Azamara Cruisers - How are things where YOU are

[Grandma Cruising]

We had a lovely dawn the other day - it’s not often we do, although we do get some lovely sunsets. The photo below is from the riverside in our village and I must give credit to our local paper, The Hull Daily Mail, for it. We did see the sunrise from our bedroom though.

 

The vaccine has started being rolled out here in the UK. It’s currently being given to the over 80s, health workers in hospitals, care workers and residents in care homes. My DH is in the next group (in England) - over 75s - we hope that might be in January.

[Bloodaxe]

6 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

We had a lovely dawn the other day - it’s not often we do, although we do get some lovely sunsets. The photo below is from the riverside in our village and I must give credit to our local paper, The Hull Daily Mail, for it. We did see the sunrise from our bedroom though.

 

The vaccine has started being rolled out here in the UK. It’s currently being given to the over 80s, health workers in hospitals, care workers and residents in care homes. My DH is in the next group (in England) - over 75s - we hope that might be in January.

 

We also  saw it from about 50 Miles inland from you, Spectacular.

 

 

[Werangels]

We are home today from a staycation on the North Norfolk coast.  We stayed in a lodge just behind Holkham beach, something we haven’t done for years.  The weather was cold and wet at times as you would expect at this time of year but it didn’t stop us having lots of lovely walks with our dog.  We were surprised how much we enjoyed it.  Some photos below of some of the places we visited.
 

Sandringham is the Queen’s favourite home and where the family spend Christmas, apart from this year as she is setting the example and staying put at Windsor.  Although closed, it was lovely to walk around the grounds and visit the gift shop.  
 

 

 

 

We enjoyed a tractor trailer tour at Holkham Hall.  The 25,000 acre estate has a herd of 400-500 fallow deer.

 

 

 

Holkham beach is magnificent.  Huge, stunning and backed by a wonderful Scots Pine forest and England’s largest national nature reserve.  It is also where the Household Regiment Mounted Cavalry holiday each Summer with over 100 horses and 200 cavalrymen.  They use the beach for training.  It’s a fantastic sight to see and is always featured on our regional news.
 

 

 

 

We also took a boat trip out to Blakeney Point to see the seals and their pups.  It is home to the largest grey seal colony in England.  They are expecting 4000 pups to be born between November and January.  
 

 

 

 

 

We had some wonderful meals.  We visited Morton Hall one evening; Galton Blackiston has held his Michelin star for 18 years and it was superb.

 

 

Hope you all enjoy the photos.

 

 

[Baynanno1]

4 hours ago, Werangels said:

We are home today from a staycation on the North Norfolk coast.  We stayed in a lodge just behind Holkham beach, something we haven’t done for years.  The weather was cold and wet at times as you would expect at this time of year but it didn’t stop us having lots of lovely walks with our dog.  We were surprised how much we enjoyed it.  Some photos below of some of the places we visited.
 

Sandringham is the Queen’s favourite home and where the family spend Christmas, apart from this year as she is setting the example and staying put at Windsor.  Although closed, it was lovely to walk around the grounds and visit the gift shop.  
 

 

 

 

We enjoyed a tractor trailer tour at Holkham Hall.  The 25,000 acre estate has a herd of 400-500 fallow deer.

 

 

 

Holkham beach is magnificent.  Huge, stunning and backed by a wonderful Scots Pine forest and England’s largest national nature reserve.  It is also where the Household Regiment Mounted Cavalry holiday each Summer with over 100 horses and 200 cavalrymen.  They use the beach for training.  It’s a fantastic sight to see and is always featured on our regional news.
 

 

 

 

We also took a boat trip out to Blakeney Point to see the seals and their pups.  It is home to the largest grey seal colony in England.  They are expecting 4000 pups to be born between November and January.  
 

 

 

 

 

We had some wonderful meals.  We visited Morton Hall one evening; Galton Blackiston has held his Michelin star for 18 years and it was superb.

 

 

Hope you all enjoy the photos.

 

 

Lovely photos . . . little wonder you enjoyed your break . . . sunny days are not everything . . . loads of soul soothing nature in your photos . . . and the menu is mouth watering! ☺️

[Mackdogmolly]

7 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

We had a lovely dawn the other day - it’s not often we do, although we do get some lovely sunsets. The photo below is from the riverside in our village and I must give credit to our local paper, The Hull Daily Mail, for it. We did see the sunrise from our bedroom though.

 

The vaccine has started being rolled out here in the UK. It’s currently being given to the over 80s, health workers in hospitals, care workers and residents in care homes. My DH is in the next group (in England) - over 75s - we hope that might be in January.

Beautiful photo! The vaccine has just arrived in my state as well, in limited quantities and the rollout criteria is similar. I think we are adding people with chronic medical conditions into the first wave. Hoping we over 70s will be vaccinated at least in the first quarter.

Betsey

[Grandma Cruising]

Looks like you had a lovely time, Werangels. Thanks for the photos.

