Month: June 2020

Today was a good day. Having taken delivery of plants yesterday I spent all day in the garden, albeit sometimes dodging the showers. It was a warm and balmy day which meant I could wander about bare-armed and short-trousered. The garden was very happy to have some attention and allowed itself to be tended wherever I went with my trowel or spade. Even the plants I’d bought looked joyous and keen to get into their new beds. I wonder if it’s anything to do with it being the Summer Solstice today……

It was one of those days in which I worked hard but didn’t feel tired because I was so enjoying being among the trees, the plants and the earth. Very relaxing and soothing. In fact, it was so soothing that I completely forgot to get Mum up out of bed. I’d gone downstairs early and had breakfast, waiting for Malcolm’s early call with the shopping. Had a nice little ‘path chat’ before he went on his way; did the ‘shopping washing’; took John a cup of tea in bed; and then ventured out into the garden. And the day went on….

Not long into the spade work, I took a message from Dawn. They were going to go Rosebourne’s just along the road, and would pick up some compost for me, then drop it in on their way home. Oh, goody! Well, I can’t tell you how very, very nice it was to see them in the flesh. Between them, and at a suitable social distance, John and Peter manoeuvred the bags of compost into the back garden, while I sat on an upturned crate to chat to Dawn in her car. Oh, it was good. We have been Skyping each other to keep in touch, but to sit opposite Dawn and have a proper face-to-face chat was something else. I think we both felt a bit overwhelmed by the excitement of it!

We finally said goodbye and I went back into the garden to carry on where I’d left off. I was so engrossed that it was mid-day before John popped outside and asked me if I’d got Mum up yet. Oh, crikey! Is that the time already? I ran upstairs to check on her, and found she was actually up, so left her to get dressed and come down in her own time. It was a quarter past one by the time she made it.

We had a bit of a to-do though because I was sitting in her seat. I’d taken a break from the garden temporarily to have a cup of tea and grab a bite to eat while there was a short shower. Mum came into the lounge. Breakfast or lunch? Lunch, please. Egg sandwiches? OK, I said, I’ll sort it in a minute. Mum looked at me, a bit nonplussed, and then made a great play of sitting next to me, moving cushions, plumping them up, shifting a blanket and a magazine, and giving out a very large sigh. I ignored it. I happened to be a doing an e-jigsaw that was timed and I didn’t want to stop just then. She got up and had a wander round. “You OK, Mum?” I asked, glancing up from my jigsaw. Oh. She was sucking lemons. “I thought I was going to have a sandwich.” Hmm…. it was only a few minutes since I said I’d do it in a bit……

I got up, leaving my phone on the seat, and went into the kitchen to get the egg on to boil. John came through a couple of minutes later. “You know she’s just gone and sat in your seat, don’t you?” Blimey! That was quick!! When I went back through, I said, teasingly, “Oh, I see you’ve jumped in my grave then?” She was not amused. But then actually, neither was I – I’d have liked to have sat there for a change. Hey-ho.

It didn’t stop there though. I asked Mum if she’d like to go through into the kitchen to butter the bread for the sandwich. No. Well, it won’t make itself. Do you want to chop the egg up then? No. Oh, dear. I gave her ten minutes to think about it and she did, in the end, make her sandwich. But what a bloomin’ kerfuffle…..

It was all soon forgotten as we sat and had a cuppa though before I went back outside. I was as happy as Larry out there crooning over my lovely plants and arranging them in the flowerbed. I know it’s not the Chelsea Flower Show, but it is starting to look pretty.

John tells me he doesn’t think he’s done anything much today, but I disagree. He moved the compost for starters. Then he looked into finalising the cupboard over the fridge/freezer in the kitchen. That’s taking some doing – it’s required thinking and planning and executing. It’s not finished of course, but then you wouldn’t expect anything else, would you? Towards tea-time, he had to shoot off to Solihull Hospital for a CT scan and then he cooked the tea. All good stuff.

To add to the pleasure of seeing Pete and Dawn this morning on our drive, we Skyped them this evening too. Had a great evening, just being ourselves and sharing our hopes and fears, and ups and downs. We are blessed to have such good friends. Can’t wait to see them face-to-face again soon.

So, to today’s statistics: 128 people died and 1,295 were infected with COVID-19 up until nine o’clock this morning, according to the government report. The NHS reports 6 deaths as of five o’clock yesterday (19 June 2020), with the figure confirmed at 34 for the day before.

Take care everyone. There’s still a nasty virus out there even if you don’t know anyone personally who’s had it or died from it.

I was up relatively early this morning, but I didn’t do a walk. It was only drizzling, and I could have done, but I was scheduled to set off early from home to take Rio to Cheryl, the cat groomer, the other side of Coventry. Being a long-haired cat, his fur clumps up and I don’t know how to untangle it, so I ‘pays’ to have him clipped. By the time I’ve noticed the clumps they’ve multiplied like mad, so he always comes back from Cheryl’s tender ministrations almost bald. His baldness keeps me amused for a few days anyway.

Of course, before I set off, I got the cat basket ready. It always makes a slight ‘ding’ as I open the lid……..Rio was off like a shot. Oh bother!! Or words to that effect. Cursing, I looked out of the window. There he was, sitting on the flowerbed looking all innocent and eagle-eyed – but certainly not coming in. I shrugged, knowing he wouldn’t be coaxed in, so I just had to wait it out. I alerted the cat groomer. She ‘LOL-ed’ at me and said, ‘Naughty Rio’.

