Month: August 2021

We had a bitter-sweet day today. We were up early and rootling through our wardrobes to find clothes that would fit and be suitable for a funeral. I was lucky – I quickly found a lovely dress and jacket that I’ve had a while, but still fitted me well. John was not so lucky – he had to try on several pairs of trousers before he found a smart pair that were just the correct waist size.

Anyway, once we were suited and booted, we made our way across from Balsall to Coventry, to St Mary Magdalen Church, the-one-with-the-blue-roof, for dear Brian’s funeral. And that was the bitter part of the day. The saying goodbye. The knowledge that those promises we’d made, of: “We must get together sometime soon,” now weren’t going to be.

But the service for Brian was wonderfully uplifting. The priest knew Brian well and was sincere with her words throughout. Peter, Brian’s son, gave the address and made it so powerful that he evoked Brian there, in the church, with us. Linda, Brian’s daughter, offered us a beautiful poem – and managed to get through it admirably, despite the overwhelming emotions it generated. I thought it spot on. You may know it, but if you don’t, here it is:

He is gone

You can shed tears that he is gone
Or you can smile because he has lived

 You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back
Or you can open your eyes and see all that he has left

 Your heart can be empty because you can't see him
Or you can be full of the love that you shared

 You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday

 You can remember him and only that he is gone
Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on  

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
Or you can do what he would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

 

We followed Brian to the crematorium, where we said our tearful goodbyes.

And then came the sweet bit. At the crem, I bumped into an ex-colleague from OCR, Linda S, and was delighted that she remembered me, too. Her connection was through Brian’s daughter Linda. I then met a chap from the village, Chris, whom I hadn’t seen for a long time. His connection was through playing table tennis with Janet and Brian.

As we made our way into the suite of rooms at the Village Hotel, hired for the Wake, I recognised Barbara and Phil, also from our village. Their connection to Brian? Also table-tennis. We sat and chatted to them for a while and then we all moved into the dining area, where we watched a slide-show of Brian’s life scroll before us. What memories the photos induced!

“Are these seats free?” we asked the already-incumbents at one of the dining tables. “Yes, help yourselves,” they replied. So we sat – and started chatting. “What’s your connection to Brian?” we asked each other. “I was their bridesmaid,” said the lady, Wendy. “So was I!” I replied, gleefully. And there we were on the photos scrolling past. I did remember her – 60 years later, but there was the face I had seen and walked alongside on Janet and Brian’s wedding day. Her sister, Rhoda, was there too, whom I also remembered.

And so, a day of meeting relatives we hadn’t seen for such a long time, exclaiming over when we last met and what had happened in the intervening years. It was lovely – even if the occasion wasn’t. In particular, we felt all the love in the world for cousins Janet, Peter and Linda as we chatted to them during the course of the afternoon. Such lovely people.

We didn’t think about COVID, or Afghanistan, or any of the other things going on in the world today. We focused today on a life well-lived, and the people Brian loved and who loved him.

Take care everyone. God bless.

Hmmm…. maybe….. the thought of doing things a bit differently came about because we’d sorted out the utility room. Oh, look! There’s an area here to prep the veg for tea. No need to trail the peelings from one room to another, I could just do the prep here. Why not? So I am, for the time being, and wondering how long I shall keep up the ‘doing things differently’ phase.

John has been keen for me to clear the junk from the house, so I thought I’d look into a cupboard I haven’t looked into for a long time. And, there we are…. I’ve managed to part with all sorts of things that I didn’t expect to….. curtains, birthday/anniversary cards, sleeping bags, a Sky box, folders, and other nick-knacks….. See? I’m doing something differently. I’m trying not to hang on to things. I doubt it will last, but I’m having a go.

Other than faffing about in cupboards, we haven’t done anything much today. We tried to watch the Grand Prix, but that was a wash-out with only two laps achieved behind the safety car.

John has slept for a good portion of the day. As a matter of fact, we didn’t really surface until nearly midday, whereupon we had a bite to eat, and then John sat in the lounge and nodded off again. It was all the excitement of getting rid of the trailer tent yesterday, I think.

