This is a long-winded diary style catch-up written between 27 January and now (March 18) during a second term of furlough. I think that the tone will show how I have been feeling at the time of my updating the diary - normally on a train journey to London. I hope it is bearable, and not too confusing... Having been surprisingly busy at the office and being actively praised for all that the Swisspost-run Postroom at Canon has been doing to keep the company running in very awkward times, it was a galling and unexpected surprise to be told that with effect from last Monday (25 January 2021) I would be put onto furlough leaving just my supervisor to do two people’s work for the following four weeks. Avid readers may be aware that this will be my second furlough shift, my last being from April until May last year during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Initial anti-feelings (we are sure that there are other ways to save the client the £1400 a month which would not involve one person running themselves ragged), have since been replaced by resignation and a resolution that this “free“ time could be more adequately filled than Lockdown #1. Jenny and I have moved homes with Layla, we had quickly decorated 2 of the 3 bedrooms, but the rest of the house needs freshening and demands that we put “our” stamp on it. Jenny is currently on “flexi-furlough” and is at home on Monday and Tuesday of each week. Layla is in first year of secondary school, and Jenny is a key-worker (catering at a Primary School) so she goes in each day. The routine will be beneficial, and less stressful and confusing for her. Any way, over Saturday and Sunday, I took a brush to the bathroom, which did the job there - we still need to replace the inadequate storage, but that can wait. Monday we moved downstairs to the lounge, which was an altogether big and more exacting job. Shelves came down, rawl plug holes and picture hook removal scars filled. Plain woodwork needed white gloss paint and the walls emulsion. Storage was moved off the floor too. Where do we want the TV to go ? On a wall bracket. We rediscovered “forgotten” power sockets which to be frank, would be useful in other positions in the room. In times gone by, I would have moved the sockets myself, but that is not such a good idea in these more safety conscious times when appliances need to be connected installed by a CORGI registered electrician / gas man. I ran a couple 2/3 gang extensions behind the corner sofa to where the outlets can be accessed, and fixed them in place to give the impression of wall sockets. Light fittings need replacing - what style ? No idea, none we have seen are “right” for the lounge. Maybe just a plain pendant, with a nice shade for now. I also replaced faulty / no good light fittings around the place. Two new security lights for the garden and a better light in the downstairs toilet/shower. For the record, I much prefer the crisp bright light given by a old school tungsten / halogen tube for garden security - the LED greener options which are more readily available really doesn’t have the same “What the hell is that ! ???” shock factor. Another gripe is some “One Coat” Gloss Paint we were given. It really is laughable, in that AT LEAST two are needed to change plain woodwork to white. That might be fine, but it takes at full 16 hours before a re-coat can be applied rather than the 6 hours between coats on other varieties which are more convenient and water cleanable. We moved on to the Dining Room, which should have been easy but was quite an effort due to the very high sloping ceiling. Jenny and I thought about the loft space, which is split 50/50 storage and accommodation. The plan is to use the “cosy” end as a chill out or quiet space. Both sides were full of boxes (a legacy of two houses combining to one). There was stuff to keep, stuff to sort and dump, stuff we might need in the mid term. The solution hopefully is some shelf storage units. These arrived and did a pretty tidy job, to be fair. Space is tighter than we would like, but we are getting there. Another job that Jenny and I undertook was to sort, consolidate and digitise the thousands of 35mm photographic slides that my Dad as well as her family took many years ago. This is onerous, but has needed doing for at least 20 years in my case. Just whether to use professional services to digitise the images is in debate at the moment. We have achieve quite acceptable results using a handheld viewer and mobile phone ! More bit-biting and with Jenny managing to sort the accommodation side of the loft, it was straight on to the conversion from junk store to chill / viewing / entertainment space. We quite fancied cinema/theatre opulence, so dark blue paints were chosen. Jenny found some LED strip mood lighting, so this was fixed and plugged in. TV and sound bar set up, DVD player and PlayStation 4 connected. Chairs and footstools (IKEA Poing) and a couple of IKEA Billy short shelf units completed the transformation. Even if I do say so myself, it is very cosy and I like it a lot. In the meantime, my Mum was behaving badly - or at least her dementia made her behave badly. She refused care / medication / meals and became very agitated so we had to get the GP to investigate. The blood test revealed slightly borderline thyroid levels which may have been due to medication refusal. Apart from that there was little of concern. There is a hair issue (matted and tangled hair which needs attention when things return to normal). The GP suggested another test in a month to see if that reveals more. On the up-side, Mum had her first COVID-19 vaccination during the first week in February. I had a long overdue appointment at the dentist (one year since my last check up) - a second visit to tidy up and clean a few things was necessary on 15 February. Out of the blue, I received an invitation to have a COVID-19 vaccination, which I wasn’t expecting until the end of April. I booked an appointment for February 28, and the first jab was done. I did feel a little out of sorts that afternoon, but otherwise had no ill-effects.
