Welcome to my Friday Reading Roundup! This feature will show exactly what I've been reading and DNFing through the week.
This post covers the last two weeks.
5 star, 2.5 star, 2.5 star, 3 star.
Chuckles Book Cave: Read. Review. Promote. Enjoy.
Saturday, 4 April 2020
Chuckles Friday Reading Roundup
Welcome to my Friday Reading Roundup! This feature will show exactly what I've been reading and DNFing through the week.
This post covers the last two weeks.
5 star, 2.5 star, 2.5 star, 3 star.
Chuckles Weekend Roundup
Welcome to my feature Chuckles Weekend Roundup where I will be looking at what books I've received, anything interesting I've done or bought or watched and other random stuff. I'll be taking a look back at what happened in my blogging world too, sort of like The Sunday Post that some of you do!
Please note that I'll be visiting your STS/SP as normal, but I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow DISQUS to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I am the only one who does that on my social media! I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account. Sometimes, I have problems leaving messages on blogs hosted by Wordpress-they try to block me because I deleted my account with them but I will persevere as it only happens the odd time!
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It has been such a busy week off the blog and my infected hand and scrapbooking has taken up a lot of my time, so not as many posts as I would've liked to do. I'm not doing my daily diary from now on as there is little to report so I'll do one a week with all the virus related news I have from the UK. I want to try and get a few more posts on other things posted this week and lighten the mood a bit! Now that I've started reading again, there will be book reviews starting to trickle out again and hopefully I can find a few book tags!
Yes I did buy a few more books! I'm getting more interested in monarchy before Queen Elizabeth II, and I found more political non fiction. I'm waiting for them to arrive from Amazon but I'll do a post about the books today or tomorrow. I also picked up a few cheap downloads. I'm ignoring the TBR and enjoying having the books arrive for the moment!
Chuckles Blogging World
I'm fully up to date with my blog visits this week and today I'll catch up with blog comments. That sets me up nicely for the rest of the weekend, even if I am a day late! I've been a day off in my thoughts and thought this was Friday. Oh well!
Book Reviews
none this week
Regular Posts
Around The Blogs With Chuckles
Top Ten Tuesday
Discussion Posts
The Coronavirus Diaries Isolation Day 8/9
The Coronavirus Diaries Isolation Day 10
The Coronavirus Diaries Isolation Day 11/12
The Coronavirus Diaries Isolation Day 13/14
Reading Challenges
none this week
Films & TV & Music
I've been watching more Royalty documentaries covering George V, George VI and Edward VIII, as well as Charles and Diana. I've watched the Jaws films, the Jurassic Park films but not much else this week as I've been reading more.
Book Tags/Blog Awards
none this week
Friday, 3 April 2020
The Coronavirus Diaries Isolation Day 13/14
This series of posts will be about the coronavirus situation, how it is impacting me here in Scotland and interesting gossip and opinions I'm hearing through our media. I'll be posting as and when I have something to share but I take no responsibility for the accuracy of the news I share or the medical advice and opinion that I mention.
Day 13
I went round to the shops first thing this morning, fully kitted out in mask and gloves. After insisting that healthy people don't need to wear a mask and it wouldn't help anyway, the WHO seem to be considering a change of advice as sneezes can travel further than they thought. Well, really??? Anyone who has explosive sneezes like me during an infection, or has hay fever and allergies could've told them that two metres wasn't far enough for social distancing! My masks were bought during the summer as I always do for flu season and they are good quality but breathing in them is very hard. I was almost hyperventilating with the heat inside it so I have sympathy for workers wearing that for long shifts. Bought bread, chocolate, newspapers, Lime fizzy juice, magazines, sliced ham and milk. I won't be out again until Monday probably.
The Hit Parade of Morons continues with criminals spitting and coughing on police who are arresting them. Off grid parents are refusing to pay full council tax because they can't use all the council facilities because of the lockdown. Over a quarter of Brits are refusing to isolate or use social distancing. Teenage girl attacks a security officer trying to stop her attacking a nurse with a knife. What is going on? It seems like so many people feel that this is an excuse to behave like idiots and I just don't get it. At least the person who slashed the tyres on those ambulances has been caught and hopefully is going to jail.
