Day 6

 The Gorse Fox did his Lateral Flow Test as soon as he was up and about. He thought it was going to be negative, but the positive line developed (faintly) after about 10 minutes. The Silver Vixen took her test. Blam! She too is now positive. That has changed the outlook for the week. Urban-Cub has had to sort out her shifts and arrange things with her friend Darren to ensure that we have as much coverage as possible for Ellie. We will still help out where necessary, but will certainly see less of her than usual. Fortunately, the Gorse Fox is feeling fine, so happy to take over.

Not much else to report.

Day 5

 The Gorse Fox feels as right as rain. The Silver Vixen's cold-like symptoms seem to have worsened overnight but her lateral flow test is still recording a negative result, thank goodness.

It has been an immensely quiet day. The Gorse Fox spent some time on the accounts and checking backups but really there was nothing significant. The Silver Vixen has been reading through and examine some patterns this afternoon.

Pistol Pete delivered Ellie back to us, late afternoon. Urban-Cub had a late afternoon all-hands meeting, so would be unavailable for an hour or so. The Gorse Fox spent much of that time going through her phonetics with her. It is amazing how well she is now doing and can work out some big words from their sounds - even if she doesn't know the word.

The chap from Amazon arrived. The Gorse Fox has now fitted a motion-activated LED light in the "man cave" to provide illumination until we have sorted out the intermittent ceiling light.

Milestone 11K - Day 4

This is a milestone post. This is the Gorse Fox's 11,000th blog post since he started back in 2004. It is satisfying to know he has managed to keep it up this long, without missing a single day.

It's Day 4 of Covid. The Gorse Fox feels absolutely fine. The Silver Vixen, however, has woken up with a sore throat. She tested, mid-morning, and the result came back negative. Let's hope it stays that way, bu the Gorse Fox suspects it is just a matter of time.

He had the usual cousins' call this morning. He selected this background for the Zoom call, explaining that, as he had Covid, he was calling from the terrace so that he would be in the fresh air. 

(He's not sure they fell for it).

Currently, we have a problem with a light that is intermittently not working in the "coat cupboard". The Gorse Fox tried to sort this out. He got a plug-in floodlight from the garage and then switched off the lighting circuits. As he started to dismantle the bulkhead light, the floodlight failed. He resorted to the torch on his phone. He finally removed everything and concluded that all of the wiring seemed sound, nothing was loose. There was nothing he could immediately do other than put it all back together and resolve to get help or replace it.

This afternoon, the Gorse Fox has been completing the exercise started earlier this week and has now managed to bring all of the photo files up to date in the local library. The backups will kick-in now and replicate the new files to all of appropriate backup devices.

Day 3

We signed up for Disney+, yesterday. We used it to watch "Death on the Nile" with Kenneth Branagh during the evening. The Gorse Fox must say that it was an excellent film - very atmospheric. He's lined up a few more films for future evenings.

He had a very good night's sleep (and so did Ellie and the Silver Vixen). Today, he feels back to normal, other than an occasional dry cough. As a result, he decided to take another test this morning. Unfortunately, it was still very positive. The Silver Vixen also took a test, but luckily hers still shows negative. The Gorse Fox seems to be able to control the cough with "Fisherman's Friends" so he double-masked up and chanced a quick trip round Sainsbury's. Because we were well organised, we were in and out in no time and carefully avoided getting close to anyone. Even at the self/smart checkout we were the only people there.

There is a 12 month offer with Sky-Q allowing us to gain access to Discovery+. As this includes "Diners, Dive-ins, and Dives", the Gorse Fox signed up. While cooking this evening's dinner, he enjoyed watching the start of series 23. It's nice to have it back... like an old friend that you haven't seen for ages.

The rest of the day has been pretty quiet, so there's nothing else to report.

Day 2

 Unusually, Ellie had a disturbed night. Getting up to go to the loo a couple of times, and having a dream that had her calling out in her sleep. This meant that the Silver Vixen also had a disturbed night. The Gorse Fox, however, had a far better night's sleep that the night before. By later evening, he had a niggling dry cough, so decided to have a drink of hot honey and lemon. This seemed to settled the cough and he had no problems overnight.

Today, C19-Day2 he feels fairly chipper. The cough has re-surfaced, but other than occasional sneezing, the Gorse Fox feels all right. We had our usual delivery from Ocado during the morning but decided not to do the top-up in Sainsbury's as there was no rush.