Last week (I am typing this on Friday 12 March) thinking that my time on furlough might be ending, I quickly freshened up the downstairs toilet/shower on Monday. So that is most of the inside made over until the kitchen is redone in April. The hallway will wait until after that. Just the shed and Summer House to go now Jenny is back at work (normal hours) and Layla’s school is now open for business too. Conversations with my manager have not brought good news on my return date to the office. I suspect that the earliest I can hope for will be 29 March when the first stage of the government’s lockdown easing materialises. That is about it for now. Lego construction will fill some time until I go back, whenever that may be. Until next time, Dear Reader. Take Care and Be Kind. [Update 22 March] I have received the phone call from my manager, and as suspected I have been asked to return to the work next Monday, 29 March. I need it too !!!
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2020 - an enigma. A very strange year to put behind us ? A year with huge highlights to make it special. 2020 started normally enough, and that was that. The first couple of months were fine and dandy. Then came March ... The COVID-19 Lockdown was surreal, restrictions annoying but bearable and understandable. Oddly, as we made a very early decision that I should move in with Jenny and Layla for the duration, we found generally okay - frustrating as we were unable to do what we normally would as freely as we had in past, but okay. As I seemed to be the designated shopper and having to pop back to Merstham to feed the cat every couple of days, I felt as though I had the best of it. I was able to see somewhere a little different a few times a week, as well as the exercise walks in the woods and scooter rides locally as a family. <more here> My workplace at Woodhatch was closing, but I had managed to find a new job at a Swisspost run site in Guildford. My job changed, and I went straight to "Furlough" on April 1. As many people before me, I felt short changed as I just sort of left the office and didn’t go back the next day. It was a strange time in an empty office. The “ new normal “ horizon became unclear and uncertain - personally I felt that any upturn after the lockdown might take a couple of years. Come the middle of May, I had a call from my new manager to say that the client in Guildford had reviewed their requirements and didn’t need me any more. I got in touch with my manager at Canon and asked if the job roles at the new Canon site near Heathrow had been filled or if there were any openings I could fill. There were, and I rejoined the Canon fold on June 1, working with my old supervisor as a double act once again. This has carried on since. All change on the personal front too - Jenny and I married on August 1 at a COVID restricted ceremony - a room which would previously have taken 40 or so, down to just 6 guests. It was a great day. <more here> Next was a short break in Staffordshire <more here> and a week in Yorkshire <more here> In November - after a frustrating year trying, preparing and waiting, we finally moved into our new house in Reigate. This was a long and drawn out process - I first had the estate agent calling at my house of 15 years in Merstham in November 2018 to see what would be needed to make the house saleable. We had a few offers, mainly unrealistic. People came to look, but none seemed particularly interested. When an realistic offer came in on the house in Merstham, the buyer’s finance fell through which snookered any possibility of our completing on a house in Reigate that we had made an offer on. In late January / early February another firm offer was made. We found another nicer house in Reigate and had our offer accepted. Then of course, the lockdown stopped the property market completely until June or July. After a couple of financial wrangles, (eased somewhat by the Chancellor's announcement to temporarily change the rules on Stamp Duty thresholds) and then a seemingly endless time trying to agree and confirm Contract Exchange and Completion dates with the top end of the 4 house chain, we finally made it. We got the keys to our new little house on 18 November and moved in on 21 November. The clearance and moving process was extended as we helped Jenn's Mum move a couple of weeks after we moved out. Jenny and I moved 3 houses in 6 weeks. First out of Merstham, next out of Jenny's Mum's and lastly moving Jenny's Mum to a down-sized property. Exhausting but ultimately worth the wait. Now we start the unboxing and clearing up on our new place. It is great to have our own space at last. More restrictions led to a quiet Christmas... So, my Friends this year hasn't been all doom and gloom.
