Month: July 2020

After the hectic-ness of the last few days, we took it easy today. A slow, but not too late, start, just taking our time. We had intended to Zoom with Lily this morning on some home-schooling, but she was sleeping over at her friend’s so we didn’t do that in the end. Maybe it’ll happen another day – although, being the summer holidays now, it does seem a bit mean….

John spent the morning looking over his wiring diagrams and researching bits and pieces on the computer. I read my book, and then spent a good half an hour rummaging in among the mountains of wrapping paper, gift bags, gift tags and cards that I have in my cupboard, for something suitable to wrap up a very special parcel.

At some point during the morning I reminded Mum that plans are afoot for her return to her flat. On Wednesday. “That soon?” she said, shocked, as if it was the first time she’d heard it. “That’s not very long away, is it?” and she looked uncomfortable. “No, it’s not, but it’s going to be OK.” I reassured her. “I’m going to go over to the flat today to do a little inspection, would you like to come?” Yes, she thought she would.

Suddenly, not having done very much at all, it was lunchtime and we were nonplussed by a phone call from the manager of Mum’s flats. Mum’s hot lunch had arrived on site. Hmmm, I was sure I’d re-instated it from this coming Thursday. The manager said, no worries, the driver will bring the lunch to our house. Well, that put Mum into a tizz. “I don’t know if I’m coming or going.” she said. But she did sit at the kitchen table and eat it all up – mains of a sausage casserole and mash, and dessert a fruit pie and custard. She seemed to have no trouble with it once she got going.

John and I sat outside on the patio in the sunshine eating our Mediterranean salad and pretended we were on holiday in Nice. We basked in the sunbeams and warmed our bodies in their heat. It was lovely. Unfortunately, unlike Nice, there was a westerly wind which cooled the air as soon as a cloud crept over the sun’s face. So, we weren’t out that long in the end. And, in any case, John’s mind was on his wiring….

I took my cup of tea into the lounge and watched daytime TV with Mum for a little while before braving it to get her ready for the trip to her flat. John sat beside me, also watching daytime TV. “Oh, I don’t know why I’m sitting here,” he sighed, “I’m keen to get on with the car.” Yes, but just a few minutes rest and the suspension of having to think was very peaceful.

“Right, then Mum, do you want to get ready to come with me to the flat?” I asked, as the programme came to an end. She looked doubtful and then said no, she didn’t think she’d come. I think she’s putting off the dreaded day. So I went on my own, which was just as well, as I wanted to straighten her room up after we’d installed Aunty Mollie’s chair the other week.

When I got back, John was still very busy with the car and threatening to go up to the motorist’s shop again. He didn’t in the end and ordered the bits off the internet instead, because he didn’t want an argument. Me? Argue? I have no idea what he’s talking about. I, on the other hand, sat and drank tea again, and then nodded off on the sofa. Unintentionally, of course, as it just crept up on me. Darn it!

Suddenly, once again not having done very much at all, it was another mealtime. I offered Mum the egg sandwich I had planned to give her at lunchtime. She was startled that she was just having a sandwich, so I pointed out that she’d already had a cooked dinner today. “Have I? I don’t remember.” Ah well. She enjoyed her sandwich though, in any case.

More TV watching – John in the kitchen because he couldn’t bear to watch Panorama, which was just a re-hash of what we already know, and because he wanted to watch Luther which is a bit near the knuckle for me. Mum and I whiled away the evening watching a gentle programme about Devon and Cornwall and spotted an area of Devon where our friends, Rob and Kaye, live. All very relaxing, and a restorative day.

I was hopeful today when the newscasters announced that the vaccine trials are showing promising results. How wonderful it will be if we can go out without the anxiety of encountering the pesky virus. Fingers crossed that today’s figures continue the downward trend as the government report shows 11 deaths today and 580 lab-confirmed infections; and the NHS spreadsheet shows just one death in a hospital setting yesterday. What trumpet sounds there will be when we get to zero in a hospital setting, at least.

And so another day enriches our souls. I am not sure what I have learned from today, but I do know that I have been grateful for it, because it hasn’t been a difficult one. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the days ahead are not too difficult as I winkle Mum out of her favourite ‘Blue Room’ at our house back to her sheltered accommodation. I’m sure it’ll be fine…….gulp.

God bless and take care everyone.

After an elongated start, we eventually got going to a cracking day. There had been a change in sleeping arrangements overnight which meant that I, sleeping in our old bedroom, didn’t wake up until eleven o’clock when Michael phoned me, and John also slept on and/or rested until much the same time in our master bedroom. I had decamped from our room last night, to enable John to ensconce himself in as much of the bed as he needed, (he’s a restless sleeper, don’t you know) and prevent me from waking up, startled, at his every move (I’m a light sleeper, don’t you know), every hour.

Once we were up, we thought we’d better get on with our daily ablutions, beverages and tidy-ups before welcoming our dear friends Dave and Chris and George and Sue to our garden for the afternoon.

Michael had said it was a nice day when he phoned, and I had said yes, it was, but wasn’t sure how long it was going to last. In my current mindset, I expected it to turn cold and imagined us all shivering under the gazebo, like we did yesterday. In the end, of course, it turned out to be a glorious day with the sun shining and browning our skin if we let it.

