Eats plants
It's Victoria's 1st birthday today. At least we think it is. She was born on or around the 26th April 2020. Here's a little video of her having her fur brushed which she loves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vTnQV3BgbU It has been more than a week since I posted anything which is unusual for me. Things are looking up… Continue reading Happy birthday to Victoria, open again, and a successful competition
Ben got his vaccination letter today! It's for the end of next week. The appointment day and time is sent out to each person and you don't have to do anything other than attend on the day. It's very organised and methodical. They've been going from oldest to youngest and Ben's group is the 50… Continue reading Ben got his vaccine appointment letter
The covid situation in the UK is pretty dire right now with close to 60,000 cases per day. It's worse than it was back in March at the height of the first peak. I read that hospitals in London are now cancelling vital cancer surgery. This is the reason covid is so deadly. It may… Continue reading Full lockdown for Scotland
We woke to some good news today: the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved for use in the UK. I had been hoping and expecting this news for a couple of weeks now and was wondering why they were taking so long given the trial results were released at the end of November. They took much… Continue reading The Oxford vaccine, lockdown in Aberdeen, and online games
There is a new outbreak at a chicken processing plant in Perthshire. It's disappointing that we use the euphamism "chicken processing plant" rather than slaughterhouse which is what it is. Outbreaks in slaughterhouses have been quite common and it's not yet clear why. It could be the cold temperatures or the conditions people have to… Continue reading Privacy versus lockdown
Another lockdown has been imposed on Aberdeen today after a local outbreak starting at The Hawthorn Bar on Holburn Street. This is actually very close to us but none of us have been there or indeed gone to any pubs for quite some time. There's a rumour circulating, and I'm unsure of the veracity of… Continue reading Aberdeen back in lockdown
Back in February we pulled a couple of cupboards from a wall in our kitchen. We wanted to put a table in the space and the shelves were in the way and a bit ugly too. Removing the cupboards left an even uglier patch on the wall behind. I love wallpaper and suddenly had an… Continue reading Wallpapering the kitchen
I've put on a kilogram of weight over the past couple of months. I would like to say it's extra muscle from doing Joe Wicks's PE class every day - after all, muscle weighs more than fat - but I think that's wishful thinking. Perhaps I just need to accept that I'm nearly 45 and… Continue reading Piling on the pounds
There's an article in The Sunday Times about Scotland's "failed lack of leadership" for state school pupils during the lockdown. This echos my own thoughts and I have wondered why there hasn't been more criticism about this. The lack of education of state school pupils during lockdown is appalling and I really don't think they… Continue reading State schooling in Scotland, more on the DC situation, and long-term changes after lockdown
I gave Daniel a haircut today. His hair was annoying him and he's been asking for a haircut for several weeks. I don't think he's going to be a grungy musician when he grows up. Here's the before and after photo. Many months ago I ate an avocado and decided to grow a plant from… Continue reading Haircuts, avocados, allotments, scones, and buying undies
Citymapper has a mobility index which gives a graphical illustration of how locked down cities are over time. The data comes from public transport trips planned in the Citymapper app. According to this index, the two cities moving more than any other are Seoul and Hong Kong but both are still way down than is… Continue reading City mobility index and the adaptability of kids
Before the lockdown started it seemed like everyone was desperate for it to begin - "When are schools closing?", "Why haven't schools closed yet?" Now that we're in lockdown is seems like everyone is asking, "When will it end?" I can't see how it can end any time soon because the virus will just rebound… Continue reading When will it start and when will it end?
Professor Neil Ferguson was on The Andrew Marr Show this morning. He's one of the authors of the paper that catapulted us into lockdown a few weeks ago. This has apparently given him the unfortunate nickname of Professor Lockdown although, to be fair, he was one of many authors and while their paper steered government… Continue reading Exit strategies and collateral damage
Day 4 of quarantine and Elizabeth said to me today, "Quarantine is going pretty well". She may feel differently after several months of this. For me, it has been rather nice not having the school drop-offs and pickups along with Highland Dance and everything else. I feel like I've adopted a slower pace and am… Continue reading What the kids have done in their first week of quarantine
We are now in lockdown. I had hoped it wouldn't get to this but it seems people have not been obeying the 2m distance rule and so the government yesterday banned anyone from leaving their homes unless it's to go to work, get essential supplies (food or medicine) or go out for exercise. It is… Continue reading Lockdown with exercise #COVID2019
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