The rest of the day has been pretty quiet. The Silver Vixen had an appointment at the hairdresser. Urban-Cub has just dropped off Ellie as she will be staying overnight again.

The Knack

The Gorse Fox had an uncomfortable night. He had the hot dry throat that is, so often, the harbinger of a cold. By the time he went to bed, he had an unpleasant catarrh. Sleep was not forthcoming. When he did drift off, a bought of coughing would wake him. When he finally got up, he felt a bit under par and decided that football would not be a good idea. A quiet day at home was re-planned.

The Silver Vixen and Urban-Cub were going out for a day at Haskins Garden Centre. The Gorse Fox used the time to do some further refinements to his photo filer. He also took a Lateral Flow Test. The instructions say you should wait 30 minutes to see the results. The Gorse Fox's result had stabilised in about 5 minutes... "Dooby dooby do do...my Corona" (as The Knack once sang). Having avoided it for two years, he has finally succumbed. To be fair, he doesn't feel too bad... he still has his sense of smell and taste, he has a dry cough (but not all the time), and just feels a degree or so under the weather. He will, however, isolate at home until he is clear. (This meant cancelling our planned lunch with the Silver Vixen's sister and brother-in-law on Saturday).

We have Ellie with us over night, so the Gorse Fox will have to try and stay clear.

Birthday

 It's Ellie's fifth birthday. This meant that we both had to go round to see her before school and wish her a Happy Birthday and see the presents that she opened. She was very excited, but not to the point of being silly. We dropped her off at school and headed home. The Silver Vixen had arranged to go shopping with Urban-Cub. The Gorse Fox had football.

He headed across to Worthing. The forecast was not encouraging and it was spitting with rain as he left home. Actually, it had stopped by the time he had arrived and got changed. It was a bit chilly though. He was picked in a fairly good team again this week. Again, it was a team that moved well and worked hard. Despite that, we lost the first game 1-0. Our other full-back had stopped when the ball went out. The problem was that the ref didn't think it had crossed the line and allowed the game to continue. The Gorse Fox tried to get across from the other wing to intercept but wasn't quick enough. The second game was also a 1-0 loss, but we can't complain. It was a good, well-worked goal. The final game (against a team that'd just won two games on the trot 4-0) we seemed to come into our own. We were 3-0 up until the final kick of the game, when the finally clawed one back.

The Gorse Fox thinks he has mentioned a medical emergency that occurred on the pitch a few weeks ago. The victim came in to see us and to thank everyone for their intervention and support and explain what had happened. Apparently, his heart muscle was fine, his valves were fine and his veins and arteries all looked very healthy. He was fit, and he had no warning signs. As he said "One minute I was enjoying a game of football and the next thing I knew I was in the back of an ambulance" (and that was 90 minutes later). It turns out that he had the same syndrome that caused Christian Ericsson to collapse during last Summer's Euros. The electrical impulses that drive the hear "short-circuited". He now has a form of pacemaker and defibrillator in his chest and is well on the mend. He won't be returning to football, however.

This afternoon, we decorated the family room ready to have a little family tea party for Ellie. We had several presents here for her, and it was chance to celebrate with Urban-Cub and Cousteau-Cub. 

Silver Vixen and Urban-Cub collected her from school and Cousteau-Cub arrived just as they were getting home. She opened her presents and having played with the items themselves, also decided that there was mileage in the boxes in which they were packed.

There were lots of snacks and nibbles, some scones, some sausage rolls, and some cake. We had a lovely hour or so. They have all gone home now. Silence has descended and we have just finished clearing up and tidying away the decorations

Photos

A nice easy start to the day. The Gorse Fox went round to take Ellie to school and then hung on to see the parents of Ellie's friend Tyke. It's his birthday today and we had a little present for him. They were clearly running late and in the end the Gorse Fox brought the present back home. It could be handed over at the end of the day.

The Gorse Fox retuned to the photos. He tidied up and simplified the code and started to test. The code seemed to do everything that was asked of it during the testing. Then, he ran it against a real download of photos for the library. It started but then hung. He tried to fund the culprit. Eventually, he tracked down a small cluster of files that caused the problem. But why? After some digging about he realised these photos didn't have any "exif" data. They had originally been sent via social media, then uploaded by Urban-Cub. The trip through social media (WhatsApp) had stripped all the useful information. This was a case for which the Gorse Fox had not planned. In the end, the code was changed. These files are now reported and no attempt is made to file automatically. These will require manual intervention.

