air conditioning). He wiped and sanitised before getting back in the car. We have plans to visit another DS and family soon but that will be an outdoor BBQ. The only real chance I feel I have taken is having a hair cut (long enough ago for it not to matter now).

While away on the boat, internet access will be limited so I will follow your posts when I can. I will be thinking of you and willing you all to be as well as you can be though.

Doodle, please keep my room ready for when I get back. I will have to make my own chocolate drinks (now is drinking chocolate on my list......)!

Morning Gangsters from another hot day in east London. I have done my little workout early, before the day heats up.

Yesterday was hard going for me, because the heat causes the ozone levels to rise, thus making it hard work to breathe. I spent a significant part of the day asleep. My partner says it will be doing me good, but I wonder if I am growing lazy ...

Nfkd I haven’t had a letter from the NHS extending my shielding. My GP said 2-4 weeks more because the area of London in which we live, has very high levels of the virus.
Bradford thank you for your encouragement.
I will be interested to hear whether other shielders are going out at all (apart from medical appointments). I have accepted an invitation for tea in the garden, with a friend who's also shielding. I will drive there and back, so we figure that’s safe for both of us. What have you guys been doing about going out?

Grammaretto, our garden would love some of your rain.
Panache hope your dear man is making progress.
Hope we all have a cool and comfortable day. ?

panache good to hear mrP is at home where you can keep an eye on him. I think there will be many shielded people who carry on as before even when their shielding ends. I think it is wise to be cautious. Take care of yourselves ?
mamissimo hope you had a good night and feel a bit more lively today.
bradfordlass again you have jogged my memory. Listen With Mother. I loved that.?
Well you certainly know how to make someone jealous. That food looks delicious. Thank you for the explanation I understand hangi now.
I find it annoying when people ask your opinion of something and then either disregard it or disagree with what you say.
I haven’t read the paper yet so don’t know if there’s an update on your lockdown.
Rain has arrived here today (as I knew it would as soon as Jeeves stocked up on the cool stuff ?)
It was so invigorating. We had a real thunderstorm and I spent ages standing in front of an open door feeling the cool air and watching the rain landing on the river and the road and bouncing back up again. Also watching all those people who were out in their light tops and dresses getting soaked ?
It was lovely to have such a downpour but sadly not for all those in Wales and Scotland where there is flooding.
grammaretto We certainly have got some of your rain ⛈?
I was going to ask if your DGD wore your cardi ?. So pleased she enjoyed school.
Glad to hear MrG is feeling a little better today.
Have a good day all.

Hello gangsters,
It sounds so hot and sticky for you Southerners. I hope you get some of our rain today.
A friend has offered to strim our "meadow" this week but he hasn't come yet. Perhaps it was too wet.
I hope your new lockdown doesn't last too long BradfordLass though it won't make very much difference to you I imagine.
DH woke feeling better today though he does wake very early.
I have always needed more sleep than him.
I'm still so delighted that DGD enjoyed her first day of school after all that worry and build up. She wore the cardi I knitted at least for the photo!

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202008/medium-58988-hangidia.png https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202008/medium-471583-hangi-yum-001.jpg

Grammaretto Thank you for the calming thoughts, I'll hold on to them tightly.
I'm so pleasd to hear your DGD enjoyed her first day back - and that your DH is sleeping peacefully. That's the way to recover, sleep and time. Love to you both xxx

Doodle I was one of those children who came home at lunchtime, thinking that was the end of my schooling.
I had no concept (what child does?) of going to school every day for the next 10+ years.
I was quite happy with Listen With Mother and my afternoon nap and being woken with home-made biscuits and milk after Woman's Hour

A hāngi is food cooked in the ground, long and slow.
The diagram might give you an idea but food is always wrapped.
Formerly, the ancient Maori used large leaves and woven flax baskets. Now it's usually foil packs and wire baskets.

If done well, the food is succulent and has a delicate, slightly smoked flavour.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangi

Yesterday I was asked by a writer to look over her manuscript and suggest improvements. I requested one chapter, she sent the whole book.
The style was all right but the facts were wrong. Big things such as saying the Ritz Hotel in London is in Balham.
I suggested a bit of research but she refused, didn't want to change a thing.
I had a feeling that would be the case. Serious writing takes practice and effort.

