FINE MARGINS...

Maybe I`m getting old. Well, as I`m now in my 80s I guess there might be some truth in that. Now there was a time when the events at St. Mary`s last night would have left me incandescent by VAR refereeing decisions going against Southampton in a 1-0 defeat against visiting Aston Villa.  One was a penalty claim for handball which went against the Saints, when in the days of proper football it would have been given as `nailed on.`   The second was a farcical offside decision when the sleeve of  Danny Ings` shirt was adjudged to have been a few millimetres ahead of Matty Cash`s backside when the ball was kicked.  In the days of proper football the advantage (if one could have been discerned in instances like that) would have gone to the attacking team.  But the decisions were made, the game was lost and we move on to Old Trafford away on Tuesday evening for another difficult game against the resurgent ManUre.  

Maybe it`s the fact that the Saints are sitting comfortably in mid table at the mid point of the season that has dampened the anxieties of my younger days and that there are 18 games to go to secure the three wins and a draw we need to maintain Premier League status.  Surely, perhaps after Old Trafford, the crest of the current slump will be overturned.  Well it will, won`t it?  Really?  Honestly?  Please tell me it will.

Fine margins too at the Stadium of Light yesterday where Gillingham secured a 2-2 draw against Sunderland and fine margins as well at the New Lawn in Nailsworth where Forest Green Rovers held out for a 0-0 draw against Cheltenham in the Gloucestershire Classico.  Nothing happened elsewhere, where football in the `lower leagues` has been put on hold, but I do miss following the arguably more interesting exploits of Truro City, Brechin City, Fort William and Stoke Gabriel.  To name but a few.

But I suspect that the relative sanguinity I might be feeling right now enables me to put football in its wider context given all the other more pressing issues that confront our world these days.  Mr. Covid of course and the effect he has had in demonstrating the reality of `civilised` life in today`s world with the absurdity of countries in Europe seemingly behaving like children squabbling over a bag of goodies.  

Now football fans are not typically associated with critical thinking but we do love to quote the French-Algerian philosopher Albert Camus when he said: “All that I know most surely about morality and obligations I owe to football.”  Mind you, that was before the advent of VAR and the corona virus pandemic.

Thank goodness January is over.

 

AN EXCLUSIVE GROUP ..

It was all of eight years ago that I became aware of and fascinated by the plant known as Dodder.   We were on a long walk along the south Devon coast path between Mill Bay, opposite Salcombe, and Prawle Point when I came across this spectacular looking plant and took the photo you see above.  I got home and checked it out and discovered that dodder (Cuscuta epythymum) aka hellweed or strangle-tare, is a parasitic plant that attaches itself to a host and eventually takes over.

Not only is the appearance of common dodder unusual, though, but so is its lifestyle.  An annual, parasitic plant, in late-spring a slender stem emerges from germinating over-wintered seeds, and entwines itself, always anti-clockwise, around the nearest host plant, providing, of course, that one is within reaching distance.

Common dodder growth at this stage depends entirely on food reserves contained in the seed, for the plant has no green chlorophyll, and therefore cannot photosynthesise. But once the plant is established, the lower part of the stem withers and falls away, leaving the dodder to depend solely on its unfortunate host, from which it takes sugar and other nutrients through suckers that penetrate stem and branches.

Growth is rapid, and it quickly engulfs host and adjacent plants in a tangled cloak of incredibly fine threads, colouring the landscape with a wine-red mantle.

So, armed with this new found discovery I thought it would be a good idea to set up a Facebook group with the intention of seeking out and recording sightings of dodder, which is quite rare in the UK and is seen in a very few places.  I invited a couple of like minded people to join the group when I first set it up and for quite a few years the `membership` remained at three - those two friends and myself as `admin.`

And then about a year ago I had a request from Collin Hadzik in Pennsylvania to join the group, which then made it four.   And a couple of weeks ago I had yet another request, this time from a gentleman named Alex Perez, details about whom are awaited but if he does join then after eight years and counting the worldwide membership of the dodder group will reach an impressive five people!

What might be impressive about that is the probability that it is the least popular group in the entire history of Facebook;  that in itself is something of which to be justly smug. Almost as obscure as Cuscuta epythymum itself.   

 

                           

AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL..

