The start of Christmas

Since I was here last we've lost Boris as PM (thank god!), lost Truss as the subsequent PM (she might have turned out to be ok but her MPs gave her the boot) and laughably, we now have the useless Rishi (why are his clothes too small?) as the third PM since the end of the summer. Don't ask...

Sadly, HM the Queen died at the beginning of September. At the age of 96 it wasn't a surprise but it was still a shock. Most people had never known this country without her as Monarch. It still seems strange.

Meanwhile, Covid has all but been forgotten despite the best efforts of the media and the NHS to keep it relevant; unsurprisingly, the NHS is continuing to use Covid as the best excuse it can find for being relentlessly useless. Nothing new there, then.

The scorching days of summer seem long ago. It's now winter, it's cold, the sun sets at around 4pm and Christmas is approaching at speed. There was even Christmas music on the radio today!

Our Advent calendars made an appearance this morning! I bought one for Mr S-V from Bonne Maman which has a dinky little jar of jam behind every door... how cute is that?! - and we've unearthed the decorations ready for their annual outing in a week or so.

Best of all, given that it's December the 1st, we've made a start on the "treats" drawer in the kitchen which is full of nice little bits and pieces to have with an afternoon cuppa; well, there's no way I'm waiting until Dec 24th before I dive into the goodies!

Today's little treat was a slice of stollen - I've never made one and I'm never likely to; why bother when Waitrose does them so well?

This year Waitrose and M&S will be doing most of the heavy lifting in the kitchen as mobility issues have become a bit of a problem for me. Kitchen chores have to be broken down into small chunks so I shall only be making the things I really want to. 

Obviously, that includes a Nut Roast Wellington for when The Troops come for lunch on Christmas Eve, and a tray of Not Sausage Rolls. No Christmas at this house would be complete without them! 

I've already made the usual batch of Freeze-ahead Roast Potatoes which really are the best thing since sliced bread; they're snuggled up in the freezer along with red cabbage and desserts from Waitrose.

I saw a nice recipe the other day for sprouts stir-fried with chilli and crème fraiche - I'd post a link if I could remember where I saw the damn thing!

As usual it will all creep up on me and I'll say, as I always do, that next year I'd like to do something different or maybe we could just ignore Christmas altogether. Then next year comes around... and off we go again!

Once a liar, always a liar

I said he was lying and now the police have confirmed it. Boris Johnson, our esteemed (esteemed?!) Prime Minister has been fined over his lockdown parties. Our tax-dodging Chancellor and assorted others will also have to shell out for breaking the rules that they implemented. Of course, the rules were for others, not for them.

The week before Boris's first party (there were eleven others!) it was our son's birthday. Under the rules we weren't allowed to meet indoors so we sat in their garden for socially distanced tea and cake. We didn't break the law but the people who made the laws did.

They told us repeatedly it was a highly dangerous virus, so dangerous in fact that we couldn't see or hug our closest family... but that was just another lie, wasn't it? Covid was never the deadly virus we were led to believe. Would they really have put themselves and their families at risk if it was as lethal as they said? I can only suppose power and status somehow confer immunity... HM the Queen mustn't have got the memo about that; without any fuss she managed to follow the rules even though the PM didn't.

Boris has paid the fine and given a full apology but, even while apologising, he tried to weasel out of any responsibility by saying he didn't realise it was a breach of the rules. The rules he made!

He must think we're as stupid as he is. 

He can shove his apology... sideways. It's worthless, as is he. 

He should do the decent thing and resign but, sadly for us, there isn't a shred of decency in his miserable body. He's a lying scumbag who, when he's caught out lying, just tells more lies. They trip so easily off his tongue; he clearly thinks his position puts him above the law.

I'm amazed at how many people online and in the news media are saying it wasn't important, move on. Clearly, I have higher standards than them and certainly higher than the people who supposedly lead this country.

Our "wonderful" NHS... yet again

It was two years ago yesterday that all over-70s were told to stay at home for their own safety because of a dangerous new virus... subsequently called Covid-19. The following week everyone was told to stay at home. So began two very long years of lockdowns, rules and regulations.

Recently all the ludicrously disproportionate restrictions brought in to contain this "dangerous" virus have been ditched; Boris says we have to live with it. Great... about time, too; pity he didn't say it sooner. 