Dave and Chris were the first to arrive, and we set our chairs out, socially distanced, away from the gazebo in the sunny part of the garden. George and Sue soon joined us and were pleased to be part of the sun worshipping group. A cup of tea was the first stop before the wine came out, along with the picnic sandwiches and…. guess what? Chris’s famous cake! The most delicious coffee and walnut cake. So delicious in fact, that we have put an order in for another one for when we next meet up. Actually, (with a very happy little giggle to myself) I think she’s planning to make two cakes – her extra-famous Victoria sandwich and the coffee and walnut cake. How will we resist??? (Hugging myself with glee).

I have no idea what we talked about. But we talked and talked and talked. We filled our bellies with good food and cracked open first one bottle of wine, then another. We followed the sun from one spot in the garden to the next, drank tea, ate more cake and then opened yet another bottle of wine. We put the world to rights. We planned outings we knew we weren’t going to go on. We commiserated with each other over the current restrictions and chided each other over our health issues. “You really must go to the doctor with that…..”. And the afternoon disappeared just like that.

“Anyone fancy some cheese on toast?” I offered, as we moved our chairs into a newly emerged patch of sunshine and opened more red wine. “Oooh, yes, please!” came the chorused reply. Oh, what bliss. A mound of molten cheese on fluffy white bread is so delicious, isn’t it?

Mum tottered out to say ‘hello’ to everyone. These are people whom we have known since our very early teens and they have a long history in our lives. Dave said “Hello, Hazel, nice to see you. Do you remember us?” indicating himself and Chris. Mum shook her head and laughed. “No, I’m afraid I don’t.” she said. We explained how she might remember them and George. Still mystified, she shook her head again, but was thrilled to think that everyone had crammed into her front room all those years ago, while we were still at school, to listen to music and debate the rights and wrongs of the world as we knew it then.

Mum tottered back into the house for her evening meal and we all started thinking about when we would meet up again. We topped our glasses up once more, toasting each other and celebrating our friendship. We blessed the day we got to know Sue, who fits into our group so very well and we delighted in each other’s company, throwing virtual hugs to each other. And then it was time to say goodbye. What a wonderful time we’d had.

Pleasantly hazy with an abundance of wine and curled up cosily in a nice warm blanket, I watched Downton with Mum this evening, while John took himself into the kitchen to watch the Grand Prix. He should have been at Silverstone with Paul today. How disappointing that it didn’t happen – it would have been a great day for it.

All in all, we count our many blessings and thank God, once more, for our good friends and family – and hope that the weather keeps up for little while longer so that we can enjoy more garden ‘get-togethers’ like this for a few more weeks, or even months.

We hope, too, that we will be able to lift the restrictions on our shielding lives a little bit, soon. That hope is based on fewer people getting sick with COVID-19 or dying from it. Today, the government tells us that 27 people lost their lives and 726 were confirmed as infected. Yesterday, the NHS tells us that 4 people died in a hospital setting and 2 were confirmed for the day before – although these figures don’t tally with previous ones, so I am unsure how accurate they actually are.

However many it is, the figures indicate that there are still families, every day, who are being shattered by the loss of a loved one. Let us all continue to do our bit to prevent the spread of the virus so that families don’t have to go through the heartbreak. God bless, and peace be with you.

We had been hopeful that the weather would be kind to us today and, to a certain extent, it was. It didn’t rain, thank goodness, but it was overcast. I don’t normally mind an overcast day, although John finds them extremely tedious, but it was breezy as well, which whipped a cool draft up our trouser legs as we sat out this morning.

For the first time since lock down, we welcomed my dearest goddaughter, Liz, and her husband Ben, for a little sojourn in our back garden. The greetings were warm, and the easy conversation took our minds off the coolness of the air, although I have to say, that Ben’s bare arms and legs went blue and we did notice that. He said he was alright and didn’t need a blanket but, as soon as the sun started to shine, he joined me outside the shelter of the gazebo, to heat ourselves up in the few rays of sunshine, like iguanas basking on the rocks.

It was such a delight to see them. They are such easy company and all-round lovely people. And Liz brought exciting news. After nearly twelve months of discernment, in which she explored her calling to enter into priesthood, she recently had had a face-to-face interview with the Bishop and he said ‘yes’. Yes! Wow! How marvellous and uplifting. It is the right thing. Liz has a ministry in her that she will do amazingly well, so I am absolutely delighted for her. She has often been my strength in times of doubt and, for a young woman, has a brilliant head on her shoulders. Training doesn’t start until 2021 so, in the meantime, she and Ben are going to get a shift on to transform their existing situation in readiness for the three-year course. I’m saying a prayer or two for them now and wishing them very well.

We decided, after Liz and Ben had left, that indoor tasks were the thing to pursue today, since it was breezy and cool outside. John hi-ho’d to the garage to fiddle with more wires and junction boxes and pour over wiring diagrams while I poured over the internet looking for birthday gifts. There is such a lot to choose from, isn’t there? And so it was another happy hour feasting my eyes on all the lovely things to be had, before I finally made my choice and sent off for the precious item.

Mid-afternoon, John decided he was going to rock up to the motorist’s shop in the village to buy a bulb for the car. He had mooted this idea while Liz and Ben were with us, and I immediately went into ‘no, you’re not’ mode. Liz and Ben laughed at us and thought that that was their cue to leave, anticipating a domestic incident on the horizon. I wasn’t happy about the idea, but John was determined, and so, masked up and sanitised he made the trip, grabbed the bulb from the rack, paid and sauntered home. “Yes, yes, I’ve washed my hands.” he said, when he got back, to my mute enquiry.

