Month: August 2021

A day or two without the blog and I can barely remember how to write…..and what have I been doing with myself, that’s the question?

Well, yesterday was Paul and Harriet’s wedding anniversary, so we hot-footed it over to Kenilworth at lunchtime, laden with copper gifts. Apparently, not only was it a copper anniversary but also a woollen one, so Harriet had knitted a fabulous jumper for Paul. Regrettably, I don’t have a photo of that, but I do have a photo of the flowers that Paul bought for Harriet – as Harriet says, the photo doesn’t them justice – but they were just stunning.

While we were at the Kenilworth Sleaths, Freddie packed his bag and we relieved them of his company, whisking him off to our house. And so we had a wonderful Freddie day, with a sleepover to boot. We enjoyed each other’s company, sharing a good film, then making an open fire together and, of course, the inevitable marshmallow roasts. At bedtime, Freddie made friends with one of the cats, Rio, and spent a good half an hour stroking him as he crept under Freddie’s bed. Such lovely moments.

This morning, Freddie was scheduled to go to holiday club and I had been detailed to take him. It was hard for both of us, however, as Freddie didn’t want to go – and so we spent a good while in ‘tussle’ mode. Never a nice place to be, is it?

I nipped round to the Kenilworth Sleaths at lunchtime to return the car seat and have a cuppa with Paul, which was very pleasant indeed. It’s not very often that we get time for each other these days, what with one thing and another, so it was an unexpected pleasure.

This afternoon, I really enjoyed the company of a few friends at an afternoon tea, leaving John to tinker with his car. It’s the first time he’s done that in a while, but I think he got on reasonably well. I am not sure what the state of the chassis is now, but I am expecting that he’ll soon have it sorted – if it isn’t already.

In other, very exciting news – we had a thrilling little video from the Sutton Sleaths today showing Thomas taking his first steps. How fabulous to capture that on camera!! I was whooping in the aisles, as you can imagine!

Meanwhile, I continue to wrestle with the purpose of the blog, realising that increasingly, it’s an ‘every day story of village folk’ with nowt much of anything at all.

However, I have had a good few suggestions from friends and relatives about it, with some cracking thoughts and helpful ideas to put it all into context. One theme in particular emerged – it seems that our ‘daily doings’ helps put others’ lives into context, too. Hadn’t thought of it like that!

It’s possible, of course, that my current mood/questioning mode is simply part of the up and down of life’s rollercoaster and I shall return ‘to normal’ shortly. Borrowing from Susie Dent’s vast vocabulary, I am temporarily dumfungled – that is, exhausted and all used up.

Anyway, onto COVID news, for which you have all been waiting with bated breath, I expect…..23,510 people tested positive for the virus today; the last seven days showing a 7% increase in cases. 146 people died in the community with the virus – an increase of nearly 15% in the last seven days. 47 people died in hospitals on 8 & 9 August.

It’s not all doom and gloom though – the vaccination programme is quietly continuing and nearly 90% of the adult population is vaccinated with the first dose, and 75% full vaccinated with both doses. I think that’s pretty good.

I am keen for the government to really get cracking on all the young people though – especially before they get back to school. As yet, there hasn’t been any movement by the government of appropriate ventilation for schools as far as I can tell, and it’s a bit wishy-washy about masking in schools – is it going to be every man for himself? Not a great idea when it’s our youngsters’ future health at stake, really, is it?

For now, though, keep safe everyone and allow me to offer you this – as if you didn’t know it already…….

“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.” Eckhart Tolle

For much of the week there has been a tentative discussion about us baby-sitting the Sutton-Sleaths children this evening. Both Michael and Danielle are exhausted for different, and also the same, reasons, but no actual arrangement was made. Neither of them could plan the evening at an appropriate time, so all hotels were booked for overnights stays and all restaurants were booked for meals, so there was a shrug of shoulders and a hope cast into the wind.

The hope that was cast turned out well, if a little differently, to what they had thought might be the case.

“Hi, Mum,” Michael said, when he face-timed this morning, “We’re house-hunting today. Is it OK if we leave William with you while we go?” Well, of course!! We would be delighted, thank you, to have William for a couple of hours.

