Diary summary week ending 10th July

[louisa maud]

I did know a Jenny Jenkins who wrote poetry, she wrote a lovely poem about 2 guide dogs  meeting on a beach and then the two owners  became friends

LM

[River Tyne Lass]

Brigid, that is good to read that the signed poetry went so well that you have been asked to return.  It is quite something that your performance has inspired two young people to want to take up signing.  Are you very fluent and what was your own inspiration to learn?

Viktoria, I think with that poem you will be a hard act to follow; I will watch to see if there is anyone brave enough to try .. 

PharmaT, I did not know you wrote poetry.  That is good that you can use this as an outlet.  Do you have any poems that you might like to share?  Understand though, if you might not want to share if these feel quite personal.

Thanks for the well wishes.  Yes, Candleflame, I am happy to report that I do feel quite well.   I have tested myself this morning by going out (with a mask on) this morning.  It has felt wonderful to get to walk around in the sunshine and feel free.  It has felt strange this week not being able to go out.  I am not used to that and going in the garden doesn't quite feel the same.
I will be going back to work tomorrow; straight back in the deep end for a 12 hour shift, so I thought it good to stretch my legs a bit on a walk today.  I am looking forward to going on the buses again too.  I have missed that.

[pharmaT]

Some of my poems are inspired by political shenanigans so would probably get me into trouble.  There's one called Ode to Boris which would definitely get me into trouble. I tend to switch between Scots and English when writing them.  Here's a couple

Covid Times

As bells rang in our year 2020
People partied with dreams a plenty
No a thocht given tae a tottie wee bug
Slinking in fae the East tae pu oot the rug
Afore the next Hogmanay came around
People were smit aw roun the toun

Pechin and feverit mony fowk they sicken
For the ill-maist it’s hospital admission
Sats drappin lawer than 82
Doctor is stunned, lips no yet blue
Mony a prayer for howp o sain
Tae nae avail in eternal rest mony are lain

Then tae the bells o year 2021
We hae a jag, a victory won
But nae such uncertainty as a sure thing
As “ay but oor freedoms” protestors sing
Noo as we ring in the year 2022
We wunner hou mony more died noo.

Just Learn tae Cook

They widnae struggle if they just learned tae Cook
Annunciated the man with the haughty look
He obviously didnae think a Jenny the chef
She lost her job when covid meant no business left
With oot a job and no earnin  no money fir rent
Sitting in a B&B to which by the cooncil she wis sent

limited fir noo in the temp accommodation
No kitchen so stuck in nutritional damnation
But the need fir energy is a necessity
If there’s tae be a chance of of job in time of scarcity
In spite of the struggles she does survive
She gets a flat a time to thrive

Working long hours but pay is low
Progress building a kitchen it is slow
Supermarket prices rising so high
That’s when Jenny’s life shines light on the lie
Fir Jenny aready knows hoo tae cook it
Yet at the end of the month she is still rookit

[River Tyne Lass]

Wow!  PharmaT, I'm impressed.👏 You are a person of hidden depths keeping this hidden talent from us until now!
What d'ya think of that Viktoria? You threw down the gauntlet and PharmaT has bravely picked it up.👏
Is Jenny based on a real person and what does rookit mean?  What does howp o sain, mean?

[candleflame]

Pharma I think you must have the patience of a saint! I can understand why it can’t stay in the loft. Hopefully it will leave your house soon.

[louisa maud]

Wow, many talents are coming  to the front

LM

[pharmaT]

Rookit is short for rookit rint, which means skint. Howp o sain means hope of salvation.

[Gibel]

The posts about the problems with passports reminds me to say that I got my renewed driving licence back this week. It took 81/2 months I was 70 in December 2020 but due to Covid they didn’t request the renewal until October 2022. It took around 7 attempts to fill the form in online because I type slowly and the form would time out eventually with the aid of a friend it was done.

23 December a letter arrived they wanted more information but it had to be returned within I think it was 10 days and their letter was dated 8 days earlier. I sent the form back signed for delivery to arrive on Christmas Eve. I went to the police station could I still drive? Yes. DVLA are just so slow they said with eyes rolling.

In May another letter arrived more info needed on the adaptions on my car and they’d written to one of the consultants. Filled in the form sent it back. Again checked with the police I could still drive unless a doctor said I couldn’t.

This week driving licence arrived! It came with a letter to say it was for 3 years only. Let’s hope their system has improved by then.

[River Tyne Lass]

Thanks for the explanation PharmaT.  I remember Christmas 2019 .. I don't remember much about what I was doing as the bells would have rung in 2020.  To think that none of had a clue about what was going to hit and how everything was going to change! 
I recall several years ago starting a thread about the Mass Observation one day diary.  Caroline was one of the first to respond to my post saying she would join too.  And shortly after Mowsehowse and others.  Never thought we would be participating together one day in a diary collective relating to a pandemic and the aftermath.  Your poem has taken me back, Pharma.  I remember signs but it didn't really sink in that things were heading awry until the Sunday before the announcement and I saw the empty shop shelves, .. and then whammy, the announcement was like we had descended into a world of science fiction.