Rio did eventually come back in, enticed by not having had his breakfast and it being there waiting for him, and we set off. All good. But it’s the first time I’ve driven to do a transaction since lock down. Driving there was no problem; after all, I’ve driven a few times now to the hospital and back, but I did have butterflies in my tummy when I arrived at my destination. How silly that sounds. I just wanted to make sure I did everything right. But I needn’t have worried. Cheryl was clearly experienced at meeting and greeting in the current climate and didn’t bat an eyelid at keeping her distance and both of us keeping our masks and gloves on. It was lovely to see her and hear her family news. I bunged her an extra fiver to buy a little something for the baby she’d recently had. Afterwards, I thought she must think I’m tight. I mean, whatever is a fiver going to buy these days?

John, bless him, was not only up, but really stuck in to a job when I got back this morning. As I drove towards the house, I found I couldn’t get into the drive. Who was that, parked right in the middle of it, I wondered? Then I remembered. With such a distinctive number plate, it was dear Malcolm and another friend, Ian, from Centre Stage. They had brought their brains and their brawn to help John shift the garage door into place in the ‘man-shed’. Such excitement. And it looks good. (Does a little dance).

Mum, on the other hand, wasn’t up but she was awake. While I was out, I’d taken a phone call from a different District Nurse advising that she planned to call in to have another go at a blood test. I relayed this information to Mum. “I’d better get up then.” she said.

By the time the District Nurse arrived, Mum was up and dressed, had had her breakfast and tablets, plus as much water and cup of tea as I could force on her. We were all sat in the lounge. John and I were feeling particularly contented, reclining on the sofa, having just eaten two pain aux raisins each. John felt so contented that, temporarily, he’d nodded off. It was a bit of a sharp awakening when the nurse breezed in.

Anyway, the upshot of the visit was success!!! The nurse was grimly determined to draw a phial of blood and meticulously prepared the area, gently instructing Mum on how to hold her arm just so, and not move. She planned to take the sample just in the one go, and she did. Mum was very relieved that there wasn’t going to be any more poking and prodding about. As the nurse left, she told me that they always called her ‘as the last resort’. Well, it worked.

After lunch, I was prompted by an e-conversation with the lovely Louise to get in touch with Bracey’s Garden Centre and order up some plants, as the ones we ordered from Gardening Express still haven’t arrived. Louise offered to go and collect them for me and bring them over. Wow! What a good friend. She lives miles away……

Anyway, she duly arrived with my plants and I have to say, they are absolutely gorgeous!! Oh, and I appear to have bought up the whole nursery…… Louise, too, is clearly experienced at the distancing thing and we ‘masked’ a conversation very well on the driveway. It was so lovely to see her, and it made me realise that, having hunkered down here for the last three months being waited on hand and foot, we have been quite passive. I haven’t initiated chats or remote activities with friends – just been waiting……. and waiting. OK, time for a change if I can.

In the meantime, John has been spending time with his beloved. All day he has been tinkering with first this, then that and sighing when he needs to order yet another part to complete the job he’s on. I was amused when I went into the garage to find an array of wadding, all cut into different shapes and sizes and each numbered, strewn all over the car. Then I noticed that John had a technical drawing up on his computer screen of all the wadding (numbered) that is required to complete the car. Here’s a jigsaw puzzle no-one would fancy. Might get roped into this one.

After we’d eaten this evening, John says, “It’s Friday evening, what are we going to do tonight?” Still in passive mode, I thought I’d start watching series two of The A Word. John was in. We are both enjoying the programme so why not? We watched the first two programmes consecutively, and I would have watched a third if it hadn’t been so late at night. Something to look forward to tomorrow. But I did do one proactive thing this evening, and that was to get in touch with Sue, in the Lake District. Have been remiss in keeping in touch in the last few weeks.

Stats? 2 deaths reported in hospitals yesterday by 5 p.m. by the NHS. 32 were confirmed for the day before. 173 deaths reported in all settings in the same timescale by the government; and 1,346 people confirmed as infected. Advice for we who are shielding? Erm…….. nothing yet. But we have moved from level 4 alert to level 3. Must be good, no?

May peace find you in the days to come and happiness surround you all. God bless.

I chose to sleep on this morning. Woke up early, peered a slightly bleary eye out of the window to confirm what I could hear – the rain. If it had been a bit of a drizzle, I would probably have braved it, but it was heavier than that, so I thought I’d wait a bit. Then a bit more….and then a bit more. Until it was nearly half past ten and all I’d done was read some of my book, scroll through social media, complete an e-jigsaw and do a few yoga stretches.

Downstairs, I popped the kettle on, made a cuppa and prepared a delicious ‘brunch’. John hadn’t got up yet, so he had the luxury of his coffee and brunch in bed. Afterwards, we did that pottering about thing that we are now adept at doing every day. A tidy up here and a tidy up there, before embarking on anything of any note.

In John’s case, he sparkled as he hummed his way through gluing material onto interior parts, and fiddled with pieces of trim, for the ‘project car’. He’s had a cracking day of progressing the Lotus. Disappointingly, there seems to be a fair bit of trim that he’ll be unable to do himself though. Some of it needs sewing together and we don’t have the appropriate sewing machine, skills or experience to be confident of completing such a job competently. But he’s doing the sections he is confident of getting right.

In my case, I made a conscious decision not to do anything that needed a great deal of effort. However, before I sat down to browse unseen programmes on TV or read a book, I sourced some material from the loft for re-upholstering the kitchen chairs, conscious that I still haven’t finalised every job in the kitchen’s refurbishment yet. I need some foam for the seats though, before I make a start with putting the new covers on, so that’s tomorrow’s research.

It may be twee, but I settled down to watch the Great British Sewing Bee this afternoon. I am in awe of these seamsters (or sewers, as they call them). They seem to able to tackle anything and everything. Then, for something a little punchier, I moved on to The Salisbury Poisonings. I watched all three episodes in one sitting and found the series fascinating. I was especially moved by the portrayal of the people involved and sometimes found myself in tears as the story unfolded.

