Month: September 2021

Great excitement today, because it’s Green Bin Day tomorrow! Steve, our milkman, mows the lawn and cuts our hedges for us and fortuitously, came today and did some hedge-cutting, so we’ve got full bins for the bin men to take away tomorrow. Eeeeh, livin’ the life, eh??!!

Talking of ‘living the life’, our day today has been more of the same. With a nod to Morecombe and Wise – we’re doing all of the same, but not necessarily in the same order, of course….. and so, our day has gone something like this….

John slept fitfully – as per usual. It had started with: “I’ll sleep in the spare room,” I’d said, before we went to bed last night. “to get a good night’s sleep.” “No worries. Whatever you like,” John replied. So, John went to bed before me. When I’d finished faffing about on the computer, I went into our bedroom to get me jim-jams and brush me teeth. Only, I did it all in the dark, because I didn’t want to disturb the ol’ man. And it wasn’t me disturbing him. No. He disturbed me. All of a sudden, he let out a great big scream. Nearly frightened me to death in the depths of the dark. He was having a weird dream. “You alright, John?” I enquired. “Whaaat? What? Ohh…. er…. yes….” came the reply. “Are you having a dream?” I asked gently. “Mmmm. Yes….. I think I am…” he said, as he nodded off again.

This morning, he vaguely remembered he was having a dream – something to do with his brother. Heaven knows what that was all about……. and I have to confess, I am glad I wasn’t in bed with him at the time. I’d have shot out of my skin……. and would certainly have shot out of bed!

This morning then, we were both a bit tired – John, from having had bad dreams and me, from the memory of The Scream. I finally winkled myself out of bed, however, by about half-past eight.

I did a few chores before the shopping came at ten o’clock and then I had to find places to put it away. Re-arranged the contents of the fridge in the process. “You. Will. Fit!” I puffed, as I squeezed yet another item in. John came down and oversaw the process of me furkling in the fridge and apologising for re-arranging that which he had so neatly arranged last week.

After the fun and games of fridge furkling, John went onto the computer and spent a good few hours scratching his head trying to work out whether our Sky deal was really a deal. I left him to it. I went and had a game of badminton.

When I got home, John was nowhere to be seen. I went upstairs to change out of my sportswear, and there he was, bless him, a-snoozing on the bed. I crept out without disturbing him and had a sit down on the sofa downstairs, replacing all those calories I’d used this afternoon with a large packet of Minstrels.

When John came downstairs, he said it had been extremely confusing as to what Sky package we’d now got, because the one we had, had been changed and then changed again. Anyhow, the upshot of it all was that he thinks the deal is a deal, after all. Phew.

This evening was wonderful – for me, anyway. I Zoomed in with the College Crew. With the girls – my dear, dear friends. I know I have said it before, but our friendship is marvellous because, no matter how long ago it was that we last met or saw each other, we fall into a comfortable chat immediately. It’s like putting on a well-worn slipper. Cosy and familiar. Lush.

And there we have it. A day – made up of probably the same components of many of our other days, but just re-arranged enough to keep us interested. Missing the Chester component though.

In COVID news it’s more of the same, too. 36,480 people tested positive for the virus today. 137 people died with it in the community; 45 died in hospitals in the previous 48 hours.

However, the figures of those vaccinated is now creeping up, with almost 90% of the post-16 population vaccinated with their first dose; and 82.5% with both doses. And boosters have begun. There’s hope yet.

Take care everyone. Take care of your precious loved ones. Tell them you love them. God bless.

We always look forward to Wednesdays. It’s Quiz Night and that’s always fun. Tonight was exactly that. Honestly, not only was the Quiz interesting, but we had such a laugh while we were doing it. I shall be forever grateful to Malcolm for inviting us to join in, all that time ago, when Lockdown first kicked in. It has been an absolute saviour.

Wednesdays are often hospital days – but not today. We had a ‘free’ day to do whatever took our fancy. My fancy took me a walk up to Oakes’ Farm Shop to order the Christmas Turkey this morning. Whaaaat? I hear you cry! Well, I’m probably fuelling the panic-buying of turkeys (cos there’s going to be a shortage, you know) but last week when I was there, I’d seen that Oakes’ had put out leaflets saying ‘Order Your Turkey Now!’ So I decided I might as well.

