Gardengirl

I suggest that you ring the TPA and see what they have to say, so that you have a clear idea from their side before you check with your bank. It seems very odd that your bank would tell you about such a major change in circumstances without the TPA writing to you in advance to inform you. Good luck.

You’ll also be used to plenty of ?‍♀️ from when you lived at Bedoin, Lori.

I’ve had 3. Two were part of a study I take part in and one was when I was in hospital. The first was done at an official test centre and was fine, just made me sneeze afterwards; the tester counted down from 10 for the throat one and then for the nose one . The third, done by a nurse in hospital, didn’t even make me sneeze, was just very slightly uncomfortable. The second was absolutely unpleasant, it hurt, - it was a DIY effort and I had been sure that I could do it OK, and really didn’t want to drive all the way to the test centre at Newbury race course again. I really wish I’d driven to Newbury again instead. My husband had one before a hospital procedure and found it quite unpleasant and his eyes kept watering afterwards.

There definitely seem to be big differences of opinion or crossed wires, cajal. My husband and I are both under the care of our local hospital’s cardiac care unit here in the UK and both had our second OAZ vaccinations on 27th March. Didn’t even have sore arms to show for the jabs, either.

@ Judith, it’s very good news about your husband’s vaccination and that he’s feeling OK. Snooker - balm to the soul for fans. @ Idun, I found part of your post puzzling as it seems misleading to those who haven’t heard much about how vaccinations are arranged here in the UK. “I know a few people who waited for their GP to contact them about getting vaccinated. We did not.” “I have no idea why anyone would want to wait for their GP in the UK unless they had no internet access. No idea at all, and millions of us did not.” Yet it seems that that your husband was vaccinated at his GP practice: “OH's first one was supposed to be on 14th Feb but his surgery called on the 10th and asked if he wanted to go the next day. He said yes, and I cancelled the other appointment on line.” Millions of others received their jabs from their GP; our GP practice alone had vaccinated more than 100,000 patients quite some time ago, with our medics and practice staff working pretty flat out doing that while trying to keep up to date with patients’ other needs. I know of hardly any older people who didn’t receive their vaccination at their GP practice, other than those whose own surgery couldn’t carry out vaccinations. My husband and I had our first vaccinations on January 12th at our GP practice and many neighbours also received theirs that week. We were very surprised to receive the phone call inviting us so early, as the online forecast had indicated March; once medics geared up vaccinations took place so much more quickly, and central hubs handle very many, of course. Our second jabs were on 27th March, along with neighbours plus some patients from nearby GP surgeries that were too small to run vaccination clinics. Second vaccinations are continuing apace, plus the age of patients receiving theirs is coming down quite rapidly, the latter usually at bigger vaccination hubs. Both our sons (45 plus) have had one jab after receiving texts, each in different parts of the UK. Our DIL, 43, has received a text about going for hers. I’ve been so pleased to hear of friends and neighbours in France receiving their vaccinations, but very much hope that numbers will rise more quickly . The thought of lifting current restrictions in France is scary.

You’ve got me there, WB - I’m sure that you’re not suggesting that Mint takes a lover! ?

By ‘the funeral’ I wrote about my feelings about the funeral service, which I watched from start to finish. The 30 mourners were like any other family at funerals since Covid struck in large numbers - alone in their grief. Soldiers and military bands were not part of the funeral service. If things were normal, apparently 800 mourners would have attended, including representatives of the many charities and other organisations that Prince Philip had been involved closely with for many years. There would also have been many others there, clergy, full choir etc. The serene family funeral I watched could not have happened if things had been ‘normal’.

Nomoss, thank you - that was extremely well put. Cajal, I think that some of the thinking about limits of people attending funerals is that as they are very emotional occasions it’s very likely that hugging etc will take place. I so agree with you about the funeral of Prince Philip - it really felt a serene and family occasion, very fitting to him; when the Queen was shown on the screen I felt a bit as though I was intruding on her personal grief. Looking at those pictures inside the Waitrose makes me think that they can’t be current. In each photo with people I looked at they weren’t wearing masks, and according to friends who still visit supermarkets for groceries, Waitrose staff are very diligent about checking on mask-wearing, hand gel etc.

Lori, it sounds dreadfully unsafe and must make life difficult for you both. I do wish you well with finding a place to live that will feel more safe from infection but have all that you both need to make it your home.

Judith, you said everything I intended to say. I expected to feel somewhat emotional, but was far more tearful than I’d expected. It was beautifully done and the singing by the choir was sublime - maybe more effective than if the whole choir had been able to attend. It really did feel like a family occasion, and the lone piper playing the lament was a touching end to the funeral for us.

A year ago? Doesn’t seem that long - doesn’t time fly ................ There’s a turn-up for the books! It would be interesting to know what other crimes they’ve committed.

Gardian, that’s good to know.

Unfortunately we often can’t know that wasps are where we want to be or are sitting - I’ve needed urgent medical attention twice in recent (pre-Covid) times, having already needed to use Epipens. Once when I went close to a couple of small pots on our balcony and another time when I sat at our table on the balcony. Wasps had begun making a nest in one of the pots and another nest was being made underneath our table; there was no intention of disturbing wasps either time. Another time wasps had made a nest in the external part of our aircon unit, so were despatched by the men who had installed our aircon a few years previously - we couldn’t risk me having another sting. We also have pest controllers in to intervene here where we live in the UK - none so far this year, thank goodness.