To all intents and purposes Covid is over, so why is the NHS keeping up the charade? Hospitals are still restricting access to visitors; people still have to wear a mask to enter its sacred portals; many wards are still closed, allegedly because of a shortage of staff who are off sick with Covid (why, when they're all masked and jabbed and in every other workplace there's no staff shortage at all?); GPs still won't allow patients to book face to face appointments and hospital waiting times for treatment are growing longer by the day.

The NHS lives in its own little world - covering up its many inadequacies by keeping people at arm's length. There's no accountability, no responsibility. The longer they can keep people out, the longer they can perpetuate the lie that they're working desperately hard and absolutely run off their feet. The actual fact is somewhat different - we have a health service which is letting down the nation, it is not fit for purpose. It's a money pit - politicians keep throwing our taxes at it, saying how "wonderful" it is, but there is no discernible improvement in the service offered. It's a conspiracy of silence.

I spoke to someone today whose relative is in hospital. An appointment has to be made before visiting and only one named person is allowed to visit. One hour, once a day. Problem is, no-one ever answers the phone to enable an appointment to be made! Said relative was in A&E for a day and a half waiting for a bed and has now been in hospital for five days - without once being helped to have a bath or shower! Just one small example of the "caring" face of our health service. It's outrageous.

Covid has become very convenient for the NHS - they won't let this virus go without a fight. It's their only cover against people seeing how crap it really is.

I previously said the actions of the NHS regarding Covid were a pointless pantomime - it's worse than that, it's a cover-up of mammoth proportions where people are suffering at the hands of the very institution that should be helping and protecting them in their hour of need. "Shameful" doesn't even come close.

NHS theatre

I'm still wittering on about Covid even though, as we know, it's yesterday's news. It's over. So why is the NHS continuing to behave like it isn't?

Yesterday, I had an appointment at the local hospital - an investigative procedure for something that could have been very nasty but, thankfully, turned out not to be.

I wasn't asked if I'd taken an LFT (No), I wasn't asked whether I had any Covid symptoms (No) nor was I asked if I'd been vaccinated (emphatically, No!) I had to wear a mask and wash my hands at the door. I was then seen by five different masked medics who were all within inches of my face. There was no other PPE or special safety measures used by them, nor were they wearing gloves. I was fine with this. So it's clearly not the very dangerous disease they've been telling us, then?

So why had most of the chairs in the waiting area been removed, leaving several people with nowhere to sit while they waited to be seen? Those chairs that were left were placed singly, two metres apart. Some poor souls had to stand and were leaning against the wall. 

This is a major hospital in one of the richest countries in the world. How on earth is this acceptable?

The NHS has clearly not seen the date. It's March 2022 not March 2020. Someone send them a memo... You can stop the pointless pantomime, we're done with Covid.

March 1st

A busy Tuesday. 

St David's Day, Pancake Day and the first day of Spring (meteorologically speaking). Sadly, no-one told Spring that today's the day it has to leap into action, hence it's cool and cloudy with a faint drizzle going on!

The rest of the world looks dire at the moment - just seeing the headlines today makes me want to put my head back under the covers. No sooner does Covid push off than Putin starts up. So sad for the Ukrainian people.

I think I'll concentrate on Welsh Cakes and Pancakes rather than the wider world. I know where I am in the sanity of my own kitchen.

Right... the frying pan is calling me!

Events

"Events, dear boy, events."

It's widely thought this was said by the late former PM Harold McMillan in answer to a question about what presented the greatest challenge for a statesman; whether he did or not I've no idea, but it certainly sums up the situation at the moment.

I've said repeatedly that a big event was needed to put Covid in its rightful place, something big which would allow people to get the risk and danger of Covid into proportion. It looks like we now have that big event. Sadly, Russia is currently invading Ukraine.

Dear god, the state of this world today... as if people haven't suffered enough for the past two years.

Hallelujah!

At last!

All Covid restrictions will end on Thursday of this week and the free (not free at all) testing kits, except in a few specific circumstances, will end on April 1st; what an appropriate date!

Self-isolating if you test positive will no longer be mandatory, but it will be "advised" until April 1st.

