Month: May 2021

Yay!! It’s Friday! Not that this day makes a lot of difference to our same, same weekdays and weekends, but it’s the psychological boost isn’t it? Knowing that it’s the end of the week?

We are both feeling a bit better from our sniffles, but a bit tired so, although we were keen to get on with jobs, we were a bit half-hearted. We lay in bed until after nine o’clock but I heaved myself out of bed then in anticipation of the upholstery man calling to collect the seats from the dining chairs in the kitchen. I have finally given in and decided to have someone do the re-upholstery – I had a go last summer, but really made a right pigs ear of it. We ended up with one chair re-upholstered while the rest languished, looking very sorry for themselves.

So, he’s collected the seats today and will return them tomorrow. How’s about that? Quick service – fingers crossed that he’ll do a good job.

Meanwhile, John has started work on securing the cupboard under the breakfast bar, and dressing it with appropriate wood, in readiness for the work surfaces to be fitted next month. This turned out to be a more fiddly job than he anticipated, I think, and involved taking drawers out everywhere and rummaging underneath the cupboards. Not easy, given the Puffing Billy that he is.

I was equally challenged as I ventured into the loft to re-arrange it so that I could chuck out some of our bits ‘n bobs; clean the attic room where the cats have deposited heavy quantities of their fur; and establish which of the things I brought from Mums I can put on eBay to sell. A collection of spoons, anyone? A large quantity of Wedgewood Calendar Plates?

Of course, in my rummaging, I came across things that we’d stashed up there during previous iterations of lounge decorating. I came across a few model cars that we’d had on display in an oak cabinet that John had made (long since burned), some toy soldiers (heaven knows why we displayed those) and some cute ornaments that I might find difficult to part with (but what to do with those? Stick ’em back in the loft!!??)

I didn’t get on very quickly at all and had to keep coming downstairs for a rest every hour or so. John ditto, and we’d stop and have a cuppa, or watch a TV programme. I did manage to move half a dozen boxes, empty the trunk and half-fill it again, plus clear a path to the loft….. so, there’s a bit of progress. But more of the same tomorrow.

We failed on our diet situation today, having got up late, we ate brunch about eleven o’clock so didn’t want a main meal at lunchtime after all. We ended up eating the mains at our normal time, so all that lovely steak, new potatoes and medley of vegetables will sit round our waists overnight…..

It’s early to bed again for both of us as we struggle to keep our eyes open this evening, so it’s ‘Night, night’ from us.

2,829 people tested positive for the virus today and 9 died in the community. The NHS figures show just 2 deaths on 20 May.

Take care everyone. God bless.

Goodness me, the weather is poor, isn’t it? There’s really not much incentive to get outside with the constant downpours that are throwing themselves our way. And now it’s windy! The weather forecast isn’t hopeful either, for the next few days, so we’re battening down the hatches.

We are still sniffly, so it seems a good idea to stop in. It gives us a chance to watch all those programmes everyone talks about but we don’t get round to watching because we’re busy. Not that we watched anything much today other than ‘popular’ and brain-numbing stuff, which suited our mood.

We were up reasonably early, clearing out the kitchen and utility room ready for the worksurface fitter to come and make a template for the new worktops. John was delighted that there was nothing on the worktops. “I like it like this, don’t you?” he asked. Well, yes, I do, but there are some things I like to have to hand…. Not really expecting the worksurfaces to stay clear for long, but I might try harder. Perhaps change the habits of a lifetime? Anything to please the ol’ man really. Quality of life an’ all that.

And that was the excitement of the day. Fitter came, created a template and left. We drank tea and watched TV, pretty much all day. John left his armchair for a while and browsed the internet for cars, but came away with not a lot to report, so I don’t think we are on the cusp of going to view one yet. Watch this space….

I must say, we are very much looking forward to getting our kitchen finalised with new worksurfaces though and make everywhere look smart. It’s created a job though…..In clearing the worktops today, it involved taking down the dresser. You may recall that I painted the kitchen last year. However, I didn’t move the dresser to paint – I just painted round it. As soon as the dresser was down, revealing the old blue paint, John very generously said, “You can paint that wall now, can’t you?” Well, thank you dear, how kind!

