On my walk back from the tube on Friday morning, I noticed that the former Nam's Heel Bar now features some new street art, courtesy of artist Nathan Bowen. I wanted to go back and shoot it in full sun, but since I'm isolating, this will have to do.
Yesterday I got called three times by people from the NHS following up on my after-flight procedures -- making sure I isolate and take my Day 2 test, for example. They all followed the same script. Why I got three calls is anyone's guess. I suppose being thorough is better than being lackadaisical.
I was under the impression that my isolation might end early because, as of today, British residents traveling from amber-list countries (like the United States) don't have to isolate at all. But no! The NHS folks tell me that because I entered the country before the new rules took effect this morning, I have to isolate the full ten days. I asked them how that could possibly be true, what scientific justification might exist for such a policy, and they couldn't tell me. We are not amused.
Nonetheless, I took my Day 2 test yesterday like a good little peasant, and Dave will mail it off for me today.
I suppose I shouldn't be too resentful -- England has good reason to be cautious, given that case numbers are exploding here and I was traveling through Florida, which is having a Covid burst of its own. And yet, the UK is opening up more as of today. Inconsistent, you say?
OK, I'll stop being grumpy.
This is how I spent yesterday, lying in the garden and reading next to Olga. Temperatures were projected to hit almost 90º F (32º C) but although it felt warm, it didn't feel oppressively hot like Florida did. I could stand to be outside without suffering.
I got some little tasks done in the garden -- there's always more to do -- and I put out our old, rusty barbecue grill and old vacuum cleaners for collection by the council, as arranged before I left. They're still sitting in front of the house, last I checked, but they should vanish any time.
Oh, and I almost neglected to recognize a major anniversary for me and Dave. Ten years ago on July 14, we first arrived in London, lugging five large suitcases and intent on making new lives. Who could have foreseen all that would follow? My library job, Olga, walks on Hampstead Heath, our garden, travel to places as diverse as China and the Seychelles, Covid -- ten years ago seems like a long time.
65 comments:
What a pain about the isolation rules - absolutely doesn't make sense to me. But I guess you can get 5 day test and release if you wish. I was due to go to France today - delayed again now...
Doesn't freedom seem so delightful on this our Freedom Day? Shame Johnson can't join the celebrations as he is self-isolating at Chequers. As Olga sleeps on a Union Jack cushion, I have bought a star spangled banner to clean the car. I am now seeking star spangled banner toilet paper as my Donald Trump rolls have run out.
Bureaucracy is never more inconsistent than when it's enforcing its own rules! The mantra in so many institutions today (including socialized health care) is about "the process" instead of "the outcome". It's a good thing there are lots of "good little peasants" in this world that don't rise up in revolt at all of this or else we'd have constant bedlam.
You've had a lot happen in ten years.
As I think I've told you, my great-grandmother used to wear an apron made out of an old American flag! So do your worst re. the star-spangled banner. It won't bother me at all.
I could do test-and-release, but it costs another £150 or something ridiculous like that. I think I'll just wait this out.
Interesting -- I guess they are indeed focused on "the process," though the process seems inconsistently applied! I'm generally a rule follower and I suppose that's not about to change. LOL
YP, you must get more Trump rolls to clean the interior of Clint's exhaust pipe.
I think I may have been a little discombobulated by you reporting in from the US. Glad you are back home. I can't remember how long I have been reading your blog but it must be over a year. No doubt you have written about it already, but for more recent readers, why did you and Dave move to London and will you stay? There must have something of a culture shock?
That's funny Steve!
I can't sit in the garden for more than about two minutes without thinking of or noticing something that needs doing and getting up to do it.
Have to wonder if the Bumbler (aka Boris) is getting that many calls about his isolation. I do hope so! :)
Happy 10th! You picked an excellent time to get out of Dodge.
10 years in London. I guess I must have started reading you after you had already moved but before you got the job at the library and I remember when you got Olga.
yes, it seems silly to make you wait out the 10 days because you arrived two days before the new rule.
Bureaucracy at its finest. Sometimes the world is just simply a nutty place. Happy 10th! I have always dreamed of teaching overseas, but I am afraid my time is up for that as I am going to retire in a couple of years. And yes, Florida is painfully hot in the summer. I could never live there.
