ADs don't want your freedom, ADs don't want to play around

[BogRollBOGOF]

🎵 Every day I hear a different story
People sayin' that you’re no good for me
Saw your lover with another
And she’s making a fool of you, oh

🎵 If you love me baby, you'd deny it
But you laugh and tell me I should try it
Tell me I’m a baby, and I don't understand

Go Wham!

@ISaySteadyOn

How lovely!

I am just back from the vet. DCat fine. That's my animal for today.

Here she is. DD1 took that.

Any chance of more tortoise pictures?

Yep no problem. I'll take some after work tomorrow.

@MercyBooth happy anniversary!

@ISaySteadyOn here she is! First one- getting ready for her weekly weigh in, second one- back in her cage after she peed on my hand!

Somehow I uploaded one picture twice, but you get the idea! 116 grammes today.

We are going to Chessington today as a big family outing - 5 children and 4 adults, I am excited! Shame about the weather really but it is not bucketing it down and I can't bear it when it is too hot

Aww she is so cute.

I love her little tortoise face!
Anybody else have pet photos? I think it's time for some showing off 😉

@ISaySteadyOn

I love her little tortoise face! Anybody else have pet photos? I think it's time for some showing off 😉

I've only got a fish tank. It's lovely but not very photogenic!

I'm not quite at 10 years yet. I can't remember my exact MNiversary but it was in the final weeks of pregnancy when I was very bored! I pre-date the Penis Beaker. There were a lot of yoni themed user names at the time

Oh yeah Mr Yoni Man offering his services. Oh the threads were pure comedy gold. The replies to him were brilliant.

Pet picture of our bunny.
We had a day out in London yesterday, first time since February 2020. It felt pretty busy, there were certainly lots of tourists, although an obvious lack of overseas visitors so that must be affecting visitor numbers. Nevertheless it was good to see it busy and lots of families enjoying themselves. Exhausted now as felt like we should cram in lots to make the most of it! Mask wearing varied. Museums still very compliant, train there from the midlands barely anyone wearing one, but tube about 70-80% were.

Cute bunny!

Here are my two cats doing their best "paint me like one of your French girls" poses...

Gorgeous bunny and gorgeous cats.

Such gorgeous animals!

Had a good day today. Parkrun this morning (best thing in life at the moment!) Been into town this afternoon. The little details have relaxed a lot, stuff like ordering McDonalds and choosing the table as real normal and clearing the table yourself.
DCs are topped up on school uniform now.

We go to a little shoe shop anyway. They've got pragmatic measures in, one family at a time with gazebo outside to improve capacity. They're generally barefaced but just put the mask on to do the actual contact of measuring/ fitting. In the spring, they didn't bat an eyelid when I loitered bare-faced in the doorway. When we passed by Clarkes, the signs were up for booking appointments, all staff masked and some visored... I definitely went to the nicer shop (admittedly a well established habit as Clarkes used to fall apart too soon and little shoe shop is happy to tell you that sizing is good and come back in a few months.

In defence of capitalism, when companies realise that some of their covid excesses are driving away customers they will start removing some of the most cumbersome rules and restrictions that they have. So BogRollBOGOF your smaller shoe shop will be doing better than Clarks I should imagine. Glad you had fun on your Parkrun!

There has definitely been a toning down of Covidy stuff and things like letting tape wear off in general. I'm feeling relatively close to something that feels recognisably as normal and that's an improvement on when I cynically titled this thread
It's not a secure feeling yet (the back to school dementing at least has been worse, most people are resigned to the risk of illness but recognising the need for normality)

I've been doing the little shoe shop for years after getting fed up of yet another pair of Clarks falling appart before DS outgrew them. They are just generally better anyway and the modest amount extra at first is more than reimbursed by the loyalty scheme which tots up well with two children.

I was at parkrun on Saturday too. My first one alone since they restarted. The route has changed too, (feels like its all uphill with a bit of flat and no downhill!) so I was happy with my time.
We did shoe shopping without masks midweek but had an appointment so were in and out very quickly.
The climbing wall has posted on FB how they still expect people to wear masks unless exempt, which was a shame as I was planning to take DS1 there the day DS2 has started back at school but he hasn't. It's in a huge, draughty and freezing old railway shed so not exactly lacking in ventilation.

Haven't been on here for ages but I thought of you all when a hotel booking I have emailed through that they won't clean the room during my stay for covid and bizarrely I have to ask for a hairdryer and iron as part of their new measures

What ridiculousness! I can (kind of) understand the not cleaning your room whilst you are staying there but I have no idea why a hairdryer and iron have to be asked for. Hope you get to enjoy your stay though Stuffin!

The hairdryer and iron is crazy. I read it again and yes it's part of their new covid procedures . The cleaning is an odd one because they clean the room between bookings so is it for my benefit or theirs to stop the daily cleaning and if it for mine I would have liked a choice.

I went to the library the other day, I had been putting it off, but I was pleasantly surprised to find about 50% masked and unmasked. Compliance in shops still seems to be pretty high here. It is putting me off browsing (and buying) but maybe the shops can't win with the polarisation of views on masks. Our indoor market is the place I've been with the fewest people wearing masks, so it makes me wonder about the class element of this (from a working class background myself and I think this is a factor in being more questioning and less compliant).

Shop signage has generally mellowed over recent weeks which is a bit less intimidating. It's awkward when you get the contradiction of old signage stating one set of expectations and people doing their own thing anyway.

Sainsbury's still has a barriered in/ out door, annoying as the trolleys are by the exit so you have to cross past it anyway. The general vibe is slower to liberate in there than my usual supermarkets. Thankfully I don't know where my nearest Waitrose is, as that always gets mentioned as the supermarket for the hyper cautious!

We went to the pub on Friday and that was normal which was great (other than my DCs in a normal awkward mood...)

Bogroll, our nearest supermarket is a Waitrose, and a lot of the staff and the customers do not wear masks now. I would say at least 50% unmasked.

And there was never a one-way system, or much in the way of signage either. It's been remarkably "normal", really.

Supermarkets around here seem 50/50 for masks with the smaller coop hardly anyone wears one.

@TabbyStar

I went to the library the other day, I had been putting it off, but I was pleasantly surprised to find about 50% masked and unmasked. Compliance in shops still seems to be pretty high here. It is putting me off browsing (and buying) but maybe the shops can't win with the polarisation of views on masks. Our indoor market is the place I've been with the fewest people wearing masks, so it makes me wonder about the class element of this (from a working class background myself and I think this is a factor in being more questioning and less compliant).

Good for you going to the library. That was brave of you. Did you have to book to go? At ours, we still do.