On a totally different note, I thought I’d remind you that we are on a diet ans let you know how it’s going. Well, the reminder is to myself really….but anyway, we are eating our main meal at lunchtime in an attempt to work off some of the calories we eat. We are managing quite well so far. Well, not too badly anyway. We only had a few squares of chocolate this afternoon….. I can resist anything except temptation. But we have stayed off the booze this evening, so we must pat ourselves on the back for that. Baby steps, baby steps.

The numbers of COVID cases is increasing daily now, with 2,874 people testing positive for the disease today. 7 people died in the community and 3 on 19 May in hospitals. The figures are still not massive, which is a jolly good thing but the increase is a reminder to be careful.

Take care everyone. God bless.

I may have mentioned that John is wheezing well. I may also have mentioned that he has tweaked his back. Both states of health lead to a noisy night – and boy, it was noisy last night. Poor John, he really couldn’t settle and he was groaning exceedingly loudly as his back bit. His lungs played like organ pipes all night long, interspersed with a bit of a cough which served as the percussion interval to the organ music.

He was pretty exhausted when he woke up this morning and, of course, so was I. Having listened all night long to the wheeze, I was bothered, so the first thing I did when I got out of bed was phone the respiratory nurses. Fortunately, they had a slot available in which to check John over.

I thought John would be cross with me for making a fuss, but actually, he was reasonably agreeable to going over to Heartlands this morning. And we are both relieved we did, because they were able to reassure us on several counts. 1) Lungs are working hard, but rest assured they are taking in and processing sufficient oxygen to keep the ol’ man going – and the wheelchair wasn’t needed, after all. 2) The pain in John’s back might have been pleurisy, but it isn’t. More likely to be a pulled muscle. 3) The X-ray taken shows no more damage to the lungs than before. 4) The nebuliser is to be continued but ‘take a rest for a week then start a different product’ – oh, and have some Salbutamol for nebulising too. That’ll improve the situation. 5) And finally, here are some physio exercises to do. His favourite – go up and down the stairs several times a day… ……..Boom.

We arrived home at lunchtime, ate our lunch, collapsed in the lounge for a while before John set to in removing part of the dresser in the kitchen. This, in preparation for the measure-up and template-taking of the work surfaces tomorrow.

Then it was another trip out to Solihull Hospital – ostensibly to attend the Urology Clinic. Except that there was no clinic there this afternoon after all…… Oh, dear. A trip for nothing. We are not sure how it has happened that we have all the detail of the clinic in the diary – but no letter and no actual clinic. Ah well, that’ll be me hanging on the telephone line tomorrow morning trying to establish exactly when we should be going.

When we got home after our abortive trip, John decided to have a rest on the bed. I decided to have a rest on the sofa and nurse some sniffles that have emerged. Hmmm….. thought I’d better take a COVID test just in case. All negative – which I expected – just need a good night’s sleep, I expect.

Despite our looking forward to Quiz Night, I was feeling lousy – exceedingly tired – and John was still in bed. I thought we’d better abandon our beloved Quiz Night for once and get some rest. So that’s what we plan to do. Me in the spare room though. Beautiful as it is, I can do without the organ music tonight……

We are now being encouraged to ‘think carefully’ about how we enjoy the lifting of the lockdown, as the Indian variant is increasing all the time, so I am not sure where it leaves us really. The volume of infections is increasing significantly in some areas, but overall it’s still steady. 2,696 people tested positive for the virus today and three people died in the community and just three in hospitals on 17 – 18 May. Scientists are still confident that the vaccination programme will shield us from the most serious of illness, so there’s still hope.

On a different topic, I texted Gail yesterday to see how she’s going on. Apparently the infection is still there somewhere but it’s hiding, and the medics can’t work out where it is. She, then, is still in hospital while they try to sort things out. Oh, dear, our hearts go out to her because we know just what it’s like – well, I don’t, but John does. I only know what it’s like from a spouse’s point of view of course. Prayers, please, if you are so inclined……..

