Snow Hill

Was a busy day yesterday finally got around to cutting the Ivy hedge back, has been too hot previous days, filled the green bin with the cuttings, jet washed the patio area with my new pressure washer bought on Prime Day for £79 instead of normal £179. It removed years of dirt and grime in 45 mins. I have the slabbed area outside the garage at bottom of garden to do next, but need a longer hose, Will buy a 25m one and connect together. Decided to walk to chemist yesterday, instead of driving, it’s around a 3.5km round trip past the the lake and through a wooded area, I noticed the level of the “lake” had dropped by around 15cm and that the stream flowing into it and out of it had completely dried up. I have lived here for over 30 years and this is only the second time this has happened. The lake was created in the mid 1800s initially for storing water pumped out of local mines by damning the stream to create a small lake. The lake is now well stocked with fish and bird life and surrounded by houses, but much of the greenery and wooded area has been retained and makes pleasant walking and recreational area. Last weekend noticed that the level of the River Severn was low, a friend who worked for Environment Agency, said it would be much lower if not topped up from storage reservoirs in Wales.

If a VPN was being used it would effectively cloak their location, so IP Address is not always tied to where someone is located.

You can find answers to various policies on alcohol here under FAQs https://www.pocruises.com/frequently-asked-questions.our-covid-19-protocols.when-should-I-have-the-pre-travel-PCR-when-going-on-a-Caribbean-cruise.summary

My sister is having a rough time with the virus, now into day 7 of suffering, was touch and go whether should would be admitted to hospital, but decided she would be better at home, has been given the Anti-Virals so hopefully she will improve soon. Her husband is 3 days behind her and is still feeling rough. This new strain is pretty brutal wouldn’t wish it on anyone, my wife is on Day 17, still has cough and no energy, we have cancelled our theatre trip for tomorrow as she currently doesn’t feel she has the confidence to be in crowded venues. Weather has been cooler today only 25 C, we had some rain this afternoon all 60 seconds worth. Just checked reservoir levels in ST Water region on their website, some are at 80% plus others below 50%. I installed a water butt 3 weeks ago, currently had around 20 cm in the bottom, which is shrinking day by day in the heat. Looking at forecast for next week, we appear to be reaching 35 C on Monday

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If they can’t be bothered to put prices on the flyer, then we just put the flyer in the recycling, which seems to be happening a lot lately. We unsubscribed from email marketing, seems we may have to do the same with the postal variety, we had 4 mail shots from them last week, which we would suggest is excessive.

Currently 29C here, but now cloudy, just received an Amber Extreme Heat warning for Sunday with temps expected to be in low 30s. A number of meteorologists are predicting that the U.K. highest temperature could well be snaked next week, currently 38.7C, it is predicted it could reach low 40s especially in South and East of England. Think I will go and buy a fridge to sit in!

Thanks for the birthday wishes, went for lunch at out favourite pub restaurant, I was expecting just to be the 2 of us, but I was surprised to see one of my sisters & my BiL there, my other sister should have been there but currently she and my other BiL are suffering with the 🦠, she is suffering quite badly with it. This afternoon had a visit from my son, DiL & 2 grandchildren and my daughter, we sat outside on the patio, it was rather hot, but was the safest option. Had some wonderful presents and a mystery break in September from my wife, no idea where we are going. First day of a new age decade got off to a flying start.

I’m saying nothing, as was put on naughty step last time I mentioned it

Azura was the first cruise we took with P&O in 2011, it seemed to us then to be a big ship. We next went on it in 2019 on a cruise in the Norwegian Fjords, it was starting to look dated then and need some TLC in some areas, the cabins were pleasant enough, although we had to get the balcony chairs changed as they were not safe to sit on. The TV didn’t work the first week, finally someone fixed it early in the second week. It sounds like nothing has been done to the ship since then

There is a bin cleaning service around here, we pay to have it cleaned once every 6 weeks

Last day of my 60s today, I shall mark it by trimming the hedge and getting some unwanted stuff down from loft!

Not only that but dentists are also trained to look out for signs of oral cancer, a former neighbour of ours was told by her dentist that she need to see her GP asap with his observations, fortunately it was spotted early and was treatable, had she not gone to the dentist then it may not have found until much later.

It restricts No of passengers on cruise ships to 5000 in port at once, from 2026 it is planned to only allow access to port to ships with Zero Emissions only. https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/flam-port-1361

My dentist said it gives a more accurate impression and is less intrusive for the patient. I have used 3D scanning on artefacts, but first time it has been used on me.

Will they be trialling cruises of 14 days or more, or are they just limiting it to 7 day cruises so the number of cases is lower?

Dentist visit today, which I was dreading, pre work for crown to be fitted on tooth I broke. I was fully expecting the dread rubbery stuff to go into my mouth for an impression, which happened with a previous crown some years ago. I was pleasantly surprised to find I would be having a 3D scan of my mouth and the area around the tooth, I was able to watch the whole process as a 3D model of the left side of my mouth was taken. Temporary crown then fitted, new crown will be available by end of month. Was in at 2pm, worked completed by 2.25, home by 2.40.

Cruise companies may get away with washing their hands of responsibility on short cruises but on those longer cruises they could get seriously caught out if they have an outbreak, will the medical team and others be able to cope with say 300-400 passengers going down with the virus.

Thus the trial P&O is conducting is not valid, it’s more about removing a barrier to cruising and too hell with the consequences.

We now know for sure that one of the delegates test positive for covid on the Sunday before the course started, trapped by a FB post on Sunday afternoon. She and the other attendees were all in the same hotel meeting room for 5 days, so it’s virtually certain that’s how it was passed on, others caught it on their return back to their homes. My wife has virtually recover, still has cough and fatigue symptoms, but on the mend, downside is my sister who in immunosuppressed has caught it, plus 2 of my grandchildren and my nephews wife. Numbers are rapidly rising and I think personally P&O have made an an error in lifting testing at this point of rising numbers, which has concerned the NHS who have announced today that overs 50s will be offered a further booster in the early autumn. I appreciate it would be difficult to track, but guests are asked to complete a health form prior to going on the cruise, why not one to be completed within 48-72 hours of return. That how testing or trials are usually conducted, you have quantifiable measurements at beginning and end, it seems to be that this trial is only measured on cases onboard a cruise up to 7 days, those who catch it on day 5 onwards are likely not to be counted.

I have enough problems these days with ordinary ties, let alone even attempting a bow tie, probably because I have worn one less than 10 times in the last 20 years or so. I have a blue pre knotted tie, however no longer have a suit to wear it with. My mother used to say black ties were for funerals, apparently got that from her grandfather who she only saw in a tie at a funeral, he never wore one otherwise.

In other words don’t care what happens to their passengers post disembarkation, as it will be someone else’s problem. Have they deliberately chosen shorter cruises in order to say dropping tests works as we had few cases, what happens on the longer cruises or those who do back to back, and they get a significant outbreak and the ship is refused docking. I know from recent experience in my wife’s case one individual with Covid on the course she was on has now caused the infection of 14 other people in just over a week.

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In order for this to be a proper test P&O need to follow up with passengers post disembarkation to see if they developed Covid in the days immediately post cruise, otherwise how will they no whether it is safe to drop test requirements altogether?

My youngest granddaughter was offered and given the vaccine via GP surgery in early May. There are 4 drop in clinics operating in my local authority area giving vaccinations to 5+ thru to 75+ , nationally according to NHS figures around 18,000 people were vaccinated last week, with either 1st, 2nd or booster doses.