2020 - A Generally Bad Bad Year that will go down as such in World history
Jan to Mid March
spate of cinema going - watch three films
baby sit the boys
band practice
book up holiday to Morocco
Day in Bath before RUH visit for Jan
Winter storms
Winter holiday in Morocco - see video, photos & blog
Back from sun and warmth to storms and cold
Booking.com agree to refund hire car cost
Camper Van MOTed & serviced for £208.75
Bought Mum a new iPad
Completed track laying on the MRP
Turntable causing problems - may have to go back
Saw Emma at the Trowbridge Odeon
Saw Albert Lee at the Redgrave Theatre Bristol
1st sail of the year. Tim in good form
EDF say they will give me my refund by end of month!
Still nothing from booking.com (it does arrive)
Return the Heljan Turntable as impossible to programme
Invested in a Roku streaming stick as terestrial arial seems to have failed. So far very pleased with it.
Sunday walk to Johannah and back (12km )
Coronavirus scare prevents us going to see the boys
See the Grayson Perry Exhibition (pretherapy years) at the Holburne Museum Bath
New Turntable arrives and it works!
Mid March to June
Coronavirus is taking a grip. Things are getting very serious.
Shops are being depleted of stocks as people told to stay at home. As Ghandi said "Theres plenty for everyone's need, but not for everyone's greed"
We're in social isolation for the long term. All travel plans for this year are on hold.
A chance to get all my hobbies and websites up together.
The country has been in lockdown for a couple of days now and we are all getting used to what may become the new normal. Thank heavens for the internet.
As a sureal Easter weekend comes to an end the country enters its 4th week of lockdown and Jan and I enter our 5th week. It is so strange. We have beautiful weather and today we went for a lovely walk (by the way were restricted to staying within 2km of our homes) and saw a man flying his Peregrin Falcon on the Bowerhill playing fields. Our lives are pretty much unchanged except for the lack of travel, seeing friends and family and shopping difficulties, but that is nothing to the death and mayhem going on in the country (and world). For the last 5 days the UK has seen 1000 deaths a day!
20th April - New starter battery for the Camper Van
13th May Battery charger purchased to charge Smart Car.
14th May Gp advises me to stop candersartan tabs
Signalling for the revesing loop completed
I've been trying to learn some music theory. Ionian, Dionian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian Modes !!
Started to do some recording
I've had enough of this Lockdown now. I'm missing all the summer activities of sailing and going away in the camper van.
Became insensed at the revelations of Dominic Cummings and of Boris Johnson supporting him. This is criminal negligence and playing Russian roulette with public health.
June to End of September
If it were possible for things to get worse, the appauling murder at the hands of police in Miniapolis stunned the world. Black lives matter protests all over the US and in this country. Largely peaceful over here culminating in the pulling down of Colston statue in Bristol. Government, typically calling for law and order and warnings of spreading the virus. Although their hypochrisy evident when they allow crowds to gather for economic reasons.
Been having my own troubles with the 'water' in the MRP canal. First attempt at adding the very expensive and hard to obtain resin went well and I'm very pleased with the outcome
Started going to the virtual zoom pub with my old school coleagues on Friday nights.
Van bonnet resprayed by Barry
My ditto Looper arrives and hours of fun playing with it.
Arlo has celebrates his 6th Birthday. We have a socially distanced party in the park
Visit my mother for the first time in over 3 months, using the camper van for self isolation purposes.
Starange what Lockdown gets you doing. Today during a very hot few days (25 June) i thought pretty dam near the solstice so I would calculate the angle of the midday sun. a 117cm stick cast a shadow of 58cm. Therefore 117/58 x tan-1 = angle Answer 64 degrees
530kg of logs collected from Longleat. Cost £91.69
First camper trip of the year to Barnham Broom to see R & L. Nice to be out and meeting people. Van developed a fuel leak and other faults also surfaced namely grey water tank leak and rear roof light blind failure.
Long awaited LPG system fitted. Cost of installation £760 but price of a full load of gas (24litres) £17.67. That is one sixth of the equivalent cost of Campingaz. Its going to take a few years to pay off but it so much more convienient and we will be using hot water now!
Fuel leak fixed £97
Wheel bearing repaired on the trailer
Trip to the Forest of Dean with R & M to test out the gas system. All worked perfectly.
Day sail with Tim and Max. Only the second of this strange season.
Camping in Cornwall with the extended family. Weather was typically Cornish summer but we had a couple of excellent walks and it was great to see the boys on holiday.
