Well, 2020 was an interesting year

Just a few more hours to go and I can say we survived 2020.  The last time this planet faced such a plague was in 1918 with the Spanish Flu.  

Here in the UK, things look scary with our infection rates and hospitals becoming overwhelmed.  But we have hope with vaccinations.  I have been vaccinated and was due to have my second dose in about two weeks time.  Instead, I am going to have to wait three months for my second dose, and we do not know if the first vaccine will cover me for that long.

But I am a patriot.  I know that it is more important to the nation for more people to get one dose, rather than for me to get better protection.  This means that my wife and friends will get one dose, and therefore some protection sooner than otherwise.

Fingers crossed that all my friends and family survive to see the next Nee Year.

I am proud to be British, most of the time.

Right now, I am ashamed at the acts of some of my fellow Brits.

Our nation has a lot to be proud of, as well as things that we need to remember so that we learn from and never repeat.  An example of this is the actions of the UK when it came to the transatlantic slave trade.  The UK profited from it, and despite the huge profits made (something that not everyone agrees on), ended it and tried to end it abroad as well.     

It was reported, that due to the new variant of COVID, Switzerland placed British holidaymakers in quarantine.  Despite the risks posted to others, many Brits decided to flee, some using the lateral flow tests as proof that they were not infectious.  (These tests are good for screening but are not good for testing if someone with symptoms has COVID or not.)

If that was not bad enough, loads of Brits decided to attend a super spreader event in Australia.

Living in Colchester, I can see how most are obeying the restrictions.  But it only takes a few morons to infect and kill others.  I am proud about how most people in Britain are obeying the rules, but I am so ashamed at the actions of this idiotic minority.

Copyright Infringement

I have been warned by Twitter for copyright infringement for a tweet that used a GIF found using the Twitter app itself!  While I cannot link to the tweet itself, I can link to the thread it was on. #Eyeroll!

Battleships

Today, I went into work.  My daughter came with me as she likes to do her homework there and we spent about an hour or so there before returning home.  

At home, after a bit of a rest, we all went out for our family dog walk.  It was a bitterly cold day and when we got there, time was short as sunset was approaching.  Leia loved meeting other dogs again and met more this time than before.  Socially distanced chats with other dog walkers took place and both children took turns holdings her lead.  I suspect that next time, my son will wear more appropriate footwear as he was not as prepared as he would like.  

Anyway, we are now relaxing playing Battleships. My daughter did not realise that she was beating me in the first round at first, but once she did, she did not let go of her advantage and slaughtered my fleet.  My kids are now playing against each other and they will decide who I play next.

My daughter is truly evil.

My daughter is evil.  She knows I do not like to know the football scores before watching Match of the Day.  I did not watch the game last night but I knew that Arsenal was 2-0 up at half time when I accidentally saw the scores when looking at social media.  But my daughter later told me yesterday that the score was 3-0 before it ended, which stressed me out as I know that Arsenal have thrown away leads like that in the past, examples being against Wigan in 2010 and against Newcastle in 2011.  I still watched it, and yes, we went 3-0 up.  And then Chelski scored.  I said many rude words about her.  So when Chelski got a penalty, my heart was in my mouth.  We still won, and Chelski did make it easier for us, possibly because they thought that three points were guaranteed.  To be fair, I thought that they were to win as well.  Anyway, after watching it in the morning, I confronted her about this and she laughed.  I have done similar in the past to others I know, about things like Game of Thrones (one of my friends at work watched the seventh series as a box set and I may have convinced her that something that did not happen did).

On a different note, I had hoped that we were all to go for a walk as a family.  We had agreed that, but my son changed his mind, because he was asked to zip up his hoodie.  I was disappointed.  Leia would have loved us all going for a walk, but I don’t know when we will be able to go for a walk together.  The weather was amazing when my wife daughter and I took Leia out.  It had been raining before which influenced our choice of destination.  Leia got to meet other dogs and we all bonded.

We did bond as a family later though, playing Pointless.  We played two rounds, and it was fun.  This is a game I definitely will want us all to play again.  Maybe tomorrow...

