Nemesis

 Roller Blinds are the Nemesis of the Gorse Fox. He hates them. It's not that they don't look nice. They do. It's the problems you encounter when mounting them. The roller blind for Ellie's room was a case in point. The instructions clearly show the blind's brackets attached to the window frame. Well, modern houses have plastic frames and the Gorse Fox is not going to trust screws into that. An alternative is to screw the bracket into the top of the window recess. Like most modern houses, this has a steel lintel the other ide of the plasterboard, and too close to successfully use a plug. In the end, the Gorse Fox had to get a block of wood, screw that into the wall, and screw the bracket into the wood. This took an inordinate amount of time but was finally completed successfully. (When we bought our house in Hook, back in 1985, the builder had inserted a piece of wood beneath the lintel and behind the plasterboard so that you could easily fix curtains and so forth. Genius idea, but unfortunately not replicated through the years).

Once the roller blind was up, the Gorse Fox then started on reconstructing Ellie's wardrobe. It was a bit of a jigsaw puzzle but it slowly started to make sense. It wasn't easy, and at times Urban-cub and the Silver Vixen were both helping as we maneuvered the carcass up and round and tried to refit all the dowels and locknuts into the right places. Finally, it was done. Urban-cub and the Silver Vixen tidied things away, and we headed home. There's still a list of things to do, but we'll work through them during the week. 

Construction

 It was a bit wet and windy, but we had slept well and were in no hurry to get going. In then it was nearly 8 before the Gorse Fox wandered down for some coffee. While contemplating the day, it dawned on him that a template would be useful to locate the position of the curtain pole supports. Raiding the piles of cardboard (did you know that there is a National cardboard shortage?... well we know where it is!) he grabbed suitable sheet and with the help of some measuring, some geometry, and a Stanley knife he soon had the template cut to size.

The Gorse Fox wandered round the corner and was greeted at the door by Ellie. She had slept well and woken at a very suitable time. Urban-Cub and the Gorse Fox discussed the plan and he got straight down to work. Using the template and his own wall-plugs (those supplied were, as usual, absolutely useless) he had the poles up in about 15 minutes a piece. It was about then that the Silver Vixen arrived with her trolley full of freezer food and other items that Urban-Cub had left at our house. As they put that away she then started work helping Urban-Cub get her bedroom sorted out before starting on the curtains. The Coventry Hobbit arrived and went up to start on one of the cabinets for Ellie’s bedroom, and the Gorse Fox put together and IKEA unit for the lounge. It was a hive of activity.

Urban-Cub had decided that the ladder that enables Ellie to get into and out of bed was at the wrong end of the bed. We swapped it over then the Coventry Hobbit and Gorse Fox got on with constructing the chest of drawers. (Cousteau-Cub was looking after Ellie throughout this).

We were rudely interrupted by the smoke alarm bursting into life. It took a while to switch off (we didn’t find the reset switch until later). This happened a couple of times and scared the hell out all of us. In the end an emergency electrician was called and the alarms disabled until Monday when the builders will send in a “sparky” to check it all out.

Everyone was pretty tired, and Ellie was definitely finding all of the excitement a bit too much. We called it a day by five o’clock. There’s still a lot to do, but that can be spread over the next few days.

Movin’ On

 It’s a big day. Urban-Cub should get the keys to her new house. There was lots of excitement as we emerged from our slumbers. We had all the normal things to do to start with so that we could get Ellie to pre-school, then Urban-Cub had to get across to her lock-up in order to get the removal men going. Then the waiting game kicked in. There was nothing further we could do until we got the alert from the Sales Office that we had completed and Urban-Cub could have the keys. Even the there was a delay while the builders tried to clean up the road outside the house... but eventually, it was all systems go.

This, of course, coincided with us needing to collect Ellie from school. She was bubbling with excitement and as soon as we got home, she grabbed her “holiday Bag” ready to “go to our new house”.

Off she trotted, with the Silver Vixen tagging along behind. The Gorse Fox stayed put to load the car with some of the bits we would need for the big construction push during the afternoon. Actually, it didn’t go quite as smoothly because the removal men had to empty the first load before loading up the stuff from our Orangery.... and that was where moist oil the stuff was that needed building.

The Gorse Fox is sitting back in our house at present while the chaps deal with that second load. As soon as they’re done, he’ll hot-foot it back round the corner. 

Vulpus Domesticus

 The Gorse Fox has been very domestic today. After we had dropped Ellie at Dizzy Ducklings, he made an attempt to retire to the study. On Thursdays, this action is a magnet for Ocado to arrive with the shopping. So it was this morning. 

