How are you all?

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, Josy1953 said:

We have had a lovely day here, there was just a short sharp shower this morning but very warm and sunny since.  David has just had a phone call from his brother in Tennessee to wish him happy birthday do that was nice.

My niece is feeling very positive at the moment, I just feel so sorry for her because she spent the first 14 weeks of lockdown working nights on the Covid ward because she is a nurse and her husband can only work days and no one could look after her children because of the rules and now she thought the things were getting back to normal this happened to her.

Keep well.

Happy birthday to your hubby.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery back to good health for your niece.

Graham.

[Eddie99]

Such a nice thread!

When our normal, human interactions are curtailed it’s so good to “speak” to those outside our immediate social circle/bubble

[Peanut006]

That was me going off thread a bit!! Apologies!!! 
My loved ones would be hubby Richard, golden retriever- Casper and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - Rosie plus of course all our children and grandchildren.

Eldest is a Dr and has until recently been working on ICU on Covid ward which has been worrying, back to normal duties now thankfully 

 

Michelle 

[AndyMichelle]

2 minutes ago, Peanut006 said:

That was me going off thread a bit!! Apologies!!! 
My loved ones would be hubby Richard, golden retriever- Casper and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - Rosie plus of course all our children and grandchildren.

Eldest is a Dr and has until recently been working on ICU on Covid ward which has been worrying, back to normal duties now thankfully 

 

Michelle 

We don't mind a bit of thread drift, as long as it is nice natured. 

Pleased to virtually meet your family and all respect to your son.

Andy 

Edited August 7, 2020 by AndyMichelle

[ann141]

I was never addicted to CC until these last few months (and thats with no cruises to look forward to!) I have loved all the humour (particularly Andy and Kalos) and Grahams and Paulines photos.

Reading the various threads has made me realise that whereas previously I lived for cruises and other holidays, that health and family are more important. I feel grateful  that although I have been in the shielding group I have not suffered financial hardship and not had any family or close friends develop Covid . I am still hopeful that I will be able to cruise again some time next year though realise that there are still beautiful parts of Britain to explore. We have spent the last couple of days visiting National Trust properties and saw fallow deer at one site and Red deer today at another 

Keep posting! 🙂 

[wowzz]

6 hours ago, Dermotsgirl said:

I wish I could remember where my Aunt's caravan was situated.  All I can remember is that there was a swimming pool on site. We used to go up to visit her when she was staying there, in the mid 60's to early 70's 

Seems to me that Walton could soon become the new St Tropez. 

All of us old un's, (Andy, you are on the brink!) can meet at the pier entrance, wait for the tide to go out,  and play beach cricket. Piers Morgan will be there , along with Joan Collins. Percy can be the wickets,  as he doesn't do much other than stand beside Joan.

As a kid, aged 10 or so, playing cricket  with my Dad, and various other parents and children on the beach until the tide came in, was probably one of the best times of my life, but it is only now, 55 years later that I realise it. 

So, in these times of trouble, remember the good times of the past, rather than mourn the unknown future.

[Harry Peterson]

And the rides at Walton back in the day were always cheaper than the ones at nearby Clacton - a big draw!

[AndyMichelle]

10 hours ago, ann141 said:

I was never addicted to CC until these last few months (and thats with no cruises to look forward to!) I have loved all the humour (particularly Andy and Kalos) and Grahams and Paulines photos.

Reading the various threads has made me realise that whereas previously I lived for cruises and other holidays, that health and family are more important. I feel grateful  that although I have been in the shielding group I have not suffered financial hardship and not had any family or close friends develop Covid . I am still hopeful that I will be able to cruise again some time next year though realise that there are still beautiful parts of Britain to explore. We have spent the last couple of days visiting National Trust properties and saw fallow deer at one site and Red deer today at another 

Keep posting! 🙂 

It has grounded a lot of us Ann, in more ways than one... 

Glad you are managing to still enjoy life, despite the changes. 

Andy 

 

[AndyMichelle]

9 hours ago, wowzz said:

Seems to me that Walton could soon become the new St Tropez. 

All of us old un's, (Andy, you are on the brink!) can meet at the pier entrance, wait for the tide to go out,  and play beach cricket. Piers Morgan will be there , along with Joan Collins. Percy can be the wickets,  as he doesn't do much other than stand beside Joan.

