Month: September 2021

Wasn’t it just a beautiful day, today? A perfect day for a walk. Ah, yes, a walk….with Chester the dog, who has taken up temporary residence for the week while the Sutton Sleaths take a holiday.

I did wonder how I would get on walking the dog. I didn’t feel quite so fast as normal, with my legs still clearly full of the champagne I’d imbibed over the weekend. However, I needn’t have worried. It turns out that Chester isn’t quite so fast either, so we complemented each other very well. Especially as he spends an awful lot of time stationary, sniff-sniff-snifferty-sniffing the hedgerows and verges along the way. It suited me very well indeed.

After the hectic weekend, John was still tired and spent the early part of the morning in bed. But we had decided now was the time to be clearing up the garden and taking the gazebo down. “Let’s wait until Andrew gets up,” I suggested. “He can give us a hand.”

I finally winkled Andrew from his bed about mid-day with a cuppa. “Two things to do today,” I warned. “Yes? What would they be then?” he wondered. “Firstly, go and get your COVID jab; then help Dad and I take the gazebo down.” Righty-ho – he’d do that. Although the jab bit wasn’t quite what he wanted to hear, really.

We tucked into bacon butties and then Andrew set off to see if he could be vaccinated today. I set off with Chester across the fields; and John set off to the Land of Nod for half an hour.

When Andrew came back, having been successful in his mission, we duly cleared the garden of all the chairs and tables we’d had out, and then dismantled the gazebo. Mind you, the gazebo fought back and refused go quietly. Just as we were about to remove the cover, there was great ripping sound. “Whaaat the…..?” The pressure of the material on Andrew’s head was too great and it tore apart at one of the seams. Oh, bother. “I tell you what,” said John, ever the problem solver, “Let’s stick it back together with gaffer tape.” So that’s what we did, and a jolly good job we made of it, too.

Once we’d cleared the garden we thought plum-picking was in order. We managed quite a haul and I made several plum crumbles for the freezer. There were still some plums left over, so Andrew plans to take them back to Cambridge and pickle ’em. Well, at least, that’s the plan today. We’ll see how he feels in the morning. The COVID jab might say otherwise…..

Paul called in after work this evening to collect all the ‘left-behinds’ from the weekend. It was lovely to see him but he didn’t stop long as it was tea-time and he was keen to see Freddie before his bedtime. Freddie’s that is, not Paul’s.

The Sutton Sleaths had set off for their week away this morning, but called in at mid-day on their way to collect a few clothes and a parcel from the Kenilworth Sleaths for William, whose birthday it is today. I had to laugh though – Michael sent a WhatsApp message to say they hadn’t yet set off….. then another message with a mini-video in it….. imagine the scene: empty boot; camera pans round to the floor behind the boot…. there are piles and piles and piles of suitcases, bags, toys, picnic stuff, coats and the buggy…….just enough for a week away, but far too much to fit in the boot of the car. I am not sure how they fitted that and themselves in….

On the COVID front today there are 36,100 people who have tested positive for the virus; 49 people have died with it in the community and 17 in hospitals in the last 48 hours – although that’s likely to change with today being Monday. 930 people were admitted to hospital with the virus today.

Hospital admissions are putting pressure on the NHS – and we know real people, not imaginary ones, who are affected by the fact that treatments are now having to be delayed. If we could all spread the word about wearing masks, keeping our distance and ventilating indoor spaces appropriately rather than spreading COVID, it wouldn’t half help all those who have what you might call ‘regular’ ailments, wouldn’t it?

I am pleased to see, however, that the vaccination is now being taken up by those in 12-15 year-old age range. It will all help.

Take care everyone. God bless. Am off to walk the dog…..

A bumper weekend!

We had been plotting. And it was serious. Michael wasn’t to know. ‘Keep it under your hats, folks,’ was the message. A surprise gathering of the clan on Saturday afternoon to say ‘well done’ on his PhD achievement.

“You know Michael wanted to go on safari, don’t you? And we can’t now. Well, how about we bring the safari to him? At your house, Anne and John?” said Danielle. As always, I am game. I love a party. But a safari? Doesn’t that involve tons of sand? How about a jungle experience instead? So that’s what we did. Dressed the lounge and dining room with a jungle theme (ish) and invited the Sutton Sleaths over along the very casual lines of, “How about popping over at lunchtime? Come for a bit of TLC, now you’ve finished and can relax?” And so it was agreed.

The rest of the family gathered in excitement and planned their hiding place, so that they could leap out at just the right moment and shout, “SURPRISE!” Christiana texted from what had become a ‘car park’ on the M40, to say she was still about half an hour away….. ah, well, it’d be a double surprise, wouldn’t it, when she eventually turned up!? And she had to turn up because she had made the celebratory cake.