Scrolling through pictures on ‘tinternet’ this afteroon encouraged my lazy bones, and I couldn’t drag myself from the sofa to do any of the jobs on the ‘to do’ list. I sat, mesmerised by daytime telly for over an hour before finally galvanising my body into doing something at least. Even if it was only making a cup of tea and prepping the evening meal.

Normally, I love a roast chicken dinner, but since Mum has been living with us my enjoyment has waned. It seems I am no longer able to cook chicken. It is always too tough. Ah-ha! I thought, I know, I’ll do it in the chicken brick instead, on top of a load of vegetables – that way, it’ll be soft. Of course, what I hadn’t properly accounted for was the extra time it might take to cook. I popped it in the oven just before five, aiming to eat about six-thirty. An hour to cook, twenty minutes to rest and all that.

The chicken was a large one – OK, maybe an hour and fifteen minutes to cook, then? Perhaps we’ll eat a little later than I thought. In the end, we sat down to eat at twenty past seven. Bless her, Mum had been fretting about food since about five…… “Have a cake?” I offered. She had a cake while she waited. However, what do you reckon folks? Was my chicken successful? Could Mum eat it? Yes, she could! Ta-da!

After we’d eaten, I scampered into the lounge to set up John’s laptop for a Skype session with Pete and Dawn. I didn’t give Mum the chance to start watching a programme to get engrossed in, in case we had a similar situation to a few weeks back, when she definitely wasn’t going to give it up and we had to skulk in the kitchen instead.

What a great evening. Pete and Dawn are always such great company (I suppose that’s where Liz gets it from) and we nattered and nattered and nattered. We also drank a drop or two of wine. Cheers everyone!! Jack joined in the nattering on their side of the screen but, on our side, Mum didn’t. In fact, she’s been extremely quiet all day. Bemused at the idea of going back to her flat, I think, but I am sure that with all the help in place she’ll soon enjoy her time there again. Fingers crossed anyway.

The sheltered accommodation that Mum lives in has been COVID-free and they have taken good measures to keep it that way. Masks and gloves are de rigueur, and social distancing is being respected. No deaths have been reported there from the virus, so, with care, Mum will be OK.

There have been deaths forom COVID-19 elsewhere, of course, with 3 deaths reported in a hospital setting up until five o’clock yesterday, 17 June 2020, and 5 being confirmed for the day before. I am still not sure of the accuracy of these NHS figures, but I have started, so I’ll finish…… The government, however, is trying to sort out its reporting of the figures and today published a figure of 40 deaths by four o’clock, with 827 people confirmed as infected.

If in doubt, folks, now’s the time to eat cake or have a glass of wine to keep your spirits up. Take care and God bless.

I can’t decide if it’s the lock down or old age, but I am slowing up. I often wake early and think I’ll get up. Then I change my mind and snooze on for a bit longer. Then I surf the internet and do a few e-puzzles before I finally throw back the covers and wander to the bathroom. That’s followed by a bit of wafting about ahead of a job or two.

Today, it was a typical ‘wafty’ start to the day, but I was enthused once I reached the kitchen, as I had planned to make a nut loaf for lunch. The reason for a decent lunch? Andrew was coming home, and he’d be sure to want to eat. Well, maybe it’s just that I like to feed him when he comes home, do you think?

Despite knowing the recipe for the nut loaf, having made the thing a few times before, I still needed to look it up and follow it step-by-step. And that’s when I noticed that everything takes such a long time. Goodness me, it took me forever with my chopping, slicing, frying, boiling, beating and mixing. In my head, it’s a half-hour job. In reality, it was an hour before I finally slotted the loaf tin into the oven.

And what a mess I made in what had been a nice, tidy kitchen! No matter how I try, I find it impossible to ‘clean-as-you-go’ and always look back in horror, once the preparations are completed, at the bombsite I’ve left behind. Every time.

Anyway, Son Number Three came home, to our delight, I fed him lunch and it was delicious. He brought with him some strawberry jams that he’d been trialling, which were even more delicious. I was dubious when he told me that one of them was made with pink peppercorns. Had no idea whether that was going to taste good or not. But it did.

We had a lovely afternoon together sitting under the shade of the gazebo and just comfortably chatting. Not long after he arrived, Andrew said “Where’s Grandma?” John and I exchanged glances and grinned. Ha! She wasn’t even up yet…… and it took her some time to make it. She finally appeared in the patio doorway, looking out. We called and waved to her. “Are you coming out, Mum?” She nodded and smiled. “Get your stick!” I yelled and sprang into action to help her down the steps into the garden, only to find, once I ventured into the lounge, that she was sitting herself down on the sofa. “Aren’t you coming out, Mum? I thought you were just getting your stick?” She looked surprised and said, “I was looking out. I’m not coming outside.”

And that was that. Did she want see Andrew? No, not today, she told me firmly. Or Paul, when he turned up a bit later on? No, thank you, not today. Ah, well, as long as she was happy. And she was.

Sons are very useful, though, aren’t they? John needed some bits and pieces from Screwfix. He ordered them yesterday on a ‘click and collect’ basis. The only trouble is, he’d clicked, but being in the shielding category, couldn’t collect. Now then, we wondered, stroking our chins, who could we possibly ask to go and collect the items today? Andrew was a willing errand boy – how good is that?