As a kid, aged 10 or so, playing cricket  with my Dad, and various other parents and children on the beach until the tide came in, was probably one of the best times of my life, but it is only now, 55 years later that I realise it. 

So, in these times of trouble, remember the good times of the past, rather than mourn the unknown future.

Playing cricket on that beach was the scene of one of my most embarrassing moments as a kid of about 12 wearing just swimming trunks... 

As was the norm, other families of all ages tended to join in, so rather a large crowd had gathered. 

I was running between the stumps after a particularly fantastic outside edge when I realised everyone was laughing.. 

I didn't understand why until my mum shouted out at the top of her voice 'his willy is hanging out'.... I could have died of embarrassment.. 

So not all great memories of Walton beach... 

Andy 

[AndyMichelle]

1 hour ago, Harry Peterson said:

And the rides at Walton back in the day were always cheaper than the ones at nearby Clacton - a big draw!

It was, and still is, a bit tatty, Clacton pier was like Vegas in comparison.. 

Andy 

[Harry Peterson]

9 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

It was, and still is, a bit tatty, Clacton pier was like Vegas in comparison.. 

Andy 

And of course Clacton had the Butlins at the other end too - the bit with the Peter Pan railway that was open to everyone.  Lovely place then.

[P&O SUE]

Oh wow, I’ve only just read this thread. Too many to answer all individually but thanks Andy for the thread, the other one gets a bit political at times.

 

We’re ok here, I’ve said many times I’m grateful John (hubby) and myself have not suffered any loss in wages. I’m working from home (admin for NHS) and John works in a Waitrose warehouse. I feel proud of him, he’s worked throughout , getting up at 4.45am every day. Our son and fiancée live nearby in a flat with our 22 month old grandson. I wish they had a garden for him, they said he gets very excited when he knows they’re going out. They are very sensible and quite strict about the rules.

 

Then we have my parents in their 80’s also about 10 minutes away by car. I phone them every day and we did their shopping every week until recently. Now they go themselves very early and hardly ever see a queue. My mum loves to go out so it’s hit her hard I think. Thank goodness she has my Dad. They went to a garden centre recently so I’m glad they’re getting out a bit.

 

I’ve had some low points, mostly in connection with missing my grandson as I used to look after him every Wednesday and as his mum is working from home I won’t be doing that for a very long time.

 

A group of friends have arranged a meal out on a Tuesday to take advantage of the “eat out to help out” in a couple of weeks time so I’m looking forward to that, although a bit nervous what it will be like! John and I ate out a while ago but it was a restaurant we knew that had a conservatory and had the door wide open so felt safe.

 

I’m definitely one of those people who likes to have something to look forward to. Not knowing what will happen even to not knowing if our stay in Devon will go ahead in October makes me uneasy but I’m trying to get into the mindset of not looking too far ahead. I’ve had 2 friends in my garden in the last 2 weeks and that helps make me feel more normal.

 

Sorry to ramble on, I definitely feel this little community has been lovely these last few months. 

 

[P&O SUE]

17 hours ago, DamianG said:

Thanks for another great thread Andy and everyone who has contributed.

 

Being restricted hasn’t really bothered me that much. Close friends (including an ex-paramedic whose wife is a senior nurse) tipped me off what was coming at the end of February so in my mind I was as prepared as I could be though, of course, I had no idea of the reality of it. I didn’t miss watching sports anything like as badly as I thought I would (despite being a rugby season ticket holder for 40 years) and in some ways I have enjoyed the slower pace of life in general. 

 

Michelle has had health issues since last November but finally had a long overdue hospital appointment this week so we hope that is the last piece of the jigsaw on the way to long term recovery. Kyle has coped well with being stuck at home, in the main thanks to technology which means he can FaceTime friends and play games online with them. He’s had his moments of course, but I’m sure most kids will be the same.

 

We’re not confident going out yet so I’m just doing the shopping and that’s it. Everyone’s got to decide for themselves and at some point, I’ll be confident enough to go back to things like going to church and eating out again. Michelle is desperate for a holiday so we have booked a caravan at the coast near Bridlington for 4 nights at the end of the month. We did make a big decision this week in allowing Kyle to go away for 2 nights glamping with our friend’s family including my Goddaughter and her sister who are almost like surrogate cousins to him. He asked why we’d said it would be okay so I tried to explain that we thought that the risk was worth it so that he could go away and have some fun with kids his own age. I think, for me, not being able to take Kyle to his gymnastics classes or on a spontaneous trip to the sweet shop or KFC (his favourite) have been the hardest restrictions, daft as that may sound.