With all of the delivery unloaded and packed away, the Gorse Fox went back to the study. Then he remembered there was a separate Sainsbury's list. He grabbed his mask, some bags, and the car keys and headed out into retail jungle. He was surprised by the number of cars on the roads, but pleased to see everyone in the Store was wearing a mask. His only disappointment was that, despite the posters on entry, there was clearly a large number of people shopping in pairs. For some of the more elderly, that's understandable, but there seemed to be a fair number of young couples and yummy mummies wandering around.

After lunch the Silver Vixen, Urban-Cub, and Ellie concentrated on getting all the clothes, boots, shoes, and heavens knows what else packed and ready for tomorrow. The Gorse Fox acted as Sherpa, carrying the stuff down to the Orangery. Finally, they seem ready for the big day. Now we just await two further deliveries during the evening - Urban-Cub's sofa, and a FreeView box.

The Gorse Fox cooked up a huge batch of Bolognaise that we can take round to new house tomorrow and thus save anyone from having to cook anything other than some pasta or rice. He suspects it will be a long day.

Dreich

The Gorse Fox thinks that "dreich" sums up today's weather. It was milder than the previous few days, but it was dull, misty, and damp. It was also and early start. For some reason, best known to herself, Ellie was wide awake around 5:00 this morning. She played moderately quietly in he room but occasionally called out to Urban-Cub for one reason or t'other. At the allotted time, (when the light on her clock turned green) she charged out of her bedroom informing all in the house that she could "get up now".

Urban-Cub and the Gorse Fox took her round to Dizzy Ducklings before returning home for our own breakfast and coffee. The morning was filled with lots of little jobs: a little vacuuming,  a little modification to the rods in the Roman blind, a little consolidation of the tools the Gorse Fox will need for Friday, a little of this, and a little of that.

Urban-Cub and the Silver Vixen collected Ellie from Dizzy Ducklings, then Urban-Cub took Ellie to "her" store over at Whiteley. She has lots of basic shopping to get for the house and by going to "her" store she can make use of the staff discount, and introduce Ellie to her co-workers. It sounds as if it was very successful and that Ellie made a lot of new friends.

The Silver Vixen made the most of the quiet afternoon, sitting and reading in the lounge. The Gorse Fox retired to the study and completed the lesson on "Views" for Ninox before using the new knowledge to create a view in the database he has been building. He's very pleased with the outcome, and Urban-Cub seemed happy when she saw it.

Ice ice baby

 It was cold again overnight. Ellie was awake early and came in to us soon after 06:00. We did, however, resist getting up until about 6:45. When the Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox took Ellie to Dizzy Ducklings, we were greeted by black ice at the end of our path, and all across the road. It really was quite lethal, but we did manage to get her there without incident. As we turned to come home the heavens opened. A sleeting rain dumped on us for the whole walk home. We were well and truly soaked.

The rest of the morning  the Gorse Fox spent on YouTube with NINOX training and then on the computer to further develop the database for Urban-Cub. When Urban-Cub got home, early, she was able to provide a lot more background data with which the Gorse Fox could seed the database. The biggest problem is that  it looks like she will have to get her own license and a copy of the whole database on her own iCloud.

More parcels have been arriving during the day. Despite the weekend's clear-up, the Orangery is filling up again. Urban-Cub is on leave now for the next 9 or 10 days.

More Screen Time

It was very cold overnight. Urban-Cub had a relatively late start (10:00) so she was able to take Ellie to Dizzy Ducklings in the car en route.

The Gorse Fox had a quick march into the village. There was Urban-Cub's signed contract to send back by registered post and as we don't want any delays the Gorse Fox insisted it was for next day delivery.

Once home, he returned to the NINOX database. Most of the time was spent looking at training videos, but in the end he concluded it would be ideal for what we want and paid for a license and downloaded it to iMac (Condor), the iPad, the iPhone, and the MacBook (Harrier). He started again from scratch ad started to build the database and its various tables. He's making progress, but it will take a few days to get it all done and tested (there's so much to learn along the way, and YouTube videos run for 30-60 minutes).

Due to self-isolation of one of the teachers, DD finished 90 minutes early, so the Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox wandered round to collect Ellie. She had a fairly quiet afternoon playing with her flash cards (for letters), and the Lego.

Little Grey Cells

 It was cold overnight and great swathes of the country were hit with snow. Here, on the coast, all we got was some rain.

Urban-Cub spent the morning studying the contact document for the new house and getting it signed. This will be returned by registered post in the morning. Much of the rest of the day was spent reorganising the Orangery to make it easier for the removal men on Friday.

The Silver Vixen continued with her adjustments for the Roman blind. It was fiddly, but by the end of the afternoon the job was done. The Gorse Fox now has to finish trimming the horizontal rods to size.

