Month: April 2020

Just as yesterday didn’t feel Sunday-like, today didn’t feel Monday-like, either. None of that dread of work or challenging tasks to do, for us!! We can swan about within our own four walls (or within the garden hedge confines) and do as we please.

And, as there was no Freddie visit today – which, of course, hasn’t happened for weeks – there were no plans to entertain him or be entertained by him. No Paw Patrol or Mister Maker; no making cakes or kaleidoscopes; no climbing the imaginary mountain into the loft with a little picnic, or creating a den magically lit full of little candles; no hugs and no kisses. The sandpit, newly filled in readiness for Spring fun, stays closed; the paddling pool waits to be filled and paddled in and the little ‘forest’ at the bottom of the garden is devoid of a high-pitched, chattering little voice.

No, no responsibility for a little one today….. nor next week, or the week after that, or for the foreseeable…….. and the swanning about, the doing as we please, doesn’t have the same thrill to it that it might normally have.

The lock down gets no easier just because we are four weeks in. I am not used to it; and I have not yet shaken off the sense of bereavement. Our lives used to be so full of the family coming and going, Sunday lunches, staying over, leaving the children with us, leaving the dogs with us, or us going to stay at theirs, to look after the grandchildren while the adults were away. None of that now, and it’s taking some getting used to.

But we busy ourselves, nonetheless. For a start, there’s Mum to look after. Generally, she’s quite well-behaved, and she’s funny sometimes as her memory plays tricks on her – and us! “Would you like a cup of tea, Mum?” “No, thank you, I think I’ll pass on that just now.” A Nano-second later: “Did you make me a cup of tea?” “Erm…no? You said you’d pass?” Then the inevitable: “Did I?” And we fall about laughing.

Not always though, as old habits die hard and emerge to a little irritation. Sometimes we find it’s hard to forgive a transgression that may actually be due to her age, but we recognise it as a ‘Hazel-ism’. “Will you set the table for tea, Mum?” “No, I’m too tired. I’ve done a lot of walking today.” I think the walking involved going to the front door and back. And perhaps into the kitchen and back. Ah, well. And then I remember, she wasn’t nicknamed ‘The Queen’ all those years ago for nothing!!!

In other news, our ‘busyness’ saw John clearing out the left-over paints, fence staining stuff and plumbing equipment from the garage. He decided to give them away and put them out on the front drive with a note, ‘Free – Support Your Local Hoarder‘. Delighted, we saw that within hours the laden table was nearly empty as the local population helped themselves. We do hope their choices have come in handy for them.

We did more outside work today, too, with John jeopardising his back by climbing onto the ‘Man Shed’ roof and fitting more soffits and fascias, and me transplanting more pot plants into the (now) flowerbed at the bottom of the garden and hefting the hefty pieces of wood into place in the bed beyond the plum tree.

On a more leisurely note, I took myself outside this evening at about ten o’clock to gaze at the star-studded sky and watch the satellite whizz by. Such an exhilarating sight, yet soothing at the same time, and a reminder of the speck I am in the universe. Let’s not sweat the small stuff, eh?

Sweating the big stuff are still all those front-line workers, especially those in hospitals and care homes looking after the Coronavirus-infected and the dying people. In hospitals, 4,676 people were counted as infected yesterday and 449 people died. Fewer than previously, but still an enormous number, and an enormous number of families affected. We may be specks in the universe, but we are the whole in someone’s life just now and we must keep our nerve in staying put to avoid the infection spreading and perhaps spiking again. Let’s hold tight to get it right.

My early starts have been getting later and later. To the point that I almost don’t even know what an early start is any more. The alarm goes off, and I snooze it – several times. Do I really want to get up and do another chore? No, I’ll just snuggle under the duvet for a bit longer. But this morning was different. A family ‘Zoom’ session was planned. Not very early at 9.30, but it meant I had to be ‘compos mentis‘ a good hour sooner than normal, with a cup of tea in hand at 8.30.

We were delighted to see everyone who could make it, webcam-to-webcam. The children, wriggling all over the place with parents un-handing them and peeling them off the various bits of equipment, were the entertainment. It was a good catch-up though and went on longer than the half an hour originally planned. Next time, though, maybe a ‘Zoom’ session without the children, no matter how entertaining they are to the grandparents? The parents were exhausted by the end of it, I think!!