It came to the time when Andrew had to leave, so into his arms we thrust chef whites, his KitchenAid and cardboard boxes for packing up his belongings, ready for his flat move on Monday. Then, with regret, we waved him off.

After he’d left, we made a cup of tea and went to sit in the lounging chairs, next to the pond. The sun was really warm, and we laid back in the chairs for a bit of a rest – and a sleep, obviously. We had clearly had an exhausting day entertaining guests.

Once we woke up, John spent the next few hours pottering in the garage, head under the dashboard of the Lotus, with his new wiring diagram and the brand-new wires that came in the post today. I spent a happy hour pottering in the garden, dead heading this and that, potting on plants and pulling up a few weeds. I might have been slow at that too, but I didn’t notice so much as there was no agenda and no deadline to work to – unlike the morning activity of prepping lunch.

A nice day. It’s always a nice day when we see our boys. Fills our hearts and sets us up for a few more days. Keeps our minds off COVID-19 which is still there but not in such abundance apparently, although the government withheld yesterday’s number of deaths, due to a counting issue. This announcement was made:

‘The Secretary of State has today, 17 July, asked PHE to urgently review their estimation of daily death statistics. Currently the daily deaths measure counts all people who have tested positive for coronavirus and since died, with no cut-off between time of testing and date of death. There have been claims that the lack of cut-off may distort the current daily deaths number. We are therefore pausing the publication of the daily figure while this is resolved.‘

The NHS figures are also confusing, as I pointed out yesterday, with 2 deaths reported in hospital settings as of four o’clock on Thursday, 16 July 2020; 9 confirmed for the previous day, but 3 for the day before that, 14 July (which was five in their spreadsheet yesterday….). Any minute now, they’ll suspend reporting the NHS figures too, I suspect.

Anyway, stats? What do they prove, hey? Take care everyone. May you all know peace and happiness in the days to come.

I have a penchant for chairs. I do love a chair, whatever its shape or size, and John and I have had an ongoing tussle over the years, with me wanting to buy more chairs and him saying, ‘We have enough, god dammit!!’ I have wept over the disposal of any chair, such as the bentwood rocker I had to nurse the children in, but mostly, in recent times, I have contented myself with just looking at chairs in antique shops, second-hand shops, furniture shops or on-line. And so, let me say very firmly, that I take very little responsibility for the recent discovery that we could accommodate thirty – yes, thirty – people seated in our garden.

As we sat in the garden today, John counted up all the seating that’s available there should anyone want it. He started the conversation with, “We could hold tea-parties in the garden, couldn’t we?” I nodded, wondering where the conversation was going. “I mean, we could arrange all the chairs in groups, and we could entertain twenty-seven people.” I looked at him, goggle-eyed. Twenty-seven? I gasped. “Yup.” And he proceeded to wave broadly to where all twenty-seven bottoms could sit. I pondered on the volume and gazed round the garden. He was right. We have a lot of garden furniture.

“Erm….. have we still got that loungey, long, sort of chair somewhere, do you know?” I wondered, not having seen it for a whole year, and suspecting it might have gone into the skip when I wasn’t looking. “Oh, yes! And that’s another one!” he exclaimed. “That makes twenty-eight!” I wasn’t totally convinced that his arithmetic was right, so we started counting. “26…27…28…29…30!” Not twenty-eight. Thirty. My excuse is that most of it has been inherited one way or another, so I can’t be held responsible for all of it. Except, that is, that I have kept the chairs…… as I say, I do like a chair.

We had eaten our lunch in the open air today, as the weather was sultry and warm. The clouds parted occasionally and beat down us as we relaxed and took our time over our meal and drinks. We were enjoying the moment of just being us, with bellies full of good food, and engaging in light-hearted chat. We were pleased with how the gazebo had turned out and how the plants were thriving, as well as reminding ourselves of how we had got to this place with all the hard work and sometimes heartbreak, over the years. For another moment this week, we felt contented.

I think I broke the spell a little bit, by getting my cloth and some PVCu cleaner out, to have a go at what was a very stained patio table. John decided it must be time for more Lotus immersion and set off for the garage, where he spent a very happy few hours tinkering with the electrics, and equally, I spent a very happy time finding a bit of elbow grease to buff up the table.

It was so warm that the patio door creaked open and Mum stood there grinning at me. “I think the wind has dropped.” she observed, looking skyward. I asked her if she wanted to come outside for a walk round the ‘estate’. “I think I do.” she said, as she grabbed her walking stick and ventured out. For once, the wind didn’t blow and Mum wasn’t clutching at her hair or covering her ears for fear of being wafted about. She thoroughly enjoyed her little sortie down to where the raised flowerbed is, to admire the plants, and then back up to the patio again.

I went back to my scrubbing and then my phone rang. It was George, once again having galloped to the rescue today to spring clean my computer. What I thought might be a five-minute job…….”George, Dropbox isn’t backing up because my hard drive is full……. Any chance you can tell me what to do, please?” became an all-day marathon. We started at ten this morning and finally finished tiddling about with it about six o’clock this afternoon! What an amazing friend he is.

After we’d eaten this evening, a little later than expected because I was so engrossed in my table-scrubbing, we had another flop onto the sofa to watch nothing very much on TV before John went to his computer to look at more wiring information for the car. His research looks like it’s paid off. He’s very excited. He’s found a wiring diagram that actually matches the car he’s got – oh, what heaven is this!!! I wonder what he’ll be doing tomorrow, folks?