There are some good news stories too. A paramedic was allowed to skip a supermarket queue and was given a round of applause, then a stranger insisted on paying for his shopping. I've been amused by videos of neighbours exercising on the street to the strains of Night Fever and British boxers miming and dancing to Build me up Buttercup! The new super hospital in London was adapted in nine days and will be opened by video link by Prince Charles today. Other pop up hospitals are being adapted across the country. Companies continue to work hard to make equipment for use by medics.
2921 deaths across the UK. It's a tragedy, it really is and seeing all the numbers of deaths around the world is heartbreaking. I saw the first confirmation of people infected in my town a few days ago in the newspaper. It made my stomach flip, knowing for sure that it's here, even though I already thought.
Day 14
Can I first ask everyone to put Mary at http://scarymarythehamsterlady.blogspot.com/ in your thoughts and prayers as she is having a really bad week with her daughter and husband both going into hospital for different things. Sending all our love your way xxx
http://scarymarythehamsterlady.blogspot.com/2020/04/life-update.html
It's really hard to tell if there is improvement in my hand. Some moments I think there is and other times I get worried about it. My dad thinks it looks better and I do still have four days of medication left, so I'm keeping everything crossed. I really don't want to have to get in touch with the doctor again. I can't believe how stupid and reckless I was at a time when everyone needs to be so sensible. *sighs*
The Hit Parade of Morons continues. Two thieves offered to clean the house of a 92 year old woman after telling her that her neighbour died of the virus and when she let them in, they robbed her. 100 people including a Labour MP flout social distancing rules and attend a funeral. He claims it is racist against Muslims with big families and plans to attend more funerals. Twat. Man punched and choked his girlfriend in an arguement over lockdown music. Bus Driver throws an NHS worker off his bus for trying to pay with a £20 note instead of the correct change, forcing her to take a taxi instead.
Numbers are getting grim in the US, numbers rising in Spain and Italy, more cases in the UK...and on it goes. From today I won't be posting a diary entry every day, now that I've done two weeks in isolation. I'll post as and when I have news of note and do some other posts too.
Stay safe everyone.
Wednesday, 1 April 2020
The Coronavirus Diaries Isolation Day 11/12
This series of posts will be about the coronavirus situation, how it is impacting me here in Scotland and interesting gossip and opinions I'm hearing through our media. I'll be posting as and when I have something to share but I take no responsibility for the accuracy of the news I share or the medical advice and opinion that I mention.
Day 11
You have to hand it to Chuckles for gross stupidity! At a time when I'm being oh so careful to take virus precautions, I decide to inflict myself with a stupid injury that is now infected. Yes the saga of the Bastard Bee Sting continues! I thought that the sting site had the sting still in it so instead of looking up sensible NHS guidance, I got stuck in with a safety pin to try to get the blighter out. Instead, I've left myself with a small infected wound so I had to phone the doctor this morning at 8.30am. As I'm in the at risk category he wouldn't let me come to see him but he was satisfied with my description and phoned an antibiotic prescription to my local chemist who have already delivered it. What a wonderful health service we have and I could kick myself for causing them extra work at a time like this. I should be adding myself to the Hit Parade of Morons! Hopefully the medication will clear it up.
The Hit Parade of Morons starts with a sad story-an NHS worker has been murdered in the street and her husband of six months has been arrested. They had recently split. A husband has been charged with murdering his wife in their home during isolation in a different case. Thieves steal two lorry loads of toilet rolls worth £13000. A virus scam has been swindling people online by saying the government is fining them for being illegally out of their home. A British boxer posted advice online for how to punch your wife if she gives you trouble during the lockdown. He claims he wasn't promoting domestic violence!!!
How sad to hear that a police community support officer who once rescued four girls in trouble in the sea despite his heart pacemaker, has died of the virus. It's so unfair that good people are dying of this bloody plague.