Boris has finally said we have to live with Covid and treat it like flu.

What a shame he didn't say all this in the spring of 2020. We could have avoided two years of watching much of the population being scared witless... for flu, two years of the country being dragged into unprecedented debt... for flu, and two years of witnessing people die unnecessarily of other conditions because the NHS was too busy treating... the flu.

There's no reason why we couldn't have gone down this route in 2020... well, no reason other than the weakness and craven stupidity of the Govt.

We're expected to adopt a position of personal responsibility according to Boris - that almost made me choke on my digestive biscuit! Where the hell was his "personal responsibility" when he was having parties at No. 10 while we were all under lockdown?

Unsurprisingly, the workshy are already complaining about how dangerous it is to abandon the self-isolating rule - sadly for them they've just lost their cast-iron excuse for not turning up to work!

This was all announced on the same day as we were told over-75s and other vulnerable people will be eligible for their 4th vaccine in the Spring. Yep, people will be having another dose of the jab which didn't work the first three times! This is what constitutes living with Covid, it seems. You couldn't make it up.

We've had two years of Draconian restrictions and rules which almost brought the country to its knees. We and our children will be paying for the actions of Boris and his Govt for years to come; in some respects this country will never be the same again. For flu.

I absolutely love...

...Novak Djokovic!

He's gone from being someone for whom I've never had a good word and turned into my new hero! I'm not ashamed to say I've done a complete 180 in my opinion of him.

The situation of the last two years needed someone, anyone - high-profile, prominent, with a guaranteed media platform - to take a stand. Finally, it's happened. Step forward, the World No. 1 tennis player.

It's a rare day when I can say I have something in common with one of the best and most famous sports stars in the world... "I was never against vaccination," he told the BBC, confirming that he'd had vaccines as a child, "but I've always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body."

Unsurprisingly, Novak's being vilified for looking after himself and his health in the way he's chosen, like it isn't his prerogative to do so! He hasn't at any point criticised those who've chosen to have the jab, so why are they criticising him?

I suspect the criticism stems from a lot of people, not just within sport, asking themselves why they didn't go down the same route as him and why they believed what they were told. For two years it's struck me as really odd that those who've always called out politicians for being self-serving liars (which they are...!) suddenly started believing every word uttered by Boris and his pals.

I can only say the weapon of fear is far too powerful to be put into the hands of grubby politicians.

I'll be watching Novak's interview tonight with great interest. It may not be easy to watch but it'll be a breath of fresh air compared to the media blitz of fear and alarm we've been fed since March 2020. 

Let's hope we're finally crawling out of the Covid pit.

....it is now (almost!)

Well, I said it's over and it looks like Boris agrees with me. He's on the verge of scrapping the remaining restrictions a month earlier than previously thought. Of course, like the end of mask mandates and vaccine passports, it's only come about because he needs to distract people from parties at No.10. However, I'll take it, whatever the reason behind it!

We may... just may... get our lives back after a two year hiatus.

He hasn't even made the announcement yet and, predictably, people are already having a wobble and saying "It's too soon, it's still too dangerous. What if... what if... what if?!"  

Look, I'll tell you what, you wear your mask, you have your jabs, you stay at home and hide behind the sofa if that's what you want... and let the rest of us move on, for goodness sake!

They think it's all over...

Covid's over, so it seems. Well, I suppose it must be if even the BBC isn't talking about it.

This was the BBC News website front page yesterday...

Not a word about bloody Covid! Hurray! I've been waiting almost two years for this.

There had to be one good thing coming out of the Boris party stories and this is it. He knows he's lost the authority to say anything ever again about restrictions and vaccines. Covid will quietly die down and eventually become a bad memory with an astronomical bill attached, which we'll all be paying for years to come. Oh, politicians will still try to breathe some life into it occasionally, trying to justify their ludicrous handling of the situation but to all intents and purposes... we're done.

Yesterday was also the 70th anniversary of HM the Queen acceding the throne. Congratulations, Ma'am. She's been in the same job for longer than I've been alive. What an achievement!

Unsurprisingly at her age she's slowing down and looking increasingly frail, but she still has all her marbles and isn't above telling people how it will be when she's no longer here. Anyone who didn't want Camilla to be known as "Queen" when Charles becomes King is going to be sorely disappointed. Lizzie has spoken, Camilla will be Queen!

