Saturday 17 October 2020

Surviving Week 31 of Strange Times

THIS WEEK...................

 On the whole it's been a grey dismal week since last Saturday, with some rain everyday. I wrote then that it had turned colder and this is what was on the ground when I got back from my trip across to the coast to take card and pressie to Eldest Granddaughter............Hail! covering the path and looking like snow. 
All the way home I'd driven through pouring rain and floods but the hail was a surprise........... proving it's colder here on the 'high' ground in Mid Suffolk!

THIS WEEK............. the new header photo  a tractor is ploughing the field beside the house and meadow, this now means the footpath across the field down to the railway has been ploughed and will be a sticky heavy clay mess, even when(or if) the farmer has re-instated it with his quad bike -  unless we get frost. Good thing I walked to the railway last week.

  THIS WEEK.............I'm not at all sure about swimming at the 12 Noon session on a Monday. There is a Rather Large Man who swims very slowly and he ought to stop at the end to let faster people (ie ME!) go past AND he tends to swim down the middle so there's no chance of getting by. Monday last week was the second time he's been there at 12 at the same time as I have and just to add insult  2 other people were also held up by him AND the lifeguard didn't ask him to wait at the end of the pool to let other people by until just before I was about to get out of the pool.

THIS WEEK...........After the PM's update on Monday we in Suffolk are in a Medium Risk area - nowhere is Low Risk - not even Devon and Cornwall where infection rates were actually falling. I'm still carrying on with the few things left in my life that I'm allowed to do and hoping that we don't get a full lock down before half term week when Eldest Daughter and Eldest Grandson should be coming to stay for a couple of nights - but it's not looking hopeful.

THIS WEEK.................. I've made a decision NOT to buy The Almanac Seasonal guide for next year

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/514+JJLx8sL._SX316_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg             Or The Country Wisdom and Folklore diary      Country Wisdom & Folklore Diary 2021

Much as I like and have enjoyed both for a few years, a year without will save me £20. The Diary was really good when it had spiral metal coil binding - they changed to normal book binding this year for environmental reasons - but then of course the diary won't lay flat or stay open on the right page. My 2021 diary is a £2 affair from The Works - with No Moon timetable so would be no good for my blog friend Rachel-in-Norfolk! So in theory I now have £18 to spend on books if I'm ever short of reading!

THIS WEEK.........At last a communication from my Dentist - telling me they are closing the local bit where I go - 4 miles- to concentrate everything on their Ipswich hub. I don't really want to travel that far to get teeth sorted but they have £120 of my money that I had to pay in March  as a deposit for having a tooth fixed. Since then more of the tooth has broken anyway so it might have to come out. I shall try and get my money back first I think. There's no hope of having anything done on the NHS - it's impossible to find a dentist that hasn't gone private nowadays.


Highlight of next week?
I've booked a slot at the recycling centre (AKA The Tip). Bit puzzled by this instruction........
 
                                 You must stay in your vehicle until you have parked


This week I'm grateful for

  • Finding snooker (The English Open on Quest) on TV for wet afternoons this week
  • Strictly Come Dancing is back on TV tonight - it may be different due to Covid but it will still be sparkly and happy. 

 

Hope you all have a good weekend, I shall return with more pearls of wisdom(?) on Monday

Sue

36 comments:

  1. Oh yes, Strictly - yay! Morning Sue, I hope rules don't change so you do get to have a couple of days with daughter and grandson.

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    1. Now he is at school there are less chances for them to visit so I hope they can get here or it might be after Christmas before they can come!

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  2. Stick with the dentist. Better to have one in Ipswich than not one at all, particularly in these difficult times.

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    1. It's right round the other side of Ipswich too - annoying.

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    2. Still, it's a dentist upon whose books you are on and in an emergency a few extra miles won't matter.

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  3. The Tip. It's because the queues are long and slow. Sometimes passengers have hopped out, grabbed a bag of rubbish from the boot, and carried it round to the bins. Hence 'stay in your car'. In Dorset this was 'Only cars and vans allowed to enter' - and my mate John, ardent cycling campaigner, was not allowed in with his bike&trailer. He made such a fuss (as the council very keen to be seen to be seen as environmentally friendly) and they had to back pedal on that ruling! I too have had dental hassles this week.

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    1. Oh right I see. I have no idea how many are booked in for each 15 minute slot. Hope there isn't too long queue

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  4. They are turning people away from our Tip for even the tiniest breach of some very strict rules. My neighbours, expensively, hired a van to take their garden waste and were refused entry because they'd come in a van.

    Did you see "Strictly Amy Crohn's and Me" the other evening. It was heart breaking to see what she goes through, yet remains such a happy soul. I cried all the way through.

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    1. Hi Rustic Pumpkin, yes I saw that, so sad. My daughter has it too.

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    2. So sorry to read that, Pat. My cousin has it too. It is debilitating, and Amy was wise to share so we get a better idea of what people go through with it.

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    3. I didn't see the programme - tend to avoid things about illness and hospitals - had enough of both before Colin died

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  5. Dentists. I've been a private patient since our surgery went private-only years ago. I'm on Denplan, which is supposed to save you money. I'm pretty annoyed that for three months it was impossible to see a dentist, yet they kept taking the money! Now I've had an email from my surgery saying, 'we've missed you!'
    I haven't missed them, even though my new dentist is my best ever :-)

    Diaries. I find it really hard nowadays to find one with everything I want i.e. an old-fashioned one. I want all national holidays, the dates when the clocks change and phases of the moon. I also like a colour map of the London Underground, even though I never go to London! Maps are nice, too, and international time zones. Too much to ask?

