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.

Jabs, GPs... and Dinner

I'm not a woman who is generally lost for words but this headline a couple of days ago managed to leave me floundering.

"Double jabbed people are catching Covid and passing it on to those they live with"...! 

So what's the point of having the bloody stuff, then? Why on earth are they still falling for this crap? 

How can people be double jabbed and having 'boosters' (they're not actually boosters btw, they're another dose of the same jab that didn't work the first two times!) and yet they're still frightened of catching Covid, still masked up and still avoiding crowded places?!

Unless folk start to think for themselves it'll go on forever.

I had another experience of our 'wonderful' NHS yesterday. I had a face-to-face appt with Dr Z (oooh, lucky me!) I turned up at the right time... no Dr Z. "He's not in today but we've put you in to see Dr A". Not a phone call to ask me if I minded or if I'd like to re-book, just that attitude from the receptionist that I was damned lucky to be seen by anyone at all! 

Unsurprisingly, I said "No, thank you" and came home after a completely wasted journey. Will I see Dr Z at some point? Who knows... who cares? Well, certainly not the ill-mannered Rottweiler on reception, that's for sure. 

I sometimes wonder if they go on special training courses to teach them how to treat patients with complete disdain, while managing to stay just the right side of out-and-out rudeness. It's a skill few people have; GP receptionists have it in spades....

Having made some Butternut and Carrot soup last week, I still had half a large squash looking for a home. Thought I might have a go at this Gratin recipe for dinner today. I'll post a pic if it looks presentable!

Well, here it is... tonight's dinner as mentioned above. It was really tasty, I recommend it, definitely one to make again.

I made a couple of changes; I really don't like kale - horrible chewy stuff - so I replaced it with chopped leeks which I roasted with the squash... and I cut the recipe down by about two thirds for just the two of us. If four people were going to eat the original dish, I can only say they must have gigantic appetites!

Apropos of nothing, I absolutely hate that white baking dish but it's the only one I have that works for two servings - I curse the day I decided not to buy a beautiful discontinued Le Creuset dish in last year's sale!

Plan B or is it C?

Just when I thought the Covid madness was dying down a bit, up jumps an idiot MP to stir the pot again and keep it on the boil. And this time he's threatening us... "Get jabbed or we'll have to bring in Plan B". 

Ooh, isn't he manful?! A word of advice Saj, don't threaten me matey, you're stepping well beyond your remit... and your competency.

Plan C is apparently "under discussion", whereby households would be banned from mixing. Not for me, Saj; you can call it any Plan you like, I will not be taking part in any more of this nonsense. I will not endure another Christmas like last year.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see another lockdown before Christmas. The power and control has gone to their heads - they're determined not to let it go. 

Mind you, I've seen many people online clamouring for mask wearing and other restrictions to be brought back, so I suppose they'd be quite happy with another lockdown. Clearly, the fear narrative peddled by Govt for the last 20 months is still working. I'm sorry they're so frightened but they really do need to start thinking for themselves at some point; it'd also be a good idea to do some research of their own and stop listening to BBC News.

Maybe they could start with thinking about how their jabs, which they were so keen to have, are now affording them minimal protection against the thing they fear most...

The weather has turned really chilly - I actually had to wear a coat when we went for a walk earlier. I had a butternut, sweet potatoes, carrots and leeks delivered earlier today. I can feel a soup-making session coming on!

Bowl of soup, chunk of cheese and some crusty ciabatta = happy days!

Tennis (again) and Christmas

Blimey, there must be something in the water the British tennis players are drinking - we were waiting for someone to come along and pick up where Andy Murray left off and it looks like we've found him. Step forward, Cam Norrie!

Cam did something last night that no other British man has done by winning the Indian Wells 1000... well done, that man!

Sadly, I didn't see the match - the time difference between California and the UK put paid to that; at my age I need my beauty sleep (not that it's helping much!)

Predictably, I've seen people online saying "He isn't a Brit" and "I find it hard to accept he's British"...! Why not enjoy a British sporting achievement and stop being so miserable, mean-spirited and wrong? His parents are British but he was born while they were living and working in South Africa - how much more British would they like him to be, for god's sake?!

I've started putting a few bits and pieces by for Christmas; had a lovely delivery from The Bay Tree last week - I could easily become addicted to their Marinated Figs, but I only buy one jar a year and eat them sparingly in the run-up to the big day. Now, that's what I call being strong-willed!

The family will be here for Christmas Eve, as they usually are (I will never forgive Boris for last year, curse him), Nut Roast Wellington with all the trimmings has been requested, so that's what we'll be having. I can't wait, last year was absolute torture.

Covid's still with us - well, it is with some people, not with me. If it wasn't for the unrelenting scare stories dreamt up by the media I wouldn't be taking any notice of it. It's become a bit of a non-event. Unsurprisingly, though, I've just seen a piece saying the situation is "concerning" and the "NHS will come under pressure this winter". Quelle surprise!

OK... When has there been a winter where the NHS hasn't been under pressure? When has there been a winter where the NHS has been able to cope? Why hasn't the NHS ever got any better at coping despite the vast sums of money thrown at it? All excellent questions, none of which will ever be addressed by the Govt... and that, ladies and gentlemen, is where the problem lies.

I thank you.