Christmas lockdown?

Recipe printed out. The power of Gransnet!!

Thank you! My family love all things with ginger! (Including me with my ginger hair!

I will definitely have a go.

Here it is courtesy of Delia - the handwritten figures in the corner are my scaling up of ingredients for bigger tins.

Lucca. I hope you are feeling a bit better. I won’t be seeing my DD, also in Australia, and like you will just have to accept that fact this year. Easier said than done some days. ?

Oops fat fingers!! Parkin

suziew do you have a recipe for the parking?

There’s planning, contingency planning and there’s now. I regularly bake for the neighbours - this week I’m making a stack of parkin for 5 November ( Delia says it needs 2 weeks in the tin to mature). They like these northern customs. I shall do doorstep deliveries along with some sparklers on the 5. What I’d call a tea light - and not a rule or guideline broken. Not really rocket science

There's always someone on here willing to help eat ?

Forward Planning is a good thing, FlyingH but Contingency Plans are necessary too.

You can always put the cakes in the freezer. ???

Good idea Suziewoozie ???

FH rather than a beacon of light for two months hence which may be extinguished, it might be emotionally safer to have a series of little tea lights lighting up your path through everyday life that might help others and also yourself to make the present more rewarding. You might even be able to do this without breaking the law and putting others in danger. Just a thought.

BlueSky, thanks for your message, it's very very important to me, it's a beacon of light in the dark. Take care x
MawB2, thanks for your message, it's nice to hear from you. Take care x

Well Maw I shall continue to be intolerant about deliberate flouting - that’s not ‘not sharing my views’ it’s my being justifiably critical of law breaking.

Suziewoozie ?

I’m not going to get drawn into any argument about who is planning or hoping to do what or indeed who is going to be alone and missing their family more this Christmas
It is still 2 months away and many things may have changed by then - possibly for the better but the jury is out on that!
As a relatively recent widow with all our daughters and their families 2 hours away in both directions, the prospect of another Christmas without Paw or any of the family makes me weep .
But right now I am more worried about the health of the 2 younger D’s and their families who have to live and function in London, where GS (4) who has barely been in school a month is now self isolating for 2 weeks because his classroom assistant tested positive at the weekend;
Also about my eldest daughter teaching in a huge 1200+ city comprehensive in Birmingham where social distancing is about as likely as the Tooth Fairy and there is no PPE for staff, so despite every precaution under the sun she is exposed on a daily basis as are their 3 children at the local primary school.
To be honest I just want them to be healthy at Christmas, it will be a bonus if we see each other at all
But that will not stop me baking them a cake and I also rather fancy Mary Berry’s Chocolate Pudding with chocolate sauce, trawling the Internet for possible presents and making plans - even if they have to change at a few days’ notice.
Let’s not stress about what may or may not be and let’s not be intolerant of those who do not necessarily share our views or our situation.
OP mentioned Plan B, we may have to have C and D as well!

Yes Chew you’re right in the sense of not being able to prevent that sort of behaviour. However, every time someone posts about their flouting, I hope they are left in no doubt as to how many of us feel about their planned behaviour. I don’t think it’s all right not to criticise them - especially as their posts can and do cause damage.

MawB2

Good post, yes much of the joy is in the planning; if there's a Christmas lockdown we'll just have to put it on hold. After all, we can watch the Christmas services.

"to travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labour."
However, we all want to arrive safely at the end of all this and, if we are all careful, there will be an end.

But this is just a truism isn’t it?

Yes suziewoozie you're absolutely right, it is. But when confronted with the statement that some people have put plans in place as to how they intend to circumnavigate any rules set out to hinder the spreading of the virus, there seems little else that the rest of us can do but suck it up. Christmas this year will be extremely difficult for many of us.

Oh dear Lucca there's nothing much I can say to cheer you up, just to say I understand; DD said last night 'we should have been there with you this Christmas'.
?

Bellanonna

Camomile, Callistemon? I need something stronger than thst.

I have a packet of Melissa tea, Bellanonna, you're welcome to that!
I thought it was a good idea at the time

I am on my own with no family and certainly where I live I can see next year around this time being exactly the same and we will be having similar conversations.

At least the harsh weather is not here yet. Look after yourselves.

BlueSky

Chewbacca
“But ultimately, we can only control our own actions and hope that that's enough to keep us, and the selfish ones, safe.”
That’s all we can do.

But this is just a truism isn’t it? It doesn’t address the issue of the reality of how the selfish people make some of us feel or the danger they pose to everyone else. As Lucca s post demonstrates our feelings are part of our everyday lived experiences. Some posts, like FH’s don’t help and are imo completely unnecessary, unkind, thoughtless and cruel. If posters want to share stories of their flouting, they could PM each other.
As I said upthread, facing Christmas on your own ( and living through the pandemic on your own) must be especially difficult. Being on your own but part of a genuine bubble is quite different.

Chewbacca
“But ultimately, we can only control our own actions and hope that that's enough to keep us, and the selfish ones, safe.”
That’s all we can do.

Thanks marydoll Callistemon Suziewoozie. I’ve managed to shower and get dressed but am really struggling to get further than that. I’ll be fine tomorrow, she said in a small wobbly voice.

Lucca ?