On 4th May 2021 I boarded a A350-900 aircraft of Singapore Airlines from Auckland en route to London Heathrow via Singapore, arriving at the ungodly hour of 6am to a largely deserted airport.
I had read of six hour queues at immigration but our flight seemed to be the only one at that time in the morning.
Because of the press reports of six hour queues at Heathrow I had taken the precaution of arranging to be transported by buggy from the aircraft to immigration as my Myeloma bones would have been hurting due to standing for such a long period. The buggy took me right up to the immigration desk and I did not even need to get out of the buggy as the immigration officer inspected my documents.
My good friends Kelly and Dave had motored me from Tauranga to Auckland where we all stayed with more friends, Terri and Byron who ferried me around to get my covid-19 pre-flight test done. I also joined Byron and Terri's brother to watch the Auckland Blues beat a 2nd XV Chiefs side at Eden Park.
I had to complete a UK Home Office contact form on-line less than 48 hours before my flight stating what countries I had visited prior to my flight on pain of a £10,000 fine if you were found to have lied and Terri dropped me off at the airport where I relaxed in Air New Zealand's lounge.
The Singapore Airlines Business class was a bit of a disappointment. The lie flat seat was quite cramped. You have to get out of the seat and fold down the back to lie flat then you have to lie diagonally across it, poking your feet down a recess in one corner which restricted movement. The food was pretty awful too and I have had better airline food in economy let alone premium economy.
The Airbus A350-900 is an aircraft that competes with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. I am no expert but on both aircraft I have experienced lots of vibration during clear air turbulence and this meant sleep was impossible for much of both flights back.
After landing at Heathrow I phoned Chris Hockey who was just leaving to drive to London so as there were no queues at immigration I had a long wait in the arrivals hall but we were sittng down to breakfast of butcher's sausages, dry cured bacon and eggs by 10-30am, something I had missed during my sojourn in New Zealand.
I now had to remain indoors for 10 days and am not permitted any contact with the outside world. On days 2 and 8 I must take a swab for a covid-19 test and live stream a video of me doing it to prove it is my snot and not someone elses!!
You must first go on line and watch a training video which explains how to take the sample swab from the throat and nostrils. Then you connect with a web site to record the process which is reviewed by the testing company to ensure you have done it correctly. The swab is then placed in a sealed pack and sent for testing by pre-paid priority post. You get the result back by email in 48 hours which if positive condemns you to another 10 days quarantine, including the other members of the household so you hope for a negative result.
COVID-19 Vaccinations in the UK
I pre-registered with the local GP prior to leaving NZ and emailed them asking how to book a covid jab but my website groupie, Ann Clifford, visited me (at a distance in the garden) bearing gifts of bottles of Otter Bitter. She suggested I phone 119 which is the NHS vaccination line which I did.
As you would expect from an efficient organisation that has now vaccinated over half the UK population, the system worked like clockwork. I confirmed I was registered with a GP, gave my NHS number and date of birth and was given firm appointments for a vaccination in Yeovil for my first and second jabs.
I have my first jab on 26th May and my second on 11th August so should have some protection by the second week of June.
Here on South Somerset the current infection rate is 21 in the last 7 days out of a population of 167,861 and no deaths. In the whole of Somerset which has a population of 560,631 there have been a total of 314 deaths since the start of the epidemic and 36 new cases in the last 24 hours.
The stats record the deaths of those who die who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the 28 days before their death but they may not have died from the virus.
I received a call on my NZ mobile number from someone from a UK government department checking that I was aware of the quarantine rules and that I had taken the first covid test so it would seem that big brother is watching! I have since received a second call from Test and Trace UK asking the same questions so either the big brother's don't talk to each other or I will continue to get phone calls to my NZ number until I am out of quarantine.
The Friday night game was between Sale and Leicester at the A J Bell stadium. Sale went quickly into the lead after a penalty goal from A J Macginty then a try from Barry Mcguigan and at half time were in charge with a 16-3 lead. A deliberate knock on early in the 2nd half from Sale earned the Tigers a penalty try but despite two yellow cards for Sale they Tigers could score no more and the game finished with a 26-10 win for Sale.
GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP Round 18
Pos
Team
Pl
W
D
L
Pts
1
Bristol Bears
18
14
0
4
71
2
Exeter Chiefs
18
13
0
5
63
3
Sale Sharks
18
13
0
5
59
4
Harlequins
18
11
1
6
59
5
Northampton Saints
18
10
0
8
50
6
London Irish
18
6
2
10
43
7
Bath Rugby
18
8
0
10
41
8
Leicester Tigers
18
8
0
10
39
9
Wasps
18
7
0
11
38
10
Gloucester Rugby
18
6
0
12
36
11
Newcastle Falcons
18
7
0
11
35
12
Worcester Warriors
18
3
0
15
21
Surprisingly Northampton could not keep up their winning ways at Franklins Gardens as Gloucester took them to the cleaners with a dominant display to win 7-31.
Exeter demolished Worcester 41-10 at Sandy Park while Newcastle did the same to London Irish 52-27 at Kingston Park.
A local Derby at the Rec began well for Bath against Bristol with the home side scoring two tries in the first quarter and at half time Brissle had only managed a converted try in answer going in 15-7 down. Unfortunately the second half was somewhat different especially when Barf hooker Tom Dunn received his second red card in as many months and left the field. Brissle then piled on the agony and finished with 6 tries to win 20-40
The final game on Sunday was at the Stoop where Quins entertained Wasps. The high scoring game seesawed backwards and forwards between the two sides. Starting the 2nd half 24-22 up Quins Mr Angry, Mike Brown, was sent off with a red card for stamping shortly after so Quins then had to play the rest of the half with 14 men.
Wasps quickly took the lead and looked like they would then win with Quins for the most part chasing the game but never gave up. Quins fly half Marcus Smith went over for a try in extra time to draw them level then slotted the conversion to snatch victory in a fantastic 12 try game 48-46.
GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP Round 19
Pos
Team
Pl
W
D
L
Pts
1
Bristol Bears
19
15
0
4
76
2
Exeter Chiefs
19
14
0
5
68
3
Sale Sharks
19
14
0
5
64
4
Harlequins
19
11
1
7
61
5
Northampton Saints
19
10
0
9
50
6
Leicester Tigers
19
9
0
10
44
7
London Irish
19
6
2
11
43
8
Wasps
19
8
0
11
42
9
Bath Rugby
19
8
0
11
42
10
Newcastle Falcons
19
8
0
11
39
11
Gloucester Rugby
19
6
0
13
36
12
Worcester Warriors
19
3
0
16
22
Barf continued their depressing performance at the Rec in the 19th round where they met Sale who were not at their best but played well enough to beat Barf 20-24 despite the home side leading for most of the game.
There is plenty to play for as a place in the top six qualifies for the European Champons Cup and a top eight the Challenge Cup. If Barf keep playing the same way then they may not qualify for either!
The refs are giving out red cards for sweeties these days and continued the trend at the Ricoh on Saturday when Wasps flanker Ben Morris was found guilty. Wasps still managed to beat Worcester 23-19.
You would think 4 tries and a penalty try would have been enought for Quins to beat Leicester at Welford Road but Marcus Smith did not have his kicking boots on whereas George Ford did who kicked 3 conversions and three penalty goals to win the game 35-29.
There were no games played on the Sunday but two were played on the Monday evening. Newcastle were up against Northampton at Kingston Park and pulled off an unexpected 18-10 victory.
The West Country derby at Ashton Gate between Bristol and Gloucester saw eight Bristol tries disallowed, mainly for knock-ons in the preceding play. Brissle still managed to score 5 legitimate ones in front of 3000 supporters in the first game this season to allow spectators. Glaws had their big Argentinian International lock Matias Alemanno red carded early in the game but continued to defend superbly. They were still in the game at half time 13-7 until the extra man and the league leaders prevailed in the second half for Brissle to win 39-7.
The final game was in London where Irish entertained Exeter. No surprises here as Exeter did a 5 try demolition job on the exiles winning 12-31 in front of a 4000 crowd. Sam Simmons scored a hat trick of tries and his brother Joe scored another.
Liza makes it legal!:
My eldest granddaughter Eliza has announced her engagement to her boyfriend Ian who popped the question during a few days off in Cornwall.
They both work in the medical profession in Bristol.
Yes it is good to be back but it is bloody cold! It is depressing looking at the next 10 day forecast. Temperatures are forecast a maximum 15°C and a minimum 8°C and it will rain every day. England is on target for the coldest May since records began in 1659!
Meanwhile I complete my 10 days quarantine on 16th May having had two negative COVID-19 tests, however, I am staying with the Hockey's and Carol has an eye operation scheduled for the 19th May so Chris and I must quarantine with her until then.