Nortsat what a drag to have your time extended but as so many here have said, use your own judgment about what's safe.
If you can go somewhere without contact; or have contact only with those you know are Covid free, such as family, what's the risk? Don't be downhearted

Oh dear Doodle melting mousses! I'm glad you got out for your special tea though, despite the heat.

I contacted the supermarket about provision for Priority cases, as there is no prospect whatsoever (if Lockdown goes on) of getting any fresh veg this month as the slots have been taken. I await their reply.

I like the refrigerated display case Jeeves seems to have found - no melting mousses in there and plenty of cold drinks and smoothies.

Hope everyone has a restful night and arises with vigour

Popping in to say goodnight....I've been too sleepy today to achieve anything more than driving my household nuts. I will try harder tomorrow.

Sleep tight
?

Joining you gangsters as I am absolutely swimming with this heat,not just very hot but continually soaking in persperation (grrrrrrr) so am bound to be losing weight again!

Lovely hearing your uplifting messages and yes, still those going through trials that are sent to test us all at one time or another.

Hospital visit this day almost proved too much but pleased to say we coped,but only just!!
Yes my dear man is back home thankfully.
Although official shielding is ending on the 16th and we have both recieved letters we are abiding by the advice our Nurse friends suggest ............carrying on in exactly the same safe manner.
Which we fully intend doing anyway.
They all believe this is a very dangerous period.... with the majority of folk on holiday......... and carrying on as though Covid was but a distant dream!!
If only!

So life in chez Panache is very peaceful, except for fans full on!!

Sending blessings galore to each one of you,with a special welsh cwtch for those still battling away.Surely our time will come!!
Stay safe

No, no rain yet grammaretto. Still dry and warm.
I too feel so sorry for all those whose homes and businesses have been flooded and that awful train accident.
I am so pleased to hear your DGD enjoyed her day at school.
A big relief for all. Hope you and MrG have a good night. I have washed up my plates and cups and put them away so Jeeves can turn his attentions to looking after the night warden. ?
nfk a sit in a paddling pool sounds good but not nearly as good as a trip to the sea. I would love to do that. Is it far from where you live?
Sleep well all. I’m off for an early night I think. ?

Evenin' All

I've just had a read through to catch up. Its awful that Bradfordlass is in lockdown again. Its especially worrying that the family are spread out all around where Bradford's family live and go. Hopefully its been caught in time and NZ's track and trace is better than the UK's. NZ has been my hope that it is possible to defeat this bloomin' virus.

Your tea out sounds rather lovely Doodle. You obviously didn't eat the cake fast enough though if it had time to melt! I love the idea of afternoon tea treats much more than a full meal out as I can't eat much at a sitting and find it very frustrating!

Lovely to hear that Mr G is home and tucked up in his own bed. It makes such a difference, your own bed. And peace and quiet too. Much more relaxing and healing.

Norsat has made me wonder now if DH should still be locked down. We haven't been paying proper attention, and he hasn't received a letter telling him he's released. Should he have?

We're just using our common sense. Today, I went over to see DGS and DiL (who we're bubbled with) and sit in their oversized paddling pool. It was wonderful! DH stayed home, retreated to the coolest room and slept! We're still in the middle of the heatwave and haven't had any of the storms hitting other parts of the UK. So, being to hot to bother about tea, we went up to the coast this evening. Swimming (well, more bobbing around) as the sun was setting (which it just does over the sea on our north facing coast) was very refreshing. I've been wanting to go for days, (and getting very grumpy 'cos I can't) but the numbers heading seawards have been putting us off. By seven o'clock there were still a lot of families on the beach, but the tide was out so there was plenty of space. Getting down to the beach was a bit of a dance, distancing around those coming up the slope, but the ramp is wide. Well, worth it.

Such strange weather. After the storms it was warm and sunny all day. A welcome change for us though hearing of the tragic railway accident and all the floods makes us sad and also thankful.

