An idiots guide to an idiot: Lockdown Birthday

It was Ella's 80th Birthday recently. Of course all the good stuff Tara had arranged for her had the kybosh well and truly put on it, not to mention the theatre trip Tim paid for and family gathering we were to have the Saturday before. Hopefully the two nights away in October will still go ahead. Surely we'll be back to something like normal by then!

T put together an photo/Birthday album for her Mum and asked all to contribute and a fine piece of work it is, Ella loved it! But even the big day's plan had to be changed. We were going to assemble outside Ella's house at 11am, then the minutes silence for Key workers who have died from Coronavirus was announced for 11am...so we moved to 11.10am! Banged on the door and Ella came out in her dressing gown to a chorus of Happy Birthday to you and she loved it! Those assembled were Tara, me, Alec, Tim, Jackie, Linda and Kevin, all socially

spaced of course. Oliver had been round earlier and Gary & Beren had phoned. Weather that had been really nice was crap today! Wet and cold, so proceedings didn't go on too long, and that was it! It certainly had the desired effect and I think it was as good a birthday that we could muster in todays strange world. We'll have a get together once we're through this madness.

Julian's Birthday is only a week after Ella so we assembled again in a socially distance kind of way to celebrate, at least the weather was nicer.

Other than I'm still working from home as sales of particularly puzzles have gone mad. Tara too is run off her feet sorting online orders, Every cloud eh!

I think its day fifty something of lockdown and measures have been eased a little so you can go out more than once there's no limit on exercise but you still have to keep 2m away from everyone and you can meet up with one family member outside of who you live with , but only one at a time. It looks reasonably simple written like that but with building sites going back to work but under new measures and now schools possibly starting back in some form or other if its safe there appears to be much confusion, oh yes, you can go to work if its safe....or not, and don't use public transport if you can avoid it. Simples!!

You know I'm not a political animal but constant carping about the Government or the 'bloody tories' online is incredibly tedious. I doubt very much whether Labour would have made a better fist of it, its the same scientists they would have been listening to. Its very boring and again I almost decided to come off FaceBook of which I am a great fan as you also know.

To more interesting things. The Herts At War group I belong to had to change their monthly talks due to the virus and decided to put them online. It's actually more convenient for me because I could seldom be bothered to drive to the University of Hertfordshire in the evening to take part, so just plugging into a webinar suits me find, and what brilliant talks they have been! The scope has been widened since they first started (it was just about aspects of World War One) to cover all sorts. There was a brilliant talk on the Battle of Waterloo by an ex Household Cavalry officer who's talk was so animated you'd have thought he actually took part! It was interesting to get his thoughts on a cavalry charge as he'd done it with a Squadron of Household Cavalry, it demonstrated how quickly an organised knee to knee charge soon looses its formation and this is with trained troopers.

The historian James Holland also waxed lyrical about the Normandy Campaign of 1944, another excellent speaker. Others have been about the Battle of the Somme, Battle of the Atlantic, Italy 1943/5, Battle of Berlin, Nelson, The SOE, Battle of Britain, the RAMC by Andy Robertshaw the historical advisor on the recent feature film 1917, Battle of the Bulge, the Boer War, Operation Market Garden with more goodies to come. Even Alec will be joining me on Sunday (so popular have they been the talks are now twice a week) for a talk on Isandlwana the precursor to Rorkes Drift, in the Zulu War. They are about an hour long, though some happily overrun with Q&A'a after.

Well its Friday evening and I'm finished for the week and a nice bottle of red beckons to me. Keep safe folks!

Here's afew photos of recent things.