Here we go again... again

They've given the nice new shiny variant a name now: I name this variant... Omicron. Doesn't exactly trip off the tongue, does it?

Boris was doing his serious face thing on TV again today. Strangely he said "It's vital people get their booster jabs", while admitting that the jabs may not be effective against the new variant. Well, that doesn't make any sense but, there again, nothing about this pantomime we've been enduring since March 2020 has made any sense.

For extra fun and games... masks are back! Yes folks, masks will once again be compulsory in shops and on public transport. You lucky people! Masks are not required, however, in pubs and restaurants... Don't ask about the reasoning behind that, I've no idea... and neither has Boris.

So the jabs and boosters won't work but a piece of cloth, dragged from the depths of your bag, will? He must think we came down with the last shower. How on earth are people still falling for this crap?

And the pièce de résistance? He's dangling Christmas over us again like the Sword of Damocles... We've been here before - it didn't end well.

I'm so sick of having my freedoms threatened by people who aren't fit to lick my boots. Just who the hell do they think they are?

I just saw someone on Twitter point out that Omicron is a anagram of Moronic, which just about sums up the whole sorry charade.

How exciting...

Ooh, another variant has come along! Clearly people aren't being frightened enough... but luckily a shiny new variant has arrived to concentrate their minds a bit. By all accounts, it's the "most significant variant to date"... well, it's the most significant since the last one and until the next one pops up, I suppose.

Do I sound a tad cynical?

Viruses mutate, that's what they do to survive and that's why they've been around for billions of years longer than human life. They generally become more transmissible but less dangerous... and that's exactly what this one is doing.

This is just another dose of Project Fear. People have been ground down for the better part of two years by Govt predictions of Armageddon - none of which have happened. Give it a rest now - sometimes you just need to know when to back off.

Incidentally, they'd better not even think about cancelling Christmas again. I mean it.

Worldwide outbreak of insanity

Events in other countries in the world regarding Covid are frightening and very worrying.

Austria is under full lockdown and is making the jab compulsory, Germany will probably do the same quite soon. Riots against Covid passports and lockdowns are going on in many European countries including Belgium, the Netherlands, Croatia and Italy. I salute every one of those people who won't put up with the ruination of their lives any longer.

The Governments in Australia and New Zealand seem to have completely lost all sense of proportion. Demonstrations are happening in Australian cities. Their leaders are quite clearly mad, particularly the weird horse-faced woman in NZ.

Where does all that leave us? Who knows? If Boris decides to make the jab mandatory, would you mind throwing some groceries over the fence for us please? Many thanks.

It's the worry, the anger and the resentment that gets me.

I'm trying to enjoy getting things together for Christmas and looking forward to seeing my four lovelies, but some days it's so hard just to get up in the morning and keep going. 

I'm struggling now.

What next?

It's not looking good in Europe. 

Austria has implemented lockdown for anyone over the age of 12 who isn't vaccinated - they may leave their homes for 'essential reasons' only such as work, food shopping or exercise; last Friday The Netherlands went into partial lockdown for three weeks; Ireland is on the verge of mandating Covid certificates for gyms and hairdressers. It's not very encouraging. I can only see things heading one way if we start following what's happening over there.

We all know from bitter experience that Boris loves a lockdown, so does he join in with similar restrictions? Will he or won't he? My guess is, he will. He said yesterday he can't rule out "Plan B" which is his not very subtle way of coercing people into having the booster jab (the age threshold has been lowered to over-40s). It allows him to keep us dangling on a string - which he can pull any time he likes. Nasty little man.

Quite honestly, it won't make any difference to me - we'll still go shopping once a week, still go out for a walk round the village and the lotties, and still see our lovely foursome because, if we can't go to theirs, they'll come here. So, do your worst... I don't care, matey. I stopped taking much notice of Govt bs a long time back, your stupid rules and regulations won't affect me. I won't be having your snake-oil, whatever you threaten me with. It's called choice. Now go away Boris, I'm busy, I have a family Christmas lunch to think about.

