Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Davesnave

Thoroughly miserable here, so did about 3 hours + a walk and now I'm indoors with the catalogues/on line.

Apparently I was right and the two young ladies should not have been issued with fines because there is no strict definition of 'local area' and they'd not broken any law. Considering many different circumstances, I wouldn't want to be the person charged with the job defining a reasonable local area, but I'm sure by next week someone will have had a go! Our social bubble person is 23 miles from here.

Possible good news. Someone took a few of our poplar logs and dried them artificially. He says they burned fine. Mind you,  if you saw what he drives you might be somewhat sceptical of his judgement!

greenbee

I think it would be helpful if they would define local area. It has been suggested that exercise should be for an hour, and start and end at home. Norfolk CC have said that you should stick to your village/part of town/city. But a legal definition would help. My mum is in my bubble and she's 250 miles away. Bubbles should ideally be local (which is fair enough - I won't be seeing her until lockdown is over) but even that varies depending on whether you are in an urban or rural area. 

I went for a walk with a friend today - we were the only people masked outside. While the others may have been in family groups, masks are still a good idea for when you need to pass other walkers on narrow footpaths. 

I've been warned (like others with long covid) that a second infection isn't a risk I should be prepared to take. So although I'm not officially shielding, I'm essentially in isolation from now on. As my exercise tolerance is also pretty much zero since early December I'm confined to the garden, which thankfully has plenty to keep me occupied - including kingfishers and egrets. 

Davesnave

greenbee said:

. Bubbles should ideally be local (which is fair enough - I won't be seeing her until lockdown is over) but even that varies depending on whether you are in an urban or rural area.

Yes. If we are the only people willing to bubble with this person on their own, then that ought to be the first consideration, rather than an arbitrary distance dreamed up by civil servants. Mental and physical health are interlinked, and whether one of us sits in the car for 10 or 40 minutes is not a great consideration .

A widower friend is currently very lonely, but at 80 miles away he's out of what most people would call bubble territory . Fortunately, our daughter is able to drop in on our behalf, but it's still a 30 mile round trip. People's lives and contacts are spread out.

Apodemus

greenbee said:

I think it would be helpful if they would define local area.  

Here in Scotland, although the exhortation is to stay local, the law suggests that you can travel to exercise, where the exercise starts and finishes at the same place and as long as it is not more than five miles beyond the boundary of your local authority. On that basis, it seems I could legally do a 280 mile round-trip for a walk on a rather beautiful beach that I've not visited for a few years in my own local authority area...but I couldn't legally drive the 13 miles for a walk on the rather beautiful beach that I normally visit, which happens to be over the LA border! Either way, I'm staying put with the car on the battery charger!

Farway

Misty with frost on the ground, not a good looking day for any outdoor activities, bubbles or not

Davesnave said:

Thoroughly miserable here, so did about 3 hours + a walk and now I'm indoors with the catalogues/on line.

Apparently I was right and the two young ladies should not have been issued with fines because there is no strict definition of 'local area' and they'd not broken any law.

It's often the case that once publicity and mocking comes knocking a swift reversal ensues, like the video yesterday of old folk, some with wheelchairs & zimmer frames, queuing round the block for a covid jab, amazing how that got sorted PDQ once someone had to explain why they thought this was acceptable

Luckily that does seem to be the exception, from what I read around here, and many places, it is a fixed appointment & in you go, same as my 'flu jab

Still waiting to hear about mine but expecting it soon

Davesnave

I'm at the very expensive dentist tomorrow. Because it's posh, they let me sit in the car and text when they're ready.

I've had to stand in the Health Centre car park for up to half an hour, just to get a prescription, but never in really nasty weather, like yesterday. I'm due in there on Friday for my health MoT , but as Farway says, that's a timed appointment.

I'll go out and do some more hedging/log chopping today and have my usual walk. I find if I keep moving it takes about 2 hours before I stop feeling my feet and I feel so much better having done something....anything really.

Black_Cat2

Good luck at the dentists tomorrow D. 

Fingers crossed the vaccine will be rolled out quite swiftly so all of us are safe.  No news on it in my area yet. 

Another cold day here.  I've found the birds quite amusing on the bird table/feeders with lots of squabbling going on today.  First time ever I've seen a bird with a completely orangey chest/throat, haven't bothered to Google it yet so pretending in my head that it's a very rare, special sort of bird but I guarantee it's not!

Nothing doing in my garden atm, enjoying reading all your entries, ty 🤗🐦

Davesnave

Black_Cat2 said:

Good luck at the dentists tomorrow D.

Thanks, I'm going to need it, National Lottery style. Treatment starts at £800.....

Farway

Dull & wet, only garden related today will be empty the tea leaves bucket onto a border which I notice is starting to become a handy cat loo

Not ideal but the winter rains & frost will sort it out for me, and it's well away from the house which is probably why it's used as loo

Davesnave said:

Black_Cat2 said:

Good luck at the dentists tomorrow D.

Thanks, I'm going to need it, National Lottery style. Treatment starts at £800.....

Gasps , crowd funding?

I'm waiting until after my expected soon CV jab to book mine, just a check up required, NHS

in_my_wellies

All the best at the dentist Dave, if it's successful it'll be worth it in the long run

We've had some hard frosts but today is just damp and dull. Three large mole hills were so frozen they came up in a lump almost pulling up the grass too.  Today I shall clean the hens properly now the mess has thawed. Then when I've warmed up I'll do my Track Covid survey - they want my blood again! I'm hoping my finger tip is willing this month. 

I'm reluctant to walk from my house because there are just so many walkers and joggers along the path. In the end I drove back into the village, parked in a quiet road and walked from the car. Mum needs a flat surface but managed 20 minutes, I gave her coffee and walked another faster 15 minutes.