I had sat with Mum all afternoon. We had chatted. Eaten our lunch. Had a cup of tea. Lit a fire to chase away the blues and had commentary about that. We had both sat in the lounge and watched and talked about the same programmes which she thoroughly enjoyed. I left her on her own watching The Chase for about half an hour while I got our evening meal ready, so I was surprised that she made a fuss when I reminded her that I was going to chat with my college friends this evening. To paraphrase the conversation, it was – ‘What, again? Talking to people again? What about me? I’m all on my own here and get lonely. And, what about John? What will he do while you’re busy?’. Oh, dear. I wasn’t perhaps as patient as I should have been, but I did say she could keep me company upstairs if she’d like to. Ah…no, she’d just have to stay on her own and watch TV, she sniffed. What can you do?

An evening then, filled with beautiful people who uplifted me as they do every week. Reminding me that there is hope and light and lovely things to be thankful for. And restating the blessings I forget when I feel down. How good to hear their stories whether they be exciting times like Sue, welcoming her daughter and granddaughter down for the weekend in a ‘bubble’ catch-up; or tragic times like the other Sue, who has lost a very dear friend to cancer and COVID-19 this week. How good to be able to celebrate or commiserate with my friends and uplift them as they uplift me.

John spent a very happy hour or two this evening, immersed in his car manual, working out his next steps. Contrary to Mum’s view, he knew exactly what to do while I was busy on my girly catch-up.

A bit more blah, blah, blah from the government briefing this afternoon in relation to the ‘Track and Trace’ policy, which had me falling about in the aisles with laughter – or was it tears – at their dismissal of it being central to tackling the spread of the virus. I can hardly wait for the next episode of this fairy story, folks. Or am I being too harsh? Jaded, perhaps you might think, by being mostly incarcerated in my own little world and hardly getting out of the front door?

135 people have died from the Corona Virus, as of 9 o’clock today. 1,218 people were confirmed as infected. Meanwhile, the NHS reports 13 deaths up until 5 o’clock yesterday (17 June 2020) and 35 confirmed for the day before.

We are still in a sticky situation despite its apparent easing, so please take care everyone. God bless you all.

Up early again this morning. The birds were quiet, and I wondered why. When I looked out of the window, I understood. It was extremely misty first thing. It made the walk along ‘The Yellow Brick Road’ interesting though, as the trees emerged from the mist as I got near, dripping and sometimes creaking with the weight of water on their leaves. It was yet again a pleasure to be up and out.

One jogger and her dog, and two dog-walkers today. The jogger pounded past me at speed, but the dog wanted to stay and play. The other dog walkers were doing the same circuit as me but the other way round, so our passing each other was fleeting and wide distanced. All good. I wore my mask, but the others weren’t wearing theirs.

Spent the early part of the morning tidying round and vacuuming the downstairs rooms in anticipation of the District Nurse visiting, to come and do Mum’s blood test. Mum, bless her, did as she was told and drank plenty of liquids one way or another, got up and dressed, had breakfast, and was all ready for the dreaded poking and prodding of her arms by half past ten.

The nurse came, masked, gowned and gloved up and began what is now the ritual of trying first one arm then the other to encourage some blood flow. Nothing doing. “Has your Mum had plenty to drink?” she asked. I confirmed she had. More rootling around for a vein that didn’t wriggle away. Still nothing doing. “I’ll have to ask one of my colleagues to come and do it.” the nurse sighed, “I can’t get anything at all.” So, we’ll be on for another day of fun and games soon, I expect. Mum was as good as gold though, I have to say, throughout the whole procedure.

By the time the blood test drama was over, John was up and at ’em. He has also spent the day tidying – mostly moving stuff from one location to another. Stuff from the garage to the man-shed, and vice-versa – a repeat of similar activity a week or two ago. I expect it’ll all be repeated again in due course. He’s feeling a bit better and no longer coughing badly, but he is wondering why his back is playing up a bit now though……

We were both pottering about, John in the garage and me in the hall, when a van drew up outside. John has started selling one or two bits of equipment surplus to requirements and so, purchaser and seller carefully socially distanced and the transaction was made with money changing hands. John’s eyes gleamed – he can buy more bits for the Lotus now…….

Not long after, another vehicle drew up – this time, it was a big lorry with the laminate flooring we’d ordered. Ooh, exciting! We’re planning to put it down in what was the company office, but what we’re now calling ‘The Gym’. It might not be called the gym for long. Depends on whether we actually use it as one…… is there enough room to swing a cat? Not sure about that, but the cross trainer is in there, so we might have a little go at improving our fitness with that piece of torture equipment in the not-too-distant future. Maybe.

After lunch, Linda called with a little bit of M & S shopping. We had an enjoyable ‘path chat’ and I felt better for having had the company, even if it was only for a few minutes. She brought some ready meals for Mum, for those occasions when she doesn’t like what we are planning to eat and, of course, some little cakes. Posh cakes from M&S. Mum’s delighted.

A bit later on, I decided I’d adopt the same routine as yesterday and have another little rest upstairs on the bed. And, like yesterday, I dozed off and woke up two hours later. Clearly, I didn’t get much more done today!!! I mean, I had thought the idea of an afternoon nap might be a good one, but I have only ever thought of it as a power nap. You know, forty winks. Not a hundred and twenty winks. This is not going to plan.