The Suttons Sleaths arrived. Michael grinned widely as he went into the hall where a very large banner above the doorway proclaimed its ‘Congratulations! Dr Michael Sleath!’ and then a sub-heading sprawled across the doorway, saying: “Dr Livingstone Sleath, I presume?” He looked chuffed that we’d done something. And then he walked into the lounge….

It’s not the greatest picture but it really was quite atmospheric. And, of course, the kids were in their element charging about in between the vines hanging down, and the animal balloons floating about. Michael responded affectionately to the scene with his trademark, “Heh, heh, heh!! You silly sods!” We know he is pleased when he says that.

Andrew was on hand with the champagne (and did a sterling job all afternoon topping up my glass); John made a speech; we all toasted the successful student; and then piled into the dining room for food. Well, not quite all of us at once – Paul took Andrew out for a drive in the Mustang, and Andrew came back flattened and out of breath by the G-force. The dining room tried to be as best it could on a jungle theme with an archway of balloons that Danielle had laboured over on Friday.

We tried to get a family photo but it was a bit like herding cats, so here’s one of the newly-qualified Dr Sleath and family, minus William who was off playing with Freddie. Thomas clearly wanted to share in the toast…..

And there was cake….. Christiana is the best cake-maker I know (apart from her Mum, that is) and she once again came up trumps. Cool cake, eh?

So that was Saturday! Phew! Andrew, The Sutton Sleaths, Christiana & Alexander, and Freddie all stayed over while the rest of the Kenilworth Sleaths went home.

This morning, there was a lot of wriggling in our bed at about six o’clock. Two little boys, awake and out of the bed they’d been sharing, ran through to us and clambered in. Michael had heard them and came in to tell them sternly that it was too early to be awake and they had to do some more sleeping. Well, that was a relief. John and I were very keen to do more sleeping, but not so keen on kicking the children out. Their presence, even at that time in the morning, is a such a delight and a blessing.

We sort of slept on. The wriggling ceased for a bit, then the giggling began. The boys were holding hands – ‘Oh, how sweet!’ – across my face. “Erm, boys…..leave go, please.” More giggling and wriggling. We lasted about an hour when John thought he’d trundle them downstairs and feed them some breakfast. I determinedly kept my eyes closed for a while longer. After all, I had had a lot of champagne yesterday.

On the topic of cake, you may recall that John had had a catastrophe the other day, tipping one he’d made all over the floor? Well, he didn’t give up and, to be honest, I think he has given Christiana a run for her money because here is the triumphant replacement, sent on its way to William’s birthday party this morning. Upon seeing it for the first time, William said: “Wow! That is my cake. Wow!” He was absolutely thrilled. Well done, Grandpa.

An absolutely cracking weekend. All of our boys home and together. Beautiful wives, grandchildren, cousin/niece and great-nephew in the mix. Wonderful, thank you very much.

COVID news tomorrow folks. There are too many happy memories of the weekend to sully them with doom and gloom.

Take care everyone. God bless.

After the shilly-shallying over the Award Board for Michael’s degree, they met today and published the results. Is there a Doctor in the house? There will be tomorrow when he calls in to see us!! He is now a qualified Clinical Psychologist. Dr Michael Sleath. Boom.

By all accounts he got very drunk yesterday with his cohort to celebrate. Properly let his hair down. I am so pleased he did that – he has had one hell of a ride over the last three years and it’s relief all round. Can’t wait to see him and give him a massive hug.

The rest of us had a busy day today one way or another. With Michael away, I had promised to be over to their house early this morning to support Danielle once again with the children, as she is still not feeling well. I arrived just after 8.30 and then we were on. The kids have no real concept of time, do they? We are bleary-eyed from lack of sleep at that time in the morning and they are bouncing all over the place.

I left John in bed, but I think he was up fairly early as he has been making a birthday cake for William – who is four on Monday – and he was keen to get on with it. A great mini-project and one he loves doing. Everyone wants a ‘Grandpa Cake’.

Chez Les Sutton Sleaths, we played a bit, prepared some breakfast which both William and Danielle had omitted first thing, watched a programme on TV, toddled up to the park, played a bit more and then lunched. All marvellous and lovely and soul-fulfilling. I was, of course, in Seventh Heaven.

Thomas was a bit more ready to accept me picking him up and playing, which delighted me, but, to be fair, he did do a little bit of grizzling. He is teething, and it’s making him feel ‘neither here nor there’ – other than clinging on to Mummy’s trousers at every opportunity, which makes me smile every time.

