North East thread 4: Fingers crossed we catch the Angel bus!

[Someaddedsugar]

Just thought I'd start a new thread for the north east lot as number 3 is getting pretty full!

@PennyDreadfuI hope you're ok and hope you don't mind me picking the thread up!

@Florelei I don't know specifically about Tanfield but we have family members working at another Gp hub in the region and they get both vaccines in. They find out at the weekend how many and what type for the week ahead and then book people/staff accordingly. They are apparently nearly through all the over 80s who aren't in care homes and are starting on 75-79 this week.

so @NoseringGirl they are on to group 3 at their centre.

@Someaddedsugar the cruise ship is here for about a month to get some work done. There was a different P&O one here in the first lock down.

@NoseringGirl yes I had it at The Parks, I work in social care. They are also doing vax at The Oxford Centre in Longbenton, North Tyneside General Hospital (Rake Lane) and another venue at the coast but despite racking my brains it escapes me.

My dad is level 4 and my mam level 5.

I've had a sore arm and headache last night and today but nothing that paracetamol hasn't been able to fix.

My DP’s are early 80’s and had no side effects at all, so that’s good news.
Disappointing from next week Boyes the shop at Chester le Street are closing the upstairs. Which is a shame as I know crafts aren’t life or death but they help with mental health and being busy, especially in winter. And good luck if you need a zip or buttons.

Hello lasses, I'm in Gateshead. Honestly a trip on the Angel bus would feel like an adventure these days. I haven't been more than 6 minutes from my front door for months.

Anyone else disappointed at the lack of snow? I usually find it totally inconvenient, but now I'm confined to quarters and solely responsible for a small child, I'd have liked a couple of days sledging to break the monotony x

I wish the snow would either do it properly or quit the half a week every week inconvenience. We get it worse than you in Durham, mind.

Ds2 has been requesting "go to Durham Johnson school" so that will be our walk, tomorrow, before it pickles down for days on end, then snows again.

New bus timetables kicked in, this weekend and the angel never did make it out to Brandon.

@BexR yes! I want beast from the east back. We even got a load of snow at the coast that year!

@gingeristhenewblack43 ahh fab! Glad to hear the side effects have been okay for you too. I used to work in social care, I loved that job but can't even begin to imagine how stressful it is right now.

Well today, I've taken Ds2 for a 5km walk, dragged Ds1 out for a 1km walk, got 2 cakes in the oven, then....

Discovered that the bloody dishwasher is dead 😭

Thanks @clareykb we heard from my mother’s doctors today. Apparently they are all done with the over 75s and are just waiting for another batch of vaccines. Then they’ll call her in. They told her to keep her phone on her in case they call last minute.

@BexR

Hello lasses, I'm in Gateshead. Honestly a trip on the Angel bus would feel like an adventure these days. I haven't been more than 6 minutes from my front door for months.

Anyone else disappointed at the lack of snow? I usually find it totally inconvenient, but now I'm confined to quarters and solely responsible for a small child, I'd have liked a couple of days sledging to break the monotony x

Hi I'm in Gateshead too!

Our street is on a hill so I'm OK with the lack of snow as I need to go shopping later. But then I'm set for the week so I'm happy if it snows.

Completely selfish!!!

My grandma and grandad had their 1st dose on Thursday. My mum works at Freeman in Newcastle she had hers in very early Jan.

I'm delighted my grandma and grandad have had their first dose. Just keep obsessing I've what protection it actually gives. It actually feel like a scientific miracle that a year on from hearing about covid we have a vaccine and my grandparents have it. I get a bit emotional about it.

Not that I'm remotely giving credit to our crapp government on this one. Just mean the people who developed it and that we can actually do it. It's just amazing.

From asking around it would appear that most, if not all, of the over 80s I know have received their vaccinations - seems very well organised here by the two GP surgeries who use the health centre (surprisingly enough as they are usually pretty rubbish at everything else). My NDN has also had it, and she's under 80, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that they have now moved on to the over 70s.

Hope you get sorted with the dishwasher @PickAChew! We don't have one and I'm always envious of people who do!

Pleased for everyone who's getting their vaccines - I read that everyone 80+ should have had theirs in the next four weeks. Fingers crossed that's true and then everyone else slowly starts getting theirs.

I'm having a half day leave tomorrow so going to take DS to the botanical gardens in Durham tomorrow (despite the bad weather we're due) as I don't think I can cope with Chester Park again . As much as I love it there it feels like I'm there every day!

Enjoy the botanical gardens, Someaddedsugar. I feel the same about Chester Park.
The north east figures are definitely going down. On the Durham council COVID watch thing. We are right down the bottom of the UK table now. I wonder if our rise with the university students has actually helped our figures. Because we go up then down then up again and we are now coming down. It looks like it has spaced our cases out over a longer period, if that makes sense.
PickAChew hope you get a new dishwasher soon, because I bet it’s then fairies again who are washing up.