So there we are. Another day done and dusted. Take care everyone. God bless.

Today wouldn’t be complete without a reminder of the verb ‘scurryfunge‘. This is what I did this afternoon, in preparation for Pete and Dawn coming round this evening. ‘Scurryfunge‘ is to frantically attempt to tidy up before visitors arrive. With acknowledgements to Susie Dent and her Word of the Day.

Prior to Pete and Dawn arriving, the porch was blocked by a cat carrier, files of papers and a couple of blankets still languishing there having been brought from Mum’s. Thought I’d better clear them out of the way otherwise there’d be ‘no entry’. Equally, the hall was barring the way, too. It was still full of the suitcases that Harriet had brought over yesterday – and there was definitely no way through with them there.

The lounge wasn’t too bad. There was only one pile of papers by the fireplace (their companions having been burnt last week) which were saved by the skin of their teeth in case they were important. I did have to clear away a crush of crockery, however. We had managed to litter several surfaces with cups, mugs, teapots and wine glasses, all of which needed herding into the dishwasher.

John was happy to watch the activity this afternoon. He is still wheezing well, and has a bad back to boot, so movement is a bit painful. I am not sure that he actually saw the scurryfunge going on, however. He was concentrating extremely hard on his game of poker, which didn’t end as well as he’d have liked. “Why is it,” he asked, “that just when you have a decent hand and you’re the last one to play, everyone else folds before its your turn?” Hmmm….. sod’s law?

Prior to the scurryfunge, I had had a good morning, despite the fact that I hadn’t slept well. To be honest, neither had John, and he had ended up transplanting himself into another bedroom. We were both a touch bleary-eyed when we woke up.

Anyway, it was a real, live, face-to-face yoga session this morning at the church hall, so despite my weariness, I was excited to be setting off. The session was brilliant and I loved the new type of yoga Jaime is teaching us. It is called Somatics and is aimed at rebalancing your mind-body connection. I could definitely do with a bit of that. Too often, I mindlessly go about my day without engaging my brain to my actions – I put things down and don’t know where I’ve put them, for example. It was so good that I came home enlivened and relaxed at the same time.

I was so enlivened that I actually tackled the ironing at last. Pleased to confirm that that is out of the way. Just the putting away of the clothes and bedding to go now….

After the ironing was finished, we ate our lunch, which John cooked. We have decided that we probably need to loose some weight and tone ourselves up a bit. I wondered if, by eating our main meal at lunchtime, we might find that the weight is easier to loose? So that’s what we did today – dinner at lunchtime. And I was grateful to the ol’ man for cooking it – I was still flaked out after the ironing.

This evening, the Crosses came round and we had a celebratory glass of ‘fizz’ to toast our release from prison. We had a wonderful evening – it was just brilliant to see them in the flesh and chat to our hearts’ content. We all marvelled at the beautiful double rainbow that emerged in the sky as we sat chatting this evening too – and we hoped that it’s the promise of good things to come. Mind you, we are all bit worried that we might think it’s Sunday tomorrow……. we won’t know where we are having had a get-together mid-week! I don’t think we really care. It was a thoroughly satisfactory evening.

We are still keeping our eye on the COVID situation though, and I can report that 2,412 people were infected in the last 24 hours and 7 people died with the virus in the community. 3 people died in hospitals with the virus on 16 & 17 May.

Take care everyone. Please add ventilation to your list of things to do…. God bless.

Having had a very leisurely weekend, it was time to look forward to a busy day.

First of all, I toddled over to Corley to get Rio groomed. I had had a panic last week when I contacted my regular groomer and she said she had given up her business. It had taken me a long time to find her many years ago, so I expected a similar hunt. However, luckily I found two quite quickly, and the one in Corley came up trumps. Good grooming at a reasonable price. Result – thank you very much.

Once home, I decided to clear the inside of the car and take it to the new hand car wash just on the outskirts of the village. The business is under new management and really, they did an absolutely brilliant job. I was thrilled to have a clean car after all the winter grime. And again, it was very reasonably priced.