At lunchtime, Danielle’s phone pinged. Mine might have done, too, but I was faffing about with something so didn’t hear it. She laughed. Out loud. Guffawed, in fact. Then said, “Oh, poor John.” Eh? That got my attention. What’s he been doing now? I mean, cake-making is fairly harmless, isn’t it? But this is what she saw…..

A Cake Catastrophe…… yes, poor John. I think there was more cake on the floor than on the board. This is the picture after John had retrieved it from its inspection of our new laminate flooring.

Danielle wanted to know if it was retrievable. John said he had everything in hand. I texted to say I could call at Lakeland for more supplies if necessary. John phoned to say ‘no’ and ‘where are the car keys?’ He was off up to the Co-op and he’d sort it. Hmmm…. he didn’t sound like he was taking it all calmly…..then he said, ‘Oh… go on then…. go to Lakeland. And eight-inch tins, please. Eight inch tins….’

Actually, when I got home, John was remarkably calm. Honestly, he is the most remarkable man. He had started all over again and – ‘thank you for the stuff you’ve got from Lakeland – perfect’ – he beavered on. Successfully. So far, so good, anyway.

I was reduced to ‘pot-wash’ and ‘runner-abouter’ this afternoon. The Cake Catastrophe was consigned to the bin, and the various cake tins were washed and dried and were wondered about. Where shall we store all these tins? We have loads of them now.

I mean, what do you call a collection of tins? We know that it’s a ‘murder of crows’; an ’embarrassment of pandas’ and a ‘loveliness of ladybirds’ – but what about tins? Perhaps a ‘terror of tins’ or a ‘triumph of tins’? What do you reckon?

Meanwhile, COVID continues its reign of terror – or is it triumph? – over our population, and there are 32,651 people noted as having tested as positive for the virus in the last 24 hours.

I know I keep banging on about it, but I really can’t compute why the government thinks we are doing well. Answers on a postcard would be appreciated……I mean, the figures are nearly ten times what they were this time last year – and we were worried then… well, at least, I was, anyway. On this day, last year, I recorded that there were 3,395 people who had tested positive.

As regards deaths, 178 people died with the virus in the last 24 hours in the community, compared to 21 on this day last year – nearly nine times the incidence. Surely we shouldn’t just be accepting this, should we? Surely we should be reminding people of the appropriate precautions and adhering to them? It really could save someone’s life.

Darn it. I really wasn’t going to rant today – and look, I’ve only gone and done it again.

Take care everyone. May you have strength, and resilience, to face every challenge that greets you. God bless you and everyone you love.

Even when your kids are full-grown adults, you can’t help but be proud of them at different times of their lives, can you? Well, today is one such day. Michael has completed his PhD studies today. Our hearts are bursting with pride at the way he has stuck at it and, with Danielle’s support, overcome all the obstacles along the way.

Mind you, the formal announcement will not come until tomorrow… or maybe Monday? Or one day next week? This is because the Award Board has had to postpone its meeting to authorise the publication of the degrees. I think someone had COVID…. so the meeting is scheduled for tomorrow. The day after the course finishes….. eeeh, you couldn’t make it up, could you?

Anyway, to celebrate, Michael has swanned off to Manchester with the members of his cohort. Danielle hasn’t felt very well but certainly wasn’t going to prevent a once-in-a-lifetime celebration, so I went over to help out with the grandchildren this afternoon. I had a lovely time – although Thomas is still teething and miserable with it, and spent much of the time clinging to Mummy.

He did allow me to look after him for a while though. Poor Danielle couldn’t eat her tea because Thomas was so fretful. I’d finished mine, so I said, “Let me take him down to the bottom of the garden for a walk, while you eat.” She looked doubtful – and I wasn’t sure, either, that he’d let me but, after a bit of wail as we left Mummy behind, he finally gave in, gave me a very serious look and accepted the situation.

We had a great time together listening to the evening birdsong and watching birds swoop by. As we had left the dining room, William had offered me some words of advice. I was to look out for the wood, which had crashed down. Oh – OK.

I didn’t immediately clock on to what he was telling me but, once Thomas and I were standing halfway down the garden looking back at the house, we saw exactly what William had been describing – accurately as it turned out. The poor old pergola was perished. Passed away, plopped into the pond……

While I was at the Sutton Sleaths, John was beavering away at home designing this, modelling that and setting up the other. He’d had a busy day, in fact, and was worn out by the time I got home. Bless him – not only was he busy with his own projects, but I’d left him to receive the shopping. “The fridge is full,” he observed, as I walked into the kitchen. “You’ll have to do a bit of re-arranging to get anything else in,” Ah… right. Lovely. But actually, it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it might be – there were one or two things that were no good any more and needed chucking out, so that made space.

