Time Flies...

           I can hardly believe it, but we are at the end of  November already. And what a cold dreary day it is to wave goodbye to the month. I have been sitting here trawling through old photographs, more or less by accident, and I have to say that the combination of cold foggy weather outside and reflections on family past inside has not been terribly cheerful. I must get out more - but I'm not sure that's going to be allowed any time soon either. 

            As I am elderly (81) and have allergic asthma, I am pretty sure I'm not going to be allowed out at all. Thankfully Daughter and family are my "bubble"  and so I do have one escape route available. And I have Big Grandson staying with me very occasionally - we are all in the same bubble, so I hope and pray that I'm not breaking the law.  Don't mention Christmas though, I was hoping to flit off to Spain and stay a couple of months, but that is looking extremely doubtful - and even if I could muster up the courage to fly to Barcelona I could not be sure what might happen there: let's face it, being locked down in Sitges would be better  than here, certainly weather-wise and of course there would be Son and family  to socialize with, and as I haven't seen them since last Christmas it would be so lovely. I do miss them terribly.

 Oh I just don't know what's best to do. And when I checked on the Gov. website it advised only essential travel, and you have to have a private COVID test, with paperwork, 72 hours before travelling. Oh and that costs anything from £100 - £150 (apparently the free NHS test is not acceptable - why?). The whole business  makes me feel sick, even though I'm perfectly fit!  I can see why a lot of people are deciding to give it all a miss this year, and don't get me wrong,  I love Christmas and everything that goes with it:  Christmas trees, tinsel, sparkly lights, Christmas carols, presents, stockings, beloved family all together and all the lovely food, but this year just won't be the same for so many people. 

Ah well, let's all look forward to next year and hope that 2021 is better in every respect. I'm not wishing my life away, let's face it I'm too old to be tempting providence right now. 

This Nana is probably going to opt for the safest Christmas so that we can all enjoy the New Year. It doesn't have quite the same ring to it, but needs must!!

Single Parenting.

             I haven't really written about this for a while - mostly because when your children are grown up with children of their own, it seems rather pointless. However, having  had BG here for the weekend, I was reminded of some of the experiences I had as a single parent. BG reminded  me, somewhat obliquely, because when I asked him what he had bought with his fiver last week he said he had actually given it to a friend at College because she didn't have the necessary money to get the bus home. Now BG doesn't have a lot of money, neither does Daughter. There are six of them, and the dog, living on a limited income which is enough for food, clothes and the rent, but not a lot more. I know that means that they are very fortunate, in these troubled times but nevertheless they are not exactly rolling in it. I was moved by BG's generous and kind gesture; when he could  have easily spent his fiver on some cheesy chips, or something similar, he gave it to a friend. He has a generous heart and without being sloppy about it, I was very proud of him -  He  has been brought up by a Single Mother (and a single grandmother :) and is a credit to us both. 

            This thread led me to remember a time when we lived in Cambridge and Son, aged 8 or thereabouts, came home in tears from Primary School and asked me if we were a real family? His Teacher had said that a family consisted only of two parents with children. Son was really upset, and I was really angry. I reassured him that we three (me, Son & Daughter) were absolutely a family, and a happy one, and then I stormed off to the (Church!) School to remonstrate with the Head Teacher. He was fairly apologetic, and promised it wouldn't happen again. At that time Son was the only one in his class who was living with a Single Parent, and Daughter had only one friend in her class who was similarly afflicted. By the time they left Primary School and moved on to Secondary I think there were only a couple of children still living with two parents.  But I clearly recall that I was considered an outsider: there were plenty of what Bridget Jones would call "Smug Marrieds". Looking back, it was an interesting piece of Social History, and it didn't bother me too much because I had an interesting life of my own and some very good friends. 

And as a Post Script, my two turned out pretty well. 

More Happy Days...

