What are you all up to
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A while back the Government introduced ‘Project Defend’, the idea being to create more resilient supply chains for critical goods like medical supplies, the main target being Chinese goods. ‘Onshoring’ was the buzz word. It’s all gone very quiet since but evidently China are still meeting most of our needs for testing kits despite contracts being awarded to some UK manufacturers.
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Good news this morning, SIL's PCR test has come back negative, so he has gone to work, and Christmas is safe.....meantime anyway.
Apparently his wife has had some stern words with him, so he will not be going out anywhere else in the near future.
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And Five ( 5 ) years later, Brian wonders how ONEPUTT has managed with this years decorations ( Only joshing you OP , Honest
)Brian is a bit more chirpy this morning partly because there is yet another Negative LFT on my account
-- oh happy days !!1 -
I was given 2 boxes of test kits(14 units) as I left Asda-‘made in Shanghai China’. I reckon that buzz word may have been swept into a dark corner with the rest like-‘levelling up’🤷🏻♂️
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That’s good news Brian. Keep safe.
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Happy Christmas to you and yours Oneputt.
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We had three folk gigs booked between 16th and 23rd. Two have been cancelled by the venues (who didn’t want their volunteers thrust into isolation over Christmas) and we decided discretion was the better part of valour and decided to not go to the third.
All our presents are now wrapped and ready to distribute. I hope to persuade OH to bring the tree in tomorrow and hang the lights on it. It’s too tall for me. Then I can start to hang decorations on it. I don’t trust anyone else to do - I like to put them where I want them.
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A lovely and unexpected ride out this morning on the High Peak Trail but as we neared home the mist started to roll in and it's hard to see beyond the boundary of the CL at present. Looks like it's in for the day.
Nellie, he was only copying what I normally do.
Oneputt, Merry Christmas to you and the family as well. Hope you will able to get away in January.
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Just putting up our Christmas tree, this will make you smile....
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Just had a call from some friends in the Cotswolds ,their neighbours on the nextdoor estate have been running shoots most days Max 15 guns at £3000 per gun but it does include lunch
They are flying to Austria tonight for a skiing holiday until 4th Jan alright for some
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Gosh brue that brings back memories as I used to work in Woolworths in Great Malvern many years ago.
Had a clear morning with some sunshine for our friends to make their way to UK all paperwork sorted thankfully, then decided to cloud over again and a strong easterly wind brr and then OH shows me the weather at home blue skies and much warmer heyho.
Did a bit of shopping earlier and plus the bits our friends left shall be ok until next week to get fresh veg and fruit ready for the holidays, a good sized market where we went this morning but a lot of folk about so did not go around it just did shopping we needed and then back to base and the warmth of the gite.
Heard from another friend today that another friend is still flying to the UK Monday but she has residency here should be ok as she wants to have xmas with her OH near Didcot just hope things do not change whilst she is there..
Stay safe folks.
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Unpacking done, 2 loads of washing and drying done, last load just finished in the washer, waiting to go in the tumbler. No point in putting them outside as the frost has not lifted all day.
Been lovely and sunny but freezing, sun now gone down and time to put lights on 15.40. Almost at longest day so soon be lighter for longer. This time of day 2 days ago I would have been either by the pool or sitting on the patio.
only another 9 weeks and we will be back there
Eating out, we rarely do just the 2 of us unless like the last 3 weeks we are away, even then it was only 1 night in 4, preferring to eat in the apartment. When away in the van its even less. The times we do tend to eat out is if our sons visit us or we them.
Haven't got around to Christmas Dec's yet might put the tree up not sure though.
Oh phoned his Mum's care home to make an appointment to see her, not happy as he is not allowed to go for 10 days after returning from an overseas trip, even though we have had PCR tests done. Which means she will have no visitors on Christmas day
WN, good to hear you are happy with the new bikes and having a nice time away.
As we can't go anywhere for a few days I've started sorting out my clothes and now have a pile of things that need attention, so the sewing machine will be back in action as I make some alterations.
We managed to call into Tescos on our way home last night to get some shopping, was surprised to hear an announcement shortly after we entered, that the shop would be closing in 15 mind. Its a 24hr shop but it would seem now closing at 22.00 every night. Good job I had a list of the things I needed, it's been awhile since I've run around a shop grabbing things and throwing them in the trolley
just made it in time but haven't got any Christmas's stuff only essentials. Only noticed this morning that I got charged twice for 1 item 
nothing I can do about it now, we would normally have gone through the self check out but as they were closing we chose the serviced one. 1 -
We need to have a clear out of the Christmas stuff lurking in the loft.
We did pass quite a few things on to our son and daughter to get them started when they left home, but we do not bother with a big tree these days , so there must be more that can be handed down.
Only a few very old ones have survived, real glass baubles, one in particular that OH remembers from when she was a toddler, so that must make it at least 70 years old.
I think tomorrow I will put up the few lights we do usually use these days, cheer us up in the gloomy weather we are having here.
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We dragged in our pot grown tree today, a bit before it's time, but as the family hope to be here earlier than expected on Monday I thought I'd better get a move on. Like you KJ we have a few old ornaments, in fact, I wrapped them up carefully awhile ago and now can't find them but I thought the old packet of Woolie's Lametta was a snip at 14p!
