Finding Things to Do

Here we are in sunny but cold East Yorkshire (UK) as March 2020 comes to a creaking close, we have a northerly arctic blast to contend with, but as we are confined to our homes to keep us all safe from the latest pandemic to sweep the world, we'll be a little warmer.

Linda and I are taking some sensible steps, keeping ourselves to ourselves, having no visitors, not going out anywhere and having food delivered. We are desperately missing our loved ones, but not only for our safety, but for theirs too, we are taking no chances. We spent a few bob on a treadmill recently so we are using that and with our current sensible diet (including cutting out most carbohydrates (no pastas, breads, potatoes etc.,)) we have lost 35 pounds in weight between us.

I have to mention out wonderful NHS in the UK and all our emergency services and key workers who are doing a superb job in the face of real adversity.

I am lucky in many ways to be working from home, I have good wi-fi with 400mb per second downloads and 36 mb per second upload speeds through Kingston Communications (KCOM), a local Hull firm. Being at home we can look after ourselves and each other and we are finding lots of things to do which doesn't involve the television. Linda is doing her writing, I am reading and researching old favourite hobbies of mine including photography and old monologues and I recorded one for Facebook to cheer people up which I'll pop below for you to have a look at.

We are decorating the upstairs of the house at the moment, we've done our back bedroom and turned into our healing room and psychic study room - its where we do our reiki and readings. Our psychic circle we run has been postponed for the period of the crisis, but we are doing work with our group of friends on-line.

The little front bedroom is next while I am on holiday for a week next week and our bedroom will be last which means the whole house will have been decorated through since we moved in in December 2016, a week before Christmas (not advisable).

Our poor garden never got any servicing at the back end of the year, no preparation for winter, it just got left because of the constant rain. we were flooded twice in our utility room with drains overflowing. We have managed salvage the garden with a few sessions throughout March and although we've lost some of our potted plants, much has remained hardy and survived. we have a pond now which is at ground level and was under several inches of water for a day under the floods, but that has survived too and we are awaiting marginal plants ordered on-line to start maturing it ready for fish whenever that will be.

However as spring follows winter, nature triumphs and here are some pictures of the spring plants

I have long been an admirer of the work of British music duo Flanders and Swann and they wrote songs about the quaintness of British life. One of their songs, The Gasman Cometh written in the 1950s is a wry look at the British workman. I can't sing it, but I have done a vocal rendition. Here it is, enjoy.

Chat soon

Tara

Interesting Times - New Opportunities?

With the Pandemic of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) being declared by the World Health Organisation, it has been a fascinating journey watching how we have reacted as human beings and as individual countries.

Driven by an extraordinarily insensitive, unfeeling and unaccountable media, in the UK at any rate, we have seen people frightened into believing that they are going to die, that their loved ones are going to die and that a 'killer' is on the loose. My partner and I have three elderly parents between us all over 80 and not in the prime of their health and undoubtedly they are at risk and have been for some time. Reading the shit in those headlines is not comforting, nor is it accurate.

Unlike some other countries, the UK has not responded quickly or decisively either to allay fears by putting in place initiatives and controls to inhibit the spread of the virus or to give any sense that advanced planning has taken place. There is a feeling among my circle that the lack of communications on plans have been a big disappointment when it comes to looking for leadership in difficult and challenging times. Indeed, major sporting bodies took the unilateral decision to ban public gatherings before the Government and it forced them to take action as we'll see in announcements shortly.

We've seen the best of people step up to the mark and our wonderful NHS are a prime example of front line staff putting themselves at risk for others. We've seen the worst of people - stockpiling food, panic buying when there is no need putting others at risk of not having essentials, hand cleaner and pain killers, fresh food and staples. Idiots all!

This is when we should see compassion, thoughts about others more vulnerable, those who are scared, frightened, lonely, old, ill. Let's hope that the lock-down gives people the time to look inwards, reflect, think about the wider implications to the economy, the country, their neighbourhood, their very way of life. Can we ever return to the way it was? Does this virus give us the opportunity to look forward to improvements in our society, better care of our environment, better care of ourselves, our hygiene, our attitude? A few might, everyone should.

So it's time to look to looking after ourselves, take care lovely people, use your time wisely.

Chat soon

Ta-ra