           Even better news from Daughter at the weekend - she and her Bloke are now officially engaged. I knew it was in the offing because Paul (he now has a name!) came to see me a couple of weeks ago, in the traditional way, to ask if I had any objection to him proposing. I thought this was both touching and charming, and of course I had no objection at all. I can't imagine that it would have made any difference either way, but it was very good of him to think of it, and to make me feel very much a part of the whole thing. He is a very solid and dependable chap, just what Daughter needs, and more importantly they make each other happy. It has not been easy for them over the three and a half years they have been together: they have five children between them, four of whom are living under their roof, and with such disparate ages and stages (children from three through to seventeen at the start) they have certainly had their ups and downs. I guess this sort of "blended" family is pretty typical nowadays and it certainly works well for them.  Anyway, all's well at the mo. We are all delighted and Daughter has a lovely diamond engagement ring to display on her lovely hands. The manicure looks pretty good too. 

            The next thing will be to organise the Wedding, which they would like to have out of doors in a lovely garden with a marquee in Summer - and hopefully when all this nasty virus stuff has gone away. In any case, they have worked out that just keeping it to family and friends will mean roughly 150 people!! Goodness gracious me! Daughter is loving the whole "Planning a Wedding" thing, and I'm sure it will be perfect.

            Politics rears its ugly head continually just now doesn't it? This morning I hear that  Gollum is leaving Downing Street (at last) and will be leaving BoJo to his own devices - can it get any worse I wonder? And the orange POTUS is still refusing to concede in America... two-year old having a tantrum comes to mind and it's a ghastly image. We all  know what to do with two-year old tantrums don't we? Just walk away....

Ouch!

             I should know better by now when it comes to having  my nails done. No sooner had I had a day or two to admire them, than I managed to break not one but two of those beautiful long, bright red nails! And of course it was one on each  hand, both down to the quick!! Not entirely sure what 'down to the quick' means, but I think it's the point where it tears a bit of your finger along with the nail. And it blooming-well hurts. Suffice it to say that since then I have been saying Ouch! loudly when pulling up leggings and knickers and everything else one has to pull up. Only now, after a couple of weeks, can I manage it without pain. And I won't be growing those nails again either. I'm going to file them all down to a sensible length and leave it at that.  Daughter has the lovely long nails (false of course) and she has them done regularly with gel polish and all the palaver, so I'll let her get on with it and I'll just retire hurt.

            While we are on the subject of Daughter, I seem to be on a winning streak at the mo! It is going to be Granddaughter's Birthday next Tuesday (she will be six) and I have managed to get everything Daughter suggested for the little Princess: I tracked down the dressing gown (pink and fleecy, complete with hood and unicorn horn). a set of sparkly make-up with sparkly nail varnish (no comment) and a little 'Frozen' shoulder bag to carry all the make-up in (also sparkly). She will be with her Father on the actual day so we will be  having a celebration on Wednesday: I usually make jellies and madeleines for the party, but as we are in lockdown again, there won't be a party, just the family + me in my bubble, and the dog of course :)

            My efforts to get in touch with the Hearing Aid people finally paid off, and a replacement for my lost hearing aid plopped through the letterbox yesterday. I managed to put them both in before I went out this morning, though it's no joke with shaky hands I can tell you. Anyway, when I called in to see Daughter and family after my Aldi shopping, she said it was a relief not to have to shout at me! I did notice the difference, though the right-ear one has a tendency to whistle at me if I try to touch it.

            Finally, before I go, just heard the great news that Joe Biden has been confirmed as the new President of the United States. Thank the Lord, a President who isn't orange!

Autumn Leaves...

          As I sit here the sun is shining and the leaves are all turning to red and gold. If only it was a normal Autumn though. It looks pretty much the same, but Oh Dear it's so far from normal. We are still stuck in the middle of  this bloody Virus which apparently keeps changing so that there are so many rules and regs to conform to. Thank God I don't live up North! That would be even more confusing.  And there's the debacle over children and School Meals. How those fat bastards in the so-called Government can vote against feeding hungry, deprived children through the Winter I don't know.  It's disgraceful and I back young Marcus Rashford all the way in his campaign. They (the Fat Bastards) don't think twice about splashing our cash on their chums and their unchecked 'services' - most of which have been proven not to deliver anyway! And the system of "Whipping" in Parliament should be completely  outlawed in my view. Let our so-called  MPs or representatives, actually represent us, their constituents. I don't want my MP sucking up to Boris Johnson or any of his cronies, or reinforcing the fact that the Tories want to screw us over. He (or she) is only there to represent me and has been elected on that basis. Of course we are all entitled to our opinions and we supposedly live in a Democracy. But is it too much to expect a smidge of decency and integrity in our MPs?

