Joining the queue….?

This morning, we knew that the plumber was coming round to service the boiler. I had tossed and turned in the night, conscious that there had been little vacuuming done in the last week, given the amount of ‘other’ things had occupied both my mind and my time, and I thought I’d be highly embarrassed if he saw the grubby carpets. So, when the alarm went off quite early, we both groaned. John huffed because he is fed up of being woken up early every day. And I huffed because I really was still fast asleep. A few more minutes? Then, I remembered – the reason the alarm was early was because you never know with a plumber what time they are going to arrive. I’ve known them turn up at just after half past seven before now.

I had time though, as it turned out, to vacuum the hall, stairs and landing before the plumber came just before mid-day. I also had time to wrap a few parcels and tackle technology with a view to sending them off.

I thought Parcel2Go was the best option – I didn’t want to be joining the queue outside the Post Office. So, I put in all the details on the computer, which it accepted and was on the point of ‘nearly there’ when it told me that the parcel I was planning to send, wasn’t going to be collected from my front door. Oh. Bother. Ah, well, the drop-off point was only three miles down the road in Knowle so I opted for it.

Blithely managed to get the second parcel labelled and ready to go in the same fashion and then started on the third. Only to find that delivery to Jersey by such an organisation was going to cost the earth. Dammit. I was going to have to go to the Post Office and queue after all. ‘I know,’ I thought, ‘I’ll check out the Knowle Post Office. There might not be a queue there.’ Oh, hahahahahaha…….. how naïve am I? The queue in Knowle snaked round the corner and half-way up the street too…..

Resigned, I drove home to join in with the all the other miserable-looking lot, hopping from one foot to the other, outside our own beloved Post Office. I wandered to the back of the queue, which was nearly at the butcher’s shop. But when I got there, I really couldn’t face it. Did I really have to queue, when all I had to do was drop the bloomin’ parcel off, having paid the postage online already? I shrugged, and made my way to the front, “Are we allowed to go into the shop, or do we have to queue for that as well?” I asked the lady at the head of the waiting hundreds (well, it seemed like hundreds, but you know how I exaggerate). “Oh, you can go into the shop.” she replied, “We’re just waiting to go to the Post Office counter to have the parcels weighed.” Right. Thank you.

I made my way into the shop, whereupon I met a very nice young man, Employee of the Month, in my opinion, and asked him if I had to queue to drop my parcel off. “I don’t want to push in, and will queue if it’s necessary but…” No, I didn’t have to wait. If I wasn’t bothered about a receipt, just drop it on the counter. Or, better still, he’d take it from me and put it in the sack ready to go. What a result. What a relief. I hadn’t held anyone else up or jumped in, and yet it was sorted. Phew.

How time flies. Once I had done all of that, having left John at home wrestling with showers, yes, showers, plural, I thought I’d have a little sit down on the sofa…. no, I didn’t fall asleep! Very nearly, but not quite. John joined me and we watched a programme about a woman claiming to be innocent of a crime she’d been given life for. American, of course, but great afternoon TV for tired bodies.

But, to return to John’s current project – the showers….. We have, as I’ve said before, been awash in the ensuite bathroom as the water leaks out under the shower cubicle. With the cubicle having a set of double doors, John thinks the water flows through there too, so has dismantled the lot, in a bid to put some magnetic pieces in between the doors to keep them together. The work is still in progress. Can’t use the shower in there yet.

We haven’t been able to use the shower in the main bathroom either, for months. Unless, of course, you fancy a cold shower, that is. So John has dismantled that one, too, and sent away for the relevant part to repair it. Can’t use the shower in there yet, either.

Fortunately, we still have a bath and a shower downstairs, so we needn’t go dirty just yet. But watch this space. We may, or may not, be able to use our usual showers soon.

After our somnolent afternoon, we were just getting our tea ready, when the front doorbell rang. There was darling Paul standing on the front doorstep. He’d just called in to share with us a moment of success in his business. How wonderful it was to see him and be excited with him. *Does a little dance.* We are so pleased for him, and so wanted to hug him. In fact, John couldn’t contain himself and went for it, almost squeezing him to death.

So, a good day, when things have been done and success celebrated. I’ve even managed to speak to a proper human being in the chasing up of John’s eye drops. Might even have them by this time next week….. fingers crossed.

And the figures today? Much the same. – although news is suggesting that cases are rising, not only here, but abroad, too.

• 18,450 people have been confirmed as infected with the virus today
• 506 people have died in the community today from the virus
• 1.637 people have been admitted to hospital with it today
• 162 people died in hospitals from it over the last couple of days.
• We are on Day 14 of our Tier 3 – no announcement of the next Tier yet?
• And it is Day 272 since our original decision to avoid contact with people as much as we can.

Take care everyone. God bless.