I know it’s Sunday, but it didn’t feel very Sunday-like today and, for the first time during the lock down, I didn’t want to ‘go to church’ and I forgot to light my ‘Candle of Hope’ this evening. The online service all looked interesting, and I knew prayers needed to be said, but no, not today. So instead, what did I do? Chores!! The ironing pile beckoned so I waded my way through it, with thoughts of ‘Philomena, (my home help) where are you when I need you???’

While I did the ironing, John did the baking. He’s such a whizz at preparing his own special recipes now: bread, fruit cake, banana bread, and chocolate sundaes. And now he’s stocked up for the week ahead. I think he’s even enjoying it – well, he’s certainly singing and humming a lot to himself anyway!

In amongst the flat lining of the hours that stretch before us, unexpected things happen though, don’t they? We had no expectation of a parcel or visitor at the door today so, when the doorbell rang, I was startled. I flew to the front door to see who was there, only to find no-one. In front of me though, was a little bag, a note and a hand-painted rainbow. Who would be leaving us a mystery parcel, I wondered?

This was written on the note:

In the little bag, were a good half-dozen freshly baked, home-made fruit scones and half a dozen pieces of flapjack. Scrumdiddlyumptious or what??

Well, Mum was pleased and as proud as punch that the Kershaw girls remembered her and her poetry readings, as you can imagine.  I was thrilled that they had taken the time to bake and call and deliver such a delightful surprise and we were able to have a little ‘Contact the Elderly’ tea party after all! (I didn’t have any clotted cream either though….)

I hope the girls will be pleased to know that I put the hand-painted rainbow in our front window and they will see it if they pass by.

And so passes another day of highlights and low-lights, the latter being all of us in a bit of low mood today, if I’m honest, with the expanse of ‘we-don’t-know-where-it-will-all-end’ ahead of us and John shaking his head and saying ‘I don’t get it…’ to a variety of things that do or don’t happen.

But still, I am counting my blessings – we heard from Kelv via the blog which cheered us up; we chatted to the kids; we had blessings from the community, and we have food and warmth and each other here in our lovely home.

Prayers for all those in distress today, from whatever the source, but especially those who have been touched by the virus – all 5,850 infected, of whom over 10% (596) have died, some in the prime of their lives – and all their families. God bless them all.

Saturday, 18 April 2020. The rain is falling, livening up the gardens. The plants are standing taller and look excited to be drinking in the fresh rainwater. It’s a beautiful sight. How did I never notice this before? Too busy, of course. As I watched the rain, I was reminded of that lilting poem ‘Leisure’ by William Davies, so well-known, so poignant, so apt. Now is the time to stand and stare……..so I did and appreciated Beauty’s glance:

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Down to earth and on a different plain, I found myself ‘shopping washing’, ‘letter washing’ and ‘parcel washing’ yet again. Malcolm brought our groceries (thank you) round, so they got the great ‘rub over’; the postman brought letters and DPD brought a parcel that got the same treatment.

We opened the letter addressed to Grandma and Grandpa. Oooh, what was going to be inside? A home-made Easter card from William, how thrilling! With his footprints representing a bunny and carrots, it’s one to treasure.

What about the parcel then? We didn’t think we were expecting anything, but thrill of thrills, it was the steering wheel! John could hardly wait to try it in the car, only to find, disappointingly, that it didn’t fit. Oh, cruel fate!! Back to the drawing board.

Moving on from washing anything that arrives on our doorstep, I put my heart and soul into vacuuming round, but was delightfully interrupted three times. Firstly, a little video of Freddie, beating up a poor piece of kinetic sand, which had no answer for him. Oh, I do love him – he’s such a card! Then the doorbell rang, and Livia was standing there, smiling and offering us her traditional Romanian Easter cheesecake. What an unexpected and thoughtful surprise. It was delicious and polished off pretty quickly, I can tell you! And finally, a bittersweet conversation with the Sutton Sleaths; William was under the weather and needed medical attention at Heartlands Hospital. Always a worry when you hear such news, but he was an amazingly brave boy and soon home with antibiotics. Phew! Fingers crossed they work quickly.

