Joyous? Happy? Cheerful?

Or even "Mildly Pleased"? These are all words I don't use very often these days. No real cause to do so, sadly. I just keep on keeping on. Put one foot in front of the other and get through the days until life becomes a bit more normal.

Covid rumbles relentlessly on. The numbers of cases and deaths are both so low now, any self-respecting virus would be embarrassed to call itself a pandemic. Eleven deaths today, apparently. Meanwhile Boris is still trying to keep people frightened in case there's a third 'wave'. Even if there's not so much a wave as a ripple, they'll all go into a frenzy and we'll be in lockdown again.

My money is on an autumn lockdown, regardless of cases and deaths. Of course, there'll be no good reason for it, but reason and logic went out the window long ago. Watch this space.

How on earth can we still be under all the same restrictions... and yet be told on a daily basis how well the 'vaccine' rollout is going? It makes no sense... but then again, nothing has made any sense for the past year or so.

The garden helps to keep us sane, though, and now the weather's a little better it's nice to get out there and potter around a bit. I picked some rhubarb yesterday and made a tub of rhubarb and stem ginger compote to have with porridge. If we get a good enough crop I might make some jam.

Weather has been really weird... bright days but with a cold wind, frosty nights and absolutely no rain for the last few weeks. It's a wonder anything at all is growing at the moment; what happened to April showers? Maybe we'll get them in May? Bank holiday next weekend - that should ensure it rains!

I'm finally managing to get my hair cut next Friday - hooray! - almost five months since it was last done. It's been almost fifty (yes, 50!) years since my hair was this long. Good god, that makes me feel old.

Shopping? No thanks

We both had dental appointments on Monday; the surgery is in the centre of town - it was the first day that non-essential shops had been open since before Christmas and everyone was released into the wild. I knew it'd be busy but I didn't expect to have to queue to get in the car-park! Blimey, you'd have thought they were giving stuff away!

We walked past the entrance to the shopping centre and went straight home after seeing our lovely dentist; as we drove away it occurred to me I may never go shopping again in the way I used to. Funny thing is, I no longer want to... and thinking more widely about going out, to a restaurant maybe, I no longer want to do that either.

I'm not frightened of Covid, it's just that over the past year or so every facet of life has changed... and so have I. I've dug my heels in - with each new rule dreamt up by Govt my resolve has hardened - I will not be pushed around. 

Masks, test and trace apps, potential vaccine passports, temperatures being taken before admittance to a restaurant, social distancing, etc. have sucked every scrap of joy from going out. The only way round that is to stay home unless absolutely necessary - so that's where I am and that's where I'll stay. My once weekly jaunt to M&S Food will continue to be my only shopping outlet.

Will we one day go out for a spot of lunch? Well, it's looking less and less likely unless all the stupid rules and restrictions are abandoned and, of course, I will never have a vaccine passport. It's a modern-day version of apartheid and segregation... how can that possibly be acceptable in this day and age? Hospitality venues will find they need me more than I need them; I can only hope there's an outbreak of sanity at some point and we can once again live normally.

Meanwhile, I can get pretty much everything I need online and, bonus, I don't even have to get dressed to "go" shopping, nor do I have to pay car park charges!

People

I don't like people... I never have; I much prefer dogs, or any animals, in fact. You could count on the fingers of both hands the number of people I genuinely care about. In general I find people a disappointment; they're invariably selfish and dishonest, and always more concerned with themselves rather than looking through a wider lens and seeing a bigger picture.

Oh, they say all the right things and talk a lot about doing things for the "Greater good"; they're as nice as ninepence as long as everything is going their way, but when push comes to shove it becomes all about them. When something happens that inconveniences them, or doesn't fit with what they want, that's when you see the real person beneath the veneer.

So, what is it that's got me fired up this way today? Well, it's the death of The Duke of Edinburgh. Seeing people on chat boards complaining and whinging about "emotional incontinence" and Friday night's TV coverage being "overkill" and "I was looking forward to the Masterchef final"...! 

