I am around as normal for the rest of the month (with the exception of Saturday 24th where I am free until 11.15), please call on the day to arrange, or in advance with a deposit. No advance bookings without one, sorry.

I cant remember such a terrible time in all my life, half the country in lockdown again
I really feel for people who have lost anyone to Covid or have been made very ill with it, it must have been horrendous, but there is also the other side, I have seen perfectly good decent well run businesses fold recently for no fault of their own, decent hardworking people loose jobs, symptoms for cancer left for months before properly looked at, suicides, people told to re-train, like you can easily do that in the middle of a pandemic, and then just magically find a job that pays what you used to earn overnight. Collateral damage is a good way to describe it, and they seem to be forgotten. Over 3 million qualified for no state support, and now to make matters worse from November, self employed will have to try and survive on 20% of their income, and the new support scheme for employed is something like 65%.

I have talked to people in safe jobs, some of whom understand what I have just written, but too many don’t, and just think that someone can just find another job to pay their bills, just like that. Imagine the hell of being out of work for months, getting no help, and not being able to get work, or work at such a low rate it wont cover your basic bills, and you don’t have any family members who can help you out financially. Why have I written this? too many people just don’t understand too many “I’m all right Jack’s” are out there right now.

But to all those who have seen me who are part of the collateral damage, a lot of us care and know that this is so wrong, I think about it every day we were supposed to all be in this together, you should not have been left behind.

Here is hoping for better times to come, this will end, although it does not seem like it at the moment. If you want to put a smile on your face, one thing that has kept me going is looking at the Telegraph cartoonist Bob Moran’s cartoons, look him up on line as they are fantastic.

Rose