Meanwhile, I note on the ‘chucking out’ stakes, that the government has also had a rearrangement and one or two that were no good anymore needed chucking out. I wonder if the new lot’ll be any better? Hmmm…..let me have a think….

On the COVID front, the rate of infection continues to decrease – still a lot of people, but fewer – with 26,911 people testing positive for the virus today. 158 people died in the community and, the previous 48 hours, 68 people died in hospitals. 836 people were admitted to hospital in the last 24 hours, which contributes to a rise of 2.5% over the last seven days.

Let us hope that a downward trend continues – we sure need it, don’t we?

All for now folks, take care everyone, and be as kind to yourself as you can be, as well as those around you. God bless.

Tonight was Quiz Night – and guess who were Quiz Masters? Yes, you’re right, it was us! I had noted the fact, of course, and had planned to set the questions over the last week. However, being a ‘last-minute Joe’, there I was this morning, sweating cobs in case I didn’t sort it in time…..

However, I did sort it in time and, although it felt like I’d been on it all day long, it actually didn’t take the six hours that I thought it would, and I was done in a couple (or so).

The thing is, with these things, is that you spend hours thinking about the questions in the weeks beforehand, noting down good ones to ask, and then, when you come to check what you’ve got, you find you seem to have focussed on only one category…….. ah, well, it was fun doing the research today – even if there was a heated debate about which country has the most pyramids. And it’s not Egypt, if that’s what you are thinking…..

In addition to quiz-mastering, I spent a little time tidying up bedrooms today. Goodness me, what a mess I’ve got them into!! I say ‘I’ because it is mostly me who pulls stuff out of cupboards, looking for things – ‘I’m sure I’ve got one in here somewhere…..’ and then failing to stuff it all back in, in good order. I still haven’t finished sorting Mum’s papers, which are strewn across the floor, in piles, in the computer room. Mostly, it’s papers that need to be shredded or simply thrown away, but I am keen to check them all to be sure – and that takes time. Ah, well – maybe tomorrow?

I think Thomas is going to take after me……. he’s found something, but I wonder what, exactly, he’s looking for? Gorgeous boy.

John spent the day concentrating on his projects and doing the research for them, his finger hovering over the ‘order’ button. Honestly, that computer fairly hums with activity. But what a blessing it is. To be able to just look something up in an instant is a marvellous thing. Long gone is the time when you’d lumber through pages and pages of an encyclopaedia or a catalogue for an answer and still not be sure that it was up-to-date. And t’internet certainly helped in the pyramids discussion this evening – at the touch of a button we had the answer we were looking for. Marvellous.

On the COVID front, Lily texted me this afternoon: ‘Hi Anne I just wanted to update you…..I got my PCR test back and it’s negative so I don’t have COVID. Phew’. Phew! Phew, indeed. I am so pleased for her – it’s certainly something she wouldn’t have wanted to be suffering from again.

But, conversely, my dear friend Louise texted to say that her son, John, and his family had all gone down with it following a family holiday. Lou and Dave are still isolating because they’d had the grandchildren down for a few days, but so far, so good, with negative tests. Keeping my fingers crossed that they don’t succumb.

Meanwhile, I was delighted to see that everyone was wearing a mask in the chip shop this evening when I went up to get some fish ‘n chips for tea. Couldn’t quite believe it, but perhaps some people are finally realising it’s a good thing to do for mitigation purposes and it’s not all over. Hope so anyway.

In the COVID numbers game, we have the following: 30,597 people having tested positive for the virus in that last 24 hours. The rolling total over the last seven days is down by 18.5%, which is encouraging.

However, the time lag between infection and hospitalisation means that deaths are now showing an increase: 201 people having died in the community in the last 24 hours and 57 in hospitals in the previous 48 hours. The rolling total for deaths is showing an increase of just over 4% in the last seven days. To be expected, but nevertheless, the infections and deaths could possibly have been avoided if the messaging to the general public had been clearer with no inference that we are doing well. We are not.

Rant over.

Take care everyone. Masks, hand-washing (yes, it still helps), keeping your distance and through-ventilation in a room are key to keeping us safe. I pray that you do keep safe. God bless.

Life’s like that, isn’t it? Pot-pourri? A mixture of sweet and sour? And today was just that.