William and I were well-entertained during the time the grown-ups were away. There was Duplo to start with, then Transformers, then cars, then the ‘Harry Potter’ cupboard in which we were spacemen, blasting off to, and beyond, the moon. Cracking stuff.

Michael and Danielle came back in between house visits and finally arrived back at lunchtime. Michael’s tummy was rumbling….. fortunately, I’d got some half-baked baguettes that I wanged in the oven and we topped them with cheese and ham and salady stuff, which filled a gap.

While I got the lunch ready, Michael and William played with the Scalectrix. It sounded like they were having such a lot of fun and it made my heart swell.

After lunch, Thomas was grizzling a little bit and was keen to clamber all over the race track on which Michael and William were keenly racing, so Danielle popped him in the buggy and I took him for a walk. He fell asleep not too far into the walk, but he’s got a runny nose because he’s teething, so coughing ensued. I sat him up a bit, but it didn’t seem to ease the coughing much. Once we were home, there weren’t many minutes before he woke up. Ah, well….

John and William were watching the TV – the Octonauts – when I walked into the lounge. No sign of Michael and Danielle. “Have they gone up for a rest?” I asked. “Yes,” said John. Good, I thought – they certainly needed it.

We had an excellent afternoon looking after the children – William and John fell asleep watching their programme; Michael and Danielle were sleeping upstairs – all being Sleeping Beauties, so I was satisfied…….

Conscious of all those who needed their sleep, and so as not to disturb anyone, Thomas and I wandered around the garden playing on the swing or in the swinging chair whenever Thomas was fretful. We sat and read some books, we played on the stairs, we watched some nursery rhymes on my phone and then, finally, I thought he was tired again, so I took him out for another walk. He didn’t fall asleep but he was happy in his buggy and didn’t want to get out of it.

I set on to get the tea ready, thinking what a wonderful sleep and rest the Sutton Sleaths had had. As I was prepping the food, my phone rang. It was Michael. “We’ll be back shortly, we’re just by the school – sorry, we’ve been longer than we expected.'” Bemused, I just said OK, no worries – and then said to John, “Did they go for a walk while I was out then?” No. Apparently not. They had been out all afternoon. And here was me, tiptoeing around the house as quite as mouse in case I woke them up……John’s excuse was that he didn’t hear me ask about them having a rest, so thinks he must’ve just said ‘Yes’ to a random question……..

They had had a good time though – they’d gone to the pub and had a couple of drinks then met Michael’s friend’s Mum, Leigh, and gone round for a cup of tea. Wonderful.

A steak and chips dinner and ice-cream-in-a-cone-with-a-flake topped off the day. It was not what they planned when they set out today, but actually, I think it worked well. John said he was tired this evening, but he looked a happy tired. I, of course, had been in my element all day with both children and seeing Michael and Danielle. I am so very thankful for days like this. As it was yesterday, a day of beautiful memories.

I shan’t sully the happy thoughts with the COVID figures today. Take care everyone. God bless.

It was a Freddie day today. What fun we had going through the lovely list that we’d written yesterday of things to do.

Freddie hadn’t forgotten we’d written a list and, when he arrived, he went straight to it to check it out. First off: Scalectrix. We brought it down and set it up just off the lounge in the library area.

Well, I say ‘we’ – actually it was John who set it all up and got it going. He said I was being sexist, referring to the ‘boys’ setting it up – and he might have been right. Funny how old ideas stick in your mind, isn’t it? I still have memories of not being allowed to touch such hallowed and treasured games in days gone by.

Anyway, we had fun with it for a while, but one of the cars struggled round, so I did a lot of polishing of the track and repairing of the car’s connection to the track, until we decided it probably was the car itself. At that point, Freddie had had enough. It’s not that much fun when the car isn’t racing round the track. Mind you, Freddie didn’t half giggle every time the car went spinning off. It was his favourite part of the race.

After we’d finished playing with the Scalectrix, we worked our way through the list: i) make a den – we played in the ‘Harry Potter’ cupboard upstairs instead, fiddling about with glowsticks to our hearts’ content; ii) play with the slinky – well, we did that several times and played with the cats while we were at it; iii) move the bird feeder – Freddie helped decide where to place it so that we can actually see the birds when they come to feed. That was very helpful. iv) marshmallow roast on an open fire – the fire was brilliant and roasted the marshmallows to perfection….. I think Freddie enjoyed eating them…..yummmm……

We also made cakes, Freddie played on the swing, and we watched an old, classic film called ‘The Plank’, which we chuckled over.