By now, it’s tea-time and more food prepping required. Mum had wandered upstairs to her bedroom as she couldn’t find John or me. John was showering, and I was still coming to my senses. However, when I said I was going downstairs, she willingly followed me down, and was happy to help with prepping the veg. But she was miffed as we finished our meal when I reminded her that it was quiz night and we’d be upstairs chit-chatting away to our friends this evening. “Join us.” I suggested. “You’ll have company then, even if you don’t know the answers.” But she decided the lure of The Repair Shop was too great and she’d rather watch TV.

Once again, we thoroughly enjoyed the company of our Centre Stage friends. They are so easy to chat to and bring such humour to the proceedings that it sets us up for the next few days. It’s always a giggle. Counting my blessings.

I have mostly put the news and reports of the latest on the Corona Virus to the back of my mind today. I feel irritated with the politicians and I’m running out of patience with their nausea-inducing platitudes and sometimes bare-faced lies. However, I am still interested enough in the current situation to think of all those who are ill or who have died and remember them in my prayers.

For the record then, the NHS has reported 8 deaths in hospitals up until 5 o’clock yesterday, confirming 39 for the day before. The government has reported 184 deaths in all settings and 1,115 people confirmed as infected for the same time period.

May God bless them and you all in everything you do. And, at the very least, as my friend Margaret said today, take some time to smell the roses.

Having promised myself a new routine, I actually did do something different today. Not promising that it’s going to be a regular thing but, from time to time, I may adopt it.

I woke up just after six this morning. Lay in bed, listening to the birds singing their little hearts out and made the decision to go for an early walk. I knew that, at that time in the morning, I may meet dog-walkers or runners, but I hoped that they might not yet be out in force. I wriggled my feet into my trainers, which gave a squeak of surprise, popped on my face mask and set off towards the path that we fondly call ‘The Yellow Brick Road’.

It was a beautiful morning, already warm and very close, teeing up for the storms later on in the day. One dog-walker, doing the opposite circuit to me, on the opposite side of the road, and one very fast walker about a hundred yards ahead of me, stretching out his lead with every step. No-one else. Just me and a feeling of exhilaration that I had broken the bonds of isolation for the first time in ninety-one days. It was exciting.

Once home, I brewed a cuppa and savoured that deliciousness of having earned it. I took my breakfast outside and savoured that, too. Afterwards, I got on with jobs. Just pottering, you know, but hoping to get through them before anyone else got up.

A very large parcel arrived mid-morning, and I was thrilled to see that it was a new mother/daughter lamp, that I’d ordered the other day. I wasn’t expecting it today as the delivery people had promised it for Saturday. Wow!! A parcel that arrives early!! That makes a change!!

In the middle of the hall I promptly set to, to put the thing together. Mum wafted downstairs, picking her way past the bits of cardboard strewn across the rug and made as if to go into the lounge. I called to her to go and get her breakfast in the kitchen. I would be installing the lamp near where she sits, so she’d need to wait a while.

Well, the pesky thing took me a lot longer than I thought it would, and I was disappointed that I had to enlist John’s help in the end to hold it up while I fed the stand into the base and to help me with inserting the bulbs. Boooo…….I’d wanted to do it all myself. Ah, well. Looks nice though. Mum, bless her, was hovering in the kitchen doorway watching the proceedings, with an air of, ‘Can I come out yet?’.

Inevitably, in removing the old lamp I noticed that there was some cleaning to be done. So one job led to another and settees were shifted, coffee tables displaced, blanket boxes re-arranged. Hadn’t planned that!

The second part of my proposed new ‘routine’ was to take an afternoon nap. So I did. At three o’clock, I left John sunning himself under what was a really scorching sun and took myself upstairs to lay on the bed. Hmmm…. perhaps I’ll get into bed? It was two hours later before I woke up. Must’ve needed the sleep then.

While I was wrestling with the lamp, John was wrestling with the electrics. He’d bought some new sockets that include charging points for mobile phones and so he’d thought he’d fit them. That job took a lot longer than anticipated too. First, he lost a screw. Both of our eyes are dim, but between us we eventually managed to retrieve it. Then, thinking the job was complete, switched the power back on, only for a bit of a bang and the electricity to go off again. Not sure what was wrong as he’d definitely wired it up correctly. Decided to abandon one of the sockets and put the old one back on. But we have got one that works with a phone, at least. Yay!! We’ve arrived in the 21st century!

Whilst I was snoozing my head off this afternoon, John was beavering away in the ‘man shed’. He was finalising the garage door aperture and fitting the brackets ready to hang the door. Just needs to find some burly men to help lift it into place now.

The ‘man shed’ is still in a bit of a pickle, despite hours and hours of trying to sort it out. John has had another go at it today, easing out various pieces of equipment that he had for the business but which he thinks he may not need for his future personal needs. Having eased the equipment out, he photographed some of it and posted the photos up on t’internt to sell the stuff. No doubt, a bit like the wood situation, he’ll find he really does need the things once he’s sold them……

Mum, meanwhile, having had the excitement of the lamp-building and the socket-switching was a very contented bunny. Even going so far as to try to tell me how to re-connect the TV after it had gone off due to the thunderstorm, we were having this evening. Not only that, but I think we may be one step closer to her re-hydration. It goes like this…..

Since the debacle of not finding a viable vein in either arm last week for a successful blood test, we have been trying to get her to drink more. Pretty much to no avail. “Drink your tea, Mum.” we say. “I am drinking it.” she’ll reply indignantly, peering into her full cup of cold tea that’s lasted her three hours. Anyway, I decided to offer her a drink of water, not from an old-fashioned glass, but from a Martini glass. Guess what? It goes down a treat. If only I’d known sooner….. fingers crossed enough water has passed her lips for the nurse to find a vein tomorrow morning.