So that’s it. Nothing to report. Watch this space for doing things differently…..ha! ha! ha!

Take care everyone. Keep up with the vaccinations, social distancing, mask-wearing and hand-washing – they are our only hope. God bless

There was sunshine today. Couldn’t quite believe it. And not only that, the thermometer rose to 21 degrees. Goodness me, we were fairly basking in a heatwave….

Not that I did much with the sunshine. John was keen for me to do some more clearing out of Mum’s bits and bobs so that I could fill up the skip a bit before he asks them to come and take it away. So I did that, from indoors, of course.

Then there was going to be the excitement of looking after Freddie this afternoon, in which we were going to go to the park, play in Katharine’s Wood and then buy an ice cream – except that when he arrived, he didn’t want to stay. He just wanted to go home. Oh.

Ah, but Harriet had things to do, so I suggested I go home with Freddie instead of him staying at ours. He was happy with that, but there wasn’t very much outdoor playing…. there was playing on the tablet – Minecraft be the game, and then a bit of watching TV while he snuggled under my arm. Bless him, he was tired after a sleepover with William.

I did manage to get outside in the garden while I was cooking the tea this evening, though. After a pause on the ol’ gardening recently, I thought I might dead-head a few plants and pull up a few weeds. What I hadn’t bargained for was the poor hydrangea being absolutely smothered in bindweed since I last looked! So that was what I did – tried to disentangle it a bit. But who was it who told me to stop worrying about my bindweed, eh? That’s what I want to know!!! I’m going to get the weed killer out…..

John has had a busy day. While I was sorting out junk, he was pulling the trailer tent forward to get a better look at it and wind it down ready for a jet wash. On his way down to the man shed at the bottom of garden to collect the jet wash, he cleared away all my painting materials too, because I think the utility room is finished. He then brought the jet wash machine up to the front garden before he thought he ought to have a bit of a rest.

When I got home from looking after Freddie, I found John fast asleep in the lounge. Apparently he’d been there for most of the afternoon. Anyway, he decided to set on and do the jet washing of the trailer tent then. Little did I know that this was in preparation for its almost immediate departure from our house for ever.

John’s phone rang while we were having tea. It was someone enquiring about the trailer tent. “Gosh,” says John, “I only advertised it an hour ago.” Eh? Then there was Ding! Ding! Ding! as his phone pinged every few seconds with someone texting him asking if it was still available. The first chap who’d phoned was on his way. He arrived about three-quarters of an hour later and drove off with the trailer in tow.

Well, Blow me down!! I hadn’t even known that John had advertised it until there was a flurry of activity….. “We didn’t check to see what we’d left in there…” I wailed. “Well,” John reasoned, “I don’t suppose you can even remember what was in there now, and you haven’t wanted it for the last three years, so….” Hmmm…. I suppose he had a point.

On a totally different note: we won the cricket!! Yee-ha! I thought I’d do my ‘hour-at-the-end-of-play’ routine and settle down with a cuppa to watch the last hour or two of play. But where was it? What’s this? This is India’s first innings they’re showing. Then the penny dropped. We must’ve won. And indeed we had.

We watched the highlights in the end, and crumbs, what a morning session it was. The bowlers did incredibly well and bowled beautifully. The Indian batsmen had no answer and so were all out before lunch. Nice result for England, thank you very much.

More success at the Paralympics for the Brits, too – with gold medals for Tom Young in the 100m sprint, and also for cyclists Neil and Lora Fachie. Amazing stuff and so exciting.

But there’s still the horrors of the situation in Afghanistan and the COVID pandemic. No let up in big volumes of people testing positive today (32,406) nor deaths (133 in the community) – which is far too many.

With the heatwave set to continue with a high of 20 degrees here in Balsall Common tomorrow, I hope you all enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend. Stay safe everyone. God bless.

John was on a roll. He’d got the tickets, he’d got the car ready, he knew the route and he was keen to get going. Time to pick Peter up and set off up the motorway to Ambergate, to the The Great British Car Journey. He’d had to duck out on the trip when the Centre Stage boys went, so he saw a golden opportunity in offering the trip as a birthday gift for Pete – and going along himself, too, of course.