.....there might be some light?  Well, we`ll see -literally.  I promised not to post about the corona virus and I will try to keep to that promise.  But it`s difficult to avoid it sometimes and today it is just one of a number of things that can combine to bring about a feeling of frustration.  The main problem, for me at least, is that this winter seems to be going on and on - it`s a bright sunny morning here in deepest Kent but it`s bitingly cold;  the late afternoon sundowns should be getting later; maybe they are a bit but it`s a slow process. 

In short, I can`t wait for Spring to arrive but in the meantime there has been the odd shaft of light in this seemingly interminable tunnel.  And they come, not surprisingly for me, from the world of sport. 

A brief note about football;  Southampton finally managed to beat Arsenal in the FA Cup, this time with a narrow but deserved 1-0 win at St. Mary`s.  Up next, Wolves at Molineux - always a difficult place to go to.  Forest Green Rovers finally saw the error of their ways and picked Scott Wagstaff to start their away game at Leyton Orient, where they too managed a 1-0 win to move up to second in League Two.  Gillingham secured a 2-2 draw at home to Rochdale and Maidstone United maintained their target of just missing out on promotion by losing 2-0 at home to Braintree.  (I wonder how Braintree got its name?)

But it was in the wonderland of cricket that some hope for the future has been restored, not just on the field of play but also in its ambience where the prospect of sunlight, warmth and long hot days watching the beautiful game shines a little brighter.  I`ve just been watching England win the series against Sri Lanka in Galle - a tremendous example of test cricket at its best, full of outstanding individual performances and played in good spirit, all of which raised my own spirits in this tedious winter of discontent.  Makes me long for some summer days under the Canterbury sky.  Well, here`s hoping.

I`ve been intrigued to see politicians being interviewed on television from the `privacy` of their abodes and to see the libraries they have on their bookshelves.  At the risk of a passing reference to the pandemic, I saw Health Secretary Matt Hancock`s recent interviews and as one might expect the backdrop has been a pretty wide selection of his books.  I think it tells a lot about someone when you see the books they have on their shelves.  So I was surprised but impressed to see that high up on one of his shelves was an edition of Wisden`s Cricketers Almanack.

So he may not be too bad after all and if he can have Wisden on his shelf then maybe there is hope for the rest of us as we climb our way out of the tunnel of winter towards the light of Spring? 

 

GETTING LUCKY...

Another delve into my collection of photos I have taken over the years has revealed a hitherto undiscovered interest in bird life.   OK, I don`t set out to snap them but if they happen to be pretty still and in an interesting place then I might get lucky and catch the moment, as it were.  

I took the one above during yet another memorable walk along the north Cornish coast - this one was from Harlyn Bay round to Trevose Head and as we paused for a while at Mother Ivy`s Bay I saw this seagull perched on a rock above a colourful sea.  (Please click on the photos for much better images.)

This next one was on the walk from Mawgan Porth en route to Watergate Bay.  We only got as far as Stem Point, where we stopped for our lunch and gazed down to the sprawling sands of Watergate Bay.  Here`s the view from the top:-

Having done enough hill climbing for one day, we headed back and as we stopped (again) this time at Beacon Cove, I spotted this kestrel hovering around, looking for his own lunch:-

Not the most amazing photos you`ve ever seen, I agree, but for me they are lasting memories of wonderful days and just being in the right place at the right time and being lucky.  Well, I like them.

 Not too much football to go on about this week and in truth the more the current lockdown continues the less compelling football seems to become.  What with many of the so-called `lower leagues` being put in limbo, with empty stadiums, no atmosphere` and a succession of unexpected results, the whole thing seems to have lost some of its appeal.  Either that or I`m a bit miffed that the Saints have now plummeted to ninth in the Premier League.

Anyway, a quick round up of the teams in my line of sight and I`ll start with Southampton who have suffered a 2-0 defeat away at Leicester on Saturday but also managed a 2-0 win last night at home to Shrewsbury in the FA Cup.  At the moment we`re not helped by having at least nine players unavailable through injury or, in the case of leading scorer Danny Ings, a brush with Mr. Covid.  But it`s encouraging to see quite so many of our Academy lads coming through to plug the gaps.

Forest Green Rovers are having a tricky time - a home draw against Port Vale on Saturday was followed by a narrow defeat last night away at Tranmere, where Prenton Park is always a difficult place to go to.  But they came close, battling back to lose 3-2 which included our street`s local hero Scott (`impressive cameo`) Wagstaff coming off the bench after 85 minutes to score Rovers` second goal and coming close to securing a point but for a misguided header deep into added time.  They`re still right up there in League Two though.