(My sister and I had holdiay jobs at Woolies.)It sounds a bit chilly in the north TG, I can see snow in the forecasts for quite a few later in the week. Sorry to hear about the care home visits.
We've got friend's who've just got back from abroad, they're waiting for their test results and had to miss out staying with their family on the way back and spending time with a new grandchild.
Late afternoon I stood in our garden, there was a nice pink sky from the sunset, the birds were singing their evening chorus, the "near" full moon was rising and the sheep were silouetted against a local hill...a bit like spring but not yet! As you say TG we're nearly through the darker days.
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Nellie, he was only copying what I normally do.
Actually it was me in disguise on one of my easier days out!!😆
Oneputt, Merry Christmas to you and the family as well. Hope you will able to get away in January.
And all the best from me too, OP.
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Miserable, dull and foggy here, just staying in and keeping warm. OH has put off going shopping again as she is not feeling too great, having trouble shifting sinus pain.
Poor SIL is not having a good week. Having swerved Covid and gone back to school yesterday, he has now come down with a stomach bug. Not from anything he ate at home as they have all eaten the same, so either from school or a visit to his parents' house yesterday afternoon.
Hope he does not pass it on to anyone else in the family, DD is supposed to be taking me to my hospital appointment on Monday, and they have bookings for Covid boosters in the evening.
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We have had our gas boiler for 17 years then yesterday ,the time clock decided it to stop working and a replacement is no longer available. ,German engineering? ,,so its back to manual starting and stopping the heating system
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Made our way through the quite dense fog this morning which eventually cleared the nearer we got to Disley near Stockport and the run home on the M56 to North Wales was fine from thereon in.
Caravan and Car absolutely filthy. Have to do one of them tomorrow.
Really enjoyed the few days away. Just need to get a few bits and bobs. The correct battery arrived at home about 15 minutes after us but 2 days before it should have.
The driver didn't know anything about picking up the other one. Have to give the store a ring and se if anyone can pick it up next week.Glad to see you home safely TG. Mrs WN already had 2 lots of washing in and we were only away for 4 nights.
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At 17 years old the boiler probably need replacing anyway? As Kj says if its a separate controller there should be lots of alternatives. We had a new boiler about three years ago, yes one of those German ones!!!. We have the Hive remote control system which is brilliant. I can control the heating remotely from my Smart Phone which is handy when we are away in the motorhome, no more returning to a cold house.
David
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Good to read that you got home safe and sound after your trip, WN.
It's been foggy here all day, everything is dripping in water. Had to go into town to collect our new glasses, which are fine, so have booked the first site for Monday when we head off on our Christmas/winter trip. Just have to hope that there's not another lockdown, and we have to come back home, as we did last Xmas.
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We’ve got a vintage oil boiler (2002) which is still giving good service. I replaced the controller with a Wiser (Drayton) control system. Easy to fit and like DK wouldn’t ever want to be without remote control option now.
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We are all electric at home did have LPG heating and hot water when in Somerset, all change here from 2023 no gas or oil heating allowed in new builds and from 2028 no gas or oil in any property at all and will have to be removed can see the locals striking about it and hoping that folk will installed heat source pumps plus the usual electric, solar panels etc.
We had a sharp frost today followed by sunshine but some foggy spells but good to see the sun again got to about 7C here but at home 14.6C but we are about 250 miles further north here. Had a walk around the trees on site and found a lot of mistletoe so will have to try and pick a small piece for the gite ha ha, got woken up by the local ducks all mallards plus 2 moorhens making a lot of noise to say where is the food then as Cath usually puts seeds out for them so had to go out and feed them plus top up the bird feeders, there seems to be a lot of sparrows here who know how to feed off the feeders.
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Thanks KJ and DK our local man who understands our Viessman boilers ,is away ,so it looks like an after Xmas repair
He has in the past advised us to keep the boiler as long as we can ,as they are the finest available?
Viessman engineer phoned yesterday when I contacted them ,to advise the timer was obsolete , but a competent engineer hopefully should be able to source,an alternative , and was sorry he could not help, but,it should not yet need a replacement boiler
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JVB
The problem with older boilers is the availability of spares. If the manufacturer is confident that spares will be available no problem with keeping it. What slightly worries me is that they have said the timer is obsolete so I think I would ask the question about other spares just for peace of mind. Our house is coming up for 43 years old and we have been the only residents. In that time we have had 3 boilers. The current one, installed about three years ago, is a combi so we were able to get rid of all our tanks and this system is much more economical than the previous set ups. Just as well considering the price of Gas!!!
David
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It seems by what out boiler man and the Viessman engineering dept have said there is a workround ,as the basic boiler has not changed?
It seems many parts are interchangable with many makes of boilers available?
Our house was built in the 1950sand until we changed to our present combi all the heating and hot water was via a gas back boiler
so we will wait and see what our man says His father(Geoge Sweeny now well retired) who was an apprentice with me ,him at North Thames Gas Board and me at South Eastern Gas Board we met on day release at college ,as he said, you and I have been left behind with how technical things are now
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