Alan Shearer said - "a week or two ago" - he thought Arsenal might get relegated...

Has he changed his mind?#MOTD on @BBCOne and the BBC Sport website 👉 https://t.co/IQvwYDcJBg #bbcfootball #ARSCHE pic.twitter.com/BpDqbzZPPL

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) December 26, 2020

Gosbecks Archaeological Park

Today we relaxed. The highlight of the day was when me daughter and I took Leia to Gosbecks Archeological Park.  We had planned on a family walk outside, but my wife needed to rest after yesterday and my son and daughter could not agree on a place to visit.  So instead of the five of us, or even the four of us, it was just three.  She loved seeing and meeting other dogs, though things had not gone to plan this morning when she saw six dogs, meeting one, being barked at by two and ignored by the other.

As the day draws to a close, I am watching Gilmore Girls with my wife while Leia chews on my slippers.

Christmas 2020

The woof alarm, i.e. Leia, woke us up and I went down to keep her company after taking her out for her walk.  She does not like walking about at night.  Well, in the dark.

Later my wife took great pleasure in waking my daughter.  Revenge for may years of her rushing into our room shouting about how it is Christmas was sweet for her.

I had intended to help with cooking but was not able to do so having not slept that well.  But I was woken for lunch which we all enjoyed.  Later in the day we played a game of scrabble.  My son almost won, but I pipped him at the last.  I am proud of him and would have been pleased deep down if her had beaten me.

The day was very different to our Christmas last year, but we all agreed that having Leia with us made it better.  I think that she felt left out when it came to eating lunch naps well as opening our presents.  But thanks to one of the patients that I have seen, she got to enjoy Christmas as well when she got a present.

Leave a light on

Quick update on the family.  They appear to be enjoying the holiday.  Both occasionally contribute towards global warming than is needed, one leaving the light on in their room, the other forgetting to switch of the television.  I do hope they get to relax as for one reason or another, both have had a few stresses this year.  Saying that, I do wish that they could relax without using up energy which could and should be saved.  

Leia does calm them down though and since she has been at home, while we have still argued, they have been not as often.  One thing though, at work today, I joked that a common denominator when it comes to her leaving a mess on the floor has been when a particular one of the kids has been looking after her.  Today, on getting home, I found the same had happened.  The child concerned had taken her out to do her business in the garden.  She did her wee and then they brought her back in rather than giving her time to open her bowels outside.  So she did it on the kitchen floor when brought in, while my wife was cooking and the kids were both not around.  She was not too pleased.

Arsenal and Stewart Houston

When it comes to Arsenal, we look doomed and for now, are in free fall.  Watching the highlights on Match of the Day, we appeared to give Everton a game, but this view has not been shared by all.  I do remember a terrible run when Stewart Houston was given control of Arsenal after George Graham, an amazing manager for the team, was sacked for corruption.  We managed to pull things around then and given got to the final of the European Cup Winners Cup, before the loss to THAT goal.  A goal that the Spurs fans at my work will remind me about from time to time.  

"It's bleak."

What can Arsenal do to get out of their rut? #bbcfootball pic.twitter.com/Gg3tKjOAYj

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 20, 2020

I am not sure if this is just very bad luck or if we need a change in manager.  Ideally, it should be the team that are changed, but I am not sure that the mentality in Arsenal can be changed easily and due to this, Mikel Arteta may need to leave.  He is a great manager in many ways, and I am forever grateful to him for his service as a player and manager, especially when it comes to the team winning the FA cup last season.

At least the women's team are showing the men how to win!

Bill and Oti

Congratulations to Bill and Oti. I loved them and was amazed and the improvement Bill showed throughout the series.  It was nice in that my daughter watched it with us, as did Leia.  My son however has grown out of it.

We had hoped to go for our first walk with Leia, but as my son is in quarantine, this was not possible.  Instead she met the puppy of a friend of my daughter. Leia loved meeting another dog and had to be dragged away especially when the other dog started to growl on occasion.