Interesting to hear that your vaccine roll out is similar to ours, Betsey.

 

[Mackdogmolly]

14 hours ago, Baynanno1 said:

Lovely photos . . . little wonder you enjoyed your break . . . sunny days are not everything . . . loads of soul soothing nature in your photos . . . and the menu is mouth watering! ☺️

Agree! Thanks for sharing!

[Baynanno1]

Sad news for followers of the iconic Sydney - Hobart yacht race which starts at lunchtime on Boxing Day each year and especially for those who have spent much of the past year preparing for the event.

 

Due to an outbreak of Covid-19 in Sydney, the race has been cancelled.

 

Better safe than sorry, so spread is being prevented as much as possible by this cancellation and closure of several borders, only recently reopened.

Sad news especially for all those Tasmanian businesses looking to get back on their feet following the recent reopening of the state border.

[Mackdogmolly]

2 hours ago, Baynanno1 said:

Sad news for followers of the iconic Sydney - Hobart yacht race which starts at lunchtime on Boxing Day each year and especially for those who have spent much of the past year preparing for the event.

 

Due to an outbreak of Covid-19 in Sydney, the race has been cancelled.

 

Better safe than sorry, so spread is being prevented as much as possible by this cancellation and closure of several borders, only recently reopened.

Sad news especially for all those Tasmanian businesses looking to get back on their feet following the recent reopening of the state border.

Sorry to hear. So many beloved events have been cancelled in this time of COVID. And hard times for so many businesses. Hoping for better times in the new year.

Betsey

[sailor554]

On 10/30/2020 at 5:18 PM, Grandma Cruising said:

That’s brilliant! 

Melbourne, with its strict lock down, came out brilliantly with no community transmissions for 50 days.  Queensland and most other states except NSW have been similar.  NSW has had a recent problem with a US sourced variant affecting the areas just north of Sydney with a lock down resulting.  The good results have been attributed to an assertive government response and good compliance to requirements by residents.  I expect Australia to be one of the first countries to open touring but restricted to a few locations

[sailor554]

1 hour ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Sorry to hear. So many beloved events have been cancelled in this time of COVID. And hard times for so many businesses. Hoping for better times in the new year.

Betsey

For a person who has been in many Sydney to Hobarts it is a sad day.  But the CYCA made a very responsible decision and were not driven by sentiment or politics

 

[sailor554]

On 10/18/2020 at 6:08 PM, Grandma Cruising said:

When I got up this morning and looked outside, the morning sun was catching the Sycamore Maple and Cherry trees that are on common land outside our house. They were looking beautiful in their autumn colours.

It really looks wonderful - I am glad you enjoyed your time there

[Grandma Cruising]

5 hours ago, sailor554 said:

It really looks wonderful - I am glad you enjoyed your time there

I’m here all the time - the photo is taken from our just outside our lounge window. Looks very different now, trees are bare.

[nordski]

These are your cliche white Christmas photos as we have received about 10 cm.overnight  and, as the pictures may suggest, snow is still falling.

 

Perhaps these scenes will serve to lift spirits as we are firmly in the grip of a second wave of the virus and further restrictions will be introduced on the 27th.

 

Regardless, we hope everyone has positive thoughts on this day and that they can dream of future cruise adventures.

[Mackdogmolly]

Beautiful, Nordski!! It’s 61 degrees F. in Burlington, Vermont this morning, so sadly, no white Christmas for us. Wishing everyone peace, health, and happiness in the coming year as we put this such difficult one behind us.

Betsey

[Grandma Cruising]

Lovely photos Nordski. We also had snow early on Christmas Day morning, but it was very little and as the ground was wet it didn’t settle!

 

[nordski]

5 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Lovely photos Nordski. We also had snow early on Christmas Day morning, but it was very little and as the ground was wet it didn’t settle!

 

Since you and Mackdogmolly have a shortage of snow, and we have a significant surplus, it only makes sense that we offer you what has accumulated and is still piling up in our driveway.

 

Whoever gets here first can have that snow just for the cost of removal. You’ll never have a better offer! 😀

 

To prove that it’s worth the effort and that we have lots available, this photo illustrates our White Boxing Day. The plough hasn’t come through and only those whose dogs demanded an early morning walk have preceded my trek.

[Baynanno1]

9 hours ago, nordski said:

Since you and Mackdogmolly have a shortage of snow, and we have a significant surplus, it only makes sense that we offer you what has accumulated and is still piling up in our driveway.

 

Whoever gets here first can have that snow just for the cost of removal. You’ll never have a better offer! 😀

 

To prove that it’s worth the effort and that we have lots available, this photo illustrates our White Boxing Day. The plough hasn’t come through and only those whose dogs demanded an early morning walk have preceded my trek.

 

Beautiful photo!

 

We don't get snow at home and we haven't had much sun either. Lots of rain and overcast days, not typical Summer weather at all on the south coast of New South Wales. On the plus side, we are well and we do not have last year's devastating bushfires.