By all accounts, it was a great day out. The journey went smoothly, the displays were interesting, because most of the cars were the types that John & Pete, their parents, or people they knew, had owned in recent history. They found a nice restaurant to eat in at lunchtime, and the journey home was another smooth one. Well, I was pleased. So nice for John to take himself and a mate out for the day.

And here’s one type of car we used to own… one of my favourites. A bit blurry but a Triumph Toledo nonetheless. Yes, yes, I know….

I was also pleased that John took Pete out for the day because it gave me and Dawn an opportunity to have a day together, nattering away to our hearts content. Oooh, it were lovely!! We had a proper catch up without the boys interrupting us every five minutes – tee-hee! We also had a mooch round their garden too, which was an unexpected pleasure – ooh-ing and aah-ing over all their lovely plants and brand new shed, nestling in the corner of the garden. The shed, as yet unfilled, smelt wonderfully of fresh wood. I love that smell.

And, whoosh! That was it! The day was gone, just like that. Doesn’t time fly when you are enjoying yourself, eh?

John was tired when he got home and had a snooze while I watched the last hour of the cricket, and before we ate our evening meal. Then this evening, both of us have just slobbed out in front of the TV. Lovely. What an enjoyable day.

Nothing much else to report. The Afghanistan situation is still fraught and Priti Patel has told those fleeing to ‘wait for safe, legal routes’ out. I paraphrase, but honestly! I think we are on the verge of shutting all safe legal routes out, aren’t we – and where does that leave all those poor people?

The COVID situation is still grim, too. 38,046 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours. 100 people have died in the community. 47 people died in hospitals on 25 & 26 August. 948 people were admitted to hospital with the virus today.

I’d like to think I am catastrophising. I’d like to think so…. but this is what I wrote on 27 August 2020…..

‘So the government reports that there are 1,522 people infected with COVID-19 today and there were twelve deaths in the community – and three deaths in hospitals yesterday. The infection rate seems to be creeping up, no? Bring on the Test, Trace and Track app, that’s what I say!!‘

Ha! Catastrophising….? Moi? Boris Johnson’s suggestion that he’d rather ‘let the bodies pile high’ than have another lockdown is being fulfilled, I think – and we seem not to care any longer. We are numb to the numbers. Well, some of us seem to be anyway…..

All for now folks. Take care whatever you are doing. Stay safe. God bless.

You may recall that John suggested we spend a day doing the housework. Each week. Well, we decided that a Thursday was it. So we were up and at ’em this morning, keen as mustard…..

That is, after John had gone back from the Doctor’s surgery having had his three-monthly treatment for prostate cancer. And then, of course, we needed to consider that on a Thursday morning I go to yoga. And recently a friend suggested I might like to join her playing badminton on a Thursday afternoon. Hmmm…… doesn’t seem to leave much space for house-cleaning, does it?

No matter, we set to. I started on the ensuite. John started on the kitchen. Erm…… oh, and I cleaned the downstairs cloakroom, while John cleaned the shower room. And between us, we cleared the utility room (more or less). John vacuumed the kitchen and mopped a bit of the floor. I made the bed and hung some washing out. And there we are. That’s all we did. There’s a lot of house still to clean…… I did wonder whether we’d get it all done in a day…… ah, well, there’s always tomorrow.

Yoga was bliss this morning, as usual. Peace in body and peace in mind, making way for a little sliver of spirituality. Nice.

When I got home, I fretted a bit about going to badminton. It’s an awful long time since I played. I’m not fit; I won’t remember the rules; I won’t be able hit the shuttlecock; I won’t keep up with the play; and so on, ad infinitum. John pursed his lips and said, “You’ll be alright. Honestly, stop worrying about it! Just enjoy yourself.”

As it turned out, as is so often the case, I suppose, my fears were unfounded: I was fitter than I thought – it’s all that running up and downstairs and looking after the grandchildren, I think; I half-remembered the rules – but I didn’t need to really because everyone else knew them; I was able to hit the shuttlecock and only missed as often as the other players did – phew!; and I kept up with the play for the whole hour. Ta-da!!! And…. I was in the winning team three times out four. Now, that helped me feel better. I might be stiff tomorrow though.