Actually yesterday was a very good day all round - The Troops came round for a spot of afternoon tea. Easy Buttermilk Scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, chocolate cake and lots of tea. Lovely!

Waffle and flimflam

Well, what a waste of time that was. Reviews, improvements, lessons will be learned and other assorted bs.

He could have sounded genuinely remorseful, he could have said he was sorry for trying to lie his way out of a Govt disaster, he could have taken full responsibility for the parties and the cover-ups. He didn't. He hid behind Sue Gray's skirts and Cressida Dick's investigation, then made a lame statement in the House where he still tried to weasel out of any wrongdoing.

I despair, I really do.

The only good thing to be said is... I didn't vote for this clown, nor would I ever.

Covid has never been the problem. Boris's reaction to it, however, is another story.

Masks, parties and cake

As of today masks are once again no longer legally required in England (hurray!)... unless you're on a plane, or the London Underground, or in a hospital, or a school corridor, or in Sainsbury's, Waitrose or John Lewis or in public places in Manchester etc. etc... in which case you do have to wear one! Oh, and don't forget your jabs and booster. Have you got that? Do try to keep up.

This is how we're supposed to "live with" Covid, apparently, now that it's turned into something no more serious than a cold. If it's a cold, I'll live with it the same way I have all my life. I don't need three jabs and a mask, thank you. 

Some will carry on draping their face with a piece of cloth as a badge of honour - "Look how responsible I am, such a paragon of virtue, I'm doing this for the greater good" - they'll also make very sure you know exactly how virtuous and public-spirited they are! Those people make me sick, but I do understand the view of others who are still scared, thanks to the relentless Govt propaganda, and if they want to be masked and jabbed... fine, their choice. But I don't and I won't.

"Partygate" rumbles on with no end in sight - we're still waiting for Sue Gray's report. I imagine Boris is twisting her arm to make him appear in the best possible light. 

The thing is... it's not about parties or blasted cake, it's about being decent and honest - a person who's fit to lead the country. Boris is not that person; he's a liar who made the laws and then broke the laws. "I was only there for 10 minutes" is no defence. 

Good decent people were prevented from seeing their dying loved ones, prevented from attending their child's birth, prevented from giving their Dad a hug in his care home, arrested and fined for having a coffee with friends in a park - so why did he think the law didn't apply to him? Game's up, Boris... it won't do; time to go, matey.

We saw the sun today for the first time in a week. The sky's been 50 shades of grey for days on end - a shot of sunlight makes everything look so much brighter and... wait for it! there's a snowdrop (just one!) open in the front garden. Not exactly a display just yet, but it's a start. A harbinger of spring.

I need sunlight and warmth - I need spring flowers and a cup of tea in the garden while Mr S-V wanders up and down with the mower. Soon... soon. Not long now.

The beginning of the end... maybe

Mask mandates and vaccine passports come to an end as of next week! Hoo-bloody-ray! It's a start - and, of course, it's only happening because Boris needed to save his own sorry skin after the party debacle but, given where we are, I'll take it.

I imagine he's looking for a few Brownie points with Sue Grey before her report comes out next week. To avoid answering questions at the moment he's still hiding behind her skirts. Such a dignified leader...

Unsurprisingly the BBC and the usual suspects are still banging the Covid drum, same as they've been doing for nearly two years, reporting stories about unjabbed people dying or having the virus while pregnant. Project Fear will take a long time to die down in some quarters. It's become a way of life for them.

It's astonishing to hear so many people saying the restrictions shouldn't be lifted. Are they enjoying this? How long do they want it to go on for?! 

Removing the mask mandate doesn't stop them wearing a mask - they can wear as many as they like; they can wear a wetsuit and a diver's helmet if that's what they want, but some of us would like to move on and reclaim what's left of our lives.

This may not be the end but we seem to be heading in the right direction...

We were looking out of the window at the sky the night before last - it was bitterly cold and cloudless; a full moon and Orion were clearly visible and Sirius was twinkling brightly in amongst a myriad others. 

It really gave clarity and perspective to the complete mess we've endured for two years. A mess that was entirely avoidable and can be laid squarely at Boris's door. He's a fool.