Mothers' Day

 As it was Mothers' Day we had no football today. Instead, the Gorse Fox and Silver Vixen had a quiet morning. The Silver Vixen pottered in the garden and the Gorse Fox returned to the study to file away some of the recent photos. This latter task revealed some anomalies. The way that the original information regarding the photo "jpg" had been stored was not being extracted as it should. The Gorse Fox had to return to his code. It took a while to track down, but eventually the problem was resolved. ~When he gets some time he will return to the code and retest all of the variations.

We were scheduled to go out for lunch mid afternoon. The Gorse Fox went and collect Cousteau-Cub and the Coventry Hobbit so that they didn't have to worry about the car. 

Urban-Cub and Ellie came round and then we all headed off to "Fino" at Felpham. It was a super Italian restaurant run by acquaintances of Zoe's friend. We settled down at the table and waded through the menu. The Silver Vixen started with the tomato and mozzarella salad, followed by lasagne. The Gorse Fox started with a (frito mixto) sharing platter of fish, then had the pepperoni pizza. The Coventry Hobbit and Urban-Cub also had pizza, while Cousteau-Cub had sea bass. Ellie had chicken with chips. It was an absolute feast. Clearly, we were not the only ones who thought so, as the restaurant was packed and remained so all afternoon.  

It really was a very lovely afternoon, having the whole family together to celebrate this special day.

Party Time

The Gorse Fox started the day with the customary cousins' call. 

Today, he chose this as his Zoom backdrop. It was, after all, a chance for the cousins to see his potting shed in the garden!

The call went well and we had the usual banter, which always makes the call worthwhile.

With the call over, the Gorse Fox and Silver Vixen prepared for bedlam. Today, Ellie and her young friend Tymek were holding a joint party to celebrate their impending birthdays. 

We arrived in plenty of time and those present were Uber-excited. The Gorse Fox was beginning to wonder if ear-defenders would have been appropriate headwear. 

It was a little disappointing that several of the friends couldn't make it, but this that did had good fun in the soft-play area and at the table. Certainly everyone was on a sugar-rush by the time they left. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, which is what counts. The Gorse Fox took plenty of photos and videos and has shared them with those that matter.

The Gorse Fox and the Silver Vixen had a quiet afternoon in the garden, enjoying the sun and the peace.

Multizone

 We had the usual start to the day, with Ellie being dropped off at about 7:15. After she had enjoyed breakfast, Grandpa had to join her upstairs to play with Peppa Pig toys until the Silver Vixen was ready to get her washed and dressed. We dropped her at school without incident.

The Silver Vixen had a day out with Cousteau-Cub scheduled. She headed off and left the Gorse Fox to his own devices. In this case they were the iMac (Condor) and Nest thermostats and Smart plugs. First on his agenda, however, was to book for the upcoming Over 65s' Lunch for the Old Columbans.

That done, the Gorse Fox delved in to the mysteries of the the Nest thermostat. He determined that he needed a multilane device - not just dual zone. He watched various videos and read what he could find. In the end, he phoned a chap that had been recommended by a neighbour because his own conclusion was that this would be an expensive change that would reap few (if any) benefits. The chat with the Nest engineer confirmed his own conclusion. For a house, like ours, with five separate thermostats and zones, this would be an extraordinary outlay and would be unlikely to break even, let alone save money. Plan B was required. The Gorse Fox is now trying to develop said plan.

While researching, the Gorse Fox saw a description that he liked. It was of "vampire devices". These are electronic devices that consume energy even when you are not using them or needing them. The Gorse Fox has a number of these devices and now that, as a rule, the Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox are by ourselves, we can predict our usage of such devices. He spent some time looking for some smart, programmable plug sockets that he can set to power down when they clearly are not needed. The nice man for Amazon should bring some tomorrow and the Gorse Fox can start experimenting.

Finally, the Gorse Fox sought some further backdrops for Zoom for tomorrow's cousins' call. Several have been downloaded and he will choose in the morning.

Now that was lazy

 Though Ellie leapt into bed with us just before 6:00 this morning we licked her out by 6:30 as she would lie still. We managed another 30 minutes before starting the day. Everything seemed to run like clockwork, and we were one of the first at the school.

