I know I haven't updated in a long time. There's just so much to say and I don't know how to synthesise it into a coherent entry.

I've been on BlueSky for a while but in case anyone still reads this and wants to try it out, this is me.

 I know I haven't updated in a while, I keep meaning to but every time I get home after work, I just want to relax and read books and watch something. I will post a proper update over the upcoming bank holiday weekend but just to say I'm still here!

The extraordinary moment when the great humanitarian & trauma surgeon David Nott met the Queen, shortly after his return from Aleppo. pic.twitter.com/LP2z7oGnpu

— Rachel Clarke (@doctor_oxford) September 8, 2022

this remains an all-time story about the queen pic.twitter.com/hI2yNUac0H

— David Mack (@davidmackau) September 8, 2022

October
Dad and I went to the Natural History Museum for the first time in over a year, enjoyed the Fantastic Beasts exhibition and went to Pierino for the first time in years. I really recommend going there if you want good Italian food at a decent price in South Kensington. Afterwards, we went to a new gelato place I'd found nearby (instead of going all the way to Victoria to Olivogelo), which is called Oddono's (see their FB here). I knew we'd hit the jackpot when we walked in and everybody in the place was speaking Italian. Oddono's is set in Bute Street, which has been closed off to traffic due to the pandemic, meaning that kids were running around and playing on their scooters and the locals were standing in the middle of the road talking. The street also has a French deli, a fishmonger, a butcher, and a dry cleaner's that's open on a Saturday afternoon. It was like a real life Eastenders, Dad couldn't believe it and said he didn't think places like this existed any more. A real pleasure to be there and experience the community.

November
Mum and Dad stayed over for the first time as we were booked on the GWSR Fish and Chip special (GWSR = Gloucestershire and Worcestershire Steam Railway). The train wasn't leaving until 13:00 so I was able to take Dad to the farm shop in Portway in the morning so he could buy some sausages and a joint for his and Mum's Sunday roast. They've expanded the shop this year so they have more room to sell local vegetables and salad and bread, as well as their own meat. They also have local honey, Cotswold rapeseed oil and locally roasted coffee. (Mum told me afterwards that the sausages were the best they'd had since their old butcher closed in 2018.) We then left for the train at midday and had such a smooth journey that we were able to have a hot drink when we arrived before boarding.

Met up with Grace and Joe for Sunday lunch. Pid unfortunately had to cancel due to a cold (not Covid but might have been that 'supercold' that's been going around). We had to go in the bar area because of the dog. I told Grace that there were no other tables but she insisted on asking if there was anywhere else we could sit and got told the exact same thing I'd told her. Fortunately the Plough is dog friendly and the roast is still delicious. I always have the venison and I always have to tell Grace to NOT have the beef because it's too fatty for her. :')

December
Claire and I had our annual Christmas meal. We tried the Oak at Kingshill and were pleasantly surprised at how good the food was. Claire is interested in trying out the Plough for our next Xmas meal. Celebrated Christmas with the parents. We had our Christmas meal on Christmas Eve as we were spending Christmas Day with sister, brother-in-law and niblings. The parents had ordered a rack of venison from their neighbour's butcher that they always use. The rack turned up and was barely enough for two people, let alone three, so Mum roasted two guinea fowl to go with it. We spent Christmas Day in Stroud, had a massive Christmas lunch cooked by brother-in-law (roast beef, roast potatoes, sprouts panfried with pancetta and chestnuts, steamed broccoli and carrots, gravy, cauliflower cheese AND Yorkshire puddings - the puddings were pre-baked). We didn't even touch the Christmas pudding that Mum brought up. Helen and I took M down to the skate park so she could try out her new roller-skates and Helen could walk the dog. I ended up throwing the ball for the dog while Helen showed M how to get around on the skates. Boxing Day was nice and peaceful with cold guinea fowl for the main meal.