It has been different and changed our outlook just a little. We need to be happy with and cherish what we have. We need to look after those nearest and dearest to us. We need to be kind. Here's to a better 2021. Happy New Year 7/9/2020 1 Comment COVID-19 restricted catchup...** I started this update with very good intentions, but time constraints, work loads and demands on personal time have taken their toll on the quality and wordplay that I would like. Many apologies for this, but I hope it will provide a coherent time line of goings-on. ** A long time since the last update, but we have been V-E-R-Y busy. Both Jenny and I have been working since 1 June. Lately, the Canon Europe and Canon UK offices are slowly opening up - staff are expected to work 2 days a week in the office while restrictions are lifting. The Postroom was busy before, so we are under the cosh a little at the moment. Jen is providing more "normal" meals - rather than packed lunches for more children (with less staff hours), so we are both up against it at the moment. Any way, just what has been going on ? We had a couple of visits to Wisley on 27 June and 26 July. One of our favourite places and the gardens always provides a lovely distraction. < more 27 June here > < more 26 July here > . The big one (of course) was our wedding. Plans had been in place for a while, but the Coronavirus situation and restrictions did their best to snooker them. We weren’t sure it could even go ahead until about three weeks before, regardless of it’s form. The Mansion House Registry Office in Leatherhead would normally hold 45 or so, which meant plenty of room for our originally invited 35-ish guests. Pre-opening advice was that following a COVID-19 review, to maintain social distancing and “COVID-19 Security”, maximum capacity would be 10 (including dignitaries and the bride and groom), so the guest list would need to be looked at IF the wedding was allowed to take place. We sent appropriate messages warning guests that we might have to either cut down the guests at the ceremony drastically or as a last option worst case, postpone until the Registry Office re-opened for business. Everyone took this pretty well, the 6 guests who would receive their “Golden Ticket” would be Jenny’s Mum and Layla, my sons James and Chris and Jen’s sister Sarah. The sixth place was taken of necessity by my friend and colleague from Canon, Dave Parry who had kindly agreed to revert to his old job for the day and take some photos of proceedings. Boris and the government granted permission for small weddings to recommence a couple of weeks before our date, so with a sigh of relief, we were able to plan the day and subsequent garden based reception in earnest. Dave suggested that we take formal photos at the venue and in the grounds, together with the now permitted video of the event itself. We decided that a meet up somewhere else on the way back to Reigate would enable some other slightly less central players to get into some photos and enjoy them. In the end, (actually while Jenny and I were having our pre-ceremony interview), James or Chris suggested a stop at Reigate Heath for some less formal "formal" photos with other family members. A great day ! We are so happy it could go ahead. The weather was very kind - warm but not as hot as the previous few days. Brilliant. <more Photos here> On 4 August, we headed North for a COVID-19 restricted day out at Whipsnade Zoo. There was a strange feeling, as visitor numbers were very limited. We had a great day as usual, and a nice picnic. <more Whipsnade photos here> A couple of days later, we used our membership of the National Trust and visited Scotney Castle. It is relatively local, pretty and small. Picnic again !! <more here > Taking advantage of Layla's summer stay with her Dad, Jenny and I spent a few days in Staffordshire. We visited family, graves, ruins and had a great time chilling before our next holiday break. <more of Staffordshire here> And then it was off to Yorshire for a family break. We were based near Filey, which was pretty good to pop to Bridlington, Scarborough and Whitby. I had never really done the beach thing while visiting the North York Moors, but it was a great week. <more of Yorkshire here> All of which ends with a couple more visits to the beautiful RHS Gardens at Wisley on <30 August> and <26 September>. ...and the house ?
