ADs crave hotel breakfasts garnished with phallic strawberries

[BogRollBOGOF]

Oh for the good old days of a breakfast buffet.

Back when you could make plans and reasonably expect them to happen. When you could turn up spontaneously and browse or linger at your leisure. When you could meet whoever you like and give them a hug

But until those days return, here's some more AD chat about life, the universe and phallic fruits...

Struggling a bit today.

Someone I know is a kind of 'dementor-by-marriage'. He's generally fairly balanced but his wife is very fearful and gets all her bullshit reliable information from Facebook and forwarded texts: 'a friend who works in health says WOOOOoooOOOOOooooOOOOOO BLUUURRRRGGHHHH...AND MILLIONS WILL DIE' etc. Her schtick is 95% untruthful bollocks with about 5% of plausible stuff that's enough to make everyone doubt themselves. It's not really her fault, she doesn't know the difference and it's too much trouble to pick the falsehoods apart from the real info to find out, so she just passes it on because she thinks she's being helpful.

They're stuck at home together with not a lot to do. She gets him wound up and then he starts too. So he rings me up for a chat and I try to talk him down but it's hard with such an unrelenting onslaught. And I feel like, where did my lovely friends go? And why can't I help my friend? I can't see him in person because his wife doesn't want him to be in contact with anyone outside their home. I respect that -- their decision. But I come off the phone feeling low and like I've been drained. Not their fault, as such; they're clearly struggling and they're isolated, which is making everything worse.

It's just a bit shit when I put the phone down and don't feel like I've helped much.

So I have put my mist diffuser on and I am sitting here in semi-darkness, waiting for chilled-ness to infuse into my very being.

If that doesn't work maybe I'll go and stamp some autumn leaves into mush, kick conkers into the face of a ruddy-cheeked child and inject hot chocolate directly into my own body.

@DominaShantotto your post the other day made me smile (about cobs). Where I'm from (Lancashire) a cob is a bad mood. 'He's got a right cob on' etc. If you walked into a butty shop up there and asked for a cob you'd get a woman in a hairnet working herself up for some argy-bargy. I love language.

I've given up and swapped my baps for cobs. It was a losing battle

I seem to have a cob on half the time these days.

Love the autumn description

I’ve always called rolls ‘cobs’ because my mum is from Leicester. Got me some funny looks in Birmingham and Manchester.

In an online seminar and the really scary lecturer with a helluva reputation for making students cry seems to bloody like me!

@DominaShantotto

In an online seminar and the really scary lecturer with a helluva reputation for making students cry seems to bloody like me!

She has no doubt noticed your dedication and enthusiasm for the subject.

In my world a cob is a trusty steed. I've owned a few fat hairy cobs in my time. (That sounds rude, but it isnt).

@Reedwarbler at a TREC comp in the Midlands I bought lunch from the catering van and ate it in front of mine saying "people eat cobs here so you'd better behave this afternoon". It had no effect, he was a complete git.

I'm definitely getting old.

Watching 'Steph' and there is this school kid talking about black history. I listened a bit closer and he is a head teacher ffs. Not even a newly qualified teacher.

@Reedwarbler

In my world a cob is a trusty steed. I've owned a few fat hairy cobs in my time. (That sounds rude, but it isnt).

I have a neighbour with an irish cob the finest steadiest beast, two year olds are safe on his back.

Summat tells me Dripford wants to set up another border lockdown, there has to be some legal reason he has not done it. However, the Liverpool, northern folk do not come here in the winter anyway. So I think he has missed the conniption boat.

Sorry for asking here, but looking for balanced responses...

Have any of you had a letter from Imperial asking if you would consider your child taking part in a covid study? Tested weekly?

I received one for DS (9) this morning and Im not sure how I feel about it. Part of me thinks that it would be a good thing to be involved in to help understand the spread and possible transmission between children, but the selfish part of me thinks that the tests are unpleasant so do I want to subject him to that every week, also I dont want him to worry about "what if I have it" I mean, we have fairly balanced talks about it in the loki household, but he is still just 9.

Then I think at 9 he should be allowed a degree of autonomy over what is done with his body, so do we discuss it with him and see how he feels about it?

DH had one of the covid study letters - it went in the bin.

Howling here as one of our lecturers is REALLY having an entertainingly shit time with the technology. He's locked himself in the break out room and is now having an argument with his PC trying to share a video. We're killing ourselves with laughter.

@LivinLaVidaLoki hmm tricky one!

Has he had a test before? I think it would make a difference if he genuinely knew what he was going to have to do. Personally I think giving nasal and throat swabs every week to a 9 year old would tip too far towards risk on the risks/benefits scale. I think one of the risks would be the potential for increased anxiety due to the extra focus it would bring to everything corona-related

@justasking111

Summat tells me Dripford wants to set up another border lockdown, there has to be some legal reason he has not done it. However, the Liverpool, northern folk do not come here in the winter anyway. So I think he has missed the conniption boat.

