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  Backwards -  dociousaliexpilisticfragilcalirupus !!   My brother, sister and myself spent days learning this when we were kids, and I've never forgotten it 

  He was a lovable rogue, so sad to hear this news.  I grew up watching him on TV.

  Same here, I turned my heating off a few weeks ago.  I grew up in Ireland in the 60s/70s, also with no central heating and a lot of strikes when the power went off for days at a time. If we were cold, we were told to put another jumper on.  My Mother was great for knitting and crocheting, and to this day, I still have some of her blankets which I throw over my legs when I get cold - there's nothing like the heat that comes from real wool.   I have some cooking and baking to do over the weekend and I've already made a mental note of what I need to prepare earlier, so I can cook them all in the oven at around the same time, to save turning the oven on more than once.    I think the older of us here have some experience, but the younger generations have never had to think about this, so this is going to be new for them and could take a little more time for them to get used to the idea of saving energy.        

  This has been talked about for weeks, I remember reading about it a month or so ago, but is only picking up traction in the media now.  Quite horrifying really, but the party faithful will continue to support Boris.

  There have been some pro-russian demonstrations in Ireland too  https://www.joe.ie/news/pro-russia-demonstration-dublin-746060  

  How often have we had posters on here not wanting to pay the GEZ because they never watch German TV or listen to German radio.  Also, I know many people living here from the UK and Ireland who watch mostly British TV or stream.  I suspect Russians that live here are exactly the same, they watch what's familiar to them, and believe it.  Putin has done well for them over the last 20 odd years, why would they think he's not doing the same now.  This is a tough situation to deal with, a bit like Germany in 1933.

  You are right, there are some foods that contain Vitamin D, but most of them, like cereals and dairy, have to be fortified with it.  Mushrooms, but only if they are grown under UV light, which most are not.  Some fish are also a good source, but should be fresh, not canned.  Eggs can help, but again, that depends on the feed and if they are free range.   It's difficult to get the right balance and to make sure you get enough, so taking a supplement makes sense.  

  I have to disagree with you here.  A lot of people are, in fact, deficient in Vitamin D, especially after a long dark winter like the one we've just had.  I would never have believed it myself until I was diagnosed with a complete lack of the vitamin and now take it regularly.  We don't get Vitamin D from food, the only efficient way is from the sun, but we all live in houses, and do office jobs and don't spend as much time outside, like our anscestors did.  We also protect ourselves from the sun with factor 50 sun cream for fear of skin cancer, which is not a bad idea.  Weather permitting, I usually leave the protection off for about 20 minutes each day, to get the benefit of the sun on my skin.    It's the only vitamin I take, the rest I get from a variety of healthy foods.

  Me too, it's really no hardship to take that extra precaution

I guess this event shows us that they are human too, with feelings and bad moods.  We expect actors and famous people to always appear as perfect as possible, to smile and be gracious to everyone around them and, in his desire to defend his wife, he over reacted.  It's a bit of a non-story really, but the media are loving it and making it last as long as they can.

  Ikea now sell fitted sheets just for this problem.  My matress plus topper comes to about 40 cm and the sheets in Ikea fit perfectly.  Just check the sizing, I think the depth is 38 or 40 cm

  Thank you fraufruit, and Anna66.   She's a healthy 29 year old, so this was a bit of a shock to the rest of the family. We all need to play it safe for a while longer. Like I said, it's a lottery as to who gets a mild case, and who doesn't.

  My daughter, who lives in Darmstadt, is just recovering from a really bad case of Covid.  She's vaccinated and boostered, but she still got a severe dose.  She's been out of action for 2 weeks now, had difficulty breathing, high temperature, headache, the works.  Thankfully, she tested negative over the weekend and sounds more like herself.  I couldn't take the risk of visiting her, but my son did some shopping, which he left outside the door and waved at her through the window.  Goodness knows what she would have been like if she hadn't been vaccinated.   This is still a lottery, most people will indeed be okay, but I know of two people just now, both vaccinated, who are suffering badly.  I believe hospitalisations would be much higher if people hadn't protected themselves.  

  I think it's become a bit of a joke now though.    I love the episode of Friends where Joey keeps doing it, but in all the wrong places

  Yes, the process is the same, but I would never say "apple jam", it's an apple sauce or an apple compote, but I really can't say why