Where we are in France is also surrounded by vines and it’s worrying how some will survive this year - fruit trees have been at risk of course. Our intake of wine here in the UK has gone up during Covid, almost all we buy are Languedoc wines, specifically from the Gard, so we’ve tried as hard as we can to ‘stay local’. It’s of great concern to us how many local industries such as vineyards, organic fruit and vegetable growers etc will survive. As soon as we feel that it’s safe to return, we’ll be back spending our money; not having visited last year at all as we were self-isolating, we’ve been worried by news from friends and neighbours. Covid infections in the Gard continue to be high, but we’re hoping that by the time autumn comes round it will be safe to travel there.

I was saddened to hear of Prince Philip’s death. He did so much to provide facilities and opportunities for young people and took a huge interest in the environment, passing his support on to Prince Charles and his grandsons. I’m another who who took part in the DofE award scheme and who benefitted hugely from it in many ways. Coming from an impoverished family, the opportunities it offered were amazing. I learned so much, particularly enjoying the adventurous parts with hikes and sailing and volunteering in a children's’ home after school after school. I was extremely proud to meet Prince Philip when he came to a DofE display we put on in Durham. My flower arrangement of peonies suffered when his helicopter arrived and needed quick first aid, as did my hair. He was very complimentary about my flower arrangement and this very shy 15 year old found him very easy to chat to.

Website to register to get a Covid jab from leftover doses that would otherwise be thrown away: https://www.covidliste.com/

Any wasp nests on our balcony in France are immediately removed, using a bombe! I’ve needed swift medical attention to risk having any close to me. I have an allergic reaction to wasp stings, which worsens each time I’m stung - nobody knows that they are allergic until the first time it proves to be so. Previous experience of no symptoms doesn’t guarantee that it will continue like that. I carry epipens from around the end of March until October, but they are never far away outside those dates.

Lori, I don’t know the area at all, but the property looks good and at an affordable price. However, I wouldn’t write off Nîmes at all - we have many friends there, French, Dutch and English, some right in the centre and others right out beyond the suburbs, with properties in a range of prices. Our apartment is in a small town not far from the Pont du Gard, so not far from Nîmes and Avignon. In normal times we go into Nîmes fairly often, usually by bus, meeting up with friends who live there and in surrounding areas for outings, meals etc. The facilities there are excellent.

Sending hopes that you’ll receive your first jab earlier, Lori - here in the UK I definitely wasn't expecting mine until March, but had it on January 12th, with the second last weekend. So once the system is up and running smoothly, you never know! Fingers crosses for you.

It’s really good news that so many of you are now receiving your vaccinations in France - so many friends and neighbours there haven’t heard anything yet. Or GP surgery has been running 2-4 vaccination sessions since January, 400 vaccinations at each session, for their group practice and other local practices. They use the surgery on Saturdays and also had the use of the Salvation Army hall during the week so that as many normal appointments could continue as possible in the surgery. Our surgery is about a 10 minute walk from our home, so a pleasant stroll before and after for many. My husband and I had first jabs in the SA hall, a chance to see inside their lovely modern building, where 8 GPs and nurses were busy. We received our card with details of which vaccine (OAZ) and batch, sat for 15 minutes and returned home. The atmosphere was celebratory, as many of the patients hadn’t been out of their homes since last March, although I doubt that many of the 75+ year-olds were planning doing anything other than continuing to be sensible. On Saturday we had our second jabs in the surgery, with 10 GPs and nurses giving them, our cards were then updated (I’ve since laminated ours), we sat gor 15 minutes and came home. Note - no badges were used in these operations. Actually, I think that badges were probably a good idea, visible proof to others that some of the people they passed on the way home or at the shops had been vaccinated - a type of personal advert. ?

Chessie, don’t worry, you’re fine - no need for apologies. ? It’s good to read that more of you are finding slots for vaccinations - it’s worrying when so many friends in France haven’t had theirs yet.

I agree with much of that view. Anti-vaxxer views seem at least as strong as ever: The vaccine misinformation battle raging in France https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-56526265

On the Worldometer site, France overtook the UK in Covid-19 cases this week and is now in 4th place after Russia. France is only about 75,000 cases behind Russia and at the current rate of new cases in both of those countries it shouldn’t take very long before France overtakes Russia. That doesn’t take into account France’s new cases today as it hasn’t yet reported, but does include Russia’s. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ I do also follow https://www.santepubliquefrance.fr/dossiers/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-chiffres-cles-et-evolution-de-la-covid-19-en-france-et-dans-le-monde, but find the Worldometer site much more comprehensive.

I found this thread very disappointing - nothing at all about house renovations and DIY ! I was expecting suggestions about how to strengthen upstairs floors, dining chairs etc for those posters amongst us who might be fat and overweight! ?

Good luck with the search, Judith. I expected this thread to be about our esteemed PM - how can he say something like this, even at a private meeting - always needs to be the clown and popular: 'Greed' and 'capitalism' helped UK's vaccines success, says PM https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56504546