Another New Year

             The sun is shining on my Christmas tree, making the decorations sparkle, but I must admit that that is about the only thing that's sparkling about my life at the moment. I know I'm not alone in feeling this, but isn't it hard to force yourself to be more positive and cheerful just now?  On New Year's Eve we should all be  looking forward to something - maybe a new job, a new baby, a new relationship? But this year all of those possibilities are overshadowed in no small measure by the continued presence of the COVID virus. It has affected all of our futures and shows no sign of disappearing. 

And as of  this afternoon I'm sadly more involved than before! Big Grandson and Little Granddaughter, having spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with their Father and his  family, are now at home with Daughter and have had the news that their Father has just tested positive for COVID. (Although he feels fine and his only symptom seems to be that he couldn't taste his Brandy:) Anyway they haven't seen him since Christmas Day, so should be OK, and they are both feeling fine. However, Daughter's Fiance woke up this morning with chest pains -  not feeling at all well, and has gone for a test this afternoon. I was so looking forward to seeing them all, and to having Big Grandson here for New Year's Eve but it just wasn't to be it seems. 

I'm trying not to think too much about the other disaster, that of Brexit, which is about to hit us all. I will not be celebrating at 11pm, and have my fastest finger ready to turn off the television the minute there is any mention of it. Johnson's pathetic statements about leaving the EU behind (and Remainers) and all uniting to face a future without all the benefits and  advantages that union has brought us just make me very cross. I am, and will always remain, a European. And the sooner we get our senses back and rejoin the EU, the better.

Happy Christmas, with bells on!

            Well here it is, or nearly.  I'm sitting beside my overloaded table with a selection of presents, wrapped or not yet wrapped, cards to write and send, bills to pay, wrapping paper, candles, colouring pens,  gift tags, you name it, it has found a space on my (thankfully large), dining table. When my lovely cleaning ladies came yesterday  I simply asked them to ignore the table and not to touch anything on it. It truly is the elephant in the room.  And to cap it all,  I have a wonky Christmas tree which I rescued from B & Q yesterday - it is almost completely flat at the back so it had been left in its cubby hole and was looking rather sad.  It is very nice and bushy everywhere else, so I have put it in the bay, with its flat bit to the wall. This is all fine, but despite my best efforts I didn't manage to put it straight in the holder and so it leans rather drunkenly to one side. I've tried, but I can't straighten it without help - if I get down on the floor to fiddle with it, I might never get up again :)) I just have to wait for Big Grandson to come to the rescue.

             I must say that getting out all the Christmas decorations brings back many memories, mostly good ones, though it's hard to feel the same about Christmas this year. I have had to give Spain a miss, and so will be sending love to Son and family on Christmas Day by Facetime. which is I suppose the modern way to do it. I'll be going to Daughter and family (my support bubble) for Christmas Day Lunch, which will be lovely I'm sure. At least Big Grandson and Granddaughter will be there too. so it will seem  semi-normal. I'll be making Cranberry Sauce and Brandy Butter as usual, and Daughter has requested Stuffing for the Turkey-Lurkey (I'm going for a Jamie Oliver recipe) and maybe a Christmas Pudding. Normally I would make a couple of puddings and save one for next year, but I have to admit that I'm not really up for it this year. It may just have to be a Waitrose pudding.

               My usual Christmas Eve would be spent getting last minute shopping and feverishly wrapping presents and filling stockings behind the sofa, while watching "It's a Wonderful Life" and eating sausage rolls and mince pies - and actually I can't imagine a more perfect way to spend the day before Christmas. The year Daughter was born (1981) there was thick snow for six weeks and we had a very traditional, picture postcard Christmas, though it was somewhat marred by the fact that her Father left us on New Year's Eve, when she was only two weeks old and Son was two years old! In spite of that I somehow only remember the good bits and anyway we obviously survived and went on to have many happy Christmases after that. 

                After that short stroll down Memory Lane it only remains for me to wish you all as good a Christmas as you can muster. It won't be like any other I'm sure, but hopefully we can all find something to celebrate with our nearest and dearest. Goodbye and Happy Christmas - with Bells on!

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.