Day 12
On the infected hand story, I've used the first day of antibiotics and I think I see a slight improvement. It's still sore but the open part of the wound has closed over and part of the angry red ring around it has faded, so fingers crossed. I have six more days of medication to go so I hope for a full recovery. In other GREAT news I've had a lovely delivery of more cheese and chutney with two new cheese flavours to try-cheddar and port, and apple and cider! NICE! I also got a side delivery of cheesy bread to eat with it. And just for extra fun, the DVD box sets of Deadliest Catch season 13 and 14 are FINALLY on sale on Amazon! I've been waiting YEARS for them! I also bought Gold Rush season 9. I might be watching a lot of stuff over the next few months-maybe an excuse for a full all series binge of each?
Why is it that most of the adverts on TV right now are for things like buying gold coins, which hardly anyone can afford, or for funerals and funeral plans (sensitive, NOT) or products we can't get out to buy and aren't essential! I'm also getting fed up with the same questions being asked at the government's daily briefing which have been answered countless times. When is lockdown going to end? (can't predict), when is there going to be more testing? (as soon as we can), what is the death toll going to be (don't know), why are we not testing more? (not enough test kits), where is the protective equipment for staff? (coming as soon as we can get it). Can't anyone ask a different question, something the people want to hear about?
The sad news is that there have been a few cases this week of seemingly healthy people dying of the virus, including a 13 year old boy. A retired doctor who came back to help in the crisis has just died from it. If you guys possibly can, stay at home, stay safe and avoid catching this disease.
And now, the Hit Parade of Morons. Man fined for meeting friends in the park twice. 40 mourners ignore social distancing rules to attend a traveller funeral. Morons smash the windows of a doctor's car in Wolverhampton. Evil sod murders his wife, kids and dog and then kills himself while all were in lockdown. Rooftop party on a backpacker hostel-at least 12 of them. Church in London selling plague protection kits to parish members at £91 each. Asshat. A woman volunteering to deliver meals and medicine to her neighbours had all four tyres slashed, her windows smashed and the paintwork damaged. Sick muppets.
Stay safe everyone.
Top Ten Tuesday-The Ten Advantages of Isolation
NB: I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow them to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account.
This week I'm going rogue! I'm looking at ten positive things about isolation and lockdown.
1) An excuse to BUY ALL THE BOOKS!
When do us bookworms ever need such an excuse? We are of course doing it to help the poor authors whose sales may have been hit by the crisis, so we are doing it for selfless reasons really. Getting all those shiny paperbacks or downloading the books on sale for Kindle are just the added bonus right? With it being an exceptional circumstance, we don't REALLY need to look at the number of books on the TBR right now...credit for the drawing goes to author Allie Brosh, who wrote Hyperbole and a Half. Read it if you get the chance!
2) An excuse to BUY ALL THE CHEESE!
Cheese is my favourite food and I can't do without it. I bought a pile of cheese to use for cooking which will last until the end of June, but I also bought cheese for personal eating too. I got a lovely wooden cheeseboard, lots of flavoured chutneys, oat biscuits, cheesy crackers, cheesy bread and a wide range of cheese from Snowdonia and The Cheddar Gorge, which will do me right through to the second week in July, and the company assures me that they continue to make and deliver their cheese so I can keep buying it through the lockdown! I'd had the Snowdonia Cheese before but this was my first sample of the Cheddar Gorge Company so a big shout out to both for their delicious products!
https://www.welshcheesecompany.co.uk/our-producers/snowdonia-cheese-company/
https://www.cheddaronline.co.uk/
3) An excuse to BUY ALL THE CHOCOLATE!
Before we even heard of the pandemic, my dad treated me to four big bags of mini eggs and six medium Easter Eggs so I was already well sorted. When I first heard of the pandemic I was able to order from Amazon four boxes of Dairy Box chocolates (one has been eaten!) and from the supermarket, two tins of Heroes chocolate for me and two big boxes of Milk Tray for my dad. The local shops are selling Easter Eggs but I'm still hoping their price will drop before I grab them!
https://www.cadbury.co.uk/
4) An excuse to BUY ALL THE BEER!