As the day wore on, my thoughts turned to entertainment. What would we do for distraction today? Watch Phantom of the Opera on YouTube? Oh, go on then. Highly recommended by dear Anita, I thought I’d give it a go. Mum and John slept through it. I watched and enjoyed the brilliant singing and character portrayals throughout, but I am always uncomfortable with the subject matter, and this time was no different. I have promised myself that I’m not going to watch it again, no matter how stunning the production is – all that bribery, cold-blooded, calculated murder and abduction is too distressing.

Which brings me to the distressing news that a dear man I knew from church, the artist, Trevor Boult, died this week. I am grateful to own some of his originals and prints to remember him by and I wish him God speed. Praying for all his family too.

The cause of death wasn’t COVID-19, I understand, unlike the 888 people who died in hospital from it yesterday and the 5,526 people who were infectees. The figures in relation to Coronavirus still don’t make for great reading and it’s all still a very big worry for our society. Take care everyone. Let’s not get slapdash, let’s nurture our precious lives and make what we can of them.

Great excitement today!! John’s ‘project’ car started again! Not only that, the engine kept running for a good long time. For the second time this week, I got all excited – so much so, that I ran to get my phone to film the momentous occasion of the car purring on the drive. What a lovely sight.

An even lovelier sight was John actually sitting in it on the driver’s side, looking rather pleased with himself. And then, to my delight, he managed to get out of the rather low car with no effort at all. We had been wondering if, at our advancing ages, whether we’d really be able to use the car once it was fixed, i.e. get in and out of the thing, but it sure looks like we will!

Of course, the ‘project’ is in its early stages, so John chose to push the car back into the garage (rather than drive it) with me steering it using a mole-wrench attached to the steering shaft, in the absence of an actual steering wheel. The steering wheel, dear readers, is on order……

In other news, I actually managed to get Mum into the bath today. And, oh, she did have fun! Bubbles and everything. Even managed to set her hair quite respectably so she’s looking pretty smart now. I think the effort perked her up a bit, too, as she helped me make the carrot and coriander soup for lunch. Mind you, I expect we’ll pay for it tomorrow – gulp!!

Other than that, little things – which feel like big things – have pleased me today. The postman delivered a letter addressed to Grandma and Grandpa. What a lurch of the heart when that arrived. We haven’t opened it yet – that’s tomorrow’s treat. Earlier on, as we were on the driveway, Caroline walked past, and we were able to have a ‘social-distance’ chat. I felt human again. At lunchtime, I made soup which was delicious – youngest son, Andrew, chef and purveyor of all good foods, would be proud of me. On social media, I had a giggle at the antics of Freddie and William and the despair of their parents. Just felt a little bubble of happiness.

These moments are beautiful gems in otherwise fairly muddy waters. We can’t see where we’re heading and don’t know how or when the situation will be eased, so I cling on to those sparkly moments and let them shine into my dark ones. Unlike others, who can’t, and are finding the whole experience intolerable. As we all stay at home, domestic abuse cases are increasing and there have been some suicides, we hear on the news.

In addition, news is emerging of the dreadful situation in care homes where the elderly are dying in volumes. Such a frightening scenario for the residents, the carers and the families, and yet, the government has no mechanism yet of calculating how many community deaths from COV-ID 19 there have been, nor any way of stopping the spread of it in the homes. We are still simply counting those who have been hospitalised – of which today, 5,599 are infectees, and 847 are dead. Nearly 15,000 people have died so far – an incomprehensible and, for me, ‘an-unable-to-be-imagined’, fact. Pass me a bottle of wine, anyone? Head in the sand? Yes, I’m just not keen to think about the tragedy of it all today and feel helpless being unable to help.

Do you have a routine to your day now you’re in lock down? I must confess, I don’t. I’m a bit like a puppet with my strings cut. All over the place (what day is it, even?). Best intentions, of course, but not a lot executed. As darkly warned by my Spanish teacher as I failed to produce a piece of homework, the path to hell is paved with good intentions apparently.

As it happens, I did intend to find time for prayer today; chat to John; play a game of e-scrabble with friends; follow friends’/family’s stories and interact with them on social media; reply to emails; prepare food; be kind to my Mum; do some gardening; applaud the NHS/key workers this evening and watch Master Chef. I did all those things. But I seem to have a long list of other things I didn’t do – so perhaps tomorrow? Including hefting the hefty piece of wood into place in the flower bed by the plum tree – a job I thought we might do today.