BBQ at brother Steve's house for his birthday. The cowshed is coming on very well
280kg of logs from Longleat @ @48.44 fills our log store to capacity. Ready for winter.
Hair cut after 5 months in lockdown
Our neighbour wants us to get rid of our Maple Tree as he thinks its creting cracks in his wall.
Sailing with Tim for 3 days in the Solent
4 nights camping with Rod & Mandy in Carmarthenshire. Fun despite the atrocious weather and breakdown on return journey. RAC were brilliant and got us from motorway hardshoulder to back on the road in 2 hours.
Get a couple of new locos for the MRP
Bank holiday trip to see David & Wendy at a small festival they were outting on
Celebrate my birthday with Gem, Oli, Husna & Boys. Lovely day
Memorial service for my Aunt Sheila
Mend Kate's conservatory roof
Camping in Wookey with R & M
Boys came for a sleepover
Day on Studland Beach and overnight camp near Corfe Castle
Finalise the bathroom
Maple tree cut down whilst we were away in an amusing mix up with neighbour and her tree surgery requirements.
Another very wet camp with Rod & Mandy. This time, just one night at Tuckers Grave to mark Rod'd retirement. An excellent evening despite the weather.
October through to Dec 31st
And so into Autumn. Goverment still breaking all records for incompetance, Trump is diagnosed with Coronavirus (is it Fake News?), Covid is making a return and regulations on mixing are getting tighter. Weather - extreme wetness and high winds.
Spend a week in Norfolk to help Richard celebrate his birthday. 4 nights in Wells-Next-The-Sea staying in Curlew Retreat and two more back in Barnham Broom. Lots of good food and walking (plus a bonus cycle ride).
Purchased a Privacy Room for our camper van awning on Gumtree for £200. Picked it up from St Ives Cambs on our trip to Norfolk. Going to need a few very minor modifications in order to fit properly.
2nd wave catches the goverment out. Who could have possibly predicted it! And Brexit talks fail. We are in chaos. What a winter we have ahead of us.
Decisions made on the bathroom. Installation starts on 16th November.
We plant two new trees to take the place of the maple. A Japanese ornamental cherry and a mountain ash.
October camp with R & M takes us back to Tuckers Grave for a night. Lovely walk into Wellow and visit to Stoney Littleton Long barrow on the return.
I build a new firestation for the MRP
Purchase wood and build a pergola for the garden. Its to be the first of two to block out the neighbours brick walls.
Go for a great walk to Calstone Wellington and through Ransbottom Combe.
Were heading into Lockdown again. Had the boys over for lunch which will be the last time we see them for some time.
Mother has been taken to Suffolk with Richard.
USA election on a knife edge.
Second pergola finished.
Biden is victorious!!! We can all breathe a sigh of releif. We can cope with a pandemic but I'm not sure we would survive another term of Trump.
Have been going for some lovely Lockdown walks as November has turned nice and mild.
Banished the hifi system to the attic again. Replaced it with a Naim Muso Qb, very expensive but magic. So far I'm very pleased with it.
Its been a long time in planning but finally the bathroom renervation is underway. Day 1 saw two stop cocks replaced, the road outside dug up, invoved 7 men and 4 vehicles. Hope the rest of the project is not as traumatic.
Further problems with bathroom evolved around the brief we asked for not being fully understood by the fitters. Fortunately Martin (Tracy's husband) popped over on Sunday morning and plastered a couple of walls. The fitters are going to be gob smacked when they see it.
Bathroom finished, bar the fitting of an expensive splash back behing the sink (still to arrive). The shower is excellent - just what I was hoping for.
New Chest freezer delivered.
Sunday stroll with the boys et al, Cain Flight
Winter walk around Lacock
Serious back injury lays me up for days
Doom and gloom. COVID on increase again and Brexit reality soon to bite.
Back taking a long time to recover. Finding it difficult to walk. Only just up to normal walking speed by Christmas.
We have a Brexit deal. Whoopee (sarchasm that is). UK now much worse off in all catagories, especially anything to do with travel, than we were as members of the EU. What numbskulls half of this country are for voting for it and why the otherhalf put up with it is so puzzleing.
Struck low by annoying medical problems. Long troubling recurring sebaceous cyst erupts boxing day, followed by 111 call due to concern about swelling facial glands. This provedto be impetigo of all things. On a course of antibiotics.
Last day of the year and last day of all our EU membership freedoms. I will never move on and accept this disgraceful decision. Tomorrow starts fight to rejoin.
Antibiotics beginning to work and we had a nice walk in the sunshine to end this bad bad year.