In addition, of course, I no longer have Chester to walk, and I was keen to get a daily walk in, so what better way than take myself off up the road? I also wanted to time the walk, because our plan is to take our weekend guests to Oakes’ for breakfast on Sunday. Always useful to know how long it’s going take to get there on foot. Mind you, I doubt we’ll walk on the day – it’s likely to be piddling down with rain and we’ll choose a dryer mode of transport, I expect. We’ll see.

John was tired this morning so he had a bit of a snooze, but he was busy on the computer with one thing and another, so it wasn’t all shut-eye.

After lunch, I toddled off into Kenilworth to get a haircut. For many years, I was hairdresser-phobic, but the girl who does my hair now is very chatty and just ordinary, so I feel at ease. Not only that, but I am in and out in half an hour flat, which suits me just fine.

I ran a few errands in Kenilworth and then shot off to Wickes in Coventry to return a loo seat that I’d bought but which was too big. I then went to B&Q to see what they’d got and bought another loo seat – which turns out might be too big, too….. ah, well. We’ll either bung it on and hope for the best, or I’ll keep looking.

John laboured well this afternoon, bringing tubs of wood up to the top of the garden, and some into the house, ready for burning and heating the house up against any future cold weather. Our central heating is on the blink so when we need it for any cold snap, we might be left wanting. The radiators come on when we’re heating the water up, but not when we put the heating on…… weird, eh? Anyway, supplies are in!

In COVID news it’s still too many of everything: 36,722 people infected today; 150 people died in the community and 32 in the previous 48 hours in hospitals.

This time last year it was: 7,143 people infected; 71 deaths in the community and 26 in hospitals.

And this time five years ago, we were installing Mum in her flat! Amazing how time flies, isn’t it?? Gosh, memories!!! As Autumn comes on, I’m beginning to feel nostalgic….

In the meantime…….. take care everyone. God bless.

Sorry, don’t know who to credit this picture to….. but fun, isn’t it?

It was the day of the ‘return’. We took Chester back home this afternoon after a week of great company and wonderful walks. I think he enjoyed his holiday with us, mind you, and he certainly liked to keep me company. So we bade him a fond farewell until the next time….

Other than a trip over to Sutton to return the dog, we’ve fairly meandered about today, really, so nothing much to report and this is a five-minute blog.

I went to yoga class this morning and then, once I was back, just did spot of pottering about in the kitchen, and then ordered some shopping on-line. Not sure if it’ll come, of course, if there’s no petrol and no drivers….. but we’ll wait and see.

John had a long lie-in this morning and got up just before lunch. I think he feels better for it, so that’s good to know.

While I was taking Chester for one last walk at lunchtime, I took a phone call from a friend and neighbour, Carol, to tell me that her husband, Richard had died. Gosh, it was terrible news. He had been very poorly in recent weeks and it wasn’t unexpected, but I felt very upset for Carol and her family. If you are so inclined, prayers are probably needed.

COVID is more or less the same with 34,526 people infected today and 167 deaths in the community. 92 deaths in hospitals since 25 September. We’re really not doing well, are we?

And so another day passes by – some of it good, some of it bad – much like many a day we’ve had in the last 18 months or so. I have no idea how to improve matters, but I remain ever hopeful that matters will improve.

Take care everyone. God bless.

Start of the week! And lots to look forward to, so I started with more chores…. Having not finished all I needed to do over the weekend, there was still a pile of ironing, still a load of washing up, and still a load of stuff to be put away.

A couple of good things to tick off the list, though, were two phone calls. One to John’s prostate cancer specialist and one to the cat groomer. The former seemed to us to be pressing. It’s a while since the GP said, ‘Hmmm… your PSA levels are up, so I’ll let the consultant know…’ We heard nothing and we heard nothing. I’d tried phoning the secretary a couple of weeks ago and didn’t get an answer. Tried again last week, to no answer; but today, I managed to get through. Regrettably, she had no idea why the consultant hadn’t done anything about John’s situation. “John’s on the waiting list for an appointment,” she said. Oh, great! Let’s just wait then, shall we? Anyway, she said she’d flag it again. I might be hopping up and down before long…..we’ll see.