When I got home, John was out, house-hunting with Michael and Danielle. Great excitement: the house they were going to see looked like it might be the one. I had just got out of the shower when they got back, and I went out to greet them, “How was it?” I asked, in great anticipation. “Rubbish,” was the chorused reply. Darn it!! Those pesky estate agents do know how to photograph something, and describe it, to make look and sound sooooo appealing, don’t they? Clearly not the house of their dreams after all. Back to the drawing board.

I promised undignified photos of us at the zoo yesterday, didn’t I? Not so undignified is this lovely one of Freddie, getting into the spirit of it:

And here’s another one of me and Freddie pretending to be Meerkats…….gosh, we were having fun!

We watched a bit of the cricket before the close of play today and were astonished to see how well England had done during the day. Must be a good wicket. I hope it’s exceptional play by the batsmen, too, though – you can’t always tell, can you?

Whilst watching TV, I saw a bit of the news and thought what a ‘good vs evil’ day it has been. The bombing at Kabul airport – how cynical that is; and the delight of our Paralympians, as they raced to gold medals. Such a contrast.

My attention was also caught by some of the stories emerging about shortages. In particular, the one story about GPs having been asked to hold off taking blood samples for a week or two as there is a shortage of phials to put the blood into. We now know why John was without his eye serum (made from a blood product) for nearly three weeks. Answers on a postcard, please, as to what these shortages may be attributed to?

In COVID news, scientists are warning of high infection rates to come – presumably greater than the current rates, which are already scaring the hell out of me. 38,281 people tested positive for the virus today. 140 people died in the community and 63 people died in hospitals on 24 & 25 August. 818 people were admitted to hospitals with the virus in the last 24 hours.

Do keep your distance, wear masks and keep indoor areas ventilated everyone. Our lives may depend upon it.

Take care and God bless.

🎶 ‘We’re all going to zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow….’🎶

We actually went to the zoo today – and how enjoyable it was, too. Harriet had suggested it last week, but I couldn’t go then, so we planned the visit for me to go today. She arrived on the doorstep just before eleven o’clock with Lily and Freddie in the car, and off we went.

The weather wasn’t marvellous, but it was warm enough and certainly not unpleasant, and we popped our coats on as it cooled down a bit this afternoon, to keep us snug. Despite feeling chilly, of course, we couldn’t quite resist the ice cream van….

We really did have a lovely time and were fascinated by several of the animals. I think the longest time we spent watching were with the large tortoises and the zebras. We spent ages watching one very large tortoise munching his way through a tuft of grass – clearly, he was getting his strength up because, as we passed by later, he was having a whale of a time climbing onto the back of a lady tortoise…… quite a crowd had gathered, but we didn’t stop. Lily was far too embarrassed. I also thoroughly enjoyed watching the giraffes, and the meerkats were fun, too.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about the zoo, though. It’s such a long time since I’ve been to one, that I was a bit distressed by the tigers in small cages, and the monkeys/gorillas/chimpanzees being in fairly close confinement, too. There were reassuring notices that reminded us that they were part of breeding programmes to release the offspring back into the wild, so there was a modicum of conscience-salving.

Freddie enjoyed himself, too, and he did really well because we walked a long way, and he didn’t complain one bit. He chatted throughout the visit and sang to himself as he walked along, making me smile. Lily was the best big sister ever and was patience personified. Harriet, of course, was as good company as ever, so all in all, it was a great day.

The zoo was very busy, much to my surprise, but being outdoors and keeping our distance as best we could, I didn’t feel too bad. We didn’t go into any of the enclosed spaces, apart from the gift shop at the end of the visit, where I did well to control the rising panic of being in amongst people who may have been COVID carriers. Because – as you know because I keep banging on about it – the rising cases and infection rates suggest we should be taking every precaution again now.

I was surprised to feel a bit weary once I got home, so I made a cuppa and John and I sat at the breakfast bar and chatted about our respective days. John reported that he’d done a fair bit of sleeping and wasn’t quite sure what time he’d gone into the garage to tinker with the car – was it 2 o’clock or 3? He was relatively pleased with the work he has done but I don’t think it was plain sailing. Even getting a spanner posed a challenge sometimes apparently!