I haven’t watched the news today, but one highlight that I do know of is the ‘U’ turn made by the government in response to Marcus Rashford’s plea to make sure children don’t go without food over the summer holidays. His open letter just hit the right note and the mood of many.

Regarding the Corona virus, however, by nine o’clock this morning there were 1,279 confirmed cases of Corona virus in the previous 24 hours, and 233 people who had died in all settings. The NHS reported 11 deaths in hospitals up until five o’clock on 15 June 2020, and 43 having been confirmed for the day before.

Peace be with you all as you begin to circulate more, and may love be your guiding light.

A lazy day…….. one in which I stayed in bed, taking a tour of social media and e-games this morning, ate, then floated about the garden, ate again, before sitting down to watch TV this evening. It was a lovely relaxing day today. I was clearly still walking on Cloud Nine after youngest son visited us yesterday, joined by eldest and first grandchild.

I had intended to get up early, in actual fact, because I thought I might change my routine. Our current routine is clearly taking its toll on all of us, so I had the idea that I would resist the temptation to be pushing on every day. Ha! Ha! So much for the best laid plans!! New routine? Maybe tomorrow……

John, on the other hand, has overdone it, in my opinion. He will deny it, of course. He has been fitting the headlining to the roof of the ‘car in the garage’, which involves lying on his back, in the shallow shell of the car, tugging and pushing and easing the material into place above him. He asked if I wanted to inspect his handiwork – well, of course I did!! The inspection involved me also lying on my back, looking up at the roof interior. I was thrilled – it’s an excellent job so far – but I tell you, it was a b****r to get out of the car again…… not sure how John is managing it!! Oh, I remember now! He’s Mr Determined, Mr Never-Give-Up etc., isn’t he?

Mum also had a very lazy morning, rolling on into the afternoon, until it was quarter past two before she reluctantly got out of bed. She can’t see the point of getting up, and so loves her bed that, no matter how many times she gets up out of it in a morning to brush her hair, go to the loo, put her lipstick on, she always slides back into it again. Each time I think she’s up, she’s not.

We had a little bit of a battle today though, because John had suggested that I was doing too much for her, so I thought I’d see if I could get her to look after herself a bit more. She can do things, but she can’t remember what she’s supposed to be doing. “Do you want to butter the bread for your sandwiches, Mum?” I asked. “Yes, I can do.” she said brightly, and followed me into the kitchen. I put the bread in front of her, pulled the butter dish forward and handed her a knife. “What do you want me to do with this?” she wondered. “Butter the bread,” I almost hissed.

Later on, I reminded her that we’d agreed yesterday that she’d have a go at polishing her room. “I don’t feel like it now.” she objected. “Never mind, Mum, I’ll put the alarm on my phone on for twenty minutes and we’ll go up then.” The alarm went off. “Come on, Mum, let’s go.” Her reply? “Where are we going?” Of course, she couldn’t go just then as she was drinking her tea. And then she was too tired. We did go up though, and she sat on her bed. I offered her the duster and polish – but she wasn’t sure what she was doing with those. I illustrated the point and then said I’d leave her to it. Well, the room was done – of sorts, but no polish was liberated in the cleaning of the room.

I can’t decide which is more effort – me doing the work for her or trying to get her to do the work……I was exhausted!!

Anyway, the garden was very inviting today and we took several forays into it, sitting out and wandering about, either each on our own, or John and me together, Mum and me together, or all of us together. The air was balmy, the seats inviting and the flowers fragrant. Really lovely.

Had a lovely video chat to Michael and William as well today. William was excited as he’d taken delivery of a parcel….. it’s not his birthday, but I’d sent a ‘lock down parcel’ to break the monotony. We had a virtual game with him playing a shopping game, and he whizzed the SuperWings about across the screen. A happy boy. Happy Grandparents!!!

Had to laugh today, too. Andrew has chained his bike and mine to the railings outside his flat. But he’s lost the key. I prayed to St Anthony very fervently for a couple of weeks to no avail. Andrew said he’d get a hacksaw to cut the chain off. Unfortunately, as it was a D-lock, a hacksaw wasn’t going to cut it. (Get the joke??) John suggested better to use an angle grinder. Perhaps see if Andrew could borrow one from the chaps on the building site next door? In the event, of course, Andrew came home and so took John’s angle grinder back with him. He texted us this morning: “Took the angle grinder about 1 minute to go through bike locks…….also, how ironic that next door are using an angle grinder.” Chuckle, chuckle.

And that was about it!! Nothing much else to report, other than one of our friends, Carole, phoning me unexpectedly this morning, to suggest that I should cancel the order of plants for the garden we made a few weeks ago, which haven’t arrived yet. Apparently, Gardening Express isn’t express, nor so much garden either, by the time you do actually get the plants……. hey-ho, you live and learn.

Corona virus figures, then: 1,056 people infected; 38 deaths in all settings (govt numbers, 9 a.m. today); 6 deaths in hospitals yesterday and 15 confirmed for the day before (NHS numbers, 5 p.m. yesterday).

Stay safe everyone, keep your distance, wash your hands, and share love wherever you go. God bless.

Glory of glories today!! Youngest son made the journey from Cambridge to visit us and we didn’t know anything about it until he arrived!! I was just about to settle Mum into a chair in the garden, following her perambulations this afternoon, when the doorbell rang. I was a bit flustered and wondered who it could possibly be on a Sunday afternoon. And there he was, standing grinning at the front door.

Well, you know me, never one to overreact….. my eyes lit up and my own grin mirrored his as I sped round the side of the house to let him into the back garden. As he walked in through the side gate, I was jumping up and down, squealing with excitement and all the love I have for him, pouring out in bucket loads. I could hardly contain myself!!

