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Tuesday Kaffeeklatsch 10/18/22
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Charlotte, Thanks for letting us know that your surgery went well. Sending all the wishes for a quick recovery!Theresa and BC, It was so good to see you on your return. It truly was a trip of a lifetime, made even better by doing it with a friend. I loved your stories and pictures. Thanks for taking us along with you virtually.
Yes, I'm back from England! It was a great trip, although it got off to a rough start. First my plane developed computer issues (luckily before takeoff). After making us wait for over FIVE hours (some in the plane, some in the terminal), they finally cancelled the flight and rescheduled it for the next day. This meant that I missed meeting my tour group and had the added adventure of getting myself on a train to southern England. I missed the first day of the tour - which was a visit to Agatha Christie's house - Greenway and a visit to the moors made famous in The Hound of the Baskervilles :-(
Second, when I got to England I found that I had left a rather important prescription at home. Travel Tip: Don't ever do this! It was a nightmare getting that prescription filled in England. I'll tell the whole story if you want to hear it, but suffice it to say that I now know what the inside of an English A&E (their emergency room) looks like even though this wasn't an emergency ... yet. And it involved several middle of the night phone calls.
To be continued ....
But between my tour guide and myself, I was able to pick up the prescription at a Boots pharmacy on Day 2 of the tour. Whew!The tour itself was very good. Several highlights were
- a walking tour of Oxford on a gorgeous day with a guide who was an expert in the Inspector Morse, Lewis and Endeavor series - and the books by Colin Dexter that the Morse series is based on. I looove the Endeavor series, so I hung on her every word.
- a visit to the Inns of the Court in London. https://www.guidelondon.org.uk/blog/a... All barristers in England must be members of the Inns of the Court. It's a very old system. Even seven signers of the American Declaration of Independence were members.
- A fun mystery trivia night at the Sherlock Holmes pub.
- A performance of The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie. The longest running play on the West End (or maybe in the world?)
But the best thing about the tour for me was the expert guide that we had along for the whole trip - Michael Jecks https://www.goodreads.com/author/show.... Michael's Templar mystery series was already on my TBR, and I really enjoyed the first book. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series and his other series. He really is an expert on everything Templar and knew a lot about British mysteries in general. And he is a VERY nice guy. It was a real pleasure to hang out with him for a week.
To be continued again ....
The tour was over after seven days (six for me), but my friend and I stayed for three more days in London. We took in two more musicals - Six and &Juliet - both awesome. We went to the Tower of London (but missed the Crown Jewels because the line was - no joke - several blocks long), the British Museum, the outside of Buckingham Palace, a Thames boat trip and Westminster Abbey. I've been to London before - in 2005 and 2012 - and I don't think that I have ever seen it as crowded as it was when we were there. And this is October! It must have been insanely crowded in summer. We had planned to catch taxis in a few instances, but it was pretty much impossible in most cases so we took the Tube everywhere.
The day after we got home, we both discovered that we had brought home an unwanted souvenir - Covid. This is despite both of us getting the bi-valent booster several weeks before the trip. My initial intention had been to wear a mask in all crowded situations, but frankly I got a little lax and probably only did it about half of the time. And seriously - they were all crowded situations. Plus my travel companion never wore a mask and I could have easily caught it from her. It's a mild case though - and with Paxlovid I have practically no symptoms (though I do have the lovely Paxlovid mouth thing going on - yech!). Cross your fingers for me that I don't get the boomerang effect.
Sounds like a fabulous trip and really packed. So sorry about your Covid. It has happened to multiple people I know who went on group trips recently.
So sorry about the COVID but so happy you had such a great trip.On my last visit to London - 2015 for a wedding - I spent some time wandering the Inns of Court, even took a walking tour. It is so interesting.
Robin P wrote: "Sounds like a fabulous trip and really packed. So sorry about your Covid. It has happened to multiple people I know who went on group trips recently."Yeah, I knew that I was taking a chance .....
However, if I had left after the tour I don't think that I would have caught Covid. Everybody on the tour was vaxed and boosted and we were rarely in crowded situations. Pretty sure I got it in those last three days in London.
Theresa wrote: "So sorry about the COVID but so happy you had such a great trip.On my last visit to London - 2015 for a wedding - I spent some time wandering the Inns of Court, even took a walking tour. A
It is ..."
It really is. Since you are a lawyer, I'm not surprised that you have been there. But it wasn't even on my radar before this tour so I'm glad that they took us there.
Glad you had a great trip-sorry about the souvenir you brought home-hope it stays mild for you.
Oh no! Sorry about the start and end of your trip, but the middle part sounds like a great time!
I have been wondering wether the new target booster would actually stand up to the current covid variant. I've been asking around, and nobody seems to know. You are the first person, plus your friend, to show us that in at least these two cases, it did not. Meanwhile in my book group last night, nine of the eleven women who were there, we are all "novids." We all go to restaurants, concerts, plays, crowded places. All of us have been uber exposed countless times. Small rooms with partners, superspreader events. Not one of us has gotten it, and by all rights, we should have. None of us are that careful, that we would have avoided simply by mask hygeine and saying no. Again, I think we are going to learn a lot more about immunity in the next number of years. But I will be curious to see how the new targeted vax is actually working.
