Week 50 Hard Lockdown...Again!

 Week 50

Well, here we go again. There was a Special Press Conference last night to make the announcement.

My understanding (which can be lost in translation) is that they are worried about the speed of the the Omicron variant AND are not yet certain of how sick it is going to make people. They decided to act now, rather than wait 10 days only to find that it is worse than expected.

Janny's Mum wanted to celebrate her 89th Birthday today, but it can't go ahead. The maximum number of visitors to a household is 2 and it may be increased to 4 for Christmas only.

I'm the 2nd oldest in the family and so I was not going to the lunchtime gathering I reckon I have been lucky up to now and didn't want to push it... I'm booked in for my Booster shot on Tuesday.

The Netherlands is going back into lockdown from Sunday morning in an effort to buy time to head off the impact of the Omicron version of coronavirus. The lockdown, involving the closure of schools and higher education, all non-essential shops, schools and colleges, and cultural institutions, will come into effect from 5am on Sunday morning. 

The aim, health minister Hugo de Jonge said, is to win time to give as many people as possible time to get a booster injection and to find out how sick people can become with the Omicron variant so hospitals can prepare. 

Prime minister Mark Rutte said the new lockdown is unavoidable given the wave of infections which will hit the Netherlands in the coming weeks. ‘We have to take measures now as a precaution,’ he said. ‘We have to keep ahead of the wave that is coming our way’. 

The new rules include an ‘urgent recommendation’ that households welcome no more than two guests over the age of 13 within a 24 hour period, apart from on the three days of the Christmas holiday and on New Year’s day. Schools, colleges and universities, and after school clubs, will all close immediately, and should prepare for remote learning in the first week after the holidays officially end. All indoor sports will also stop. Outdoor sports can continue up to 5pm, while professional sports matches will continue, without spectators.

It doesn't take long...

The Hema shop in Oosterwolde already has this notice in the window..

(worst is the sausage - which is rather nice in a soft bread roll with mustard and mayonnaise) ("our shop is closed").

In Serious News...

Boeke had a haircut...

Health Matters...

I have just a handful of very dear friends, so it was quite unsettling to hear of health problems - a triple by-pass in one case and a pacemaker in another.

I keep walking...and enjoy it ever so much - sometimes with Boeke, sometimes without - he slows me down when he sniffs out every tree and likely "best spot for a poop". I am reminded again of the billboard in South Melbourne many, many years ago "Old Age catching up? Walk faster!".

Over the last month, I have been thankful for our health insurance - we are able to pay the highest rate which includes dental - I'm having to get a new bridge with maybe another implant. I've just had new glasses (health insurance). I'm also in the process of getting a hearing aid...I've put it off for too long, fearing that I would not be able to listen to my audio books - but there are now bluetooth hearing aids that can be connected to my phone. They've probably been around for ages but I wasn't aware of them. 

I have noticed that I am more deaf in Dutch than English - I assume that is because the brain can process it better and interpret what is being said. I remember Mum being deaf at a young age and saying "yes" and hoping that she was giving the right answer...I'm also doing that a fair bit. So, time to bite the bullet.

I went to the KNO doctor at the hospital (Keel, Neus, Oor - Throat, Nose, Ear). He gave me the all clear in that there is nothing else wrong - so I can go ahead and get the hearing aid.

"My" heart doctor at the hospital also gave me the all clear for another 12 months. 

And another bowel cancer test sent off in the mail...

Finally, a new government..

In one of my Dutch podcasts the formation of the new government was being talked about. It has taken almost 300 days since the last election!

The Government Cabinet had "resigned" over another matter - people had been receiving benefits that they weren't entitled to and were labelled by the taxation department as frauds and criminals. An investigation revealed that the taxation department was at fault

(I suspect that there was probably some fraud - but a lot of the recipients were of an ethnic background and may not have fully known. I think of the Child Benefit allowance that we got for Ben - we saved it all for his education, but I never once thought of checking to see if we were getting the right amount). Anyway, the Cabinet resigned over that and everybody has been in an "Acting" capacity since...and things just kept going!

So, it has taken that long to sort out all the compromises and coalitions between the vaious parties.

One of the best things to come (back) in is the abolition of Student Loans for Education. Ben had such a wonderful experience with subsidised accommodation, travel assistance, university fees - all catered for. But it was scrapped and kids/parents had to take out student loans. I really did think it was a backward step for the society as a whole - it is now going back to the way it was for Ben.

There are many other things proposed by the new government, of course, but this one just seemed to be a no-brainer for me...

One of the things under scrutiny is the Health Sector - it is nearly a third of the whole Budget. They haven't specified any cuts as yet.

We just have to keep going...

So many things to worry about....the Ukraine, Global Warming, Democracy under threat.

I worry about America in particular, as they have a way of taking us all down, particularly in finance...

...but we keep going

Some things take a while (cont.)...

About 6 years ago, we moved the day workshop area from one of the apartments to "out the back"... I needed to make a doorway through a wall that I had built with Grant years ago.

I never quite got to finishing off the architrave because of all the weird angles... 

I was thinking of things for Tjeerd to do inside...

And a place to hang our "coffee's ready" bell.

He was also creative outside...

...and I was able to get back to my boat stuff...

I can't seem to get rid of the discolouring, but the Owatrol oil is giving a nice finish - just have to see how it lasts over the summer - it should be easy to keep oiling it regularly.

Christmas Greetings

Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year - as we enter our 3rd year of Covid!

and glad to be getting the Winter Solstice behind us...