I abandoned purchasing a car after the salesman got right up my nose trying to sell me additional warranty, insurance and the kitchen sink. I kept telling him to stop and I just wanted to buy the car, nothing else, but he kept saying it was his job and he would get into trouble if something happened that he hadn't told me about. I said that I absolved him of all responsibility but he still wouldn't stop talking. How not to sell something in one easy lesson!
The car I almost bought bought before that salesman pissed me off was a Suzuki 2017 Ignis, a 1.2 litre petrol engined small SUV with a combined petrol consumption of 50.4mpg which had only done 13,000 miles.
I found the Jag XF 2.2 litre diesel which was a bit more expensive at a dealer just North of Bristol and Chris and Carol drove me up to look at it. It was a 2012 SE business model with a combined fuel consumption of 52.3 mpg so as cheap to run as the Suzuki but much older with 39,000 miles on the clock and one owner. I drove the car which handled like a new one and looked immaculate with 4 good tyres, full service record, 12 months MOT and 3 months warranty delivered free to South Petherton with zero hassle from the salesman!
So I am now the proud owner and thinking of taking a degree course on how to get my head round all the bells and whistles that come with a car of this class. The last Jags I drove were XJ6's in the 1980's and things have moved on since then. This car does not even have a gear lever but instead a circular gear selector dial rises from between the front seats after you press the red light pulsing engine start button and the climate control vents slowly rotate out of the front facia.
The 8 speed automatic gearbox has 3 modes; Standard, Winter and Sports, for you to vary the car's behavior according to the driving conditions or if you are feeling sporty and aggressive, while if you prefer you can select each gear yourself using paddle switches under the steering wheel.
Touch screen and steering wheel controls are also provided for the DAB radio, CD player (with 10 speakers), speech recognition, bluetooth, mobile telephone, navigation system with live traffic reporting recommending change of routes if necessary, cruise control and external sensors for parking front and rear.
The front seats are electrically adjustable with all leather upholstery and the split rear seats fold down for extra boot space but even my little Mazda Demio in NZ had proximity door locking which the Jag doesn't and am bitterly disappointed the car will not cook me a full English breakfast!
I'm jabbed!!
I drove in to Yeovil today and stood in a long queue at a church hall observing the mandatory masking up and social distancing. I was ushered before two ladies, one of whom was a nurse who asked me a few questions then told me that the Pfizer vaccine was on the menu today and jabbed me. I then had to sit down for 15 minutes in case there were any after effects. It all went like clockwork and with the minimum of fuss!
I was looked on with some surprise as I think someone my age who had not been jabbed was something of a rarity in these parts. I get a second jab in August.
Gloucester Rugby managed to win their game at Kingsholm against London Irish when '36' kicked a penalty goal in extra time to finish 30-28.
Sales Sharks welcomed league leaders Bristol to the A.J.Bell and defended impressively for the first half demonstrated by making 100 tackles to Brissle's 21 at half rime with the score still 0-0. After Brissle broke the duck with a try early in the 2nd half Sale went into attack mode and outplayed the visitors especially after they brought on Manu Tuilagi, his first game in 8 months.
Semi Radradra was lucky not to receive a red card after two high tackles, the second one getting him a yellow which resulted in a Sale try who won the game 22-12.
GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP Round 20
Pos
Team
Pl
W
D
L
Pts
1
Bristol Bears
20
15
0
5
76
2
Exeter Chiefs
20
15
0
5
73
3
Sale Sharks
20
15
0
5
68
4
Harlequins
20
12
1
7
66
5
Northampton Saints
20
11
0
9
54
6
Leicester Tigers
20
10
0
10
48
7
London Irish
20
6
2
12
44
8
Wasps
20
8
0
12
43
9
Bath Rugby
20
8
0
12
43
10
Gloucester Rugby
20
7
0
13
41
11
Newcastle Falcons
20
8
0
11
39
12
Worcester Warriors
20
3
0
17
23
Bath travelled to the Stoop to play Harlequins in ideal sunny conditions whith both sides intent on playing fast entertaining rugby. Quins continually looked to have to the game sewn up going ahead 15-3 in the first quarter before Barf came back at them to take the lead 15-18 but at half time Quins had re-established themselves in front at 32-18.
Marcus Smith forgot his kicking boots for this game as Barf came back to take the lead again in the second half before a try from Martin Landajo put the game to bed with a 44-33 win for Quins.
Worcester let a half time lead of 14-6 slip away at Sixways as Leicester came back in the 2nd half to win by a point 17-18.
Northampton and Wasps were locked together at half time 17-17 at Franklins Gardens after the Saints were awarded and penalty try and Jacob Umaga a yellow card. The Saints just edged it in the second half to win 30-25.
Finally Exeter did a demolition job on Newcastle to run in 12 tries and win at Sandy Park by 74-3.
Round 21
There should have been four games played on the Saturday but Gloucester cancelled the derby against Barf fur to a covid outbreak so Barf claimed the 4 points to stay at 8th place in the table.
London Irish looked in charge at home against Wasps going in 33-10 ahed at half time but Wasps came back at them in the second half to win the game 36-39 with a hat trick of tries from Tom Willis, the winning one in extra time.
GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP Round 21
Pos
Team
Pl
W
D
L
Pts
1
Bristol Bears
21
16
0
5
81
2
Exeter Chiefs
21
16
0
5
78
3
Sale Sharks
21
16
0
5
73
4
Harlequins
21
12
1
8
66
5
Northampton Saints
21
11
0
10
55
6
Leicester Tigers
21
10
0
11
49
7
Wasps
21
9
0
12
48
8
Bath Rugby
21
9
0
12
47
9
London Irish
21
6
2
14
46
10
Newcastle Falcons
21
9
0
11
44
11
Gloucester Rugby
21
7
0
14
41
12
Worcester Warriors
21
3
0
18
23
The game at Welford Road was a bad tempered affair with Leicester losing to Bristol 23-26. After their prop was yellow carded Bristol wanted to bring back John Afoa after they had declared him injured. The refs ruled they could but another Bristol player had to be sent off. As the game was now in extra time and a try would have won it for they Tigers there was some annoyance at this ruling as fly half Callum Sheedy ambled off the field and Brissle hung on to their 3 point win.
Newcastle performed the inevitable win at Kingston Park against Worcester 24-14 and at Sale the home side demolished Quins 45-12. None of this really mattered as the top four semi-final places were already decided. Bristol will play Quins at home and only the 2nd semi venue was undecided between Exeter and Sale would be decided by the result of the Northampton v Exeter game in round 21. Exeter needed just one point to secure a home semi fixture.
Exeter had a disasterous first half at Franklins Gardens despite the Saints Lock Dave Ribbans getting an early red card for a high tackle. The Saints played out on their skins and deserved more than their 2 tries but with 14 men they were bound to struggle in the second half especially after Baxter had given Executer a good talking too!
Sure enough an Executer try came from Sam Skinner in the first minutes of the second half for their first points in the game. That try was quickly followed by full back Stuart Hogg going over for the second with Tom Simmonds converting to take the score to 18-10.
Twern't long my 'ansome afore thic Torbay boy Stu Townsend went over for a third which Sam converts but they Saints hit back with one of their own from Mike Haywood. Then thic Yeovil bloke from up Somerset way with thic funny name, was 'er called? Ollie Devoto, went over for Executer and the score were level you at 26 all. Apologies if the Devonian accent isn't quite right.
Bloody good game of rugby and a shame the Saints were down to 14 men. With five minutes to go and the score still level Joe Simmonds kicked a penalty goal to put Executer ahead 26-29. The Saints went on the attack in extra time and decided a draw was not enough after a penalty on the 10 metre line kicked to the corner, won the line out but then knocked it forward and the West had won.
Round 22
GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP Round 22
Pos
Team
Pl
W
D
L
Pts
1
Bristol Bears
22
17
0
5
85
2
Exeter Chiefs
22
17
0
5
82
3
Sale Sharks
22
16
0
6
74
4
Harlequins
22
13
1
8
71
5
Northampton Saints
22
11
0
11
57
6
Leicester Tigers
22
11
0
11
54
7
Bath Rugby
22
10
0
12
52
8
Wasps
22
9
0
13
50
9
London Irish
22
6
2
14
48
10
Newcastle Falcons
22
9
0
13
45
11
Gloucester Rugby
22
7
0
15
45
12
Worcester Warriors
22
4
0
18
27
A minor miracle happened at the Rec where Barf met Northampton and beat them 30-24 to keep them in the European Challenge Cup next season.
Exeter came back from 3-14 down at half time to beat Sale 20-19 in front of a jubilant Sandy Park crowd.
Quins gave Newcastle a thrashing54-26 at the Stoop while Wasps failed against Leicester at the Ricoh 31-38. The Gloucester v Worcester and Bristol v London Irish games were cancelled due to covid.
