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Can't take your eyes off them

I went to Southampton the other day and took my sister with me.  Travelling anywhere with my sister is a liability, worse than with a child.  She disappears so silently and without warning.  This means that rather than looking round the shops I am constantly watching her.  After we had been shopping for a couple of hours, she said, 'I have bought loads of things and you haven't bought anything.'  No, I wonder why.  We made our way back to the railway station and got on the train, which wasn't due to leave for another ten minutes.  Finally I could relax, she was sitting opposite me, no escape.  After about 8 minutes she asked, 'Which stop is this?'  I thought I had misheard so I asked her what she had said.  'Which stop is this?' she repeated.  'Southampton Central,' I replied.  The man sitting across the aisle exploded with laughter.  Nonplussed she said, 'it must have been the other train that was moving.'  

The UK has all the hoops one has to jump through in order to get here, locater form, negative test, day 2 test, even if you are double vaccinated, but when you arrive you realise that no-one is wearing a mask, social distancing, using test and trace or asking for negative tests or vaccination certificates.  It is as though the virus has just disappeared and everything is back to normal - except you still can't see a GP.  Crazy.

There are shortages in the supermarkets, not serious ones, just annoying ones, and prices have gone through the roof.  A cup of coffee and a cup of tea cost us £7.50 in Southampton.

My son, who has learning disabilities, has invited people to a birthday lunch at a quasi American diner.  After some effort on my part I now (hopefully) have worked out who is coming.  So who is Bella?  I guess we will find out.

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