The Daily Echo from Sleath Towers – Day 159

A quiet day. Apart from the wind, that is!! Been a blustery one, hasn’t it?? I decided to stay indoors today and dig the house out. I have been threatening to do it for some time, but somehow just not got around to it. John went out into the wind (and rain) however and shovelled more stones all day – even managing to wash some of them down, ready to re-place.

Firstly, for me though, the plan was to rationalise the ‘Attic Room’, where Andrew used to sleep. For months now, I have just been chucking stuff into the ‘Studio Room’ i.e. Andrew’s former sitting room, and up into his old bedroom. No rhyme nor reason as to where I piled the stuff – I just threw it in. However, I decided that I really ought to get it all sorted.

So, what did I do? Cleaned and tidied my own bedroom of course! Had to chuckle to myself. What I thought might be a five-minute job of putting away a few clothes and changing the bed sheets, before moving on to the main job on the agenda, turned out to be a bit of a marathon. The duster came out, as did the vacuum cleaner and the window cleaning equipment. Definitely not a five-minute job!

I did manage to change the bedding in the ‘Main Guest Room’ and the ‘Attic Room’ though and get it all washed and dried, so it was a start on what used to be the Andrew area. But maybe tomorrow, for the clear-up upstairs?

What I’d like to know though, is when do you start reclaiming the rooms in your house once the kids have left home? Paul, bless him, has no room to call his own here at home because John pulled walls down and re-fashioned his room, as part of the extension, when Paul was off at uni, and then it became Michael’s. It can no longer be known as Paul’s room as it doesn’t resemble anything like it used to be – and not only that, the wall paper I so lovingly chose for him when he was a new-born, of a magical kingdom with fantastical giants, faeries and goblins, is sadly long gone.

But I still call what was Paul’s room and is now the ‘Computer Room’, Michael’s room – and the front bedrooms are still known as Andrew’s, despite the posh names I put on them when we had Danielle’s hen party here four years ago. Note to self: must remember that the boys are all adults, they all left home at least ten years ago, and this is our house, with which we can do what we like – and they really don’t mind.

With the Sutton Sleaths on their way to Jersey, the Kenilworth Sleaths in Brixham and the Cambridge Sleath in Cambridge, we are reliant on WhatsApp messages now. And I was very excited today to see Freddie on the beach flying a kite. I love kite-flying and it really is years and years since we did any – apart from last year when the whole tribe got together in a little park, but had to run miles (well, it seemed like it anyway) trying to get a kite to be airborne. I think Paul was the most successful on that occasion. But today, it looked a very, very good flight. Freddie was well in control, being guided by Daddy. My soul soared to see it. A windy day? Sure was! Just right for kite flying.

John finally came in from his stone shifting, a little bit bent and rather creaky, and headed up for a long soak in the bath. I cooked a ‘Friday Night Curry’ with mango salsa, and then we sat watching more ‘Line of Duty’ while we ate. That’s a real treat and a pleasure isn’t it? To have a TV dinner, on your lap, on a Friday night. Luxury.

And so the day is done. Listening to John wheezing his way up the stairs this evening, it sounds like John’s done for the day, too. He’s worked really hard today – and he’s got the sheet of weed-preventer ready to go down under the newly washed stones. Weather and ‘Puffing Billy’ permitting, that’ll be a job for tomorrow then!

There are still plenty of jobs at home to keep us occupied but, with everyone else going away, we are looking longingly at venues to see if we might also make a trip away safely. Now there’s a plan. With the infection rate of the nasty virus stable (they tell us) it might be possible? We’ll see. Mind you, if I can’t even bring myself to go to a pub to meet friends yet, how can I persuade myself that it’ll be OK for us to go away?

There were only two deaths today in the community with this new counting system, and two in hospital yesterday. The ‘R’ rate is now one though, which is a rise, and there are 1,033 people confirmed as infected today.

God bless, and peace be with you all – hope no-one gets blown off course in the next day or two with these gusty winds.