How Are We All Coping?

[Eddie Elbows]

Just wondered. I know there's a seperate forum for this, but for the TFF regulars?

Apart from the shortages - now easing it seems - It hasn't made a huge difference apart from obvious lack of footy/TFF action and the boozers shutting, which, actually is a huge difference. I've countered the latter by laying off the grog for a month incredible though that may seem. It will be a first in fifty years. There are some other positives; the general peace and quiet and the lack of planes overhead being one. Managing to catch up on various nagging jobs I've been avoiding, a mountain of books and gradually emptying the Sky HD. People here seem to be really towing the government line. Manage to get a decent walk in every day. I wonder if we'll emerge better for the experience.

Eddie

[Joey Navinsky]

I'm still here Eddie - settling into an isolationist routine that largely consists of reading (although I'm not sure re-reading 1984 at this time was one of my better ideas!), playing guitar, a daily walk, a weekly shop, trying not to drink too early in the day and putting me headphones on and working on some songs I have written and recorded. TFF seems like years ago now - I'd started climbing the table after a poor start and had my sights set on trying to squeeze my only team into the top 1000 by season's end - it's anyone's guess how it will all pan out but hopefully we can all come back here one day and carry on fretting over the big decisions in life, like should we put Aguero in, take him out or just shake him all about!

[Spinynorman]

We have lost a family member to the virus which is really effecting everything for us in so many ways at the moment but of course we are not alone in that.

Another big change but nowhere near as important is we have a caravan in Wales that we obviously can't visit. We have also had several festivals cancelled but then again we are not alone in that either.

Other than that my life has changed very little except that I'm not visiting coffee shops as much and we can't get any pasta. I usually tend to fill my days with walking, reading, gardening, playing music and spending time either at my daughters house or with my daughter spending time here and as that is classed as being in a health caring capacity that is continuing. I have also spent a phenomenal amount of time watching telly with tiny spiny and we have been binging on Game Of Thrones, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, His Dark Materials and Marvel Agents of Shield. (he's not so tiny now) He was thinking that everything was going quite well until a whole load of homework arrived yesterday by e-mail from school.

Due to not being away and with the recent dry weather I've never been so far ahead of myself in the garden and have got a few biggish projects sorted.

As for what the future holds if the lockdown continues then I may have to resort to doing some really drastic stuff such as housework.

[murf]

Not much change for us really as we were at home all day anyway (early retirees) and didn't go out much. Just occassional trips to the shops, parkrun and my wife's classes missing - and TFF and Liverpool's romp to the title of course.

Worst thing for me is being surrounded by mountains that I can't go up on nice days. I had hoped to finish off getting to the top of all 214 Lake District summits this year with my dog while she is still young enough - she'll be 9 next week. Hopefully this will be over before the winter comes and we can start on the 41 we have left to do (managed 5 in the decent week before lockdown). Still going running and walking on low down bits so keeping fit. I've perfected ways of opening most gates on the footpaths using a stick and my foot! Also got a big garden to work on and its looking good - we've had a near drought for last 3 weeks or so which helps as I don't do rain. Bit of drizzle this morning has been the worst weather since this all started.

All eerily quiet and seems to be getting quieter by the day. Not sure it is just the lack of tourists because plenty more locals/residents are at home now rather than being out at work. Maybe something to do with the fact we are one of the worst affected areas outside London....

[theo29]

Good morning Eddie. The TFF Stalwarts are beginning to respond to your enquiry this morning. I have managed to put a horse in for you in the Virtual GN on Saturday as I was about to do the draw. It is RAMSES DE TEILLE. Should be long odds if you are making a virtual bet !
As one of the super vulnerable and probably to most aged of the TFF ranks I have been totally isolated for almost 3 weeks now and a combination of a fiendish jig saw and my new BFI (British Film Institute sub) is helping but inability to get on a delivery list is very worrying. I am giving up the hope that we will ever see a return of TFF. What do others think ?

[murf]

We are actually just coming to the end of the International break.
In the good old days this 12 day international break would have felt like a lifetime. We may not feel as bad about them in the future....

[morganb]

Hello Eddie old bean (and everyone else too of course).