This morning I left John in bed while I swanned off to my weekly yoga session. The session was fabulous – not only did Jaime focus on how our bodies work, but she managed to zoom in on one particular issue I’d been having with my hip. Well, that was a happy coincidence, wasn’t it?

Whilst we were in class, I could hear the rain thundering on the roof of the church hall. And, sure enough, there was a great big puddle outside the doorway. Paddle, paddle, paddle. And it was chilly.

I drove home. Parked the car. And found that John wasn’t in. Oh. The white car was on the drive. Surely he hadn’t gone to the shops in this rain on foot? Had he? It turned out that he had. He arrived home a few minutes after me, accompanied by Puffing Billy and what sounded like a ‘squeeze box’*.

“I didn’t expect you to have walked to the shops,” I said. No, John wished he hadn’t. He’d had to rest along the way home and was just stopping to catch his breath when he saw a blue car sail by…… “Oh, I’m sorry, sweetheart, I didn’t see you,” I exclaimed. He hadn’t expected me to see him or stop, but it was galling, nonetheless, to see me drive past. “I think I’ll go and have sit down in the lounge,” he announced, and promptly went and had a leisurely sit down.

I know 14.5 degrees isn’t exactly chilly – but it ain’t warm, is it? Time to kindle a fire then. Toasty toes ‘n all that… and I think John approved, because he had a nice snooze in front of it this afternoon.

In addition to warming ourselves by the fire, I chose to warm myself with the smoothing iron. Yep, the sheets needed pressing. Oh, joy. And it took a while….. yes, yes, I know I don’t need to iron sheets, but still, it was therapeutic…..

Then this afternoon, we toddled off to Kenilworth to look at a house with Michael. Regrettably, it was no good. We don’t quite know how we missed it on the plans, but I nearly fell about laughing when I saw the bathroom. Honestly, it was the tiniest, teeniest bathroom you ever saw, with a bath tub to match. That’ll be a ‘no’, then. Disappointing. Come on, Kenilworth, show us that you’ve got better than this! Please?

On our way back from house-hunting, we called in to Paul and Harriet’s to pick up some more bits that we’d left at theirs. A five-minute, well-distanced flurry of greetings and chat – and concern over the COVID possibility. Lily had been for a PCR test and she’s just waiting for results. What’s the likelihood, folks? She has cold symptoms. The girl she sat next to at school has tested positive. Anyone want to offer the odds? I am staying optimistic and keeping my fingers crossed that it’s just a cold – which surely it must be, as she’s had COVID already, mustn’t it? But hey, who knows…….. however, if Lily has it, then Paul may have it as well, as he, too, has cold symptoms – oh Lordy, Lordy.

This evening, after the disappointment of the Kenilworth house not being up to snuff, I decided that the only thing to do was to take some consolation in a glass of red wine (or two). I’d like to to have had the energy to do stuff, but the TV mesmerised me, the wine anaesthetised me and time rolled on. Ah well, maybe tomorrow?

In the meantime, I was pleased to see that there is a reduction in the positive cases of COVID today, with 26,628 people having been confirmed as infected. However, 185 people have died with it today in the community and 90 in hospitals since Saturday. That’s really not so good, but it reflects the numbers of those infected a few weeks ago, so not surprising.

We’re taking the rough with the smooth. We’re doing our best to stay upbeat. And we’re sending our love to you all, friends and relatives, in the hope that it uplifts and supports. God bless. Look after yourselves and stay safe, everyone.

* squeeze box = an accordion or a concertina that wheezes well when squeezed

After a lovely weekend, we were back to it….. back to the regular hospital trips to Birmingham. This morning it was the Eye Hospital on the Dudley Road. A regular check-up and an appointment that John is always keen to keep. Always in the hope that they will find a magic cure for the soreness in his eyes.

There is, of course, no magic cure, but the dreaded instruction to drop ciclosporin into John’s eyes was not forthcoming today. “Your vision is excellent and you can leave off the ciclosporin for now as you are doing so well,” said Matt, the consultant’s understudy. “But you must use the other things prescribed for you regularly.” We all nodded our understanding, but, lest we forget, I made a note of it. Frequently we get home and can’t remember what has been said. Or, at least, one of us can – or thinks we can – and then we argue about it until the next visit…..

We were ages at the hospital. By the time we’d finished seeing the medics, our stomachs thought our throats had been cut. We were parched and peckish. “I’m going for a coffee,” declared John. So we went to the little in-house café and bought revolting tea and coffee, dry roast chicken and chips, and sloppy cauliflower cheese ‘n beans. It wasn’t great but it filled a gap.

