The Breakfast Club

[LilyLangtrey]

Good afternoon, Clunkers!

Welcome to the Breakfast Club where the kettle is permanently on, the drinks flow and the snacks are both self-replenishing and calorie-free.

We start each day with a look at history and a tribute to a brave or inspiring woman. Mostly though, we just chat randomly about current affairs, recipes, life in lockdown, literature, music and anything else that comes into our heads.

Veteran Clunkers welcome. Anyone else who wants to join in the chat - sense of humour essential! - welcome.

Kettle's on

Morning Clunkers.

Lily how was Dizzy's night? Did he settle at all? Has he eaten?

I don't know what to think of what's going on restrictions-wise. Every article I read contradicts the last one. It's easier not to bother trying to get a coffee out. The NHS app helps to get in places but then having to order via an app, which many are doing is a step too far for me.

I support regional lock downs; why should areas with no infections be closed down for no reason at such loss to businesses? It's looking like the government is working up to a circuit breaker according to DT. I don't mind saying that SirStatic is annoying me more every day.

I used to play in the button box, sorting them into matching sets. We had buckles, military buttons, bows and tiny pearly baby buttons. I like buying unusual buttons for baby cardigans.

Nessa, hope today is a good day for you in your recovery.

Where are the butlers...

Morning all and thanks for the OTD Lily.

Hope we are all doing OK this morning? I have a giant mug of hot chocolate on the go, so life could be worse. lol

Good morning Clunkers.

Tracy will be along with breakfast soon and the teas and coffees etc. are being circulated by the butlers.

Our car is off to be serviced and have its (covid delayed) MOT test at the garage in the next village; fortunately our neighbour across the road works there so he has driven our car to work and will deliver it back to us when he comes home. Very efficient indeed.

I must have an admin day today, the ‘to be filed’ pile is growing and I need to provide the accountant with some information. I ought to review our personal finances too, and do little jobs like read meters and post a couple of cheques. It’s all niggly stuff but when it feels good when it is all finished and squared away.

Just one more coffee first!

There are other delights in the kitchen Clunkers. It's not so easy to display our offerings on here.

Pippa, I know you are angry but let's not attract any deletions on here by referring to other threads. Anyway, good morning!

Sunny start to the day here. Dizzy has had breakfast and eaten (and gone, just not in the litter tray. 😱 I think it was a protest). It's only his second day though and he is a very inquisitive and chatty little cat.

Lovely breakfast, thank you, Tracy. And Maj, slug that coffee down and attack that admin pile! You'll feel a sense of achievement when you've demolished it; you know you will.

Oh and morning, Prozac, and happy birthday to Mr P!

Fleegle

I've just had a housekeeping meeting with Mr BC, I've had to tick him off suitably regarding the state of the subscriptions he has. Honestly. Despairing. My father hovering in the background (in his shirt and tie) winking at him as if to say, 'you're in trouble, son'

Hope you have a great day. I like a good old admin day.

Tracy,

I do agree that local powers are better equipped however, the same blanket restrictions locally scoop up some areas that have very low numbers. The Wirral being a prime example of this.

Thank you for breakfast.

I could go a nice breakfast.
I had toast with peanut butter & a tiny scrape of Nutella.
I could murder french toast, bacon & maple syrup though. Oh and some lovely freezing cold apple juice.
I have none of that.

Morning all. All the talk of button boxes reminds me of my Granny’s wonderful mystery drawers in the dresser in her kitchen. Loads of buttons plus other delights. The equivalent in my kitchen just seem full of tat. Oh to be six again ...

Thank you Lily for OTDs.

Horrific death for MQoS. I agree that the hair colour was awful in the film, like a bad home colour which didn't work.

Terrible disaster for the Berwickshire fishermen. I think DD had a short break at Eyemouth a couple of years ago. I must ask her whether she knew.

That was a very large loss at the pit disaster. The whole community must have taken generations to recover from it.

Grace Jones, wow! Still active all that time. Truly remarkable. The changes she had witnessed and lived through in her almost 114 years are immense.

Morning Clunkers, bright and sunny here with a brisk wind. Thank you for OTD, it made very interesting reading. The breakfast is lovely and being virtual won't upset my sugar levels.
Sorry to hear of your loss Clare, be kind to yourself.
Hope Dizzy settles.
Have a good day everyone.

Morning all👋 I’ve got a large coffee on the go.
Thanks for the OTD Lily.

I didn’t post on the other site due to the move coinciding with a particularly busy patch at work, fortunately, that’s out of the way for another year so I’m looking forward to now having a bit more time to post some of my inane ramblings highly intellectual gems with you all😊

Morning....the man is coming to fix the Stanley today, so normal service can be resumed, much to my relief. I have to go and debomb the kitchen in a minute. Have been using the combo microwave to cook, so had to put all the stuff normally kept on top elsewhere. I also have a phone consult with the haematologist today, so that will be interesting.

Cam, yes, I know what you mean. It's impossible to lock down in a fair way. It's a nightmare. No wonder Boris is losing his hair.

Your Dad, ahh!

tiny scrape of Nutella

Sorry, Felicity, that stuff needs banning. Clunkers know what my mother went through when the 'Italians arrived' Nutella and white linen tablecloths are not a good mix.

😆

Tracy

Certainly. Not a job I'd want to do.

I know. God love him.