And so to Gillingham, whose fortunes seem to be picking up after being on the crest of a bit of a slump in recent weeks.  They managed an impressive 1-0 away win on Saturday at in- form Accrington to rise to 12th in League One.  My neighbour will be chuffed, I`m sure - not only with the win but also the influence of no less than three Southampton Academy lads on loan at the Priestfield to get vital match experience under the beguiling tutelage of Gills` manager Steve Evans.

Now a few weeks ago I was over the moon with the Saints heading the Premier League table for a short while and as I mentioned before I have good friends who are Liverpool and West Ham fans.  For a short while I thought that the natural order of things may have become a bit unbalanced;  however, both Liverpool and West Ham are now above Southampton in the league placings.

I know my place.

 

STOP AND LOOK...

Continuing my Covid-19 avoiding theme, the other evening I watched Julia Bradbury`s walk from Padstow to Trevone.  It made for an entertaining programme but I`m not sure it did the walk justice.  It`s another one we`ve done - some years ago now - but we have done it in two stages;  the first from Padstow to Stepper Point and back again and then the following year when we were staying in Trevone we walked to Stepper Point and back from there.

Either way it`s another great walk and I know that Julia`s programme was short of time to show everything along the way.  After all, she scurries along at a fair old pace, whereas we tended to meander, stop awhile and take in all the grandeur of that part of the north Cornwall coast.

I could show some decent photos I took on those walks but the one I took above was during one of our stops along the way. When taking photos, it`s just so tempting to concentrate on the spectacular Cornish coastline but sometimes if you stop and look down you see a whole new world open up before your eyes.  This was one of those times and I hope my photo did justice to the little Cornish community of wayside wild plants that caught my eye.

Anyway, I liked it.   (Please click on the photo for a much better image.)

 

OUT OF THIS WORLD...

I`m trying not to post anything about the corona virus - it`s too distressing for one thing and also there is little else that we hear about - for understandable reasons.  So I thought I would not clutter this blog up with too much about it but instead produce some posts that are a bit self indulgent in the hope that they might keep me from going completely bonkers and possibly be of some interest to my faithful reader.   So here goes with the first one.....

There have been quite a few programmes on television of late that focus on Cornwall - Rick Stein has a series going, Simon Reeve did a very good one about the real Cornwall, Julia Bradbury is of course walking the Devon and Cornwall coast paths and there has been a series centred on the Mevagissey fishing `industry.`  Spoilt for choice a bit, but what they have done is make me revisit some of my photographs that I have taken over the years during our many visits to the West Country.

And Julia Bradbury walking from Porthgwarra to Sennen Cove via Lands End reminded me of one of our most gratifying walks.  Some years ago we stayed in far west Cornwall at a hamlet named Mulfra, from where we enjoyed a wonderful exploration of the area west of Penzance.   One day we parked at Porthgwarra and walked up to Gwennap Head, and I took the photo above of these remarkable land markers perched on the top of the cliff close to Gwennap Head Coast Watch Station.

They are there to help mariners avoid the notorious Runnell Stone - a treacherous rock just below the surface of the sea. In 1923 a steamer collided with the rock with such force that it decapitated it, removing the top 20 feet and making the rock invisible from the surface. So,  if sailing off shore, the trick is to keep the black and white marker in sight from your ship;  if that marker becomes blocked by the red marker then it is probably too late to save your vessel from being holed by the Runnell Stone.

The whole stretch of coast around Gwennap Head is notoriously hazardous for shipping;  it is where opposing tidal currents collide - the English Channel from the east and St. George`s Channel from the west.  In stormy conditions the sea here is thrown into total confusion so these markers become even more vital in avoiding the dangers of the submerged Runnell Stone.

It was an unforgettable walk - a strong wind was blowing, the Atlantic air was exhilarating, the scenery spectacular and I had a real sense of being somewhere very special - almost out of this world.

 

CUSTOMER SEVICES ?

I have often wondered whether HM Government has a customer services desk where you can ring up and have a moan about something.  What prompted the question for me was that we seem to be living in some kind of nightmare where there is a lot going on that people are complaining about;  also the fact that news bulletins, especially the BBC ones, seem to concentrate on things that may have gone wrong and give a platform for individuals to voice their complaints about the government`s `performance.`  Taking a leaf from Channel 4`s much missed series, Modern Toss, I imagine a Government Customer Services desk might go something like this:-

"Hello - Customer Services. How may I help you?"