I always enjoyed a cold beer with lime but hadn't had one for the best part of fifteen years so for the lockdown I grabbed four bottles of lime cordial and a pile of beer for my dad and I. I have a can on Friday and Satueday night with my cheeseboard which has been great, and it's nearly Friday again! I also have tasty cheese and onion, prawn cocktail, beef, and monster munch crisps to enjoy with it. I like to buy Tennents Lager for this purpose.
5) An excuse to watch old soaps!
Call it a soap, call it a serial drama but I've watched Coronation Street since the late 70's and I love it! I have every episode from April 1976 to the present day other than five missing episodes which I keep looking for! (I used to watch Eastenders in the early years but lost interest in it by the mid 2000s) Over the last few years I've been re-watching the old episodes starting from 1976 and I'm now right up at 1992. I hope to plough through a lot more this year! I'm a big fan of the Barlows, the Platts, the Connors...favourite recent characters are Peter Barlow, Steve McDonald and Carla Connor.
https://coronationstreet.fandom.com/wiki/Coronation_Street_Wiki
https://www.itv.com/hub/coronation-street/1a0694
6) An excuse to binge watch reality TV!
Having got my hands on long awaited dvd box sets of Deadliest Catch and Gold Rush, I think it might be time to binge watch series like this from the start! I can't remember which series I last watched for Gold Rush plus I have the spin offs like Parker's Trail, Dave Turin's Lost Mines and Gold Rush White Water with the Dakota Boys to catch up with. I might binge watch Ax Men too if I can get the final series! Deadliest Catch is my favourite and I enjoy watching the current captains-Sig, Keith and Monty, Wild Bill, Jake A, Jake H and Casey. I do miss Andy and Johnathan and the Time Bandit!
https://www.discoveryuk.com/series/deadliest-catch-sig-hansen-legacy/
7) An excuse to watch my favourite films!
In the mornings while I blog, I've been watching some of my favourite films like the four Jaws films, The Mummy, Star Wars 4-6, Jurassic Park/World, Harry Potter etc. I thonk it might be time to revisit other favourite series that I'm not fully caught up with like Saw, Predator, Jeepers Creepers, Halloween, Final Destination, Anaconda, The Hunger Games, Die Hard, Jumanji, Rocky, Rambo. I also really need to catch up with films I haven't seen like the Purge series, The Expendables, Fantastic Beasts, the superhero films and a ton more.
8) An excuse to plough through documentaries from YouTube!
Last year I watched all the political documentaries that I'd downloaded over the last few years-though I've still to watch the US election ones-and I'm currently watching Royal related docs, State Opening of Parliament, Jubilee celebrations and Royal weddings and funerals. I still have quite a few to watch but I'm devoting a couple of nights a week to getting through the rest of them. I still have a ton of military ones to watch-the wars, SAS Who Dares Wins, the behind the scenes of army, navy and air force basic training, specialist training courses for submarines and special forces etc.
9) An excuse to catch up on my news scrapbook!
The last thing in my news scrapbook was the London 2012 Paralympics! It is very time consuming-first I cut out every article of interest from the daily newspapers. Months or years later I look at them again and discard any that no longer interest me or have proven to be fake stories. Then I read each article and cut out the interesting paragraphs, discarding the rest, and put the cuttings into categories like sport, politics, royalty, special events. After that I start piecing all the stories together like a gigantic jigswa puzzle, trying to fill all the gaps, which takes forever! This virus lockdown is an excuse to get on with catching up every afternoon. This week alone I have completed sticking in September, October and November 2012, and I'm really happy with that! Lots more to do though...
10) An excuse not to go out!
All my friends are online so I have no 'real world' friends to miss meeting up with! The few I stayed in touch with from school vanished when I got depression. I'm not a social animal, I hate going out unless I have to, so the actual lockdown isn't really bothering me from that point of view. I'm happy to stay indoors and wait it out.
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