The cat groomer was a similar situation, where you phone and phone and finally leave a message but nobody comes back to you, so you phone again. I was very pleased when she finally responded this afternoon. Boom! Rio has got to get ready for a haircut…. but not until next Monday. Lordy, he’ll be a mass of knots by then!

John felt exhausted after all the work he’d been doing in the last week or two, so he decided to have a day off, which I think was a good thing. However, as the day wore on, he started fretting about finishing the cleaning of the drive. I had pointed out that the drain wasn’t draining away, so he had to sort that out, but then, he wanted to get the sand down in between the pavers. “I’ll order some from Wickes,” he said, “Click and Collect.” Right…. “I’ll go,” I said, as I could see John was still very weary.

Of course, when I got back with the sand – which was, by now, at six o’clock – it suddenly dawned on me that John would be wanting to get it brushed in, wouldn’t he? And yes, he did. So there we both were with our bags of sand and our brooms, brushing away for all our worth before it got dark. What amused me more than anything though, was the amount of neighbours who walked past and commented on our efforts. I played ‘comment bingo’, and the comment that won, was: “You’re working hard!!” Yes, we were, and it’s done well enough for now.

I had a lovely chat to Jack, as well, who was walking past. Good on him that he didn’t ask what we were doing, nor did he say that we were working hard. We just had a very sensible conversation about his current life/work situation. Marvellous.

Earlier on in the afternoon I had taken Chester for a walk trying to dodge the very heavy showers. There was a cold wind, so I wrapped up warm and popped on my raincoat before setting off. I kept my beady eye on the raincloud that was hovering overhead, expecting it to dump a heavy load of rain on me at any moment. Mercifully, it didn’t. The wind blew in exactly the right direction, and the sun came out. I had a fabulous time.

Mind you, I did walk a few fields more than I had anticipated…..

Aware that Chester, historically, had taken an aversion to black dogs, I thought I’d steer clear of a woman walking a couple of black border collies. I was catching up with them fast, so I veered off to the left and went round an additional field, whereupon I spied another woman with a black dog…..so I veered right, this time, to avoid them. Of course, in turning right, I then had two additional fields to walk. Still, it did me good. Came back hot and sweaty, but buoyed up by the fabulous physical experience a walk brings.

This evening, we trawled through various TV programmes and alighted upon a recording of ‘Endeavour’ and decided to watch that. Honestly, it was such rubbish. Whoever wrote the script should be shot (metaphorically speaking, of course). And whoever directed the programme should go back to drama school. Dreadful. I happily did my ironing while we watched it, and I got more pleasure from that than the programme! I mean, that tells you something doesn’t it? Definitely one to miss in the future…..

In COVID County, we are no further forward on preventing the virus from ploughing through the population. 37,960 people were recorded as being infected today. 40 people died in the community and 15 in hospitals on 25 & 26 September – but I expect those figures to be updated more accurately tomorrow.

Take care everyone. God bless. You are loved.

Today has been one of those days when you don’t know whether you are coming or going. I woke up early and intended to get ready to go to church. However, I lay in bed, luxuriating in the fact that I could have a bit more sleep if I wanted. So I did. John also lay in bed for a while longer. After all his recent exertions, he sure needed plenty of rest.

Once I was up, however, I felt very untoward. Not ill, but didn’t really know what to do with myself. Yes, yes, jobs on a list as long your arm, but really, I didn’t want to do any of them. I went outside in the garden with Chester instead, to see if that would brighten me up. But no. It didn’t.

In the end, when I went upstairs to take John’s cup of tea, I said, “I’m going to have a bath. See if that’ll perk me up,” He nodded. “Good idea.” And, I said, “Are you OK if I see whether the Kenilworth Sleaths fancy coming over for a roast dinner?” Of course he was. Always a treat to see the family.

