Snow Hill

Looks like a Horse Chestnut, given the size when fully grown not really a tree for garden unless you have a very big garden.

I think it affected by sleep, I woke up about 5:15 am from a dream in which moles had invaded my garden. 😂 Glad to say this was not the case.

I remember my sister mentioning that, she was a midwife in the hospital and the last thing you would want is norovirus in a maternity ward.

I suspect people still attempt to and a number will no doubt succeed especially if packed in a suitcase. We have 2 sturdy bottle cases which we have used in the past to bring a bottle or 2 of Rioja back from Spain, put in suitcase as would not be able to carry it on thru security at the airport. Nothing to stop me using them to take alcohol onboard in one of those containers. Security at U.K. ports is a third party contracted to the port not the cruise line. Scanners cannot distinguish between a bottle of gin and a bottle of lemonade, so I can’t see any cruise line wanting to open ever suitcase which might or might not contain alcohol, not cost effective use of time. The restrictions on spirits wouldn’t affect us as we rarely drink them, but others will no doubt see it as a restriction of freedom to take a bottle on board for personal use in a cabin.

Not been a bad day again, with sunshine for most of the day and temperature reached 20C. Managed to get a lot of gardening jobs done, mowed and edged the lawn, hoed the borders, mulched around some perennials and bushes, deadheaded the last of the remaining daffodils and the tulip, removed lot more Ivy from the garden walls, prepared the remains stems for a dose of SBK stump killer. Started to cut back the Japanese Flowering Quince now the flowers have died back, it gone a little haywire in the last couple of years so cutting it right back to make it more of a flowering shrub rather than flowering branches on a bare central stems. Hopefully can get some more done tomorrow, but showers are forecast from mid morning will see if that changes overnight.

Maleth should not be allowed anywhere near P&O until they have settled every single claim made against them for flight delays etc made after last winters debacle.

Well at 5am it was raging 9n the way to the airport, but only took 50 mins as no traffic about, the same coming back. I was back home and in bed by 7:30, managed to get about another hours sleep, but woken up by postie ringing doorbell with a small packet that would go through letter box. Still overcast and damp at 10C due to remain the same much of the day except for a rise in temp to 13C this afternoon. Tomorrow looks better with some sunshine and warmer temperatures. A quiet morning, then on duty at stand for group I volunteer with. Happy Star Wars Day. May the fourth be with you.

A mixed day today rain this morning, the dry but overcast this afternoon and now it’s raining, I am beginning to wonder if I will ever get the list of outdoor jobs done, two of which involve painting. A poor nights sleep last night just about got 5 hours, early night tonight as I have to take someone to Birmingham airport at 5 am.

Not too bad a day weather wise, cool this morning with some sunny spells, I went to local timber merchants for 2 trellis panels at attach to the wall for Clematis plants to cling to, they said they would deliver mid afternoon which was excellent service at a reasonable cost. When I left the sun was out, but temperature was just 13C, went to Dobbies to get a couple of packet of seeds and look at some wall baskets which they advertised, by the time I left around 45 mins later temperature had read 18C, very muggy and darker clouds. I was expecting a thunderstorm as a Yellow Warning had been given, however one didn’t appear and the sun returned around 4pm and Yellow Warning was cancelled for this evening.

Looks like they just added balconies and windows to a stack of containers, perhaps designed by AI. 😂

Some sad news today the author of the Shardlake books, C J Sansom has passed away aged 71. Lovers of historical fiction will mourn his passing as was one the best writers of that genre. The mini series based on his books is due to start streaming on Disney+ on Wednesday.

Overcast here this morning around 8C, strong winds and showers forecast for this afternoon, so my volunteering shift will be spent mostly indoors. What we don’t need is more rain, we already have a few areas roped off due to mud.

Starring Victor Meldrew

I had a similar experience in York Minister 2 weeks ago, I got told off by a vlogger for walking across the area he was filming and having the temerity to speak to wife. He told me he was filming for his online channel and would have to redo the shot again. I said did he have permission from the Minister for commercial filming, he went quiet and moved off.