At least quarantining gives you the excuse to just relax and read while you get over your jet lag! Glad you are safe!
What an amazing and brave thing you and Dave did, moving to London like that.
I can't comment on the ridiculousness of the rules and regs concerning covid. At least they HAVE some there. As you know, here in Florida it's major head-in-the-sand time. Covid? What covid?
Oh well, sometimes it's nice to have an excuse to keep to oneself for ten days, knowing the world awaits. Covid is surging everywhere in the States now, even in New York, in Staten Island and other places that voted red, so painfully predictable really. I personally think the mask mandate should be restored, since it's clear vaccinated people can get and spread covid, often with no symptoms or mild cold symptoms themselves. It's a game of ping pong that just wont end. And happy anniversary of your move to London. It's a wonderful second act from where I stand. I've been following all this time!
I think we're going to see a pretty big resurgence of the virus, so it's good that you are isolating and testing. Even Boris J is isolating these days.
Happy Anniversary to you and Dave on your 10th year in London.
The important thing is that you've been active and done some interesting things. make the next ten years just as busy.
Ten years! That is a milestone. Congratulations!
I have to agree with you about the COVID rules. It seems silly given that you arrived just days before the policy change. They actually just mentioned the rules being lifted in England on the news this morning and how they were being lifted while numbers are going up.
A lot happens in ten years. It's been good for you and Dave and Olga. Here's hoping you have many more happy years. Hugs, Edna B.
Congratulations on 10 years in London! Are there posts about it in your archives?
A year ago we were just starting to worry as more cases of Covid were coming to our area. Who thought it would be worse a year later, with vaccines available for months now. Oh wait.... that's because I live somewhere that people WON'T GET VACCINATED! Sorry about that. I feel better now.
So nice to see Olga lounging on her Union Jack cushion.
Well, duh. You provided the link to the post about your arrival. So when did Olga come into your lives?
Happy tenth Year Abroad! You have had a lot happen in that time. I hope future years are just as happy.
You two made the best decision ever! What a lovely ten years it as been, I am so grateful for your photos.For your walks with Olga and for meeting you at the mid century modern show.Oh and for the cup of earl grey with Dave while Olga paced.
Anyway, great life choice for you. Ten years seems like a drop in the bucket! Just watching UNFORGOTTEN on your recommendation. Loving it, binge watching!
I remember your move to London! It all seemed very glamorous to me (still does, to be truthful).
I was supposed to have a COVID test today (for my procedure on Thursday), but they called & said I didn't have to because I'm vaccinated. I'm glad about that, but I was planning on staying out of work the rest of the week to self-isolate after my test. I'm still staying out, but now what excuse can I give (grump grump grump). Oh, and in response to your comment on my blog - I'm having this done due to symptoms. I hope it rules out stuff instead of finding stuff!
Ten years flies by, doesn't it? It was ten years ago I met the big guy.
Your dahlias are beautiful!
I would be grumpy too! What a PITA and not logical at all. I have trouble following rules if they don't make any sense to me.
I can’t believe you’re experiencing 90˚ heat, but good you’re finding it tolerable. I also can’t believe that you have to do the full 10-day quarantine when no quarantine at all is required now. I was sure you would be done early. Try to make sense of THAT. It’s like after 9-11 when they banned pilots from carrying a bottle of water onto the plane. In that case, the pilots were listened to when they said, “If I want to bring down this plane, I don’t need a bottle of water to do it!”
Happy anniversary. You've done well.
Hi Steve...you probably have an idea for my reason to be off and on commenting and using my phone. I just try stay positive but since March I've been hospitalized 8 times and is here now. The team of doctors are thinking the vasculitis is flaring trying to come out of remission. They are giving me a higher dose of steroids and I am feeling better today. Happy 10th anniversary living in London. I see olga is with you all the way and layy on her pillow instead of y grass. Tell Dave and olga hello
Meant laying on her pillow instead of the grass. Sorry this phone will change and make me look dumb saying what it want to say.