A quick cuppa and a bit of a tidy round before Harriet called in. “Come in,” I cried. “Come in!” When they moved house they borrowed our plentiful supply of suitcases, so she was returning them. Well, it was lovely. Harriet came in, had a cup of tea and then stayed for a sandwich and another cuppa. All very relaxed and enjoyable. And, not only that, but she brought me a lovely arrangement in a vase for the lounge. Looks fab.

I shot off after lunch to visit Mum – another activity that turned out splendidly. Mum was on top form. She was in the lounge when I arrived so one of the carers fetched her. Well, she fairly trotted down the corridor to meet me, as fast as you like, grinning all over her face. Honestly, she looks very, very well and is as happy as a sand-boy. Contented with her surroundings, telling me that “there are some lovely people here” and that she wants for nothing. The carer told me that Mum had really settled in well. Long may it last.

I thought the restrictions meant that after an hour I would have to leave. However, it transpired that I could stay on a bit, so I did. Mum was delighted that she had a long visit, although she was sorry that I had to go in the end. But it was all spot on.

This evening, we have rested after our evening meal – John with his eyes closed, and me watching a bit of TV. But we have both decided that an early night is called for, so we’ll be getting our cocoa shortly. Not sure why we both feel so tired. I think it’s always the way, isn’t it? Once you relax, like we did over the weekend, you find that, actually, your reserves are low and it takes a while to pick up.

I am pleased that we can now meet indoors. The weather is so blooming awful that it’s no pleasure to be considering meeting out in the garden with the rain continually pouring down. There’s more to come this week apparently- no let up yet. Grr….

On the COVID front the figures are about the same – 1,979 peopled infected in the last 24 hours, 5 having died with the virus in the community and 3 in hospitals.

Continue to be cautious everyone, but enjoy your new freedom! God bless.

I woke very early this morning. It was five o’clock and it was already light. I wondered for a while whether I should get up and get on. After all, that bloomin’ ironing was beckoning. But no, I thought it far too early to get up, so snoozed on. I was awake again at 7 – should I get up? No…. Awake at 9 – get up? No, in a bit…. Awake at 11.00 – get up? Oh, alright then.

It was so lovely to have a lie-in and read for a while, do a bit of meditation, spend time in prayer, scroll through social media or play e-games on my phone. And, of course, by the time normal getting up time had come it was piddling down with rain again, so there wasn’t a great incentive to get up at that time really.

We had a leisurely brunch once we were finally up and downstairs, before John tackled his various medications and breathing apparatus, and I started the ironing. I am not sure what is going on with our bedding though – when I fished the bottom sheet out to iron it I found it had a large hole in it. This is the second one in as many months. And I don’t even think the sheets are that old. Clearly, they don’t make ’em like they used to!! I mean, I still have some un-worn-out bedding that we had the year we were married!! It’s just the wrong colour….. who remembers when olive green was fashionable?

As I was doing the ironing, I started thinking about the family – as you do – and I thought we hadn’t seen Paul and Harriet for a while, and started longing to see them. I texted Paul: “Are you busy this afternoon?” Shortly, the reply came back that they weren’t really doing anything and we were ‘absolutely welcome’ to go over. So I abandoned the ironing and off we went.

We had a lovely time and it was a delight to see them. I was especially pleased to see that Paul was well after his first COVID jab and Harriet didn’t have much in the way of symptoms from the second jab that she had yesterday.

Freddie was delighted to see us, as well, so that was a lovely bonus. We both thought that even in the week or so since we last saw him, he’d grown taller and grown up. It is fascinating to watch the younger grandchildren develop from babies into toddlers then proper boys – and the older girls of course, developing from little girls into stroppy teenagers and now young women.

We stayed for a cup of tea and a cake, John and Harriet both wrapped in blankets, and nattered away to our hearts content. Oh, normality…..

Our lazy day continued when we arrived home. We cooked and ate our evening meal but then simply watched TV. The ironing was still glowering at me though….. I’ll tackle it sometime. Maybe tomorrow?

The news reminds us that the scientists are still flagging up their concern about the Indian variant of COVID, but for now the figures are still low with 1,926 people infected in the last 24 hours and just 4 deaths.