But, you know, it doesn’t feel like the path to hell, just because I had good intentions that weren’t implemented. And that’s what is so interesting about this testing time – having the time to be and not just do and review some of those ingrained habits and beliefs. I wonder, are you, like me, welcoming the opportunity to take stock? Or are you still on the treadmill, enforced or otherwise?

Anyway, just so you know, I am going to have another at Mum’s hair tomorrow – well, I intend to anyway…… The curlers I ordered have arrived, and they look like they might not fall out at every opportunity as she moves her head, so we’ll see. I don’t think she’s that bothered about having her done to be honest, but we’re a bit fed up of looking at it as it’s not her best look just now.

She does make me laugh, though. She has never been one to drink much, but we have an ongoing battle every day to make her drink something at least. We take her a glass of water, “Here you are, Mum, drink your water.” “Thank you, yes, I will.” She doesn’t. We take her a cup of tea. “Here you are, Mum, drink your tea.” “Thank you, yes, I will.” She doesn’t. “Mum? You haven’t drunk your tea.” She replies, “I’m just drinking it.” And we fall about laughing.

But we did walk to the top of the egg-rolling hill in the garden today, to look at the abundance of blossom on my little cherry tree that Simon gave me when I left work. She made a bit of a meal of it today (unlike Easter Sunday when she was very egg-cited to be taking part in a little competition), but she made it.

No real rhyme or reason as to how she’ll be from day to day. But we are learning some patience. Even John supported her coming in from the garden this afternoon.

But there is rhyme and reason to the isolation, the ‘stay at home’ rule, the social distancing – it is working a bit. The figures are beginning to plateau with the numbers of COVID-19 infectees today at 4,618, and deaths at 861. With the government fearful of a spike in the virus if we don’t stay put, their advice is to continue as we are. Hold fast, everyone.

The bees were a-buzzing, the hover flies were a-hovering, the birds were a-tweeting and it was a great day for gardening. Suddenly, the sound of the bees humming contentedly as they nestle their heads into the flowers seems to be loud! So, too, is the trilling of the birds. And I don’t recall seeing so many hover flies darting this way and that in the garden before. I’m noticing things because I’m not rushing about and, for the most part, the things I am noticing are starting to feed my soul.

Talking of feeding…. is anyone else getting as fat as flawn since the lock-down started? My waistline is now ever expanding – mostly due to imbibing red wine and eating chocolate, things I normally do when I am holiday. My brain clearly thinks I am on holiday. I think I need to have a serious word with myself.

Anyway, the day started well, was good in the middle and ended well. For starters, hubby brought me breakfast in bed! How good is that? He’d cooked banana pancakes, smothered them with berries, pecan nuts and a little maple syrup, and I feasted, and felt, like a Queen.

John, feeling up to it as his chest felt a bit better, ventured out into the garden as it was such a glorious day. I, too, wandered out and we both set to, each to our own allotted tasks. John has been creating a good edge to the rockery – the aim being to prevent the infiltration of those wispy bits of grass that are difficult to weed out. It looks very smart so far; fingers crossed it works! I was keen to weed the bed beyond the plum tree – the bit that was formerly known as the flower garden/formerly the herb garden/formerly the vegetable plot – now it’s just a weed garden with a few flowers struggling to beat their way out.

Truth to tell, I have neglected the garden for the last couple of years, what with one thing and another, so this bed has not been well-tended at all and is very much over-run with lemon balm. Not only that, the soil is bursting out over onto the path, so we decided we’re going to hem it in with some hefty pieces of wood. Got the wood – just need to heft it into place now. Tomorrow’s job maybe?

A satisfactory afternoon’s work, followed by a more than satisfactory WhatsApp video call to Michael, Danielle and William. Eating an ice cream cornet, William chatted away to us, wandering about the garden and showing us little things that he’d found among the stones as if we were there. Heart-warming and heart-breaking at the same time. I miss all the family so very, very much.

Then followed a delicious evening meal (steak, yum!) before we joined up on an e-link with our Centre Stage friends, Malcolm & Caroline, Linda & Brendan and Nigel & Hazel for another quiz night and a great, remote, social evening, We had been detailed to set the quiz this week, so I found one on t’internet, and thought it would do the trick. Well, it did…..except I hadn’t noticed that it had been set 8 years ago, with several questions specific to that year ……oh, dear, the contestants didn’t do so well. Our historic, percentage score of correct answers has been over 70%. This evening it was an unfortunate 52%. I blame the Quiz Master.