Well, we have managed to exchange contracts at last, completion and moving date SHOULD be the 18 November. ...more about that later. Until next time, Dear Reader Take Care and Stay Safe 12/6/2020 0 Comments COVID-19 : Strange Days #5Just a quick catch up to bring you up to speed. I got the call to return to work from 1 June, as did many people including Jenny. So, with a little trepidation and uncertain of what I would find, I left Merstham at 7 a.m. and had an uneventful journey to Uxbridge which took about 42 minutes. There was little traffic on the "normally" busy M25 or M4.
All that is missing is the staff, who to be fair are generally following advice and working at home unless unavoidable. As I write this (on 17 June), I was told that there had been 27 Canon staff in the Canon Europe office at 3 The Square (which is a high since my return). There are however only 2 staff at the Canon UK office (1 today) at 5 The Square which re-opened on Monday 15 June. There is no official change to the current position regarding weddings but... we have been in touch with the registry office and the word is that they have been assessing the situation and when the go-ahead is given they are ready. Numbers able to attend in the various rooms will be greatly reduced to cater for social-distancing and the 2 metre rule (down from 40 guests to 6). So we are waiting patiently for any easing at the next big announcement date on 4 July. The easing has meant that at least some visits have been possible.
We have enjoyed a couple - a Day at Tidesmill, Seaford and Newhaven and a lovely return to RHS Wisley I shall be venturing onto public transport this coming weekend to visit Mum. Although not really embracing the challenge, the visit needs to be done to keep an eye on her situation. I will be driving to Purley to reduce time spent on the train, but I'll avoid the Underground. Of couse, I shall be wearing face coverings, using hand sanitiser and washing hands often. These are Strange Times. Let's be careful out there... 26/5/2020 0 Comments COVID-19 : Strange Days #4Here in the UK, the isolation rules have been eased and things seem to be to be calming. That said, there is much frustration with the current situation, and many questions need clarification. In schools, Reception, Year One and Year Six classes (that is Primary School first timers and First Years, together with the last year of Primary) will be first to go back at some time from 1 June. That is all good, but we have heard that some schools are due to go back on 8 June and that school days will be staggered somehow to aid social-distancing.
Your Starter for 10 : Just how do you keep 4 and 5 year olds 2 metres apart? Schools are due to advise parents "over the next few days" of the details. Work is less organised. Jenny is going to be involved in a Zoom call later today to give her an insight into what her company and their clients are going to require. Like Jenny, I have been a Furloughed Worker since April 1. Although I have sorted out my position at Swisspost, any return details are vague - either 1 June or 1 July - I am waiting on firm advice from my management who are in touch with Canon about the re-opening dates for their offices. The Government Guidance is also a little "wishy-washy". Their progress in the Grand Plan to re-open the country is of necessity reliant on continued improvements. The hope is that social-distancing and vigilance on the citizen level will be maintained, so that first non-essential shops will open, then households and then public areas can be more freely visited. We can now drive to our favourite places and walk, sit and exercise to our heart's desire while keeping socially-distant. As long as we don't stay there overnight. The debate regarding whether elderly parents can be seen together or individually while maintaining a 2 metre distance rages. In my view, if they have been isolating together in a different household for the duration, the argument is null and void. Still, I am not an expert. Unlike Senior Advisor Dominic Cummings, who according to Government Sources did the right thing as a parent by driving the 250 miles from London to Durham in defiance of all the advice while he and his wife were in Self-Isolation feeling too unwell and in defiance of all advice that to look after their children themselves and got the Grandparents to provide childcare. And then drove back to London to isolate and work. Before returning to collect the children a few days later. More news and updates later... Watch this space and please #StaySafe 8/5/2020 0 Comments COVID-19 : Strange Days #3While the COVID-19 death toll gets seemingly forever higher, it seems to be a bit previous to talk about easing the lockdown and discussing just how the easing will be staged. I worry that too much positive promotion will lead to isolation complacency, which will in turn lead to upturns in deaths. At the same time, as is the case with most people I have spoken to (furloughed workers, those still working, those who are retired and those self-isolating), we are all essentially bored and need this to drift back towards whatever normality is. School children are bored, parents trying to home school are frustrated, those of us in the middle of property moves are worried, staff working in what should really be empty offices are asking why they need to be there, but EVERYONE is wondering when will these weird times end. Any celebration is muted, and even treated with a little lethargy. As I have written previously, birthdays are very subdued and today - 8 May 2020 - is a Bank Holiday to mark the 75th Anniversary of the Allied Victory in Europe in 1945. A little bunting and a few flags have been put out, but I cannot feel any enthusiasm for the day. Anyhow, we shall see what the PM and his advisors suggest over the next few days and weeks.