As it turned out, the Kenilworth Sleaths were going out for dinner and did we want to join them? We said yes, and kept our fingers crossed the whole time we were there. It wasn’t too busy and everyone was well spaced out, so hopefully there wasn’t a COVID cauldron going on.

Anyway, back to this morning, I ran a lovely deep bath and filled it with different salts and enjoyed an hour of relaxation and meditation. Once out of the bath, I thought I’d just have a lay down on the bed for a few minutes….. Three hours later……

By the time I woke up, the day had more or less gone. John had been out the front and planted our new privet hedge and was sitting watching TV in a new pair of trousers and shirt, looking very smart. A new man, in fact. He’d been ordering new clothes from the internet. Unheard of, but I was very pleased he’d thought to buy something that fits.

We just had time for a cup of tea before it was time to go out for meal with the Kenilworth Sleaths and then we set off.

We enjoyed our meal and enjoyed seeing the family, some of whom, it transpires were all tired and feeling a bit crotchety for one reason or another. Sometimes the imbalance of work and family life does that to you, doesn’t it? Hoping they feel better as the week goes on.

I would have liked to have taken a photo of everyone while we were out, but it slipped my mind because we were fully engaged in eating our roast dinners and also playing ‘Pass the Pigs’ while we were waiting. That’s the trouble isn’t it? When you’re engrossed and enjoying yourselves? You don’t always think to capture the moment. Ah, well. next time…..

I did, however, for any dog lovers out there, capture a moment with Chester when we got home….. here he is waiting for his treat.

In COVID Country we are still high on the infection rate, with 32,417 people testing positive today. 58 were indicated as having died in the community. Hospital numbers tomorrow.

And, just for the record – how has your petrol situation been? Or the grocery situation? All OK? Or empty shelves and empty petrol pumps? I hear that people are queuing for petrol now as there no HGV drivers to drive the tanks that deliver it…… Government officials are saying this situation has nothing to do with Brexit……ha!

Take care everyone. God bless.

What with one thing and another I haven’t seen my Mum for three weeks. So, after I’d done a few jobs around the house this morning, I thought I’d better just go and check up on her this afternoon.

As it turned out, she was in bed, still in her nightwear. She hadn’t felt great this morning and so had refused to get dressed and hadn’t wanted much to eat all day. She was pleased to see me however, and pleased with the flowers and chocolates that now seem de rigueur to take along as a treat each time I visit. Her little eyes lit up at the sight of the chocolates and she tentatively asked if she was allowed one. “Of course you’re allowed one, Mum!! You’re allowed as many as you like – they are all yours,” I replied. So she had four, and smacked her lips as she ate them. I think she felt better already.

We had a bit of a chat, and she couldn’t pin down why she felt unwell. All of the suggestions were met with a shake of the head. Eventually, she said she’d got a bit of a tummy ache. “Do you need the loo, Mum? Might feel better?” Absolutely not. No, she did not need the loo.

About ten minutes later, mid-conversation, Mum said, “I think I’ll go to the loo,” and hopped out of bed, as sprightly as you like. She was in the bathroom a while, humming her favourite song: ‘I was born under a wandering star…’ to herself. When she came out, I said, “Is that better?” to which she nearly jumped out of her skin, startled, her hand on her chest…….. she had totally forgotten that I was there.

Anyway, the upshot of it all was that she felt a lot better, thank you, and we carried on chatting and laughing and enjoying each others’ company. We looked at photos of the family whom she repeatedly didn’t recognise from one picture to the next. “Who’s that?” she’d say. “That’s John,” I’d answer. “Oh…. well, it doesn’t look like John. He’s changed, hasn’t he?” Or: “Well, I wouldn’t have recognised him!” Turn over the page, and there’s John again, to the same question and the same answer. Bless her.

I sent a photo of Mum to the Chapmans in Oz and Gail made me laugh when she texted back: ‘She looks the fittest “not well person” we know!!‘ Indeed she does.

