Monday, October 25, 2021

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Coronavirus - Sunday 24th October 2021

 Went to Prospect Park for our PCR tests on Monday morning. Quite a lot there including lots of kids so had to queue. Chap said they are moving it to somewhere near the station. Got the results on Tuesday morning and both negative. I realised that I'd switched off Bluetooth on my phone to make it easier for M to use my headphones and had forgotten to turn it back on. That means the app wasn't working when we were up in London so will do a lateral flow test tomorrow. Something weird happened in the morning. I'd had a small pimple like thing in a private area for a few days and how it had got larger and looked like a grey wart. It kept getting bigger until it just fell off but the scary thing was the bit that fell off had legs. Turns out it was a tick and I assume if must have got there on the first walk we did last week as some of it was through dense undergrowth. You can get Lyme disease from ticks so I've contacted the doctor. Did a lateral flow test on Wednesday morning and it was negative. Went to watch Reading v Blackpool in the evening. There were a couple of people in the seats next to ours so I sat somewhere else. There was plenty of space. We were 2 0 up at half time but completely capitulated and lost 3 2. The writing was on the wall I thought when the Blackpool team came out early to warm up before play resumed. Our lot came out late and hardly bothered to warm up. James sent pictures of Madeline including ones with Warren and Mary-Ellen.


Definitely a similarity there

Did a loop out to Waltham St Lawrence on my bike on Thursday. It was a lovely sunny day but a bit cold. Stopped off at Reading Hydro on the way back which is now up and running. I passed a bunch of school kids on a visit on the narrow walkway. Very scary these days. 

Got another picture of Madeline. It could be her first smile.
Had a goolie chat in the evening. Went for ride out to Blue Tin farm on Friday morning with Andy and Stuart. Then took M to the station to travel up to Manchester for more University Challenge filming. Tony came round in the afternoon for a music sesh that worked really well. Went down The Retreat later. Ms first UC match is 10 30 on Saturday against Imperial.
Had a lazy day on Saturday but listened to Reading lose 2 0 to Blackburn. Radio Berkshire don't broadcast the games anymore, at least not via the BBC sounds app. You have to buy a subscription from the club website but it's still a Radio Berkshire broadcast. Doesn't seem right. On Sunday afternoon I went to a gathering of the Rising Sun sound team down the Hop Leaf. Good crowd, mainly newbies like myself. There aren't many gigs coming up though and I cant make the next one.

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Monday, October 18, 2021

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Coronavirus - Sunday 17th October 2021

Travelled down to Looe in Cornwall on the train on Monday with Andy, Jeannie, Kelvin, Marie-Clare and Dominique. Nice view from the hotel window. Davy and Howie drove down.
Went for a pre-dinner stroll round the harbour.
Did a fine walk on Tuesday mainly through woodland beside the West Looe river. We got back about 2 so half of us did a short walk eastwards along the coastal path and back. Did two fine walks from Polperro on Wednesday. The morning one was a loop out west and very up and down and quite arduous. Beautiful weather though and we saw dolphins, a seal and Rainbow Warrior (in the background). 
Had lunch in Polperro.
In the afternoon we walked back from Polperro along the coastal path. M stormed on ahead but she had missed the morning walk.
Won the quiz night at The Jolly Sailor in the evening. 
Woke up on Thursday to a picture of a sleepy Madeline
Got pinged while sitting on Looe station waiting for the train back as did Kelvin. The contact was on 11th so most likely on the train out. Did a PCR test when we got back. Infections in Cornwall are quite a bit higher than Reading but there was a fair bit of awareness and precautions being taken particularly in the hotel. Had a goolie zoom in the evening. Went for a ride with Andy and Kelvin on Friday. We had planned to go to The Ramsbury brewery with Stuart and Graham but cancelled because of the pings. Got our test results when we stopped at The Loddon Brewery. All negative. Did just over 30 miles.
Went up to London on Saturday to see a play called Into Battle with Tom and Sally. We thought about driving but there seemed to be quite a few hold ups so opted for the train which was a bit of a mistake as we'd not taken into account the covid aspect. Really crowded with people standing and a lot without masks including the woman I was sitting next to. Quite bad on the tube platform too but not too bad on the tube itself and the train out to Blackheath. Pictures of Madeline arrived in granny's jumper and Sally's blanket.
T n S cooked us a fantastic meal and then we walked down to the Greenwich Theatre. Really enjoyed the play although the ending was a bit last episode of Blackadderish. Had a couple of pints afterwards and got an Uber back as I'd turned my ankle on the way down. Headed off on Sunday about midday only the find there were no trains from Blackheath. Ended up on a very crowded bus to Greenwich North tube. Train from Paddington looked like it was going to be crowded so we upgraded to first class. Got pinged again . This time the contact was on the 14th so most likely on the train on the way back from Looe. Booked PCR tests for Monday morning.
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Tuesday, October 12, 2021