Ventilation is the thing to be aware of now, of course. We know the virus is airborne and floats about, so if we can get it float away from us then we’re OK. The problem is when it floats directly at us into our faces/noses/mouths/lungs. Oh, dear – when will it ever end? I think I am beginning to recognise that rather nasty emotion of despair – how about you?

Anyway, tomorrow is another day, so perhaps a new dawn, a new day will bring new hope. Fingers crossed.

Take care everyone. God bless.

A quiet day today all in all, although there was a kerfuffle this morning when the blog went AWOL. Anything that goes wrong with the computer and I immediately go into a flap and mad panic. Fortunately, it was George who noticed that the blog wasn’t there, so I already had a guiding hand when he texted to ask what was up. As always, he was there to sort it all out for me – and as always, he hardly wanted any thanks for his help. But I couldn’t help myself and was grateful anyway.

I chose to work off the nervous energy by having a tidy up and a bit of a scrub round. Having had Chester here again yesterday, there were more dog hairs floating about, so it was a good excuse for the Hoover out and away you go.

I also felt the need to work off a second bout of nervous energy having had a text from Gail telling us that she’s neutropenic and in hospital. Oh, crumbs. What a bother. It’s not clear where the infection is, but John suspects it will be in the PICC line that she has in. That happened to him when he was geared up similarly, so he thought it the most likely explanation. She’s on my prayer list twice over now. As is Graham, of course, who must be anxious about her.

The therapeutic cleaning did the trick for me however, and I have felt pleasantly chilled all day. I still have a pile of ironing to do, but I decided it could wait until another day.

John, too, has been chilling all day. It took him all morning to breakfast and work through his various medicaments and procedures, but thereafter, he’s been inspecting the back of his eyelids for a while, and then researching new cars.

We think we’d like a new car, but we really don’t know what to get. We flip-flop from one style/brand/fuel-type to another, depending on which way the wind blows, so our final choice could be anybody’s guess. What we can’t come to terms with though, is what we may no longer need. Family car? Two-seater sports car? Towing car? Hmm…….

We spent the afternoon lounging about in the lounge, feet up and generally relaxing. I had thought I might take a walk, but having looked outside at the weather, I was disappointed to see it was still raining. Not that the rain should put one off, of course, as ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing’ but it was cosy indoors, so I opted to stay in and scroll through TV programmes until my eyes were square.

This evening has been somewhat similar, enhanced by a healthy-sized glass of Monkey Shoulder. Oooh, it is so delicious.

We caught up with the news during our little journey through the TV programmes and I found it all rather depressing again. There’s a worry about the Indian variant of COVID; the reports about the Israel/Palestine situation are extremely distressing; businesses are going to the wall with that retail institution, Debenhams, closing its doors for the last time today. I am sure there must be some good news but the broadcasters don’t seem to be able to find any, do they?

So I found good news for myself instead: Paul, having had his COVID jab, has now recovered from its side-effects; I met with an upholsterer and agreed that he will re-cover my kitchen chairs; we have arranged for Pete and Dawn to come into our house on Monday for a drink; and William was ‘Player of the Week’ at his football training this morning. Small, but beautiful wins……

The number of people infected with COVID however, remains stable (2,027). and people who died with COVID are just 7 in the community. The NHS has stopped publishing its figures over the weekend, so we have to wait and see what the situation is in hospitals on Monday.

Take care everyone. God bless.

Support. If you need it, just ask. If we can, we will help as best we know how. This has been our message to all our family and friends over the years, which we hope we have demonstrated through our words and deeds throughout our lives. Not that we always know what to do, or always have the capacity, but the sentiment and offer is always there.

So we are always delighted when the kids ask for help – no matter how small a request. It makes us feel a bit useful. Especially as we currently recognise our increasing age and ever-decreasing capability.

