75th Anniversary of VE Day

The horrors of WW2. I can’t even imagine it. 

Ordinary people with extraordinary guts and determination fought to preserve this country’s freedoms back then; we owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. 

My Dad was one of them.

Can you imagine the state we’d be in if war was declared now? 18-year-old lads back then were lining up, volunteering to fight, knowing they would quite possibly have to give their lives for their country. Women at home, who’d never worked before, were "Keeping the homes fires burning", driving trucks and joining the Land Army. These days the average 18-year-old needs a week in bed to recover if they break a nail or if someone unfriends them on Facebook… and don’t even mention our limp politicians – you’ll find more backbone in a damp dishcloth.

Just look at the way they’re handling the current situation; the people who’re telling us how to run (or maybe that should be ‘ruin’!) our lives, while Covid does its thing, aren’t fit to run a bath.

Everyone’s waiting with bated breath to see what Boris has to say for himself on Sunday – will we be allowed out, will we still be under house arrest, will schools open, will I be able to get my bloody hair cut? Who knows...? I swear Boris and his mates are working it out on the back of a fag packet.

People (sheeple?) are actually brainless enough to want this pantomime to continue! Just to prove how gullible and easily led they are, there was a hashtag #KeepTheLockdown trending on Twitter yesterday. What the hell’s the matter with them? Mind you, if we keep giving them 80% of their wages to stay at home, it’s hardly surprising they’re keen on keeping the lockdown. If we stopped paying them and the weather turned a bit chilly, they’d be back to work like a rat up a drain.

I shall be observing the two-minute silence for VE day this morning, for those people who fought at home and abroad and to whom we should be eternally grateful. They really were heroes. 

If they could see the state of this country right now, they’d probably wonder why the hell they bothered.

The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him

- G K Chesterton

Just an opinion (or six...)

I’m not a criminal… but I’m under house arrest.

I don’t have a contagious disease… but I’m quarantined.

I’m not a danger to anyone… but I’m not allowed to see my family.

Explain this to me if you can, because I’m damned if I can see the sense in it.

The Government has far exceeded its remit; it’s taken away many of the best parts of our life and left us with something that a growing proportion of people are increasingly finding unacceptable. They want to see their friends and family; they want to go to the pub, to the gym or out for dinner. Nothing earth-shattering, just everyday stuff. 

On a personal level, if I can’t hug my son and my grandchildren, then it’s no bloody life at all. I’m an adult, I’m big enough and ugly enough to decide for myself how much risk I’m prepared to take, thank you. Advise me, give me truthful information… then leave me alone to make my own decisions.

We were rushed into lockdown by a frightened Government – they had no exit plan and, now that people are starting to question the wisdom of this, they are clearly in panic mode about what to do next. “We’ll look at the science and tell you next week” doesn’t exactly inspire me with confidence, I’m sorry to say, because single-issue scientists have a very narrow view of the world – they don’t see the bigger picture. 

In the meantime, the economy is still dying on its feet and people are suffering… the Government would do well to remember that Covid-19 isn’t the only problem that needs dealing with right now. As a country we’ll struggle to get back from the mess we’ve been plunged into – Covid may well turn out to be the least of our problems. This will not be a quick or easy recovery.

However, looking on the bright side (joke!) a series of temporary Nightingale hospitals have sprung up around the country, all set up at great expense and raring to go. Only one problem… not needed, no patients in them! You really could not make it up.

Oh, and while I’m about it, I’m sick of having the NHS shoved down my throat at every possible opportunity. It is not my responsibility to protect the NHS – it’s actually their responsibility to protect me! Nor is everyone on the ‘frontline’ a ‘hero’… they’re just people doing their job. That’s what they're supposed to do and that's what we all pay for.

Being under lockdown is doing me no good at all – I’ve too much time to sit and cogitate about politicians who should be running the country, rather than running it into the ground.

I like Boris, I think he's a good bloke, but he needs to be brave and not allow his own experience of Covid to colour his judgement.

May Day

Mayday…mayday!

No, you’re alright, I don’t have an imminent emergency here – but it's May the first. Small children dancing round Maypoles on village greens, crowning the Queen of the May and all that. Yep, not happening is it?

Put in an order to our lovely farm shop yesterday – had a ride out this morning to collect it and gave the car a run into the bargain. We came back with a box of delights – asparagus, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, apples, bananas, organic eggs, crème fraiche and… stand by, I’m going to use the ‘F’ word….they had flour!! I am now the proud owner of a bag of white bread flour and another bag of plain flour for biscuits, scones etc. What a find!

Seems like every man and his dog is recording a charity single for the NHS; Queen, James Blunt and now we have Amanda Holden strangling to death Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Bloody hell – as if people aren’t feeling bad enough, she’s determined to make them feel worse. Yes, thanks Amanda love, don’t ring us… we’ll ring you.

The NHS will soon have more money at its disposal than the GDP of a small country. Will they use it wisely…? I shouldn’t think so, they haven’t done since 1948.

Finally made some biccies yesterday because I knew I could get some more flour. They weren't bad but would have been better if I’d had plain flour. I had half the ingredients measured out when I realised I only had SR flour. Duh..! Well, they weren’t a disaster.

A little bit of good news....

Congratulations! Boris and his fiancée, Carrie, have had their first baby – a little chap! Some good news at last amongst all the doom and gloom. They really have had a hell of a time recently… they must be exhausted. 

Social media and msm, however, don’t recognise any of their stress and anxiety– all they can see is “Boris is an f***ing Tory!” What miserable specimens they are… they can’t put their political allegiances aside just for a nanosecond and be pleased at some happy news. Dear god…people can be vile.