Well, aren't you full of the milk of human kindness - compassion must be your middle name! You poor things, how dreadful for you, having to miss Masterchef or HIGNFY - however will you manage? It must have been awful... admittedly, not quite as awful as losing your beloved husband of 73 years, a man who served with devotion to duty for eight decades... but, well... it's priorities, isn't it, a pre-recorded cookery show for numpties is clearly more important.

I imagine their lives (and heads!) are so empty and shallow that Masterchef counts as a highlight. It says a lot about them that they're prepared to go public with their nastiness. If I was that ghastly I'd take good care to keep it well hidden. They're clearly not even intelligent enough to manage that simple task.

What the hell is wrong with these people? They sicken me.

The Duke of Edinburgh

Sadly, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh died today. He was 99.

He gave this country and the Commonwealth a lifetime of service.

Rest in Peace, Sir.

An Easter treat

Saw our lovely Troops on Easter Sunday - it's been such a long time since we last saw them in person... five and a half months to be exact. We went armed with gifts and cake and came home with chocs and beautiful flowers. It was a delight and a real treat to see them.

Curse you, Boris Johnson... I was one of your supporters. Now I loathe and detest you for every hug we've missed, the holiday we had to postpone and every Skype call we've had instead of seeing them. Keeping people away from their loved ones is cruel and heartless - it went far beyond Government remit. Bloody unforgivable.

The Three Stooges were on telly again on Monday. I picked up on what they actually said by reading about it later.

Much the same as before, it seems, with a bit more coercion and "Ooh, we must still be careful!" thrown in. Vaccine passports were given another airing, to soften us up to the idea, and they're still banging the drum for the jab - I can't continue to call it a vaccine when it clearly isn't. 

1937 cases and 15 deaths on Tuesday - that's not much of a pandemic if you ask me. Seems to me the more people have the jab and the lower the case and death figures go, the more draconian the measures become to allow us to have some sort of life.  The fishy smell around this whole thing is getting stronger and stronger.

Interesting to see the trials of the AZ jab on children have been halted. We don't even have conclusive proof that it's safe for adults, so why on earth would any parent give their consent for it to be given to their child - are they crazy?

It now transpires that anyone under 30 won't be given the AZ jab because of the blood clot risk. Looks like the wheels are falling off this particular bus.

Not enough testing over a long enough period... and this is what you get. Can't say I didn't warn you.

Interesting morning yesterday, the dishwasher died. Unfortunately, it didn't go quietly, it did exactly what the washing machine did last year - took out all the downstairs electrics and made a damn nuisance of itself. Shiny new dishwasher will be delivered later today and our lovely plumber will fit it tomorrow. I can't wait... I don't think much of this washing up malarkey, not something I'd want to do on a regular basis!

Ventured into the garden for about two minutes yesterday, picked a few sticks of rhubarb and made a little crumble - it was bloody lovely! Planted our beetroot seeds and onion sets a few days ago; the weather has been vile, cold and frosty since then so it may have been a waste of time. We'll see.

I need some warmth and sun - where the hell has spring gone?

Good Friday... again

Happy Easter

Good Friday. The second one under Covid restrictions.

It's a bit difficult to see what's good about it, apart from the toasted hot cross buns we had for breakfast, but that's life at the moment.

Well, I previously said they were clinically insane and this piece just about proves it... Vaccine passports to enable us to go into restaurants, pubs and other hospitality businesses. They've completely lost it... they need locking up for their own safety.

At least some parliamentarians have enough about them to stand up and say "No", but it comes to something when MPs as politically opposed as Jeremy Corbyn and Iain Duncan Smith are united in their condemnation of the idea. I think it tells you it's a bloody awful idea!

Any business of any description which wants me to produce my 'vaccine passport' before I'm allowed entry will never see a penny of my money. The only thing they'll see is my back as I walk away.

I saw a comment online the other day where a guy said "I'm a publican. After the year we've had I don't care if you've got three heads - just come in and buy a bloody pint!" Strikes me that most hospitality business owners will feel the same.

So bring in the vaccine passports Boris - let's see how long they last once businesses realise they're missing out on much needed revenue. Pubs and restaurants need me and my credit card much more than I need them.

Apparently, all will be revealed at the next briefing on Monday. I can hardly wait. Not. 

He really has lost it. The power's gone to his head.