Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 22 March 2020

PAT - Agree, we can't possibly all be fed up or all be matter of fact at the same time! Or at least, I hope not!
I veer between feeling quite upset and not a little scared and being a lot more determined ( don't know if that is the right word!).

Heather I think I am still in mourning for not seeing my girlies.... one has her sensible head on trying to keep her students safe. All walks along beaches and woods down south are heaving. NT has decided to close gardens and carparks leading to beaches like Studland and The Witterings. An old friend who has a stud farm has said she can take them there.
Aloof eldest is still walking around with her head in the clouds.
Update on haircut... should last a while as it only took 2 seconds to dry:-))

WENDY -your haircut should last a while... I cancelled my appointment and am now preparing to end up with a ponytail like ANNETTE- except that I don't have any hairbands!
Thinking about DAISY x
You are bound to be missing your girls, you always look forward to that trip.

My son phoned and apologised because he had forgotten about Mothering Sunday. I replied ( tongue in cheek) 'but you have been speaking about it for weeks and hoping loads of customers would buy gin for their mothers!'. I knew what he meant but wasn't going to let him off the hook too easily :-)

OH is busy washing up before tackling second half of front grass, so maybe I can make a full reply.

LYNETTE – sorry you have had another fall and are now sporting a black eye, but good that you were able to travel to the funeral in Nottingham. I guess you are more likely to be covered by your holiday insurance if the travel company cancel rather than if you cancel yourselves. Scottish tourism is asking people not to come – health facilities are for locals and not robust enough to take on people from England coming in droves in campervans, or coming to their second homes.

LINDA – good to see that you are in the UK – are you having to isolate in Newcastle after flying in, or are you allowed home?

DIANE – thanks for the new week. Thanks for the wen links for chess and jigsaws!

ANNETTE – thanks for your intention to start us off! Hope you slept well after all the garden work yesterday.
(Big pause while Dau#2 phoned for Mothering Sunday. Not a lot to say, but a long time saying it)

PAT, DIBNLIB, ROSY – good to read your posts – hope I haven’t missed anyone!

WENDY – sorry you are missing your trip down south; glad your Daughter has a safe place to take her students.

HEATHER – received cards from all 3 – J’s was one of those spoof Ladybird books – good fun! Dau#1 hasn’t phoned, but may do so this evening.

Well, that's the afternoon almost gone. Really not having any trouble filling my time as I am so slow anyway! Had to do some research on Clyde Puffers earlier as there was a big "discussion" here after lunch!

Hello, you lovely people!

We are now truly back home, after a busy day returning from Newcastle which is not exactly around the corner! -- lots of texts to friends & family, and a taxi to the Central Train Station, then figuring out how to buy a ticket from a machine (and which of the services are still running). Had hot drinks whilst waiting for our train in a hour, then it didn't appear - mechanical problems. Over half an hour later, one appeared and we gratefully fell on it: got very cold wearing only a thin sweater and jacket in a cold draughty station. Lovely ride through the countryside, saw the Angel of The North, York Minster and many horses, sheep with lambs, and mill towns on our 2 1/2 hr journey. Glad to see spring has arrived, sunny everywhere today.

Another taxi to get home from Central Manchester, then great to be back and see our garden blooming. My OH has just gone to get his big stock of home grown potatoes from his allotment shed, and will then collect Bonnie. We may have to self isolate now for a few days. (Latest news was that there were 13 cases of virus on our island, but not near our town)

Replies later to your posts,lots for me to catch up on. So pleased to see that George is alright.

Hello, you lovely people!

We are now truly back home, after a busy day returning from Newcastle which is not exactly around the corner! -- lots of texts to friends & family, and a taxi to the Central Train Station, then figuring out how to buy a ticket from a machine (and which of the services are still running). Had hot drinks whilst waiting for our train in a hour, then it didn't appear - mechanical problems. Over half an hour later, one appeared and we gratefully fell on it: got very cold wearing only a thin sweater and jacket in a cold draughty station. Lovely ride through the countryside, saw the Angel of The North, York Minster and many horses, sheep with lambs, and mill towns on our 2 1/2 hr journey. Glad to see spring has arrived, sunny everywhere today.

Another taxi to get home from Central Manchester, then great to be back and see our garden blooming. My OH has just gone to get his big stock of home grown potatoes from his allotment shed, and will then collect Bonnie. We may have to self isolate now for a few days. (Latest news was that there were 13 cases of virus on our island, but not near our town)

Replies later to your posts,lots for me to catch up on. So pleased to see that George is alright.

Good to see you are doubly home now, LINDA! Reasonable journey, I would say, for current situation, since everyone is asked not to travel.

Morning all:

Lindybird: Welcome home!  We were all wondering....   Did your OH recover from that lingering cold?

OG: Really pleased to hear that George is doing so well.  Thank you for the news.  :-)   No, did not need a nap after garden work, but had nice long shower, two glasses of wine, did an easy dinner, watched TV then went off to bed.  Slept well.  :-)   Just Googled Clyde Puffers: Are they still coal driven?

Lynette:  Oh my. I've heard that facial/head wounds do bleed a lot.  At least you can nurse your black eye at home without people wondering....  

Diane:  I know Jigsaw Planet very well!   Ms. D loves to play it on my computer.  I haven't looked at the advanced puzzles because I have some lovely 'real' ones and, as with books, prefer to hold/touch things.  I'm a terrible strategist when it comes to games: Checkers (draughts) is about my limit and I'm a dead loss at Scrabble.  Here are a few science sites I found - the Eyewire one has brain-mapping 'games' - fascinating!

https://eyewire.org/signup

https://fold.it/portal/categories

https://www.zooniverse.org/

https://www.khanacademy.org/  (This is for kids, but I had fun in the Learn to Code segment)

AQ: Indeed - the internet is a real boon at this point.  We also have similar groups going above and beyond.  I love the idea of depositing toilet rolls on folks' doorsteps.  :-)

dibnlib:  Great to see you!!!  We are all nattering away on here as usual....  :-))  Come back soon.

PatO; I find a quick news update is good, but I'm careful about which program I watch/listen to (just give me the facts; not the hysteria) and am almost completely avoiding the usual sturm-and-drang evening news programs - not good for digestion or sleep.

WendyB:  Can you Facetime/Skype regularly with girls; maybe with less-aloof one?  

My always-anxious friend called me yesterday - I have to take deep breaths because she spends so much time speculating on how bad 'it' can get and when do I think the economy will recover!   Like I'd know...    Arghhh.  

Do hope we hear from Forestboar at some point....

Annette sensible youngest and I rarely talk on the phone but we use What’s App all the time.
Welcome home Lindy and I will admit I thought it was brave of you actually going. I cancelled my tour of England a week before you went. Too many people at motorway services and wouldn’t put myself in such close proximity.

Good to read everyones news.

On Friday I went to our local pharmacy for repeat meds. I queued outside for a short time before an assistant popped her head out to say that they would be closed for 2 hours so I walked home and returned after said time. The queue was quite long but well organised and moved quickly. I thanked the staff and was shocked to find that had been subject to some verbal abuse. OH heard the same when he went to Boots for his repeat script this morning. Some people just don't deserve the help others put themselves out to give. The pharmacist where I live had been working till midnight to prioritise medication requirements.