Sunday, Sunday

It being Sunday, we did Sunday things. I went to the church this morning for the first time in absolutely ages; we watched the Grand Prix; snoozed a little this afternoon and then went out for dinner.

I mean, that’s what Sundays are for, isn’t it? Well, they used to be, and today was the first Sunday that felt like one for a very, very long time. The only thing we didn’t do was buy a newspaper. Sometimes, you just know that you’re not going get through a Sunday broadsheet, even in a whole week, don’t you?

So, I was up relatively early and made the decision that I would actually go to church rather than be present via YouTube. I looked out of the window and saw that it was a fine day. Right, I thought, I’ll walk. So I did. It was lovely. A beautiful day for a walk – overcast, but not too cold and it was very, very quiet, the church bell tolling, calling its congregation as I walked up the hill.

I enjoyed the service, but I can’t wait to be able to sing the hymns. We’re still not even allowed to hum! It was good to see fellow congregants and pass the time of day with them before I set off back home. Several greeted me warmly, surprised to see me but pleased nonetheless.

Once home, John was up and we sat and had a cuppa while we planned what to do with our day. To be honest, I wasn’t so sure what I was going to do but thought I might do my hair before our outing to the Queen and Castle for our evening meal. John’s plan was to watch the Grand Prix and have a game of poker.

In the end, I pottered about a bit and then thought I’d read my book before I did anything else. John was already in the lounge, so I joined him and started my book. I felt my eyes go heavy after a while, whereupon I put my book down and closed my eyes for a moment or two…… Next thing I knew it was Grand Prix time and the cars were revving up on the start line. Crikey!! That was unexpected – where did that hour and a half go? John, too, was inspecting the back of his eyelids but awoke at the sound of the revving cars. We looked sheepishly at each other, before I said,”Do you want something to eat? Or a cup of tea?”

We grabbed a bite to eat and then watched the race, although halfway through we took a video call from the Sutton Sleaths and a phone call from Andrew, too. Then all of a sudden it was time to get ready to go out. We were to meet Paul and Harriet, Lily and Freddie at the pub just before five o’clock.

I didn’t feel awfully brave before we got there, as this is our first visit out to somewhere indoors, but John was happy and said he wasn’t worried. So, once we were inside ordering our drinks and food, I soon relaxed. We had a nice meal, and it was good not to have to do the washing-up afterwards. Paul suggested we call into their house for coffee afterwards, so we were excited to accept.

We spent the whole evening at Paul and Harriet’s – how good was that? We put Freddie to bed in his ‘London Bus’ bunk bed and I read him an improbable story called ‘The Dinosaur that Pooped a Pirate’. First time I’ve come across this series of titles and we both found the story amusing – even if ‘pooped’ was an unexpected turn of phrase!

We spent a very pleasant evening chatting and trying to put the world to rights, debating a variety of subjects. We called it a day, though, when our hosts found a topic upon which they couldn’t agree. We thought any contribution we made at that point might fan the flames of discontent, so we left while the going was good.

What a happy day. It was a real Sunday – we spoke to all the family; we ate a proper Sunday roast; we watched seasonal sport and I, at least, said a few prayers. Thank the Lord for such mercies.

2,235 people tested positive today for the virus and 5 people died in the community. The scientists, however, are up in arms over the publication of a report released on Saturday night in the middle of Eurovision (in which we did get nul points) which holds some startling data on the new variant. Watch this space folks, I’m wondering if it’s going to get messy…..

In the meantime, take care everyone. God bless.