Quick daily posts

[Podolyanka]

Yes, Mabel. They are all red, yellow and orange. I cannot wait till they flower in spring.

[fccs]

Cant help sharing this news: 3 days ago the Netherlands presented Kyiv with 100,000 tulips. They were planted in the center as a symbol of the Dutch's respect for the Heavenly Hundred(more than 100 heroes of the Revolution of Dignity killed by the Berkut special police force in the Maidan).

That is so cool. Do you live close enough to the center that you can take and post pictures in the spring when they bloom? (hint hint)

I bet it will be a gorgeous sight.

[Podolyanka]

8 km or so. By Kyiv standards, it is round the corner. I will post the photos of them here when they start blooming in spring.

[rcperryls]

I will love to see those photos. Tulips and Lilacs are total harbingers of Spring for me. We didn't have much of a garden when I was growing up, but lots of tulips and lilac bushes everywhere. Neither of which do very well in the South. At least not here. I expect either the winters aren't cold enough or the summers are too hot, or both. We had another flower that was an early bloomer. I don't know its name and us kids called them poppers because if you squeezed the buds they made a big popping sound. I don't think we realized that we were probably destroying the flower when we "Popped" them but it was one of our spring rituals walking to school. Each bush had a lot of buds, so hopefully we didn't do much damage. They were one of the first flowers to show themselves in early spring, even with some snow still on the ground.

Carole

[Mabel Figworthy]

I think it would take a lot more than your spring ritual to pop them to extinction Carole

[Podolyanka]

I was lucky. Till the age of 10 I lived at the railway station (literally, grandpa was its master, the family lived on the second floor). On both sides there were lush gardens with fruit trees and flowerbeds. In warm seasons me, station kids(there were 2 more families of railway workers living in the building) were nearly living in those gardens. The grass was never cut, so we could hide in it. The honey smell of the old lame tree still is somewhere at the back of my mind. I am very sorry about kids(like mine) who grow up on the asphalt of a city.
For me tulips and lilac are symbols of spring too.

[Serinde]

Whew. That's all the birthdays and Thanksgiving. On to making the main Christmas cake today (yes, late, I know) and maybe tomorrow making one for Elder Son's Christmas, since he won't be risking coming home. We plan to make him a hamper, so a cake is needed!

@Lyudmila When I was young, I lived in a village with a little railway station (it was along the track of the Illinois Central, connecting Chicago and New Orleans -- there's a song about that!). Anyway, the station master was a lovely man, who didn't mind us children using the waiting room as a warming bay in the winter if there were no bona fide passengers we might bother. We'd swoop in, chase around for 5 minutes then all rush back out into the snow.

[Mabel Figworthy]

I like the hamper idea! We've decided on a fairly isolated Christmas, we may have Youngest with us but that's it, we'll see Eldest, DIL and Teddy for a walk somewhere outside.
Having said that, Teddy was taken to hospital last night with a fever, turns out he has tonsillitis so he is now on ten days of antibiotics (and we were meant to go for a walk and hand over Saint Nicholas presents this weekend )

[wendywombat]

We shall be self isolating over Christmas after driving down to complete the sale on the French house.
Awoke to snow and fog this morning but only over the hills north and south of us.
Stay safe Y'all

[Podolyanka]

Mabel, does your St. Nickolas normally (without pandemics around) put presents under pillows too?

[Mabel Figworthy]

Lyudmila, in the Netherlands St Nicholas (or "Sinterklaas", as he is usually known) leaves small sweet treats in children's shoes (which they are allowed to put by the fire - or in my case the central heating radiator - in the few days leading up to St Nicholas Eve, with a carrot or some hay for St N's horse) and on the eve of his day, 5th December, he delivers presents. Usually a jute bag with presents is left mysteriously on the doorstep, often parents will arrange for a neighbour to knock on the door, and perhaps there will even be a hand throwing some traditional biscuity sweets through the crack in the door. It's great fun

[Mabel Figworthy]

In honour of the Kabouter stitching being done on this Forum here is a gnome Saint Nicholas - daddy dressing up and the children just a little nervous and not quite sure whether it is daddy or really Saint Nicholas.

