Sue

On the mend I think, thanks for asking. Still testing positive. Still in bed, mainly just cough now and limbs have started aching. Not got any energy to do anything, sleeping a lot on and off. Hope everybody else is keeping well, Covid seems to be running wild at the moment, and apart from the Zoe app nobody seems to be collecting data. Plus as you now have to pay for tests, I'm guessing many people with symptoms just aren't testing.

Does anyone know what the Blue Mountain is going to become?

I had to cancel a session recently at short notice due to illness. I was easily able to transfer the payment and the session to another week by phone. I imagine you could do this more than once if necessary. The person I spoke to was helpful. Also, I had previously been told that you can just turn up without having booked, but they can't guarantee you will get in Surely they have to have some limit on numbers or there would be no space for people to actually swim? I go to lane swimming, don't know what the other kinds of sessions are like, but there would just be jams if they had many more people there! Maybe try and find out which sessions attract the least people and/or the most cancellations/no shows? Many people just don't turn up when the days are short and cold, I think. Why not discuss your situation with the swimming manager there? His name is Peter and he has an office somewhere behind the reception area. I imagine you could just ask for him at reception, or maybe phone to book an appointment? Or write a letter and hand it in at reception and they will put it on his desk, which is what I did (about something else). I don't know if he has an email address. Don't forget to include your contact details and/or your Everyone Active membership number!

Anybody else with these symptoms, please could you take a Covid test, and isolate if it is positive? Shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted, once I am better I am going back to wearing a mask on public transport which is crowded and/or not well ventilated.

It's Covid 😭 I had done a test previously, but according to 111 (who suggested my taking another test) lately a test may not show positive until five days in. I phoned them because I wanted advice re the paracetamol I was taking for the throat pain. Great time of the year to get it, eh? Hope everybody else who has it or another virus gets well soon!

Lots of flowering plants seem to have had their flowering schedule completely disrupted by the weird weather we now have. This is bad news for insects (and indirectly birds, whose food sources for their young are also disrupted)

I'm over seventy and there is no way I would not have a flu jab! Hope your daughter feels better soon.

This is still happening for me all the time. As I usually only use the forum from my phone, it is very annoying.

Ivy grows back really quickly, and there is loads of it in the woods. I've been collecting some at the Solstice for decades, for wreaths and garlands around the house. It's also the day when my Christmas tree is brought into the house from my allotment. The day when the light starts to come back. Because there is so much ivy in the woods, it never crossed my mind there would be a problem. The woods are not exactly a tiny patch of land. However if everyone else is now doing the same, perhaps there is. I can see that holly berries are a different case. I use artificial ones in my ivy wreaths. If this is a conservation/wildlife issue, I do think notices should be put up, as for the wild garlic. Not everyone will comply, but I would have thought most people would.

Sorry if this is a silly question, but have you considered changing GPs? If you are in their catchment area, The Gardens books appointments by phone, and if urgent will give you a same day appointment. It is really easy to change GPs, and you don't have to tell the old one you are leaving.

Not sure if this is in the right section. Admin, please move if not! https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2022/dec/07/from-the-archive-dulwich-hamlet-the-tiny-football-club-that-lost-its-home-to-developers-and-won-it-back-podcast?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

I know there are a lot of bugs going round. I'd just like to have some idea how long it might take for the one I've got to run its course, if anyone else has had the same thing. It doesn't seem to be like a normal cold, as the symptoms are in the wrong order and seem to be worse. It started with about a week of a very runny nose, which at first I put down to the cold temperature outside, as I was feeling perfectly well. Then I got a very sore throat and lost my voice Then a bit of a cough. Then a headache. Then I started feeling rubbish and my eyes hurt. Then I couldn't sleep. Now I've got all of it at once. I had to get up yesterday but I'm staying in bed today. I wondered if it was flu, but I've had a flu jab. It's the time of year when there are a lot of things to do, and things to go to, so any indication of likely timescale would be very useful! If you have it as well, commiserations!

I wonder if a medical report of your injuries might help get this man the treatment he clearly needs? Might your GP provide one? If you are still in a lot of pain, should you go to A&E in any case? Alternatively, can you get someone to take photos if there are visible bruises? I'm so sorry to read this, it must have been very traumatic mentally as well as physically. Please take care of yourself.

Yes, exactly.

Thank you for posting (no pun intended) that. I'm not holding my breath.

OK, thanks, I must admit I hadn't looked at the website very closely yet!

Can anybody who has made a Lasting Power of Attorney offer any advice, eg anything I need to be particularly aware of? Do I need a solicitor or is that not really necessary? If I do, can anybody recommend a local solicitor who they have used for this purpose? Thanks.

A newt has laid eggs on the floor of my very tiny shed. I don't know how long they have been there, as it's a while since I opened the shed door. Surely this is a strange place. How can they survive if/when they hatch? I have a Belfast sink nearby with water and pond plants. Why would a newt go into a shed to lay eggs? The floor on that side was a bit damp because the roof felt was dislodged (now put back) and there was damp newspaper on the floor (now removed) Do the eggs need damp? Should I replace the damp paper? The actual newt scurried away down a hole when I opened the shed door. That was how I realised they were newt eggs (never seen them before, had to Google). Also, isn't it the wrong time of year? Will they survive the winter? And what will happen when they hatch? There is no water in the shed 😭 In thirty years of living here, I have never seen a newt before, though I have frogs and a toad in the garden.

A gnome with a well and a fishing rod, or some neon pink plastic seats and huge cuddly toys, would brighten the area as well. That doesn't mean they would be aesthetically appropriate. Having said that, the seats are growing on me. A bit. But I think they would be better somewhere else, like in a kids' playground for the adults to sit on.

Well done, but it really shouldn't have needed doing, should it? Who accepted this stall as part of the fair in the first place? I'm guessing not the headmaster.

Yes, and when they close the Clock House is still open 🤣

Excellent!