How was your Christmas? For us, as I begin penning this during the week leading up to the big day, I really didn’t think we would STILL be worrying about Coronavirus! Why worry? The dreaded Omicron variant was spreading and there was the potential for the Government to lock us all down again! Almost ‘right …
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Category:Health
Coronavirus: ‘Freedom Day’
Today was supposed to be a day of celebration when everything returned to normal for us here in England! ‘Freedom Day’, as it became dubbed by the Media, was promised to be the day when we all got our lives back. The bottom line? – best not to ditch those face-coverings just yet!! 😯 Mixed …
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Coronavirus – Return to Normality!
Normality? Err, not quite! 😮 Next Monday – June 21st – was supposed to be ‘Freedom Day’, the day that everything returned to normal. No restrictions to indoor gatherings, retail and theatres fully re-opened and no facemasks required anywhere etc etc – perfect! 🙄 But it obviously wasn’t meant to be – all because of …
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Normality! – Dinner INSIDE in a Restaurant!
With David acting as chauffeur, the four of us (David, Valerie, Ann and I) made a welcome return to The Palmichael tonight. Last time we were there as a foursome was back in December last year although back then, the Coronavirus restrictions meant we couldn’t all share a table and had to make do with …
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It’s a Hugs life!
A significant day and hugging is back on the menu! Why? Today, we entered Step 3 of the Government’s roadmap out of Lockdown. 😁 …and talking of menus, Jo and Janet picked us up and we headed off to the newly revamped Beckworth’s Emporium for one of their legendary breakfast experiences. The girls ate light, …
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Jab Done too!
After BoJo’s Press Briefing yesterday (promising, amongst other things, the return of legal hugging next week) it was off to Moulton for me this morning to get my second COVID-19 jab. Related PostJab Done! Just like my first, back in February, the whole experience was a model of organisation. I was in and out in …
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Coronavirus – A Year Later!
Welcome back! Did any of us think we would be writing about the Coronavirus a full year on? I began penning my experiences about the dreaded Covid-19 back on 21st March 2020 (just two days before the first official lockdown) and catalogued my first 100 days; then again after 200 days, and finally – or …
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Jab Done!
On the day that the PM was going to announce his plan for the exit route out of Lockdown in England, I drove over to Moulton to get my first vaccine jab. All the Covid-related numbers seem to be pointing in the right direction, and the details behind the PM’s message were widely leaked before …
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Coronavirus – 300 Lockdown Days later 😮
It’s Sunday, the 17th January and we’re 300 days into the official announcement of the pandemic. When I wrote my initial post about the first 100 days of Coronavirus back in June last year, I assumed (and hoped!) it would be a one-off… …then in October, 200 days in, I found myself penning another, wondering …
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Return to The Palmichael (2020)
It felt almost like a return to normality tonight, as we took the short drive to The Palmichael joining David and Valerie to celebrate a recent birthday. The last time we were there was for Janet’s retirement ‘do’ back in March 2018 and a lot has happened to restaurants since then — especially since Coronavirus restrictions …
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Tiers for Fears
At just after 11.30 this morning, the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock announced from the House of Commons which-areas-were-in-which-tier. Unfortunately, just before the announcement, the Government website that listed the tier-breakdown in more detail buckled under the sheer volume of people all trying to type in their post-code! These new restrictions kick-in next week – December …
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Holiday: Devon in Seven! (Day 2)
Just when you create a title for your blog-post that works perfectly, along comes something to ruin it! After BoJo’s announcement last night, it looks like ‘Lockdown 2.0’ will require us to pack up early here in Totnes, and return home on Wednesday! – two days short!! “Devon in Seven!“ – now, what rhymes with …
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Holiday: Devon in Seven! (Day 1)
With our foreign holiday plans in tatters (for this year at least) due to you-know-what, we’re still travelling, but instead, we’re staying closer to home and re-discovering the UK. Recently, we spent a brilliant time in Scotland and for this latest trip, we’re the opposite end of the country – in Devon. But first we …
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Tiers Before Bedtime!
As the second spike of this dreaded Coronavirus continues to take hold, today, the Government spoke to the nation. In what turned out to be one of those typically ‘worst kept secrets’ (the media was headlining it all three days ago!) the State announced a ‘tiered system of restrictions’ – in reality, a revised set …
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Coronavirus – 200 Days and Counting! 😮
Crikey, I can’t believe we’re now 200 days since they announced the first Lockdown! When I wrote about this after (just!) 100 days, I don’t think anyone imagined we’d still be trying to cope with the reality of the coronavirus nearly 7 months on!! In fact, as I type, it looks like things are going …
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Film: TENET
Here we are then, my first visit to the cinema since before lockdown. And what better movie to blow the cobwebs away than Christopher Nolan’s latest epic – TENET? Nolan is famous for his dislike of green-screen and CGI, so we were looking forward not only to the story, but the ‘set pieces’ too. Apparently, …
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The Corona Chronicles – My First 100 Days
It’s Saturday, the 21st March, and as the ‘new normal’ unfolds and the virus begins to dictate our lifestyle, I guess we’ll all look back on this in years to come with that wonderful gift of hindsight – and (hopefully!) draw some important lessons! This blog, that I’ve penned on and off since 2004, tends …
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RIP Bonbon
Bonbon (with her sister) – just a few months old Well that was a total shock! I was doing this-and-that at home, I’d dropped Ann off at the Station (as she was out all day) and then I washed the Jaguar. So far, so normal! Who could resist her? We were due to be out …
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Hoarse Blog
Lost my voice today…completely! Not much warning…tickly throat…then a very quiet world (for everyone else!). Had to postpone the work I was doing for my client! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in …
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