The Gorse Fox has spent the day using the free online version of the NINOX database and following some of the YouTube training. In the end he had a workable model of an App that Urban-Cub could use at work. She had a look at the prototype, made a couple of suggestions, but concluded it would be ideal and something she could really make use of. There's still a few outstanding questions and ideas, and also a licensing issue that needs to be answered. If everything comes back to our liking, then the Gorse Fox will buy a license. His assessment, at this point, is that it is actually better than Microsoft Access. It certainly has the little grey cells buzzing.

Pistol Pete brought Ellie back. Apparently she was a bit of handful over the weekend. Let's hope she has got it out of her system! The Gorse Fox suspects that she is just caught up in the excitement of moving to her new house.

Starting the engines

 It was another cold night and Urban-Cub was up and out early for her 5:30 start. The Gorse Fox and the Silver Vixen had a slow start, enjoying our coffee and a quiet read of the papers without the background of Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol, Fireman Sam or Butterbean Cafe.

The plan for the day was that the Silver Vixen would adapt the fabric form the old Roman blind to fit the the track the Gorse Fox had prepared yesterday. The first question was "what's the drop?". The Gorse Fox didn't know. He wandered round the corner and spoke with the finishing foreman. He measured it for us and the Gorse Fox was able to relay it to the Silver Vixen. While he was there he observed that they were landscaping the front garden, and had already planted the shrubs. The engines are definitely starting.

The Gorse Fox had a trip to Screwfix to collect the rest of yesterday's order.

The rest of the day was spent at the computer. Urban-Cub has, over the last few days, explained a number of the problems that the store managers have to work through each week. He started to wonder if there were any apps available that might address some of these. Again, he has found several possible solutions. He will have to look into these a bit further. It seems bizarre that such a "lean and mean" organisation relies so much on time-consuming manual processes for so much.

On the runway

 It was a cold but very bright day today. Silver Vixen took Ellie around to Dizzy Ducklings in the car as she was nervous about the slippery pavements and the Gorse Fox had to stay put for another delivery. 

Much of the morning was spent with the Roman blinds that Urban-Cub wants for her kitchen. The fixtures and fitting for the old blind have been mislaid and the width has to be adjusted. In the end we decided to get a new header rail with new fittings. 

To start with, the Gorse Fox went round to the new house and asked one of the workers to double-check the width of the window. Clutching the confirmed width, he went back and prepared to cut the new header to size. (First, however he went to Screwfix to get some new hacksaw blades to ensure a good clean cut.) Once the header was the right size the Silver Vixen presented him with the old blind and asked him to remove the clips that held the pull strings to the curtain. This turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. The clips were quite small, were an inflexible, hard plastic and maintained their hold on the curtain with a sort of barb that locked through the curtain tapes. It took a great deal of patience, and the exercise of some silent vocabulary, to remove each of them so that the Silver Vixen could start on the various adjustments tomorrow.

We collected Ellie from Dizzy Ducklings and she insisted on a detour to the swings and slides on the way home. We didn't stay long but it helped her let off steam. Pistol Pete came along after she had finished dinner, and she's gone back to him for the weekend.

Non Quantum Ad Famum

 That's better. It was 6:30 before Ellie woke, and nearly 7:00 before she ventured in to us. It was a dry, bright, and sunny morning - though quite chilly. Ellie insisted that she wanted to ride her bike to Dizzy Ducklings. The Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox escorted her across the road and the Gorse Fox trotted alongside her for 50m before she got bored and decided to walk. This meant the the Gorse Fox ended up dragging the bike on a strap/lead the rest of the way to and from the school. It's a bit like walking a dog, but without the plastic bags and pooper scooper.

We had the usual Ocado delivery and then the Gorse Fox popped round to Sainsbury's. There wasn't much to get, and the store was very quiet.

The rest of the day has been the usual mix of collecting Ellie, keeping her amused, feeding her, and then preparing our own dinner. (Our usual 6pm dinner time has moved forward 30-60 minutes to accommodate Ellie's evening bath/story/bed schedule - this hasn't been an issue, but if lockdown ever lifts and we ever go out to restaurant again, it may seem strange eating at 7 or 8 o'clock).

Just in case you hadn't noticed, today is the 21st day, in the 21st year, of the 21st Century..!

Wet and windy

 It was very windy overnight. Unfortunately, the wind was loud enough on the back of the house to disturb Ellie. So it is that we've all been awake since about 3:30. AT one point we brough her into bed with us, but she's like a Mexican jumping bean, and fidgets and wriggles the whole time. She may have dropped off, but we certainly didn't.

Urban-Cub was on the early shift this morning, so she missed most of the fun.