The media in this country, led by the execrable BBC, is a thorough disgrace. They long ago abandoned any pretence of impartiality in favour of spewing a constant stream of lefty, socialist claptrap. Sadly, the current Covid crisis and lockdown has just allowed them even more of a platform.

 

I can avoid paying for a newspaper or any online news content but, sadly, I can’t avoid paying for the BBC – I’m forced, under threat of imprisonment, to cough up if I have the temerity to want to watch live TV. I hope one day to see the death of the BBC – I can wait…

Went into the village for our daily walk today… we crossed the road so many times to avoid people it was a bit like Scottish country dancing! It was actually quite amusing and a few other people saw the funny side of it too.

Still haven’t done any baking… Can I justify using up some of my small stock of plain flour on some biscuits? Decisions, decisions….

Musings

Well, Boris went back to work yesterday. That’s nice for him and good for the country. I’m pleased he’s well enough to return, but I don’t think it’ll make much difference to the eventual lifting of lockdown. I think we’re all going to have to be patient for a while yet. Sadly, patience is not one of my strong points. 

It’d be easier if I thought they actually had my best interests at heart but, let's be honest, this has damn all to do with my welfare…it’s all about protecting the NHS. Funny that…I thought the NHS was meant to protect me.

Even when the rules start to be a bit less stringent, I’m sure they’ll say over 70s still need to stay at home. Why are we quarantining people who are perfectly well? Quarantine is usually for people who already have an infectious disease.

Given that I don’t have a social life I’m surprised at how hard I’m finding this. Fact is, I’m an old trout who doesn’t like being told what to do, I suppose.

Made some curried fruit chutney yesterday; thankfully it was warm enough to have the kitchen door and window open but the house still pongs of vinegar – since there’s no-one here but us it doesn’t really matter…it’ll pass.

Raining this morning – it’s desperately needed; the garden is so dry you can almost hear the grass and plants slurping it up. Maybe it’ll spur my beetroot seedlings on – they seem a bit reluctant at the moment, although the onions are coming along nicely.

Cauli/broc cheese for dinner today with glazed carrots and possibly some stir-fried cabbage. I’ve got this overwhelming urge to bake something – I rarely bake, lockdown must be affecting me worse than I thought. Might make some biscuits…

Shakespeare and Spuds

Really lovely weather today – sunny with a light breeze, so we mooched over to the farmer’s field again after our walk round the lotties. He’d been planting spuds in the front field; the back field has some sort of cereal crop going on. It’ll be interesting watching it all grow.

Potential Spuds

Seems I’m going to be sitting here talking to myself for months yet – and there was I, foolishly thinking I might be able to go out for lunch next month on my birthday. Fat chance! 

The lugubrious Prof Chris Whitty (Chief Medical Officer) yesterday quashed any idea of normality for the foreseeable, so it looks like I’ll be baking my own birthday cake and blowing out the candles with the grandchildren on Skype. The way things are going we’ll be lucky to get out for the office Christmas party (the “office” staff being us two!)

Well, I’ve dug out a couple of books that I’ve been wanting to re-read but, if I’m not careful, I might have to take up some sort of craftwork just to pass the time. I’m the least “crafty” person in the world, so god knows what I’ll start doing. There must be something out there for a complete numpty to get engrossed in.

Utter garbage on the BBC tonight – a whole load of celebs desperate for attention are allegedly going to entertain us. Not me. I’ll be doing anything other than watch that drivel. Doesn’t matter how bad things get, celebs still have to have their egos massaged.

St George’s Day today and Shakespeare’s birthday.

This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle… This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.

- Richard II Act 2, Scene 1

And still it goes on...

Another week in lockdown begins and my bloody hair looks an absolute sight, as does Mr Simply’s. He’s starting to look like a better-dressed version of Compo from Last of the Summer Wine. I suppose that makes me Nora Batty… now, where can I buy lisle stockings?

I’ve given up watching the news or even reading it very much; I really can’t take the nonsense being pumped out by most news outlets these days.

The news in summary… the Govt is negligent and uncaring, everyone who works for the NHS is a saint, assorted old people are walking with their zimmers to raise money for some reason or another, we’ll all have to wear masks soon (no…not like a bank robber), pop stars are singing in their kitchens, Harry and Meg are still acting like spoilt brats… and anyone over 70 won’t be allowed out until god knows when. I think that's about it.

This is what passes for journalism these days… The news will be the same tomorrow but possibly in a different order.

Also in the news… it's HM the Queen’s birthday today – Happy Birthday Ma’am. 94 years old, and she can’t even have the family round to share her cake. What a bloody life.

It’s my birthday next month and if we’re still under lockdown, I will not be best pleased. I want to go for lunch at The Ivy and I damn well want to see The Troops for cake and hugs. I'm not a woman who takes kindly to being thwarted... you have been warned.

Had a little slice of normality this morning; my window cleaner arrived, bless him! I thought I'd be lucky to see him this side of Christmas so it was a lovely surprise. The Govt seems quite happy for small businesses to go down the pan, as long as their beloved NHS is looked after, so I’m really pleased for him that he’s managing to keep his livelihood going under such difficult circumstances.

I made some broccoli and stilton soup at the weekend, using up the stumpy bits of broc that are left when you cut off the florets. I usually throw them away (call the food waste police immediately!) but I kept a few stumps in the fridge and used them in my usual recipe; it looked and tasted identical! Can’t think why I haven’t done it before – I felt quite virtuous *polishes halo*