“Do you mind if we call in to Solihull on the way back?” I asked John, when we’d finished. He didn’t mind, so I was happy. I just wanted to nip into Waitrose to buy some frozen pains aux raisins – a throwback treat from our time of living in France. They’d been out of stock when I’d ordered on line, so I thought I’d see in person whether there were any in the shop freezers. We were in luck. So I bagged a couple of bags. Heh-heh.

We didn’t get home until nearly four o’clock. We’d been out all day and felt weary. “A nice cuppa will set us up,” I suggested. Well, it set me up, but John not so much. In fact, he slept through the video call I had with William and Michael. Normally, William’s piping little voice is like a magnet and John zones in as soon as he hears it. Not today. Far too tired.

John was awake, however, when I Zoom-called Andrew. And we had a really lovely twenty minutes or so chatting to him. So enjoyable. Fingers crossed we see him in the flesh soon.

Later on this evening, I popped over to Paul and Harriet’s to drop in the bracelets that I’d made for Lily at the weekend, and collect some bedding I’d left at their house. So I saw all three sons today – except Paul was sleep-walking. He’d been fast asleep on the sofa when Harriet roused him to help with bringing the bedding down. Bless him – he could hardly keep his eyes open.

It was lovely to see them all though – Freddie ran out in his bare feet, ready for the big bear hug – but we didn’t, because Lily’s not feeling well and there’s the threat of COVID in the school air….. oh, Lordy, I do hope not. Despite feeling a bit out of sorts, Lily also came down in her bare feet to say ‘hello’ at the front door to receive her gifts – and I am so pleased that she liked them. I hope she feels the love and protection intended.

Fewer COVID infections today – which is a pleasant surprise – but there are way, way too many with 30,824. There were 61 deaths in the community and, since Friday, 43 in hospitals. 1,076 people were admitted to hospital with COVID today.

But, I’m thinking of today’s ‘Golden Moments’. A theme we explored in our yoga retreat. How many of them are there in a day? Hundreds, I reckon. Here’s a few of mine…… sharing a joke with ol’ man; holding his hand; seeing the boys; seeing the grandchildren; sharing the excitement of the remote cake-making in Sutton; sharing the excitement of Freddie being proud to be in Year One; watching Lily’s beautiful face fill with gratitude for her bracelets; chatting to Harriet, the dear girl; and so much more………. Yes, counting my blessings, counting my blessings….

Take care everyone. Stay as safe as you can. Keep on with all the COVID precautions so that you can enjoy many more days, weeks, months and years to come with your loved ones. God bless.

Three days of wall-to-wall yoga, nestled away at Braziers Park, was just what the doctor ordered. For both John and me.

John had a wonderful weekend without me. He was able to do just as he liked without a nagging wife tutting behind him. He ate pizza and Indian take-away, put his feet up on the table (metaphorically-speaking), got up when he liked, watched whatever programme he liked, went to bed when he liked and drank whatever he liked. “Oh, yes. You can do it all again, dear. I’ve been fine”

Well, it was a relief that he’d enjoyed himself. I didn’t have to worry about enjoying myself and feel guilty about having left him miserable at home. So, a great result all round.

And the Retreat was absolutely wonderful. Jaime had planned three days of brilliant activity and thought of everything. We had meditation and yoga from morn till night. What an experience. And I was chuffed, too, that nothing was actually beyond me. Jaime had exactly the right yoga levels that meant everyone could join in and feel happy with what they’d done. Clever girl.

In between classes, we had food or free time. The food was delicious every day and we were all thrilled with our experience of vegetarian dishes. The free time was to savour, too – which I did, setting off towards the summer house with my book, sitting in the sunshine and reading a few pages before nodding off. Bliss.

I had to laugh at myself, though. I was one of the first to arrive and was greeted by Jaime on the doorstep. She walked with me to the car to help with lifting a few things out from the boot. No sooner had I opened the boot than I realised that an essential piece of equipment was missing. No yoga mats…….. Oh, blimey. I had been so focussed on taking my bolster with me for the specialist practice of Yin Yoga, that I had failed to unhook the bag of mats from my wardrobe.

“I know,” I said, “I’ll order one to be delivered here tomorrow. I need a new one anyway….” But – no internet or, at best, intermittent internet. Bother. “Never mind,” said Jaime, “I’ve got a spare you can borrow.” and, turning to Will, one of the residents of the commune, she continued, “Anne’s forgotten her yoga mat!” Will gave me a wry grin. “We’ve got some we can lend you.” Really? Oh, brilliant! “Well, we are a yoga centre, so it would be mad not to have any mats, wouldn’t it?” So I was sorted.