 

When we adopted him, it took just under 3 years from us applying to be adoptive parents to him moving in (no fast-tracking for us). Though he attached to us early, we then went through 2 very difficult years before he truly settled down and started to become the fantastic son that we now have. We are pragmatic and patient people (we had to be) and over those 5 years we learnt that everything passes with time. No matter what strife, hurt, upset etc. that you are going through or feeling at any particular moment in time, keep going and things will eventually change. That’s what Michelle and I keep reminding each other whenever either of us is feeling a bit down.  

I didn’t know you had adopted your son, what a great thing to do.

I have enjoyed your cruise blogs you’ve written and he sounds a smashing lad Hopefully it won’t be too long before you’re writing a new one 😊

[AndyMichelle]

14 minutes ago, P&O SUE said:

Oh wow, I’ve only just read this thread. Too many to answer all individually but thanks Andy for the thread, the other one gets a bit political at times.

 

We’re ok here, I’ve said many times I’m grateful John (hubby) and myself have not suffered any loss in wages. I’m working from home (admin for NHS) and John works in a Waitrose warehouse. I feel proud of him, he’s worked throughout , getting up at 4.45am every day. Our son and fiancée live nearby in a flat with our 22 month old grandson. I wish they had a garden for him, they said he gets very excited when he knows they’re going out. They are very sensible and quite strict about the rules.

 

Then we have my parents in their 80’s also about 10 minutes away by car. I phone them every day and we did their shopping every week until recently. Now they go themselves very early and hardly ever see a queue. My mum loves to go out so it’s hit her hard I think. Thank goodness she has my Dad. They went to a garden centre recently so I’m glad they’re getting out a bit.

 

I’ve had some low points, mostly in connection with missing my grandson as I used to look after him every Wednesday and as his mum is working from home I won’t be doing that for a very long time.

 

A group of friends have arranged a meal out on a Tuesday to take advantage of the “eat out to help out” in a couple of weeks time so I’m looking forward to that, although a bit nervous what it will be like! John and I ate out a while ago but it was a restaurant we knew that had a conservatory and had the door wide open so felt safe.

 

I’m definitely one of those people who likes to have something to look forward to. Not knowing what will happen even to not knowing if our stay in Devon will go ahead in October makes me uneasy but I’m trying to get into the mindset of not looking too far ahead. I’ve had 2 friends in my garden in the last 2 weeks and that helps make me feel more normal.

 

Sorry to ramble on, I definitely feel this little community has been lovely these last few months. 

 

Ramble away Sue, that's what this thread is about, telling our stories and checking on each other. 

I always find your posts very open and honest and enjoy reading them. 

You should be proud of John, without people like him, and you of course, we would have completely ground to a halt... 

Andy 

 

Ps, my mum and dad were John & Sue.. 

[Adawn47]

My daughter came home from hospital last night,  and it"s as the doctor suspected, costochondritis. Painful but not serious. Prescribed strong pain meds and rest, and she's had her first good night's sleep in days. I'm so relieved, as she's had a few issues during lockdown. She was diagnosed bi-polar  30 years ago and the lockdown has been stressful for her, but she is coping ok. She has recently been diagnosed type 2 diabetes as well and she's handling the diagnosis better than I am😆. I'm such a wimp😂. You always worry about your children though, whatever their age, and mine babies are 55, 52 and 50.😉

Avril 

[P&O SUE]

11 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

My daughter came home from hospital last night,  and it"s as the doctor suspected, costochondritis. Painful but not serious. Prescribed strong pain meds and rest, and she's had her first good night's sleep in days. I'm so relieved, as she's had a few issues during lockdown. She was diagnosed bi-polar  30 years ago and the lockdown has been stressful for her, but she is coping ok. She has recently been diagnosed type 2 diabetes as well and she's handling the diagnosis better than I am😆. I'm such a wimp😂. You always worry about your children though, whatever their age, and mine babies are 55, 52 and 50.😉

Avril 

That’s good news Avril, I agree they’ll always be our babies.