Bureaucrats will follow the rules, even if they change. I read your post about arriving in London. What an exciting time for you. Happy 10 years of living there.
Love,
Janie
I guess that I never realized that Dave was American too. So what made you up and chuck it all for London?
Thanks for the link to the old post. I've been reading your blog backwards from there, and the things you had to accomplish sound enormous. It's hard to contemplate an over seas move, with stuff!
Dave got a good job here and I moved with him. It was a bit of a gamble because he initially only had a one-year contract, but fortunately they hired him permanently. We're staying for the foreseeable future. Culture shock was pretty mild, actually. The UK is enough like the USA that we felt at home almost immediately.
There is ALWAYS something to do!
I do too! He did his best to wiggle his way out of it, didn't he?!
Yeah, although I wish we'd picked a country that didn't have its own populist drama going on.
I remember you commenting when we got Olga, so yeah, you must have hopped on the bandwagon some time in 2012!
Teaching overseas might be a PERFECT retirement job! Have you ever thought about joining the Peace Corps? Seriously -- they love experienced volunteers and if you want a unique challenge you might think about it. Hard when you have a dog and relationship, though, I know.
Yeah, that's the upside. An enforced rest period!
It didn't seem brave at the time -- we were so excited by the prospect we never doubted ourselves. We have our heads in the sand too, in some ways. England has reopened nightclubs and you should see the pictures of maskless people packing the dance floors.
I'm still not clear on the risk to vaccinated people. But yeah, in an abundance of caution, I suppose we all need to go back to masks. I suspect when school resumes in the fall we'll still be masked, especially since kids aren't getting the vaccines.
Our infection rates are as high as they were at our peak in January, amazingly -- but apparently the severity of the illness is much lower because it's more young people catching it. (As I understand it.)
We intend to, as long as Covid stays out of our way!
Boris has been insistent that we must fully reopen. I suspect we may backtrack if the case numbers stay high, though.
Thanks, Edna! We have had a good ten years, it's true.
So, yes, you saw the linked post about our moving to London. We got Olga in January 2013. Here's the post:
https://shadowsteve.blogspot.com/2013/01/mona-we-think.html
I do not understand these vaccine skeptics.
It's been a busy time! Thanks for the good wishes, E. :)
It was great to meet up with you in London (twice!) and it HAS indeed been a great ten years. Glad "Unforgotten" is working for you!
I hope it rules stuff out, too! It's always better to investigate and be sure. Keep us posted!
It seems a lifetime ago, honestly. And I suppose in some ways it was.
Exactly! If I can see the sense in a rule I don't have a problem with it, but in this case I am struggling.
Ha! I'd forgotten that bit about pilots and water. That IS ridiculous. The heat honestly doesn't seem that bad. It's drier here than in Florida, and it's only at peak hotness for a short time in the afternoon -- whereas in Florida it feels hot basically all day!
Thanks! It's hard for me to imagine where I might be now if I hadn't met Dave and come to London.
Hi Angelicastar -- so sorry you're back in the hospital. I hope everything goes OK! We're thinking of you!
I knew what you meant. :)
I just want to understand why they think it's necessary for me to isolate when someone who came to the UK two days later can walk around freely. It doesn't make sense. If I understood the rationale I might feel less indignant, but I don't.
A better job! Dave and I were both working in New Jersey and when this opportunity arose, we grabbed it! Dave is from Michigan. :)
Oh, Lord, that was a crazy time. Especially with Ernie and Ruby, our dogs at the time, who wound up living only a few more months after we moved.
And I didn’t even congratulate you on your 10 years in London. We arrived in our new homes within days of each other. Amazing what can happen in 10 years!
Thanks Steve. I expect I would suffer more culture shock than yourself. Well, I did for my first visit.
I think I am ready to hang up my teaching lasso for good. I have done it for so many years that I am ready to try something new and different. I hadn't thought about the Peace Corps though, but you are right, I've got other things that tie me to the USA. We'll see!
Thanks so much for the extra link! Of course I had to move forward a post or two to see when Mona/Tinsel became Olga. ;) Her markings really are beautiful and I loved the photo with "frog legs". I'm not sure all dogs are able to lie like that.
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