In addition to yoga, Jaime had organised some other activities, too. In particular, one of our group is a jeweller, specialising in chainmail jewellery and semi-precious stones. She has a great interest in the properties of crystals and stones, too, so she brought a selection for us to choose from and some kits for us to make our own bracelets. Oh, we did have fun. I chose Rosy Quartz, for love, and Black Quartz, for protection, making them for Lily, our granddaughter, because she loves that sort of thing. I hope she likes them!

Last night we had a cracking evening, too. We sat out under the stars, by the fire pit. It was such a delight. We practised our chanting ‘Om…..’ and then nattered away to our hearts’ content. I was very moved by the sight of the starry sky, too, because it was Wallingford, where I have spent many a night with Dave and Chris, and George and his family, and all our kids, star-gazing at that very sky. Brought back wonderful memories.

And then, this afternoon, we had our final group session together before we said our goodbyes. Just before we left, Jaime gave us all a little ‘goody bag’ with seeds to plant for future life, a candle for meditation, a little personal note, and a ‘love’ tea bag for love (obviously). Honestly, that girl worked so hard to make our stay and experience perfect – and it really was. But look at the beautiful material she used to make our bags – reminiscent of that beautiful starry night – cool, eh?

As we began to pack up our things, Fleur, the jeweller, had brought more crystals for us to choose from. I chose the carnelian that you can see in the pic which, apparently, restores vitality and motivation. I could do with a bit of that!!

I think John was pleased to see me when I got home. “Hang on, I’m just doing something on the computer,” were his first words. And then his second words were something along the lines of, “God, you look grim,” Ah. Yes. My hair was a mess. I’d had a massage and the oil through my hair didn’t look the best. Hmmmm…. I think John had been studying my Mum’s ‘Book of Etiquette’ while I was away. Once I’d had a shower and washed my hair though, he relented and said it was lovely to have me home. And I was rather pleased to see him, too.

I’m saving the COVID news for tomorrow – don’t want to spoil the memory of a perfect weekend. Take care everyone. God bless.

Well, what a day! Generally speaking, I would say it’s been a cracker – with variety being the spice of life. So much so, that we have enjoyed our day for the most part – and we’d like to say: ‘roll on some more!’

This morning it was more of the mundane, as per the Jungle Book – you know, sitting on a branch and saying ‘what d’ya wanna do then?’ with the response of: ‘I dunno, what d’ya wanna do?’ and a shrug or two of the shoulders.

My ‘dunno’ ended up with tackling admin jobs I’d got listed. John’s ‘dunno’ was similar. And each at our own computers – until John said, “Can you have a look at this item I’d like to buy? I can’t read the fine print.” So we ended up at the same computer poring over the items to scrutinise the fine print, before sacrificing any money. In the end, we were satisfied with our purchases in theory – it’ll be interesting to see what comes out the other end when they arrive. We have high hopes.

This afternoon, I left John to it at home while I swanned off to play badminton. It’s a small group of……well, what shall I say? Elderly ladies about my own age. However, when I arrived there were two new recruits, which brought the average age down to about 40. Regrettably, one of the newcomers was off to university within a day or two, so wouldn’t be coming again. Nevertheless, it was all good. Everyone had a game or two and everyone excelled themselves. I loved it. It doesn’t matter if you lose, or are rubbish. No-one minds. No, really.

When I got home, John was already out, having a jolly at the doctors. He’d phoned them a couple of weeks ago, sharing the gruesome sight of a skin discolouration. No worries, they’d said. Come on Thursday afternoon. Righty-ho! Only, when it came to it, today, we were puzzled. Isn’t the doctors’ surgery closed on a Thursday afternoon? “Ah, well,” John sighed, “I’ll go and see anyway. I can always come home again.”

Well, would you believe it? Not only was the surgery available, but it was open for minor procedures. The doctor dealt with the skin thing there and then. Zap! Zap! I know I wasn’t there, but that seemed easy – and John was quite happy.

I had a little run around before tea, getting the car washed, filling up with petrol and checking the tyre pressures because don’t you know? I am going on a yoga retreat tomorrow, for a day or two. Blogs may be sporadic or non-existent while I am away….

Then, this evening, we got ourselves ready to welcome Margaret and Chris, dear friends from church, who have supported us so well during the lockdowns, regularly bringing chocolate and wine and good cheer to our doorstep.

It is the first time that we have socialised within either of our homes, and we were really looking forward to it. It didn’t disappoint. What a brilliant evening we had. Margaret looked fabulous in a beautiful summer outfit, with personality to match – bright, cheerful, uplifting; and Chris bought his wry and dry sense of humour which, alongside Margaret’s levity, had us howling with laughter.