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Coronavirus - Sunday 10th October 2021

Dont think I've mention it before but there has been a bit of a fuel crisis due to a shortage of drivers. This has inevitably led to panic buying. Anyway I drove down to the bottle bank and managed to fill up without any problem. The fuel gauge was just in the red so I felt justified. Madeline has now been registered so she officially exists. Also been for a weigh in and is 8lbs and so can go in her new bouncy chair.
And here she is with Sally.
Went out for first Thursday drinks to the Fox and Hounds in the evening. Probably had one pint too many as found my bike had been locked up like this.
Tony came round on Friday afternoon for a music sesh. Worked out really well so we're planning to do it again in a couple of weeks. Got this great photo of the birthday boy and Madeline.
 
I went to the Are You Listening Festival on Saturday. I wasn't sure about it because of covid as its all in doors and venues can get very crowded. Decided to go in the end and did a quick listen on Spotify beforehand. I decided to start with a band called This in the Face Bar but I then arranged to meet Keith and Fiona in the Butler and we got chatting so I missed them. Next up were Courting in Sub 89. There was a fair bit of space and ventilation so it felt OK. They do a song called David Byrne's Badside so worth it just for that I thought. Unfortunately they were without a bassist who seemed to have suddenly left the band. So just drums, guitar and a singer. Once I got myself positioned a bit further back behind the sound desk they sounded pretty good particularly when the singer was playing rhythm guitar to fill out the sound. The vocals weren't too clear though which was a pity. Then I went to the Face Bar to see King Nun. They had quite a charismatic front man and all moved around a lot. Unfortunately they had a few sound problems. The singer kept getting minor electric shocks from his mic. Not good. Quite enjoyed them but the material could have been a bit stronger. Bass, drums and 2 guitarists and quite a lot of backing vocals. Again it was quite spacious in there. Went to the Oakford next to see Mandrake Handshake. Very hippyish and a lot of them. Sounded great, like the autumn of love. The Oakford is quite a long pub but the stage is in the middle down one side facing across the pub. So if you want to see the band properly you need to stand in that bit and it was very crowded so I just watched from the side. Met up with Steve, Lindsey, Clive, Kevin, Adrienne, Penno, Matt and Rob and Keith and Fiona came back (they'd been home to sort out their dog). Stayed for Doops who are a Reading band that I've seen before and quite liked but a combination of being at the side and chatting to various people meant I didn't really engage. Same applied to Grandma's House plus the fact that I ordered a burger which they forgot about and so it took about half an hour to arrive. Very good burger though. Then went back to the Face Bar and caught the end of LIFE, from Hull before seeing Billy Nomates. I was wondering what she'd be like in a small venue after seeing her on the main stage at EOTR but she was excellent. So energetic and engages with the audience even though she doesn't say much. She seemed nervous while doing the sound check and waiting for things to start but once she gets going she's a great performer. Its all very tight too. Her backing tracks have harmonies and the like in them so it has to be. The only thing was the sound wasn't great so you couldn't get all the vocals. A good ending. It was a bit crowded and we were quite near the front but I was in a little corner with no-one behind me so it felt OK. Lazy day on Sunday for everyone.
A month old today.
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Thursday, October 07, 2021

