Autumn

“Don’t the leaves look pretty on the pavement?” I remarked to John as we bowled along into Birmingham for an appointment at Heartlands this morning. John was scornful. “Only a woman could think that the fallen leaves look pretty.” he replied. “Men are different. We don’t think like that.” He may have a point. As a woman, I do find odd things attractive, and the golden and russet leaves seemed just that as they nestled into the pavement, framing the road ahead, and occasionally rising and skittering along the pavement in a gust of wind. He wasn’t having any of it though. I suppose the roads into Birmingham are a bit bleak – and no amount of leaf-shaped confetti was going to do it for him.

I left John at the hospital for his treatment and was in two minds as to whether to come straight home or to go into Aldi to see if I could get all the ingredients for a Christmas lunch from their freezers, just in case…… I decided I’d do Aldi and I was in luck. They certainly had all the main ingredients that you’d need, so I bought ’em. It’s the siege mentality in me, you know……

Home again, and I stuffed all the ingredients into the small freezer that we’d had to empty because of the malfunction last week. I had intended to put it all into the freezer in the shed. However, this morning, when I went to check on it to make sure it was functioning appropriately, I got the shock of my life when I found that the door had been wedged open and I was faced with a veritable wall of ice. Oh….. that’ll be a defrosting job then, before I can use it.

This afternoon, I left John to it again as I toddled off to have a game of badminton. I wasn’t sure whether the game would go ahead, as there has to be a minimum of four of us to sort out the equipment and, with one being poorly, another on holiday and another one otherwise occupied, we weren’t 100% certain that we’d be quorate. However, we were in luck again, and four of us were keen for a match. Great fun and we all enjoyed ourselves.

John was watching the box when I got home and doing a bit on the computer – I think he’s got his self-assessment to do….. well, there was a lot of chuntering, so I think that’s what he was mulling over, anyway.

This evening it was a chat on Zoom to the college crew – all who could make it, at any rate. Had a lovely time catching up with everyone, commiserating with those who had ‘stuff to deal with’ or sons/daughters who have challenges before them; and laughing at the antics of everyone’s families. Lovely. But 50 years……. 50 years we’ve known each other!!! Crikey!!

If you haven’t seen the news – any guesses as to how many people have succumbed to the virus and tested positive today? Go on … guess!

45,066 people have been officially diagnosed with the virus. There will be many more, I have no doubt, who haven’t done a test to confirm their status, so who knows how many people it is in reality? This is madness.

157 people died in the community today; 37 in hospitals in the previous 48 hours.

This time last year? 19,724 people were COVID positive; 137 people died in the community; 45 in hospitals on 12 & 13 October.

Why does the general population no longer care? I don’t get it. Answers, please, on a post card to: The Mad House, England.

Take care everyone. Look after yourselves and your loved ones. No-one fully knows yet, the extent to which COVID affects us after the initial illness. So let’s not catch it, eh?

God bless.