Monday, June 13, 2022

Published Monday, June 13, 2022 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 12th June 2022

Did some more painting prep on Monday. The rotten bit on one of the barge boards was worse than I thought so decided to cover with hardwood ply. Then started looking at our bedroom window and its very rotten so called out Kelly's Sash Windows who did the front room. Had a call from Madeline and later she was out blowing raspberries in the park. The Tory party had a vote of no confidence in Boris as 54 letters had been received asking for one. That's 15% of the parliamentary party. He won but 148 voted against which is pretty damning. Put the plywood up on Tuesday and primed it. M had to do a presentation for her PhD on Wednesday morning so took her up the uni. Then carried on with the painting prep. On Thursday put on the first coat of undercoat. Went out for a ride with Kelvin in the evening. Had a pint at the flower pot, fish and chips in Henley and met Stuart at the Loddon Brewery. Unfortunately it had closed at five so went to the Fox and Hounds. Discovered I had a puncture as we left so walked back. Did a  Mansfield Rd walk with Roger and Paul on Friday. Bus to Mongewell, lunch at the Cherry Tree a pint at the Unicorn waiting for the bus back and then one in the Castle Tap. Tom came round later and set up his frisbee golf basket in the garden. It should have another set of chains. He's taking part in a tournament at Dinton Pastures.
Madeline called on Saturday morning. She is now crawling, very mobile but only using one knee at the moment. A good start to the day. Emptied the guest room in readiness for redecorating.
Had tapas and pizza in the evening as Tom brought a bottle of fino back from Madrid. He really caught the sun playing frisbee.  Put another coat of undercoat on on Sunday. Tom finished his tournament and left about 4. Sent an email advertising our gigs.
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Tuesday, June 07, 2022

Published Tuesday, June 07, 2022 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 5th June 2022

Started painting the front of the house on Monday or rather the tedious prep.
Had a practice session with Tony for the jubilee party with full PA etc. Got some drum tracks from Tom. Had a call from Madeline on Wednesday, she's not exactly crawling but she can move somehow. In the evening I had a ticket to see The Lovely Eggs at the Face Bar. Wasn't sure about it as I haven't been to a gig for a while and thought I might feel out of place. I shouldn't have worried, it was a bit like being at EOTR, great atmosphere. They do this thing called the middle aged crowd surfing championship. Matt was first up and quite a few followed. When she introduced it the singer was joking about putting your bus pass in a zip pocket so I got up, bus pass in hand and did my first crowd surf. I thought I might have won but no such luck. Great evening. Had a final practice for the jubilee street party on Thursday afternoon then went out for a ride with Kelvin and Andy. We stopped off at The Sun at Hill Bottom which was very busy as they were having a 2 day jubilee party. The Black Horse and The Fox And Hounds were very quite though. Andy made some new friends along the way.
On Friday it was the Mansfield Rd jubilee party at Yvonne and Steve's. Me and Tony started setting up about 1pm and it took nearly 2 hours including a professional sound check by Sue. We did a couple of sets, the first about 30 mins and the second 45. We seemed to go down quite well in spite of a few mistakes and technical issues. There were probably about 50 people there. My first public performance for about 30 years. Had a quiet day on Saturday. Got a call from Madeline but had problems with WhatsApp. M made an excellent pesto lasagne that will have to become a regular. I organised the society walk on Sunday along the hills round Watership Down followed by lunch at The Crown in Kingsclere. All went well but not a very clear day unfortunately. Tom and Sally arrived in Madrid.

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Monday, May 30, 2022

Published Monday, May 30, 2022 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 29th May 2022

On Tuesday Tony came round to practice some songs as we're playing at the Mansfield Rd jubilee party. They are mainly songs we do with Cracking Up with a couple of others thrown in. On Wednesday had a Cracking Up practice and we took a
 moody promo photo.
My musical journey continued on Thursday  with a trip to Ian's for a Roy and the Rogers session. I hired a van to go up as it was a lot cheaper than a car. There was just me, Ian and Rick on that evening. Roy and Greg arrived on Friday. We recorded 6 songs, very enjoyable. Here's the pick of the bunch. Drove back on Saturday. In the evening we watched Goodfellas as Ray Liota has just died and the second series of Derry Girls. Had a good start to the day on Sunday with a call from Madeline. Went to BnQ for some paint preparation stuff. The last time I went I was still wearing a mask. Watched the last series of Derry Girls.