I hope that any measures are hardline enough to keep us sheltered from this pandemic. #StaySafe Dear Reader, you owe it to yourself and your loved ones. 16/4/2020 0 Comments COVID-19 : Strange Times #2Three weeks and more into the Lockdown and an extension has just been announced. Life is a wave of enjoyable, frustrating, annoying, restful, and dull. I actually have a better time of things as I have somehow become the household's nominated shopper. Additionally I have to leave Jenny's house every two days to go back to mine and feed Blakka the cat, so at least I have some variety. If people have no garden to stroll in, or their local park has been closed due to "Covidiots" congregating and ignoring the social-distancing guidelines , it must be near hell. I have had to make one drive to London to drop a food and grocery package at my Mum's in Covent Garden. It was Saturday and absolutely bizarre. No traffic at all. I recorded the section from Trafalgar Square sown Whitehall to Parliament Square and the only other traffic was 3 buses and one car. At 09:00 Central London was like a ghost town. <view via Google Photos here> All I can say is thank goodness for the social media and Lego or other brick building h pastimes ! I have had an Isolation Birthday, which is different than any other I have experienced. Any "normal" family gathering or trip to a history lesson or site is out of the question. Jenny and Layla did their best to jolly me along, but entertainment and fun had to be at home. After the daily "PE with Joe Wicks" on YouTube, card and present opening took place. I was a very lucky boy to receive the Steamboat Willie Lego set from Jenny (kind gifts from brother Terry and another large Lego kit from Chris, James and families). Very touching renditions of "Happy Birthday" from Jenny, Layla and Wendy, together with two more via social media from nieces Harleigh and Molly & mum Sarah. Chris called via FaceTime (I am not too good at that) as he was on holiday with his family. On 16 April, the COBRA update told us that the isolation lock down would be for at least another 3 weeks. A couple of days later, I saw a throw away posting on Facebook saying that Tesco have some delivery slots opening up. Thinking that they would soon be snapped up, I idly checked their website and found a slot for my Mum in Covent Garden - on 24 April which would coincide with what would have been my next Mercy Mission visit with a food parcel. We have listed the food supplies in the fridge, freezer and cupboards, in preparation for my Saturday morning shopping trip. Personally, my spirits have been lifted by the efforts of 99 year old veteran Captain Tom Moore, who set up to raise £1000 for the benefit of the NHS by walking 100 lengths of his garden by the time he reached his 100th birthday. The word gets out, and sometimes get picked up and promoted by the nation. To date he has raised £15 million - a stunning amount from a humble gentleman. Sir, I salute you. Sadly, the virus is taking more people daily. Each death is of course sad and my thoughts go out to victims and their families. When you see names that you know, it makes you think about the fragility of life and indiscriminate nature of the COVID-19 virus. Today I saw that Norman Hunter, an old school footballer from the great Leeds United team of the 1960s and 1970s had died. He was amongst the hardest players I have ever seen. From an era when players put themselves on the line for their team. This time, I will leave you with this banner that Leeds fans used to proudly wave at games... Until next time...
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