I gestured for him to go down to the ‘man-shed’ where John was busily inspecting his garage door aperture. I ran into the house to grab the cushions for Mum to sit on and raced back again, listening all the time to John’s delight on seeing Andrew home. What a buzz! What a feeling.

We had such a lovely afternoon. The sun shone on us, as we sat so companionably in the garden for hours. We didn’t want to let him go, of course, so John asked him if he’d like to stay to eat. Of course, he’d like to stay to eat!! He sat one end and we sat the other at the dining table on the patio, and then we chased the sun round until it started to dip behind the houses and it shone on us no more. It really was time to go.

The glorious afternoon was made all the more glorious when Paul turned up with Freddie. Andrew had said they might, but I didn’t believe him as they are always so busy in their household, so didn’t hold my breath. But, sure enough, there he was. Another beauty with his offspring in my garden. Michael also phoned – his cheeky grin telling us that he knew all about the secret plan all along. Thank you, Lord.

All in all, it’s been an unexpectedly good day. I hadn’t anticipated anything other than the ‘same, same’ we’ve been experiencing recently but, honestly, I couldn’t have written a better script if I’d been writing it myself.

Being Sunday, I had intended to ‘go to church’ first thing, although I didn’t in the end. I felt guilty about that. I did make it to the ‘Zoom’ coffee meet-up afterwards and had a great three-quarters of an hour chit-chatting away to everyone and feeling uplifted by some of the comments that were made. Specifically, about how not to feel guilty…..well, that was a coincidence, wasn’t it?

Mum managed to winkle herself out of bed after I had ‘Zoomed’ and sort her own breakfast out at mid-day. A little while later, I suggested she have a walk in the garden, at which she turned her nose up. She peered out of the window and sniffed. “I’ve just got settled to watch my programmes.” she said. “It’ll be nice.” I urged. “I’ve still got to drink my tea.” she countered – as if that were the clincher and there was no more to be said. “Well, drink your tea then, Mum, while I go and find your socks.” *Mum promptly scuttles down the hallway and hides in the loo*

We did have a nice walk in the garden of course and, guess what? She thoroughly enjoyed it!! I have witnesses…….. She was, however, confused as to who Andrew might be. She politely and cautiously said hello to this apparent stranger, as any well-brought up girl would do. Andrew said, “Do you remember who I am?” She wasn’t sure. “It’s Andrew.” he said, and then, teasingly, “I bet you thought I was Graham, didn’t you?” She nodded and replied “Yes.” Later on, she thought he might be Michael? Ah well, she kept it in the family anyway.

In other news, John has been furkling about preparing the aperture to the man-shed, ready to fit the garage door. We were a bit like ships in the night as he went out the back door and back in through the patio door while I tried to catch up with him at the wrong door every time. Eventually, I found him at his desk perusing the Wickes’ website. He was looking at wood. I burst out laughing. “Don’t tell me you’re ordering wood?” He looked sheepish. He was. Oh, the irony. We have only just waved goodbye to a skip full of the stuff that he couldn’t wait to see the back of……

We had another unexpected visitor today, too. Margaret called, bearing gifts. She recognised the low mood I was feeling so brought me a little bag of pampering goodies. “Make some time for you.” she reminded me for the umpteenth time. There’s no excuse now, of course. Thank you, Margaret.

And finally, Harriet had WhatsApped us to remind us that it was ‘Family Quiz Night’ tonight. We thought, in all probability, that we wouldn’t participate this evening. Me, because it feels like I don’t have two brain cells to rub together and John, because he really is feeling a bit knackered. “Let’s let her know a bit later on whether we’re going to join in or not, when we know how we feel.” I suggested. Good idea, John thought.

As the day wore on, we were more and more inclined to think we might not join in – we were so involved with youngest son that time went by without us noticing. Soon, it was nearly 8.30. “Oh, no! I didn’t let Harriet know what we were doing.” I said, a bit panic-stricken that I could be so rude. Fortunately, it transpired that we were not due to start until 8.30 anyway. John was definitely too tired. I thought I’d just join in for a short while – show willing, you know? But, in the end, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a great quiz and, although I was last but one when we ran the scores, I didn’t mind. George had patted me on the head at the start, much to my amusement, and said, teacher-like, “Just do your best, Anne.” Well, I had done my best and I was pleased with what I did know rather than disappointed by what I didn’t.

We are still shielding and being very, very cautious, but today’s figures suggest the virus is still slowing, with 1,514 people infected as of 5 p.m. yesterday, and 36 people having died in all settings. The NHS reports 4 deaths for the same period, with 29 having been confirmed for the day before.

Let’s pray for the trend to continue downwards and for people, wherever or whoever they are, to find wisdom in their hearts and their behaviours. God bless.

More goodies arrived in the post for the ‘project car’ today. Honestly, every day is like Christmas at our house. And, instead of the materials just sitting on the side waiting to be cherished, the ol’ man has started to fit some bits in earnest. The headlining in the roof of the car is going in. The bulldog clips have come into their own, and one of the two sets of headlining has been liberated and is having a whale of a time draping itself over the newly painted rods.

Today’s delivery was more sound deadening material, because you need two types of sound deadening, don’t you know? This time it’s a ‘Dodo Dead Mat Hex’ sound deadening mat. How’s that for a snappy title? I thought, “Eeeh, you couldn’t make it up.” And then had a second thought, with a little chuckle “Oh….. but somebody did!!!”