And, you know you can never arrive empty-handed to these sorts of evenings? Well, they really knew how to please. Just look at these:

Just beautiful, aren’t they? Along with several other flowers, gladioli are one of my favourites. I was delighted.

But, not only did they bring us flowers, but this is what they think about John – he is one of the…….. I think I agree.

A mid-week get-together is usually a sensible one, with work tomorrow, and so on….. hmmm…… but maybe the next time we meet up it’ll have to be a Saturday night. We were talking and talking and talking until late. Loved it.

It certainly took our minds off the doom and gloom everywhere else in the country with 38,013 people testing positive for the virus today. 167 people died in the community and 63 in hospitals on 7 & 8 September.

I continue to be amazed by the lack of awareness among the general public about the volumes of infections. In Sainsbury’s, paying for my petrol, the girl behind the counter thought things were ‘not so bad’. When I told her that this time last year there were 2,500 people infected with COVID each day, and were we worried then, but now there’s over 38k each day, she seemed surprised. “Each day? No!” she asked, shocked. Yup. Every day. The propaganda machine has done a good job, hasn’t it, don’t you think?

Take care everyone. Keep on with the mask-wearing (it does work), the hand-sanitising and social-distancing. These small actions will definitely mitigate against the worst case scenario. Don’t be fooled by the ‘let’s open up’ brigade, or be numbed by the numbers. Stay safe. God bless.

We were delighted to see that the sun was shining today and it promised to be fair all day. We were going to be entertaining and to be able to do so in the back garden was a real bonus.

We were also grateful that Steve, our milkman and lawn/hedge cutter, had been yesterday and given the lawn a much-needed hair cut. It meant that we didn’t have to plough through lots of overgrown grass today.

I did a bit of food prep this morning, while John went outside to survey his estate. Yep, all good, but perhaps we should move the gazebo? Where it was situated, the lawn was showing signs of too much shade. So we shuffled it along to a different plot, and hammered home the pegs to secure it.

And how about the table and chairs? Yep, all good, but where is the collar to hold the parasol together? Erm…..last time I saw it, it was floating about on the lawn. It wasn’t there now though, and St Anthony didn’t come to my rescue, despite a very earnest trawl of the garden. “I wonder if one of the children chucked it in the pond?” I mused. John was all for getting his hands into the murky water, but I didn’t think that was the best thing to do, so we abandoned the search and hoped for the best, and planned on using our other parasols.

And what about the hedge? Hmmm…. Steve is scheduled to come and cut the hedge soon, but not today. “No worries,” I said, “We’ll clip it back a bit.” Ah… but Paul has the hedge trimmers, doesn’t he? Oh. Never mind, I’ll just use the old-fashioned shears. No sooner had we thought that, than Paul appeared – with the hedge trimmers. Marvellous. Now we can give it a bit of a haircut so that our meal on the patio isn’t overrun by trailing privet.

Anything else? Just the chairs to get out then. Yep, all good. They behaved. And we were ready.

What a delight to welcome Linda and Brendan, Malcolm and Caroline, and Hazel and Nigel. Oh, my! I was so excited to see them all in the flesh again. And to be able to sit and chatter to our hearts content, without having to worry whether the air was full of COVID particles, was bliss.

The gazebo was placed perfectly and shaded us all from the hot sunshine, before we adjourned to the patio table for our lunch. It was just brilliant. To sit round and just be together, so comfortably, enjoying each others’ company was just what the doctor ordered. Everyone was on top form and, once again, I found myself feeling grateful for such lovely friends.

Obviously, it being a Wednesday, it was Quiz time but, instead of Zooming in, there we all were! We could do the quiz face-to-face. How good was that? So, that’s what we did this afternoon and a cracking quiz it was, too. Nigel had prepared the first three rounds, and Hazel the last three, and all the rounds had us working hard to summon up the answers – whether they be right or wrong, it didn’t matter, we were just having fun, fun, fun!

I’d like to do it all again soon, but this was our swansong. Nigel and Hazel have already moved away and were down just for a couple of days; and Malcolm and Caroline are moving in a couple of weeks. Never mind. I’m looking forward to the quizzes on Zoom, and then, perhaps, visiting our friends in their new locations. Something to look forward to – but we are definitely going to miss their presence in the village.

All for now, folks, except a few numbers for the record: 38,975 people tested positive for the virus today; 191 people died in the community and 66 in hospitals on 6 & & September; and 933 people were admitted to hospital with the virus in the last 24 hours.

Take care everyone. Stay safe and savour every moment you can. God bless.