The upshot of those games are that the semi finals will be Bristol v Quins at Ashton Gate and Exeter face a repeat fixture against Sale at Sandy Park on Saturday 19th June. The final will be at Twickers on Saturday 26th June.
Renegade Monk Cheese
I'm cat sitting my daughter's cat Pumpkin and she left me some cheese to try while they are away on holiday.
Renegade Monk it's called and is described on the front label as a soft blue organic cows cheese but on the back it says it generally has no blue veining??
However it is a washed rind cheese reminiscent of Epoisse but this one is washed not in Marc but in an organic ale and made with vegetarian rennet at Felthams Farm, Horsington Marsh, Templecombe in Somerset.
It tastes nothing like Epoisse and has a sharp peppery taste with a bite not unlike a good Camembert. It was the supreme champion out of 300 entries in the 2020 Virtual Cheese Awards. Drop of good stuff I do declare and I washed it down with a nice glass of Rosé I found in the booze cupboard!
Pictured below is Pumpkin the cat I am looking after, taking her ease in the sunshine.
This walk will take you about 2.5 hours and is just under 9km (5.5miles). Park at the car park at Hodders Combe bowling green and walk along the paved road towards Alfoxton Park to the first corner then turn left up a rough track through the woods. You eventually emerge onto open moorland and climb steadily over the flank of Longstone Hill before arriving at the Packway where you turn left and descend down to Bicknoller Post.
The packway is then followed East skirting around Black Ball Hill and Thorncombe Hill to Hurley Post.
Just past the post turn left down a narrow track into Stert Combe and back off the moor into woodland, descending down Somerton Combe crossing several fords into Hodders Combe and back to the bowling green.
An alternative especially in wet weather is to continue further along the packway before turning left along the track over Black Hill which will lead you right down to the Hodders Combe car park avoiding fording the streams in the combes.
You could also walk even further along the Packway until you see the path left which leads you down into Holford Combe where a short walk along the paved road will lead you back to Hodders Combe bowling green.
England v New Zealand Cricket Test Series
Lords, the home of cricket, was the venue for the first test match between the 2nd and 3rd placed test teams in the world and you can read my report by expanding this page here
The hottest day of the year so far saw the MCC boaters out in force for the first cricket in front of spectators for 18 months. The Kiwis have a secret weapon called Devon Conway, a Jarpie who migrated to NZ and found fame. This was his first test match and made special for being at Lords where the Black Caps haven't played for 6 years.
Conway set off as he always has in a confident batting display that reached only the 6th debutant century on the first day with only Henry Nicholls managing to keep him company. The Kiwi's lost captain Kane Williamson bowled by Anderson for 13 and Ross Taylor lbw to Ollie Robinson for 14 on the first day and at stumps were 246 for 3.
Nicholls played a gritty and determined innings to partner Conway until he was caught by Dom Sibley off a ball from Mark Wood for 61 which prefaced a Kiwi Kollapse with Watling going for 1 caught by Robinson off Wood, Colin de Grandhomme and Mitchell Santner going for a ducky wucky's lbw off Robinson and caught by Sibly off Wood respectively, Kyle Jamiesonn for 9 off Ollie Robinson and Tim Southee for 8 off James Anderson. Neil Wagner made an unbeaten last wicket stand with Conway until the latter reached the magic 200 with a six off Broad before he was run out by Ollie Pope in the next over and the Kiwi's were all out for 378.
Conway now holds the highest debut score at Lords beating the previous record holder Sourav Ganguly who scored 131 and only the 2nd "New Zealander" to score a debut 200 who was Mathew Sinclair who scored 214 at Wellington against the Windies in 1999.
The England innings opened with Rory Burns and Dom Sibley who was out lbw off Jamieson in the third over then Crawley was caught by Watling off Southee for for a duck a little later while Rory Burns then managed 22 runs in an hour after being joined by captain Joe Root. Could they stop the rot? Well the answer to that hypothetical question is yes and they both formed a strong partnership until close of play with Burns on 59, Root on 42, and England 111 for 2, still 267 runs behind NZ but better than the visitors were after 2 wickets down in their first innings.
There was no play on the 3rd day at Lords due to rain but here in Somerset the sun shone all day. Play resumed on the 4th day when that vital partnership was broken with Root being dismissed for 42, caught Taylor bowled Jamieson. Ollie Poe stuck around for 22 runs until Tim Southee had him lbw and then the rot set in.
Dan Laurance went for a duck when Southee had him caught by de Grandhomme then clean bowled Bracey for zero a couple of overs later until Ollie Robinson managed to get a grip and stayed with Burns to take the score up to 203 before Southee had him caught by Jamieson for 42. Wood didn't last long. Edged a ball from Jamieson and caught behind for a duck. Stuart Broad managed one six out of 10 scored before misjudging a ball from Wagner who clean bowled him and we were down to the last wicket of Jimmy Anderson.
Jimmy has been known to perform a few last wicket stands and this was one of them. He kept his end up while Rory burn srored his 100 who then let rip, taking England to an unlikely 275 befor Southee claimed his 6th wicket when he had him caught behind for 132. Anderson was not out 8.
NZ struggled in their 2nd innings with two ton Conway of the 1st innings nable to really get going before he was clean bowled by Robinson for 23. In came Williamson and quickly left when Robinson had him lbw for 1. Not a good test for the Kiwi Kapitan. Wagner then came in as night watchman and at stumps NZ were 62 for 2. It looks like it is heading for a draw with one day left to play.
Wagner stayed around on the 5th day to take the score up to 73 before getting caught behind from Robinson for 10 then Ross Taylor joined opener Tom Latham to take the score on to 105 until Broad had the latter out lbw for 32, his first wicket in this test match. Taylor stayed around for awhile finally being caught behind off Wood for 33 with NZ 133 for 5.
Henry Nicholls and BJ Watling then formed a partnership and took the score on to 159 when Joe Root had him caught by Burns. De Grandhomme then came in briefly but rain stopped play and they went in for an early lunch during which NZ declared on 169 for 6. They obviously think they can bowl us out and the way England are batting and Southee is bowling it would not surprise me.
Openers Burns and Sibley came out and proceeded to defend. England need 273 runs which works out at 3.6 runs an over assuming the designated 75 overs are played but that might depend on the weather. It will also depend on the Kiwi bowlers keeping the run rate down which is inconsistent with winning the game which is winnable by either side. If these two openers get themselves in and the over rate is still gettable then we could win this so a fascinating end to this Test is in prospect.
Wagner was bought on to bowl and Southee took a difficult catch to dismiss Burns for 25 and on came Zac Crawley with England on 49 for 1 after 24 overs, a run rate of just over 2 an over and a required rate of 4.39. England were still in draw mode and were likely to stay that way as Crawley threw away his wicket for 2 with a loose shot caught by Nicholls in the gully off Southee. They take tea at 56 for 2 with Root at the crease.
After tea the run rate slowed to 1 an over so the writing was on the wall as far as winning the game but we still had to draw which we managed to do.
The 2nd test is best forgotten if you are English but a joyous occasion if you are a Kiwi. England won the toss and elected to bat. Burns made a patient 81 and Lawrence managed a similar score but the rest showed little resistance to post a first innings score of 303.
In came the Kiwi's and Conway, Young and Taylor all posted scores in the eighties but our bowlers stuck to their task and bowled them out for 388 so not an insurmountable lead you would have thought except that it was the English batting.
Nobody managed to resist the Kiwi bowling onslaught and they bowled us all out for 122. Bloody disgraceful performance from our batters and one that will have they Aussies putting away the sandpaper as not needed for the Ashes. NZ then came in for the formality of winning the game and the two match series. Makes you want to spit!
Update on my health
I developed a severe pain in my neck on returning to the UK. Now I know many of you regard me as a pain in the neck but this was no laughing matter and I could hardly turn my head. I called the surgery and they told me to increase the amount of codeine I had been prescribed in NZ and to take it with paracetamol which I did and the pain was controlled. The heamatology department at Musgrove said they would investigate further at my next appointment to see if the pain was connected to the myeloma.
I am now housebound so the walking has stopped for a time. I was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection which involves pissing quite frequently with some discomfort. I am on antibiotics to clear it up which were prescribed by the local GP. I called the surgery and they told me to go straight in where they took a urine sample and tested it straight away. They even delivered the medication to my door which was above and beyond the call of duty and much improved on the service from South Petherton Surgery.
I attended the Beacon Centre at Musgrove Hospital in Taunton which holds outpatient clinics for Haematology and Oncology patients. It has a very good local reputation which I confirmed on my first visit. The haematologist was spot on time for my appointment and could not have been more helpful in arranging my further treatment and fast tracking me for my second covid jab. I also have an appointment for an MRI scan of my neck to try and explain the cause of the pain and they arranged an x-ray at the clinic there and then. A certain improvement to my treatment in NZ.