The sub washing up fairy has been pulling his weight but I have to not watch or I get twitchy.

The dishwasher came with the house and was about 15 years old, so it's days we're numbered, anyhow. Unfortunately, when dh pulled it out, it became clear that the inlet had been leaking and the plasterboard behind it is rotten. We need to check the floor underneath, as well. Might be a while before we can replace it.

Hope you enjoy the botanical gardens. I didn't get out with Ds2 today, as he wasn't budging this morning, when the rain was softer and less horizontal. He's very growly and shouty, this evening - just as I'd said to his teacher, this morning, that he was calming down a bit. 😖

The botanical gardens were lovely but very very wet. My coat gave up being waterproof but it was nice to be somewhere different and DS thought it was a fun adventure. It was empty too - we only saw two other people in the two hours we were there. It's just a shame it isn't open at weekends just yet.

Great to see the figures are going down. On the bigger map a lot of areas in Durham are below average in terms of cases per 100k which is good to see! Hopefully that continues!

Hope the washing up fairy is continuing to help @PickAChew! That's not good about the floor though! How's your DS doing today?

How are your DD's doing @MrsEWeatherwax and @myrtleWilson?

Glad you enjoyed the botanical gardens @Someaddedsugar. I don't think I've ever been in the winter.

Ds2 is less loud, this afternoon but he was awful after breakfast. I got us both washed and dressed and out of the house before the rain hit and basically walked various loops until we did start to get wet! His coughing tic is back, louder than ever, and one of the things that triggers it is people walking past us

I’ve never been to the botanical gardens in winter either. I think it’s just nice to get out the house.
One DD is getting very depressed, so I am sending her shopping on bus, because she enjoys. The other is glued to her PS4 unless doing her ALevel work.
I’m superglued to my spot on sofa unless at work which is nice to go too. I have enough of my family.
The weather is awful but at least for me it isn’t snowing.
I can’t believe it’s the end of January next week.

Hope he and you are ok @PickAChew. Hopefully schools will open as soon as they can! The change in routine must be so hard. And this weather doesn't help!

I've not been to the gardens for years so thank you for the idea on here! As much as there were a lot of bare trees and plants it was still nice to see something new, and as DS hasn't ever been it was quite exciting for him. There were a lot of closed off paths which did mean we ended up turning around quite a lot but it was a nice change and I feel much better this afternoon having been somewhere new!

Hope she enjoys her shopping trip @MrsEWeatherwax.

Apparently we have more snow forecast - not looking forward to that at all!

I've decided I'm going to treat us to a Dobson and Parnell at home box at the end of the month as I need to go to Newcastle for work to pick up some final pieces for a presentation I'm doing and then I can head there on the way home. Just struggling to decide what to order as I want it to be a surprise for DP as he's been quite down this week.

Wow just looked at Dobson and Parnell at home, sounds amazing and love that fact they do a child’s menu.
Hope your DP is feeling better soon.@Someaddedsugar.
Went to M&S at Arnison centre tonight and got struck in the McDonald’s queue. It was ridiculous. The car park was empty but took 5 minutes to get out!

We've had three lockdown birthdays and a postponed new job celebration from last March so using that to justify the meal .

Thanks @MrsEWeatherwax - I'm sure he'll be back to his usual cheery self soon. He just doesn't talk about how he feels much and is very quiet rather than chatty like he usually is. I think he's really missing playing and watching football so I'm hoping outdoor team sports can resume soon as it is a big part of his life (and gives me and DS our Saturday mornings as just the two of us and I really love that time we have together).

Were the traffic wardens there to try and stop the queuing? I still can't get over how one takeaway can cause so many queues. It must be a nightmare for the buses and keeping to timetables some days as I've been sat for 15 minutes before.

No traffic wardens, it was after 7 and the car park was pretty deserted. I was furious with myself for getting struck. if the cars just stayed on the road until they can go into drive through, instead of turning and sticking out and blocking road!
Some dickhead overtook me then obviously got struck in front because of the car in front. God only knows what they thought I was waiting for. If must annoy the bus drivers.

@Someaddedsugar We have had Hinnies and Blackfriars @home for Father's Day and DH birthday. Both delicious and easy to reheat. Hope D&P is as good.

We're looking at a takeaway from Kaltur for our lockdown birthday - I emailed them and they said they've not had issues about the food not being warm (its not a heat at home set up like House of Tides etc)... I love the food there and hope it is good - off to look at D&P now too!

I've just read on another site that vaccine doses that were allocated to the North East are going to be diverted to other parts of the country instead.