The Canary Dave

Morning all. A bright lovely day, but certainly not so warm. I watched the local derby game between Orléans and Chateauroux last night, and it was a cracker. Both sides from the start set out to attack and win. The referee and linesmen, one was a lady, spot on throughout. It finished 1-1, probably fair, and I felt really entertained and cheerful. How different from Tuesday night. Have a good day everyone.

 

Morning all from a beautiful Sunday morning in rural France. Mme's car had not moved since before her operation, but now she is talking about getting behind the wheel again, so it seemed like a good idea to see if it would start. It did, so I took it for a little spin around the lanes to get the battery fully charged. Despite the rain of recent days the farmers are having to use winter feed for the cattle as the grass has not grown greatly. More rain is needed; the ban on car washing is still in place, and yet there still seem to be a lot of cars that look much cleaner than mine. Have a good day everyone.

 

Still lurching north east of the Shetlands........What a way to get to Norway from Dover..... Force 9 Gale has receded to a 4/5 gale....Mme staying flat in bed....should hit landfall tomorrow late morning

 

Morning all. Bright, sunny and breezy here today. Lots of coverage of the Queen's funeral on French TV. Some days it almost seems that there is more affection for the Royals over here than in the UK. It even gets a mention from time to time, that 1789 was a bit of a mistake. It has occurred to me in the past that there are downsides of being a Royal. Not so easy to jump on your bike and head to the Vic to watch the reserves play on a Tuesday night, followed by a bag of chips on your way home. Have a good day everyone.

 

Even us plebs can't do that anymore!!

 

Morning all. No cloud in sight, so a chilly start to the day. The flags on our public buildings have been restored to their normal positions after flying at half mast yesterday. News items have returned to normality, air quality, heating costs, and how people are changing their food shop as prices have risen. With inflation running at 6.6% the first thing that has been cut back on has been alcohol. Should mean that some bargains will appear once this year's harvest is complete. Have a good day everyone.

 

Morning all. We haven't reached the start of the virus season yet, but steps are being taken to prepare. Like the UK, France is starting to see a rise in cases again of the coronavirus. There is no certainty of what spread it will have, but what is known is that it has not gone away. New generation vaccines are now available, and have been given the green light for use this autumn. Looks as though I had better get the arm ready again. Have a good day everyone.

 

Received my appointment letter for the annual flu jab plus Covid booster - to be received next month. Neither of them compulsory, so wonder what the take up will be for each. I don't suppose we'll ever find out, but suspect that many will decline the latter as very few appear to worry about it now.

 

Since I posted my bit about this, the postie has been with letters for both of us inviting us to get both jabs. The system has changed. Pop into the pharmacy and collect your flu vaccine, and have it popped in your arm there, or by your doctor, or by the local health visitor. For the coronavirus one you must speak to your doctor and have them prescribe it, Previously you could book an appointment on line, and a nice lady at a clinic would do her bit.

 

Morning all after an awful few days we are heading towards Svalbard. Crossed the Arctic circle yesterday...... and visited the second largest glacier in Norway....... signs of massive melting over recent years...sad really

 

Morning all. Chilly out there, but probably warmer than inside the Arctic circle. Temporary traffic lights have started to pop up as work on fibre installation picks up speed in these rural parts. It is nice to be told by a countdown clock on them that you only have three minutes to wait. You can see the lights 800 metres away, and there is not another car insight. You can also see that there is no sighting of any workmen. So you sit there and content yourself with watching the swallows gathering. There is usually an upside to life if you can spot it. Have a good day everyone.

 

Hola a todos.

Twas Independance day here last Thurs night, had visitors down Thurs til Sun morn. Then, Mon I woke up and was sick so took the day of bed ridden, Tues had to work still sick, Wed a bit better, now today still a bit fluy, had a negative COVID test, so at least it isn't that. Felt a bit like it mind.

This week needs to end and soon.

Roll on the weekend for some relaxation and footy.

Hope all is well with y'all.

 

A little bit of a cash flow problem at the moment, but it's been a mental few weeks: Vietnam for a fortnight; a trip to Sheffield to see friends and take in the Rotherham match; deepest Sussex for the Handfasting; last week's game against Sunderland followed the next day with a trip to the West Country to see my mother for the first time in ages; back down to deepest Sussex (Lewes this time) for another mate's 60th birthday bash; University alumni meet tomorrow week; visiting my mother again that weekend (lockdowns permitting) - I'm giving the Stoke match a miss, though the telly beckons; Blackpool trip with the aforementioned Sussex mate for the whole weekend Friday to Monday; Millwall ticket purchased... and 5 shows in November from Al Murray to Blood Brothers to Finnish thrashers Amorphis.

Just don't mention the "C" word.

Oh yeah, it's darts night tonight too.

 

Hope you soon feel better Mex.

 

Sounds like you need a new mortgage Fez. Oh, hang on a moment.

 

and now just seen it is Internationals. Will take the Mrs out, so can watch the games next weekend then, score some brownie points!!

 

No internet again. Back to another 200 gb free on the mobile. Could be six days according to the info, but certainly hope not. Have a good day everyone.

 

Good day folks...after an interresting day in Tromso.... the Yorkies are speeding across 500 miles of northern seas to Svalbard. There is a southerly storm tailing us so the captain has rescheduled us to get there quickly. Interestingly we have had a Norwegian naval vessel on our wing for most of this crossing so far. (I guess we are fairly close to Russian waters?)

Had our Svalbard briefing....issued with sanitised boots... polar bear guidelines .and the guides have their rifles... yikes.....

 

Evening all. A very flaky internet has returned, on one minute, then gone again. There is virtually no signal indoors for the mobile, and seeing as it is dark and wet outside I am not going out there. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow, but no doubt Monday they will be working on the fibre installation again.

 

Morning all. Certainly not the sort of morning when you want to leap out of bed and go for a run. Overcast and a mizzle, and it is so dim the lights are needed to see the keyboard. Mme is just beginning to notice that her physio is getting harder every time she goes there. A twenty minute session of step type exercises on something that has a built in resistor and she is done for for the next few hours. I have watched her turn quite pale as I describe what I have seen footballers coming back from surgery go through. I doubt that she will be available for a full 90 minutes for some time yet. Have a good day everyone.