Brexit, Astrazenica, the Irish Protocol and all that stuff.
Regular readers will be well aware of my opinion of the EU so be forewarned, I am biased, but since the UK left that organisation, their diplomats aided by certain Frogs, have done their best to make us regret the decision to leave. If you have no interest in the subject then do not click this link to expand the page to reveal my latest opinions.
Our first experience of EU pettiness after Brexit was when a Dutch customs official confiscated the ham sandwiches of an English truck driver because the meat did not comply with EU law and told him to blame Brexit! That was quite funny until we began to realise this attitude might be endemic.
First it was the EU demanding the UK instruct Astrazenica to supply them with their corona-19 vaccine from UK factories when the commercial UK government contract stipulated the UK had to be supplied on a first come first served basis from whatever source. The EU then imposed export controls across the Irish Border to ensure no vaccine came to the UK from EU factories. This action even upset the Irish government and was quickly rescinded but with not inconsiderable damage to the EU's reputation. If I were to consider investing in a manufacturing facility in the EU then that attitude would certainly influence my decision.
EU negotiators had proceeded at the usual snails pace to try and get the best price (the price offered was at cost) resulting in the contract being signed months after the UK and also neglecting to secure a guaranteed despatch date relying on the company making its "best efforts" to deliver the product on the dates specified. Due to manufacturing problems at its EU plants, Astra failed to deliver on time and the EU is now taking it to court despite having rubbished the vaccine from day one!
Then there is France and Mr Macron who seems to have lost his grip on reality when it comes to the efficacy of the Astra vaccines and his fishing fleets right to fish in British Waters, even threatening to disrupt electricity supplies through his ministerial spokesperson. (Note my political correctness as the person was une grenouille femelle!).
Then Macron stops all Brits entering France unless they have a compelling reason because of the Indian variant of the virus, despite France having 7 times the number of corona virus cases than the UK. This will be eased if you are fully vaccinated from June 9th but a family with teenagers are still required to have a negative test whereas from any EU country there are no special requirements. Logically that must be a French political descision and not one based on science or facts.
Not only that but neither Macron or anyone else has the first clue on how much of the Indian variant is circulating in France. This is because only 0.7 per cent of new cases in France are currently being sequenced to establish what variant they are. In Britain, 50 per cent of cases are now sequenced. So we discover the new variants but are then punished for finding them. Denmark, the only EU country which does do extensive sequencing, found the Indian variant there on May 23rd 2021.
To get some idea of the thought processes of these europhiles just look at the latest advice that Simon Coveney, the Foreign and Defence Secretary of Eire, a country of just under 5 million, gives to the UK, a country with a population of just under 67 million of which Northern Ireland has a population of under 2 million. He says the Brits chose Brexit so must accept the consequences. Agreed and according to the votes in the 2016 referendum, 15,188,406 Brits do but 440,707 Ulsterpersons (PC yet again) don't. The CTA (Common Travel Agreement) has been operating since 1923 between Eire and the UK and that has worked well so it needs the Irish, North and South, to further resolve their long standing differences to make this new protocol work.
Coveney said further that neither Ireland nor the EU wanted or sought trade barriers but implied that the UK Government did by choosing to leave the customs union and the single market. We did that because we could not accept our laws being made by the Court of Justice of the European Union or free movement of just under 450 million people with the right to live and work here. These were the principle reasons we left the EU and not to put up trade barriers. The UK is fundamentally a free trading nation and it is the EU who are protectionist as amply demonstrated by their recent actions to protect EU trade.
The UK has been consistant in saying it wanted free movement between the North and South of the island of Ireland and did not want trade barriers. It was the EU who insisted on a border down the Irish Sea which has in practice increased sectarian friction, caused trade barriers between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and between Eire and the EU. Shades of cutting off nose.... North South trade is £7 billion while GB/NI trade £24 billion so over three times the size. Pretty well all North to South trade originates in the island of Ireland so the amount of trade the EU is trying to protect from GB is tiny.
So you monitor the amount of trade originating in NI and the difference in trade must have been imported which can be easily traced. Agencies in the North and South are already doing it. It is surely not rocket science to find a solution for such a small amount of trade with goodwill on both sides, seemingly lacking while the EU continues to try and punish Britain for leaving.
Walking in the Quantocks
Stogursey, while not actually in the Quantock AONB is considered to be a Quantock village and the first walk is from the village which has a surprisingly picturesque castle. The second walk is up in the hills on the slopes of Dowsborough, an iron age fort. You can expand this page to see the route of my walk by clicking here.
This walk will take you just over an hour and is just under 5km (3.1miles). There are plenty of car parks in the village or you could start and finish at the pub which is in Lime Street and is called The Greyhound. Walk up to the High St. from the pub turning left and then immediately right into Castle St. where you will soon arrive at the Castle.
Just before the castle is an old millhouse with the remains of the wheel still intact. The locals wanted to restore it but the cost was prohibitive and the parish council did not have the funds to help. The mill race which is not in use was fed from the castle moat which in turn is fed from Stogursey Brook so had plenty of head.
The castle dates from Bill the Conk's time when he granted the manor of Stoke to William de Falaise who built it. The Landmark Trust now owns it and has restored what was a neglected ruin including the 17th century gatehouse which they now let as a holiday home. You can read more about the castle, its history and its renovation on their web site.
Follow the track past the castle and after crossing the feeder channel to the moat look out for a post with waymarks on your right. Turn left and cross the field diagonally to a kissing gate where you cross Stogursey brook proper and shortly after begin the short climb up Tet Hill from where you get a good view over Stogursey village and to Hinckley Point Nuclear power station beyond, dominated at present by huge cranes involved in the new power station construction
Ahead the Quantock hills are the background as you descend to Peadon farm which you circumnavigate and turn right through the farmyard past the old farmhouse and through a couple of fields to just short of Durborough Farm. You cross the brook once again and turn right to follow it back towards the village. You eventually arrive at a kissing gate which you ignore and instead turn left and follow the path until you emerge passing to the left of the primary school at Tower Hill where you turn right back to the village centre.
Hill walking on the slopes of Dowsborough
Leave your car in the park on the road from Over Stowey just before the bigger car park at Dead Womans Ditch. Set off downhill in a southerly direction towards Rams Combe and Seven Wells Wood until you meet the edge of the forestry plantation. Go through the gate and turn immediately left along a forestry track. The track meets a junction of several tracks and you should turn half left and follow the lower track skirting around Rectory Wood which eventually ends at the edge of the wood. Turn left following the track through the scrub oak woods until you meet the Over Stowey road.
Cross the road and follow the track opposite which sets off in a westerly direction towards Dowsburgh. If the wind is in the right direction this a good path to spot red deer. The patch contours gently around Great Bear rising gently until it meets the road coming op from Walfords Gibbet. Turn left an follow the road uphill for a few yards then take the first track on the right. Turn right again in a few yards and proceed straight to the top of the ridge before turning left up the ridge to the summit.
The iron age fort is at 1115 feet and was also a key defence point of the last Saxon King Arthur whose military road ran from Combwich up through the Stowey's and past the car park where the walk started. It was called the Herepath and allowed Arthurs armies to follow potential Viking raiders along the Somerset coast. The path you will return on from Dowsborough to the car park is called the Great Bear Path which is thought to be a corruption of Great Herepath.
At the far end of the fort you have a nice view North over the Bristol channel with the island of Flat Holm and the coast of South Wales in view on a fine day. The Mendip Hills provide the backdrop to the Somerset levels which terminate in Brean Down, the promontory extending out into the channel and the island of Steep Holm at its tip.
Continue round the fort in an anti clockwise direction until you meet an obvious path descending down to where you started. Turn right and continue your descent to the road which you cross and follow the track opposite which is the Great Bear Path which leads you directly back to your car.
The Great British Sausage
"It is wrong that anyone should be threatening the British sausage. We will stand up for the British sausage and no one will ever be able to destroy it," said trade minister Ranil Jayawardena.
As a connoisseur of sausages I applaud those sentiments and to me a gourmet meal is British sausages, egg, chips and baked beans infused with HP sauce covered with layers of streaky bacon cooked in the oven! I have spent the last two and a half years searching for a decent Porker in NZ which seems to be devoid of a good sausage which must have some rusk in it to make it more succulent and never all meat!
Cutting off nose... "Government figures revealed that about £51.4m worth of UK chilled meats, fish and crustaceans, including sausages, were exported to the EU. £586.4m worth of the produce was imported into the UK from the EU." ...to spite face?