Maybe Mum is just getting old. The care home staff told me that she does like lying on her bed more and more. Well, I told them, I didn’t mind, if she was happy. And they assured me she is, and absolutely no trouble at all. Good news, eh?

The latest update on Gail, by the way, is that she’s doing OK and just starting her 3 weeks of radiotherapy treatment, following the chemotherapy. Not too bad so far, although still rather tired……and still on my prayer list……dear Gail, she’s such an amazing person, staying strong and getting on with it. At least, that’s what she’s telling us anyway!

Back here in ol’ Blighty, however, when I got home after visiting Mum, John was still outside wrestling with the jet-washing/cleaning of the drive without a mask again. I grumbled at him and brought him out a medical one, to which he said he’d got a proper one on his table in the lounge. Well, it ain’t much use there, is it? Anyway, I took it out to him and felt happier that he wasn’t going to breathing in all the mud and fungus and bacteria.

Fear struck in my heart though, when John came in, seething. He’d lost one of his hearing aids. A common occurrence when whipping off a mask – remember the story of a trip to the shops, anyone? Oh, gawd. I was to blame. I’d made him wear a mask. “There’s two buckets full of mud that you can search through, if you like,” John suggested. “Or it’ll most likely be down the drain by now.” Eeesh……..

I went outside to have a look. Nothing. Nada. De rien. “Where did you take your mask off, John?” I asked, as I came back indoors. “In the garage. I put it in the boot of the Elan.” Right…. I went to have a look there.

Phew!! My life was saved. There it was…… Thank you, St Anthony.

Mind you, St Anthony wasn’t a great help in finding he £40 cash that I’d accidentally tipped out of my bag when I took Chester a walk tonight……but I’m grateful that the hearing aid has been found. Life’s bad enough without John having to struggle to hear us all.

And there we are….. the day is done, with a cherry on top because it was Strictly tonight! Always lightens things up to watch that programme. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea and I think they are making a bit too much hype of it, but I do enjoy watching the dancing. Great fun.

The COVID situation stays much the same. 31,348 people reported as infected today. 122 people died in the community. I know I’ve said all got to say about it all before…… but grrrr……. it still makes me mad!

Take care everyone. Keep yourselves and those you love safe. God bless.

Hey! It’s Friday! And what should be the start of the weekend. Well, it has been really, just with a few chores thrown in for luck.

“What are your plans for the day?” says John, this morning. I reeled off a very long list of jobs to do. “Ah…. right. You’re going to be busy then.” Yep. That was the plan. “How about you?” I asked. More jet-washing of the drive was in order. Mmmm…. lovely.

Anyway, that’s exactly what we did – worked through our lists of jobs until we were tired, and then a sit-down in the lounge, in front of the TV, was in order.

I toddled off to Kenilworth to pay cheques into the bank for Mum. Scottish Power had finally sent a refund in her name and not the name of the flats she used to live in. I am sure they’ve still got it wrong, though, because they sent two cheques for identical amounts of money – neither of which match the cheques they sent previously. Ah, well, it’ll all come out in the wash, I expect.

I also drove over to Paul and Harriet’s to drop a piece of ‘Henry’ in. We had donated one of these vacuum cleaners to them a good while ago, but it was delivered without an essential piece, so they’ve never used it. I am not sure that they’ll use it now either, but it’ll be there as back-up if needed.

Unfortunately, I didn’t see either of them when I was there. Harriet was out and Paul was on a business call, and the house was all locked up, so I couldn’t get in. I just left it on the doorstep in the end. Hopefully they’ll find it.

John was sitting watching a programme about ‘The Night Stalker’ when I got back home, so we sat and watched Episode One together. Then we watched Episode Two. We might have carried on watching it but for the fact that John said he was keen to get on with some more jet-washing. “We’ll save it until later,” we said.

I was cooking the tea and I thought I’d double-check on the ol’ man as to how much more there was to do outside. I wasn’t best pleased when I went out to find him covered in muck, head to toe, from the backlash of the water – without a mask. “I think I’ve left it on the work surface in the kitchen,” he said sheepishly. Well, I couldn’t find it, so I gave him one of the medical ones – which wasn’t ideal but better than nothing. Golly, it’s such a mucky job…. there’s cars, doors, and walls all to clean down now…..