With regards to where we are now in relation to COVID-19, we still wonder what we are going to be doing tomorrow – will we still be shielding? I guess so. The numbers are down a bit but it’s still out there so our ‘safety first’ mentality continues.

The government report tells us that there were 66 deaths in all settings yesterday up until five o’clock, and 642 people confirmed as infected. The NHS numbers don’t tally with recent numbers I’ve looked at, however, so I’m not sure whether they are reliable. 3 deaths in a hospital setting yesterday, but five confirmed for the day before (14 July 2020) and 6 confirmed for 13 July – which was originally nine. I am, once again, ‘Confused of Coventry’.

Watch out, there’s a virus about – still. Take care everyone and God bless.

Quite an exciting day today!! We have been on the go for most of it, one way or another, and only crashed out this evening, not being used to being busy for so long.

I took myself off, fairly early, to water my friend’s plants in their greenhouse and check on those in the outside pots. All good, and I enjoyed the little outing. Once I was back home, I spent about half an hour chatting to Mum’s cleaner, to see if she was happy to go back to Mum’s once we got her move in motion. We mulled it over between us and concluded that she would return but we’d see how things go in the long-term. It was lovely to talk to her and see how she’d been fairing during the lock down. It was also music to my ears that she would continue to support Mum, at least initially, as Mum has grown very fond of her over the years.

I looked at the clock. It was nearly time for the Sutton Sleaths to arrive. Better get on and set the gazebo up, I thought. I looked at the clouds. Ah, yes, sooner rather than later would be preferable. I manoeuvred the box into the utility room in readiness but, before I got chance to do anything more with it, the Sutton Sleaths were actually on the doorstep.

Michael busied himself with unpacking the box and establishing the legs of the gazebo. I hustled John out to help, and then Michael and Danielle had to shoot off to take Thomas for his hospital check-up, so William and I were very able assistants to John, and we finalised it between us.

It had been an unexpected delight yesterday evening when Paul said he’d also call in with Freddie today so, with rain just beginning to lightly fall and the gazebo in its final stages, we were excited when we heard Freddie’s fluting little voice calling as they came down the path by the side of the house. Just in time to get the toys set up in the gazebo and get settled in. Lovely.

From thereon in, it was full-on, of course. The boys are little bundles of energy with healthy competitive spirits for the one and only slide, push-along toy, nee-naw car, and ride-on toy. Some refereeing was needed, but they are amazingly compatible considering their age gap.

Activities were sometimes in the gazebo – when it was raining – and sometimes outside. And once Michael was back, he and Paul played frisbee while the little ones were ‘piggy-in-the-middle’, and then they all played ‘tig’ to much hilarity and excitement. I tried to video the fun and games several times, only to find that whatever button I’d pressed, it wasn’t the right one and I’d missed the crucial action.

They all had a very good work-out and it felt like I did too. I didn’t play frisbee or ‘tig’ but I did do a lot of running about: getting the sandpit ready, bringing the toys out, setting them up, getting drinks and food and cups of tea, striding up the ‘Grand Old Duke of York’ hill and down again, bringing out a little table and chairs for the boys’ at which to eat their lunch and so on. It was bliss. I just love it!!

And, every time, every single time, it’s over all too soon. It’s not just the children saying, ‘I don’t want to go’, it’s me saying ‘I don’t want you to go’ too. Don’t know which is worse – the children having a tantrum because they’ve got to go, or me sulking because they’ve got to go!!! Of course, the adults i.e. my own children, are patting us on the head and saying, ‘You’ve had fun, haven’t you? You can do it all again another day. But now it’s time to go……’ Boo-hoo…….

Mum, bless her cotton socks, had appeared at the back window on several occasions to wave to the children and even managed a little look at baby Thomas. I think she, too, had thoroughly enjoyed watching the kids racing round and round the garden today. As we waved them all off, she even appeared at the front door and joined in.

John was on a roll by then and got on with prepping his homework ready to talk to Lily but ‘we was thwarted’. At the appointed time of 3.30 we clicked on the Zoom invitation and waited. Nothing doing. John sat back, his homework done, ready and waiting. I clicked some more, switched off then, on again but, nope, nothing doing. I phoned Paul. “Ah… yes, you won’t be able get onto the meeting yet, because I’m using it for a business call.” That’s the trouble with working from home isn’t it? Competition for Zoom time.

In the end, we aborted the Lily session. I tried texting her, then phoning her on various media – standard phone, FaceTime, WhatsApp – to no avail. Only to find out later that her battery had been flat and she’d left her phone upstairs to charge. And anyway, in the meantime, she’d been looking after Freddie while Paul was business Zooming…..

John was still on a roll as I skedaddled to our room to read my book for a bit, and he cooked the evening meal. It was delicious but, as always happens when he cooks, Mum was picky, and he huffed about it a bit. I didn’t know what to say – but whatever it was, it was going to be the wrong thing.

After we’d eaten and feeling tired, we flopped onto the sofa in the lounge and chose to watch a bit more of The A Word this evening. We are just starting the third series and still finding it fascinating. It is very well acted, and the story line draws you in.