This is all down to the Irish protocol included in the Brexit withdrawal agreement effectively preventing sausages produced on the mainland of Britain being sold in Northern Ireland as under EU law, chilled meats cannot be imported by a non-EU country unless there is an animal health and food safety agreement.
Northern Ireland although part of the UK is being treated as part of the EU under the protocol so anything produced on mainland Britain and sent there must comply with EU law, sausages included. In any case it is all a storm in a teacup because most of the major supermarkets in Ulster source their Bangers in the province and don't "import" from the mainland. Also, sensible locals will always prefer to buy their sausages from their own butcher's shop which is as much of an Ulster tradition as anywhere else in the UK or Ireland.
From my considerable experience of eating British Snags all my life, sausages produced in other countries do not hold a candle to the British Snarler. You can keep your Toulouse, Merguez, Bratwurst, Chorizo and Boudin Blanc. As for Andouilette that is the most revolting sausage I have ever tasted.
Italian sausages will sometimes give us a run for our money and Irish Clonakilty black pudding is to die for as is some Froggie Boudin Noir but both need the flavour of a Cumberland or a plain pork British Banger to go with them.
The South Petherton butcher produces a prime example but if buying supermarket sausages you should select the premium brands like those from the Black Farmer.
UK mobile phone
I have now resolved the problems I had receiving a signal on my mobile phone by changing my mobile provider who uses a different network. My UK mobile number is still +44 (0)794 232 2092 as I have transferred it to the new sim card.
Australia and UK sign new free trade deal
This is the first post-Brexit free trade deal to be negotiated from scratch since the UK left the EU and as such sets a standard for other such deals especially with countries like New Zealand who it is rumoured is close to a similar deal. For me one of the most important things included is that three year visas can be issued for people under 35 years old. These new visas will mean it would be nearly as easy for Aussies to travel and work in the UK as it is for them to work in New Zealand and vice versa.
This comparatively free movement of young people is going to stimulate both countries economies and unlike the EU free movement we would not be flooded with immigrants as it is controlled by visa applications coming from relatively small populations.
UK farmers are reported to be concerned at the eventual elimination of tariffs on agricultural products, especially if NZ agrees a similar deal. The quotas agreed with Oz are insignificant but the concern is that this deal is the template for other countries. IMHO it is countries like the Netherlands and Eire who have by far the biggest share of this market that should be worried they are going to have some stiff competition. Our own farmers should concentrate on quality and niche products rather than try and compete with intensively farmed cheaper alternatives or the economies of scale in other countries.
It should be remembered that trade with Australia today is a fraction of what it was in the 1950's when it was at its peak and our membership of the EEC in 1973 really put the kaibosh on an already declining trade when tariffs were imposed. The Ozzies, just like the Kiwi's, now have China as their biggest trading partner who have a political agenda which Oz has fallen foul of in recent times. Increased trade with the Poms and less with China is a politically wise move and also helps us with our application to join the Pacific Free Trade Area called the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership).
Euro 2020
I am not a regular follower of the round ball game but the current Euro 2020 finals series demands my attention to be able to join in the main sporting discussions which usually take precedence.
The first game was at Ibrox Park in Glasgow where Scotland suffered a two nil defeat to the Czech Republic much to the disgust of the Scots fans who have waited 25 years since their team last reached the finals only to fail at the first hurdle hence the adjacent song sent to me by Uncle Murdo!
Scotland then met England at Wembley which ended in a goalless draw much to the disgust of England but relief to the Scots as a loss would have put them out of the competition.
To the Scots, beating England is possibly more important than getting to the Euro final so a draw was not what they wanted either as they now had to beat Croatia to have any chance of progressing. England also had to beat the Czech Republic to ensure progression.
The upshot was that England beat the Czechs 1-0 and will play Germany at Wembley and Scotland lost to Croatia 3-1 and so are eliminated from the tournament so, as the song says, they are shite as are England but less so!
Fathers Day
Daddy's day didn't begin until 1910 when Sonora Smart Dodd of Washington, USA decided to honour her father, a civil war veteran, who brought up 6 children after his wife died in childbirth. In the USA and UK it is always on the 3rd Sunday in June.
Unlike Mothering Sunday which is a Christian event held on the 4th Sunday in Lent since the 8th century, Daddy's day is a modern invention popularised by commercial interests to sell gifts and cards. There seems to be no fixed date for the event in other countries and some do not even observe it.
My family never used to observe the event but my extended family does and so I found myself walking around a Dartmoor valley with three generations in my wake before arriving at the Waie Inn at Zeal Monachorum in the wilds of Devon.
The photo above is of L to R; Henry (No 2 grandson), Rupert (No 3 great grandson), Tom (Son-in-Law), Constance (No 1 great granddaughter), Matilda (No 2 granddaughter) and Felix (No 1 great grandson). The fourth great grandchild Emily was carried round the walk by his mum Donna. They can't 'arf eat Mum!
The Premiership Rugby Union Finals
This will be the last report of the 2020/21 season. The first semi final was between league leaders Bristol and 4th place Harlequins at Ashton Gate and the second between 2nd place Exeter and 3rd place Sale at Sandy Park. If you would like to read my report of the final games you can expand this page to see them by clicking here.
Quins looked dead and buried after a scintillating first half by Brissle saw a try after 7 minutes for Ben Earl then two in quick succession from Max Malins with Luke Morahan rounding off with a fourth to go 28 nil up before Dombrandt managed to cross the whitewash for Quins just before half time.
The half time discussion on Radio Brissle had ex Barf Prop Gareth Chilcott waxing lyrical about the Brissle performance and advising Quins not to loose heart but to get a try every 10 minutes which is exactly what they did. First Dombrandt for his 2nd, then Chisholm then Lewis Lynagh and before you knew it they were drawn at 31 points each.
They then played 10 minutes each way extra time and it came down to the survival of the fittest. Quins won that contest and Brissle were down to 13 men at the finish. They fought back valiantly when Max Malins scored his try hat trick but Dombrandt equalled the feat and Joe Marchant hammered in the final nails with the 7th try to win the trip to Twickers 36-43.
After just managing to beat Sale by a point last weekend it was a more typical performance from Exeter at Sandy Park who beat Sale comfortably 40-30 to secure their sixth premiership final in succession. Barf did it seven times between 1991 and 1997 while Leicester hold the record of 9 finals between 2005 and 2013.
You can argue that the best team over the season was Bristol who should really take the silverware and there was only three points or one game between Bristol and Exeter whereas Quins were 14 points behind but there again Exeter would have gone ahead of Brissle on points after the semi final. The other bone of contention is the covid-19 restrictions and cancellations which gave some sides an unfair advantage. I am fairly certain that Executer will bring back the trophy to the West Country and send they Londoners packing!
The final ranks as one of the best games of rugby you could wish to watch. Held in front of a small Twickenham crowd of just over 10,000 who made enough noise for 50,000, Exeter opened the scoring with a try from lock Jonny Gray followed by another from Alec Hepburn before Quins woke up and put Wilco Louw over and then Dombrandt scored two in quick succession just before the half time whistle to put Quins in the lead 15-19.
Andre Esterhuizen put Quins further ahead early in the 2nd half before tries from Sam Simmons and Ollie Devoto put Exeter back into the game with a two point lead. Penalties meant the lead fluctuated but two quick tries in the last 10 minutes from winger Louis Lyhnagh put Quins in the driving seat. Exeter full back Stuart Hogg had other ideas with a try in the 77th minute to bring them back to a 2 point game but they lost the ball in the dying seconds to concede the championship to Quins 38-40.
So the fourth place side in the league beats the first place side in the semi final and then goes on to beat the second place side for the championship. Some achievement and a hell of a game of rugby.
Matt Handcock (sic)
He is the UK health secretary who, while in favour of and instrumental in making it a criminal offence for two people from different households not to get closer than a metre apart and to then wear a mask, was carrying on an affair with his advisor while lecturing the peasants to abide by the law. Apart from this hypocritical behaviour he is also being investigated by the parliamentary authorities of failing to register an interest in a health firm in which he has a financial interest and which has been awarded substantial NHS contracts.
Added to his woes, the lady he has been fondling in his office if not shagging, Ms Coladangelo, has a brother who is an executive at private healthcare company "Partnering Health", who has been awarded NHS contracts worth millions of pounds since said lady was appointed by Mr Handcock (sic) to be a director at the Department of Health. This is in addition to earlier dodgy PPE contracts and accusations of Mr Handcock (sic) misleading the cabinet on covid testing of care home patients.
The company "Partnering Health" has of course assured us that it "has been operating for over 11 years and at all times has secured contracts through the robust tender and procurement processes put in place by local clinical commissioning groups. At no time have any contracts been awarded outside of these rigorous processes".