Whilst all this was going on Mum got up late, breakfasted at mid-day, watched TV, declined the offer of a walk in the garden, watched more TV, ate her evening meal (not the steak – it was too tough….) watched more TV and then went to bed. But she quietly enjoyed herself.

We did watch the news together though, and she continues to be shocked, as we do, at the volumes of people infected and dying as they are revealed at the daily government briefing. She is astounded in fact and can hardly imagine what it must be like ‘out there’. Today a slight glimmer of hope as the figures plateaued with 4,605 people infected and 761 deaths yesterday. The numbers remain simply those reported from hospital admissions, however, with the true figures clearly much higher as people are infected in the community and many elderly people are dying in care homes.

But the biggest story of the day has to be Captain Tom Moore. A 99-year old war veteran, walking ‘laps’ in his garden to raise funds for the NHS. His aim? To raise £1,000. His achievement so far? Over £10 million!! It’s just uplifting, isn’t it??

You know it’s come to something, don’t you, when you’re reduced to sorting out your pencil drawer? Well, that was me today. Lots and lots of big jobs still to tackle round the house, but it was the pencil drawer that kept me occupied. Mind-numbing activity, I suppose, so that the harsh reality of being confined to barracks doesn’t come into too sharp a focus.

Not that I am minding the confinement as such, but I’ve begun to notice how my horizons are narrowing a little more each day. We always knew that the lock-down would challenge us both physically and mentally but, as we start our fifth week of isolation, I recognise that knowing is not the same as experiencing. Self-discipline has never been my greatest strength, but I now understand the expression ‘digging deep’ and, in our household at least, we will need to do just that in the coming weeks.

Nonetheless, it’s been a good day today. In addition to sorting pencils, I have been able to tidy up a few administrative loose ends, which is always very satisfying. We also managed to contact the doctor first thing this morning for a telephone appointment to discuss the situation regarding John’s chest. The consultation resulted in a prescription for antibiotics, which were kindly delivered to our door by Julie from Balsall Pharmacy. Hopefully the ol’ man will be on the mend very soon.

Despite the fact that he can’t breathe, John did a bit more of a tidy-up down at the ‘man-shed’ and then insisted on getting the lawnmower going and mowed as much of the lawn as he could manage. So, the garden’s looking good and the plants that I transplanted the other day seem to be relatively happy in their new homes. And here, I thought you might like to see a pic or two of the ‘man shed’?

Mum, bless her, did a lot of sitting about as usual, with her standard television diet of Tenable, Tipping Point and The Chase this afternoon, but she did have a wander about after tea to aid her digestion, and made the effort to look out down Station Road at the crisp, pale blue sky and the setting sun. She even took the initiative this evening and took herself off to bed. That was a first since she came to live with us.

I am not sure what tomorrow will bring, but I am hoping that the news will be better than it was today. The death toll from COVID-19 is still very high, with 778 people having lost their lives, and we can no longer tell ourselves that these deaths are the aged and vulnerable; they are across all ages and even among apparently healthy people. 5,252 people are reported as being infected with the virus, which is an increase on previous daily figures, and the Government has now raised the risk to the UK as high. We knew it was probably going to come this, but we surely didn’t want to experience it; and the experiences of those on the front line right now is just horrific, and they are already exhausted. May God bless them and keep them.

It’s been a funny old day. Not much excitement after the thrill of yesterday’s egg-rolling event – rather an everyday story of village folk today, so here goes.

Just as you get used to wafting outside into the sunshine to take your breakfast on the patio because it’s so warm, you find the wind has changed and you’re scuttling back indoors to keep warm. It was a chilly 7 degrees this morning, so I certainly wasn’t going to be wandering outside in my PJs. Instead, I spent three hours on the phone talking to my very dear friend, George, as he remotely walked me through the intricacies of WordPress, the site on which I publish my blog. Been using the site for a few years now, but being a bit of a technophobe, hadn’t really got to grips with it at all. Grateful beyond words for his help. What a gift friendship is.

