Saturday 3 October 2020

Saturday

 And very wet with it.   After almost a week of pleasant weather today has blown in very wet and windy - and I suspect it has been like this all night judging from the water lying about on the road.

The highlight of my day was my flu jab at eleven o'clock this morning.  And very well-organised it was too.   Marshalls everywhere and no possibility of going wrong.   I was in and out within a couple of minutes and I never felt a thing.   So that is another thing I can tick off my list.  I have a jab every year - I think we owe it to ourselves and to our families to do as much as we can to avoid whatever strain of flu happens to be lurking in the wings.   That does not include Covid of course although today's Times indicates that the vaccine being investigated at Oxford is doing very well.

It is on days like this that I envy people like Cro who can stoke up a good log fire.   There are advantages with being all gas/electric, and of course at my age I can't be sawing logs, but on miserable days like today there is really no substitute for a good log fire (although I do remember sitting so close to it that my legs got red at the front!)  When I think back to my parents and to my childhood - we had a good fire in the living room - when I was very small my mother didn't have an electric cooker even (there was no gas in the village) and cooked solely in the side oven of the fire.   And what a good cook she was - good roasts (alternating beef, pork and lamb on Sundays and making it last in various forms (cold sliced, shepherd's or cottage pies, mince, casseroles) and the most wonderful mushy peas and rice puddings usually left in overnight.   The smell of bread while still warm always takes me back to my childhood with rising bread and Lincolnshire Plum Bread rising in the hearth.   The rest of the house had no heating so it was hot water bottles (or even an oven shelf wrapped in sheeting) at bed time and often frost on the inside of the window in the mornings.   But we came to no harm and knew no better.

But Winters have changed haven't they?  (hope I am not tempting fate),   Last Winter we only had a handful of sharp frosts and I don't remember many mornings when the roads were icy.   I wonder what this Winter will bring -

20 comments:

Derek Faulkner said...

I agree re. being sensible and having the flu jab, I had mine a week ago in the local chemist's. No doubt there will be those that don't see the need for them, just as there are those that feel the Covid is over-hyped and isn't something to worry about. Perhaps Mr. Trump will now accept that Covid is a threat and start wearing a face mask.

Sue E said...

Yes we too, have got our flu jabs booked , currently on holiday in Scotland, self contained , lovely house to ourselves and our lovely doggie. Very good Covid precautions, no contact with anyone at all. Glorious day yesterday , t shirt weather, but lashing down with rain today . We’re warm and cosy, books and a tv, so no worries, we have a multi fuel stove at home, can’t wait to light it! It’s so comforting as you say. I’m in my sixties, so like you remember nice roast dinners, meat and potato pies, cottage pie, chicken was a real treat then, we rarely ate it. Came prepared to Scotland , lots of nice homemade food, and a good freezer and kitchen . Hunker down and stay safe , I enjoy reading your blog, xx

thelma said...

Log fires are lovely but do need some upkeep, like bringing in the wood and some coal. The weather is quite muggy but wet and my hens are chuntering away because they cannot be allowed out.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

My parents used to have a coal or log fire, but I was very happy when they installed gas-fired heating, saving them carrying coal in in all weathers as they got older. Very generous amounts of rain down here too!

Sue in Suffolk said...

I love my wood-burner but not the dust and carrying logs that comes with it! and after years without central heating I really love the warm radiator in the mornings

Heather said...

My flu jab is booked but I must wait a couple of weeks. I remember all those things from my childhood. I think we have all been softened in the intervening years. I wouldn't like to have to wake up and have to light a fire to keep warm, though I love the smell of a log fire.
It is very damp and grey here but not very windy, though I think that could change tomorrow. I am not relying on another mild winter and am bracing myself for something more normal. Keep warm, dry and safe.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Derek - it's a bit late for Mr Trump as there are so many thousands with Covid in America. I don't think there is a lot we can do about it. There are always going to be those who break the rules - as with the SNP lady this weekend who travelled back to Scotland knowing she had tested positive. As to having the flu jab - I have friends who refuse to have it - yes, again it is a personal thing - we all plough our own furrows.
Sue - stay warm today in Scotland. Hope you get a few more warm days before you return home.
Thelma - not muggy here just jolly cold.
Yes I felt the same when my parents finally modernised a bit.
Sue - being realistica about dust and carrying logs - the down side I agree.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks Heather - warm, dry and safe - key words at the moment.

Margie from Toronto said...

Had my pneumonia shot last week and will get my flu shot next week - doing everything I can to stay well - and as you say, not just for ourselves but for all those around us.
I remember coal fires at my grandparents in Edinburgh and I still love a good bonfire. Stay warm.

Debbie said...

We had coal fires in my childhood - lovely to look at but messy with ashes and coal dust everywhere. My mum was hand-making my sister's wedding dress and we were under threat of death if we let the door slam as a billowing cloud of smoke and dust engulfed the room!The downside as you say, was ice on the windows (inside) and permanently wet towels. But during the strikes and power cuts of the 70's a camping kettle was put on the fire and the toasting fork was in permanent use, Radio Luxembourg playing in the background and we felt we were lucky.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Toasting forks on open fires and crumpets waiting in the hearth
And Radio Luxembourg indeed.

bornfreev said...

Weaver, do you not use your gas fireplace in the sitting room? I know it is not like a wood or coal fire, but it still gives that cozy feeling. I have a fireplace but use purchased "fire logs" instead of cut wood. Made from compressed sawdust with a waxy accelerant, they start easily and leave very little ash. I love reading your blog - it gives me hope for myself when I reach your age (I'm 67). You always seem able to find something redeeming about each day. I feel that is important at ANY age!

Salty Pumpkin Studio said...

Your beautiful words create a toasty fire atmosphere.
Frost on the windows in the morning! I use to carve my name in the frost with my fingernai; and make wishes on the pretty designs. Nowadays, when I want to see frost, I have to go outdoors early before the sun melts it off my vehicle.

Rachel Phillips said...

The bad winter that was given the name of Beast from the East was only two years ago. I was snowed in for five days. I do not think that bad winters have gone away.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Expect you are right Rachel - although when you had te Beast we saw hardly anything here. But then East Anglia often catches the worst of it doesn't it.
Yes bornfreev I usually put the fireplace light on (it is electric not gas) because its light is cheery.

Thanks everyone. Hope it is a better day for us all tomorrow.

Beverley said...

Weave, did your Mum manage to cook any sponge cakes in the side oven by the fire? Just wondering how if they rose on one side and not the other?

Chris said...

Flu shots aren't available here yet but I will get mine ASAP once they arrive. The pharmacy will notify me when I can come in for it. No sign of a Covid vaccine here yet.

Joanne Noragon said...

Yes, you're so right. We knew no better and were none the worse for it.

Red said...

with the facilities our mother's have they produced some great food. We look back at the heating we had and it was pretty good. Yes. we didn't know any better.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Beverley - interesting point. I don't ever remember my mother making a sponge cake.