I think the problem is that a full on border will go down like a cup of cold sick with a lot of Welsh people, particularly those near the border, or those hoping to salvage a bit of the tourism season income over half term. And a ban on people from hotspots would be really, really hard to enforce (and might not be legally available - I'm not sure exactly what powers Drakeford has to stop some but not all English people coming in?)

@BogRollBOGOF

I can see the logic in tidying up the localised restrictions so they are more standard across England. Doesn't mean I agree with them.

Soo much safer to follow the roolz and drive granny out to a busy cafe for lunch and sit at the same table than to sit 2m away on the other side of her lounge...

Its nuts!

My cousin can take my aunt shopping, out for a meal/coffee in the garden centre which she used to love but i cant go visit her in her house because i am not close enough to be in a bubble!
Plus they have scared the living daylights out of her so much she doesn't actually enjoy going out in public places any more. I will never forgive the gov and all the dementors for taking such simple pleasures away from her. Her social network, her craft group, her pensioners clubs, coming out with us for meals and spending too much in garden centres and just having family to visit her. Not to mention her confidence and mobility. She will never get it back at this rate. She has gone from being a confident smart independant woman to someone afraid to go out and who has fallen at home at least twice in last few months because walking round your house of garden isnt much in the way of staying mobile.

Just who are we saving and at what cost to thousands like her?

Loki
Has he had one before?

They are really unpleasant (no matyer how the Ds sugar coat it its awful) no way would i want to go through that weekly if i didnt have to.

If he has had one and he choses to do it fine, i think it might get a bit much after a few weeks though.

I know someone doing it and half the time they havent come to collect the swabs or leave new ones so i am very suspicious that it will actually produce a true study!

Plus if he tests positive would it affect him emotionaly or make him.feel guilty? I dont think i would put that on a 9yr olds shoulders.

You know your lad, if he wants to do it then see how it goes he can always stop if it gets too much. Its a tough call.

Thank you @Willow2017 and @Pleasedontdothat
Selfishly the thing that worries me is how unpleasant the test is, so why would I want to subject him to that every week. I think ill probably just bin it.

Well am maybe gonna break some rules. We do the childminding thing for two sets of grand kids which is ok informal childcare. Went round Lidl this morning halloweeny stuff so picked up some pumpkin lights, someone locally is asking us to put up halloweeny stuff in our porches so the children can walk around and every time they see a home decorated their parent gives them a sweet. Lovely idea but pretty crap compared to last year. Well I came home in a tear. Lidl are flogging fireworks from 15th so I had the bright idea to organise a party for the little uns, decorate the conservatory all woo woo, lots of food culminating in a firework display because lets face it bonfire night is kaput. Everyone is on board with this in our bubbles so am gonna do it. Even if Dripford alters the rules we are going ahead, ffs what is the difference between child care and childcare with fireworks??

It's like children's parties. Not mixing children from different sources, sensible. But why not have children from one bubble who are already connected to each other?
How is that more risky to 30 hours per week in a classroom?

We got the covid test study one for dc2, she's 7. We binned it, thinking it would be a bit much. Then she had suspected covid and that test was so fucking traumatic (for all involved!) I'm pretty sure we made the right choice.

A bubble has burst in a local school in year 6. They are due to do the 11+ on Thursday. Im just crossing everything we get to Thursday without a positive test in my dcs school. Please let this be done with!

@LivinLaVidaLoki I think at 9 you can explain why the scientists want to track infection and also explain that the test is not pleasant but could help our understanding of COVID. Though I’m not sure any 9 year old is altruistic enough to subject themselves to a weekly test!

Ps thanks for help with Greece. It’s very sad to see many restaurants are closed but our family one is surviving, the new greeting is a fist bump 😎

Ordered a pumpkin pinata (I may live to regret that haha) a spooky table cloth, and two sets of hanging bats for the conservatory. DS has left some of those weird multi colour flashing lights here, funny little square things so will set those up and plug in. I think they will be enough for 1 five year old three 3 year olds and a toddler. Plus the fireworks.

I had a covid study letter yesterday maybe they are doing more or something. Just a one off test though. Declined it.

On 'long covid' apparently around one in 50 get that, it is not very many...and varies from mild to more severe. But listening to some you would think everyone got it.

Sorry just love the title! Feeling pretty annoyed at the lack of breakfast information on hotel websites so was apt. I'm craving that crazy breakfast with sausages, hash browns, some melon pieces, slices of smoked salmon, dark German rye bread and a yogurt! Oh and some cheese and a pain au chocolate of course for seconds!!!