I wonder if you have your rain yet Doodle

DGD not only survived her first day at school but has made a new pal. Such a relief.

DH is still very tired but I keep telling him that is to be expected. Recovery is never instant especially at our age.
We had to watch a TV programme tonight made by our DS's friend.
It was about the very bloody history of Scotland.

Hope you are all behaving yourselves and not leaving too much mess for Jeeves to clear up in the morning.

Well we went for our afternoon tea today. Firstly we sat outside with a sunshade but even that was too hot so we went inside and had a fan next to our table. The poor chap in charge kept stopping to mop his brow. He was very charming and nice. You might think Jeeves is a little on the slow side but the service in the hotel was almost in slow motion. Poor people were obviously suffering from the heat. We had a lovely tea. Sandwiches, scones and jam and cream and cakes.
Unfortunately, two of the cakes were a sort of raspberry mousse on a biscuit base. I sat watching them slowly slide off the bases and spread all over the plate ?. I had mint tea. It was so refreshing and really nice. We enjoyed the trip there and back the most as we had the air con on in the car. Bliss ?.
I am still waiting for this promised rain. Nothing yet.
Hope all the gangsters are ok.
Jeeves has got some ice packs for anyone who wants one.

grammaretto hope your DH slept well and is feeling better.
norstat sorry you lockdown is ongoing. I think it may be like my DH who is until August 16th. To be honest we are still continuing really. Just waiting to see how things pan out.
Are you getting shopping delivered still? We have ongoing slots from Waitrose and Sainsbury’s.
Take care all and hope the day is pleasant for you all

It’s still very hot here. Makes me very lethargic. Doing housework in dribs and drabs.
Going for afternoon tea at posh hotel this afternoon. Gift from my son and family last year, we were going to go in the spring but then the virus arrived. They have assured me they are well set up for keeping distances so fingers crossed it is ok.
cherry I have always loved the Tigger song but the bit I think sums you up best is the bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, fun, fun,fun,fun, fun bit. ?
Iced cold chocolate milk shake hmm ? I could do with one of those.?
bradfordlass, sorry you’re in lockdown again. Things were going so well. I too thought it was your family who had tested positive but glad to hear it is not. The family involved seem to be a bit spaced out from what you write. I can see now why you are worried about your DS and his family. Hope they keep well and safe.
My neighbour is keeping stocked with things in case we get another lockdown here and DH and I have some supplies too.
Hope the lockdown is short lived. Nice of your DIL to check up on you. No we haven’t had any takeaways either (well apart from one MacDonalds ?). What is hangi please?
I so agree about listening. I have been trying to teach myself to do that (I gabble quite a lot as you all realise by now ?) I read somewhere a while ago that sometimes those who have lost someone just want someone to listen. Now instead of trotting out platitudes (I never know what to say) I do try and listen and let silences continue for a bit rather than rushing in with some trite comment.
Hope Jeeves is behaving himself. ?
grammaretto we had lots of thunder last night but not a drop of rain. We could really do with a good downpour (but not during my afternoon tea please ?)
Hope your DGD gets on ok today. It’s funny how so many young children think they only have to go to school one day.
Hope she settles well and enjoys it. ? Thank you for your kind words
Hello missedout another struggling with the heat I see. A trip on your narrow boat sounds lovely. Cooling to be on the water. I can visualise you laying back trailing your hand in the cool water ?
Good job you had your wits about you on the credit card payment. We read of such tricks the con artists pull these days. Just as well you were cautious.

Hello gangsters, I’ve enjoyed catching up on all your posts.

Missedout what a palaver with your credit card payment. It’s such a worry making a large payment over the phone. I am pleased it’s all sorted out now. Last year we had to pay several thousand pounds to HMRC and they seemed really casual about it. I was having kittens until it was acknowledged that everything had been processed.

Panache glad to see your post. Sorry to know you have been facing such challenges. Will it be any easier, when your shielding lifts on 16th August? I do hope so. ?

Grammarretto hope MrG is making steady progress.
Cherry hope you’re feeling brighter today.

I am a bit jaded with continual shielding. My GP said to continue at least two - four weeks after 31st July, but nothing more specific than that. I think I will call next week and ask for clarification.