I had the whole of the week between Christmas and New Year off so Dad and I went up to London on the 30th to see the Hokusai exhibition at the British Museum. Neither of us had been to the British Museum in years so it was good to be back. They had put the exhibition right up at the top next to the East Asian rooms, which was logical but made it harder to find. Afterwards we went to the Cyprus room so Dad could have a look at all the artefacts. He said he had no idea that the British Museum had so many things from Cyprus. I reminded him that we'd nicked stuff from everywhere so it shouldn't be that surprising. We had a peaceful New Year watching Jools Holland's Hootenanny.

Yola singing Sunshine of Your Love on the Hootenanny

Thank you to those who sent me birthday wishes, I had the week off and had a great time. I went out for lunch with C on my actual birthday to the Anchor Inn at Thornbury. As it was a Tuesday, we could take advantage of their lunch deal and have two courses for £9.50! Food was delicious and they had a beautiful Brittany spaniel with a natural bob tail. His name was Woody and he was a love. We hope to go back soon.

I was finally able to go back to Canterbury and see jo_blogs for the first time since 2018. Sadly the B&B that I previously stayed at (the White House) has turned back into a private residence and the only thing in the same location is an Airbnb flat. I'm not fond of Airbnb and the ratings weren't good, so I decided to stay at another B&B. I was very tempted by the House of Agnes (the Agnes in questions being Agnes Wickfield from David Copperfield) but decided to save that for a special occasion and chose Harriet House instead. This place was really cosy and welcoming and I've already booked another stay there for March next year (if we don't go into lockdown, which is hardly guaranteed because Boris is an incompetent charlatan). I was only able to stay for a full day before heading through driving rain to my parents for dinner on the Saturday. Next year I'll be staying for two full days, hopefully.

Hope everyone is well.

Had my second jab today. Finally! Can't wait to get back to the gym. (My gym's been open since June but I didn't feel too safe about going back while I only had one vaccination.)

Been to the Alice in Wonderland exhibition at the V&A (Curiouser and Curiouser) with my parents, which was fascinating. We then had lunch at Carluccio's and had gelato. This weekend I am seeing them in Bath to try out the new Sri Lankan restaurant there.

I had my first vaccine on Saturday from my local GP, I arrived early, queued up, was seen within five minutes of arriving and after a mandatory 15 minute observation period, I was free to go. My only reaction has been a stiff arm and it was no worse than having exercised really hard at the gym.

The sign up was FAST: the day they opened up vaccinations to my age group, I texted my sister, who's a nurse, asking if I should wait to hear from them and she said yes, as her husband had just heard from his and he was in the age group above me. Fifteen minutes after her response, I got a text asking me to sign up and was able to book my jab. Very impressed.

I've also had my hair done - highlights put in, roots done, 6.5 cm taken off the ends as my hair had grown all the way to my shoulder blades, even though I'd only had it cut in December. When I told my hairdresser I was going to have my jab (this was last Tuesday), she asked how I'd managed that. I told her that I was 38 and she didn't believe me, although when I said "Why would I lie about being 38?" she acknowledged this was a fair point. That made me feel good, too!

I have finally replaced the heater in my front room. My flat is electricity only so I am restricted to night storage heaters and the one I had was over 10 years old, you couldn't programme the temperature, it was very basic. The one I have now is a smart heater that can be programmed via an app/online if I'm away (so if I am staying with my parents in our support bubble, basically) and I can adjust the temperature by degrees and put in a weekly programme for when I'm on different shifts.

I have been ordering takeaways from local restaurants in order to support my local independent businesses - principally Greek on the Docks and Bangkok Canteen. There is a new takeaway app launching tomorrow - Gloucester Eats - so I am looking forward to using that and hopefully discovering more local restaurants that way and supporting them.

Hopefully I will be able to get back to The Eastbury Plough this year to see Grace and Eileen. Grace has had an offer accepted on a barn conversion in Somerset (a bit further south of where she lives now but not too much). The Bristol office closed at the end of last year and since she has no reason to stay in Bristol, she wanted to move somewhere a bit more rural. Fingers crossed she can move this year. If she does, we can meet up in Bath halfway.

All international Christmas cards have now been posted, UK cards will be posted this week.