"I`m 23.  I`m told I`ve got to wait to have a jab until all the old people have had theirs.  What are you going to do about it?"

"Customer Services."

"I`ve fled a war torn country, crossed the Channel in a flimsy boat and now I`m stuck in sub standard accommodation .  What are you going to do about it?"

"Hello"

"I thought it was my human right to have everything I want when I want it. Why haven`t I got it yet?  What are you going to do about it?"

......and so on.  You get my drift.   I know life is difficult for many people and we are living in distressing times but I honestly cannot recall a time when so many people are complaining about so much to so many and so often.   As one of the more fortunate octogenarians I`m beginning to detect a trend that seems almost to write off the older generation for having had a life, so they should make way for those who have plenty more to live for.  

Those making this suggestion may have a case but I recall the wisdom of someone who proposed the notion that a `society` should really be judged by the way it treats its older generation.  For example, the Eskimo `culture` demands that their elderly are treated with respect, concern, cared for, revered almost, in acknowledgement of the part the elderly have played in forming and upholding the way of life the younger ones have inherited.   

Anyway, before I get too wound up about these things, here`s an example of the Modern Toss version of `Customer Services.`   Those among you of a delicate disposition may want to look away now:-

In all seriousness, I do wonder whether the Government used Modern Toss as the template for their own Customer Services?  As for me, I`m off to Baffin Island.

 

A LANGUAGE OF ITS OWN..

I`ve noticed over the years that the world of football has developed a language of its own.  It is, at the end of the day, a game of two halves which is probably why it has formed its own unique yet charming lexicon.  In my playing days of dubbin, Sloane`s liniment, half an orange and a fag at half time I thought of myself as a box-to-box right half with a decent engine and an eye for a pass - they don`t have right halves any more, instead preferring midfield dynamos - but even in those far off days there were words and phrases that cropped up in games which were a touch baffling - for example, I still recall being puzzled by references to dirt boxes and mixers.  

But what football does have in its locker is an innate gift for statements by those in the game which I`m sure they would have been disappointed with when they saw the replays on Match of the Day; perhaps realising that they should have been more clinical in the final third.  Anyway, here`s a random collection that should have been buried in the top corner - to be fair:-