Keep cool today, gangsters. ?

G'day gang,

BradfordLass I'm sending you calming thoughts. I feel sure they will be alright.

Calm after the storm here. I hope our fearful DGD puts her worries behind her.
The covid scare means no parents can go inside though they took her in on Tuesday for an hour to meet the teacher and one other new child who has moved to the area too. The other girl was super confident.

Missedout I am glad your time on the phone wasn't wasted!! Such a relief to find it wasn't a scam.
DH has had a restless night but is sleeping like a baby now!
I'll check in later for more news.

Missedout So good to hear from you, even if you are still flat. I can't think of any better way to isolate, or live, than on a boat. Lucky you

You pointed out a flaw in my post, thank you.

It's not my family who have tested positive but a family in South Auckland.

I live in West Auckland, which is where the mother of the family works - and tested positive. The surgery which did the test has had to close.

The grandfather was quite ill and went to the doctor in South Auckland, where it was found he had Covid.
That's how it all began.

Three other family members, including a pre-school child who doesn't go to kindergarten, are also positive but not sick. They are all in self-isolation but may be moved to a managed facility.

One of the 'positive' children has been attending school about half-way between their home and where I live.

So it seems this is a very scattered family who don't work or study in the area where they reside. That makes things even more difficult for tracing - numerous opportunities to spread the virus on their daily travels.

At the moment, there are no reports as to where in South Auckland, the family live and it is a huge area which includes the suburb where my son, his pregnant wife and her son live. That's my biggest worry.

I can stay home but their needs are greater.
Let's hope it only lasts for these 3 initial 'caution' days, as already there are no slots for food collection or delivery for over a month!

I pressed 'Post' and found that my fellow parolees have been busy while I was typing. Sorry you are locked down again BradfordLass. It all sounds a bit close to you with family members testing positive.

We're expecting the storms tomorrow Grammaretto. Stay safe.

Grammaretto You two stay safe and snug and let the storm rage around you.
I feel sorry for the wee girl, will Mummy be able to stay with her?

Hello, I thought I should let you all know that I'm still here and OK.

Like many of you, I'm struggling with the hot weather. I also don't know what to do with myself. I could go out somewhere but don't know where, I want to avoid busy places. DH and I are back on our shared narrowboat again soon, so I have that to look forward to - where better to continue isolating! I'm still feeling a bit 'flat' though. Generally self sufficient, I realise how much I miss my old life.

I was pleased to see that some of our most fragile inmates and/or those supporting their vulnerable loved ones are letting us know how they are getting on. It seems to me that Jeeves is going to have his work cut out, it's a good job he has BradfordLass to take control support him during the night shift.

I look forward to BradfordLass' posts, an interesting view on what seems to me to be an exotic daily life 11 hours ahead of us. I also like Doodle's stories.

For nearly 2 weeks, I've been chasing up a large credit card payment we made over the phone. We were sent a receipt but the money hadn't been taken out of our account. I managed to contact our credit card provider through the online banking app and they confirmed no payment advice had been presented. So we chased it up today with the retailer. The retailer did not know the payment had not been processed so we went through payment again (we are talking about a few thousand pounds, I may not have spotted it and the retailer not been paid). Almost as soon as I put the phone down, it rang again and I was told in a recorded message that a possible fraud had taken place and to press 1 on my phone to be transferred to the Credit Card Fraud Team. Not trusting the call was genuine, I spent 30 minutes trying to ring the fraud team using the number on the back of my card. Then I spent another 10 minutes going through security and recent transactions with a representative with a broad Scottish accent that I had great difficulty with. The call was genuine, there was no fraud but I told the lady on the phone that I thought that calling me then asking me to press 1 to be transferred could be a scammer's trick. She told me that I was right to be suspicious and to have rung a 'trusted' number. She also agreed it is poor practice to ask the customer to transfer to another department on an incoming call. I don't suppose my criticism will make any difference. I'm glad that the bank are on the ball but they don't help themselves.

I hope you all sleep well tonight and tomorrow brings improved health to all.