Amy wrote: "I have been wondering wether the new target booster would actually stand up to the current covid variant. I've been asking around, and nobody seems to know. You are the first person, plus your frie..."I know 3 people who had the Vax and still got sick. In the first 2 years I was very cautious, as time went on I got lax, that's changing now as I see more and more people getting sick again
Two things to remember:1. Everything I have read and heard from medical professionals is that it takes a few weeks after each booster for it to be fully activated and effective in your system.
2. The vaccine and boosters are no absolute guarantee you will be immune and not get it, just limit the severity and duration if you do. Just like having had COVID once does not render you immunane and mean you cannot get it again. As has already been documented.
At some point after the Spanish Flu, people stopped wearing masks etc. The spanish flu was unlikely to have disappeared and stopped being a risk at that same time. Are we reaching same point with COVID?
Doughgirl5562 wrote: "Robin P wrote: "Sounds like a fabulous trip and really packed. So sorry about your Covid. It has happened to multiple people I know who went on group trips recently."Yeah, I knew that I was takin..."
I'm glad you had a great trip and that you didn't have it until you got home. Our neighbours went for their first ever family trip to Italy in July--he got covid and had to quarantine in the hotel room, but she and their son flew home almost right away. They'd been vaccinated. As Theresa said, vaccination has never guaranteed immunity but can help reduce the severity of symptoms for those who get it.
Amy wrote: "I have been wondering wether the new target booster would actually stand up to the current covid variant. I've been asking around, and nobody seems to know. You are the first person, plus your frie..."
I'm a novid as well, and since I have a mild but permanent side effect from the third booster shot am done. I have never gotten ill from any coronavirus in my life, so it's not worth it. I do mask up most of the time while out now for my allergies (such a boon this has been even if it looks odd now!) and only unmask in certain situations, so I am not concerned about being a carrier. I'm also not likely to be one since I have never tested positive even when people in my house get it, but better to be safe.
Theresa wrote: "Two things to remember:1. Everything I have read and heard from medical professionals is that it takes a few weeks after each booster for it to be fully activated and effective in your system.
2. The vaccine and boosters are no absolute guarantee you will be immune and not get it, just limit the severity and duration if you do. Just like having had COVID once does not render you immunane and mean you cannot get it again. As has already been documented..."
I was just going to post something similar. As with almost any vaccine, it does not guarantee you won't get whatever it is - just lessens the impact if you do. The study of virology is a key (if you want to read up on it).
Lynne .. thanks for the update on your trip. So glad you were able to catch up to the tour and had a great guide. Sorry you came home with that souvenir! Hoping that you have only a mild case and recover quickly and without additional side effects. I'm glad we were able to get together when we drove through the twin cities. Chevy's was a great choice!
Our meals with Lynne and Robin on the road trip were real highlights! It felt like dining with old friends though I had not met either in person before.
I’ve got two book related tidbits to share….Oh No! The Library is demanding I return the Hidden Palace! I will need that back soon to start it in November. But don’t worry, I am resourceful. I will get it back.
John Boyne has a new book out. It’s called All the Broken Places. Thought you guys might want to know that.
Everyone have a great Day!
Thanks for the well wishes everyone. While I'm on the Paxlovid, I have very few symptoms - except that awful taste in my mouth so am chewing a lot of mint gum.I have two people in my life who are vaccine deniers (not Covid deniers, just the vaccine). BOTH of them took this opportunity to point out that since I got Covid despite the vaccine, then the vaccine didn't do much good - did it? Sigh ....... I responded to both that the makers of the vaccine NEVER claimed to prevent all cases of Covid. The main goal of the vaccine is to prevent serious illness and it was therefore working just fine!
Also, by my observation most new Covid variants have been coming out in Europe first - and London has seemed to be a hotspot for them. So I knew going into the trip that this was a possibility and was not that surprised.
The one good thing about catching Covid is that I will now have even more antibodies - at least for a while.
Yes, once you are completely over it you can go out and party! (I guess)
Amy wrote: "I’ve got two book related tidbits to share….Oh No! The Library is demanding I return the Hidden Palace! I will need that back soon to start it in November. But don’t worry, I am resourceful. I wi..."
Or you could pay the fine if they still have them...
I am not saying this is a good practise for books that are in demand, but if it's not a popular book I have done it at times, especially if I can see that there are other copies available in my library network.
Doughgirl5562 wrote: "Also, by my observation most new Covid variants have been coming out in Europe first - and London has seemed to be a hotspot for them. So I knew going into the trip that this was a possibility and was not that surprised...."My niece went to London earlier this year and had Covid and gave it to her mother as soon as she returned.
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
The Hound of the Baskervilles (other topics)Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (other topics)
I don't think I ever replied to this question Theresa, I apologize.
Donations have been slow, which means there has not been a lot for me to put up on website. However, this week the donations have come pouring in. One spectacular donation, over 300 books from a personal library, nearly all in pristine condition, some having never been read. A lot of them were published within the last 3 years, and because of this great group of readers, I know what is "hot and what is not". I have spent the last 2 days going through them and dividing them between the website, the Lobby sales cart, and the Library itself.
Last night I sent an email to some of my regular patrons and gave them a heads up that new books would be going up on the week-end. Two of them emailed me back right away, asked me to friend on GR's and look at their TBR-if I had anything there they would buy them before I gave anyone else a chance-LoL! Sold 30 books today without having to do much work.
😁-It was a good day in used books sales