So, a good day, thank you very much, with thanks to friends to have helped us today as well. Nigel and Hazel did a spot of shopping for us today and, when Nigel called in to drop it off, he brought Natalie and Sam, the baby, with him so I was able to coo over the pram for a good fifteen minutes. Pete and Dawn drove up to the garden centre and brought me compost back this morning, as well as some hankies for Mum, to replace the very threadbare ones she has been tucking up her sleeve. And then a nice chat to Moira this afternoon too. Oh, thank you, thank you for dear family and friends.

COVID-19 is still causing a kerfuffle across the country in different places and there were 85 deaths in all settings from it, up until five o’clock yesterday, with 538 infectees. I don’t know what to make of the NHS figures though, as the record simply records 9 deaths in a hospital setting for the 13 July 2020, which is a day out of date.

Wear your masks folks and be kind to all you see and meet. God bless.

Great excitement this morning. The gazebo has arrived!! Not that we’ve done anything with it today you understand, as it’s been another mizzly day, but tomorrow….. well, if the weather is kind enough to let us set it up without getting drenched, that is.

Other than that, not a great deal to report really. Same, same, same. Failed to get up early and failed to do the chores that I thought I might. I did do my duty and go round to my friend’s, however, to water their greenhouse plants and check up on their outside pot plants – which didn’t need any more water, of course, as they were happy enough with the rain.

On my return, Mum had made it out of bed and had had her breakfast which was an amazing feat in itself and had me bouche-bee, as they say in France. I spent a little while on the phone to various people this morning discussing what to do with Hazel, and we’re beginning to make plans for her return to her flat.

The most disappointing conversation I had was with the doctor’s surgery though. Two weeks ago, I had written a letter asking for support and advice. I hadn’t heard anything, and I was beginning to suspect that the doctor was on holiday and the letter was still sitting in her in-tray. Sure enough, that was it. The letter had been passed to a different doctor yesterday, but there is ‘such a backlog’ that they can’t deal with it for another week. Blimey!! The whole point of writing when I did was to try and get some advice before the 1st August, when we get more information on what the shielding situation is. Ah, well, never mind. We think we’ll make our own decisions and hope for the best.

After lunch, I was decadent and sat and watched daytime TV for an hour before I admitted to myself that my tiredness wasn’t going to improve unless I had a nap. “I’m off to lay on the bed.” I announced to anyone who would listen and planned an hour just resting. “No worries,” John replied, “I’m off to do the Lotus.”

I hadn’t been there long when the phone rang – it was Michael and ‘William-in-the-buff.’ Phoning for a chat and also to see if we could look after William in the garden tomorrow while they attend a follow-up hospital appointment for Thomas. Of course, I said yes, so I hope the weather plays ball.

I read my book for a bit and then, wouldn’t you know it? I dropped off to sleep, only to emerge about six o’clock in the evening. As I woke, I imagined I could smell the delicious aroma of someone cooking. I was hopeful. Is John cooking the tea? Unfortunately, when I got downstairs, the delicious aroma had been clearly imaginary, and John still had his head down among the wires on the Lotus. No meal on the go…… shame.

We enjoyed a delicious meal in the end though, which Mum picked her way through. A quick stir-fry which suits John and I down to the ground, with vegetables a bit al dente. Mum doesn’t manage anything unless it’s very soft. We ground our teeth a bit as we watched the struggle between Mum, the meat and the veg….. neither of us quite knew how to stay cheerful in the face of it. But she had cake for afters, so all’s well that ends well.

After we’d eaten, Mum toddled into the lounge for her evening TV viewing, and John and I toddled upstairs for a fantastic evening on Zoom with John’s Uni friends. We had a lovely time. Pete and Fran had done a quiz which we could answer (!!) and then we had a good old natter afterwards. Brilliant. Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

All in all, quite a good day even if I did feel fatigued. However, I haven’t wanted to watch much of the news today – I am sure it’s still lock down fever, but some of the people you see and hear on the news seem to have less and less common sense as the days go by. And to watch smug and arrogant politicians is beginning to pall – especially in the light of what really is needed to keep us all safe and solvent.

The numbers of people dying from COVID-19 is still unacceptable, I think, with 138 deaths in all settings as of five o’clock yesterday, and 398 people infected with the virus. The NHS reports 5 deaths in hospitals for yesterday and 8 are confirmed for the day before.

I am still in the anxious category but hoping that that will change a bit once we can get Mum settled back into her flat, and we can go out, out. Fingers crossed. In the meantime, of course, stay mindful, everyone, of the right things to do to keep the virus at bay.

Love wins. Peace be with you all.

It’s funny how we fall into believing our own hype, isn’t it? ‘We’re in isolation‘ is how we were, and how I have imaged us for all these weeks; but as long as everyone keeps their distance, we are seeing our family and close friends outdoors, in the garden. We’ve moved on from ‘in isolation’, to simply, ‘we’re shielding’, which is more accurate, I suppose. Certainly, we’re not doing anything risky at all – unless you count going to hospital, of course. With thanks to those of our friends who have encouraged me, in particular, to move my mind-set on, we’ll see what the next steps are shortly.

For sure, if we don’t change something, we will slowly go mad in all probability. So, we were delighted when Paul suggested we might like to help Lily with home-schooling. Up until recently, they have been coping in-house but, as both Paul and Harriet are back into their respective offices, it leaves Lily tackling the daily challenges set by the teachers, on her own, during the day. Oh, yes, please – we’re up for a bit of grey matter grinding.