Christmas is getting ever nearer - the spare bed is covered in presents which need wrapping and the pantry is filling up nicely with little treats.

My days of making everything myself have gone, sadly; the spirit is willing but the body is weak... I still do some things but M&S and Waitrose pick up where I leave off. I haven't yet managed to track down an acceptable non-fruit festive cake but I'm working on it.

It's a lovely day out there - cold but sunny. This is our flowering cherry tree today - just about to drop its leaves but before it does it's putting on a show. What a little beauty.

Right, I'm disappearing into the kitchen now to put a couple of trays of Freeze-ahead Roast Potatoes away for the Big Day. It saves so much time on Christmas morning.

I'll get this posted if it kills me! Had to break off for a phone call and then another Amazon delivery - I'm almost on first name terms with our drivers... they've been here so often recently! Delivery men and women are worth their weight in bread pudden - what would we do without them?

Update 19.11.21: Austria has gone full lockdown and, in case that's not enough, to make matters worse the jab will be made compulsory over there from next February. The world is slowly going mad.

Don't threaten me

I see Sajid Javid is at it again with the veiled threats. "It's not too late to get your jab so we can get through winter and enjoy Christmas". 

Now look here Saj... you can say what you like matey, threaten me with anything. I don't care. I will be having Christmas with my family. Last year I did as I was told, it nearly broke me; I said I'd never do it again and I won't.  Neither he nor anyone else will ever again get to tell me who I can have at my house. Got that, Saj?

To make matters worse, as if the NHS isn't in a parlous enough state already, the jab will be compulsory for front-line staff from next April. Good luck with replacing all the staff who refuse. The way things are going, the hospital appt I'm waiting for will probably come along sometime in the next decade... or two.

Fun and games here yesterday morning and a word of warning if you have a Britannia cooker. 

The clock and timer on mine have an intermittent fault. If you're ever tempted to book a full "health check" alongside a repair on your Britannia... can I suggest you don't? It was a total waste of money and a complete rip-off. Having told them the problem the engineer arrived without the spare part which I had expressly requested he bring, thereby necessitating yet another visit, and the very expensive "health check" mainly seemed to involve turning the burners on and off and checking for gas emissions. 

£260 please... ker-ching! 30 minutes and he was gone - I was absolutely livid.

Bought some gorgeous big mushrooms in M&S - it's looking very much like stuffed mushrooms for dinner tonight. I'd better use up the last of the herbs from the garden for the couscous before the frost finishes them off.

COP26 - a complete con

I expect politicians to be liars and hypocrites but the circus going on in Scotland brings it to a whole new level.

Approx 25,000 people are needed to tell us what we all have to do to 'Save the Planet'. (Spoiler alert: it doesn't need saving). 25,000... and do you suppose they all walked, cycled, swam or skateboarded to Glasgow? No, of course not, they flew at great expense, scattering carbon in their wake like confetti.

More than 400 private jets flew into Glasgow and Edinburgh; many of them flew out again because the airports don't have enough room to park them all. As for cars... well, Biden alone has 20 vehicles in his motorcade.

I've never believed the whole "man-made global warming" malarkey - it's garbage. Of course the climate changes, it always has - human life wouldn't have survived if it hadn't. Because of these natural cycles of change, the human race will eventually die out when the climate becomes inhospitable to us. We're really not very important as a species - we're just parasites on the face of the Earth. Get used to it and get over yourselves. 

If I was ever to waver in my belief, I'd just have a look at what's been going on north of the border.

This is the 26th such conference. If anything had been achieved by the previous 25 there'd have been no need for this one, would there?

So, after this pantomime is over, will I be changing my behaviour to 'Save the Planet'? No... not one bloody jot.

I've been a vegetarian for 25 years, I've only had one child and I've taken two short-haul flights in the last 20 years. When all those clowns in Glasgow can say the same, then they can lecture me. Until such time... they can sod off!

It has served one purpose, though - it's kept Covid completely out of the news for the last two days. Bliss.