2020 A year of Historic Events .. Corona virus Pandemic
Christmas over, yet again .. We went to Midsomer Norton to spend the day with Rach, Andrew, Chloe, Caitlyn & Bethany. Getting good at walking now, no sticks required. Not a lot of attention paid to what was happening in Wohan in China. Pictures on TV showed Police rounding up people, everyone wearing masks, looked a bit surreal really .. It was called COVID 19 Virus. Soon it was spreading beyond China, America, Europe and Britain.. Pretty soon noone was immune to it. No known cure for it , fatal in the elderly, or anyone with underlying heath issues life C.O.P.D. diabetes etc. We lost David Reeves at 1, Maggs Hill in February from sepsis . he didn't get the virus though as it was in February he was taken into hospital. He was 66. Also lost Dave Gorham as well, heart attack mid 50s, found dead in kitchen.
March 8th , went to MSN for Sunday birthday meal with family. Afterwards went to Rebeccas' new shop 'Sweet Spot' in Paulton, stocked up with sugar free sweets for the duration of my 'Isolation' . Not going to take chances, no one allowed into house, 'Ring bell, leave parcels on path' sign went onto door. No food anywhere in local shops, toilet rolls gone, shelves emptying fast. Our local Waitrose was small and in upmarket 'Poundbury', so few shoppers meant it was a safe place for now to shop. But, even here people were panic buying and coming from far away to get what little stock was available. Flour, bread rice and Pasta scarce supplies everywhere. Panic buyers everywhere !!! .. Some NHS workers finished their shifts and found stores had no food for them . Crazy times indeed !! ..
June 18th , we are still in lockdown, isolating, shopping at a very organised queue arrangement at Tesco now, food supplies are nearly back to normal. It will never be the same again until an antdote is found for Corona virus. Over 42,000 people of all ages have died in Britain so far. Still over 100 per day. I have been in contact with a woman in Bathhampton making NHS PPE . She had a donation of machines from America to make face coverings. But, import duty needed paying to the UK courier FEDEX. We paid out £500 which included a donation towards materials. She suffers with EDS(3) which prevented her from making many, the cut material was forwarded to someone else to finish off. Her new Aquaquilt machines now make premature baby blankets, so nothing being wasted. It was our little bit towards our national crisis situation. Pubs, Bars, Resteraunts are al closed. as have all public places, parks offices & factories. UK Economy has shrunk by 20%, and millions either 'furloughed' on 80% wages, or have been laid off. A very dire situation for many people. We do not appreciate what lies ahead yet ..
July 1st , New goverment advice is allowing some businesses to reopen on July 4th, (Independence Day in the U.S.) . There is now a race to buy up drugs which help with Covid 19 recovery.. America has taken the |Lions share of the supply as theVirus is close to being out of control in certain US states. Difficult times indeed. There is going to be a lot written about the Pandemic event this year. This month sees the twin grandchildren Bethany & Caitlyn receiving an early Birthday present from Dad Andrew.. A Fiat Car each for their 17th in September. Bought well in advance, and with nowhere but home driveway to storethem, they spent a day sitting in them !! Ha Ha..
December 31st, It has been an interesting year really, two National Lockdowns and a possible third on the way. All news is focusswed on the spread of the COVID 19 virus and its new variants around the World. Cases are now well above the peak of the first wave. We have 30% more patients in Hospital than previously, and Deaths are approching 1,000 per daay . Only positive thing to announce is that we now have two Vaccines available in the UK. Hoping to roll out in the new year .. What a Christmas, or in most cases, not a Christmas. We are still isolating, and will be until we have had the Vaccine. Got to remain positive ..
2021
January ..Christmas was supposed to be a relief from the second COVID lock down, a 5 day break for families, but it never happened because of a massive increase in infections hospitalisation and deaths rising to over 100,000 and at the peak 1,000 a day. So, we are now in the THIRD Lockdown and we are still in isolarion at Hardy Park.
Feruary .. Was the colest spell of weather in 50 years. We survived it o.k. but the Tenants at Timsbury Cottages froze up completely, at 1a the pipe burst when the thaw arrived and it was flooded with 300 gallons an hour until Andrew & Rach were alerted and tried to mop up before we came up from Dorchester to help sort things out. Rach was met by a wall of water dripping from the ceilings , she did have a mop & bucket in her hand, but stood aghast at the scene which was presented to her. Andrew went off to the unit in Radstock for the Vax machine to extract water from the carpets and floors. We got there 2 hours later and helped mop up. We used 5 dehumidifiers for a week to dey out so Jamie could move back in. We are still using two at thwe moment, probably until mid April to dry it out.
