@nerys  I am so sorry for your families loss. Your father must have been a very strong man to suffer through all his health problems and still beat covid but as you say it must have taken all he had left. It is good that you had time with your Dad to talk and that you can at least attend the service in a way.That he went so gently is something to…[Read more]

@nerys So very sorry to hear this. I am glad you had the opportunity to have those good talks, though. They are tremendously important.

Take care.

Happy New Year all. Fingers crossed 2021 will see a turning in the trend in world affairs, not just in terms of the pandemic but that we will also see the end of the march of right wing ideas and some attention given to our beleaguered environment at last. We are at a critical point now and, with a new administration in the U.S. I feel as thought…[Read more]

@nerys

As @arbutus reminded me, a good commercial-free option is to purchase it on iTunes for $4. It is there for repeated viewings, and it is mercifully ad-free (and I agree with you, the intrusive commercial breaks are just the worst).

@nerys the only thing that got me was the glimpse of a news item that I think said she had just been ‘elected party leader and Prime Minister’ which just feels odd. The Conservative party vote on their leadership (sometimes) but not at the same time as a general election, and no one is strictly ‘elected’ Prime Minister.

@nerys
Glad it was helpful.

UK senior politicians are called ‘Secretary of State for xxx’ just as in the U.S. The terms date from the same period. However, the UK has a practice of calling any Secretary of State who is also in the Cabinet ‘Minister’.

So, unlike the US, ‘Secretary’ is often a signal that you aren’t in one of the really important…[Read more]

@nerys It could have been much worse for us.  I’m still struggling with a cough, and it will probably be a long time before I go on vacation or see my boyfriend again the way things are going, but at least I can afford to take personal time off work.  Things can change so quickly these days, but for now I have a comfortable home to live in, food a…[Read more]

@nerys That was a very uplifting story about selflessness. In its own way, very Doctor Who.

@dentarthurdent Love the story of the sea lion. Many years ago we used to live in Newcastle on the east coast of Australia. Crappy town, but we lived across from a beautiful beach. One morning we went walking and a whole bunch of dolphins went swimming…[Read more]

@nerys   Congratulations on your Dad’s recovery! That’s really great news, although I’m sorry to hear about his continued hospitalization. Your parents share their anniversary with my mom and stepfather, who had their 44th this year. They sent me a photo of their steak dinner, complete with candles and flowers, for which they would normally have…[Read more]

@winston, @nerys, @arbutus, and any other Canadians I have forgotten,

Which streaming service will allow me to watch the New Year special? (p.s. I do not have cable)

First, best wishes to everyone, I hope you’re all safe (so far as you can be) and not too badly affected by the various lockdowns.

Here, I’m in Christchurch, NZ South Island, and we just had two noticeably cold days in the middle of summer.   12 degrees C, I think (53 F), which is not all that cold admittedly but still, it should be double that (…[Read more]

@nerys Nova Scotia sounds so lovely. Your descriptions bring back memories of L.M.Mongomery books. Glad you father is recovering.

@blenkinsopthebrave and @winston I really wish that our government had made mask wearing compulsory, especially as I spent an afternoon making myself a mask and have barely had an opportunity to wear it. Instead they…[Read more]

Hello  @arbutus  it is good to hear from you and I am glad that you and yours are doing good. I have been baking my way through all my cookbooks and my waist line shows it.  I was keeping busy in my garden but it is under snow now so I made a snowvid man who wears a mask and holds a bottle of sanitizer in one stick arm and a measuring tape for so…[Read more]

Goodness. It’s so nice to see you in my inbox. I’ve been meaning to come on and reply and I apologize for not doing so sooner, things have been a bit random around here recently! Where is Arbutus? Holed up in central Vancouver, trying very hard to stay kind, calm, and safe. 🙂 (I’m strong on safe and reasonably good with calm. It’s the kind par…[Read more]

@nerys
Glad to hear the news that your Dad’s oxygen levels are now up to scratch and they’re thinking in terms of a move to rehab. That is good news. As @dentarthurdent says, not wanting to read etc is part of resting – and from what I’ve been told, a more serious dose of Covid is really energy-sapping.

My Mum lives back in North Wales and they’…[Read more]

@nerys    I’m so pleased to hear the news about your Dad.   And I’m pleased that he had stuff to keep him occupied if he needed it.   The reason I asked whether he had stuff to keep him occupied mentally is, if I had to go into isolation, I’d be climbing the walls after a couple of hours without something to keep me busy.   For example if we go vi…[Read more]

@nerys
Glad to hear your Dad seems to be staying stable. Yeah, COVID is very weird and can present with all sorts of symptoms (or none at all). I think Strange Noises hit about 10% or so.

@dentarthurdent

What about Babylon 5? I found Blakes 7 somewhat dated.

Also I haven’t seen Game of thrones either. My daughter watched two episodes, told me it was full of violence and sex.

She didn’t bother with the rest, and neither shall I. *winks*

I am re -watching Sherlock.

You should have seen the panic buying of loo paper here in…[Read more]

@bluesqueakpip Odd about the toilet paper. We had the same thing here in New Zealand. I must admit to being moderately guilty, I didn’t go crazy buying it but we were in Christchurch when it all kicked off and we came back up to Auckland with three packs of TP in the back of the wife’s Mazda. Cleaning products all flew off the shelves too, luckily…[Read more]

@JanetteB

and all the South Aussies (&, as always, the Sydney siders) we’re feeling your pain in Brisbane. We’ve been insanely fortunate in many cases. “cases” had a different tone to it now.

Thanks to those who got in touch when I mentioned my late mum. I realise it looked as if Puro had passed away but nope, I’m still here & we’re doing…[Read more]