All is well here. My job is ideally suited for working from home so I'm now into my third week of sitting in the conservatory, surrounded by laptops and having to join half-a-dozen Teams meetings a day. The first week I was home alone but then the schools closed meaning that the house is now 'full' of schoolboys. We're lucky as we have all mod cons and a big back garden so there is no reason for anyone to get too bored and the initial cooped up in a house together friction has gradually petered out.

We've got into a routine of leaving the house on a Thursday morning to do the weekly shop and that is the only time I go out now, except to put the bins out. Every day is like Christmas around here as nobody leaves their houses now so cars are always parked up and people's food shopping habits are like it used to be when everywhere shut over the Festive period.

Weather was lovely last week (wish you were here) but has been a bit more up-and-down this, though it is nice to have the lighter evenings now the clocks have changed. From the house I get to watch the birds in the garden (even a woodpecker visits the bird feeder every morning) and the squirrels on the lawn plus see the daffodils blowing in the wind. I try to ignore the fences that need painting and the trellis that has fallen down...

[brencarr]

News from 'Down under'
We are several weeks (and quite a lot of cases) behind the UK, here in Australia. Our death toll is still only in the twenties and only 1% of cases are classed as critical .... hopefully we can stay on top of it. As a result we are not in 'lockdown' but we are edging closer to it. Bars, restaurants etc have been closed for a while and we are all encouraged to not leave the house unless we have to .... which was my modus operandi before the virus, so I don't feel unduly effected.

My other fantasy sport event lasted longer than TFF/FPL, that being the NRL. It filled a gap when the Premier League was postponed but only lasted 2 weeks of the new season. The surprising thing for me is how little I now miss the sport considering I was watching 8 NRL matches per week and following the football as best as one can (being 10 hours out of sync) I find myself not really giving it much thought - I'm shocked!

We run a business (https://www.trixity.com.au/) providing tourists with self-guided tours around Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Melbourne; we were just getting going, having launched last year, when everything was closed down - that has been a blow as you can imagine. My 'missus' only works part-time but the 3 days she was at work are now spent 'working from home' which is less than ideal We go out for a walk round the neighbourhood every morning and evening which has been good as I'm really missing the gym, if we are to be kept on a short rein for 6 months I really don't want to be 10kg heavier at the end of it!

I've been spending my extra spare time catching up on my guitar-playing (not great) and watching the news - I love it, I'm a real news junkie, that and Netflix have been a real saviour. 6pm has become 'wine-o'clock' and an episode of Ozark or House of Cards followed by a film. The world may be gripped by a crisis but we have to remember that we are probably all doing far better than most .... I remind anyone who will listen just how lucky we in 'the West' are - despite what the Twitterati say - there are some unhappy/unhinged people on Twitter!

As for the Premier League - I fear for Liverpool, I honestly do. I hope they manage to complete the season in some fashion or other because the reds have obviously deserved to win it, and win it well .... but, if this drags on for another 3-4 months ....who knows? I guess it pales into insignificance when you consider the human tragedy unfolding around Europe and the rest of the planet - condolences Spiny.

Keep safe everyone .... now wash your hands.

[Knulpuk]

OK - things have settled in to a routine - the weekend morph into the weeks and the Easter holidays will be odd to say the least. The first quarter of the year is always a slog and not having the carrot of a break is bore. That said my work is largely unaffected by it all - still busy - easy to work from home. Real challenge is to get it done when its Spring, sunny and the anklebiters are at home.

Ironically my line of work - China based advisory is actually comings back to life as China get back to BAU. All our mainland China offices are back open.

Kids a bit bored so end up baking lots so I too am off the booze (in fact only drunk for a week or so mid March all year) otherwise I would have to be lifted out of the house via one of those crane things post lockdown. Apart from whisky, and a bit of wine. And the odd beer. Is it too early? All that talk is making me thirsty.

In the overall scheme of things we are lucky.

[theo29]

the response to Eddie started well with some excellent responses in the first day, but then faded completely in spite of almost 500 viewers. I , as a league chairman really thought the TFF Hardcore would have been much more in evidence with tales of their activities (or lack of) With Easter almost here it will be a month from the start date (reckoned as 13th March) Come on FISO / TFFers say something.

