Re: Leisurely Scribbles (part 5)

Great photo which sez it all......mind you remembering all the neatly torn newspaper threaded through a string and hung on the outside toilet door perhaps it's a comfort thing that young uns could not bear the thought of using.

We oldies made do in times of trouble

The English are feeling the pinch in relations to the current virus threat and have therefore raised their threat level from " Miffed" to "Peeved.

Soon though the level may be raised yet again to "Irritated" to or even "A Bit Cross"

(Again thanks to Anon for the above humour)

Re: Leisurely Scribbles (part 5)

Don’t panic chaps, eh.
A comment from one old geezer to me today will give you an idea of what’s worrying some folks over here, he tips me on the shoulder “Hey Jem, how much do ya think they’ll put on the pint to pay for all this medical malarkey?”

There’s nothing but talk of the coronavirus everywhere, all sorts of things being said in the pub and the internet is packed with stories of how to avoid it, some sensible and others really quite ridiculous. I couldn’t believe me ears when I was told this today. It seems one nut case says on social media that if you smoked all yer adult life you’ll be safe as the germs won’t settle in nicotine stained lungs, I kid you not!, the sad fact is that some folks will think that’s true, bloody lunatic.
I don’t normally agree with what this government does but the closing down of schools, colleges and cancellation of events is right in my opinion, even to close the pubs and other places where groups of people gather in fair sized numbers I would go along with.


Today I was talking to a chap I know from my workdays, he’s a Londoner and has lived and worked here since he was in his twenties, he regularly commutes between Dublin and London with his business. He’s in his 60’s now, and very comfortably off, but he was always the easily led type where women were concerned, brains in his pants as they used to say, he liked the younger ones.
He’s been divorced twice and recently he married for a third time, all done in London, but he’s still not happy with the third one, says she’s lazy and a totally greedy bitch, all she want’s is his money etc,. Methinks he needs his head examined, of course I didn’t say that to him, gentleman that I am, I just listened sympathetically while thinking that he was lucky to get off the hook the first time, some people don’t know when they’re well off, but to do it twice again is sheer lunacy, in my opinion that is.

Now I’m not qualified to talk about divorce because I never had any serious marriage problems, just pure luck I reckon, anyway divorce is a fairly new thing in Ireland, only came in the last 15 years or so, but since it came in I’ve seen a few people, men and women, go from the frying pan into the fire, thinking that the grass was greener on the other side, it wasn’t in most cases.

Re: Leisurely Scribbles (part 5)

The auld geezer was right on the button cos sure as eggs are eggs there will be many making a packet out of this..and it won't be those that enjoy a pint..or two thats for sure..

As there are far more knowledgeable brains than mine who have the latest facts and figures at hand I am more than happy to let them get on handling this pandemic. I feel sure that everything is being done behind the scenes and I am reminded that during 2 world wars etc with the same crisis scenario..so much went on behind the scenes that we only found out later. At the moment a 'need to know basis' suits me fine...and lets face it as far as the media goes its all news worthy and sells papers and the more scare panic they create the more papers they sell...same with TV

What miffs me is the sudden dropping of headlines both from TV and papers.....

What happened to the stranded Abels last heard of from some hospital bed !!

What happened to the devastating fires in Oz..are they still burning

What happened to the floods here !!

I am sure that those folk trying to explain soggy carpets etc to the " but the clause says" Insurance companies will have noticed that they are no longer news worthy and feel just as miffed as I.

I would say funny old world isn't it...but it's only funny if you are standing on your head

Re: Leisurely Scribbles (part 5)

The stats have also disappeared.

Re: Leisurely Scribbles (part 5)

Well you know what they say about stats...the only science where two recognised experts using exactly the same set of data may come to completely oposite conclusions.

Re: Leisurely Scribbles (part 5)

Back to what is happening in China...seems to have gone the way of past media news and isn't that typical considering it all started there.

I am with Jem and always have thought that something fishy was going on and it got out of hand and is now being covered up. Having walked through one of those live markets the thought hits you...this is no where near the same as some bush people who hunt for their daily food..catch, kill and eat that food. A live market is totally different for so many reasons which apart from the cruelty is a dangerous breeding ground for trouble.

It maybe be wiser to go to your vet if you have symptoms

Re: Leisurely Scribbles (part 5)

Very enlightening video Solo, I'm glad I don't eat any animals farmed or wild.
Some of the vets are better than some of the doctors I know, as me dad used to say, the first thing a doctor asks you is what’s wrong with you, while the vet gets no verbal clues at all, he’s got to figure it all out himself.