1. "Both sides have scored a couple of goals, and both sides have conceded a couple of goals." —Peter Withe
2. "I've been consistent in patches this season." —Theo Walcott
3. "In the end, Rosicky initially did well." —Andy Townsend
4. "The thing about goalscorers is that they score goals." —Tony Cottee
5. "The last six games of the Invincibles season were the most pressurised, because we were under pressure." —Ray Parlour
6. "He's got a lot of self-belief in himself." —Graham Beecroft
7. "They were numerically outnumbered." —Garry Birtles
8. "Not to win is guttering." —Mark Noble
9. "And with 4 minutes gone, the score is already 0-0." —Ian Dark
10. "I'm going to make a prediction—it could go either way." —Rob Atkinson
11. "Certain people are for me and certain people are pro me." —Terry Venables
12. "Reading won't have the confidence to be confident." —Paul Merson
13. "If we played like this every week, we wouldn't be so inconsistent." —Bryan Robson
14. "The one significant change is, in fact, the second significant change." —Jonathan Pearce
15. "Strangely, in slow motion replay, the ball seemed to hang in the air for even longer." —David Acfield
16. "Glenn Hoddle hasn't been the Hoddle we know. Neither has Bryan Robson." —Ron Greenwood
17. "I don't think there is anybody bigger or smaller than Maradona." —Kevin Keegan
18. "For those of you watching in black and white, Spurs are in the all-yellow strip." —John Motson
19. "I never comment on referees, and I'm not going to break the habit of a lifetime for that prat." —Ron Atkinson
20. "I would not say he [David Ginola] is the best left winger in the Premiership, but there are none better." —Ron Atkinson
21. "What will you do when you leave football, Jack—will you stay in football?" —Stuart Hall
22. "The new West Stand casts a giant shadow over the entire pitch, even on a sunny day." —Chris Jones
23. "You don't score 64 goals in 86 games at the highest level without being able to score goals." —Alan Green
24. "Matty Jarvis had acres of time there." —Stan Collymore
25. "It's an unprecedented precedent." —Clark Carlisle
26. "...but Arsenal are quick to credit Bergkamp with laying on 75% of their nine goals." —Tony Gubba
27. "If you closed your eyes, you couldn't tell the difference between the two sides." —Phil Brown
28. "He dribbles a lot, and the opposition don't like it—you can see it all over their faces." —Ron Atkinson
29. "If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again." —Terry Venables
30. "They're the second-best team in the world, and there's no higher praise than that." —Kevin Keegan
31. "A game is not won until it is lost." —David Pleat
32. "I definitely want Brooklyn to be christened, but I don't know into what religion yet." —David Beckham
33. "I never make predictions, and I never will." —Paul Gascoigne
34. "I couldn't settle in Italy. It was like living in a foreign country." —Ian Rush
35. "There are two ways of getting the ball. One is from your own team-mates, and that's the only way." —Terry Venables
36. "A contract on a piece of paper, saying you want to leave, is like a piece of paper saying you want to leave." —John Hollins
37. "We must have had 99 percent of the match. It was the other three percent that cost us." —Ruud Gullit
38. "I always used to put my right boot on first, and then obviously my right sock."—Barry Venison
39. "My parents have been there for me, ever since I was about 7." —David Beckham
40. "I would not be bothered if we lost every game as long as we won the league." —Mark Viduka
41. "If you don't believe you can win, there is no point in getting out of bed at the end of the day." —Neville Southall
42. "I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel." —Stuart Pearce
43. "I'd like to play for an Italian club, like Barcelona." —Mark Draper
44. "One accusation you can't throw at me is that I've always done my best." —Alan Shearer
45. "All that remains is for a few dots and commas to be crossed." —Mitchell Thomas
46. "Without being too harsh on David Beckham, he cost us the match." - Ian Wright
47. "Germany are a very difficult team to play... they had 11 internationals out there today." —Steve Lomas
48. "I've had 14 bookings this season, 8 of which were my fault, but 7 of which were disputable." —Paul Gascoigne
49. "He's put on weight, and I've lost it, and vice versa." —Ronnie Whelan
50. "The first ninety minutes of a football match are the most important." —Bobby Robson.

 

Well, not much anyway.  Thanks to a mixed bag of circumstances I`m not sure there`s much football to mention this week.  Just a couple of defeats really.  One was Gillingham`s 1-0 home defeat by Burton Albion, despite the Gills signing Saints` pacy flanker Tyreke Johnson on loan with an eye on a permanent move at the end of the season.   Maidstone United went to Hungerford and managed to lose 2-1, thus maintaining their target of just failing to get promoted, thus avoiding the financial issues that would follow if they got back to the National League.

Elsewhere, Truro City`s season may have been brought to an abrupt end, thanks to the Covid situation while Stoke Gabriel`s season has also ended for the same reason.  Fort William`s game was postponed I suspect because of Covid but also due to unplayable conditions up there in the lea of Ben Nevis and Brechin City didn`t have a game, having been knocked out of the Scottish Cup in the first round. 

And Southampton`s FA Cup match with Shrewsbury Town had already been postponed following an outbreak of Covid 19 in the Shrews` camp - it remains to be seen whether the game will be rearranged or whether the Saints will have a bye to the next round.  The FA will decide next week once the draw for the next rounds have been made.

So, nothing to see here but as this has been an FA Cup weekend the memories of that great day in 1976 came back to me when I was there to see the Saints win the Cup by beating Manchester United at Wembley.   Here`s David Hockney`s version of the moment when Her Majesty handed the Cup to Saints captain Peter Rodrigues:-

Her Majesty has never attended and FA Cup Final since that happy and glorious day, allegedly commenting at the time that it really doesn`t get any better than that so I won`t bother in future.  Or words to that effect.  Possibly.

 

PHEW! WHAT A RELIEF..

I saw a report yesterday that the Royal Family`s summer garden parties have been cancelled.  A palace spokesperson said, "The decision has been taken that garden parties will not take place in 2021."   The events, normally held annually for tens of thousands of people, were cancelled last year due to the first Covid lockdown and it is understood that the latest lockdown came as deadlines to commit to staging the summer parties grew closer, making it impossible to plan for this year`s events taking account of the Covid precautions.

