Happy March but what a week it’s been. This coronavirus has us all of a dither. Now you’ve got to think twice before giving a hug let alone a kiss and as for a handshake – no thank you. At last ‘air kissing’ is not just for lovies! Although when it comes to the bit and you know the people involved thoughts of viruses slip away. But is this wise. You could be excused for thinking it’s the end of civilisation as we know it but that is way over the top. The impact will come as people self- quarantine for two weeks even if they cough or sneeze in the normal way and when they do shut themselves away business, shops, medical practices and schools will suffer from short staffing.
Having said that there will be those people who will suffer badly because of coronavirus and that alone makes it vital that we take care to take every precaution, to be in control of ourselves and our behaviour for the sake of others.
Surely before making announcements about masks and hand sanitisers the government should have made sure the shops and chemists knew about this and had time to stock up. Try getting a face mask, try getting antibacterial hand gel – you won’t. Even churches are taking precautions. Holy water being removed from fonts and the exchange of greetings with a hand shake is being stopped. A friend of mine who didn’t really know the routine was handshaking all round her recently but instead of saying ‘peace be with you’ she was greeting everyone with ‘pleased to meet you’!
Following the advice of the Public Health Authority seems the best way to go – be sensible, hygienic, stay in if you don’t feel well just as you would in normal times. The only place on earth the virus hasn’t reached is Antartica but I haven’t been able to source a hotel let alone a flight!
I’ll just make do with Jorge and his icy blasts. Like all things, these problems will come to pass. The sooner the better. I wonder will Eurovision be cancelled!
Boris Johnson hasn’t been showing much interest in the dreadful floods, especially terrible in the Welsh valleys, which seem to be slipping out of the spotlight despite the fact they are as awful as ever but then his attention has been on his new wife to be and the mother of his child. He’ll do anything to divert attention from serious matters of state and Pretti Patel
Some time ago I was contacted by Joe in Clonard Belfast asking If I could find out if there was a programme on television in the early 60s. called The O’Haras. Well Joe, I did try and asked a lot of colleagues who worked in the media in the 60s without any success, no one knew of such a programme, the only reference I can find is to a woman called Quinn O’Hara born in Edinburgh and appeared mostly on American television at that time, she died in 2017 aged 76 years of age. If any readers can help Joe please let me know. My comments facility on the Blog has been disabled because I was fed up getting so many offers of wrap around sunglasses and Ugg boots! anne1hailes@gmail.com is the way to make contact.
Advice
So many of the programmes I produced both on BBC radio and Ulster Television concerned giving advice and as a result I love collecting little nuggets of information.
In no particular order I’d like to give you a note of some of them in the hope they will be useful. Most come from readers and friends although I worked this one out for myself when I was waiting for a luncheon date to arrive. I felt terrible but there was no mirror about so I looked into the face of my mobile phone to see if there was a reflection but there wasn’t then I had the brainwave of taking a selfie and there as plain as day was the evidence – not great but at least I was able to re-do the coal pencil round my eyes for a little definition in a pale face!
I was telling someone this and she said that if she couldn’t read the small print on a prescription drug leaflet she would take a photo on her phone and then zoom in. Result!
Washing makeup brushes is a painstaking job, foundation especially is oily and hard to remove. So you’ll get a much quicker and better result if you wash the brush in shampoo. A little hot water and a squirt of shampoo and the result is terrific.
Years ago top models would have their own makeup tricks. Foundation, a puff of translucent powder and another application of foundation and another puff of powder, then blusher and your face is perfect all day. To stop it having too much of a matt look, they then took a sponge, squeezed it in cold water and patted their face to give a dewy look. Worked well but nowadays there are lovely spray bottles with rose or lavender water to get that moist look with a pretty smell but they come at a cost. We all tried to look like the film stars of the time but none of us held a candle to Sophia Loren who was and is the most stunning of them all.
Oscar Wilde remarked “The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.” Not good for the figure when it comes to sweets. I thought I had the answer when I was given a box of luscious chocolates at Christmas so, to resist temptation, I put them in the deep freeze! Worked well for a few days but then I overcame my desires to loose weight and thought I’ll just take a couple out and thaw them, just a couple, no harm. So I went to the freezer opened the box, took one out and squeezed it and low and behold none of them had frozen at all! I had a lovely evening with my surprise treat!
There’s one thing I would preach and that’s to look behind you. In the house, in town, in school, at social events. First of all if you look behind you you might well find a lipstick lying under your chair, a credit card could have slipped out of your pocket. No matter where you are it’s a good idea to take a backward glance to make sure. Even thought the days are lengthening, I find these evenings it’s lovely to light a candle on the table but it’s very easy to leave the room and perhaps just go on upstairs to bed forgetting that it’s still burning. Safety is paramount and a look behind after you’ve turned off the light can save a terrible accident.
Tasty Stuffing
I loved the idea sent to me by Joan, I have tried it and it works. She uses a role of garlic bread to make stuffing for chicken and pork fillet and she says, if you’re in a hurry just gently fry it a little butter and serve it crisp. She has an Aga cooker and tells me that if you put three coins on the simmering plate you can leave your saucepan on a lot longer for a more gentle slow cook.
Another idea from Pauline who advocates drinking a couple of litres of water every day. She makes it easy for herself by using an empty litre bottle (coke is good) and filling it with water and a little elderberry cordial and drinking it squeezing the bottle gently to help the water go down.
This idea I saw in a magazine. When you’re clearing out the interior of your car use soft plasticine or putty to get in between the cracks allowing the dust and bits of debris to stick to it. Hand hoovers don’t get into the corners and brushes only disperse the dust but this way it all adheres to the putty.
Keep a slice of onion in the fridge to keep the air fresh, spray a little WD 40 on the chain’s of roller blinds for smooth running and develop a childs visual memory by asking them to tell you their route to school tree by tree, shop by shop. Unlikely to be able to tell you there and then, so give them a week’s grace and tell them you’ll ask again. If they accept your challenge they will begin to see and remember, a great exercise.
And if you’re at a book signing, just get the authors signature without a dedication – much more sellable in future times.
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