[morganb]

the response to Eddie started well with some excellent responses in the first day, but then faded completely in spite of almost 500 viewers. I , as a league chairman really thought the TFF Hardcore would have been much more in evidence with tales of their activities (or lack of) With Easter almost here it will be a month from the start date (reckoned as 13th March) Come on FISO / TFFers say something.

I was actually thinking about hijacking this thread and turning it into a weekly COVID-19 chit chat thread. I'm sure we've all got a lot in common during this lockdown period but I'm sure that something 'interesting' will happen to each of us during the course of a week.

The bin men came bright and early this morning but unfortunately they didn't take the garden beanbag that split over the weekend which I'd jammed into the top of the bin, they just dumped it back on the pavement so the street looks like it has been snowing. I've dragged it back into our front garden but there is now a slug's trail of 'snow' up our path which is a bit incriminating. I'm supposed to be working at home so hopefully someone else in the house can sort it out (but deep down I know I'll be out there clearing it up at lunchtime!)

[Jamjack]

Hello all,

I haven’t checked in for quite some time but enjoyed reading this thread. Nice to hear most folks are doing well but very sorry to hear some have lost family to the virus. My condolences.

I’m keeping busy with WFH. I probably working the same or more hours and just as stressed actually but I am enjoying being more present with the family. Spending a bit more time with the kids and Mrs Is definitely a positive and might lead to me trying to make adjustments to how I work once we emerge from this. One small positive perhaps.

I’ve also been able to run the legs off the dog with an evening jog every day. He is a 2 year old working lab with too much energy but his mojo has been neutralised a bit with the increase in exercise! He is a lot more chilled out and sleeps later in the mornings. Another positive.

Don’t know about you folks but I’m really missing my sport. It’s not that I watched huge amounts of it on TV anyway but I hadn’t realised how big a part sport plays in my life even if it’s just looking out for results.

I’m kind of hoping that hitting the pause button on life the way we have had too will allow some reflection on what’s important and not so important and maybe we will make some positive changes on the other side. I’m going to try.

All the best
Vic

[murf]

Good luck running the energy out of a 2 year old lab!

My lab cross was 9 yesterday and she is still way fitter than me. Only limits to her walks and runs are my fitness (and virus exercise limits). When we were both a bit younger and I was training for a marathon she'd run up to 20 miles with me no problem. Built back up to 10 miles a few weeks back as well and she seems like she could do it all again.

Treated her to a long walk on low level fells yesterday (not allowed proper fell walking due to Coronavirus and risk of calling out NHS/mountain rescue). Only saw other humans on the first and last 5 minutes of the walk so most of it was in beautiful sun and peace. Even the sheep were on the opposite side of the beck so Faye could run free. A cracking walk. Some good things have come out of this!

[Jamjack]

That’s brilliant Murf.

Perhaps I’m letting my guy off lightly (and my knees) with 5 miles a day. He gets a 5 minute swim while I’m running at about half way and that seems to makes the difference between him pushing the pace and running beside me!

I’ve considered triathlons for him but he struggles with cornering and braking on the bike.

It’s clearly just in his breed to work hard. He is happiest getting put through his paces.

[theo29]

could this be the moment that we have a murf inspired Easter virtual comp featuring your choice of doggy names ? His imagination could come up with a possible dog activity (real or imagined) to go with the name. If it happens I choose Buster !

[murf]

Buster Rhymes.... with duster.

Tie one to his tail and get on with the spring cleaning!

[murf]

Hope this photo loads.

My Faye with her friend Buster (half dachshund, half chihuahua IIRC) a few years ago back in Essex.

[Darbyand]

Only just seen this thread. Condolences to Spiny and anyone else affected in the worst possible way.

I was working up to the 23rd and as it requires site visits I had to do that. But I quit after the PM address that evening as it's not essential work...in my eyes. A few colleagues persist. I was furloughed on the 1st April and my boss is a gent who will be topping up the government money.

