Harry Peterson

Avril, that sounds like our son’s wedding the December before last in so many ways. A couple of years younger, but a very contented bachelor who’d just never found the right long term partner. And the ring didn’t go on easily. Covid changed all that. Online dating, the perfect partner, meals cooked and eaten together via Zoom, just one meeting before lockdowns hit, but so very right for both of them. Nightmare house hunting in Derbyshire for a location they could both get to work from, at the worst possible time, then the wedding just afterwards, and now a baby son. What a change in lifestyle for a man who swore he’d never have children or a dog. The dog’s on the way as soon as it’s safe! I couldn’t go to the wedding for health reasons unfortunately (saw them outside after the ceremony though) but my wife did and isolated afterwards with our daughter and her family until Boxing Day. Absolutely made 2021, despite all the other stuff going on. And little Alex has made 2023, despite a horrendous delivery which went very badly wrong. He’s fine, and so is his Mum - now.

Safely back now I see - I hope the trip was OK and that you have a good onward journey home.

PS But we also know you have a good sense of humour, so we’re putting you in a lifeboat.

Stugeron is highly effective, and you’ll be giving it the time it needs. Your captain will do whatever’s necessary to make the journey home as comfortable as possible, and long range forecasts are often inaccurate. Enjoy your time in beautiful Lisbon, which Alexa tells me is currently sunny and warm, but I’m not remotely envious of that on this grey, cold, wet day. Hope you have a good journey back, and that it turns out to be calm.

Brian, I have absolutely no medical knowledge whatsoever, but I'm fortunate to have a wife with a long track record as a nursing sister. I showed her the photo, and while it's always tricky from photos she's a bit concerned about the way it looks, particularly the swelling. Please don't take this as interference, but for what it's worth she wondered if you'd got any medical advice beyond the pharmacist?

Morning all. Nice bright sunny day over most of the UK. Out to Aldi on a click and collect run. As always, better quality than Tesco and considerably cheaper. Anybody happen to watch the new adaptation of Great Expectations last night? Extremely good. Best I’ve ever seen, and I’ve watched them all since the 1946 film version.

Sounds great! How’s that ankle doing, Brian?

On the plus side, I hear it’s being remarketed as a water park. Whole new customer base.

Quite so.

Hilary Briss too. And a lot more besides………

That’s a pretty blinkered viewpoint. Try looking at the Trustpilot reviews for Richer Sounds or Tui - good companies get good reviews.

With you on that one. Somehow everything changes after dinner on the final night, and you move imperceptibly from valued guest, nothing too much trouble, to visitors who've outstayed their welcome and need to be hurried away before the next ones arrive.

Sandra, that sounds to be a really difficult situation for all of you. You’re obviously doing everything that could possibly be done for him, and I sincerely hope the outcome is positive. Harry

What seems to be happening pretty often, according to reports on these forums and locally, is that people go down with it shortly after returning home. Possibly because of the large congregations of people before disembarking and on collecting luggage.

Which is fine in theory, but doesn’t always work. And when it doesn’t, it’s exactly like an Easter Egg hunt!

That’s essentially it I’m afraid. Scrabbling is too strong a word, and there are some clues as to where to look, but there’s nothing to stop a suitcase falling into the wrong hands, maliciously or mistakenly.

Apropos of nothing at all (except maybe cruising), just noticed a good programme coming up on BBC4 on Sunday at 2100: The Golden Age of Liners https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00nf0nl It’s a repeat, but pretty good if you’re interested in the history of ocean liners. Paul Atterbury embarks on an alluring journey into the golden age of ocean liners, finding out how these great ships made such a mark on the popular imagination and why they continue to enchant to this day. Paul's voyage takes him around Britain and reveals a story of design, politics, propaganda, Hollywood glamour and tragedy. Along the way, he uncovers some amazing survivals from the liners of the past - a cinema in Scotland built from the interiors of the SS Homeric, a house in Poole in which cabins from the Mauretania are lovingly preserved - as well as the design inspiration behind the first great liners.

You and I agree, I think, on quite a few things, and what you say here appalls me. I loved Freedom Dining with P&O, I enjoyed the food in the MDR (even the lunches), and my wife and I felt it was a good fit. Not grossly expensive, but a good standard throughout - the sort of thing we used reliably to get many years back from Trusthouse Forte before the Granada acquisition. All that, as with Trusthouse Forte, seems to have gone now. As you say, not a good fit.

Nope.

Very true - the freezing of tax thresholds and allowances is, I suspect, going to come as quite a shock to a lot of people as they/we find ourselves dragged into paying a lot more tax, and higher rate tax. The 20% basic tax rate is a myth these days, when such a large percentage of middle income earners will now be paying higher rate taxes once charged only on the rich.

I suppose it depends what you mean by ‘fussy eater’. My wife’s very choosy about what she eats, but she absolutely loves eating at the Epicurean, as do I. Do take a look at the menus before you discount it - it’s very much the equivalent of a decent high end onshore restaurant.

Brian, the green eyed monster is biting - I really admire your attitude to life and (sorry!) envy your lifestyle! 😊

Always amusing when crowds of ignorant racist yobs start banging on about the purity of their English blood. Completely unaware of what a mixed lot we really are, including large chunks of Europe and Africa.

Nothing like it is there? Three years of freedom after leaving home.

They know all about it, and exactly how the scheme works. It’s based on the ability for any PayPal user to use PayPal to send an invoice to any third party. It works because the emails are sent by PayPal itself, and not the person creating the invoice. Although PayPal know about it, they choose not to block it.