This evening we spent watching the rest of The Night Stalker, which we thought was very well done and well acted, so we really enjoyed it. Then we both looked at each other and said, “I’m tired,” Yep. We’re both worn out so it’s an early night for us for a change.

The COVID situation rolls on with very little change. 35,623 people tested positive for the virus today. 180 people died in the community. Yes – one hundred and eighty! And there were 59 deaths in hospitals in the previous 48 hours.

We saw the advert for the Bond film which is in the cinemas on September 30th. “Shall we go?” John wondered. I hesitated. “Erm….” “You’re not keen?” Well, it’s not that I wouldn’t like to see the film on the big screen, it’s just that there’s such a high incidence of infection…… so yes, you’d be right. I am not keen.

In the meantime and in between times, John has been looking out old photos…. and he came across this one. My mates when I was still at school – ahhhhh…. those were the days! Footloose and fancy-free. I am not in the pic (perhaps I am taking it?) but do any of you out there recognise anyone?

Take care everyone. God bless.

Thursday. Bin Day. The only chore of the day as far as we are concerned, because we just chilled today and had a day of leisure, which offered up such pleasure.

I left John a-snoozing in bed this morning while I took Chester for a walk, and I then took myself off to meet friends from church for breakfast. That was such balm for my soul. It is a long while since I saw everyone face-to-face, and it was marvellous to have such beautiful company. I always feel so very privileged to be part of the ‘group wot breakfasts’ and today didn’t disappoint. Lovely company with lively conversation and sympathetic souls. Wonderful, thank you very much.

No sooner had I finished breakfasting, than it was time to hoof it back home in time for more beautiful company. Pete and Dawn came round for coffee and cake. Fortuitously, I arrived home just as they were ding-donging on the doorbell. John wasn’t answering the door and we wondered why. It turned out that he was chatting to George Pryzbyla on the phone. A fine fistful of friends this morning – lucky, lucky us.

We enjoyed our coffees and chat with Pete and Dawn, who are always great company, and we were disappointed when lunchtime came and we had to say goodbye. “See you again soon!” we all chorused, as they set off down the path.

I didn’t want any lunch as it turned out, because I was still digesting my breakfast, so I did a bit of tidying before I got ready for badminton this afternoon.

I am so enjoying the little bit of badminton I am doing on a Thursday afternoon. The group is full of little old ladies like me and the badminton is quite gentle. Some of the players are pretty good, but they are too polite to blast the shuttlecock at us amateurs, so it gives me chance to join in. Not only that, but there’s a fairly hefty pause between games while everyone natters and gets their breath back. Suits me down to the ground.

When I got home, Chester greeted me with a lazy wag of his tail and a wide yawn. That was nice. No barking. But where was John? Not in his usual seat watching TV. Not at his computer. Not in either of the downstairs loos. Was he upstairs? Had he gone to bed? Nope. He was outside on the lounger, in the sunshine, having a smashing sleep.

Heh, heh, heh. While the cat’s away the mice will play. I rummaged in the cupboard to see what exciting food there might be to graze on…… ooooh, what’s this? A tin of condensed milk? I don’t mind if I do…….. I tell you, it was scrumptious. Mind you, I had to admit to John what I’d been eating when he came in, didn’t I? “I’ll stop eating it now,” I said, “but there’s half a tin left. Want some?” He didn’t, just then. But I wonder if he’ll be tempted at any other time? Middle of the night maybe……

This evening was another laze in front of the TV – this time watching the women’s One Day International cricket match against New Zealand. Gosh, it was such a close match – and it was a heart-breaking end for the New Zealanders who gave the winning run away, with a ball bowled wide.

We had a lovely chat to the Sutton Sleaths, who are down in Devon, this evening too. I had sent them a little video of Chester on his walk this morning, and William was keen to see him on a video-call. William was thrilled to see the dog, who was pretty disinterested in what was going on despite everyone’s attempts to attract his attention. Thomas seemed to be even more thrilled at seeing Chester, as he shouted, “Chester! Chester!” every two minutes and grinning all over his face. Lovely.