Mum wandered into the computer room as we were chatting, puzzled as to what was keeping me away. Within a very short space of time, Mum has started to feel lonely if one or other of us isn’t around. She’d spend hours on her own in her flat, counting the bricks on the wall opposite, or the leaves blowing into her doorway, or just staring into space, but here she’s quickly got very used to our company. Not at all surprising, of course.

After lunch, I pottered in the garden – eesh, it were bitterly cold, so I didn’t stay long. John is still sorting his ‘man shed’ and brought plumbing bits up to the house to tidy and log what he’s got. Then he had to labour to take them back down to the bottom of the garden. His lungs have taken a pounding since the omission of the inhalers a couple of weeks or so ago and he’s developed a horrible cough. Now I’m nagging, ‘Do you think you should call the doctor? Get some tablets?’ Oh, dear! Poor John. We’ll see how he is tomorrow.

This afternoon, I sat down to listen a video clip, that one of my friends had sent me from church, of Nicky Gumbel talking about choosing faith not fear. Unfortunately, within five minutes I had nodded off. I’m not sure how long for, but when I woke up, the others were very gleeful in pointing out that I’d been asleep!! As I say, it’s been a funny old day – I rarely fall asleep during the day, but then, these are odd times, aren’t they?? But the Nicky Gumbel talk was very good when I watched it later.

The ol’ man cooked our evening meal, despite feeling a bit rough – he’s an absolute trooper – but after a nap on the sofa this evening in front of a blazing open fire (aha! who’s falling asleep now, eh?), he took himself off to bed early to try and deal with whatever’s going on in his chest.

And so, now to bed, after a day’s journey highlighted by fabulous friendships and family chats. Other than the delightful chat to George this morning, Louise sent us great video of her new home; Sue D played scrabble with me on-line; my prayer group checked in first thing this morning, and throughout the day, on WhatsApp; and Lizzie Ish, Tim, Linda and Dawn all checked in on email; Graham and Gail sent us lovely e-cards for Easter; Michael WhatsApped with William on video showing giggling fun with tummy tickles; Harriet sent us a pic of Freddie and his new, huge floor jigsaw puzzle; and I spoke to Andrew on the phone. Delightful.

I repeat, it’s been a funny old day. I am warmed by the loving and thoughtful contact of family and friends, but this is juxtaposed by continuing to be appalled by the news of how hard some of our society are having to work, and repeatedly be exposed to the danger of the virus. On the day when we heard that the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, had recovered sufficiently to be released from hospital, others have not been so lucky. 717 deaths, thus taking the total deaths to over 11,000 people; and 4,342 people are reported as infected as of 12 April 2020, taking the total so far to 88,621. The numbers are numbing. But I am aiming for faith, not fear, just now.

Easter Sunday, and lots of loving messages from friends and family wishing us a Happy Easter. Feels weird, doesn’t it? We would normally see people and have our kids and their families round for an Easter celebration, in some format or other, usually along the lines of a church service, then ‘Brunch’, egg-rolling in Abbey Fields, Kenilworth, and finally, a real feast of a lamb roast dinner, a delicious pud and fine wine. We did our best to re-create it all as best we could, but… oh! how I missed them all today. My beautiful boys – I so wanted to see them, to hug them, and to celebrate the meaning of Easter with them face-to-face.

However, despite the heartache, we ‘did us best’. John and I determinedly lay in bed a while this morning to rest our hearts, souls and bodies. Mum also lay in bed to rest her 94 years. After a heart-warming video-link to his walk in the park with the dog (which looked absolute bliss), Michael then videoed William on his ‘treasure hunt’ for Easter Eggs in the garden. This was closely followed by Paul sharing a brilliant clip of Freddie, squeaking with excitement at the vision of his Easter Eggs on the dining room table and the treasure hunt-to-be. Indescribable emotions – oh, dear, I’m all over the shop.

We may not have had the full annual family egg-rolling contest for real this year, but at our end I hard-boiled the eggs, and when they were cool enough, we three chez nous sat in the garden under the warmth of the sun, to decorate them. Mum thought it was great fun and entered the spirit of it with great gusto. She did a good job too, on the decorating, but personally, I think John’s was best. His egg was a ‘cool dude’, wearing sunglasses and everything.