Well we are well and truly about to be self isolated according to the government, so herself and me are getting ready for the long haul, the younger relatives will be on hand for anything we need.

I hate all this fussing about us with the daughter, son, and the two adult grandkids, but I understand they mean the best for us, bless them all.

I went to the post office to collect me pension on Friday, the 13th by the way, and when I got there I had to wait with six other pensioners outside under the canopy as a heavy shower fell, not close together nor facing each other I hasten to add, once I lit a smoke they kept well away from me thank God, smokes do have their uses, standing outside a shop and lighting up a cigarette these days is like taking the pin out of a hand grenade.
It seemed the time lock on their safe was banjaxed and they had to wait for a “man” to come and open it up, the “man” was very prompt and came in a jiffy.
Anyway when I got home I sneezed a few times and my nose was starting to run, I caught a cold, simple as that, an ordinary common Winter cold.
But the missus and the daughter wouldn’t here of it, I was hooshed up to bed at arms length like a leper.
A few minutes later in comes the wife with a scalding bowl of vegetable soup and a packet of Anadin, they wanted to call a doctor but I insisted there was nothing wrong with me just a mild cold, no headache, no sore throat, no fever, nothing remotely like that. I asked her to make a hot whiskey and crush a few Anadin tablets into it, not to forget the cloves and lemon, that always dies the trick for me.

I managed to fall asleep then got up around 6pm, had a good dinner and sat in the armchair with a box of tissues sniffling the night away while watching the TV.
I’m grand now, but I can imagine plenty of relations of old people getting a bit panicky when they cough or sneeze after being out, even only for half an hour and locally like I was.
Awkward times these.

Re: Leisurely Scribbles (part 5)

You hang on in there Jem and stay warm and well....mind you none of this running Phyllis ragged do you hear...us wimmin all know what a man cold can do to a man

Funny thing about this isolation is...guilt. My neighbours bless them are offering to do my shop should this be put into place..and I thought about how guilty I would feel if when asking them to get things for me they may catch this virus themselves. Thats an awful thought and responsilbility isn't it to deliberately put someones life at risk...not one that I would really want to make to be honest

Here's a thought to be going on with..some shops are refusing to take paper money...why!!!.. when we can now wash/wipe the irritating springy things. The Bank of England went to great lengths to manufacturer plastic notes never imagining for one minute that the fact you can wash them would ever be useful in a virus crisis.

Who would risk life and limb in a supermarket crush when you can have much more fun doing this.

Re: Leisurely Scribbles (part 5)

Nice to see you are in great form as usual Solo, that's the spirit.

I am truly surprised why folks are so panicky about the toilet rolls in particular, for God’s sake the bloody things have only been around since the 1950’s and then they were strictly for the rich, the rest of us used newspaper or that other stuff that came as sheets, Bucko I think it was called, that was even tougher than the newspaper, glorified sandpaper. The Romans were satisfied with sponges for centuries, I just hope the poor sponges were not alive at the time, and some folks think they have a hard life, spare a thought for the sponge next time your complaining.
They had household staff or slaves employed to wash the things afterwards, it would be hard to get anyone to do that work today, but did not the women of not so long ago have to wash babies nappies on a daily basis, I never heard those mothers, or their household help complaining about it. People today have either gone soft are are just plain lazy, use your intuition next time the need arises and you've run out of quilted jacks roll, tough shit.

We haven’t got the plastic notes yet, although they might as well be plastic for all they're worth.
I won’t be going to the post office for a while to come, and all the pubs are shut
I always keep some cash at hand for emergencies and then I have a few quid in the prepaid credit card, is that not an oxymoron? when it’s actually them who are in credit to me. I’ll need a wheelbarrow to collect the post office money when this is all over.

Talking about guilt, my two adult grandsons said on the phone today that they won’t be coming near our house till this thing is over, they said they’d never forgive themselves if they infected us, Sean the eldest is in his third year in college and as you probably heard one student in Trinity was tested positive a while ago, probably more by now, luckily Sean's wasn't there when the chap came back from Italy, he got tested anyway and is all clear, thank God for that.

Re: Leisurely Scribbles (part 5)

Its three ply paper for me, you know where you can Stick you Sponge.