@NessalovesSmithy

I couldn't find it earlier Cam but the supplementary SAGE paper is far more informative than the minutes.

It claims that a two week circuit breaker would buy us 28 days or more and goes on to talk about the message being without contradiction to ensure adherence - like not being able to meet our families in our homes but being able to go to the pub.

It does make some sense but I can't help feeling that our country should be in a better place than we are seven months on.

Ness a your experience was very scary indeed and is exactly why any possible steps to slow down the spread of the virus ,so that the NHS is not forced to close down to everything except virus patients, is important.

I have no idea whether a short sharp two to three week lockdown would work but if it would slow things down that could be well worth doing.

I don't think lockdowns can ever work to the extent of stopping the virus completely but maybe the best that can be done is to control the spread to a level that can be coped with especially over the winter months.

Good morning Clunkers. Thanks for the OTD and the lovely breakfast. I have to try and resist it because I am trying, rather unsuccessfully, to lessen my Covid curves.
Lily, I am so glad that Dizzy has settled and is teaching you to be a good slave.
It is cold and dry here today.
So I am going to settle down and write some questions for this exam.
Then the village WI walk later, socially distanced in sixes.

The button book is lovely Nessa. I'm just sorry I have no one to buy it for. Neither of my DDs have ever had any interest in sewing or knitting. I'm hoping my GCs will develop an interest. I could get them a knitting set, but DD won't have time or knowledge to help them and I'm too far away to have any input.
Perhaps french knitting would be a good start and it's easy. Ooh, the excitement when a new colour came through.

Locking down is the easy part, it's the unlocking that's proven to be the hard part. A 2 week circuit breaker could turn into months over winter as half the country would be against unlocking when there would be no evidence of improvement in infection numbers in 2 weeks. I can well understand the resistance.

We live opposite a church. There was a big funeral yesterday with between 2/300 mourners. They lined our road to clap and cheer as the hearse arrived, then all gathered on the grass in front of the church. It was a burial, so they all then moved to the graveyard at the back. It was raining hard. We estimated around 1 in 20 wore masks. Ok they were outside, but there was no social distancing going on.

Thank you for the OTD Lily. I love the history around Henry VIII and Elizabeth, so drenched in blood but also so intriguing.

I am feeling anxious about the whole Covid situation, but am trying not to think about it. I have a major deadline Friday night and will need to get on with it.

I will take one of those delicious looking egg toast though please. And one of those coffees ☕️ would just do the trick to make me focus I think.

Sorry about my message last night. I hadn't seen that MNHQ had posted - I was on my phone and missed any 'banner'.

Thanks for the great OTD Lily. At the time of her funeral I worked very near St Paul's. Fascinating watching the crowds - where I was standing there was an equal mixture of her supporters and people carrying socialist signs turning their back on the procession. But you know, democracy? All very calm. 2013...lifetime away, it seems. Gawd knows what would happen today. You'd hope an event like that, with a similar mixture of people of varying viewpoints, could proceed in the same way. I'd add there may have been disturbances elsewhere but I wasn't aware of them. Without going overly political (which I guess is not the point of this thread) it has always moved me, somehow, that she is remembered for her policies even more than the fact that she was Britain's first female PM. Angela Merkle has achieved this as well. If Rishi is our next PM of course it will be mentioned as a historic moment but I feel like more as a secondary thing, relative to the policies. I wonder why this is possible in Europe to the extent it doesn't seem to be in the US when it comes to national leaders? The identity politics just ruthlessly takes over, always has done. Whether it's the I won't vote for a woman brigade or we can't have any short lists w/o women. Wading through treacle to get to the actual policies at times.

Having had a quick scan of the DT, it doesn't seem that other EU countries are doing any better than us - it's on the up again in Belgium, and my friend is tearing her hair out as she can't get back for Christmas to see her gcs, and she will be stuck until they move back next year. I can't get out to stay with her either; we used to spend a lot of time in each other's houses drinking tea, stitching, and watching NCIS. We'd known each other since 1992, so it was great when her dh got a Brussels job, and we lived next door but one to each other for a while.

France is not looking good - Spain can't coordinate a response as the courts are ruling against the government. Germany is arguing about internal travel, and the NL are going into partial lockdown, as the rules have not been followed. Denmark increasing restrictions, Sweden putting some new ones in.

We are not the only ones in a pickle.

@thegcatsmother

Having had a quick scan of the DT, it doesn't seem that other EU countries are doing any better than us - it's on the up again in Belgium, and my friend is tearing her hair out as she can't get back for Christmas to see her gcs, and she will be stuck until they move back next year. I can't get out to stay with her either; we used to spend a lot of time in each other's houses drinking tea, stitching, and watching NCIS. We'd known each other since 1992, so it was great when her dh got a Brussels job, and we lived next door but one to each other for a while.

France is not looking good - Spain can't coordinate a response as the courts are ruling against the government. Germany is arguing about internal travel, and the NL are going into partial lockdown, as the rules have not been followed. Denmark increasing restrictions, Sweden putting some new ones in.

We are not the only ones in a pickle.

Not at all...

There was also some references to a kebab too . I thought this was awful. However it is also modern art . Sarah Lucas , one of the YBA s , did a table to represent a woman.
She had a photo for the head , 2 fried eggs for the chest , and a kebab ( for you know what ) .
I tried to post a picture but it would not let me .

It is not my idea of art . It might be someone’s idea of breakfast.