I am glad to be able to read the posts and join in. Things have been quite tough lately and of course , life piles it up all at once. I am a widow, live alone and have a very bad back, so not able to do the walking I used to love doing up the dales etc. I also have cancer, which I recently had to go for treatment for., so a bit on the vunerable side right now. Having done hospital car service, for over ten years a couple of years ago I left a beloved house and big garden to come and live in a groundfloor flat, with public transport etc etc. to keep myself independant for as long as possible.It had a good bathroom with walk in shower with a seat etc etc. At the beginning of october, the hall carpet felt wet. Cut a long story short, major leak behind the tiling near the toilet. Result? Total bathroom had to come out. No loo, hot water etc etc. Had to be stripped completely out , sanitized and driers used for 3 weeks etc etc . Had to go and stay in local hotel, which had no lift, but very nice helpful staff and needed to be close. So , the hotel is totally booked over the christmas period, but hurray now have a working loo, thank goodness, and have cold water in the kitchen. Waiting for electrician to do his bit and then (fingers crossed) the plumber can finish off and I can return and begin sorting out the total chaos,. Well if they cant get it finished next week I may have to look for somewhere else to sleep! Two close friends have just recently moved away to live near their families and another close friend has family staying. My son and family had been away, and came back and his partner and my grandson have Covid, so cant go there. Anyway I need to be here to oversee stuff. Ah well I might find a bed in a stable locally, I think there was quite a good precedent for that!!! Really I shall just be grateful if I can sit in my own chair at home on christmas day, and eat a sandwich and listen to J S Bach on radio 3, might even be able to take a shower by then.!
Well there is one great piece of news that the Assads have gone. I lived in Damascus for a time when the father was the dictator, so that is one good piece of news in a sorry state of the world. , pity Trump doesnt join Putin and Assad and with a bit of luck there might be a n earthquake or a sudden hole appear and swallow the three of them!! So I am trying to let friends know why they havent heard from me , no cards sent etc, no access to lists, address books (still havent found the important one yet) as I had to leave suddenly in the afternoon and every plan up in smoke. Well looking at Syria, I am lucky to have a home to go back to , however long it takes. Thankyou for letting me rant on about it all . One of the problems living alone is you cant talk through things with anyone. Will hope to come back soon with news that I am home. (Do watch out for pigs flying overhead!!) By the way I have a rather cynical saying which seems appropriate at the moment "Cheer up" they said "Things could be worse" so I cheered up and they were!!