Michael looks relaxed after all the effort of all his studies, and he has asked me to say a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to every one of you who has sent greetings and congratulations to him. He has been overwhelmed and pleased by the lovely sentiments offered and the volume of people who’ve said ‘Well done’. Thank you.

I toddled out for a walk this evening, leaving John watching TV, and once again had a great sky to view. A bright moon, stars shining and sparkling in the sky, wispy clouds drifting through. Really lovely. This pic doesn’t do it justice, but I’ve put it in to remind me of the lovely feeling it gave me as I watched the moon rise over the houses.

And what of COVID today? More of the same, I’m afraid. 36,710 people tested positive; 182 people died in the community and 50 in hospitals in the previous 48 hours. Want the comparison to this time last year? 6,178 people infected; 37 deaths.

Keep yourselves as safe as you can. God bless.

We were up early this morning to take ourselves over to Heartlands in Birmingham for John’s immunoglobulin treatment. On the way there, John asked me what I was going to do with my morning. Well, as always, I have a list as long as my arm but, being realistic, I told him that my plan was to walk Chester and that would probably be it.

In truth, it was, more or less. I did a few little jobs before we left for our walk and we set off, just before ten, on what has been another beautiful day. Over the fields and away we went – with a little more pace this time. Clearly, the champagne has emptied from my legs now. Chester, however, did the ‘walk a bit; stop a bit’ trick which enabled him to sniff out all the wonderful smells in the hedgerows once again. But he was a very happy chappie – as was I. Can you tell? And look at that blue sky!!!

We arrived home at about ten past eleven, whereupon I thought I’d just send the ‘Chester video’ to Michael and Danielle, lest they be worried about him; and then I’d have five minutes sitting on the bench in the sun, before making a well-deserved cuppa.

I never actually got the cuppa. Steve arrived to mow the lawn. As luck would have it, Chester had just gone indoors, so there were no worries about him woofing loudly or trying to see Steve off. We chatted for a few minutes and then John texted that he was ready to be collected: ’20 minutes’ he said. Ah…… OK, back I go to Heartlands.

John’s treatment had gone well and he’d slept most of the way through it. I was pleased about that. John has such disturbed nights that it’s good to know that he can find an appropriate time to catch up on his sleep.

Home once again and we had some lunch. With it being such a gorgeous day, we should, by rights, have eaten outdoors. But no, we were both tired and wanted to put our feet up. “Let’s sit in the lounge and watch a bit of telly,” I suggested. “Do you want to watch anything in particular?” John wondered. No, not really, but I had thought that I might catch up on some programmes I’d recorded last week.

Well, that was it then. I never budged from the sofa. I watched wall-to-wall cookery programmes all afternoon: Bake Off, followed by three episodes of Celebrity MasterChef. By then, of course, it was tea time……and after tea, more dog-walking beckoned.

Meanwhile, John took himself out the front of the house to jet wash the drive this afternoon. We couldn’t find his wellies, so I think he got wet feet…….. “Are you pleased with what you’ve done, John?” I asked. “Not really, I’ve only done half of it so you can’t be pleased when you’ve only done half a job, can you?” Oh. Well, I don’t know about that, but I guess so. That’ll be a job to finish for tomorrow then….

After tea, John got ready to go out. He and Paul were meeting for a drink. How very lovely. It’s about time they had some time together without the rest of us faffing about around them!

Michael video-called this afternoon from his holidays – “Just a quick one, Mum” – to say that they’d made it to the beach. Thomas was playing very happily with his buggy and William was playing very happily with a neighbouring family. He had, apparently, walked over to them to check on the very large hole that they’d dug, and said, “Please may I join in?” They’d said ‘yes’ and there he was – as happy as a sandboy. Lovely.

In the COVID world things are no better. 34,460 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours; 166 people died in the community and 45 in hospitals in the previous 48 hours.