By the time we did get up, it was thrashing down with rain. The idea of walking Ellie to Dizzy Ducklings didn't bubble to the top of our "wouldn't it be fun to..." list. We drove her round, then came home to settle down with some strong coffee and the papers.

The Silver Vixen had her Zoom Pilates scheduled for the morning, so the Gorse Fox retired to the study. He was randomly ruminating on different things when he started to think about Lotus Approach and Microsoft Access. They were such useful database applications providing for design, reporting, GUIs, and an underlying database. Why, he thought, does he not have something equivalent on his MACs. Google pointed him at several products that could, loosely, be described as alternatives. He started to read up on these choices. In the end, he found that something called NINOX appears to be a very thorough and fully featured solution. He watched a few of the YouTube videos and was quite impressed. All of the was an entirely intellectual exercise as he hasn't actually got any current requirement or project that might need such a tool.

The Gorse Fox should report on his progress with the "Notes" app on the Mac platforms. The more he has used it, the more he finds that it is really an excellent tool and provides just about everything he wanted such a tool. He has also introduced it to Urban-Cub. She is now becoming hooked and  was absolutely amazed to find that  she could use it as a scanner.

Ten more huge and heavy boxes arrived today. These are the components for Ellie's bed for the new house. Having seen how many components there are, the Gorse Fox expects it will take a good few hours to construct.

Rest day

 Now many of you may look at the title and think, "Hold On! He's retired. Every day's a rest day". That is true. The title refers to his walks. It was a foul and wet morning, which didn't exactly encourage outdoor exercise. In fact Urban-Cub took Ellie to Dizzy Ducklings by car, because it was so wet. The Gorse Fox does, nevertheless, have waterproof gear and could have ventured out. He had decided overnight that today would be a rest day. He had been woken by some discomfort in his knee which lingered until he got up and about. It seemed eminently sensible to give it a rest today.

Much of the day has been spent preparing for the catalogue of DIY jobs that the Gorse Fox will have to perform when Urban-Cub takes ownership of her new house, at the end of next week. What equipment would be needed? What tools? Is there anything that he will need to acquire in the interim? Slowly the checklist built up. He has also started reading the installation instructions for various blinds, curtain poles, TV wall mounts, and so forth. There's nothing like being prepared!

The rest of the afternoon has been spent reading a book on Maths: "Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors". It's been an excellent read so far, though the Gorse Fox is nearing the end. Some of the examples given in the book make you want to slap your head and ask how people can be so dumb. One of the best quotes is "Excel is a spreadsheet, not a database" - and from the Gorse Fox's professional life he can confirm that in many government departments that fact is not understood. 

Other side of the tracks

Another quiet day, weather-wise. It was bright and chilly, but not too bad. Ellie was up very early today and now, come the evening, she is in a stroppy mood and is going to bed early.

The Gorse Fox went with Urban-Cub to take Ellie to Dizzy Ducklings then settled down with his second coffee of the day to read the paper. After that there were odd bits of admin to clear before he headed out for a walk. It was another zig-zag route round various local streets (avoiding the main roads). Again, he was listening to Simon Evans. In doing so, he learned that he had gone to school in St Albans. So did the Gorse Fox. On checking, however, he went to the school on the opposite side of the valley, which was the other side of the tracks - or would have been if Dr. Beeching hadn't closed that railway line. Never mind, this won't be held against young Evans (after all, he is 13 years younger than the Gorse Fox).

What?

 It was a lovely bright day. We had all slept well, and the Gorse Fox treated himself to a lie-in, not emerging for his coffee until 7:40. 

Urban-Cub and the Silver Vixen had plans. They were intent on clearing all the various deliveries that have been accumulating, and sorting out Ellie's toys, books, crafts, and clothes so that everything was ready for the move. The Gorse Fox got on with some admin then headed out for a walk. This had to incorporate Sainsbury's as Urban-Cub needed a few bits picked up.

The Gorse Fox zigged and zagged in the general direction of the retail park. He was listening to his "Simon Evans Goes to Market" stream and quite lost in the moment when he did a double take. Parked outside a house was a small car (Peugot, Vauxhall, or the like). It was displaying large decals on each side. These decals identified it as something to do with the Macmillan Nurses. For those not familiar with the wonderful people. They care and support cancer patients throughout their treatment - whatever the outcome. Sitting in the driving was a chap with a cut glass ash try stuck to the dash board, and puffing away at a cigarette. This clearly was not a one-off as the car absolutely reeked of stale smoke. The Gorse Fox is not implying he was a nurse (though he may have been) but suspects he was something to do with patient transport. The Gorse Fox can only say that if he was a patient he would not go near that car.

Pistol Pete dropped Ellie off late afternoon. She's clearly had a nice time, and is very chirpy at the moment. 