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Saturday, May 28, 2022

Published Saturday, May 28, 2022 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Monday 23rd May 2022

Still +ve on Monday morning as was M. Roofers finished, hope they did a good job. Got a call from Madeline, James is now on paternity leave. Paul Ince confirmed as permanent Reading manager. Still +ve on Tuesday. Have said I wont go on tomorrow's walk. Another call from Madeline. Looks like me and Ralph are going to renew our season tickets. Still +ve on Wednesday. It took a while for the second line to appear and M was negative so I was hopeful. Mike has put together a medely of live Cracking Up recordings we did at Pirate Studios. I'm not too keen on the last one. We cancelled tomorrows band practice as I'm still +ve. Finally -ve on Thursday morning. 
Cracking Up have the offer of a gig at The Castle Tap. Me and Tony are going at set at the street jubilee party so he came round for a practice. Worked well going to ask Tom for a few drum tracks. Was planning a bike ride on Friday after my long confinement but weather wasn't great so didn't bother in the end. Had another call with Madeline. Woke up with a sore throat on Saturday so did another test and still -ve. Drove over to Tom and Sally's in the afternoon. Had a great BBQ. Poppy is very good at hiding.
Sat out in their sun trap on Sunday morning.
Greenwich is great.
Did a walk into Blackheath for an exellent brunch, sausages in a roll from the farmers market washed down with a pint from The Hare and Billet. Went into to Greenwich early evening with the intention of visiting the Old Joinery but not open. Had pont at a fullers pub by the river instead followed by Franca Manca pizzas. Then went the comedy Up The Creek. There weren't many in so we sat strategically in the middle one row back grom the front. The compare persuaded everyone to move forward so that but us right in the firing line and we all got interrogated but nothing bad. The headliner, Jeff Innocent was very good. Travelled back on Monday. Didn't post this until the following Saturday which shows how busy I've been.

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Monday, May 16, 2022

Published Monday, May 16, 2022 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 15th May 2022

Eventually got off to sleep about 2 on Monday morning I think. Remember waking up about 5 then slept though til 8. Woke up quite sweaty but feeling OK apart from really bad sore throat. Ibuprofen seemed to sort that out though. M had a bad night as well. She went to bed before me, got off OK but then woke about 1 and felt as though she hadn't got off again. I could hear her coughing. She's sleeping in Tom's old room at the moment. We got extra supplies of Ibuprofen via the street WhatsApp group. Saw the bees do their annual swarm in the afternoon. Not sure where they went. Had a really good nights sleep and woke on Tuesday feeling a lot better. Spent the afternoon reading in the garden but also rigged up the camera on the mealworm feeder and kept an eye out for visitors. These are the best couple of shots.



Got a video call from Madeline later. Played guitar in the evening and had the first alcohol free day for a long time. Another good nights sleep. Did a test on Wednesday morning but still +ve.
I've realised I've more or less lost my senses of smell and taste. Last night we had salmon with pesto and I remember thinking it didn't taste of much. Then at lunchtime today I finished off a bit of soup which didn't taste of much either. I could taste marmite on toast though. M asked me to smell a rose in the garden and it had no smell and I couldn't smell the smoked haddock or taste much of the fish pie I made for tea. It's not putting me off my food though and odd I've only just noticed it. Ian and Fran called to see if we're still going at the weekend. Agreed we'd go if we both test -ve tomorrow and Friday. Tested +ve again on Thursday morning so we wont be going to Sheffield. Even worse, for some reason there's no online cryptic in the Guardian. Sat in the garden, took a few more bird photos, played guitar. Same on Friday.


A slight variation on Saturday. Watched the FA cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea. 0 0 after extra time Liverpool won on penalties. Same as the mickey mouse cup final. Watched Eurovision in the evening which was surprisingly good. Even more surprising that the UK won on the jury vote. Once the public vote came in though we ended up second to Ukraine. A good start to the day on Sunday with a long lie in. Did and another test but I'm still +ve. Tried to report the result but the application didn't like the test id, ACAG23244143.