March.. Made it to 73 then, quiet Birthday but enjoyed a meal at Home with Carole. Not an eventful day really. Very quiet but we did get a visit from Andrew and Rach later in the day. A sunny evening in the Sunroom.
9th April On this day we lost Prince Philip, Dike of Edinburgh .. Husband of the Queen, Father and Grandfather, friend to so many. He could have just walked a few paces behinf the Queen, carried on doing his own thing. But he CHOSE to engage with the role, created the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, became head of so many institutions. He abandoned some of the old ways, made mistakes, spoke his mind. For that, he will be remembered. He died aged nearly 100, albeit 2 months short of the magnificent age. RIP Philip, he will be sadly missed, no one can take over his role with such vigour and commitment. The Funeral was Such a quite and solemn occasion.
July. Unusaual Summeer this year, good start cold winds and Sunny dry days, but no usual "Flaming' June". We managed a few days out at the Seaside with usual "Beach Lunch" of local fresh fish & chips. Carole is now 69 now, catching me up fast ! .We lost Uncle Bill in Box, he was 91 and died of a dilated arterty, much like his Sister, my Mother Vivienne. He has left his home to my Sister Rose and her Daughter Bernice. This will give them some security after getting nothing from my Mothers' house in Bath when she died in 1998, then Roses' other daughter Sarah got it all.
September. We went to the Twins Bethany & Caitlyns' 18th Birthday party in Midsomer Norton, seems like yesterday that they were in prams, now they're in Cars ! The Pandemic is still with us all, we still need to be careful when in Public now Lockdown is over. Will it ever be normal again?
October, 15th was our Golden Wedding Anniversary, one of the very FEW times I bought Carole Flowers, drink and a Heart shaped medallion.
The cold weather took its' time arriving, the start of the month was excellent and it allowed many days out. This morning (22nd), saw the heating go on for the first time and the rain came with a vengance a few days ago. Decembercame and went with the focus ob the Family in Midsomer Norton for a meal. We saw the New Year in as usual in our own quiet way, no fuss, early to bed on New Years Eve. Boring eh? Ha Ha !!.
2022 March. Another Birthday for me, 74 .yes, 74 !. Nothing much going on apart from the improving weather and a War in Ukraine with Russia. Out of the blue Putin decalred a "Special Military Operation". Many War crimes against civilians, Cities reduced to rubble. Russians focused on the east of Ukrain after being pushed back from the Capital in the North. Energy price caps eremoved as 50& increase in prices, made much worse by the War. Grain, food, Gas & Fuel prices, shippimg crisis and Worldwide commodity price increases are making the Pandemic recovery more difficult. For those who have lived through this problem before in the 1970s, (with inflation up to 26& then), time to reign in the spending, cut journeys, pull the belts in. It will be a shock for two generations to cope with. Us "Oldies" will shrug our shoulders and carry on the business as usual. No one expected or wanted this ...May , Saw a 4 year late, 4 Billion overspend on Crossrail and the "Elizabeth Line" in London and yet more contraversy about Government parties in Lockdown and the usual plethora of scandals associated with politicians of both Major political parties ... Nothing much changes in Politics then !!! . 2 June, Platinum Jubilee Beacons , major 70th year celebrations for our Queen Elizabeth 11 . She is 96 years old and now has mobility issues (as do all us old folk, yours truly included ).. So, celebrations in the midst of Austerity again then , history repeats itself. My health is now declining together with my sight and facilties in general so there may not be many more pages forthcoming, we shall see.
2023. What a Year so far, if it could go wrong it did. We lost our beloved Queen, 2 prime ministers in quick succession, and the Pound got weaker as costs just shot up as Inflation bit for the First time in over 50 years since we last lived through it in the 1970s. We has a cold November 7 December, not as cold as they had it in Ukraine with the Russians destroting Power Ibnfrastructure to wear down the population. It has all got very industiious in the Midsomer Norton branch as we now have Rach, Chloe, Caitlin in the teaching profession... Wow ! ... Wonder where they got it from , I was never that keen on School ! ... Life is now busy for the Granskids, all at work, so now Mum and Dad can have a bit more quality time. In Timsbury the "Ice in the Pipes" reared its' ugly head again with a small leak in 1a. Dave Reeves (RIP) never lagged the pipes in his house, as they share a water supply via pipes in each loft, his side froze solid again and the ice tracked through the wall and burst copper pipes. more insulation, new plastic pipe later and lots of help from our new friend James Wallace later we are n ow bullet proof for antoher 30 years (hopegully). February. We (Hardy Park Residents) are taking our beloved Park Owner to a Court Tribunal over the issues of lack of Park Maintenance and a 15% rise in our ground rent. Should be interesting, hopefully a reduction in keeping with losing all our workmen who used to look after the Park Grounds. Will; report on progress as and when.
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