Wet and dry

 Parts of the country have suffered from snow again today. We had some rain overnight and that rolled on into the morning. Urban-Cub had to take Ellie across to Pistol Pete, and while she was out, the Gorse Fox nipped round to Sainsbury's for a few essentials that had been out of stock with Ocado. The Gorse Fox was pleased to see that everyone was behaving and wearing masks, and with one exception, everyone was shopping alone.

The rain dried up and during the afternoon the sun came out. The Silver Vixen and Urban-Cub were busy in the Orangery sorting out Ellie's toys (which ones stay here, and which ones go to the new house). The Gorse Fox helped make some space by putting the boxes of Xmas decorations away (now that he could get to the back of the garage). He then spent some time on the web reading up on the various places that our 2022 cruise is scheduled to visit. He made copious notes and shared them with J&T when he was finished.

He did manage to go out for a walk during the afternoon. He was only out for about 40 minutes, but it was nice to get some exercise. He does feel the urge to do some programming, but at this stage he has no particular project in mind.

Sad Day

 It's been a sad day for Cousteau-Cub and the Coventry Hobbit. Their beloved dog, Tyson, had to be put to sleep. They had given him a good life by looking after him in Thailand, caring for him when he lost his sight, and eventually bringing him back to England. He was sick and very weak at the end. They decided that it was time to do the hard thing, and let him go quietly.

Cold and dry

 It's been a very cold, but dry day. Urban-Cub was unable to go to work as she wasn't feeling well. The Gorse Fox and the Silver Vixen took Ellie across to Dizy Ducklings then came home to warm up with steaming mugs of coffee.

There was't anything specific on the agenda today. The Gorse Fox guesses that's the thing about Lockdown 3.0. The Silver Vixen didi, however, have a prescription to collect so the Gorse Fox put on his big coat and headed out for a walk that would circle past the pharmacy. The prescription hadn't been filled when he arrived, so he had to wait outside until it was ready. He was glad he'd chosen his big coat!

Like yesterday, the Gorse Fox was listening to the Simon Evans programmes. Today saw the completion of his dissertation on Marx and a complete episode about John Maynard Keynes. Now, the Gorse Fox should explain that economics is a subject in which the Gorse Fox has absolutely no interest. He has learnt over the past forty years or so that whatever forecast is made by economists, is certain to be totally wrong. Despite this, he found these episodes to be quite riveting - and very funny. He has discovered that there are 4 further series that he can enjoy on his walks.

As it was cold and dry, the Gorse Fox did get a chance to get a proper look at the new patio in daylight, and when dry. He's still very pleased with the results - fortunately.

We just need to move the furniture and plants back where they belong. That, however, can wait for another dry and bright day.

Exchanged

 The last bit of paperwork may have arrived this morning, but there was still time for yet another glitch. Finally, the contact exchange took place, but the completion date had to slip by 24 hours. This was all very fine but for the fact that Urban-Cub had already arranged various services to be fulfilled on the original date. This meant that she spent much of her day off rearranging everything.

It was very wet today and Urban-Cub and the Gorse Fox got soaked taking Ellie to Dizzy Ducklings. By lunchtime, it was easing off so the Gorse Fox took the opportunity to go out for a walk (wearing his waterproof trousers). It was only a gently 5km round the local roads, but it was nice to get out and have a stretch. He listened to a an old radio show while walking. It was Simon Evans' "Market Report". The Gorse Fox thoroughly recommends it. It was educational and very funny. In the episodes he listened to, he learnt about the economists (social philosophers) Adam Smith and Karl Marx. The next episode will deal with Keynes.

Seismic

 Seismic moves today as Urban-Cub finally got the last paperwork to allow her exchange and purchase of her new house to go through. The relief is huge. 

Mixed Messages

 Even though the Gorse Fox uses Facebook, he despises the platform and the ethics of the company. It is, however, the only game in town when it comes to keeping up with friends and colleagues around the world. He also uses WhatsApp. WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, but until now has been fairly well separated from it. They have announced new Terms and Conditions which allow them to share your information with Facebook. Now, the Gorse Fox is not happy about this. One item that could be shared is his contacts list, another is the makeup of his various chat groups. This is more information than Facebook should have.

The Gorse Fox has decided to extract himself from WhatsApp. Today he has been messaging his contacts to explain that he is dropping off the platform and will be using "Signal" as an alternative. It is interesting how many of his contacts were considering similar moves, judging by the responses he's getting from round the world. WhatsApp may have shot themselves in the foot.

Done

 Simon the Landscaper returned for the final gravel traps and then to go round all his work with a fine toothed comb. He is meticulous. By mid-morning he was finished and we are delighted with the outcome. It'll be a few days before we can move the furniture and plants back because the resin-based grout takes a while to cure in damp weather. It's no problem, however. We weren't planning a garden party or any sunbathing in the next few days.