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Coronavirus - Wednesday 6th October 2021

Got pinged by the NHS app on Monday morning. Supposedly I was within 2 meters of someone who tested positive for 15 mins last Friday. I don't think I was. My phone could have been though when we went swimming. No need to self isolate but booked in for PCR tests in the afternoon at Prospect Park. We were supposed to be riding to the Ramsbury Brewery on Tuesday but put if off because of the weather forecast. I went out anyway for a couple of hours and did get a bit wet. When I got back we got the PCR test results and both -ve as expected. However Kelvin had a +ve LTF so good job we didn't do the brewery ride. He was out with Andy yesterday though and down The Retreat on Friday. He did it because a friend up in Yorkshire had tested +ve. He's had a PCR test. Andy is isolating until he's had several -ve LFTs. Got the train to Glasgow on Wednesday morning. 3 trains in fact. First, to Wolverhampton was quite crowded with most people wearing masks, second to Preston less so. As was Preston to Glasgow. Masks are compulsory after Carlisle. We were supposed to get a lockbox for the flat we are staying in but it hadn't arrived so we started chasing it up. This didn't prove to be too easy so we changed plan and went to James and Amy's first. Eventually managed to sort it and it was a very nice flat but all a bit stressful. The problem seemed to be that we booked via a company called Opodo but the property was managed by AirUS but the whole thing was managed by Expedia and somehow it didn't join up.
We then went back and were formally introduced to Madeline who is gorgeous.

We had takeaway fish and chips and then left them to it. On the way back popped into a Tesco's and was surprised to see they still have a queuing system controlled by a light above the door that must have linked to something counting people in and out. Everyone respecting this and wearing masks. Picked up some pastries from Cottonrake on Thursday morning and went over to Madeline's for breakfast. Again there was an orderly queuing system. She was awake a fair bit. Me and James popped out for provisions and when we got back found Madeline looking very comfortable on M.
Went out for a walk in the park in the afternoon then cooked a lasagne and left them to it about 7 30. A great day with our granddaughter. We picked up pastries again on Friday.
After breakfast we popped into the city centre to buy a few things. Just about everyone wearing masks on the tube and in shops. When we got back we looked after Madeline while J and A popped out. She spent most of the time sleeping on my chest. Then after she'd been fed me and M took her out for a walk in the park so J n A could have a nap.
Cooked a tagine for tea. Left just after 8. We watched some TV but realised we'd run out of booze so popped to the supermarket about 10 30 only to find that although they were open they can't sell booze after 10 pm. We had a bit of a lie in on Saturday and headed over to Madeline's about 11. Tom and Sally had travelled up on Friday night and came over about 12 30. We went out for a meal at Brett a couple of doors down for James' birthday. It was very tasty. Went for a walk in the park afterwards.
We left J n A to it about 7 30 and went to the pub across the road. Went round to J n As about midday on Sunday. Sally had bought yummy doughnuts. We went for a walk along the canal and picked up some falafel wraps for lunch. Then me M, T n S took Madeline to the Kelvingrove museum. 
She had a bath when we got back whilst we popped out for takeaway pizzas.
On Monday went round to fit smoke alarms then J A T n S went to the Hug and Pint and we baby sat. 
Went for a few beers after with T n S. On Tuesday morning we all met in the park then went to the best Italian restaurant in Scotland for an early birthday lunch for Tom. Then went back to Madeline's to open Tom's presents.
Had a few pints with T n S in the evening. Popped round to say bye bye to Madeline on Thursday on our way to the station. She had been playing under her new mobile.
But it all got a bit too much.
Got home safely.
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