All in all, it was a wonderful time and reminded me of how much we have been missing in the last 18 months.

What is particularly nice, of course, is the ‘growing up’ phase. Freddie is an articulate and intelligent boy, so it’s good to be able to talk to him. He is also a great joker – deliberately so – and makes you laugh at his antics. Our hearts are full.

This evening we drank beer by way of relaxation and slouched in front of the TV as is our wont when we are tired. I did fall asleep for half an hour while John cleared the kitchen. Good man.

In other news, we were so sad to get a message at lunchtime telling us that Brian, my cousin Janet’s husband, passed away this morning. We feel so very sorry that the opportunity to spend more time with them as a couple has now passed, but I am pleased that I was able to visit them on their golden wedding anniversary not so long ago. If you are so inclined, please hold Janet, Peter, their son, and Linda, their daughter, in your prayers.

In COVID news, there were 31,808 people who tested positive for the virus today and a lot of people died – 92 deaths in the community. The final tally of deaths in hospitals on 4 August was 37, and there were 10 recorded yesterday.

Do take care everyone. God bless.

We took the day easy today. No rush, no pressure.

This morning, we had a little lie-in before I finally got out of bed, aware that, if I didn’t soon, then the yoga class would start without me. We had a cuppa and breakfast and then, before I set off, John said he was going back upstairs and may have another lie down.

In the end, I think he did all of his medical stuff while I was out, rather than sleep. Always good to hear that he’s managed to get through it all.

The yoga class was great – all very gentle and just right for my old bones. Jaime is on holiday, so her friend, Julie, took the class, and she was lovely. Thoroughly enjoyed it and came home well refreshed.

This afternoon we sat and watched the Olympics. Some of it was a replay from overnight, some of it was live-ish. Our new favourite sports to watch are the skate-boarding and the sport climbing. They were so exciting! Amazing skills and daredevil stuff – we were on the edge of our seats. Marvellous.

Just before tea, Paul phoned. “Are you available for half an hour? Freddie is desperate to see you.” Yes, we were available, so round they came. Freddie and I had great fun playing at the top of the house – first with the cats, then with ‘Slinky’, an old toy from John’s childhood, running it down the stairs. We laughed and laughed at its antics as it slithered from one step to another. It filled my heart to hear Freddie’s belly laugh over and over again.

As we played, Freddie came up with lots of things to do: ‘Can we play with the Scalectrix? Can we make a den? Can we have a fire and melt marshmallows? Can we play with Slinky again?’ and so on…… Finally, I had to say to everything, ‘not today, but tomorrow when you come, we can do these things’. He accepted that and is looking forward to spending the day with us tomorrow. John is exhausted at the thought of it already.

This evening we had a wonderful evening. It is Dawn’s 65th birthday, so we celebrated with pink Champagne. As always, we nattered to our hearts’ content and could hardly drag ourselves away. John was on top form, telling some of his stories from days gone by – all of them amusing – to the extent that we were rolling in the aisles with laughter. Oh, it does do you good to have a good laugh, doesn’t it? Many happy returns of the day, Dawn!! Cheers!

And another piece of exciting news today – Michael has finished his formal tutelage at university. His final lecture was today. His thesis has passed muster and there’s just the final placement to complete before he graduates in September. Bring it on!! It’s been a very long, hard road and he deserves all the success the qualification brings.

On a totally different note, we hear that this wave of COVID is still slowing down, for which I am very grateful. 30,215 people tested positive for the virus today. Over the last week, cases have been down by 10%. Good trend. Long may it continue.

Deaths, on the other hand, have risen, which is to be expected. 86 people died in the community, thus contributing to the increase of 14% in the last seven days. The count in hospitals is running at 49 on 2 August, 29 on 3 August, and 7 yesterday, so far.

Hope everyone stays safe and keeps on with all the possible precautions to prevent further infection and death. It seems many of us are – which, again, is a good trend.

Take care everyone. God bless.

After our shenanigans yesterday, we had a quiet day today. George and Sue stayed over as planned, with George apparently having slept well, despite the very large swelling on his ankle.