My Mum always had to do the ‘3 rings’ thing to let my Nan we were home safely! My mum would have been in her 50’s then and my Nan in her 80’s 😊

[P&O SUE]

50 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Ramble away Sue, that's what this thread is about, telling our stories and checking on each other. 

I always find your posts very open and honest and enjoy reading them. 

You should be proud of John, without people like him, and you of course, we would have completely ground to a halt... 

Andy 

 

Ps, my mum and dad were John & Sue.. 

 

Thank you Andy, I enjoy your posts too and had noticed you hadn’t been around much lately.

Funny about your parents names, I don’t actually know any other John and Sues but I bet there are a fair few around!

[Adawn47]

2 minutes ago, P&O SUE said:

That’s good news Avril, I agree they’ll always be our babies.

My Mum always had to do the ‘3 rings’ thing to let my Nan we were home safely! My mum would have been in her 50’s then and my Nan in her 80’s 😊

It can be embarrassing too. When I was 8 months, but looked 12 months, pregnant with my son, I was shopping with mum in a large busy shop when we bumped in a friend of her from work "And this" she said in a loud voice "Is my baby" she made it sound as if I was 12. I was mortified😶

Avril 

[AndyMichelle]

29 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

My daughter came home from hospital last night,  and it"s as the doctor suspected, costochondritis. Painful but not serious. Prescribed strong pain meds and rest, and she's had her first good night's sleep in days. I'm so relieved, as she's had a few issues during lockdown. She was diagnosed bi-polar  30 years ago and the lockdown has been stressful for her, but she is coping ok. She has recently been diagnosed type 2 diabetes as well and she's handling the diagnosis better than I am😆. I'm such a wimp😂. You always worry about your children though, whatever their age, and mine babies are 55, 52 and 50.😉

Avril 

Phew Avril..So glad it was not more serious. 

Andy 

 

[Adawn47]

Just now, AndyMichelle said:

Phew Avril..So glad it was not more serious. 

Andy 

 

Thank you. Me too. She's enough on her plate at the moment.

Avril 

[P&O SUE]

18 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

It can be embarrassing too. When I was 8 months, but looked 12 months, pregnant with my son, I was shopping with mum in a large busy shop when we bumped in a friend of her from work "And this" she said in a loud voice "Is my baby" she made it sound as if I was 12. I was mortified😶

Avril 

Aww that’s quite sweet 😊

[Adawn47]

4 minutes ago, P&O SUE said:

Aww that’s quite sweet 😊

Not from my end it wasn't 😁

Avril 

[grapau27]

8 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

Not from my end it wasn't 😁

Avril 

Paulines late mam was 40 when she had Pauline and 42 when she had her brother.

Her sister her mam was 34 and her other brother died aged 2 months 2 years later.

She said the kids at school used to say is that your grandmother.

Ruth died October 2018 aged 96 and outlived most of the other kids mam's.

Edited August 8, 2020 by grapau27

[kalos]

12 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

My daughter came home from hospital last night,  and it"s as the doctor suspected, costochondritis. Painful but not serious. Prescribed strong pain meds and rest, and she's had her first good night's sleep in days. I'm so relieved, as she's had a few issues during lockdown. She was diagnosed bi-polar  30 years ago and the lockdown has been stressful for her, but she is coping ok. She has recently been diagnosed type 2 diabetes as well and she's handling the diagnosis better than I am😆. I'm such a wimp😂. You always worry about your children though, whatever their age, and mine babies are 55, 52 and 50.😉

Avril 

So pleased that you now can rest a little knowing what is up with your Daughter, as I said in another post

"it's the not knowing" that can be the worst.

Try not to worry about her with the diabetes Avril(easier said than done)

Now the NHS have her on their radar ,she will have her eyes checked by the Barnsley screening service.

She will be offered a course "Desmonds" more about living with the condition.

The main thing is she being looked after as opposed to the 1,000?s unaware they have the condition.

Glad to hear she is getting sorted Avril 

[Eddie99]

That really doesn’t sound too bad Avril, albeit it sounds painful.

I wonder if she can turn her thoughts to reversing the diabetes?  More and more people are managing to do so - a hard slog at the start but what a goal to aim for ... Anyway, that’s up to her.  Wishing her recovery from the chondritis and being totally pain free soon