We watched the last hour of the cricket – and were surprised to see England batting; then shocked when we saw that India had all been bowled out for just 78 earlier in the day. Goodness me, it must have been exciting to watch!! C’mon, England! You can do it! Please?

The COVID cases, as I say, are still on the rise: 35,847 people tested positive in the last 24 hours; 149 people died in the community with it; 67 people died in hospitals on 23 & 24 August; and there has been nearly a 10% rise in hospital admissions in the last week, with 6,172 people having been admitted in the last 7 days. Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck……..

Do take the greatest care everyone. God bless.

PS. I’ll share a couple of photos of us in undignified poses at the zoo tomorrow. Harriet took them and I have forgotten to ask for copies…….In the meantime, here’s a favourite of mine. A couple of very cheeky boys, two years ago, having been caught out raiding the Cheerios packet !

We made a conscious decision, today, to do absolutely nothing. Not even cook. Had fish and chips for tea.

I don’t know why, but I have felt weary today – I don’t know if it’s the aftermath of reading Shuggie Bain yesterday or maybe a touch too much alcohol on Sunday. What do you reckon? Well, I’m blaming the book but, as a precaution, I thought I’d take some Andrew’s liver salts this evening……

Although the weather wasn’t too bad today and there was a little bit of sunshine this morning, I wasn’t tempted outside hardly at all. In fact, I was feeling so ‘nesh’ this evening that we decided to light a fire to warm us up and offer a golden glow.

While I spent time reading a book, watching daytime TV, scrolling social media and chatting to friends on Messenger and WhatsApp, John was a bit more industrious. He sent in the application to renew his driving licence; he phoned up to confirm his tickets for a planned visit out and played a spot of poker. He also laid and lit the fire – no mean feat, as he had to gather the wood in from outside.

I am hoping I can find a bit more energy tomorrow – all this lazing about is exhausting!!

The COVID news is no different, so I feel like I am just on a repeating loop of permanent despair over it. I remain anxious that the children may catch it – or Andrew, who is not yet vaccinated. Still behaving like a Mother Hen, I’m wanting to prevent an infection or accident, just like I did all those years ago when our kids were little. But I know there is nothing I can do about it and it’s not my responsibility. However, I did sign the petition for ventilation in schools……. which I now believe has been actioned. Hurrah! That’s something at any rate.

The numbers then: 30,838 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours; 174 people died in the community; 60 people died in hospitals on 22 & 23 August. It’s just too many.

Also on my prayer list, of course, are all those people who fear for their lives in ‘struggle-for-power’ countries, especially those in Afghanistan at the moment. I hope and pray that all those who come to this country will be warmly welcomed and our hard-liners on the right learn some humility to accommodate them.

On a brighter note, I caught a bit of the opening ceremony for the Paralympics today and was absolutely thrilled to see the Olympians happy, smiling faces as they walked into the Olympic Stadium, so proud to be representing their countries. I love it, and I can’t wait to be watching the action over the next couple of weeks.

Take care everyone. God bless.

With the ‘Bibliophiles’ Book Club looming this evening, I was keen to finish the book I should have read last week, so I have been reading all day.

The blue skies and little bit of sunshine beckoned, but no – I was true to my task. And I was glad of it too. The book in question was ‘Shuggie Bain’ by Douglas Stuart – a tale of a Glasgow family ruined by alcoholism, and Shuggie’s struggle with his gender, over a ten-year period. Brilliant stuff, but I was exhausted after I’d read it. It’s quite harrowing to read and, of course, I ended up reading it all in one sitting, more or less.

John tinkered in the garage for a while this afternoon, trying to bolt bits together on the car, and I was pleased to be able to offer him a hand for a few minutes. My job? Hold onto a nut into which John was screwing a bolt. Really difficult and technical stuff…..