Regrettably, it was impossible to walk on the ankle, so I was very grateful to George for dusting my floor with his hands and knees every time he moved around the house.

We had a very leisurely morning, sitting around the breakfast table, having consumed a full English Breakfast, nattering away until mid-day. Fabulous. This is what retirement is all about. The only fly in the ointment though, was the fact that Dave and Chris were not with us. Next time….

We put the world to rights very adequately before we started thinking about going to collect George and Sue’s car, which we had abandoned at the boatyard yesterday. “Hmmm… what shall we do?” we mused. “Shall we, all four of us, go over to Bidford and pick up the car?” I looked at John and his exhausted face; then looked at George with his gammy foot. “No,” I said decisively, “I think it’d be better if Sue and I go. You boys rest up on the sofas.” The menfolk agreed – almost with a sigh of relief – both of them recognising that, actually, a sit on the sofa for an hour, feet up, was just what they needed.

The sun was shining and it was a warm day. I put the roof down on the Eos and Sue and I set off. We had the most marvellous run, there and back, to Bidford. We enjoyed the breeze dancing round us, ruffling our hair, as we drove along; we loved the scenery, which was lush and green; and we marvelled at the dappling effect on the road as the we drove through the archway of trees on some of the roads. Beautiful.

A quick cuppa when we got back and our guests were ready to get on the road home. We were sorry to say goodbye – we had had such a cracking time and thoroughly enjoyed each others’ company.

After they had left, we sat on the sofa and watched some TV. John slept for a while, then woke up, whereupon I dozed for a while, too. We were both tired – it was all that fresh air and exercise yesterday.

This evening it was Quiz Night. Another wonderful evening, which never fails to please. Great questions and a few we definitely didn’t know. I mean, do you know what ‘cynophobia’ is?

On the COVID front, 29,312 people tested positive for the virus today and 119 people died in the community. The hospital figures are a bit more daunting than previously, with 50 people having died on 1 August; 40 on 2nd; and 6 recorded yesterday so far.

The vaccination programme has significantly slowed, but we are at 88.7% of the adult population having had their first dose and 73.2% now fully vaccinated. I was delighted to hear on the news this evening that there is now a plan afoot to vaccinate 16-17 year-olds, too. Good.

Take care everyone. As best you can, keep your calamities small. God bless.

We were excited to be going out, out today. A boat trip, no less! All planned and arranged with Dave and Chris, George and Sue.

To be sure that John would be well enough to go on this ‘jolly’, having cancelled the two previous, I had hollered at him the other day to discourage him from doing any work. It did the trick. He was better and raring to go, so we were up and at ’em early.

Equally early, were Dave and Chris. Only they weren’t up and at ’em at all. Dave was feeling unwell and we had a phone call from Chris: “Sorry, but we’re going to have to cancel.” A boat trip with an ear infection didn’t match. Dave was already feeling dizzy and he didn’t need to add to it with any boat-swaying.

Disappointed not to have their company, the rest of us soldiered on. George was as keen as mustard to get going once we arrived, and he didn’t particularly appreciate the instructions being detailed to him of how the kettle/toilet/fridge worked. ‘Just give me the keys,’ he was thinking – but you’d never know as he smiled pleasantly at the boat owner holding forth.

We were soon under way, however, and admiring the scenery. We couldn’t resist a pic of the view in front of us to send to Dave and Chris, with a ‘Wish you were here’ sticker…..

Our plan, which was actually executed, was to go through three locks down the Avon and stop at a pub on its banks at Offenham, then the return journey. But it took a little longer than expected…..

At Lock Number One, I leapt out of the boat to wield the windlass (or lock handle, to mere mortals like you and me) to open the lock gates. Job done, George steered the narrow boat in as I waited on the side. A pleasure boat followed him in. Young people ran around to grab the ropes that the older people on that boat were throwing up to them. Or not. The senior lady of the party, threw and missed. Instead of letting the rope go, she grabbed the side of the lock to try and pass it up to the young man. The boat floated further from the lock side. The lady’s grip on the side weakened. Her daughter tried to grab her legs to stop her falling into the river………aaaahhhh…….noooo……and in she went.