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Monday, May 09, 2022

Published Monday, May 09, 2022 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 8th May 2022

I took Madeline for a walk on Monday morning and we came back through the Butts Centre. The mask vending machine has now been replaced by a sweets one so I guess thay means the pandemic is officially over. On Tuesday went for a walk with Madeline and James along the Kennet and saw our first cygnets of the year.
Had a really good meal at the LSB early evening. On Wednesday J n A went to Oxford so we looked after Madeline. I got pinged by the NHS app.
Must have been someone at the football or restaurant on Saturday. Scaffolding also came as we are having the roof fixed and windows painted upstairs at the front. Cooked a 4 layer lasagne. Took Madeline to the polling station when we went to vote in the local elections. We were offerred masks and hand sanitiser on the way in and given single use pencils. Minster ward is now no more. We are Coley so everyone is up election, so 3 labour councillors. You could vote for up to 3 candidates. Took Madeline along the Kennet after and did a walk with her and James in the afternoon round Coley Park. Did first Thursday drinks in the evening in the Fox and Hounds. Josh, Vicki and Isla were just leaving as I arrived. The only decent beer they had on was Jaipur which is 5.9 so felt.a bit hungover on Friday. M got a letter from our MP, Alok Sharma, congratulating her for getting to to final of UC. J, A and Madeline went into town and met up with Vicki and Isla. I picketed them up from Caversham Court. We went swimming after. It was very cold. J n A went out for a pint with Josh in the evening. Tom arrived about 10 and joined them, he'd been stuck on the M25. Sally arrived about 11 30. Me and M had been feeling a bit rough on Friday so did covid tests first thing on Saturday morning. I was +ve.
M -ve. Had to let people know and cancel various things. J n A -ve too. Change of plans. The younger generations went out to lunch and I watched Luton v Reading. In injury time in the first half the Reading keeper rolls the ball out so he can kick it but doesn't realise there is a Luton player behind him. Needless to say he nicks the ball of him and scores. Covidwise I wasn't feeling too bad, mild sore throat and headache, bit of a cough and felt a bit shivery. Me and M both wore masks and generally kept well away from everybody else. T and S decided to go back in the evening and J n A on Sunday instead of Monday. Whilst J n A packed Sally looked aftet Madeline
and then took her horse riding
I felt slightly worse in the evening and went to bed about 10 30. Had a bit of a sleepless night with a bad sore throat and a cough until about 4 am but then had 3 hours really deep sleep and woke up wet with sweat about 7 feeling much better. J, A and M left about 7 30 and we went back to bed. Madeline enjoyed her pasta lunch on the way back.
Got up about midday and sat in the garden all afternoon. Felt mostly OK, went up to the top of the house a few times and felt quite spritely. Saw the first swifts of the year. Does that mean it's summer? Watched telly all evening and started to feel a bit worse. Went to bed just after 10 but couldn't get to sleep. Cough and saw throat got much worse and also had indegestion/heartburn.
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Monday, May 02, 2022

Published Monday, May 02, 2022 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 1st May 2022

I took Madeline for a long walk on Monday morning and picked up some supplies. Same on Tuesday. We saw the first duckings and goslings of the year along the Kennet.
All that remains of the last gasometer.
Popped in the Butts Centre on the way back as I hadn't been in for a while. Not changed much but I did spot a mask vending machine which I've never seen before. Also selling hand sanitiser, seemed like a good idea. Our Wednesday morning trip was to Waitrose in Caversham. Spotted some egyptian and greylag goslings.
 And these must have been born very early.
Madeline is getting good at sitting up and can almost crawl.
She also looks good in her URZ jumper.
Went for a swim on Thursday morning then took Madeline for another walk into town. Had a band practise in the afternoon. We took in some swings on my morning walk with Madeline on Friday. 
Walked past where Elm Park used to be. The Spread Eagle is still there.
Went for a swim in the afternoon. On Saturday went to a very lacklustre final home game of the season against West Brom that we lost 1 0. Had a nice meal at Zero Degrees after though. J, A and Madeline had been to Josh and Vicki's in the afternoon. On Sunday we had a society walk based round the Bladebone arranged by Steve and Lindsey. Amy carried Madeline all the way round in a sling and both were absolutely fine. The pub were also very accommodating and we sat Madeline on a chair in her portable seat. Very nice meal and walk and a good time had by all. Sang happy birthday to Warren after we got back.
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