It’s 5C here feels like 1C and of course it’s raining again, has been midnight looking a security cameras. Doubt we will be going anywhere today we are not ones for wandering around shopping centres. My outdoor jobs are starting to mount up, but need dry weather for many of them, in the garage I have paint for the fence, clear stain for the decking, masonry paint for the walls of the garage and paint for the door Then there is a need for a skip for the pile of old wood, bricks etc behind the garage from various jobs done in last 6 months. I am hoping for a long dry warm spell in the next month.

We haven’t caught it on a cruise either, but then we spend much of our time off ship where ever possible. I have caught it twice in the last 15 years, once when cleaning my late moms flat after she went down with it, despite latex gloves and a mask and other precautions. The second time as after an outpatient visit to hospital, they had to close the department for a deep clean which took 2 days.

My local school primary school was closed for 2 days after a Norovirus outbreak a few years ago, doesn’t disappear overnight. My brother runs a cleaning business, they deal with land based outbreaks of various viruses and to do the job properly can take many hours. He has said many times you can’t deep clean a cruise ship fully in a few hours.

True, but most land based locations deal with it better than cruise ships.

Probably right, but given there is no gap between cruises in most case that would mean cruise companies having to cancel or shorten cruises and refund passengers the full amount. The Norovirus can survive for almost 2 weeks on carpet on soft furnishings, they are never going to clean all the carpets & furnishings in the time they are allowing themselves. Land based outbreaks often use fogging to deal with the virus, not sure how that work on a ship in the large open areas such as the restaurants and atrium.

Back from a meal out and an evening at the theatre, saw Cluedo 2, very funny. Next theatre trip is in July when we go to see Hamilton at Birmingham Hippodrome, we have had the tickets since last year. Nothing then booked until October when we go to see Talon, a excellent Eagles Tribute act, could afford to the real Eagles in Manchester at well over £100 per ticket. Next on agenda is a trip to London and trying to fit in a two week break in late August/early September probably a land based holiday either in Balearics or Canary Islands where we are looking at Villa holidays.

I tried the Fairy liquid method on removing moss on a slabbed patio a few years ago, it killed the moss but left an orange stain on the slabs, which took some effort to remove. I now just use a long handled scraper, a brush and jet washer.

Does your medical insurance cover your medical needs? If so you would potentially only need cover for evacuation and repatriation as well as cancellation cover. Have you asked your Travel Agent for advice on what you need in respect of travel insurance? I certainly wouldn’t consider travel anywhere outside of the U.K. without Travel Insurance.

Went to get my car valeted today after our Yorkshire trip, found the valeting place was closed due to lack of water, after all this rain you would have thought it would be the last thing to be short of. Apparently builders of some nearby houses have gone through a marked water pipe with their digger, I suspect the builders will be getting a repair bill for the damage from the water company. So still have dirty car, but did work out the mpg for our break in Yorkshire, returning a figure of 68.7mpg, more than happy with that.

Must admit I haven’t used Fahrenheit as temperature measure for over 30 years, see no point as the majority of the world uses Celsius, freezing 0C, boiling point 100C, couldn’t be simpler, about time the US caught up with the rest of the world.

Back home from a windy week in Yorkshire, cottage we rented was very cosy and welcoming, the owners who lived on site were very helpful when a couple of problems outside of their control arose, we intend to return a some point in the future. Has an excellent anniversary meal in an Italian Restaurant in Harrogate on Sunday, followed by a visit to Fountains Abbey & Royal Studley Water Gardens on Monday. Tuesday was a visit to York where we took in the Minister The Shambles and I climbed to the roof of a very windy Gifford’s Tower. Wednesday was Castle Howard and Thursday Helmsley, so we managed to get around quite a bit. Back home checked my plants, tomato seedlings have come through and surprising every seed sown has germinated, so will have excess plants for friends and neighbours. The Dwarf French Beans I sewed on Saturday have in 2 cases already started to peak through, so hopefully will have another good crop of green beans this year.