There ensued a great kerfuffle. The lady popped up to the surface of the water and clung on to the side of the boat. The skipper manoeuvred the boat nearer the wall. George hung onto the boat, for fear of the lady being trapped. The skipper yelled at him to let go. People on the side of the river bank were shouting a variety of instructions, including me, “Throw her the lifebuoy!! Throw in the lifebuoy!!”

A stout woman strode through the assembled group of harassed onlookers and well-wishers and took charge. She calmly guided the boat so that the lady could grab onto the steps and climb up – but not before she had looked the crew firmly in the eye and said, “Life jackets?” of which there none. The crew of the pleasure boat had the grace to look a bit sheepish.

We continued on our way, Sue and me sipping a little glass of Prosecco and sunning ourselves on the deck. And we navigated Locks Two and Three very well with no more people falling into the river. Oh, what bliss.

We had brought a picnic but, faced with a delicious selection of food at the pub, we decided to buy our lunch instead. It was lush. We sat out in the sunshine and were served by a very nice young man. We probably sat out a bit too long in the sun (my fault, I was enjoying it very much) because John had a bit of fainting feeling as he got up to get back on the boat. Oh, dear, my nerves are so shredded. I had visions of him falling into the river next…… (he didn’t).

Ok. Time to go back – and off we go. First stop: Lock Number Three. George got out of the boat to help with the winding of the sluice gates. As we walked back, his foot fell foul of the edge of a concrete block and ‘crack’……… George fell to the ground and rolled over in great pain. “I think I’ve broken my ankle,” he said, immediately.

He hobbled, well, hopped actually, back to the boat. He’d clearly done something nasty. We wrapped his ankle up as best we could to keep some pressure on the ankle and stabilise it, and fed him co-codamol. “I’m fine,” he lied. “Honestly, I’m fine,” he lied again.

He wasn’t fine at all, but he was determined to keep going. So he sat, with his foot dingle-dangling down and steered on. Here are a couple of troupers…..

George steered on…..until…….well, we were about half an hour away from the boatyard, just blithely passing a caravan park, when all of a sudden, there was a crunching of stones. Then a grinding of the engine. Then a graunching on the bottom of the boat. Erm…… we didn’t appear to be going forward any more. Nor could we go backwards. We were grounded and stuck fast. Oh, blimey.

We got the pole out to try and push us off……

Well, we couldn’t do it – but a very nice man from the crowd-that-had-gathered to-be-astonished-at-our-plight, could….. he took his shoes and socks off and waded out to us, grabbed the pole and levered us off the stones.

We were only an hour late back to the boatyard.

George refused to go to the hospital, stating that ‘he’d see how he was in the morning’. Hmmm…. fingers crossed that the ice pack does the trick and eases the swelling.

Despite the high drama on the water today and a maybe-broken ankle, we’ve all enjoyed ourselves. It was good to get out in the fresh air and see some lovely scenery. Must do it again sometime….. only next time, with Dave and Chris – and no dramas.

All for now, and no COVID news for a change. Take care everyone, God bless.

So, the good news is that John is feeling a lot better. He has spent the day resting, which I’m pleased about. We also had good news from the respiratory nurses today, too. I had phoned to see if John should continue with the medication to deal with the pseudomonas infection he has. The nurse had said she would check and, having checked, she declared that the last few samples that John had sent in showed no sign of the infection, so no nebuliser needed just now. That was a very pleasant surprise!

While John was resting, I fiddled about polishing a few more ornaments and had another reminiscing day. The children’s first shoes, all encased in metal – silver, brass and copper – and on show in the cabinet, reminded me of their first steps. The passage of time swoops through and rushes us headlong into our old age, doesn’t it? My, oh my, we never thought we’d be old. We were planning to be young forever!

We had a nice surprise today when the doorbell rang. It was Peter – he wondered if John needed a hand with any of the wood he’d been trying to shift yesterday. As it happened, John had sorted out the one piece that he’d selected for Peter before I shouted at him to stop yesterday, so no help needed, other than Peter taking away said piece of wood. It was lovely to see him though and sit and have a cuppa together.

Other than that, it’s been a quiet day really. We watched a bit of the Olympics on replay – and had anxiety attacks when we saw that the women’s hockey team were tied at the end of the match and the result was to be decided on penalties. Well done to the girls who scored, and well done to our goalie who saved all of the penalty shots from the Spaniards. Phew – we can breathe again.

