Topic: Not much going on, how about dropping in for just a chat, about anything..

[ACE]

Rumtopf, relates a lost christmas for us. We acquired a rather large pot at a car boot sale, size about 3 litres. Started it with all our spare fruit as it came into season. Strawberries, plums, apple, cherries and a surprise crop of kiwi fruit. Topped it up with cheap spanish duty free white rum that we used to bring back from holidays. It needed a final topping up and all I had left was some high octane  absinthe. We got stuck in on xmas eve and came back to reality on boxing day.

[saddad]

I had an old friend, Tom, who had married a German girl after the war and she taught him how to make a Rumtopf.  He used to come down on Boxing day or New Years Eve, as his wife was long dead by the 90's and his daughter wasn't near guaranteed to make you loose a couple of days from the holiday!

[ACE]

Sad times, four friends gone since the start of this virus, two in the last week. I have also noticed a few names missing from our posters on here I hope they are all safe. No need to carry the phone around anymore as they have switched the contact app off, it gave me a bit of hope. A new drug found to help but not cure still leaves the percentage too high for my liking, so even though some precautions are being dropped I am  still using my mantra of everybody else has it, so I stay away from them.

[pumkinlover]

Sorry for the loss of your friends ACE.
We are taking the same precautions as you, as it seems that the risks are still there.

[Palustris]

Bit wet all day yesterday so no gardening, no walking. Amazing how much one misses just going for a walk. We are lucky in that we are right on the edge of town so easy access to the countryside, but also to shops etc. Must be very fortunate, we do not know of anyone in the family or wider circle who has succumbed to the virus. Son of my best man died right at the beginning, but that was from a heart attack. Sad that  his family could not go to his funeral because of the Lockdown.
Not being able to go to our favourite Nurseries has been a bind for us.

[galina]

Covid is down to level 3.  But the illness and death rate are still worryingly high and outbreaks like in that meat factory are a concern.  What does that say about the safety of handling ASDA meat?  We still wash packages down and obviously wash hands too after handling meat like normal. 

Sorry to hear about your friends Ace.  I guess we almost all know somebody who has died as one in 1000 people have died in the population.  What we will not know for a long time is, who will have to deal with the after effects  health wise.  Either from Corona or from delayed cancer and other treatment.  I have also heard from folks with other health conditions who fret whether any symptoms they are experiencing are their chronic condition, a normal summer cold or Corona.  It is very easy to start panicking over something minor and unrelated if you know that Covid would be likely to hit you hard because of pre-existing health issues. 

Well the app you loaded may not be working Ace, but the Google Apple app is, so nothing lost there if you feel safer with an app.  It certainly has better data protection, so more people might actually want to download it.  Unfortunately it can only tell you whether you might have been infected, not sound an active alarm if you are getting close to somebody who has it, to allow for a hasty retreat. 

It would be lovely if regulars of old (and not so regulars) would come and say hi, even if they have lost the gardening bug or given up the allotment and only occasionally drop by but don't feel they should post.  I know that Silverleaf, Clumsy and Jayb are ok, have heard from them recently.  But many others are missed and we would love to know they are coping fine   


 

[George the Pigman]

Very sorry to hear about your friends Ace. We have been fortunate so far and don't know personally anyone who has died . However my wife's family have had a few members catch it in Northern Ireland and in one case it was quite nasty but she didn't end up in hospital. We are very concerned about a second wave as we feel the government is moving too quickly. We still have death rates of over 100 a day and several thousand new cases a day. I know the economy needs to get going but a second wave will knock it back much further.
Well we haven't been to a shop or garden centre since lockdown day here but I have been able to get to the allotment. We've managed OK with deliveries of food and stuff by some detailed searching of the web (I'm the modern day hunter/gatherer!) although we are not on the at risk register. Tesco and recently Sainsburys have made more delivery slots available in Brum and Deliveroo have shrewdly started links with M&S. Morrisons, some COOPs and some other local grocery shops. But I know family in rural ares that have found this difficult.
We even earlier got deliveries from a local garden centre which included compost- which is now however harder to get and I'm running out (apparently the terribly wet winter and early spring in the UK ruined some commercial compost heaps).
However we are making our first foray in the car shopping next week going to a local garden centre/nursery. My wife is as I speak is making face masks (although we only officially need them for public transport). We will look like we're trying to rob a bank!

[pumkinlover]

We just tried a delivery service based in the Peak District which provides food sourced locally (as possible) . So it supports local buisiness's and farms. Very happy with what we had last night.

[Palustris]

Taking the slight risk of driving into Wales today. It is the site of the nearest Nursery and we really do need to get some plants. The garden is very empty. Good time to plant as the soil is moist from the last lot of rain and more rain is forecast for the weekend.

[Palustris]

Retail therapy with a vengeance, yesterday. We spent over £200 on plants. Not a policeman in sight, except for the Speed trap in one f the villages on the main road. Don't worry, I was doing less than the limit as I was following a cyclist.

[Tulipa]

Hi, I just thought I would pop in to say hello as I am one more still shielding but only because my children say I have to now, nice that they care.  Ace I am sorry to read about your friends, that's sad, and I agree with your mantra!  I hope everyone else is ok and coping with this heat at the moment.  I can't wait to visit a garden centre, will be heaven :)  Take care everyone and still stay safe