A new Covid wave (our fifth wave) is hitting The Netherlands now. The fourth (Delta) variant wave is going down but Omicron is radically on the rise, which means a fifth Covid wave has already started. A full lockdown here is now deemed necessary with this newest wave as Omicron is more aggressive than other variants have been. We’re listening to a last minute press conference right now, announcing this. Everything is closing down: all non-essential shops, schools, theatres, museums, restaurants (only take away or delivery will remain possible) etc.
This afternoon we had a nice high tea at a restaurant with my inlaws to already celebrate mini-me’s birthday (which is tomorrow). We did high tea instead of dinner because restaurants already had to close at 5 pm.
We were able to do this little party just in time, as of tomorrow this would be impossible. When will this Covid nightmare end?
The Book of Esther 
Sorry to hear that the fifth wave is already on the rise in NL. But if I am honest, I actually wish the Irish government had some balls and would impose a lockdown now, too. Or would’ve imposed it weeks ago so that Christmas can still be enjoyed by families. Instead we have to keep pubs, hotels and restaurants open because their lobby is putting pressure on the gov. Only a matter of time until Omikron has the first victims here, too. – I am just frustrated with all of this, and I can’t help thinking that stricter measures at the beginning of the year, as well as free vaccination EVERYWHERE in the world (particularly the countries that can’t otherwise afford to vaccinate their population), would’ve avoided this never-ending disaster. Sorry for the rant.
A very happy birthday to your daughter, though. How nice that you were able to get the family together before the lockdown!
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Free vaccination everywhere in the world is soooo important! Yes, it’s tough on restaurants and hotels and also on so many shops, especially right before Christmas but what else can you do if you don’t want medical care to be overwhelmed and if you don’t want too many people dying? I understand the need for this lockdown, especially because there are so many unknowns with this variant, but my goodness, when will this cycle ever end?
Thanks for the birthday wishes. 🙂
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The NL actually made it as the first report on NBC News tonight. Kind of a shock. The Ivies started sending home their students early, and that was the canary in the coal mine last time — looks like we’re heading for a return to remote learning (my spring classes are all remote already anyway). I’ve canceled my Xmas plans (very meager anyway), and tonight I’m watching Indiscreet on TCM (your kind of movie) to stay calm. Ugh.
I’ve glad you were able to squeeze that last tea in. I wonder when we’ll emerge again and how things will look.
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Yes, we seem to be making headlines everywhere, also on the BBC and in Germany.
Indiscreet – I really like that movie! Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant are gold together. 🙂
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I’m starting to wonder if current circumstances are going to change my viewing preferences completely! (Except afterwards I watched a five part series on John Demjanjuk, so more normal Servetus behavior.)
It was a really good movie and in some ways risqué for 1958 ahd the Hays Code. Cary Grant in Ingrid Bergman’s bedroom while she was in her pajamas. The jokes about him thinking he’s not letting the building know that he’s in her space. They were great together and the supporting cast was quietly funny. And just the right length. I’ve been thinking lately that maybe i don’t dislike rom-coms — just loooong rom-coms.
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A Xmas rom-com where you Serv.!
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A Xmas rom-com for you Serv.!
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I like rom-coms where the couple fights horribly in the first fifteen minutes, ending the film. LOL.
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The War of the Roses (from the 1980s) may be for you, then. 😉 If I recall correctly the couple fights for two hours and it doesn’t end well. Although, two hours fighting might be too long as well…
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I saw that in the cinema when it came out, with a girlfriend. I remember we were really shocked. It was before I’d had any kind of significant romantic relationship at all. Haven’t seen it since then. But yeah, I don’t feel the need to watch people fight for two hours, either. I just finally saw “Marriage Story” on Netflix and I found the fights incredibly exhausting, to the point of being unrealistic. Have you seen it? There’s a fight that’s like the climax of the film, and I thought “no one would be able to take that in real life — someone would either walk away or die of apoplexy.”
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No, I haven’t seen it precisely because of the things you said, I had read those things elsewhere as well. Not sure I want to brave that.
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LOL! Yes, Demjanjuk is something very different! Was the series documentary or dramatization? Would interest me too.
Yes, Indiscreet really skirts the edges of the Hays code. I’ve watched it several times and would do so again in a heartbeat. LOL on romcom length. 🙂
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It was on Netflix and called “The Devil Next Door.” It gets good viewer ratings. I liked it because it connected a lot of dots for me — that trial went on for most of my adult life, and so I didn’t have a good idea of how different episodes of the story were connected. In the last two parts, I felt like it got a little more “conspiracy-ish” than I would have liked. But there were two points I really liked — one where they interviewed Demanjuk’s former boss — I thought what he said was very perceptive — and the very end, where they make the point (albeit somewhat broadly) that the US prosecuted / prosecutes former Nazis / war criminals when it’s convenient. Also, they show a lot of original footage from the Israeli trials that I had never seen.
I’m going to be losing TCM at the end of the year (cutting the cord, finally) and I may be developing a minor interest in Cary Grant just at the wrong time!
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I think I’ll check that Demjanjuk thing out as well. It remains a fascination to try and understand that period in time, especially such a well known, controversial figure who maintained that he was innocent. Thanks for the info.
Ah, Cary Grant! Yeah, he has some good ones. Have you tried his Hitchcocks yet? I tend to like those best. My absolute fave of his is Notorious, also with Ingrid Bergman.
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I don’t love Hitchcock, but who knows what I’ll watch next (something seems to be shifting for me in this regard). I’ll check out “Notorious.”
My usual MO with classic cinema is that I’m doing something else and then turn it on to keep me company, so to speak. Or else late nights when my nerves are finished. So TCM was perfect for that. I don’t know if the interest will survive having to choose or organize that watching more than I have. I’ve been thinking about getting Criterion Channel, but it’s $12.99 / month — I feel like for that much I’d have to really *love* those films. It’s almost like an investment in a research project.
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I don’t love everything Hitchcock but there are some that I do and Notorious is definitely one of them.
I don’t know Criterion (not available here) but just checked their website and they have some interesting movies, although not all the great classics. I especially like that they have a silent movie collection! I have seen too few of those and would definitely be tempted to watch some of them.
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I like that they have a lot of supporting documentation. Off and on I see a film on TCM and I would like to know more beyond what the host says about it, and the info just isn’t available outside of specialized literature / books that I don’t have casual access to. I think, like everyone, that they have licensing issues. For example, TCM owns the whole Warner and MGM back catalogs, and they do license to streamers (I think) but we’re far away from a situation where you’d have access to everything. And even when TCM does their “month of stars” or whatever they call it in August, they can’t show every film that a particular artist made if it’s outside of their licensing / ownership.
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Yes, this rights thing sucks. I wish for old movies (like, say, 50 years or older), it was just available everywhere.
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Totally agree.
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oops: should be clear that it’s a documentary.
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On a brighter note Esther the high tea looks grand and it was great you all got together for a pre birthday 🥳 celebration
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Thanks! It really was lovely.
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I just loved both high teas Rachel and I did ❤️😁
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“Port of shadows” (1938) ‘Quai des brumes” on C8 French TV to watch this afternoon.
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I read in the paper today that your princess Amalia didn’t have the same restrained party that your daughter had. Frustrating!
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I take it she only had 20 guests that were tested extra and outdoors, that wouldn’t be so problematic to me. Other reports say she had 100 guests – that would be a different story.
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Possibly not a fair comparison — but every time I hear about lockdown violations, I think of poor Queen Elizabeth seated in a pew all by herself at her husband’s funeral. Admittedly that pushes both my “royalty” button and my “my dad just died” button, but the image just killed me.
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