Steve_M

My good lady has a bit of a sore throat. Certainly not enough to keep her off work if we weren’t retired. COVID still transmissible at this stage, so could readily infect others, so waiting until you feel unwell is not a good strategy, o at least, not if you have any concern for, say, the vulnerable. As I’ve been having problems managing my asthma recently, I really don’t fancy catching it. So testing after finding out we’ve been in contact with a confirmed case is a sensible precaution. Covid contagion study.

It’s rife. The figures are not looking pretty. I didn’t know as many people with Covid during previous surges as I know now. 3 of our kids, and partners / children have had it in the last few weeks. An acquaintance posted to a mutual friend (the wife of our old judo coach, must be nearly 90) that he’s love to visit her “now covid has gone away”. I despair.

We have some on order. Hopefully will arrive in the next day or so.

The best laid plans… Due to go for a short break to celebrate our birthdays (both happening soon), one of the kids who we’d visited the weekend sent a text to say she had covid. We tested last night. All clear. This morning, though, my good lady tested positive. We used out last LFT’s so can’t monitor my situation, which isn’t good given my asthma has been problematic these last few weeks.

Congratulations.

Can I nominate my ex-wife? Had a fall out with her nephew and his wife 9 yrs ago, hasn’t spoken to them since. He died recently, his funeral date announced the nephew’s family have said she’s not welcome (since we’ve been divorced 20yrs I have no idea of the detail). She’s still going. Our daughter is welcome and is going, so it’s going to make it difficult / embarrassing for her. Addendum. Nob of the day 47yrs ago? Me. For marrying her.

Alum Rock had a few residents of doubtful character (if you can get your hands on a book called Dojo Knights there are a few tales of people I knew). Bordesley Green Tech was a grammar school for those more inclined to head to work as toolmakers / draughtsmen rather than academia - that was Saltley Grammar. Many of the teachers were of the opinion “spare the rod , spoil the child”… Or their particular version of it (sandpapering a pupil’s foot !!!). I went to Wednesbury tech and Walsall tech for my City and Guilds. I’m not convinced I learnt much there though some must have stuck. Young’s modulus of elasticity?

Alum Rock? That would be for the wild fields of Washwood Heath and Bordesley Green. (I lived in Langton Rd, Alum Rock, and went to Bordesley Green Technical School).

This weekend. Going to Glasgow to visit two of the kids. When I say “visit”, it means I’ll be doing various DIY jobs on each of their houses.

Err. UTV…

I made it all dirty…. I have snow foam washed it since that photo. Will be giving it a proper wash tomorrow

Good morning. I’m out on the bike today. I asked my good lady if she’d like to join me. She’d like to but hesitating as “there’s a lot to do on the house”. “Yes, I know, but we always said that we need to avoid getting so tied up with the house renovation that we fail to live outside that bubble”. About to start route planning… still no idea if she’s coming along.

My other instruction, which has come back to bite me, was “just sit like a sack of potatoes “… Do not, ever, tell a potential partner to sit like a sack of potatoes. My excuse, of course, is that I never thought we’d end up as partners.

My first date with my good lady came about as a result of a conversation which involved a colleague asking her if she’d ever been on a motorbike. “No”, she replied. And so our first date, as it were, was me taking her pillion on my Suzuki GSF600F. My instructions were for her to hold one hand on a grab handle, the other around my waist so she could brace (steady at the back there.., ) during braking and acceleration. It’s a system she’s stuck with through many thousands of miles. Though she doesn’t always hold on at all - on motorways or so she can take photos, for instance. I usually notice the camera in the mirror so adjust my riding accordingly.

Medicine Head we’re around early 1970’s and had a minor hit (got to number 22 with a song called “One and one is one”). Another little, possibly related, curiosity on my iPod is a 2003 remix of Mercedes Benz by Janis Joplin.

I have a quite eclectic mix of music on my iPod, so it occasionally surprises me when it plays something I’d forgotten. Medicine Head were a band (all two of them) from around Wednesbury. This was reasonably local to me so I got to see them quite often. They were, shall we say, niche…

Just don’t head East when you do. One of the joys of moving away from Norwich is being able to ride in any direction and not run out of interesting places. Norwich. North 20 miles, sea. East 20 miles, sea. West 40 miles, fenland. South… yeah, that’s ok.

Indeed, it could just be unfortunate timing. I saw some people getting upset because an admin on another site signed off “Z”. The fact that they’d always been signing off that way, with their initial, seemed to have escaped notice.

‘ I’m amazed there isn’t a law against it here in aCumbria

Russian Nazis wearing the letter Z (Zed) and a sly dig at Russian money in our government I would guess.

G’nite

Not Dave Walker by any chance (given your location)?

Only 53?

My good lady is the creator and keeper of the list.

Good morning. Son, pregnant partner and oldest child all have COVID. The lad caught it at school and passed it on. I anticipated them getting covid but not from that source - she’s a paramedic, my son practices judo, both up close and personal activities, so to speak. In other news, today we will finish remodelling our master bedroom after six long months of working/delays/interruptions? What was multiple scruffy disjointed zones with no flow is now a rather smart (if I say so myself) master bedroom, walk through dressing / wardrobe area and en-suite.