Get a grip woman!

Karmacat

I'm glad there's the two of you working at this, it sounds incredibly detailed. Let us know how you get on.

Suffolk_lass

It is fascinating, and we are sort of bolstering each other's confidence. Helpfully one of our Bee Keeper's Association experienced people did a zoom demonstration which the BKA recorded so we sat and watched that - sound quality was a bit patchy but we could see all ok. I'm definitely going to have to make a big celebration cake (hmm, maybe a vaccination cake!) and covering it in fondant icing (or sugar paste, as our US friends call it) as I bought a couple of huge catering slabs to use as top-up winter feed. Our girls may yet get a taste for it but so far they are preferring their own honey (which is good) - we left all of the honey for them this year because we didn't collect them until August and they do get all the protection from their own product. A bit like our gardening, we like to keep the use of chemicals to a minimum.

In other news, our boiler man is coming today to at least diagnose the problem with our boiler. He is servicing our next door neighbours and next door but one neighbours so he is going to be seeing all three. We will let him have well ventilated access to the boiler with us in closed off other rooms - he always wears a mask and we will too.

In more upsetting news my Aunt (she is 88 or 89) rang to say her carer daughter has tested positive. Poor Auntie suffers from terrible anxiety so I was very careful to play everything down for her and suggest she get her daughter to book a test after she phoned and was told she does not need one. For her mental health she does so hopefully my cousin will sort her out. She is the kindest, most caring girl, I really hope that she is not hit too badly. Of course she is fretting about her clients and her daughter's family (who live with her).

Suffolk_lass

Well we thought the boiler was resolved as it ran yesterday, but it has failed again this morning! I've sent him a message. Good job we have a range on all the time. 

I've just got off the phone from Auntie and she has got herself together a bit more today, and my cousin is still asymptomatic. 

I decided after reading diaries on here to contact the local High School and offer them my old laptop this morning. A call back within an hour and it has gone to be updated and a data dongle added, and it can be given to someone who needs it. DH dropped it off and the poor receptionist was talking to a parent when he got there (on the phone), explaining she could pass on the parent's case for her child to have a laptop but she could not do anything to satisfy it as there are not enough.

I have now posted on our Village FB page suggesting other people might have stuff too. At least one person is charging two old i-Pads so they can email the school and offer them saying what generation and operating system they are. I was surprised - mine is ten years old, little bigger than a tablet and only 4gb of RAM but it works, is quite smart and I imagine (hope) someone will be glad to have it. 

greent

Ah - that's a really lovely thing to do, S_l. The latest newsletters home from my youngest 2's schools this week show that between them they have lent over 160 laptops out to students this week!!. Ds3's also has some routers and loads of basic stationery available to people. 

Karmacat

That's lovely, really, really something.  I don't have anything electronic that still works, but the stationery ... I'll check that out, thank you.

shangaijimmy

Lovely touch on the laptop. Reading some of the messages from some of our fellow primary school parents its quite sobering to appreciate that our difficulties really only go as far as broken pencils, but some families really are up against it. 

themadvix

That’s a lovely thing to do SL - and especially spreading the word around the village. Sadly we’re so MSE we sell these things when they get replaced (even when they’re knackered you can get something for them), so nothing to donate here.

debtfreeoneday

Lovely of you to do that. 

Suffolk_lass

shangaijimmy said:

Lovely touch on the laptop. Reading some of the messages from some of our fellow primary school parents its quite sobering to appreciate that our difficulties really only go as far as broken pencils, but some families really are up against it. 

By the way, husband says drumming with the pencil is what shatters the graphite lead. Just saying...

shangaijimmy

Don't get me started on what shatters the lead in the pencils... I'm a grumpy broken record on that one