“What are you doing tomorrow, Mum?” Michael asked us yesterday. “Nothing much,” I replied. “Waiting in for Dad’s drugs, and I’m popping out to talk to an upholsterer for an hour. Why?” Well, it turned out that Danielle had asked an electrician to do a little bit of maintenance work in their home, which was going to take a few hours. PhD studies and child care all need electricity, don’t they? “Do you want to come to ours, then?” I wondered. “Oh, what a good idea!” they said, as if they hadn’t thought of that at all.

So we had a ‘bubble’ full of the family today, which was marvellous. Michael locked himself away to work; Danielle looked after Thomas; and I did that thing I love most – played with William. We had a cracking day. We played, we mulled over life questions; we chatted about and to the kids; we took a walk; we worked out finances; we ate and drank and we were just there together. Such days are great days and make us extremely thankful for our blessings.

So, there we are. A full day, summarised in a few sentences – it was ruddy marvellous. Mind you, after we’d waved them off, we did collapse on the sofa and close our eyes for a few minutes – as if we were tired……..

Having had a full day, we didn’t watch the news today but we know that the virus figures remain stable. In the last 24 hours 2,193 people were infected; 17 people died with the virus in the community, and 4 in hospitals on 13 May.

However, we also know that there are murmurings about whether the full roadmap to lifting lockdown will go ahead in June because of the Indian variant about which the scientists are so concerned. I am hoping beyond hope that we will still be able to go into each other’s houses, though. I can’t wait to relax on the sofa with friends and family. We’re a bit fed up of sitting outside in the cold…..

On an entirely different note, I thought I’d share with you my approach to prayer when I’m fretting about the world we live in, and how I experience God’s response…….

Yep, support – always there when you need it. I am not sure to whom this photo is attributable but it’s a cracker isn’t it?

Take care everyone, God bless.

This week, we spent a fair bit of time reminding ourselves that it was Tuesday, on Tuesday. We are now on Thursday and have only had remind ourselves a couple of times that it’s Thursday. Bin Day. Always an exciting day. Especially as the general waste-bin is full. It’s been a long time since that happened. No idea what we’ve thrown away but we feel better for it.

I was up early this morning. My alarm hadn’t even gone off. “What you doing?” John wondered, bleary-eyed. “I am up. Because….well, just because I am up.” I replied. There was no reason to be up, but the day had dawned, the birds were singing – not yet muted by the pouring rain – and I was awake.

I busied myself with one or two cleaning and tidying jobs, ate my breakfast, then nipped into Kenilworth to drop Mum’s change of address into the bank. I had forgotten that there was a market on today – that was another way in which we knew it was Thursday – so I stopped by and bought lots of love fresh fruit and veg.

“Where’ve you been?” John asked as I bustled in through the front door. “The bank. I told you I was going.” Ah-ha – he knew that, of course, but what was I doing coming in with bags and bags of stuff? Do you know, he really wasn’t as excited as me that I’d got such things as cauliflower, broccoli and Medjool dates. Can’t think why.

Once I’d sorted out all the lovely veg, I got ready for yoga and had a brilliant session this morning. Really enjoyed it and remembered why I ought to do it every day. Not sure why I don’t. One thing I might not do though, is have a cold shower every day. Jaime was telling us that she’d started doing that each day. We all shuddered and said, ‘Really?’ and thought she was mad…… she looks very well on it though, so perhaps there’s something in it.

This afternoon, once we’d sat down on the sofa, we didn’t want to move. We sat and watched a series of American crime programmes – you know the sort, sensationalism and frequently repeated summaries of what the programme is about. Suited us as we had put our brains into neutral at that point.

John watched a bit of TV, played a bit of poker and researched new cars this evening while I Zoomed in with my chums from college. Not everyone was there today, as Linda is away and Liz had rolled in from a late lunch and thought she might not make it. She didn’t, in the end. The rest of us spent the first ten minutes trying to tune Janet into the party. Beautiful picture of a youthful-looking friend, of whom we are not jealous, but no sound. We did a spot of lip-reading for a while, but she abandoned one computer in favour of another, and we were all surround sound then. And it was lovely to talk. Fabulous friends – love ’em.

On the COVID front, the news continues to be positive in terms of the recorded numbers, but not only are the scientists recommending caution, but even dear old Boris said they were ‘anxious about the Indian variant’.