So, that’s what we did this morning. Had a chat on Zoom to Lily, and frightened ourselves to death with the all the work she’s been set and got to do in a short space of time. Crikey, I’d forgotten what it was like. I mean, what is the difference between a metaphor and a simile? (No, don’t tell me, it’s a rhetorical question….). Next lesson is on Wednesday – we’ll have to make sure we’ve done our homework before then to help Lily, won’t we? Eeek……

Once we’d chatted to Lily, I thought I’d do a bit of experimenting with Zoom as I am still a novice in its use. I hadn’t intended to, but all of a sudden, there I was chatting to George again! He and Sue were round at Dave and Chris’s and were most amused by the unexpected call. Made me giggle, too. It was unfortunate that I had to cut the call short though, as the doorbell rang just then.

After the lovely weekend, both John and I were feeling a bit short on patience though, today – especially as it was rather overcast and mizzling for most of the day – so we steered clear, just in case cross words were shared.

John challenged himself by looking at the electrics in the Lotus this afternoon, and I didn’t envy him the task. All those wires and where do they lead to? And do any of them actually work? A real puzzle, but progress was made, as far as I can tell. He was certainly on the computer later, looking to order instrument panel lights, so he must have some idea of what he is doing!!

I, on the other hand, soothed myself with a little bit of indoor gardening. When we were over at Michael and Danielle’s the other day, Michael presented me with some very sorry-looking, pot-bound plants that he hadn’t had time to deal with. It was a bit of a struggle to get them off the premises, mind you, as William was extremely attached to them and really didn’t want to let them go. Anyway, I had a good look at them and found decent-sized pots for them to fit into, so they are looking a little happier now. A drink of water helped.

I also had a soothing visit to water plants in a friend’s greenhouse today too, as they are away for a few days. Needn’t worry about the outdoor pot plants though, as it’s rained for most of the day and so they are well set up, but I did pick some delicious lettuce leaves before they start bolting away in the warmth and the rain.

Mum felt a bit weary-willy today and refused to get out of bed, citing the fact that she ‘didn’t feel very well’. I wasn’t surprised. She hadn’t had the attention she’d wanted yesterday when the family was round. I think she kept forgetting that the family couldn’t come indoors to chat to her and she felt neglected. Misery-me was going to stay in bed today…… “Come on, Mum,” I cajoled, “honestly, you will feel better for getting up, having a drink and your tablets. Trust me……” I felt like Kaa from Jungle Book, willing her to swing her legs out of bed and make the move downstairs.

Once she was up and had had food, a drink and her tablets, she perked up and wasn’t too bad all day. In fact, she perked up so much that she even offered to make me a cup tea this evening. I nearly fell off my perch with shock. Not quite sure how it would have turned out if I hadn’t gone in to check on her though – might have just been hot water in the milk. But at least she tried.

And another day has passed. I’d like to say we did stunning things, but we haven’t. And I feel like I’ve walked through treacle today, with the washing waiting, vacuuming a necessity but not done, bed-making on order, and still the painting and decorating of the ‘office/gym/snug’ to be started. I expect I shall do some of it tomorrow. Hope so anyway.

I am hopeful that we will be able to ease our lock down shortly and today’s figures suggest it may soon be possible, with eleven deaths reported in all settings and one in a hospital setting by yesterday afternoon, and 530 people were infected. Hope…….

Keep safe everyone, keep your distance and wear your masks…… God bless.

I know the title says ‘isolation’ but, in reality, we have not really been isolated for a while now. We have been seeing our family and some of our friends in the garden for a good few weeks, so it feels a bit of a cheat to call our incarceration ‘isolation’. ‘Keeping our distance’ is more like it. We’re ‘zooming’ and having ‘path chats’ and inviting people to sit in the garden, and even the porch when the weather isn’t up to much. So, I can’t really say we’re properly isolated. In fact, one of my friends said to me the other day that our social life seems more active than hers – and she’s not even in the ‘shielding’ category.

So, we’re feeling blessed. And today in particular, as we hadn’t seen eldest son face-to-face for a little while and withdrawal symptoms were setting in, so a barbecue chez nous was just the ticket.

The sun shone all day and created just the right ambience. The garden played ball and set out its stall beautifully, gracefully mellowing to the hilarity of the children’s slide, the stilts stomping all over the lawn, and the game of Jenga (or Freddie’s version of it) tumbling down to much laughter.

The parasols went up, the chairs sprung to attention and the cushions plumped up ready for anyone who wanted to rest their weary limbs. We dusted off the barbecue, chilled the Prosecco and prepped everyone’s favourite foods. Nothing was left to chance and everything fell into place. It was fabulous.

There was a gentle ‘busyness’ to our afternoon, with John wielding all the equipment you need for a barbecue and presiding over the meat as it incinerated there. Well, actually, it was only the pork that was incinerated – everything else was perfect. Paul popping to the shops to buy fruit for the Pimms, before playing with Freddie; Lily and Harriet prepping the Pimms; Freddie swinging and swinging on the swing; and me, darting in and out of the house with salads, bread, chips, cutlery and rhubarb crumble. I was reminded of Alan and Janet Ahlberg’s ‘Peepo!’ today. Even though I was in it, I felt like I was watching our afternoon unfold. And it was good.