The lies are getting bigger...

There are lies, damned lies... and then, there's Boris Johnson.

I've heard some whoppers in my time but this just about takes the biscuit. Every parent's familiar with this, it's what happens when a 14-year-old tries to dig himself out of a deep hole by telling more and more lies. It is not the behaviour of a grown man who's the PM, for goodness sake!

He made the rules, which we all had to follow, yet he needs to be told when he's breaking them? Really?!

Dear god, can it get any worse...?

Novak has left the building

As suspected, Novak Djokovic has lost his Australian visa appeal. He has already left the country. After the way he's been treated, I hope he never goes back.

Australia's Govt has just proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they have a seriously bad case of psychosis.

The Australian Open will go ahead tomorrow with the person most likely to win it, the world No.1, unable to play. It'll be a hollow victory for whoever does lift the trophy; he'll always know he only won because Novak wasn't there.

Clearly, Novak had to be made an example of, not for the stated reasons of health or social unrest but because of pending Govt elections. Politics is a filthy business - tainting everything it touches - when it sticks its grubby little beak into sport it never ends well.

Sadly, I've seen members of the public online today being absolutely vile about Novak, which says a lot more about them than it does about him. Disgusting people. Well done, though, to the few players now coming out in his defence - shame on those who are keeping quiet, they're really showing their true colours.

I love tennis, more than once I've sat up all night to watch the tournament on the other side of the world. Never again - those days are over.

It's a horrible grey day here today, which just about matches my mood...

Sausages, mash, buttered cabbage and onion gravy later on may lift the spirits, as will a win for West Ham at the London Stadium against Leeds. 

COYI!!

Update: Bad day for sport. First Novak, then West Ham lost 2-3. I give up.

What Boris really said...

I am so sorry. Well... no, I'm not actually, but people are telling me I have to make some sort of apology for the party in the garden... so here we are. No, no, good Lord no, I didn't realise it was a party even though we were told to bring our own booze. 

What's that? Is it usual to take booze along to a work event? Stop being so picky, you're just splitting hairs now. Look, it was a nice warm evening so I said to Carrie, "Little drinkie in the garden?" and we popped downstairs to show our faces. No biggie.

Such a shame that people are getting so exercised about it. I mean, what's wrong with having a few drinks after work? 

Well, yes... I know I'd told everyone that they couldn't see their friends and families and I'd shut down pubs, restaurants and shops; oh, alright... and I'd closed schools and stopped people from seeing their sick and dying loved ones - look, are you going to keep going on about that, you just won't let it drop, will you? - but the thing is, you see, my staff had been working very hard (cough...!) and they deserved a little treat.

What d'you mean, what about everyone else who deserved a treat? Well, they had to follow the rules didn't they, the rules that were set up to keep them safe from the virus that we'd said would kill them? You must be able to see that?

Sorry... the Downing St garden? Well no, it doesn't have special powers to keep people safe from that so-called deadly virus but surely you can see that the rules are for others, not for me. Yes, I know people were following the rules, even Her Majesty the Queen, but that's their fault for believing an inveterate liar like me.

Right, is that it, then? Will that do? Everyone down the pub, I think. 

Cheers!

BYOB

And off we go again... May 2020, more bloody drinks in the No.10 garden!

We'd been under lockdown for two months; shops, pubs and restaurants were closed, almost everyone was working from home, businesses were struggling to stay afloat and children weren't allowed to go to school or see their friends. 

We were prevented from seeing our loved ones, not allowed to give those who'd died a proper funeral, unable to visit our sick and dying relatives in hospitals and care homes... but in Downing St it was a very different story. "Come for socially distanced drinks in the garden" said the email sent to 100 people!!

Anger doesn't even come close to how I feel. People have been duped and lied to repeatedly by this Govt and still it goes on.

Boris will have to come up with something special to knock this one off the headlines. Will it be another variant, or will he try to take our minds off it by letting us off the leash a little because we've been good boys and girls? 

Whatever it is, it'll be based on more lies. It sickens me.

Anyone for tennis?

Novak Djokovic.