Ellie was at Dizzy Ducklings during the day. 

Several metric tonnes Amazon-cardboard has accumulated over the past few weeks. The Gorse Fox attacked it with a box-cutter and flattened it all down so that it would fit in the car. A quick trip to the tip saw the end of it and has revealed the running machine, which had been buried underneath. In the current inclement weather, that seems like a good alternative to cold, wet walks.

 The Gorse Fox and Silver Vixen made the most of the quiet time to do bits of admin and some reading before popping back to collect Ellie. After the disturbed night she had last night we had expected her to be a bit grumpy, but she was fine. She was quiet and obviously tired.

Almost

 As predicted last week, Simon the Landscaper did have to return today. The main tasks outstanding were the grouting, the base of the storage space, the gravel traps, and the tidying up. He had Tyler with him to help, but it was still a tall order. It was all done except the last gravel traps, by the end of the day. He'll be back tomorrow, but suspect he'll only be here for half an hour. We're very pleased with the way it has come together.

 It might have been a bit slow, but the advantage of a contractor with OCD is that you get a fabulous finish. We particularly like the embedded lighting. We're so pleased with his work that we have asked him to quote for some more work.

We've had a couple of trips to LA today - dropping Ellie off, and picking her up from the child minder. She's back at Dizzy Ducklings tomorrow. Urban-Cub was on an early shift (05:30 start) today but that meant she was home just after we got back with Ellie.

The first documents for our re-arranged cruise arrived this morning. Excellent service considering that it was Saturday evening before we made contact.

Risk Averse and Safety First

 After the experience we had last year regarding the refund of our monies for the cancelled Jamaica trip, we had been discussing the forthcoming cruise. In the end we concluded that it would be sensible to reduce our risks, both health-wise and money-wise, by deferring the cruise until 2022. J&T had reached a similar conclusion. After a Zoom call, we had a plan. T would contact the cruise people and arrange the deferment. We would then, individually, book into an hotel near St Austell for the time we would have been on the cruise. The plan seems to be going well. Cruise booking is shifted and the hotel booking is confirmed.

It was very cold again last night. The Gorse Fox left it until late morning before venturing out for a walk. He didn't even manage half a kilometre. Now, the Gorse Fox is very steady on his feet, has good balance, used to ice skate, and isn't unduly troubled by the odd bit of ice or frost. The pavements, however, were so icy that he wasn't willing to risk it, and even if it was clear down at the promenade, he has a 3km walk to get there. Hopefully, he can make up for it during the week as the temperatures are set to rise.

Cake walk

 Urban cub managed to get away from work on time and was home soon after eleven last night.  She had seen that Lidl was discounting some end of date items and ended up bringing home two huge cakes (not that we eat cake as a rule). Goodness knows how we'll get through this 40p investment.

It had been very cold again overnight. Simon the Landscaper sent us a message to say he would return on Monday, when the weather is forecast to be a little warmer. This makes sense as we don't want problems caused by ice crystals in the resin or the mortar.

It was lovely and bright, and having been limited in opportunities to walk for the last couple of days, the Gorse Fox headed out. He made his way down to Bognor and dropped into Morrisons. He had arranged to collect a prescription from the Coventry Hobbit. (They have car trouble and are limited to bus routes for the moment). Having fought through the usual zombies who seem to frequent the store, he found the Hobbit and squirrelled the prescription away. He headed down to the seafront.

The sea was as calm as he had ever seen it. There were people about, but not many. The Gorse Fox was able to stride down toward West Fields without too much zigging and zagging. Then he looped back inland and headed for West Meads so that he could post the prescription through the surgery door. Finally, he headed home. It was a nice 5-mile loop and it really got the blood pumping.

Chilly

 It was very chilly overnight. This proved to be a problem for Simon the Landscaper. The sand he needed for the last couple of tiles was as solid as a brick. Water used to wash down the tiles turned quickly to ice. This meant that he spent the day working on the electronics. The lights are now all installed and working and the cable to the rill pump was also replaced. 

We took Ellie to Dizzy Ducklings and then had a quiet morning.

This afternoon we spoke with J&T regarding the planned cruise. One option to consider is to defer until next year. This appears to be a strong possibility. Instead, we may well book a hotel in Devon or Cornwall and pop down there for a couple of weeks (assuming that is permitted by then).

Pistol Pete has been along to collect Ellie for the weekend.

Perchance to dream

 

It's important to be comfortable when you sleep. Ellie decided to adopt a new sleeping regime. This is how we found her when we came up to bed.