Also on the good news front, it appears that the COVID infection rate is definitely slowing down. Scientists are suggesting it’s related to the vaccine, herd immunity gathering pace and the school’s being out. Whatever it is, let’s have more of the same, please.

21,952 people tested positive for the virus today and 24 died in the community. Only 5 deaths were reported on 31 July & 1 August in hospitals today. More numbers may catch up tomorrow, but even that seems to be good news to me.

All for now, we’re having an almost early night – got to be up and out early tomorrow…..

Take care everyone. God bless.

Thank you to everyone who sent comments to me today about yesterday’s blog and its purpose. All very helpful and informative – much appreciated.

I was particularly taken with the comments my friend, Rona, made, but which she couldn’t post in reply to the blog for some reason. I’ve copied her comments from the email she sent and put them up in reply to one of John’s comments.

The key thing about her comment is a response to some of my musings regarding our health service – she and her husband have looked at the NHS and compared it to the system in the USA. Well worth reading, if you get the chance.

As you can imagine, I am still taking stock of what I am writing for, so will review where I am over the next week or two. I’m still in a muddle.

In other news, as we lazed in bed this morning, John said, “Are you going to church this morning?” Hmmm…. I was very tempted. There was going to be singing among the congregation. Under our masks, of course, but still, it was tempting. However, I erred on the side of caution and watched the service from the safety of our home. I am sure it’s going to be safe, singing through masks….. isn’t it? Can some epidemiologist just reassure me, please?

And I had to laugh – the Bible extract that we were to take note of today reminded us to ‘Be always humble, gentle and patient’ and to show our love ‘by being tolerant with one another’. I am trying, for goodness’ sake!! It ain’t always easy though, is it? Ego is a terrible thing.

Anyway, we lounged about in bed this morning instead of getting up and leaping into action. I was pleased that John was still resting as he’s not quite better yet.

Once we were out of bed and downstairs, we enjoyed watching some success stories at the Olympics – and were thrilled by the BMX riding. We haven’t watched this event before, but it was very exciting indeed. John continued to watch sport evolving on the TV this afternoon with the Grand Prix – which turned out to be an equally exciting race.

I chose not to watch the Grand Prix, but turned my attention to a bit more spring cleaning. I say this, but when our guests arrive (all being well and illness doesn’t prevent the event) I doubt they’ll notice that there’s anything been done at all. It’s not exactly earth shattering stuff, dusting off the tiddly little ornaments, is it? But I didn’t half enjoy it.

I reminisced over every single piece – the scarab we brought back from Egypt; the ladybird-in-a-heart my Aunty Flo gave me; the head-hunter carving we brought back from the Philippines; the coral from the South China Seas; the Swarovski crystal telephone given from the cast of a play in Centre Stage; the badge I gave John on our wedding day – ‘Love is all you need’………eeh, and I could go on. My heart was full.

Anyway, while I was upstairs, I heard the front door open. I wondered if John had gone for the walk we’d talked about doing, but without me. No. He was outside heaving pieces of wood down by the side of the house. Whaaat? I tapped on the window to him and shouted, “Stop it! You’re not well enough yet to be doing that.” Apparently, he was bored.

He got his own back this evening though, and got through a couple of glasses of wine and three packets of crisps to remind me that he can make his own decisions, thank you. I had the vision of the physiotherapist in my mind doing a bit of finger wagging, but I think John had decided enough was enough, and he was ‘damn well going to enjoy himself’, as my father would say. Good for him.

Other than that, the day has trundled slowly on. I had a great chat to Carol, just after tea, though. It’s a while since we had a natter as they braved the airports/aircraft to spend some time in their flat in Spain over the last four weeks. Nice to have them back and to be able to plan to see them.

I also had a bit of a chat to Michael and to Paul – both conversations related to baby-sitting duties next weekend…… juggle, juggle, juggle.

With regard to COVID news, 24,470 people tested positive for the virus today, and 65 people died in the community. Hospital figures will be available on Monday and we’ll see what the damage is then.

I am reminded of my Dad as I conclude this evening’s blog – shoulders back, chin up, and best foot forward…… c’mon, Anne, you can do it!!

Take care everyone. God bless.