Now what seems like a hundred years ago in a former life, Mrs. S and I were invited by a former Mayor and his lady to accompany them to a garden party at Buckingham Palace.  A kind and thoughtful invitation which was genuinely appreciated.  However, we mulled it over and came to the conclusion that, as much as we were grateful for the opportunity, we both knew that we would feel `awkward,` `uncomfortable,`  a little out of place - those kind of things are really not for us - and so we politely declined the invitation.

I suppose in the end we decided that in actual fact we really, really didn`t want to go.  So we didn`t.  The Mayor understood entirely - he accepted our conclusion with much good grace and it had no adverse effect on our future relationship;  in fact, I think he admired the honesty.  So, someone else and his wife took our place and they said they had a wonderful afternoon and enjoyed it very much - I was pleased for them.

I just wonder how many people who might have been invited to this year`s garden parties will be as relieved as we were when they learn that they`re not going to happen?   

 MAYBE THERE IS A GOD AFTER ALL ?

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl sinks to his knees following Saints` dramatic 1-0 win over Liverpool last night.

The picture tells the story and says it all.

THE HAPPIEST DAYS ?...

Hearing a lot at the moment about whether schools should close or remain open due to the rising cases of corona virus.  As ever with this pandemic, there are arguments both ways and as attending school is not as high on my agenda as it was in my own school days, I will refrain from entering into the current debate.

Nonetheless, it has rekindled memories of  about 75 years ago when I attended Hythe Primary School - pictured above - in my boyhood village on the shores of Southampton Water.  Just after the end of WW2 when my father returned home from five years as a prisoner of war, we moved to Hythe from nearby Blackfield where I had attended my very first days at Fawley school.  I settled in to Hythe school quite quickly, soon made new friends and enjoyed not just the school but more particularly the out of school activities - with the shoreline down the end of our garden and the New Forest up the road, who wouldn`t?

But when I was about seven, I developed a serious kidney disease - nephritis - and I found myself in Southampton Children's Hospital for about six weeks, after which I went home but had to stay in bed until a relapse saw me return for another stay in hospital.  It went on a bit but eventually I recovered, however by the time I went back to Hythe school, I had lost a whole year`s schooling.  (Not sure I minded too much as there were elements of my absence that I still recall, for example my mother wheeling me around the village in a wheelchair and being on good terms with the family doctor.)  Here`s a map from the time that shows how my boyhood village used to be:-

 Looking back, I realise now that missing a year`s school probably held me back - I failed the 11+ having been driven by my father to Brockenhurst School for the exam - and I began to develop a genuine distaste - a fear even - of the compulsion of having to go to school at all.  My first secondary school was at Hardley, next to Fawley - so I was Hardley educated there; and once we moved to south London when I was about 13 my disaffection with school was complete and I couldn`t wait to leave.

But in order to get on with life there was a choice - grumble about it and feel `disadvantaged` or try to catch up and do something about it.  I chose the latter, which is a different story altogether which I won`t bore you with here.  But it does mean that there is yet another reason for the virus that is blighting all our lives to be defeated in that the schoolchildren of today won`t have to miss as much of school as I did.  Moreover, I hope too that they realise, unlike me, that their school days are the most important ones of their lives and that, again unlike some of mine, they might turn out to be the happiest.

 A JAB IN TIME ?...

Got to say I was so grateful to receive the call to have my corona virus vaccination.  A good start to the New Year, for me at least.  I went along to the local surgery yesterday, waited patiently for my turn and had the Pfizer Biontech jab with no problems.   I was impressed by the organisation and the professionalism of all those involved, especially so the volunteers acting as `marshals` to ensure that the frail, elderly, vulnerable and bewildered of the parish did not get lost or too confused in the process.  (Maybe the `worst` part of it was having to sit for 15 minutes or so after the jab in a marquee specially erected for the occasion - only problem was the marquee was outside and it was bitterly cold.)

But I`m grateful for having the first jab although controversy rages about the second one. I just hope that whatever the outcome of the arguments - about having the second jab after three weeks or twelve - is the right one.  Don`t know who to believe really - might just be a case of que sera, sera  but if my second appointment for three weeks` time isn`t cancelled I`ll happily go along for the second jab and try not to feel guilty about it.

None of us knows what the future may hold, especially in the current circumstances, so I`ll just carry on taking each day as it comes and be grateful for it.