Family further south have been treated to snow on Mt Wellington/Kunanyi in Hobart, with pleasant sunny days on both sides of the river Derwent after rain during the week.

 

On the other side of the world from us, my sister-in-law (a doctor in a large hospital in Wales) has had her first dose of the vaccine.

Now we need to get this bug under control!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I love that pure white snow!  It's white here in Toronto too, but no great, undisturbed expanses like that.

[nordski]

12 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

I love that pure white snow!  It's white here in Toronto too, but no great, undisturbed expanses like that.

 

Yes, it is beautiful! I rarely get to see this either, except when the plough operator is on a holiday schedule. Ordinarily, the streets are cleared for school buses and commuters heading south.

 

I am not certain about the extent of migration occurring in Great Britain, the USA, Australia, and elsewhere, but here there are certainly those choosing to move to less expensive, larger homes and yards outside of the major urban areas. The reliance upon home offices seems to have really encouraged this trend.

 

I do hope that if they uproot and move to our particular microclimate that the winters do not prove too daunting.

 

And despite the natural beauty of our town, when/if downtown office towers repopulate will the commute be very attractive? 

 

It will certainly be interesting to see the pandemic's long range influence upon population patterns, particularly as there will be incentives/pressures to turn to more efficient modes of transport.

 

 

Edited December 27, 2020 by nordski

[Mackdogmolly]

3 hours ago, nordski said:

 

Yes, it is beautiful! I rarely get to see this either, except when the plough operator is on a holiday schedule. Ordinarily, the streets are cleared for school buses and commuters heading south.

 

I am not certain about the extent of migration occurring in Great Britain, the USA, Australia, and elsewhere, but here there are certainly those choosing to move to less expensive, larger homes and yards outside of the major urban areas. The reliance upon home offices seems to have really encouraged this trend.

 

I do hope that if they uproot and move to our particular microclimate that the winters do not prove too daunting.

 

And despite the natural beauty of our town, when/if downtown office towers repopulate will the commute be very attractive? 

 

It will certainly be interesting to see the pandemic's long range influence upon population patterns, particularly as there will be incentives/pressures to turn to more efficient modes of transport.

 

 

From what I have read, there has been a great exodus from the cities to the suburbs and the country in the US as well. People buying properties sight unseen. I wonder if the remote work option will outlast the pandemic. 

[nordski]

55 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

From what I have read, there has been a great exodus from the cities to the suburbs and the country in the US as well. People buying properties sight unseen. I wonder if the remote work option will outlast the pandemic. 

Good question. I am thinking there will be a whole slew of management books/articles devoted to improving the productivity and morale of remote workers. If some of the negative issues aren’t 

addressed there may be a reaction on the part of those workers.

 

I hope the books are more effective than the thousands already devoted to traditional workplaces. 

 

I also hope that not many regret their move to the suburbs and exurbs. Buying property sight unseen does not seem to be a promising strategy, and it’s not clear yet what the future holds.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Here in Toronto, Canada's largest city, residential rents have fallen quite substantially this year. That's a good thing, since they were insanely high.  Commercial rents have not yet followed suit, as far as I know, not have residential real estate prices  But if the telecommuting model catches on in a big way post-pandemic, the ripple effects will be felt in the commercial parts of the city, and in the service industries that support them.  God knows what will happen to those people--they can't just up and "move to the country", because they can't telecommute, can they?  But restaurants in droves are either gone already or struggling badly, and all those jobs will have to be regained somehow.  It's going to be one big mess, I suspect, for years to come.

[nordski]

18 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Here in Toronto, Canada's largest city, residential rents have fallen quite substantially this year. That's a good thing, since they were insanely high.  Commercial rents have not yet followed suit, as far as I know, not have residential real estate prices  But if the telecommuting model catches on in a big way post-pandemic, the ripple effects will be felt in the commercial parts of the city, and in the service industries that support them.  God knows what will happen to those people--they can't just up and "move to the country", because they can't telecommute, can they?  But restaurants in droves are either gone already or struggling badly, and all those jobs will have to be regained somehow.  It's going to be one big mess, I suspect, for years to come.

 

I certainly agree about the "mess" that will need to be addressed. For example, I've heard retailers who rent expensive retail space on the PATH in Toronto describing the complete  absence of any kind of walk-by traffic that might lead to sales. And many of our local main street shops are also in dire straits, although there was good news from a local bookstore which apparently had a very successful December despite Amazon.

 

I anticipate that once the pandemic abates every Federal and Provincial Ministry (Department) will have a ready action plan to return its affected populace back to a situation where "normalcy" can be pursued.

 

In the case of this forum, the rules/procedures will encourage some form of safe and profitable travel and tourism.

 

Will vaccination certificates be the order of the day?

 

 

Edited December 28, 2020 by nordski

[Mackdogmolly]

3 hours ago, nordski said:

Will vaccination certificates be the order of the day?

I would bet on it!!