As always, at the end of the afternoon, we didn’t really want to let the family leave. We would have liked to have held onto them for so much longer, but Lily is fourteen and wanted meet to meet her mates, and Freddie is four and it would soon be bedtime. Reluctantly, we knew it was time for them to leave. It had been such a welcome interlude with Freddie running here, there and everywhere, rough and tumbling with Daddy, and Lily, so sophisticated, creating a Pimms for us all to drink – all so relaxed and so very familiar.

I just love that feeling of being among family or friends, not having to pretend at anything. We’re just us, and even a tease is a warm embrace.

Nothing else much, really, today – had a lovely Zoom coffee chat with fellow church members this morning but other than that, Mum has been conspicuous by her absence, not wanting to join in with the family at all; feeling kippered by the barbecue smoke, so opting to stay indoors; resisting every attempt to tempt her outside; feeling hungry in between the times when food was actually available; but watching from the side-lines and devouring any food that was offered – unless it was sausage which was clearly indigestible.

After the family left, John and I opted to stay outside and sit in the comfy chairs just chatting and watching the sun go down. We might have been helping the bottle of Prosecco go down too, but that’s another story. A perfect ending to a perfect day and perfect weekend, really. For once, we felt content. Alleluia.

We are lucky. We have had some very tough times in recent years but we still have a lot to be thankful for. We are thankful that we are shielded from the virus doing the rounds, which has claimed 21 lives in all settings and just one in a hospital setting as of yesterday. 650 people were infected, according to the government figures by five o’clock yesterday, too.

Keeping our fingers crossed that our current strategy of keeping our distance continues to pay off and we have more contented days like today. We are also willing all our friends and family time and space for contentment in this topsy-turvy world. Peace be with you and God bless.

When the sun came out today it was hot!! Did you notice? It didn’t start like that though, although we willed it so. We took our breakfast out onto the patio under a pleasantly warm sun this morning, but we’d not long been sitting there, when a black cloud descended and wiped away any heat, and a little breeze ushered in a chill wind. John scarpered as soon as he could. I followed not many minutes after.

I have to say, though, that breakfast with hubby on the patio was an unexpected treat. We don’t often sit down together to eat in the mornings, so I savoured every moment.

After we’d eaten, we gathered our things together and headed over to the Sutton Sleaths. There had been a suggestion that we might join them in a visit to Baddesley Clinton today, to help us emerge from our hibernation, but it was fully booked so we were thwarted. Instead, we went to their back garden for a cuppa and I helped William in his search for treasure.

I felt lucky that Mum got up and came downstairs before we set off without too much difficulty, so I was able to leave with no worry. She had her breakfast and lunch all ready for her, and the TV was on TV Gold, so I knew she’d be OK while we were out.

While we were at Michael and Danielle’s the sun came out and it was lovely and warm. We sat under their newly erected pergola which was splendid, cooed over baby Thomas and played with William. “Grandma,” he said, “This is my shop and you can be my first customer. Here’s a penny for you.” He handed me a coin, which I handed back as I ‘bought’ a smelly welly. Eeh, we had fun!

John was in his element, too, as there was the re-positioning of the lamp on the back wall to be tackled, in order to accommodate the pergola. It felt good to be able to help Michael do the job – even if it was mostly offering advice and passing the drill and screws up to Michael a-top the ladder.

We had to cut our visit short though, as we had agreed to take delivery of my Aunty Mollie’s all-singing, all-dancing armchair for Mum, and we were due to meet Catherine’s husband, John, at Mum’s flat. It all worked very smoothly, with John waiting for us as we arrived and then it was just a matter of manoeuvring the chair into place. All socially-distanced, of course. I am not sure what Mum is going to say about the chair when she gets back to her flat. I haven’t told her about it yet…..

Mum was still safe and sound when we returned, giggling her head off to one of the ‘Gold’ programmes, so we went into the kitchen to get on with a bit of baking and preparing the evening meal. John made some more ‘sandwich rolls’ and I put together some little desserts that were supposed to develop a yummy lemon curd at the bottom as they cooked. I was delighted with them as I took them out of the oven, only to be disappointed that the lemon curd was nowhere to be found. Then I saw that the lemon juice I’d so carefully squeezed, was still sitting in the jug on the side…… oops. John sent a photo to the family and asked if they could spot the deliberate mistake? Andrew, the chef, got it in one, of course! Planning to make another batch tomorrow. Let’s hope I’ve got my brain in place by then!

After our potterings in the kitchen and clearing up after our meal, we flopped onto the sofa and watched nothing very much at all this evening. Not for us, any intellectual plays or films today. No…… just TV trash please…….oh, and a browse through a little photo album, with pictures of Freddie growing up from birth to a few months ago, that John had sent away for. Awww……. I had forgotten how cute he looked then and how cute he looks now. He’s a little joker and often, the photos show that little character. Can’t wait for Paul and Harriet to see it.

All in all, it’s been another good day. Nothing startling, but solid, family stuff for which I am eternally grateful. Love is everything.

Seems to be quite a few more deaths in all settings from COVID-19 today, though, with 148 people having died by nine o’clock this morning, according to the government report. 820 people are reported as infected. The NHS figures are a puzzle though, with 18 deaths reported and confirmed for Wednesday 9 July, and no actual figures for yesterday. I think I am not the only one to be confused by the numbers being gathered together though, as none other than Robert Peston has been querying both the government and the NHS figures today. Let’s hope they are ironed out shortly. And that it’s not really a spike…..

And breathe. Let’s all keep faith and try for a better tomorrow – for surely, it will come? Take care and God bless.