Who could possibly imagine the coincidence of the health secretary shagging his advisor had anything to do with the advisor's brother's company being awarded a lucrative contract? Do these politicians and civil servants think us peasants are so niave as to believe such ridiculous conspiracy theories?
Mr Handcock (sic) has apologised for breaching "covid guidelines" and says the subject is now closed. Boris, whose extra marital behaviour has been remarkably similar, has forgiven him. Others are saying he broke the law and not just the "guidelines" and must resign. Most of us peasants agree.
The upshot was that Hancock resigned, left his wife for Ms Coladangelo who was relieved of her government job and Boris appointed Sajid Javid to the position of health secretary. In the process Boris has lost more credibility as a leader and is increasingly seen as someone afraid to take decisions.
Euro 2020
England met Germany at Wembley with 40,000 fans in attendance. England had not beaten Germany in international competition since 1966, apart from in friendlies, when they beat them to win the world cup. England won the game fairly convincingly 2-0 with a header from Sterling and then another from Kane to seal the win.
The country needed a boost after the dismal period of the virus pandemic lockdown which is due to end on July 19th. With world champions France, Portugal and now Germany out of the competition, England met Ukraine in the quarter finals and beat them 4-0. They play Denmark at Wembley in the semi final so there is a realistic chance of England getting to the final.
Update on my health 02/07
A letter from the haematologist informed me that the Lambda light chains were 512 and Paraproteins 4.5. This was a huge rise from 46.4 and 0.3 in NZ indicating the Myeloma had returned. She also asked my GP to fast track my 2nd covid jab as I may need treatment in the near future. In fact the paraprotein rise is nowhere near that as NZ uses g/l units and the UK uses mg/l so the actual rise is 10 times less, however, NZ mysteriously uses the same mg/l for the Light Chains so that is a big rise!
At my last appointment the Doctor said they will continue monitoring the protein cell levels month by month before deciding when to resume chemo treatment. The Macmillan Myeloma specialist nurse said she would get me a 2nd covid jab fast tracked after I had failed to do so through my GP and the Vaccine Booking Service. Sure enough she arranged it the same evening and I am now fully jabbed.
Below is a comparison table from blood test results taken from me over a short period. The normal range of results are shown in the first column.
Blood Test
10/06
25/06
C - Corrected Calcium 2.1 - 2.6 mmol/l
2.30 mmol/l
2.24 mmol/l
R - Creatinine 50-120 umol/l
122 umol/l
104 umol/l
A - Haemoglobin 130 - 175 g/l
113 g/l
117
B - Evidence of bone disease
None identified
None identified
Paraprotein - normal is zero g/l
4.5 g/l
7.0 g/l
Free Lambda light chain 5.7 - 26.3 mg/l
512.17 mg/l
591.23 mg/l
Free Kappa light chain 3.3 - 19.4 mg/l
9.73 mg/l
8.07 mg/l
Kappa/Lambda ratio 0.26 - 1.65
0.02
0.01
Lucy Tinsley, the Myeloma clinical Macmillan Nurse Specialist at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, explained these results to me.
Different hospitals and different countries in my case have different guidelines. Musgrove does not just consider the Paraprotein and Light Chains but also looks at the CRAB criteria which are the first four items in the above table. I have what they call Lambda light chain myeloma and the Lambda light chains have continued to rise, although at a slow rate, as have the Paraproteins and both indicate the Myloma is returning.
However the CRAB criteria shows that the Myeloma is not causing any damage to my organs or bones at the moment indicating it would be safe to watch and wait and not commence treatment until the CRAB results start to deteriorate. At the moment all the CRAB results show improvement.
I have been given the option of starting chemo again if I wish but have said I will be guided by the doctor's advice and wait to begin the second treatment until they deem it necessary. Following my bone strengthener infusion at the end of June I walked 6 miles of the Macmillan Way West with no ill effects except a bit of back pain.
Euro 2020
In case you missed it England did beat Denmark in the semi-final and met Italy in the final which they lost on penalties. The three English penalty takers who missed all had black skins and so it was predictable how the minority of football supporters who are racist would react.
Sure enough the football yobs were soon at work and is one of the many reasons I have little interest on the round ball game. I have never understood why in the game of rugby which involves two sides knocking three bells out of each other has in general civilised and well behaved supporters while albeit a large minority of football supporters appear to be hooligans and yobs.
Players 'taking the knee' might be a gesture of defiance to the yobs but in reality it antagonises many who like me think that sport should be above these sorts political demonstrations of solidarity with organisations that advocate disbanding of police forces and the like. The yobs would love having no policemen and give them free reign to misbehave.
Because of the popularity of football, other countries see this racist behaviour as endemic and we are considered a racist country instead of the tolerant people the majority of us are. Part of the problem is the woke attitude to racial problems which seizes on innocent remarks or actions as evidence of racism, the desire for immigration controls being one which may well be racially motivated in a minority of cases.
My main criticism of football though, apart from the wimpish acting of the grossly overpaid players, is the disrespect shown to the referee. Such behaviour is creeping in to rugby which I hope will not be tolerated by those controlling the sport.
Major Erection and other News
In part to thank the Calvert family for accommodating this grumpy old man in their Stogursey home I financed the purchase of a wooden rose arch for their garden and Chris Hockey (he of the girly hair) was persuaded to assist in its erection.
Here you see the proud erectors posing with their fine works following lunch at the Babbling Brook Pub in nearby Shurton.
I have been continuing to reconnoiter the Macmillan Way West in preparation for my charity walk next year. In addition to the excursions previously reported I have since walked all the sections between Keinton Mandeville and Langport. The page devoted to the walk is regularly updated with photo's, corrections and descriptions of changes found during my travels.
I reached a milestone recently by walking a total of 10.3 miles in a day which is the sort of distance that anyone intending to walk the full 102 miles will be required to do for 10 days continuously. My myeloma bones have been pretty sore since and in my current condition I don't think I would be up to keeping that pace. I hope that continuing treatment might improve my physical condition by next year.
I must admit that I had walked over 6 miles the previous day to my 10 mile hike so that was an average of over 8 miles a day over 2 days. As the majority of participants in the walk are likely to be old fogies like myself I am beginning to wonder if we should begin the walk a day earlier than planned and perhaps then have a break of a day at the half way stage? However, there is one fit old fogie who says 10 miles a day is too slow!
The other news concerns my State pension which on my return home from NZ reverted to my UK pension being paid direct to my UK bank account from April rather than to the NZ government where I was in receipt of the NZ superannuation. Unlike the UK, the NZ payment is the same for everyone regardless of the amount of the UK pension or any previous salary contributions. As a widower my NZ pension was about £100 a week more than my UK pension.
I discovered that the NZ authorities had not stopped the superannuation payments from when I had left the country early in May so I emailed them asking they cease the payments and to advise how much they had overpaid me so I could repay them. They replied that they had now stopped paying me and that I did not have to repay them as it was their fault!!
Contrast this with the UK pensions service when we emigrated to NZ who had also overpaid us and stopped paying us our pension until the debt was cleared, refusing to deduct the amount from the pension payments they owed us.
UK Covid-19 News
I am writing this the day before so called 'Freedom Day' when Boris will lift most legal restrictions such as social distancing and wearing face masks on July 19, however, the government will still 'advise' everyone to continue with the status quo.
The country seems to be divided on the wisdom of relaxing restrictions at a time when virus infections have reached an all time high so far this year. Now double jabbed Sajid Javid, the new health secretary, has tested positive for the virus which means half the cabinet might have to self isolate.
The test and trace system is also coming under fire as if you have the NHS ap on your mobile and it detects you have come into contact with someone who has tested positive then you are pinged and have to self isolate for 10 days. It is said that millions of perfectly healthy Brits are being forced to stay off work in a 'pingdemic' of major proportions that could affect the economy. As a result, people are also said to be removing the ap to avoid being pinged.
Boris and Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, have both been pinged but were said to have avoided isolation due to membership of a trial daily testing programme which was not available to the peasants! Once again it seemed it was one rule for the politicians and another for the rest of us but following widespread criticism they changed their minds and will now isolate.
The government is being criticised by scientists and others around the world for what they say is irresponsible to lift restrictions at such a time but it may be politically impossible for Boris to do another u-turn just now. Meanwhile the foreign travel 'traffic light' system seems to be fluctuating between Amber and Green. Amber means you can travel to that country and return without isolating providing you are double jabbed but they have now introduced an Amber+ to the mix where you still have to isolate.
The daft buggers have put France on the Amber+ list so if you are driving back from a third Amber or Green country through France to Britain you will have to isolate. France then decided it would require people who are not fully-vaccinated and arriving from certain European countries to show a negative Covid-19 test that had been taken within the previous 24 hours.