So it will be Wednesday when we take a family walk with Leia who I am sure will love it more than we will.

Bubbles, my son and COVID

My son was sent home from school today.  One of the children in his bubble at school has been diagnosed with COVID.  My wife went to collect him and only remembered that he cycled in when she got there.

While it is a concern, we just have to cross our fingers that he does not get it.  If he does, being so young, the odds are that he will have no symptoms.  We will probably not be so lucky.

He has no concerns about being trapped at home as this means he has an excuse to play on devices and watch television. If it was not for the official call from his school, one might think that he faked it! 

Arsenal and alien abductions

Mikel Arteta has been great for Arsenal as a player and manager.  Winning the FA cup in his first season in charge was amazing, and as an Arsenal fan, winning it for the 14th time was astounding.  

But things are not good now.  He did well to motivate a team that had lost its drive under Unai Emery, despite his early success.  But that team has lost the motivation and drive that it had last season, and for the early part of this season.  The simple facts are that the team is producing results that could mean relegation.  Teams do not seem to need to fear us any more and I fear for our team in the next game.  Unai Emery has shown that he is a great manager at Villarreal which means that I suspect, the issue is with the team. 

Before Arteta was employed, I had wanted José Mourinho to join us.  I felt that we needed someone to reorganise the team, and like he has done in other teams, he has won titles and trophies, and almost always has left the team in a better position than when started there.  The difference there of course is with Manure but even there, he won the league and Europa cups.  I am grateful to Mikel Arteta for his service as a manager and player, but now in hindsight, it may have been better if we had taken on José Mourinho instead.  A manager like him would have been able to reorganise the team, motivate them and change the mentality that they had.  He would have annoyed them and like in all the other teams he has been in, would have been sacked after losing the dressing room, but I would have taken him for what he could do for our defence.  

But it may not be the fault of Arteta for not being to reinvigorate the team.  It may be that the some of the players have been abducted by aliens.  We have a striker who has only scored in our own goal recently, and Willian who has been great before has now appeared to vanish.  Another explanation, other than alien abduction is that they have identical twins who are playing for them.  Personally, I think that it is the first part of an alien invasion with the players being replaced by alien clones.  

Hopefully I am wrong and the form of Arsenal will pick up.  Starting on Wednesday.     

Pots within pots

Yesterday was my first day back at work.  My wife looked after Leia who had a step backwards in toilet control.  On getting back of all the members of the family who were glad to see me, Leia was the one who was the happiest.  My wife loves it when she licks my face with happiness.  She does not allow this to happen and I am going to have to consider following her lead on this.

I did get to start watching The Mandalorian with him only to find that during it, Leia had done a wee and a poo on the floor before retiring to her crate to get some sleep.  While disappointed that she has relieved herself in the floor, I was so proud to see that she has decided the crate is where she sleeps.  Sadly we did not get to continue the tale of the evil little green man, but I am hoping to watch it with him tomorrow.

Today was flu clinic.  Due to COVID-19, it was as socially distanced as we could manage.  Patients had appointment times and there was a one way system through the surgery.  It went on a lot longer and needless to say, it was exhausting. Ideally l social distancing should limit the spread of influenza as was seen six months ago in the Southern Hemisphere but as seen with the rise in numbers of those affected by COVID, this may not happen.

Leia was happy to see me.  The family took her to have her vaccinations while I was vaccinating others.  When on one of her garden walks with me she had eaten a slug, for which I have been told off.  One way of stopping her eating all in the garden is to get her to carry a flower pot.  She appears so proud to do so.  This evening before putting her to bed on her last toilet walk she decided to put a smaller one in a bigger one.  I was amazed that she was able to comprehend this, though she did get frustrated later when trying to repeat the feat.  I know that Cockapoo’s are smarter than the average dog thanks to their poodle heritage, but I was surprised to see this.  I did not expect to see attempts at problem solving and it will be interesting in the next few days to see if this was a fluke, or something that will continue.