[richardandtracy]

Oh for goodness sake. When is there an end to this?

Today's Covid-19 figure for my borough has returned to over 600 per 100,000 having been hovering around 560/100,000 since the end of England's lockdown. Three people we know, but have not seen in person for weeks, currently have it, one is quite unwell - but not unwell enough to be a hospital case. Our local hospital is currently unavailable, as it has declared a major incident and is closed to new admissions - last week it was admitting 80 Covid patients a day into a 700 bed hospital. The nearest open hospital is in Ashford. 20 miles by crow from here, 30 mins to 3 hours drive in traffic conditions that are commonly seen. By bus, Ashford is almost impossible to get to - allow a full day for a return trip. By train, the best option is to go to St Mary Cray or London Victoria and take a second train away from London. 2.5 or 3 hours.
Northumbria has better public transport and roads than we do.

Tried to find out about 'flu jabs for the over 50's from our GP. All GP's are supposed to be busy doing jabs. So, I phoned up. After waiting 15 minutes in an automated queue, I got through to the receptionist, and said "I'd like to enquire about the 'flu.." when I heard 'Oh god, not another' and had the call disconnected.
Does anyone in England actually have a GP practice? Or are they all practices in name only for billing purposes to the NHS?

Swale - highest Covid rate in England. No testing available in the borough. Just remind me, what is an NHS? I seem to have forgotten the last time we had one.

Regards,

Richard.

[Podolyanka]

Thank you for your kind explanation, Mabel.
Our St. Nicholas is a tall handsome old man.


He puts presents under sleeping kids' pillows. How he knows what to bring? Usually parents arrange the children's writing letters of wish to St. Nicholas or a few days before the 19th December, parents tell the kids to go out into the porch at shout to the Saint their wishes. No daddies' dressing, as the whole idea of St. Nicholas is doing the job secretly. The only exclusion is schools.

At schools in independent Ukraine (in Western- 100%) there would be a short visit of St. Nicholas accompanied with two angels and a devil into each classroom. The devil would be the liviliest and funniest boy dressed appropriately, who would ask the kids if they behaved, and threaten jokingly that he has a sack full of reeds to beat those who did not. The show would end in St. Nicholas' opening his enormous bag/sack and the angel giving presents to all the kids in the class. The presents would be the same for all the 500 or so kids of the school. To prevent your question- yes, the presents were funded by the parents' committee.

In Soviet times the holiday was forbidden, but all kids on the 19th Dec. would be boasting during all breaks and intervals of what St. Nicholas brought them under the pillow at home.

My presents were always very practical- a dress or a cardigan plus some chocolates. Funny enough, I could never "catch" my St. Nicholas doing his job, even if I stayed awake for half a night.
As long as my parents were alive, St. Nicholas would bring me and my kids presents. Early in the morning Dad would bring them and explain that he met St. Nicholas last night and the old guy asked him to do the favour and deliver them to us as he had to hurry up the street.
Our wikipedia says the holiday is also popular in Chech Republic and the Netherlands.

[Serinde]

Richard, this all sounds too horrible and scary for you and those you know in Kent. Even up here in the Frozen North, we know you are in trouble in Swale. What is your borough's %positivity rating? That might give you some comfort -- Clackmannanshire is 3.2%, which is low, even though the number of cases (216/100K) is the highest in Scotland. As for your GP receptionist -- sure, she's under pressure, but she's also been trained (and paid) to deal with it. It's inexcusable.

[richardandtracy]

Serinde, if the positivity rate data is available, I've not been able to find it. It's probably in the 4-5% range, and the Kent County Council (KCC) data indicated around 11% of the borough have now had it, with 'Only' 174 deaths or a death rate of 1.1% of those who are known to have had it. Good compared to many pandemics/epidemics of the past (30%+ for plague, 70%+ initially for Ebola), but actually knowing 8 people who have died of it is really not pleasant. OK, of those 8, we only knew 5 'well', but the other 3 were '30 minute stop & chat in the street' level acquaintances.