The kids (7 and 10) were sent home from school 2 or 3 weeks ago so most daytime activity is based around them - feeding, exercising, badly teaching etc. Would be interested to hear from others about finding a balance between keeping their minds ticking over and some who seem to be trying to stick to a 6 hour school day routine....madness!

It's a cruel irony that the nature of the virus which has given us the "gift" of loads of spare time means that football also grinds to a halt. A few live games a week from a decent standard of league would be so sweet. If they can safely bring back behind closed doors, 3 games a day, every day, all televised, over the summer it will be magnificent. Like a fewer shit games World Cup.

[Jamjack]

Murf, I tried to upload a photo of my Oscar but the platform rejects its as being too large. I'm not a technophobe but I'm no whizz either! Oscar is basically a younger and far less intelligent looking version of Faye

Darbyand, I'm still flat out with work, albeit from home, and I'm very lucky Mrs H is taking most of the strain of the home schooling but for our 13 and 10 year olds "we" are probably managing 2-3 hours of reasonable school work a day. I too despair at the stories of other parents managing 6 or 7 hours a day. That's not going to happen with my lads. We are trying to make sure they are reading and doing other constructive stuff that is not strictly study but keeps them off the computers. Best of luck!

[morganb]

Covid-19 chit chat Thursday 9 April

Shopping day today. Been to Lidl (no queue, perhaps got there too early this week as some sections were still cordoned off for shelf stacking. Some people didn't get the memo about social distancing though) and the local butcher (for Easter lamb. Tiny shop so queuing out the door and up the pavement). Managed to get everything on the shopping list this week.

Weather is lovely today. Hopefully it stays like this for the long weekend, but doubtful as it encompasses a Bank Holiday.

On yet another Teams meeting at the moment. Work is ticking along ok. Had 4 (four) laptops fired up on the dining room table yesterday. Had to change some passwords which fortunately went ok (with a little bit of jiggery-pokery thrown in).

Rest of the house is fine. We're celebrating an 18th birthday in the house on Easter Sunday, fortunately he didn't want a fuss! We don't have a dog or any pets anymore, though we have had rabbits, hamsters and goldfish in the past. However when I was a boy we had dogs and where murf walks hills and lakes we used to walk cliffs and beaches.

Hoping everyone else out there is going along fine. Happy Easter!

[murf]

Is it Easter? I'm really struggling to know what day of the week it is let alone anything else. Got alarms set on my phone to remind me to put the bins out on the right nights - only thing on my schedule!

Think it is now nearly 2 weeks since our car last moved (and I went to a shop). Hoping to extend that indefinitely. Getting a few things delivered (plants/eBay/Amazon etc) but it is a bit of a rigmarole opening packaging in gloves, disposing of packaging and wiping everything down then washing your gloves (while still wearing) and finally your hands. Paranoia 1 Covid 19. Also not everything is easy to get cheap enough.

Still nice and sunny here, got my shorts out for the first time yesterday in the garden. Also first run of the year in shorts this morning (no gloves and only a thin long sleeved top under my running shirt!).

Life is actually pretty good at the moment in our little (selfish?) bubble - until I read the interweb, particularly stories about covid-19 getting into care homes.....

[theo29]

a week into the Eddie Thread and Easter is here. Have now been 'off the streets ' totally for 22 days and I am vulnerable for sure agewise and also because am on the cardiac nurse register. We have shopping assistance via the parish council and the Daily Tel hits the doormat daily at 7.30 each day.Hope the weather holds over the long Easter weekend but I will be surprised if this seasons games are completed (behind closed doors or not) If I have a goal it is to be running a TFF league next season. What are my chances ? A happy Easter to all

[LenH]

Firstly, condolences to Spiny and anyone else affected by all this. Just awful.

Like others I've only just noticed this thread as tff has sadly been far from my mind and have been quite busy keeping our heads down and just getting on with it. Myself and my pregnant wife (perfect timing!) have both been wfh since the 2nd March as both in a high risk category it seems. It is a bit crazy town over here in NYC but hopefully, hopefully starting to flatten. Sirens never stop though which is more than a bit grim. We're just hanging in there taking it a day at a time. Thank god we have a small garden we can use as have curtailed our daily, sanity saving walks with our daughter round the neighbourhood for the moment. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

Oh and the hospital have now said partners can attend the birth of their children after ruling it out a few weeks ago so there's that!


p.s. Happy Easter!