Back home we had had a lazy breakfast waiting for Ocado. They turned up towards the end of their delivery slot so we were running a little later than usual when we headed off to Sainsbury's. Once we had completed the top-up, the Gorse Fox went back to SpecSavers to look for some sunglasses. His old pair were alway too tight and now that he has a new prescription, it was worth changing them. He tried on several pairs. Some were too tight, and some didn't feel right. In the end he found a pair that he liked and of which the Silver Vixen approved. The assistant took the relevant measurements and card was flashed. In 10 days, the Gorse Fox should have a nice new pair of sunglasses.

Back home, the accounts were the top of the agenda, followed by some lunch, and then a quiet hour in the Orangery with the Silver Vixen. She went off with Urban-Cub to collect Ellie from school. Meanwhile, the Gorse Fox returned to Polish parish records. Ninety minutes later he was going boss-eyed and hadn't found any relevant records. He's beginning to wonder if he needs to search further afield.

Park life

The Gorse Fox walked round to Urban-Cub to escort her and Ellie round to the school. The Silver Vixen was meant to have an appointment with her hairdresser, but Covid has intervened so the appointment slipped to next week.

The Gorse Fox headed off to Worthing for football. His legs felt heavy after yesterday, but he soon got moving and loosened up. It was a hard game. Our team really only had two mobile players. Jamaica Mark led the attack, and the Gorse Fox managed the defence. The other stood like statues at various parts of the field. The Gorse Fox found himself filling in the attack then shoring up the defence. By half-time he was really feeling it. Scores at half-time were 2-2. As the second half began, the other team seemed to spread their play better. This, however, meant that they were leaving gaps. The Gorse Fox exploited these and three times managed to thread the ball to front for one of our number to slot it away. Final score was 5-2 to us.

We had a quiet afternoon until we collected Ellie. We took her to the park by the school and let her play with her school friends for a while to let off steam. Once we got home we did some numbers (simple arithmetic) and some reading with her. She really is progressing well.

HMCS Ontario

 The Gorse Fox's father was in the Royal Navy and was assigned to HMCS Ontario as his first ship. As a result he spent at least a year or 18 months assigned to the Canadian Navy. The Gorse Fox wrote to them before Christmas asking for details of his posting. They have finally got back.  

Nada. 

Not a thing. 

As far as they are concerned they have no records of his, or his twin's time on board.  This is deeply frustrating. It seems that even the Gorse Fox has more knowledge of the Minotaur class light cruiser and its first mission in the Far East than the Canadian Naval records.

Early

 Jasper decided to yowl just after 5:00 this morning. The Silver Vixen told him to be quiet. It was no good, the damage was done. The Gorse Fox was awake. He forced himself to stay in be until 7:00, but should really have got up immediately. He get a bit stiff and aches if he lies in.

Ellie was dropped off and we we followed the usual schedule. Once she was at school, the Gorse Fox changed into his football gear and headed for Worthing. Th Silver Vixen was meeting up with a friend in LA so we were sorted.

The teams were selected slightly differently today. It worked well. They seemed to be more even than usual. The Gorse Fox was on the green team and took up his usual position at the centre of defence. It was a hard game requiring plenty of blocks and interceptions from us at the back. Meanwhile, our attack had managed to score and the game finished 1-0. The second game was also hard. We scored a couple of times, but they responded each time. We got the final goal, hover to finish the game 3-2 winners. The final game was "all in". This means that we don't play this 3-touch nonsense and can get on with some real football. Agin, it was hard fought. Again, as we scored our first, they responded. Then the Gorse Fox got a chance to surge through the middle and from a lovely cross, bury the ball in the back of the net. We had control, and this time we didn't let it slip. We finished off with one more goal as the final whistle blew. 3-1. Over all it was a very good session and immensely enjoyable.

Nine

 It's an important day. Not only is it the beginning of Spring, but it also Cousteau-Cub and the Coventry Hobbit's ninth wedding anniversary. An auspicious day by any reckoning. The Gorse Fox tried to call them, but they are obviously out and about. He just hopes that they have had a wonderful day.

Messages

 We have long had a problem. The Silver Vixen's iPhone would not sync and would not handle iMessages from the iPads to Android devices. The Gorse Fox has looked into this on numerous occasions and every solution he tried failed. He tried again. He found a different suggestion on Google and followed that. Two check boxes later and everything burst into life. At last.

It's been fairly quiet today. Ellie was dropped off before school and we went through the usual morning process and then took her to school. The Silver Vixen was out at an appointment for much of the morning. The Gorse Fox pottered about with some household chores. As he completed those he found a problem with the mesh network. It wasn't linking to the internet router correctly. He went into debug mode. It didn't take too long and restart was all that was needed.