Cold

 It was cold overnight. There was a hard frost and the pavements were quite slippery when Urban-Cub and the Gorse Fox took Ellie to Dizzy Ducklings.

The rest of the day has been fairly quiet. Urban-Cub had to go into work at lunchtime and won't be back until after we're in bed tonight.

Simon the Landscaper couldn't lay any tiles at first - the temperature was too low. He used the time to get the first few lights installed. They look very good and it will be nice to see it all finished. As the day warmed up, he switched back to the tiling. The last few tiles are now in place, though there is a small area - which we hadn't expected to tile - that he is trying to find sufficient off-cuts to tile anyway. The Gorse Fox still isn't convinced he'll finish this week, but the overrun will probably be no more than a day.

We collected Ellie from Dizzy Ducklings. She had insisted on riding her bike home, but only got about 50 metres down the road before she fell off while trying to get up a small ramp. She caught her knee and decided that was enough. No more bike for her today. The Gorse Fox had to wheel it home while the Silver Vixen comforted Ellie and held he hand all the way home.

In the Spirit

 The Gorse Fox had an appointment scheduled with the chiropodist on Friday. They phoned in advance, as they always do, to remind him of the appointment. The Gorse Fox was surprised that they were open, but apparently, under Lockdown 3.0, they were claiming exemption as a "medical treatment". The Gorse Fox thought about this for a moment, then told them that whilst their operation may be justified under the letter of the Lockdown rules, he didn't feel that it conformed to the spirit of the Lockdown. He would not be attending. 

With the high transmissibility of the current Covid-19 mutation, sitting in a small room with a stranger who has been meeting people all day seems like an avoidable risk.

Bitty

 It's been bitty today. A bit of this, a bit of that, just bitty.

The Silver Vixen had Zoom Pilates during the morning and as Urban-cub had errands to run, the Gorse Fox stayed put so that he could take in the day's deliveries as the fleets of couriers vans turned up every few minutes. One of the deliveries was the keyboard for Urban-cub's iPad. It is a newer model than the one used by the Gorse Fox and it fits the body of the iPad a lot better, providing front and back covers as part of the keyboard. Very neat.

The Gorse Fox spent a while investigating "Drafts". As you can see from the previous post, he is very impressed with its simplicity and function. There is also a version for the Mac, but he hasn't tried that yet. Certainly, the version for the iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch achieves exactly what was wanted. The Gorse Fox isn't too convinced he needs it for the Macs.

Apps

 I've just come across the "Drafts" app. This seems to be an immensely useful tool on both the Apple watch the iPhone and the iPad. It is a single place for inputting text which can then be shared with whichever application you wish. Better still, you can use voice dictation.

Unlike Siri, the dictation isn’t limited to 45 seconds. It should be good for taking messages or notes or blog posts while on the move

Lumbering around

 Simon was back this morning and has made sterling progress throughout the day. This afternoon we all traipsed out to view the options for the mortar that would be used between the tiles. We narrowed it down to two choices, but in the end, selected "basalt".

Urban cub's new iPad arrived this morning so the Gorse Fox got involved to help give her some useful hints and tips. He must say the that new, 4th Gen iPad Air for 2020 is a fabulous bit of kit. Urban-cub is very chuffed.

The Gorse Fox went out for a walk at lunchtime. It was the first time he has done the Shripney loop for a while. Once he gets off the main roads he likes the fact that he seems to have dropped back a century or two. One piece of wall caught his eye

He's walked past it many times before without really noticing how interesting all the moss, lichen, and flints were. From there, he carried on through the old Shripney village, past the smallholdings, and up over the by-pass. Coming down the other side, his attention was caught by the crashing of branches up ahead.

Glancing up, he could see an arborealist perched up at the top of a tree with a chainsaw dangling from his belt. He clearly has a head for heights.

Back home, the Gorse Fox was collared by Urban-cub. She wanted a different design for the built-in wardrobes in her new home. She needed a diagram that reflected her vision and which could be given to the builders. The Gorse Fox settled down with SketchUp and, bit by bit, the diagram emerged. Finally finished, the diagram was taken straight to the builder's Sales Office and they are now going to contact their contractor.

DeDec

 It was a grey and damp day. The temperature hardly rose above 4C, but at least there was little or no wind. Simon the Landscaper returned today and cracked on with the patio. From several places in the kitchen it looks as if it's all finished and the Gorse Fox and Silver Vixen are very happy with the effect. He's hoping to be finished by the end of the week, but the Gorse Fox suspects he may just overrun.

Urban-Cub took Ellie across to the child-minder in LA this morning. Urban-Cub was on a late shift, not starting until 12:30. She spent much of the morning debating and then selecting a new tablet. She hasn't had a tablet for about a yer. Even then, it was a hand-me-up from her step-daughter. It was fine until it just stopped and refused to recharge or switch on.

The Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox have been de-decorating. All of the Christmas decoration have now been removed and packed away in their boxes. The boxes can't be stored away yet, as we need access to the garage and Simon is still doing that bit of the patio. It's nice to have them all packed away, though. It always makes the house feel bigger.

Late afternoon we went across to LA to collect Ellie, then settled in for the evening.

Noted

 Another late start for the Gorse Fox. Again it was eight o'clock before he shook himself into action (well, he went down and made a coffee). Urban-Cub's shift times had changed, so she was next down, not having to leave until after nine.

Once breakfast was over, the tea/coffee consumed, and everyone was showered and dressed, the Gorse Fox returned to his study to continue yesterday's exercise with "OneNote" and "Notes". The Silver Vixen returned to her sewing project.

The Gorse Fox has now managed to move all relevant items from OneNote to Apple's Notes. He will retain OneNote as an archive on the iMac, but remove it from the iPhone and iPad. It's been an interesting exercise.

At lunchtime the Gorse Fox headed down to West Park and went for a walk. He completed just under 7km at a brisk pace and, despite the 4C temperatures, came back glowing.

Like yesterday, the promenade was very busy with dog-walkers and people out for a stroll. The Gorse Fox just zigged and zagged and kept up his pace, averaging 9'10"/km which was quite reasonable - his fastest kilometre was 8'50". He timed it all rather well. The sun was out and the slight breeze was against him for the first half of the walk - this meant it gave him a push on the return leg. As he approached the last 5 minutes or so, the sun disappeared behind some rather threatening clouds but he reached the care without getting wet. (Well, as it happened, he wouldn't have got wet anyway. The clouds may have looked threatening, but it didn't rain).

Calm

It has been a day of immense calm. Urban-Cub was up and out in the early hours for an early shift. The Gorse Fox didn't stir until eight, and the Silver Vixen emerged soon after. A very leisurely breakfast was taken and then the Gorse Fox decided the lights had too come down from the bay window. The problem is, you see, that the cable has to run through a window left on night-vent. This is all very fine, but with the low temperatures we are experiencing at present, that does leave the lounge a little chilly. Enough was enough and the lights are now down an the window closed.

The Silver Vixen has spent the day divided between a sort out in her wardrobe and the sewing project she had started yesterday.

The Gorse Fox enjoyed a nice walk along the promenade.

 The sea was as calm as a millpond and people were making the most of the dry weather to make the most of the promenade. It was a bit busy near the pier but the Gorse Fox soon powered past the dawdlers and strollers. It was a very satisfying walk.

Back home he has been working with Apple's "Notes" app. For a year or two he has been using OneNote for general notes and filing but OneNote suffers the limitation that you cannot control the printing (from a Mac). This means that a slight page overflow will cause numerous blank sheets to spray out of the printer. The question that the Gorse Fox was trying to answer was "are there any OneNote features that he uses that aren't available in Notes"? SO far he hasn't found any show stoppers, but has found one irritation. The irritation is that though Notes supports the use of tables it provides no mechanism for controlling the width of the table, nor the width of the columns.

Fresh book

 Ah ha, 2021. A fresh book in which to write the stories of our lives. Twelve chapters, three-hundred and sixty-five pages. Let's hope it is a more uplifting book than than the last one.

For the Gorse Fox 2021 started with a coughing fit at about five o'clock in the morning. He had been fighting a cold for several days, but it decided to fight back in the early hours. It was clear that iw was not going to settle, so the Gorse Fox went downstairs for a cup of hot lemon. That settled the cough and he managed to sneak back into bed around six.

It was a fairly quiet day. Urban-Cub had a day-off and she took Ellie out to the park to meet with Cousteau-Cub and walk the dog. Then, in the early afternoon she took her across to spend the weekend with Pistol Pete.

The Gorse Fox went out for a walk in the afternoon while the Silver Vixen worked on a sewing pattern. Then late in the afternoon we had a nice long Zoom call with J&T. We caught up on everyone's Christmas, they caught up on Urban-Cub's job, and preparation for her move, and then we discussed the planned cruise. Well, the Gorse Fox say "planned". It was booked last year, before the pandemic hit. It is still far enough ahead that it may go ahead, but who knows? We are assuming that there will be restrictions - no buffets, masks in public areas, negative test prior to boarding, and maybe proof of vaccination. Then there is the question of whether excursions will be permitted and what restrictions may be imposed. Let's just say that it's all a bit "up in the air" (which isn't the usual environment for a large cruise ship). Trevor is going to contact the travel agent this week to get the low-down. Meanwhile the Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox need to start looking at which excursions we would like to do, on the assumption they go ahead.