Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 7 May 2023

ANNETTE: That's a very strange coincidence about the walking stick.

So do you think this week is the beginning of the end for CNN as a network? They are really taking fire for that town hall debacle.

Diane: I didn't watch the CNN Trump town hall. I heard on NPR earlier this that CNN may have been trying to one-up Fox (Trump is currently on the outs with Fox) or something like that. On PBS this evening Jonathan Capehart (WaPo) said the the audience's reaction was the worst part of the whole thing, which made me wonder if Trump supporters hadn't somehow arranged to stack the audience. David Brooks (NYT) countered that media shouldn't be deciding who they're going to cover when the person in question is so newsworthy (albeit a disgusting human being - my words!). Whatever, it was badly handled and it'll be interesting to see how the backstory develops.

DIANE – Thank you for walking stick links. I doubt if Mr Stubborn would use one no matter how decorated. I rather fancy carrying a wolf’s head!  When I needed a stick for my knee, it was a nuisance (the stick and yes, the knee too LOL). I use a shoulder bag to be hands-free; a parcel in one hand, stick in other and I had no spare hand for anything else.

LINDA - I won’t be watching Eurovision – too much screaming. I’m old-fashioned, pre-rock & rock. I prefer classical or 1950s music.

I am back from our little jaunt to Anglesey and see I have lots to reply to.
It was great to hear from Limpy and I to hope he and Clare are doing OK.
Heather, hope you still have no after effects from your booster. I have mine on Tuesday at the precise time of 8.44am!!!! I hope the phone people can fix your brother’s cable quickly. Mind you, if they are anything like BT then I don’t hold out much hope. I am having an ongoing saga with them but that tale is for another day. (Sigh)
OG - good to hear that an outing to Tesco’s was on the agenda. It will have been good to get out. Also, great news that J has got a local job. I am not surprised that he got a bug. They are rife in schools. Hope he will be OK to work next week. I also hope you get the batteries for your BP monitor soon. Fancy giving you one with a flat battery!!!
Lindy - I also will not be watching tonight. Absolutely not my cup of tea.
I will be back later to give a small account of our trip plus an update on my BT situation which should have been resolved by yesterday and hasn’t been (quelle surprise!!!)

Ha ha!!! After chatting here, I checked on the BT fault line and my fix day is now today! We will see.

I will be joining those who will most definitely NOT be watching the so-called 'music' event this evening. I have more respect for my hearing - and my sanity. I always used to say no decent music was written after the 1890s ... OK, there are a very few exceptions, but give me Beethoven, Bach, Mozart etc etc. We had an 'event' where I live the other day - an anniversary of our founder, with lots of 00s. The usual 'musical' offering at these things is 60s or 70s or 'music hall' - but this time a lovely string trio playing 'proper' music, and playing it beautifully. A great accompaniment to a very good buffet lunch.

Hope those with flat batteries and wonky communications are soon fully charged and operating. I have a so-called 'day off' today - only a set of Minutes to write up from a very complicated meeting yesterday, two meetings next week requiring a lot of preparation - and somewhere in there I really need to do some housework!

See the first osprey chick has hatched. I'm sure there will be plenty more over the next few days.

Slightly cooler today but still sunny. Hopefully OH will spray some weeds in the pavers this afternoon.

I did go to Tesco yesterday and found something I had been looking for a long time – he said they didn’t have it before! Also went to Aldi. Is anyone else finding bread difficult? We like a 50/50 loaf, but the thickness of the slices is so variable – thin not available but there wis a huge variation from medium to extra thick in the one loaf. It means I am mostly eating brioche rolls now, which aren’t so good for me!

Sneezed and streamed the rest of the day – must have run into some sort of allergen – can’t take antihistamines as not compatible with my main pain relief. Slept 10 hours last night, but feeling okay-ish now.

DIANE – thanks for the message and thoughts – it’s always good to know you are there. How are your communication issues now? And what about progress on the vehicle and building?

AQ – I shan’t watch Eurovision either for similar reasons plus that awful blond thing! She (?) is apparently a very popular actress!

RUSTY – look forward to reading about Anglesey.

Need to move onto sorting through some suitable birthday cards – what do you send to a one-year-old?

More about Eurovision:

1 Apparently I should be politically correct/ambivalent and call the "Eurovision Icon" as "They" - not she or he.

2 Is it a requirement to qualifying that contentestants have to appear in their knickers?

3 Is shouting unhearable "words" or sounds another rule of the competition?

4 What is it for? What is the expected audience (demographically)?

5 Am I getting even older?

OG - 5 very good points!

So here is a little summary of our short trip to Anglesey. As I think I said before, it was my treat for my sister’s “big” birthday. My brother in law drove because their car is bigger and more comfortable than mine. We stopped for lunch at a distillery (as you do!!!) and then crossed the bridge onto Anglesey. We drove through Beaumaris and right out to Penmon Point so that my sister could see the lighthouse which is situated between the island of Anglesey and Puffin Island.

We then drove to our hotel and had a walk by the sea before dinner.

The next day we drove to the second lighthouse at South Stack.

My sister was pleased with the lighthouse and I was able to view the seabirds. I saw puffins, guillemots, razorbills, various gulls and the famous chough.  After a coffee at the RSPB Visitors Centre, we drove to the West Shore at Llandudno where we had lunch at a cafe my sister likes.  We then came home. We all enjoyed the little jaunt and were so lucky with the weather. We seemed to avoid the storms.

A note about Puffin Island - it was infested by rats after a shipwreck and all the puffins predictability disappeared, but in the late 90s it was decided to eradicate them. It seems to have worked and the island is supposedly rat free. A few puffins have returned but not in big numbers yet. There are many nesting cormorants and gulls though.