Arrivals from the UK, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece and the Netherlands will be subject to the new rule
My health update
The doctors have now decided that the paraprotein and free light chain levels have now risen to a level where the Myeloma may begin to cause damage to bones and internal organs and I will restart chemo on Tuesday 3rd August. This will entail treatment with Velcade and Dexamethasone as before with the addition of Daratumumab which is a targeted monoclonal antibody that helps slow or stop the progression of multiple myeloma in several ways.
The Daratumumab is a new formulation called called Darzalex Faspro (daratumumab and hyaluronidase) which can be given by injection - as a faster and easier alternative for people with multiple myeloma than the original drug which required several hours of intravenous (into-the-vein) infusion.
Darzalex Faspro can cause a serious reaction and you are required to be observed for 6 hours after the first two injections at the hospital but after that a specialist cancer nurse can administer all drugs at your home negating the need to visit the hospital.
Both injections are given weekly and will continue for 27 weeks after which I continue to take a reduced dose of the Dexamethasone and the Darzalex is given every 4 weeks until the Myeloma returns. The doctor says that their continued use may help to alleviate the after effects of the Velcade I experienced with the first treatment.
A return to the pub
On the first Friday after freedom day I attended the Brewers Arms for the traditional Friday meeting of the Otter Appreciation Society.
Duncan, our landlord, was notably apprehensive and all the bar staff wore face masks. He continues to insist you book a table and also asks customers to wear their masks when ordering and collecting drinks at the bar although many didn't. He did not allow you to stand and drink at the bar but I think he will gradually relax those rules.
The adjacent photo shows the first proper pint of Otter I have had for nearly three years and was in perfect condition.
We consumed the regulation half gallon each then staggered home unsteadily for our evening meals.
Shipping my effects from NZ.
Having left NZ on May 4th with all my stuff packaged and sitting in a Tuaranga warehouse, I have now finally been informed that it is on the high seas on a container ship called Tianjin Bridge. The container will probably be transhipped in Singapore but you can follow its progression below:
Lions 1st Test in South Africa.
The Springboks dominated the first half of this test match with the Lions on the back foot and mainly defending, giving away penalties and continually losing the ball at the breakdown. Not much of a game to watch either and at half time they went in 12-3 down.
It was a game of two halves however and they Lions came back out roaring, reversing the previous half and putting the Boks on the back foot. Early in the 2nd half captain Alun Wynn Jones decided to kick to the corner from a penalty rather than take the three points on offer. The lineout ball was caught by Itoje and smuggled to Luke Cowan-Dickie in the rolling maul who went over for a classic forwards try and the Lions were back in the game.
That irritating little bastard Faf de Klerk scored a lucky try soon after but Biggar had his kicking boots whereas Handre Pollard missed a difficult one and the Boks kept giving away penalties with Itoje and Courtney-Lawes in the thick of it causing mayhem, the latter having the game of his life with some great carries.
Farrell came on as fly half when Biggar was taken off and slotted a place kick to make their 2 point lead more secure and take the score to 22-17. With seconds to play from the restart the Boks secured the ball requiring some desperate defence in the Lions 22 but they were eventually turned over and Hogg kicked the ball into the empty stands.
They will have to do better next week.
And they didn't. An uninspiring performance and a load of players who seemed more intent on scrapping than playing rugby. A poor spectacle and advert for the game saw they Lions well beaten 27-9 in the second test match with the series now drawn and the deciding match to play next week.
The Lions played their best game of the series in the decider. Fly half Dan Biggar went off after a few minutes with a leg injury replaced by Finn Russell who played a stormer and seemed to inspire the team to greater things. A decision to forego 3 points from a penalty and kick to the corner by Alun Wynn-Jones resulted in Russell putting the lineout on the 5 metre line and the rolling maul went over for Ken Owens first try.
For the rest of the half the Lions were dominant but failed to get the points they deserved. Two missed tackles allowed Kolbe to score the Boks first try and take the lead in the second half which then seesawed after successive penalties. The end of the game was an anticlimax with the Boks just happening to have scored the most recent penalty goal with the score on 19-16 so winning the series.
I find a new home.
I have at last found myself a new home in Somerset but not where I originally intended. I decided to look further afield from South Petherton where I used to live for many years and found this apartment in Williton which is situated on the A39 road between Bridgwater and Minehead.
The slide show above shows the property which is part of the ground floor of an old farmhouse. It is very spacious, has three bedrooms and a bonus luxury of a conservatory with a private outside space and a large communal garden.
Williton is a large village of about 2700 people and has a good selection of shops, restaurants and pubs, in fact my new house is right next to the Railway Inn.
The railway in question is the West Somerset Railway which is the longest heritage railway line in England running from Bishops Lydeard near Taunton to the seaside resort of Minehead and Williton has it's own station.
Construction of the West Somerset line began in 1859 with Isambard Kingdom Brunel as Engineer and was opened in 1862 between Taunton and Watchet. It was extended to Minehead in 1874, closed by British Rail in 1971 and reopened as a heritage line in 1976.
The village is also on the route of the Macmillan Way long distance trail which I intend to walk next year for the Macmillan charity.
I lived in my teenage years a few miles along the coast towards Bridgwater near Nether Stowey where another famous person also lived called Samuel Taylor Coleridge! Williton is also on the the route of another long distance path called the Coleridge Way along which the poet with his fellow poets William and Dorothy Wordworth are supposed to have walked.
England v India Test Cricket series.
The first test was a washout and ended in a draw but the rain probably saved an England loss. The second test was an altogether different proposition and you can expand this page to read about it here. ▼
England won the toss and Root put India in to bat which turned out to be a mistake as their batsmen made hay. Rohit Sharma made 82 before Jimmy Anderson bowled him and then Lokesh Rahul a magnificent 129 before Ollie Robinson had him caught by Dom Sibley after winkling out Virat Kholi for 42.
India were then bowled out for a respectable total of 365.
Opener Dom Sibley failed once again to meet the challenge being caught by Ruhul from a ball by Siraj for 11 quickly followed next ball by the golden duck of Haseeb Hameed and England were in trouble. In came Joe Root who steadied the ship with Rory Burns partnership before the latter succumbed lbw to Shami for a gallant 49.
Jonny Bairstow then partnered Root who was in sparkling form and scored another 57 before Siraj had him caught in the slips by Kholi by which time England were back in the game and Root went on to an unbeaten 180 not out with England bowled out for 391.
India did nt start their second innings well as Mark Wood had both openers dismissed with the scores then level. Could Virat emulate Joe Root with a captains innings? The answer was no as Kohli wafted his bat at a ball from Sam Curran and was caught by Josh Buttler behind for 20 with India in trouble at 55 for 3.
Pujara and Rahane then dug in for nearly a 100 partership before Wood struck again with a bouncer to Pujara that went to Root in the slips for 45 after the slowest test innings in living history!
After Robinson had Pant caught behind for 22 there were only bowlers left and England looked to be able to win the match or at the very least draw it. They then decided to play white ball cricket and in particular target Bumrah who had been guilty of peppering Jimmy Anderson with aggressive bowling tail enders are not supposed to face.
The tactic was a mistake as Bumrah and Shami made a record 9th wicket stand of 89 in an unbroken partership and India declared on 298 setting England a target of 272 in 60 overs to win. No problem you would have thought but our two openers went for golden ducks with Root one of the few English batsmen to offer any resistance and when Bumrah had him caught by Kohli for 33 the writing was on the wall. England were bowled out for 120 and India went one up in the series. A famous Lords victory.
3rd Test at Headingly
India won the toss and elected to bat. Bad decision. They lead this 5 match series 1-0 which so far has seen India the better side but Root said they would come back fighting and they did just that in the first over when Rahul edged a ball from Anderson to Taunton wicket keeper Josh Buttler for 0 aand India were 1/1. It didn't take long before Jimmmy was at it again getting Pujara for 1 the same way. Then he does it a 3rd time to Kholi who goes for 7 and Lord Anderson's bowling figures are 3 for 6 with India 21 for 3!
Rohit and Rahane form a partnership and take the score on to 56 before Robinson take a leaf out of Jimmy's book and gifts Buttler his 4th catch in a row behind the wicket dismissing Rahane for 18 just before lunch. After lunch he gets Pant the same way for 2. Jos Buttler's Somerset teamate Overton (although he is Devonian) then gets into the act getting the other danger man hooking to Robinson at mid-on for 19. He then has Shami for a duck when he edges to the slips next ball but he doesn't get his hat trick. India are now on 67 for 7 but will the tail wag like last time?
Not if Sam Curran can help it and he soon gets Jadeja lbw for 4 and then the next ball Bumrah the same way so he is on a hat trick. They review another lbw appeal but an inside edge saves Siraj. Overton finally gets him caught by Root in the slips for 3 and England have skittled India out for 78. Impressive but can our batsmen match our bowlers?