What do you reckon the comparative numbers were this time last year? Five thousand were recorded as infected. 51 people had died with it in total on that day.

We are numbed to the numbers, aren’t we? We don’t care any more that thousands are sick, in hospital or dying. Let’s not believe the hype. Things are not getting better.

In the meantime, stay safe everyone. I’m keen to keep all my family and friends around us for a lot longer yet. God bless.

Oh, and Susie Dent’s Word of the Day is ‘throttlebottom’: an inept, bumbling, and possibly embarrassing holder of public office……

Another lovely day today, weather-wise, wasn’t it? So much so, that I managed to hang stuff on the line to dry. Mind you, I’ve forgotten to bring it back in and we’ve now locked up, so it’ll be damp by morning again….. ah, well.

I was feeling stiff as a board when I woke up this morning and rather groggy, so I decided I’d wait for my yoga today and not go to class this morning. Instead, I stayed in bed a good while and had a ‘lie-in’, and then I did a few ‘salute to the suns’ before I checked to see what the day had in store.

It turned out that the day had chores in store this morning. We are still digging the house out after our wonderful weekend of celebrations so, once I was up, I set on. This included tipping everything out of the ‘old’ utility room, which is now a walk-in storage area, so that I could neatly stack all the ‘spares’ of everything – all those cake tins, take the stage, please!!

I did stop for a break once Andrew came downstairs. He made us bacon butties again, which was a lovely treat, and then we waved our goodbyes to him. He waved back and went on his way back to Cambridge. The plums he was planning to pickle? Still in our fridge! And the loo rolls I planned to give him? Still in the hall! Oh, dear….. the best laid plans and all that…. John texted him and said he’d send them by email – lol.

John spent some time on the computer today, putting orders in for this and that. Primarily, he was ordering hedging for the front garden, “What shall we have?” he asked. “I really don’t mind,” I responded. John thought a bit and then said, “Didn’t you say you liked privet?” I do, but I thought that as it’s his project, he should choose the hedging to plant. But I think we’re having privet, which will suit me very well.

This afternoon, I was still feeling a bit under the weather and very tired so I thought I’d have a lie-down on the bed while John was watching a bit of TV. What bliss.

I woke up at a quarter to five and promptly got myself up, washed, dressed and ready to go out to meet some friends for a meal. “What time have you got to be there?” John asked. “Six o’clock,” I said, and set off.

I was just about to pull into the pub when my friend phoned me, “Where are you? We’re worried about you.” Oh! Well, I was a minute or two away. I’d be there in a minute. Why were they worried, I wondered? It transpired I was supposed to meet them at five o’clock. D’oh! Never mind. We had a fabulous time and never stopped chatting all evening long. I love my friends – they are so forgiving.

I left John in charge of the animals this evening and a sterling job he did too. They were all in one piece when I came home, but Chester was looking hopeful that a walk was in order. It was. Such a beautiful evening for a walk. The sky was almost cloudless and the moon as bright as bright. Stars twinkling, too, which made me glad to be alive. And all that lovely fresh air. Yep, I enjoyed a stretch of the legs this evening.

This is contentment. Despite the aches and pains. Family, friends and fresh air. Great stuff.

Talking of stretching your legs……. how about running a half-marathon? Not me, you understand, but Andrew and Michael plan to do the Cambridge half-marathon on 17 October. They are running to raise money for a charity that supported us a few years ago, called ‘Something To Look forward To’. This fabulous charity arranged for us to have a week away, free of charge in Devon, in a house that turned out to be owned by Ted Dexter, the cricketer, don’t you know, to boost our spirits when John was feeling particularly low and poorly. It certainly did that – we went with Sue and Chris Pearce, and had a great week.

If anyone is so inclined, donations can be made here:

https://www.peoplesfundraising.com/fundraising/cambridge-half-marathon-andrew-sleath

And so to today’s COVID news: over 200 people died with it in the last 24 hours in the community, and 60 in hospitals, in the previous 48 hours. Infections are still high with 31,564 people having tested positive for the virus.

Take care everyone, do what you must to keep safe. God bless.