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    1. I wanted a diary that will stay open on the right page with space to write birthdays etc - so the cheaper the better really

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  6. That's a lovely header photo - one we very rarely see around here.

    We are VERY fortunate to be with an NHS dentist in Llandeilo and aren't moving so far away we can't still use him.

    I have just booked a Tip Trip for tomorrow morning. The early ones were unbooked showing just how idle people are! 10 a.m. onwards booked solid! I am off to the Green Charity Shop in Llandeilo this morning with the first of probably many loads. At least we will be one down, some to go . . .

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    1. There are tractors ploughing or cultivating everywhere at the moment and HUGE sugar beet harvesters and tractors with trailers full of beet and massive trucks - all leaving a ton of mud on the roads!

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  7. I was due for a check up with my dentist at the start of this pandemic and rang them to cancel as I didn't feel comfortable going with my vulnerability. They understood and so far, fortunately for me, haven't needed to see him, but I feel I ought to get back into the routine of check-ups etc.

    My diaries are from Smiths and cost a bit more than £2 and they have all the information in that old fashioned diaries have ie last year and next year's calendars; sunrise and sunset; metric; noteable dates; religious festivals; international information and public holidaya. They are A5 which is a good size for me as I fill every page.

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    1. I only use a diary for dates to remember - my blog is my other diary

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  8. Yes, my calendar has new moons and full moons marked and I like it that way. It is available from all good stationers and costs about £3.

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    1. I just bought the cheapest ring coil binding I could find

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  9. I was due to visit the dentist in September for my usual checkup but it was, of course, cancelled. The receptionist assured me that they are still there, doing emergency treatment only. I would be reluctant to give up your dentist completely, Sue, just in case you can't find another when you need one. I do agree though that you could ask for your deposit back as they can't treat you at the moment.

    I love the new header...very Autumnal 🙂

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  10. We don't have to book tip appointments, just wait in line along the road and edge your way slowly to the front. When it's your turn they ask what you have then guide you to the relevant skip. I don't go very often, if I can break items down to fit in the general grey wheelie bin, then I will. It all ends up in landfill, apart from the recycled stuff which is sorted into correct bins.

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    1. I don't go very often but I'm still clearing out junk from the workshop and the electric fan which stood in the conservatory unused ever since Col died and then fell on the tiled floor and shattered into a dozen bits!

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  11. I hope you enjoy Strictly tonight Sue. BBC Four is usually my choice on Saturday nights. I haven't looked what's on there tonight but if it is good I shall watch it and catch up with Strictly tomorrow.

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    1. It will be interesting to find how they are dong strictly this year. Enjoy whatever is on BBC4 tonight

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  12. REALLY looking forward to Strictly starting. It's happy and sparkly and just what we need.
    And oh my to that weather. It's been a bit chilly here but not that bad!
    Good luck with the dental adventures. I'm right in the middle of catch up, as you know, with the implants on their way now and an ordinary check up at the end of the month (and there's at least three teeth that need significant attention since the last one before Christmas).
    xx

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  13. Love the new header. Truly hope you manage to get your visit with your family. We are travelling down to England to see my parents whilst we can.

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  14. That picture of hail on your path sure looks icy and miserable! I'm glad you didn't have to drive in hail coming home although heavy rain is not fun at all either. I love your new header. That is an excellent picture you captured with the birds in flight. I do hope your swimming improves as I know you enjoy it. Maybe the lifeguard will talk to the man. Enjoy the rest of your weekend Sue!

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  15. Oh wow! That hail doesn't look fun. We had a really sharp frost the past two mornings and everything was covered with a sheet of white when I went on my morning walk. Better that than the snow my daughter had yesterday!

    I hope another lock-down isn't coming. I'm not sure how mum will handle it. Sometimes she seems so down.

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  16. Sue, you or one of your readers may find SunriseSunset.com a useful site for creating a free calendar specific to your location. I like to keep track of sun and moon rise and set, and hours of daylight and a couple of other things that I don't think any storebought calendar would have because not everyone would be interested...but I am! I usually create a monthly page and used to print it but now I have no printer so I just save it as a pdf and keep it on my laptop.

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  17. Snap! It’s supposed to be well into Spring over here, but there was a very short, sharp hailstorm last week, which lasted on the ground for some hours because the temperature was so low.

    Dentistry is all private for adults in New Zealand, and as a result many people neglect their teeth badly. It has reached such a problem nationally that there is talk of nationalising a free system for socially disadvantaged people. I’m “the daughter of a dentist” so care of my teeth has always been prioritised, but there are many people who just can’t afford the huge costs involved. I recently needed a crown and it cost £750. And the bridge my husband needed was £1,500. How does that compare with UK prices?

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  18. This morning I woke up to thick frost covering everything. I have pulled my winter coat out so I stay warm on my daily walks.

    God bless.

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  19. IS THAT SNOW ON THE GROUND?????

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    1. We had a 15 degree (-9C) morning at our retirement property Saturday morning. We were expecting a frost, had no idea it would get that cold. The water froze. I spent the rest of the morning wandering around in stunned disbelief. I am so not ready to deal with this. So your picture was another jolt!

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  20. I'm so glad Strictly is back on this week, my Mum loves it and she really needs some sparkle in her life at the moment. Love the new header photo.

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