            OK, I'll change the subject, but only with reluctance, because I fear we live in very uncertain times. Better news from BG who is still loving his new course at Lewes College. I don't see him much any more, as I may have said before, but that is fine by me if he is happy, and he patently is. It seems my job is done in that area, and I'm happy to have been that Nana.

            This morning have been trying to get through to the Premium Bonds people to bring my details up to date. Forty minutes later I got through, and everyone was very pleasant and helpful. I do feel like an old dodderer at times. and I suppose that will only get worse. I know they don't recommend it,  but I have to write down all my passwords and numbers - otherwise I wouldn't remember them :) 

Ah well, Happy Days, as my dear old friend Lynne used to say ... time to  move on.

Don't speak too soon!

            Of course I was tempting Providence with  my last post. Big Grandson came home from College last Thursday with a nasty cough and on Friday had a temperature, so Daughter booked him a Virus test and they all had to self isolate. They had to wait until Sunday for him to get a test, and in the meantime had to just stay put. I guess the dog could have gone out, but they couldn't!

            Anyway, forty-eight hours after the test (at about 11 o'clock this morning) BG was given the all-clear with a negative test result. What a sigh of relief - though Daughter and I had been pretty sure of the result. So they can all go back to work, school and college tomorrow, and I was allowed into the house to give them all a hug.

            Today is another day - much better as everyone is back to normal. I went out early, after greeting my loverly cleaning ladies, to meet an old friend for a cup of coffee. That passed a couple of hours which were needed in order to exchange all the news on our respective families. And then I went on to a luxurious manicure and pedicure, made all the more wonderful by the fact that I hadn't had either since  before the beginning of the year. Ah well, now I have bright red finger and toenails which are amazing, and very relaxed feet after the massage. 

             No more news for now, so I'm off to do something about my supper. See you later....

             

The Slough of Despond.

                I am not casting aspersions on Slough which is, I'm sure, a perfectly nice place to live. No, I'm actually referring to the state of mind which most of us endure at some time or other: that of feeling so low that life doesn't seem worth living in its current condition. We are in the throes of a dire situation, given the dreaded Pandemic and of course the looming "no deal Brexit" - both of which are giving us a really hard time. What to do? Well if you happen to be a University  student, your options are even more limited than those of  the rest of us. You have to stay put in your accomodation (which by the way is costing you a fortune, whether you are using it or not) you can't go out to the pub or a restaurant, and now there's the prospect of not being allowed to go home for Christmas. What bloody rubbish - and I don't care if they set the Stasi on me - we have to speak out when life becomes so absurd. As far as the rest of us are concerned, we are all being urged to upload this App or that App, follow the guidance issued by the (ridiculously inept) Government and, in other words, DO AS WE ARE TOLD. Well sorry, I'm not doing the bidding of this fat, white, entitled and corrupt  so-called Government. .Nothing will convince me that they have my best interests at heart. So eat that Bojo.

                On a brighter personal note, Big Grandson, who is 16, has started at his 6th Form College in Lewes, where he is taking Art & Design and Photography, plus re-taking Maths, and he is happy as a clam. He likes his Tutors and has met some new mates, which is all wonderful news. He is already very much into the Art subject and is doing some great drawing and really enjoying working on the projects he's been set. This is all great and although the nett result is that he doesn't come to stay with  me, I'm delighted that he is becoming more independent and confident with every day. He is obviously meeting young people with the same interests and talents and is running with it. Long  may it last!

So far the Pandemic has not touched either us as a family, Daughter's workplace or Grandson's College. It does seem strange that there is apparently so much infection around us and yet we remain free of it. So far that is! I hope that you have all been similarly fortunate.

 

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