Tracy's Library (where she was due to go in this morning) has been shut for a deep clean this morning due to 3 staff going down with it in the last week and testing at the University has identified it as a common link with 'a lot' of students who tested positive - the university refuses to release numbers so I have no idea how much 'a lot' represents.

So far, nobody where I work has tested positive or had to isolate due to living with someone who has tested positive. I feel it's by luck more than judgement the way things are going round here, as getting it from families is the most likely route.

Ah well, at last Swale has found a way of being the best in the country at something, first time ever. Best at.. being rubbish!

Our 'summer' holiday we'd planned for next week, where we booked a holiday let in the grounds of Leeds Castle (just East of Maidstone Kent, not Leeds, Yorkshire), has had to be cancelled. This is because in England Tier 3 (which is applicable to all Kent), all rental accommodation is closed, even if self-contained self-catering flats. We've put our booking off to next March in the hope our 30th wedding anniversary is going to be memorable for the right reasons. And, for safety's sake, I can't risk seeing my 89 yo dad over Christmas in the way I'd hoped, even though we'll effectively be isolating from this coming Friday when I go on leave for the rest of the year. We're debating if it's safe for us to see my MIL & FIL on Christmas Day, but I think the risk to them is probably lower than the mental health benefit to them of seeing someone else in person for a few hours. They are going stir-crazy after months & months of being cooped up in their little bungalow.

Regards,

Richard.

[Serinde]

Eight is eight too many! I'm so sorry. Our spike in Stirlingshire was partly down to the university as well. Filthy students and their student-y ways! We missed both a spring break and a summer hols, so I know how you feel. We rebooked for end April (our 34th anniversary) and for a holiday in June... we'll see. We hope for vaccinations in, oh, about April, which is fine. Other people need it first.

We won't probably see our Elder Son at all, so I understand your not being willing to take the risk with your father; MIL & FIL could be different, especially if you can get outside, away from the four walls. Here's hoping for the grand-daddy of all high pressure systems to keep it calm and clear!

[rcperryls]

I won't even go into details since it is way too depressing. Positivity rate in SC is currently above 20% and we are far from the worst state on this side of the pond. Here in our part of the state I think it is a little lower but has a huge way to go. Not sure what we will do for Christmas. I am going to a little Zoom Hanukkah party with my sister and family Saturday. Christmas here will be very small. Might go to my daughter's depending on cautious my grandchildren have been. I'd just as soon stay home and watch Wonder Woman 2 with Christmas Carol and assorted other favorite Christmas movies while eating everything I'm not supposed to. And am so ready to say good-bye to 2020.

On a cheerier note, this YouTube short video on building an ice castle just fascinated me. Also made me put an afghan around my shoulders because I got cold just watching it.

Carole

[Serinde]

Wonderful video. It's always a joy to see people being creative.

[Sojourner]

Oh for goodness sake. When is there an end to this?
Tried to find out about 'flu jabs for the over 50's from our GP. All GP's are supposed to be busy doing jabs. So, I phoned up. After waiting 15 minutes in an automated queue, I got through to the receptionist, and said "I'd like to enquire about the 'flu.." when I heard 'Oh god, not another' and had the call disconnected.
Does anyone in England actually have a GP practice? Or are they all practices in name only for billing purposes to the NHS?
Richard.

Well, I managed to get a flu jab at the local chemist 3 weeks ago, but we have zero GP service here.
I have shoulder problems, and no way will the local GP see me, but referred to hospital, eventually (original injury was March, week before lockdown) Last month, finally, saw 2 orthopaedic consultants at the hospital, twice, and had a steroid injection which worked wonders (given by the head man himself, watched by underlings as a training exercise) Booked for physio months ago, but no way will anyone actually see me, emailed drawings and phone calls is all. If I can see 2 hifalutin orthopaedic consultants face to face, why can't I see my local GP? Rant over, and of course there are loads of people far worse off than me.
S