We then set about the business of actually rolling the eggs down the ‘little hill’ in our garden, where the kids tobogganed and did roly-polys back in the day, and we now sing ‘The Grand Old Duke of York’ with the grandchildren. Mum thought it was a very big hill and gamely puffed her way to the top. John carefully explained the rules. We all duly chucked our eggs down the hill, round the swing and on towards the sleeper, which acted as goal. John arrived first to aim at goal but hit the post to shock all round; I fell short; but jammy old Mum hit the target bang on!! Wouldn’t you just know it??

The great excitement was filmed and shared. The Kenilworth Sleaths also made a very good effort and shared pictures of their eggs decorated with sparkly stuff, but no rolling. And we’re yet to have an update on the Sutton and Cambridge Sleaths’ efforts……

On a completely different note, another great excitement was also shared today. Not filmed or photographed, but audio recorded. So, what was it? Well, some of you may know that John has a project in the garage – a re-build job on a Lotus Elan Plus 2 (long story). When he bought it, he assured me that it was pretty much all there and didn’t need a lot of work. He’s right, of course, because today the engine did seem to be all there, and he was able to share the beautiful sound of it running. Such a thrill!!

The project, of course, is to help keep us interested when all else fails. Today, of all days, being Easter an’ all, we saw a glimmer of hope. Not only did the engine on the car start, but, as of 9 o’clock on 12 April 2020, we saw a slight reduction in deaths due to COVID-19 with 737; and the trend for infections may be beginning to plateau with 5,288 people proving positive for the darned virus. Still a lot and too many, but let us pray the plateau or downward trend continues.

It’s Easter Eve today, and we have had a cracking day. Malcolm dropped some shopping in (thank you); I watched a fantastic production of The National Theatre’s ‘Jane Eyre’ on TV; we enjoyed gardening in the sunshine, as well as eating our lunch out there; we were enthralled by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Jesus Christ – Superstar’ streamed onto the TV; I had a good old natter to dear friend Carol on the phone; and then, this evening we Skyped more dear friends, Pete and Dawn, contentedly and amusingly for hours on end.

As you can see, our thoughts and activities are starting to turn our traditional activities into a ‘New Norm’. And yes, even the traditional Easter Bonnet Parade has fallen victim too! The physical parade in church has been replaced by a virtual one, with photos of our creations. Here’s Mum’s entry to the competition: ‘Eating her Hat’!

And what about our plans for egg-rolling? How are we planning to do that in the ‘New Norm’ eh?

Well, see here – there’s been a news bulletin and I hand you over to our man in the field…..

BREAKING NEWS – ANOTHER MAJOR SPORTING EVENT CANCELLED.

It has just been confirmed that the latest sporting evening to fall victim of the global Corona virus pandemic is the 2020 Easter Egg Rolling Championship. Organisers are said to be highly disappointed at this unprecedented decision, which is thought to be the first cancelled event ever.

President of LENT (Letting Eggs Nosedive and Tear), Mr East. R. Buni has said alternative options were considered, including rolling numerous courses around the country simultaneously using technology to join competitors.  However, it is thought that the shortage of eggs, causing them to be a more highly valued commodity than previous years, means some contestants may have been unable to justify participation.  Mr Buni has said he will bounce into the 2021 championship with a spring in his step and hopes next year’s championship is bigger and better than ever. Unconfirmed reports suggest this could include rolling down an alternative course to the traditional Abbey Fields, with Snowdon having been suggested. Another option could be using ostrich eggs.

Rollers, the Association for Championship Players, has said it will support its players in any way possible.  It is hoped that the current egg designs, although as yet unreleased to the media, will be allowed at the 2021 competition.  It is thought this will also help all the contestants who paint their eggs at the last minute, meaning no mad dash this year.

As yet another major sporting event falls to this pandemic, the message is clear. The race is off, and LENT may be over for the year, but stay safe and STAY INDOORS. Mr Choc O’Late, (aka Michael, middle son) reporting for Bank Holiday News.

So, it’s official – we can’t meet up with the family for our traditional fun in Abbey Fields, rolling our eggs down the hill. That, and many other ‘New Norms’ hurt. But we are trying, at least, to keep ourselves and others safe to face another day, and therefore brighten lives, in the future, along the way. Praying that all of the 5,234 people infected today recover, and the families of those who have died, all 917 of them, find some comfort in the Easter message, whatever their persuasion.