This evening, I logged into Zoom for our ‘Bibliophiles’ chat about the book and I was pleased to find that everyone else had the same thoughts about it as me. We all found it beautifully written but harrowing. In fact, a couple of us nearly stopped reading it early on because it is so raw in its depiction of Glasgow life in the 1980s.

Other than that, we’ve just swanned about the house, doing nothing much at all today. Some days are like that, aren’t they? You just need a day of ‘doing nothing’ to recharge the batteries.

The moon is shining as bright as day again tonight – this time without a cloud in the sky. Stunning to look at, and stunning to see the stars out. We really haven’t had enough nights like this, this year. I have resisted the temptation to photograph it again though – my pictures are always a bit blurry on the phone, and don’t do it justice. Apparently, there was a face among the cloud in last night’s photo. Did you see it?

My COVID report today is not dissimilar to previous ones. There’s a lot of it about and people are still dying with it. Today: 31,914 people tested positive for the virus; 40 people were reported as having died with it in the community; 18 people have died in hospitals since last Thursday. Admissions to hospitals are going up, too, with an increase of just under 7% increase in the last week. 948 people admitted today.

keep your wits about you everyone. God bless.

I awoke this morning, not so very late, and thought I must get up for church. I realised that I may not actually get to church as a physical being, and thought that maybe ‘YouTube ‘ might fit the bill. It did. There I was, singing my little heart out, and praying for all my worth – including a prayer for John, who is on the prayer list, and whom I love so dearly.

And then it was a sprint on with the ironing, which had been beckoning for a day or two, before a shower and a trip over to the Kenilworth Sleaths for lunch.

Oh, my. What a wonderful feast. Sunday lunch at Park Hill. Delicious. And another oh my, how wonderful to be in the company of both the Kenilworth Sleaths and the Suttons Sleaths all in one place. We were in our element. Fabulous food; an amazing Sunday roast by chef Paul; great company because most of us were there; and a Pouilly Fume wine, courtesy of the Chapmans in Australia. Yes, marvellous, because nearly all of us were there.

We ate, drank, played and chatted. The Sutton Sleaths left before we did, and then the rest of us sat and nattered for a few more hours in the Kenilworth Sleaths’ sitting room where we enjoyed an all-surround view of trees, and birds and butterflies. It was lovely. To be honest, I was loath to move. I could have stayed there a lot longer, but our own home and bed eventually called.

So we came home, ate cheese and crackers and made our way to bed. Very contented. I love my family. And cheers to the Chapmans in Australia whom we miss very much and wish we could chit-chat to more often face-to-face.

Finally, I leave you with the beautiful bouquet of flowers Michael gave me today. I was overwhelmed, it was so very unexpected. Nice, eh? Gerberas….one of my favourites…. reminds me of my wedding day.

Blessings to you all. May all your hopes and aspirations come to fruition. Our day was full of soul food – I hope yours was too.

It’s amazing, isn’t it – how the diary for the week can look very blank and then all of a sudden, fill up? It has felt like that this week – not much on, then as the week went on it gathered pace, culminating in one of the things I like to do most – looking after the littlies.

Michael and Danielle are still house-hunting – with eyes currently a bit too big for their budget, but hoping that an offer will be accepted so that they can get just what they want. I offered to go with them to keep an eye on the children as they browsed houses this morning. However, I had a belated thought that it was a bit crazy to go with them, and for them to be loading the children in and out of the car, so I suggested they drop William off here this morning instead.

Oh, glory! The answer was ‘yes’, so we had the pleasure of William’s company – and Michael and Danielle’s in between house viewings – plus Thomas whom they left with us for twenty minutes as they viewed a local property. Oh, bliss.

We have flown to the moon and back; we have fought pirates; we’ve sailed in choppy waters and survived; we’ve driven fast cars, police cars and trains; we’ve listened to music, played it and danced to it. And, what a revelation – William is the most amazing mover to music, it transpires. Fabulous! We’ve walked round the ‘Yellow Brick Road’ (in the rain) and we’ve eaten and laughed together. We are very tired, but very happy grandparents.

That’s it. That’s all today folks. Too happy to be thinking about and reporting on tragedy today.

Today’s inspiration? Toddlers……

Take care everyone. God bless.