My adventures for the day started with persuading Mum, finally, to try out the new-fangled seat that lifts you up and down in the bath. Having resisted since we took delivery of it last week and insisting on the ‘good body wash’ instead, she agreed to dive in this morning. To be honest, I wasn’t sure she’d take to it, but she did. Not only that, it seemed a lot less effort than all the other faffing about we do to keep her clean. After the initial squeal as the seat started lowering into the water, she loved pedalling her feet and legs as if she were swimming and then catching the bubbles with her hands. If we’d had a rubber duck to put in there, she’d have wanted that too.

Of course, there’s always the trip to the ‘hair salon’ as well which she enjoys, and today, she looked at me fondly and said, “Thank you for doing this for me, dear.” I thought that was a nice thing to say, given that she often forgets her pleases and thank yous these days.

I was thrilled to get a video call today from William. Well, Michael did the calling, but William had said, “Let’s phone Grandma and ask her.” They’d found a weird and wonderful looking bug in the garden and wanted to know what it was. I didn’t know what the bug was, but I looked it up and was able to let him know that it wouldn’t hurt him, so it was good to be kind to it. It did look a bit like a wasp, but we figured that it was probably a black and yellow longhorn beetle. I love it when the grandchildren ask these things – I love learning with them.

The day had a contented rhythm to it. Nothing too hectic, nothing too much, just a gentle pattern of tidying ourselves up – gratefully taking delivery of shopping from Malcolm and Chris P, putting clean sheets on the bed, washing and ironing, prepping and cooking food, clearing the old ‘office’ and pottering out in the garden. I had, in fact, just planned to get on with the ironing when John thought it would be nice to sit in the garden together. It was. For a little while this afternoon, the clouds parted, the sun shone and we spent an idyllic half an hour just idly chatting to each other before inspecting the flowerbed and enjoying the plants in it.

Of course, all of that was the calm before the storm with the weather breaking so dramatically this evening. Thunderbolt and lightening (very, very frightening me… Galileo, Galileo….) and lashings of rain. The front drive looked like a lake, the duvet cover I’d left out to dry was absolutely sodden, dripping water everywhere as I brought it inside, and the gutterings overflowed, gushing their contents in all directions. It took out the satellite signal as we were watching TV, drove rain in through the open windows and generally stirred our very souls. It was spectacular.

Today was otherwise one of both celebration and distress from what we have seen on the news. The Queen’s official birthday, and many, many people delighted to be visiting the family or friends in their chosen ‘bubble’, have both been causes for celebration. However, there have been protest marches across the country which have had unpleasant side effects, especially in London, with violence aimed at the police and innocent strangers. Shocking images captured by people with mobile phones are truly upsetting. Pandora’s Box, would you say?

In the meantime, though, I am so very grateful for friends and family who lift us up. The gentle question, “Are you OK?” along with offers of help and practical suggestions of things we can do to lighten our mood is just wonderful. As my friend, Margaret, reminded me this evening, keep smiling! Yes, a smile uses for fewer muscles and takes much less effort than a frown. I’ll do my best.

So, the COVID-19 figures for the record: 181 deaths in all settings; 1,425 people infected as of 9 o’clock this morning. 14 deaths in hospitals up to 5 p.m. yesterday according to the NHS figures, with 38 confirmed for the day before.

Peace be with you and all your friends and families, and peace be with everyone you and they meet.

A startled start to this morning. The phone rang – it was Mandy, from Mum’s flats, to tell us that the District Nurse had been trying to see Mum for a blood test in the last couple of weeks. Apparently, the nurse had been round there twice, and was now on her third visit before anyone at the flats told her she was staying with us. I had told the doctor’s surgery, but obviously the message didn’t get through……

Anyway, the nurse said she’d come to us here, there and then. Mum was still in bed – wide awake, but looking bleak. Even bleaker when I told her the nurse was about to stab her with a needle. And even bleaker still, when the nurse couldn’t find any veins or any blood flowing through her arms after a couple of goes. “I’ll come back again, next week,” said the nurse. “Please make sure your Mum’s well hydrated.” I nodded – I’ll make sure she’s up, too – it was all a bit of a faff in Mum’s bedroom this morning.

The trauma over, we got on with the day. Mum did get up about an hour later and, to my great surprise, hasn’t mentioned anything at all about the stab wounds in her arms. I had been expecting a fair bit of flinching and pained expressions, to extract some sympathy, but no. She seems to have forgotten all about it.

John had an exciting day, for two reasons; firstly, he had to mend an outside light which had fused a whole pile of internal ones last night; and secondly, opening all the parcels that have arrived, full of goodies for his ‘project’.

Mending the light was a big challenge, and required drawing a wiring diagram (or two) to ensure the requisite earths and lives were in the right place and leading to the right switches. This light had given us problems before and we thought they’d been resolved, but clearly it was on the blink again. I suggested to John that he might like to ‘phone a friend’ to discuss the problem. He looked up from the drawing and said, witheringly, “Ah, that’d be no good. This is Sleath wiring.” Nuff said.

In the end, John was successful. He changed the whole outside lamp for a new one and, fingers crossed, everything seems to be working. That’ll be a relief to Mum (whose eyes are dim), having struggled for two nights just with a side lamp in her room, as the main bulb had gone; and then again last night, without the main light due to the fuse failure in that particular circuit.

The goodies for the car were spread out and pored over, and the ol’ man seemed pleased with them. Now they just have to be fitted. Well, it’ll keep him out of mischief for a few days.

My day, for what it was worth, had one or two highlights: a ‘path chat’, sewing a button on, ironing, falling asleep, and prepping food – another day of watching wood warp, really.

Linda dropped some ready meals in for my Mum and we had a nice little ‘path chat’ for a few minutes. The only trouble now, of course, is the traffic trundling by in front of our house. There’s a lot more of it and a distanced chat is sometimes drowned out. Our conversation was peppered with “Speak up! Pardon? What did you say? Oh, sorry I didn’t catch that.” Or just nodding benignly at each other and hoping for the best.

