A Cracking Day

My toothache didn’t bother me much; the Sutton Sleaths (minus Michael, who was working) came to visit; and we took ourselves off for coffee and cake at Dave and Chris’s. So it was a cracking day. Wonderful.

We lazed in bed again this morning, chatting and generally mulling over life and the universe. It was lovely – no pressures to do anything, just luxuriating in the fact that we can stay in bed if we want to, and who’s going to stop us? We took our time on our ablutions and wandered down for a brunch of banana pancakes, sprinkled with pecans and raspberries, and drizzled with maple syrup. Delicious.

We had not long started in on our pancakes when the doorbell rang. It was Danielle, William and Thomas. We were expecting them, in order to collect a document, and they soon made themselves at home. William eyed up the pancakes. “Would you like some of my pancake?” I asked. “Yes, please.” he said, his little eyes shining in anticipation. “It’s got nuts in.” I warned. “I like nuts.” said William, “My Daddy eats nuts and I sometimes eat them with him.” True his word, he more or less wolfed down the lot. And what he didn’t eat, Thomas hoovered up afterwards.

Oh, such bliss to spend time with the family. We had a companiable hour and a half before we had to shoo them out of the door, because we were going out. Whilst we were keen to go over to see Dave and Chris, we were reluctant to say goodbye. I fairly had to drag myself away from Thomas, who was sitting on the floor of the lounge, trying to make the robot do something. I pressed a few buttons on the controller and Thomas’ eyes opened wide, he grinned and then patted the floor beside him to insist that I sit alongside. We then had ten minutes of fun pressing buttons and being amused by the robots movements. But, whenever I made any indication to move away, Thomas patted the floor, very determinedly, and looked at me with those big blue eyes, pleading, to ensure I stayed. Boy, he knows how to work a girl! I was putty in his hands.

We finally dragged ourselves away and drove over to Rugby to see Dave and Chris. Gosh, we didn’t half give them a big hug* when we got there! It’s a while since we last saw them, having had one or two aborted arrangements, so it was just terrific to see them again.

In my mind, I had thought we might not stay too long, as John was feeling exceedingly tired and Dave hadn’t been well, so I thought we might not want to add to their fatigue. However, the minute we got there John perked up like nobody’s business, chatting at a rate of knots; and Dave was feeling so much better that he wasn’t feeling too tired after all – or at least, he certainly didn’t show it.

“I want to hear all about the boat trip.” said Dave, almost as soon as we got there. They were both supposed to be coming with us on that very exciting boat trip, (see my post ‘Drama on the River’ on August 3rd, if you haven’t read it) and, having read that blog entry, they were keen for the first-hand account. However, we talked and talked and talked – about everything. Until, at last, I looked at the time – nearly quarter-past five – and thought we ought to be making a move. We did that thing that everyone does before setting off on a journey – the loo-visit – and then, as a throwaway comment before we left, I said, laughing, “We never did get to tell you about the boat trip. We’ll have to meet up again to tell the tale.” Well, that set us off again. “No, no, tell us about the boat trip.” Dave and Chris said. So we did. And left their house at about a quarter to six. Had a fabulous time.

Not only did we chat and chat, but we had cake. Chris is one of the best cake-makers I know, (I might have said this before) along with Gloria and Christiana. And she didn’t disappoint. There were two cakes. Her speciality, lemon drizzle cake, and a coffee cake. Now, before lockdown, when John and I were seeking out good things to do, we made a point of having a decent hot chocolate wherever we were, and I sampled all the coffee cakes, to find the best one. Erm….. hello? Anyone tried Chris’s coffee cake? Absolutely yummy. Had two slices.

Home again, and we didn’t do anything but eat our evening meal and goggle the box. All good, and we were thankful for our wonderful day. I am particularly thankful that we were both able to enjoy it. Thank the Lord.

Want the COVID figures? No? Well, you’re gonna get ’em, anyway! Now I’ve started….. I’ve got to keep going.

43,467 people tested positive for the virus today; 186 people died in the community; 76 in hospitals in the last 48 hours. That enough for everyone? Yes, I thought so. Masks, masks, masks……..

Take care everyone. God bless.

*We had all done LFTs which were clear, so we thought we’d risk it!!