'The Novak Djokovic nonsense has spoiled the start of the Australian Open'
| Published date | 14 January 2022 |
Did Novak think the rules didn’t apply to him just because he’s the defending champion and could just turn up in Melbourne, where people are dying of COVID
Or did he think he’s bigger than the Australian Open
In all the messy, angry to-ing and fro-ing I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Novak’s mum Dijana holding a press conference to defend him.
Imagine if I’d done that when our Robert was a player and got in to one of his scrapes It would never have happened, not just because Rob was never as high profile or well liked as Novak sorry Rob! – but because I’d have kept my advice to him private.
If Robert had not had his jab and felt he should enter a country which has been strict on COVID restrictions, I’d have called him up and said: “You doughnut”.
Not that Robert would have taken a blind bit of notice.
Wonderful cards from good friends
One of my favourite Christmas gifts is a special box which says “Val’s box of happiness”. In it are special keepsakes so if ever I feel a bit down, I can open it to find guaranteed cheerer uppers.
Your letters are in there, and to everyone who sent me Christmas cards I can’t thank you enough.
The ones containing Tena Ladies made me laugh, the ones with chocolate lasted only a few minutes and in all of them the sentiments offered are really beautiful.
But a card from one lady in particular, called Anne, stands out.
She and her daughter Dee handmade a card with five gold rings for health, family, friends, hope and the NHS. It is so lovely it made me cry.
I feel as if we’re all friends.
Wouldn’t it be great if, in a world where there was no COVID or old age mobility problems, we could all have a good old get-together I like to imagine we would chat, laugh, cry and sing all day. And we’d enjoy double helpings of jam roly poly all round.
The little things now feel special
At the start of every year I used to make a mental list of plans, hopes and goals.
This year I didn’t because I think 2022 is going to be exactly like last year.
It seems we will have to get used to living with COVID and all the different strains it throws at us. We’ll be sensible, we will not panic, and the vast majority of us will not break any rules.
It’s up to us to make the most of what we’ve got and what we can do. We can always turn Motown records up loud and dance as wildly as our creaking bodies allow.
We can watch...
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