I hate sewing at the best of times, so I felt chuffed that I actually managed to sew a button on my cardigan today. The button has been missing for a long time, and I have often thought about replacing it. The thought became action today and now I have the full complement of buttons on my cardigan. Good for me.

After lunch and a spot of ironing, I sat down on the sofa for a few minutes’ rest. Fatal. I dozed off, resurfacing just before it was time to cook the evening meal. Crikey, I’d only just finished prepping lunch! Ah well – it is lock down after all……so why not, eh?

I was pleased for my single friends this week when they announced that they can form a ‘bubble’ with another family or friend. I have several acquaintances in this category, and honestly, the delight and excitement that shone through their messages has been truly uplifting. I do hope their ‘bubbles’ keep them going and lift their spirits for a good while to come. Hoping and praying that this next phase will be plainer sailing and easier for everyone.

And, for the record, 1,542 people were confirmed as infected with the virus as of yesterday at 5 p.m. with 202 deaths in all settings; and the NHS reported 10 deaths in the same period, with 48 having been confirmed for the day before.

If you are ‘bubbling’ now – enjoy. If you are not, keep on, keeping on. God bless.

I lay in bed this morning, enjoying my book, and then when it got too much, I checked on my emails and social media. Malcolm had sent us a YouTube clip of where ‘the bunny-wunnies’ came from, and I was just watching it when the doorbell rang. It was Malcolm himself bringing some muffler for John’s roof on the Lotus. “Still in bed?” he laughed. It was 10 o’clock. “Yes – as a matter of fact I was just watching the clip about the ‘bunny-wunnies’…..” I said sheepishly. He always catches us in bed. It turns out that we are no longer early risers.

Mum is certainly not an early riser any more and it was after lunch before she finally got up today. And that was after I’d been in a few times and each time she promised she was getting out of bed. The last time I went in, I felt a bit cross. I had told her that I needed to go out to pick up a prescription for John, and would she please get up so that I could be sure she was safe and sound downstairs? I didn’t want John having to be responsible for her if she fell on the stairs or tripped over the cat or something. Yes, yes, she was getting up. I went downstairs and got all ready to go, then went back up to see whether she was ready to be escorted down. Oh, Lord, she’d only gone back to bed again!!!

John has been coughing a fair bit over the last week or so, and we had the results back from the tests they did. He’s growing three lovely bugs in his chest, so a specific antibiotic was prescribed. Collection point: Heartlands. Oh, well, it gave me a run out in the car. And I was in and out in no time at all – so much so that I didn’t even have to pay for parking. Blimey, that’s a first.

Back home, we wafted about a bit, feeling at a bit of a loose end, before I suggested another go at watching The A Word. Good idea. That’ll get us out of having to do any jobs. Mum was amenable too, even though she was in the middle of Tenable – as untenable a game show that I ever saw, to be honest, but Mum likes it. We settled down and had watched about half of it before the phone rang. It was Michael, William and Danielle. They were a bit loose end-ish too. “Do you want to come over? Sit in the garden?” Yes, they did. “But what’s the weather like at yours?” Michael asked. Well, the thermometer showed 16 degrees. Should be fine.

Brrrr…….. we hadn’t accounted for the wind chill factor, of course. But it didn’t stop us sitting out there wrapped up in blankets for over an hour and half. We were warmed up by the love and laughter – particularly the laughter. Michael carrying William on his shoulders and running around the garden; William loving every minute of the precarious ride and laughing his head off. We, in turn, were laughing at their sense of delight and those deep belly chuckles from William. Oh, so, so good.

The garden needed watering, so William obliged. “Please will you fill my watering can up again, Daddy?” Again and again. In the end, we had to find a larger watering can to accommodate William’s industrious efforts. He did a grand job.

Our house is in the centre of the village. Near the shops. Near the chip shop to be precise. Sitting in the garden, when the wind is in the right direction, you can detect that lovely fish and chip smell which sets your taste buds going. Danielle is a sucker for chips. “Oooh, can you smell chips?” she said, her big, round eyes growing rounder with excitement. “Do you want chips?” Michael wondered. “Hmmm, well, I did have a McDonalds earlier in the week, so I shouldn’t really.” Later on, after they had left, they sent a photo of the three of them in the car, eating their fish and chips, looking as pleased as punch. Well, Danielle is eight months pregnant, so if you can’t indulge your wife at that stage in life, when can you?? Looked lush.

After our evening meal, it was the eagerly anticipated ‘Zoom’ time with the college girls. Historically, our contact has been intermittent in many ways – meeting up once (sometimes twice) a year to go to Ragdale Hall; then the annual trip to Sue P’s for a long weekend away; the occasional holiday together or trip down to Linda’s; cinema trips, the theatre or art galleries; shopping sprees and lunches out. Nothing fixed. But now, seemingly, I need my weekly ‘fix’ chatting to them all. It is so peaceful. We don’t all agree, all of the time. We often have things we’re worried about. But the conversation is like a soothing hand on my brow.

Something soothing is just what you need when you’re het up about the state of the country one way or another, and so I find I can look at the virus figures with less of a jaundiced eye today. 13 deaths in hospitals yesterday according to the NHS, with the previous day’s total finally confirmed at 42. Also yesterday, there were 151 deaths in all settings, and 1,266 people infected according to the government.

It’s still going. Maybe slowing. Still on my prayer list. Love conquers all, so let’s do that – just show love.

Oh…..the ‘bunny-wunnies’? It’s from a John Smith’s advert many moons ago. Want to watch? Fast forward to 3:48 to see the bunny-wunnies bit.