The Bad Education Movie

I watched this with my daughter.  Not sure it was the most appropriate film to do so and at times, she averted her eyes.  We had watched the series and had enjoyed it.  We are also watching Jack Whitehall in Fresh Meat (my daughter self censors herself when it comes to this) and the characters are similar, but with his accent, playing a part other than being posh and entitled is a bit difficult.  But he plays these comedic roles well.

Normally, I would say that the film is too predictable and corny and if you are watching this without watching the TV show, it may not be as enjoyable.  But taken in context of the show, this is enjoyable and full of laughs.  If you do not enjoy the series, you will not enjoy this.  Saying that, it is a bit more slap stick than what I am used to with the BBC show.

It was nice to see bits of Cornwall such as the Eden project which we had visited in the past.  My daughter was not able remember this, but she was very young when we had been there.  I would like to take them back, but with the plague being an issue, I am not sure when this will be possible again.  One day...

My last day of pupternity leave

The kids adore Leia.  And she adores them.  It has been great being at home over almost the last two weeks.  Tomorrow I return to work.  I have been keeping myself up to date with the COVID19 vaccinations, which despite what the media has been told, will not be rolled out in a major form this week.  But being at home with my wife, children and puppy has just been amazing.  Leia has made it exhausting as well (she woke me up at 0430 today) but she is worth it.  She gets hold of me now if she needs to wee or poo, though we need to get her to make it clearer as there was one accident with me in charge.  Not counting the night-time ones that is, but that is to be expected as her bladder has not grown to the level it is needed to keep her dry.

My wife cannot believe what has happened to me and laughed long and hard when Leia licked all over my face earlier, including my (closed) eyes.  It did mean that my face was washed, though it was with dog slobber!

Anyway, night night.

Taking Lives

This was sort of a family film.  Since we have Leia, we are watching films in our extension more using the PlayStation that our friend David gave the family. My wife and I watched it while my son played on the Switch and my daughter came down later and watched the last half with us.

It was a good thriller.  It kept me guessing and I love a film that I cannot predict.  I am surprised that I had not heard of it before, especially as this was released before we had children, in a time when I watched films in the cinema and on DVD much more often and did not have to spend as much time at work as I do know. 

The downside of thrillers is that they tend not to be as enjoyable the second time around.  I guess I may watch this one more time in the future, but only if it is already on. As good a film as it was, I have no overwhelming desire to watch it again.

When it comes to the family, we all seem calmer now Leia is in our lives.  It snowed today and while she was scared of if at first in the early hours of the morning, she got used to it and in fact, loved it.  Her enjoyment of the snow was only curtailed when the dog next door barked and terrified her.  The kids loved watching her evening period of insanity though not when she got a bit too keen on biting.

Anyway, to bed.  She woke me up at 0530 and I expect and encore tomorrow morning.

A battle of wills

Today I worked from home on my last day before pupternity leave.  Leia slept through the night and had did really well, just the one poo and one wee inside.  Getting her to do a poo before bed was a challenge.  It involved walking about the garden for over half an hour.  She kept trying to drag me inside and did two wee’s but finally did a poo.  Which I am hoping means none in her crate tonight.

The kids live her and she loves them.  One has clicked with her more than the other, but only because they have become more confident around dogs through playing with the puppies of friends.

I am hoping that the other gets better and we watched an episode of 12 Puppies and Us with them.

Considering how tired I am when I was not in charge of her, part of me is dreading what is going to happen when I am in charge of her tomorrow.  Especially with how active she can be when she is full of energy.

Kick Ass 2

A great film.  My daughter and I watched it together.  Like with the first film my son showed some interest but like with the first film he decided not to watch it.

It was his loss as I think it was a great film.  Some parts of the film were obvious but there were many surprises, many of them amusing to say the least.  Like the first film, it is not based on normal superhero films, these being trained but mostly normal humans. No mutants, no special powers, but normal Hollywood accuracy when it comes to bullets being fired.  Being a nerd, the film is going to call to me, after all, it is about my kind.  I am not sure if it is a good or bad thing that my children can understand the references in the film though!