We collected Ellie from school and gave her dinner, Then we took her home to get ready for bed. Urban-Cub arrived a few minutes later.

Up and Out

 Some might expect the Gorse Fox to have a lie-in after last night's dinner. Not a chance. The Gorse Fox was up, showered, dressed and packed soon after 7:30. The hotel breakfast sitting wouldn't start until 8:00, so it was time for another walk.

He headed straight for the Abbey. The peel of bells provided a background to the wonderful morning. The precincts were almost empty and the Gorse Fox could wander round in utter serenity.

The Gorse Fox loves St Albans.

As the bells chimed 8:00, the Gorse Fox headed back to the hotel and settled down for breakfast. The room quickly filled up. The hotel, small as it was, was clearly full. After the full English, he checked out and got on the road.

The journey home was a lot quieter than yesterday and he was home by 10:30.

This afternoon we were invited round to Urban-Cub's for Sunday Lunch. Urban-Cub doesn't do a roast lunch by halves. Huge trucks were brought in to provide the potatoes, the parsnips, the cabbage, the peas, the pork, and the crackling. A tanker delivered the gravy. It was a feast and it was absolutely delicious.

Reunion

 Well, yesterday's school reunion was a splendid evening. The Gorse Fox took a taxi from the hotel and arrived just as another group went in. Once signed in, he was offered a tour of the school but having done that a couple of years ago, he declined.

The Gorse Fox made his way through to the Alumni Hall and started to chat with all and sundry. Some, from his class, some from the years above him, and many from the years below. Beer and wine were on tap to ensure everyone was kept hydrated.

We made our way through to the canteen and settled down for a feast. The Gorse Fox chose a starter of Smoked Salmon & Mackerel Scotch Egg, Horseradish & Herb Salad; this was followed by Herb Crusted Salmon & Horseradish Beurre Blanc; and to finishSticky Toffee Pudding & Butterscotch Sauce (after all, it was a school meal).

It was lovely to sit and chat for two or three hours and to reminisce about our school days and catch up on the inventing 52 years.

Everything started to break up around 11 p.m. The Gorse Fox was offered a list by an old friend and was back at the hotel by 11:15 and in bed by 11:30.

He would certainly make the effort to attend any further event of the same type.

Up North

The day started quietly. The sun was shining and there was no sign of any clouds. We had wall-to-wall blue. It was perfect.

The Gorse Fox had his cousins’ call. It was time for another windup, so he searched out a suitable Zoom background and then presented himself in a huge open plan living room with panoramic views across Table Bay. When Tim saw it, he commented on our Filipino maids wandering into shot. The Gorse Fox explained they had strict instructions that he should not be disturbed and should remain below stairs until the call was complete.

The Gorse Fox also explained that he had to head up north. It is, after all, the school reunion for his and the two subsequent years (thanks to Covid). He headed off soon after lunch and a couple hours later he was checked into one of the smallest hotel rooms he has ever been in. In fact, in the en suite the ceiling is so low that his head brushes it if he doesn’t duck. (The bath has been sunk into the floor to allow room for a shower).

The Gorse Fox has wonderful memories of St Albans and, by arriving early, he had time to wander around. He remembers how, after getting off the bus at the top of Holywell Hill he would walk (on nice days) down past the Cathedral. Usually, at the time he went by, the choir would be practising. It was wonderful. The entry to the Cathedral through Sumpter Yard is directly opposite his hotel. That was first stop. As if they knew he was coming, the choir was there practising. It brought a lump to his throat.

After touring the Cathedral (the Gorse Fox always things of it as the Abbey, not Cathedral for some reason) he wandered into the town up past French Row and into the market square where there was a full Saturday market in progress. He stopped every now and again to try and remember the old shops (now replaced) and chat with some of the older market stall holders. He headed back down St Peter Street to where he would catch the bus. The old Cinema, in whose foyer he would shelter in bad weather, has long gone and been converted into a number of shops.

He headed back to the park surrounding the Cathedral and tried to retrace his route to school. He found the path down to “Ye Olde Fighting Cocks” (reputedly the oldest Inn in England having been occupied sine Roman times) then along towards the lake and then school. He couldn’t complete the old walking route as they have now built an athletics track and a golf course across the old fields and footpaths he would use.


He is back at the “The White Hart” and has a couple of hours before he needs to head to school.