England started well with Burns (3) and Hameed (15) taking the score on to 21 before tea, 53 runs behind with all 10 wickets in hand. After tea they continued to solidify this opening partnership taking the score to 120 at the close of play with Burns on 52 and Hameed on 60, leading India by 48 runs with all wickets still intact. Pinch me, I must be dreaming!
But on the 2nd day the English batsmen continued to pile on the runs when Shami lips the top of Burns stumps and Burns goes for 61. An opening stand of 135 with India 153 for 1. Malin was in next quickly looked set but Hameed soon fell to Jadeja who was clean bowled for 68 without scoring a run today.
Now it was Captain Root and Malan at the crease looking pretty solid and in form. They proceeded to take the score up to 193 until Siraj had him edge a catch to wicket keeper Pant after a review and an excellent innings of 70 runs. Root again reached his century in partnership with Bairstow who stuck around for a few more overs until Shami had him caught by Kholi in the slips for 29.
Bumrah clean bowled Root for 131 after another great knock with the score on 382 after Buttler was dismissed for 7 caught Ishant. Curran scored 15 runs more before Sigak gets him caught going for the boundary. We are now into the tail enders but this time our tail might wag as Robinson and Overton are at the creace and they can both bat a bit.
Overton added another 24 runs before stumps but Robinson has yet to get off the mark. Engliand are on 423 for 8, leading India by 345 with two wickets still in hand.
On the third day Overton went LBW to Sharma for 32 in the 3rd over without scoring any more the Bumrah demolished Robinsons stumps for a duck and England were all out for 432. A lead of 354.
The 4th day saw India fight back. Sharma grimly stuck to his task taking 220 minutes to score 59 runs before Robinson had him LBW. Then Pujara and Kholi took the score to 215 by close of play and a draw began to become an unlikely possibility.
But on the 5th day they collapsed and were all out before lunch with England taking the last eight wickets for 63 and Ollie Robinson a five wicket haul, England winning easily by an innings and 76 runs to level the series one all.
4th Test at the Oval
England won the toss and put India in to bat. They then proceeded to bowl them out for a meagre 191 with only Kholi and Thakur contributing 50 or more runs. To make things worse for India the middle order English batsmen seemed to have aquired some backbone after the higher order, including Joe Root, failed to capitalise with Ollie Pope scoring a determined 81.
They were eventually bowled out for 290 but should have scored more.
The Indian batsmen then struggled but with a flat lifeless pitch and so much time available meant that patience would win the day of which Rohit Sharma had an abundance with a manificent 127 contribution aided by half centuries from Pujara, Pant and Thakur to post a score of 466 all out giving them plenty of time to dismiss Englands second innings for less than the 360 runs required to win the game or to bat out the game for a draw.
England began well with openers Burns and Hameed still at the wicket with 77 runs on the board at the. On the final day they took their partnership to 100 and you began to have some hope that the previous dismal batting performance might have improved but after celebrating his 50 Burns promptly lost his wicket.
And so it continued. Malan went next to a lazy run out or it might have been Hameeds call who also fell to Jadeja soon after but while Joe Root was out there you felt he might still pull off a miracle. But Thakur bowled him on 36 and it was all over then for England who collapsed in an ignominious heap in front of thousands of delirious Indian supporters. India won by 157 runs.
Afghanistan
I have forgotten how long it has been since the world had a half decent US president but in recent years it has sunk to an all time low what with first the Orange One and now someone who is well past his sell by date.
The Orange One cut a deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan to withdraw US troops from the country and his successor, Mr Biden, continued with the deal but failed to negotiate a long enough timetable for the evacuation of the troops and those who had worked with the occupying forces and who were therefore liable to persecution from the Taliban.
The result was chaos at Kabul airport when the Taliban took over the country quicker than expected and tens of thousands could not be evacuated. Mr Biden refuses to acknowledge that the isn't enough rime by the 31st August deadline agreed with the Taliban who have said they will not extend the deadlin and are not in favour of letting Afghan nationals leave the country.
Many Brits have said that our soldiers gave their lives or were badly injured for nothing but I do not believe that to be the case. This was America's war after it was attacked by a bunch of fanatical religous zealots to who the Talibam gave shelter. No country could allow such behaviour without some form of retaliation to prevent further attacks.
Britain, as a member of NATO, is obliged to come to the aid of any other NATO country who is attacked so we joined in the long walk through the Hindu Kush with all the other countries to support the US. Unfortunately a civil war developed after the invasion and we failed to depart from Afghanistan after the threat from the terrorists had been dealt with, embarking on state building and democratising the country, an impossible task.
We have been there now for over 20 years and there must be some good things that will have come out of our presence there. It is a country of 40 million where the average age of the population is 18 years so are large numbers of young people who have never known the Taliban and their previous despotic rule. Most of the young are unlikely to accept such medieval laws that prevailed in the past but I expect the Taliban to rule by them, a recipe for conflict.
The country supplies between 80 and 90% of opium and heroin to the world which the corrupt government, installed by the NATO countries but led by the US, allowed to continue, profited by and which NATO failed to end. The Taliban say they they will stop production but they have been as guilty as the government in participating do I doubt that will change. They also say they will not give succour to terrorist groups that might threaten other countries. We shall see.
I will soon be organising a sponsored walk to be held next year from 28th July to 7th August 2022 to raise funds for the Macmillan charity along the Macmillan Way West in memory of my late wife Susan who died in New Zealand from a secondary bone cancer. This link will take you to a page describing the walk.
"According to Macmillan Cancer Support, up to 50,000 people are walking around today with cancer which has not been diagnosed during lockdown."
I am also a cancer victim for which I underwent treatment in New Zealand for Myeloma and will now continue treatment here in the UK.
Both Sue and myself were misdiagnosed in NZ by GP's for several months before being correctly diagnosed by hospital specialists resulting in an unacceptable delay in receiving treatment.
Depending on your location, you can donate with the widget below directly to the Macmillan charity by subscribing through my JustGiving web site:
Douglas Macmillan 1884 - 1969:
"Born in Castle Cary, Somerset, Macmillan was educated in Somerset prior to university in London becoming a civil servant in London. After his father died of cancer in 1911 he started a charity to help those suffering from the disease which was eventually named after him. He died of cancer himself in Castle Cary at the age of 85. "
The Covid epidemic has hit charities like Macmillan very hard as most fund raising has been forced to rely on internet pages such as this one. Macmillan has lost a third of its fundraised income due to the pandemic. It is very difficult to get people to part with their hard earned cash on-line rather than appealing to their better nature's face to face. Macmillan would appreciate whatever you can afford because you might need them some day. Remember that 40% of the world population will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives and nearly 10 million a year will die which pales Covid into insignificance.
All money donated will go directly to the Macmillan charity. The donation pages on JustGiving default to Pounds Sterling currency. You can change the currency but there are limited options. If your currency is not listed, here is another widget below to convert to whatever is your home currency:
Currency Calculator
2) Donate without subscribing to JustGiving:
As an alternative to using the JustGiving widget you can click on the photo below and you will be taken directly to my JustGiving page where you also donate without needing to subscribe to JustGiving. You can also chose not to make an additional donation to JustGiving should you wish.
3) Text your donation:
This is a quick and easy way to give either a one-off or regular monthly donation for those with UK mobiles.
Donations are taken out of the phone bill at source.
Text MOBILE to +44 70550 to make a £5 single donation
Text REGULAR to +44 70550 to make an ongoing donation of £5 a month.
Please obtain bill payer's permission. Age 16+. UK mobiles only. One off donations charged at £5 + std rate. Monthly subscription donations charged at £5 + std rate each month. Macmillan Cancer Support is a registered charity in England & Wales 261017, Scotland SC039907, and Isle of Man 604. Macmillan receive 100% of all donations. Please note this method will only donate £5 to Macmillan and in addition you will be charged whatever your mobile company charges you for a text message. For larger donations you should use one of the other methods.
4) Donating with a UK credit card:
You can click on this link to donate directly to Macmillan if you have a UK credit card. If you choose to donate directly to Macmillan in this way it is linked to my JustGiving page so your donation will be credited to the total in memory of Sue.
5) Donating from overseas:
If none of the alternative methods of donating are suitable then you can make a direct bank transfer by emailing Macmillan at fundraising@macmillan.org.uk or calling them on +44 207 191 2172 and they can provide you with their bank details to make a bank transfer directly to their account.
I will be placing the above invitation to donate at the bottom of each new page of this web site until the sponsored walk has been completed. My own chemotherapy was finished in December of last year and I have since returned to the UK on May 5th 2021.
The sponsored walk will now take place between 29th July and 7th August 2022. If you would like to be included in the walk or sponsor a walker and receive email updates you can register your interest here.