Having noted yesterday that the numbers of infections were doubling each week, I now note that they are, in some areas, trebling. I am not sure whether the full road map will be achieved, but I am still hopeful we’ll be able to hug from next week and six people/two families will be able to mix indoors and even stay overnight. Fingers crossed.

Today’s figures then, are: 2,657 people infected in the community; 11 people died with the virus in the community, and 8 on 11 & 12 May in hospitals.

So there we are. Another day done and one more step towards a little bit of freedom. I’m planning who we can see and what we can do. How about you?

Take care everyone. God bless.

Well, I had an exciting day! I saw baby Arthur for the first time in the flesh. Such a thrill. Liz had said she was visiting Dawn and should she walk round with Arthur? I’d said we’d see, as John had had an immunoglobulin infusion this morning and we wouldn’t be sure how he felt. As it turned out, he didn’t feel up to much other than sitting in his armchair and resting, so I walked round to Dawn’s instead.

Arthur is a lovely little chap and a very long baby. Going to be like his Dad – very tall, I expect. But the best thing was seeing Liz. She is such a dear god-daughter and such easy company. We nattered for ages. I’d half-expected to be there for half an hour, but in the end, we talked and talked until I realised that a couple of hours had elapsed. Enjoyed myself immensely. Can’t wait for lockdown to end and have another go at it – perhaps in Liz’s own home. That would be a bonus.

This morning, though, was another trip to the hospital for John’s three-weekly infusion. Up early, to have time for a bite to eat and for John to have his nebuliser with the new drug for his chest, and to be in Birmingham for nine o’clock.

Once I’d dropped John off, I nipped to Michael and Danielle’s to take a stair gate. It transpires that a second stair gate is needed to prevent Thomas from climbing up the stairs, which is his new favourite thing to do. I didn’t stay, as I was keen to get back home – even if it would only be for an hour and a half – to get some admin done on Mum’s affairs. There are still a few loose ends to tidy up – the final bills for her care when she was in her flat, for example.

Mind you, I took one look at Danielle and thought I ought to stay and perhaps walk Thomas round the park. The poor girl looked exhausted. Apparently, Thomas hadn’t slept well last night and was in bed with them for most of it – along with William who decided to join in, too. “No, it’s OK,” Danielle said, “I’d rather Thomas slept in his own cot. Michael is upstairs trying to get to him go off to sleep now.” When Michael came down a minute later, I thought he, too, looked pretty ropey. Clearly, no-one had had a goodnight’s sleep.

Anyway, I came away and settled to the few admin tasks I’d planned which, naturally, mushroomed into something a lot larger and other paperwork, that I’d brought from the flat, presented itself to be sorted. I spent a pleasant couple of hours finalising a few things and had the satisfaction of feeling that it was a job well done.

I zoomed back to Birmingham to collect the ol’ man, and he said the infusion had gone well, so I was pleased about that. We came home and had lunch, whereupon I left him to his own devices and hot-footed it round to Dawn’s for some baby-gazing.

This evening was Quiz Night, which is always good. Thoroughly enjoyed it again, and was dead pleased with myself – I managed to answer one or two of the questions. *Does a little dance* I even managed to remember an answer to a question I’d learned off the Antiques Road Show. Whoop-whoop! 1843. Now what was the question, do you think?

John is still tired, weary of all the medication he has to take and very breathless. The respiratory nurse phoned this afternoon, belatedly, to tell us that John needed to do a test of the new medication. Too late. He’d already started it on the advice of the pharmacist from the QE. Ah….. “Is he OK? No side effects?” she wanted to know. “What particular side-effects should we be looking for?” I asked. Severe breathlessness….. oh….. more than before? We’ll keep an eye out for that then.

With regards to the COVID situation, we are still stable at the moment. Some scientists are urging caution as we ease the lockdown rules and the Indian variant is doubling the count of people that it’s infecting each week.

Today’s figures though, are: 2,284 people infected in the community today; 11 people died with the virus in the community and 4 on 10 & 11 May in hospitals, so there’s hope yet.

Take care everyone. God bless.