What a break....the joys of life!

[Robin4]

I have just become a grandparent again and had to take a few weeks off and head east to help welcome the first male son into the family for the past 76 years....yeah, I was the last male born into my family 76 years ago!

Well here he is, Sailah Louie Shannon.....

He is just two weeks old in this shot and...... I am as proud as punch.

But, as we are scattered out across this large country  the family get togethers are precious so I make the most of them.

Having a drink at the bar with Ivy......

Having a crack at the Mt Keira run on the skateboard......

Helping the Grandies set up the Christmas tree.......

And of  course a few Christmas lights out the front of youngest daughter Kate's  house.....

All in all it's been a good year for us, I really wish that our good fortune had been universal, but I am sure good times are round the corner for all, a Covid vaccine appears to be not far away and I wish all my fellow contributors here a wonderful festive season! 

Cheers........Rob

[Helen3]

What lovely photos @Robin4  Rob and what a lovely family. I am glad you are getting to enjoy the festive season together.

Sadly we have just been through a month of lockdown here in England and my area has just gone into Tier 3 - our most strict local tier so I am unable to see family or friends - which is such a struggle, particularly at this time of year when we would normally be having Christmas events and parties.

But working for our NHS I know if we don't do this our health system will struggle to cope and this will affect the care we can give for our most vulnerable over the winter period.

We are having a period from 23-27 December when we can meet up with our families...I cannot wait 🙂

Helen 

[Robin4]

@Helen3  Helen, I am so sorry to hear that.

Here in our state we had 5 months without a community transmission and we started to get a bit cavalier about the whole pandemic thing, life went back to normal. All of a sudden we had the virus escape from expats quarantine, and in the space of 12 hours on Sunday 15th November had 17 community transmissions. The virus was once again in our community and there was shock horror! The government put the whole state into immediate total lockdown....nobody was allowed to leave their houses.....no walking the dog, no exercise, no nothing....stay indoors!

Six days later there are 4,000 people in quarantine but there have been no new COVID cases reported for the last 4 days. The lockdown seemed like overkill and some businesses are demanding compensation, but the serious action taken stopped the spread of the virus in its tracks. 

I know it's a hard pill to swallow Helen  but 14 days of total lockdown gives you instant freedom from this pandemic.....it's a small price to pay. Currently in Australia there have been 8 new cases in the past 24 hours, all of them from returning overseas travelers who are in quarantine.

We here have not got this virus beaten, but borders are open within the country, travel is encouraged and we are confident that another hot-spot  will be contained before it can get out of hand.

There is an old adage Helen....'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure', and I am afraid that is correct....short sharp total curfew will get you back on the tracks again.

Good luck mate .....Cheers.......Rob  

[Helen3]

Thanks @Robin4 

Sadly here it’s not a short sharp shock. We have already been in lockdown for a month. Will be in lockdown for another two weeks at least and possibly will stay that way until. March next year (with 4 day break for up to 3 family households only at Xmas) 

So potentially five months without seeing family/friends. 

[Helen350]

Wow @Robin4 ,  @Helen3  - South Australia lockdown is TOTAL! - Here in the UK, we have been allowed unlimited exercise, & I've been climbing mountains in the Lake District with collie & LTR German next door (sadly departed to Kent in SE England yesterday.) - Up the 4th highest mountain in England last week, & some lesser peaks over the weekend. A few other locals out and about on the hills. And Brits are good at socially distanced lunch stops on the popular summits!

[Helen3]

Hello @Helen350 

You’re lucky you have such lovely local beauty spots you can access.

Here in my Tier 3 area we don’t have anything like that nearby but can still access our local parks.

For me the worst thing is worrying about my mum and dad who are suffering massively as they both have health conditions which mean they need to isolate and not being able to see my son who’s in New Zealand and can’t come over for Christmas as he won’t be able to go back.

Seeing Ron’s photos cheered me up to see there are families still able to be together during the festive season.,

[Helen3]

@Robin4  Rob even ... not Ron - apologies 😌😊😂

[Robin4]

@Helen3 

Helen, I am pretty flexible......the only thing I don't answer to is 'Bob'. I know it's possibly a bit unkind to all the lovely Bob's about but, Bob reminds me of sleazy American car salesmen!!....."Howdie sir, can't help noticing you are looking lovingly at this SUV, my names Bob, what's yours?"

So Helen, you can call me Robin, Robert, Robbo, Robby or just plain Rob.....call me Bob and you and I might have a falling out!

That's not to say I have it in for Bob's. One of the the most wonderful gentlemen to ever grace the shores of Australia was a Bob.

In 1943 he toured the world entertaining US troops in every theater of action during World War 2. He and his group were on a flight from Rubal in New Guinea to Sydney when his plane developed engine trouble just north of a town on the New South Wales north Coast called Laurieton, and the plane was forced to land at nearby Camden. Other arrangements were put in place to retrieve Bob and his party but an overnight stay was arranged in Laurieton. As an act of gratitude, Bob and his group put on a performance for the people of Laurieton which neither he or they would ever forget. Each year without fail until he died at the age of 100 Bob Hope sent a personally written card to the people of Laurieton on the anniversary of that impromptu concert.....A truly great man!

Cheers.......Rob

[Ann72]

@Robin4 ❤️❤️❤️

[Clara116]

@Robin4 how wonderful..... sweetness all around.... great photos and finally a boy...I just know you are super joyous. The skateboard pic is a trip...and u were working it as we say here! The ppl here are sometimes nuts and still say that COVID 19 is a hoax....can u imagine! Even some family members that refuse masks wearing so of course we avoid them. And there are some crazy ppl that are so sold politically that on their deathbed they continue to say...I don't have COVID....it's hard to grasp.  I say lockdown everything and make a difference...but the craziness here would riot against it. Hard to understand. 

Wishing you and yours all the best with love and hugs, Clara

[Helen350]

@Clara116 My STR guest of 7 nights (different platform!) departed yesterday, to move into my LTR, next door....  She (air) KISSED me goodbye!! She's a  senior doctor, just come from a shift at the hospital!!! (Did say she'd had Covid in February tho'....)  Perspective......

[Scott336]

@Robin4 Thank you for sharing such great photos of your new Grandson! A 76 year "streak" that had a great end! Happy Happy Holidays from Austin, Texas!

[Liv]

He's so cute, @Robin4! Congratulations ✨  I'm sure he's very lucky to have you as a grandparent.

Also, glad to hear you've been having such a great time with your family, those moments are truly precious 😊

And by the way, I must say I'm quite impressed by your skateboarding abilities (personally I'm far too uncoordinated for that). Have you been riding it long?

[Nick]

He is so precious @Robin4 and there is an undoubtful resemblance with his granddad 😁

We certainly missed you around here, but we are thrilled to see you have such beautiful moments with your family!

It is priceless right now, take it from someone who hasn't been able to see family for months, nor will do for the holidays (and beyond).

It feels excellent seeing parts of the world that live in a very-close-to-normal state again, so thank you for the reminder! And cherish every moment with them 😊

[Kelly149]

@Robin4 Beautiful all! Blessings!