[Jamjack]

Stay safe LenH. The BBC image and story describing the circumstances of burials of Hart Island in NYC is probably The saddest so far. This too, will pass and you have happy times ahead.

[LenH]

Thanks Jamjack.

Happy Easter (eggs) to all!

[morganb]

Happy Easter!

Just back in from the garden, was hiding chocolate eggs for an Easter egg hunt for whenever the children get up. Hope the eggs don't melt as it is another glorious day out there. And I hope I remember where I hid them all! (Only joking - I'm an old hand at this so made a map)

[Eddie Elbows]

Happy Easter folks.

Well, we all seem to be managing surprisingly well. I suppose we are all fairly seasoned campaigners, and after all it’s only like boarding school minus the lessons and the teachers. Just relieved I don’t have a small family to entertain like some of you guys. The weather has been one of the few redeeming factors and I have got the beginnings of a tan already, but with that has come hay fever and a streaming nose. Fortunately I’m reasonably well stocked with tissues – which it seels are no longer being hoarded - and pills. I’ve succumbed to family pressure and got hold of one of the face masks which most people say has led to an improvement.

It’s now over three weeks without so much as a sniff of the barmaid’s apron. I’m surprised how easy it’s been though there have been a couple evenings where I really needed a ‘lift’ and had to make do with tomato juice and chocolate – not together. 6 days to go. I have been reading ‘Anarchy’ which is the story of the East India Company. I’ve never really understood the British in India and this has been a surprisingly good and informative yarn starting from 1600. Running out of things to watch from the HD though.

With every day that passes the likelihood of the Prem reaching a climax seems more remote. I suppose money will dictate that it will, even if the games are played behind closed doors. Today should have been Chelsea v Watford and Liverpool v Villa and you’d imagine the reds would have the title in the bag by now, possibly even being presented with the trophy after the game. I’m not missing TFF or football too much although I was at first. I don’t see any lifting of the gating in the near future so we’ll have to keep our heads down and just keep beggering on.

Just keep thinking of Vera Lynn. Keep the aspidistra flying.

Eddie

[theo29]

now 4 days since Eddie's last jottings and the thread has gone very quiet. Easter has gone but the weather is playing ball with lots of sunshine. Looks like today will have a 3 week extension of the lockdown. My seniors Monday evening drinking group are running a sweepstake on when we can enter a pub again. Early September heavily fancied.
Has Eddie got his Vera and his Gracie mixed up

[murf]

Didn't Vera's aspidistra fly over the white cliffs looking out for illegal immigrant boats on the horizon that might be spreading the virus?

[morganb]

Covid-19 chit chat Thursday 16 April

Went shopping again today. All fairly standard - no eggs or pasta but everything else present and correct. It is the only time I properly cross the house boundary except to put the bins out on the pavement (they're all full as they are only collecting ever other week at the moment). I'm not an exercise person so don't go running (or even walking in the park at the end of our road) though I do get involved in the occasional kickabout in the back garden (which is a decent size as we're a corner plot).

I did a small amount of pressure washing this week, the old one gave up the ghost so we bought a new one from Screwfix (which is an 'essential' shop and thankfully just up the road). I put it together (harder than it sounds) and finished off the bits of the patio that were missed (i.e. they got bored before finishing the job!) Did a few other garden jobs, including tidying the shed which is great except there is nowhere left to put the rubbish, except back in the shed!

Easter came and went - the Easter egg hunt was a success and the 18th birthday went ok. We had Pizza Hut delivered and played some of the games on House Party with a few relatives in the evening. Weather has stayed ok this week, which is nice.

As I'm still working from home I've not been into watching as much telly as some - we all watched Quiz though (which was enjoyable but probably not very factual, I felt they made the Major too likeable but Chris Tarrant/Michael Sheen was good but perhaps a bit too nasal). My guilty pleasure is watching Shakespeare and Hathaway on iPlayer but we're also slowly watching Locke and Key on Netflix.

Best get back to work, hope everyone else is keeping well and busy.