I've never had a good word to say for him. Despite loving tennis I've never taken to him; I can admire his achievements but I don't like his style of play, I don't like his gamesmanship where he has an injury time-out if he wants to unsettle his opponent and, as for his over the top "heart-throwing" gesture to the crowd when he wins, well... pass the sick bucket. In short, I can't stand the bloke.

But.

He knows his own mind and he's standing up against the dystopian rules and regulations surrounding Covid... and for that I applaud him. I admire him for not kowtowing to misguided authority.

It seems he hasn't been jabbed - fine, his choice - so he applied for a jab exemption, apparently because he'd had Covid in December 2021. He clearly had the right paperwork to allow him to get on the plane... so how did it somehow turn into the wrong paperwork by the time he got off?!

Sportspeople are generally banned for taking drugs, but we've now reached the point of peak stupidity where they can be banned for not taking drugs! 

If Australia doesn't want un-jabbed people... it's quite simple, don't issue exemptions. Oh, but of course they do want the cash and the kudos of holding an international tennis tournament, despite having their own citizens locked down for months and not allowing anyone (even triple jabbed!) to enter the country to visit a dying relative. 

I sincerely hope Djokovic doesn't buckle and just up and leave - I really want the Australian Govt to be forced to have to deport him tomorrow, thereby confirming their status as paranoid idiots. Or... will they allow him to stay because he's box-office and this debacle has given them more publicity and exposure than they could ever have hoped for? 

The whole thing stinks - it's a really nasty piece of political posturing but, as is always the case... if you want something really fouled up, ask a politician to deal with it.

Update 10.1.22:

Djokovic 1 - Australia 0 Yessss!!

They could still cancel his visa a second time (why?!) but, for now, Novak has the high ground. I'm thrilled that the bullying Australian Govt has been put in its place.

Update 15.1.22:

As predicted, the brainless Australian Govt has cancelled Novak's visa for the second time! He's back in detention and there'll be a court hearing on Sunday morning, local time, to decide whether he's able to stay and play tennis.

They'll probably turf him out - I can't see the Australian Govt allowing their authority (and deep-seated paranoia!) to be challenged like this.

I'm gutted that not a single one of his fellow professionals has come out in his defence... on the contrary, in fact, the ones who have spoken have been subtly putting the knife in. Just goes to show... you soon find out who your friends are. 

Apologies, I forgot Nick Kyrgios - a really decent bloke who's just about the only one on Novak's side.

Masks...

...again.

So depressing to see masks have again been mandated in schools. What the hell are they doing to our children? 

I can't believe so many people think this is acceptable. I even saw one deranged individual online say that children are very resilient, masks are no problem and, in fact, this would be a good opportunity to teach them BSL (British Sign Language) to help them communicate more easily! Dear god... how brainless do you have to be to come up with that tripe?

The idea that children are resilient is completely false; if it was true, why do so many adults have counselling and therapy to help them deal with events from their childhood? "Children are resilient" is a convenient line trotted out by adults who prioritise what they want rather than what's best for the child. Makes me bloody fume.

I am very cautiously hopeful that, even if we're not quite turning the corner on Covid, we are at least approaching the corner. This piece has a very different tone from just about everything official we've heard for almost two years. Of course, many doctors and scientists have been saying the same for a long time, but we've not heard anything like it before from someone who's actually a Govt advisor. Watch this space!

Well, we didn't have to wait long! 

Boris, Whitty and Vallance - the Three Stooges - were on tv again tonight. Boris said no more restrictions and we'll have to ride it out; Vallance actually said it was not 'tenable' to jab people once every three to six months in the long term and Whitty was his usual, cheerful, dynamic self (I swear, if he smiled his face would break). It's glacially slow, but I think they're finally making progress... of sorts. God, I hope so.

After a couple of weeks of mild, wet weather... winter arrived today. 

It's been freezing with a sharp northerly breeze, so soup was the order of the day. I came across this Winter Veg soup from the Hairy Bikers - it's easy enough, but dumplings are not my forte, hence they looked like I'd thrown them in the pan! It tasted great though, just right for a cold day. I subbed shredded sprouts for the kale (nasty stuff!) and I'd use more carrots and less celeriac next time because it finished up looking slightly anaemic. 

Tomorrow, another cold weather favourite, cauli cheese with green beans and glazed carrots.