The nights are drawing in….

I know I am going to be in trouble with John for saying this in the middle of August, but there was an autumnal feel about the day, today. Not least because the sun is rising later and later each day, but also because the nights are drawing in, with the sunset at half-past eight this evening.

I felt we needed comfort today, so, with that in mind, we cosied ourselves in the lounge with an open fire, toasting our toes, and we watched some daytime TV.

I chose not to tackle all the jobs that are still outstanding and we just hunkered down, while I tried to regroup my thoughts about the situation in Afghanistan. I know the country isn’t actually on our doorstep, but the news coming from there has upset my equilibrium and I’m feeling the collective guilt of the role we have played over the years.

I wasn’t awfully successful in that my thoughts flitted all over the place, but I kept to the plan of staying comfortable – supported by chocolate, wine and chamomile tea – in the hope that, by tomorrow, I’ll feel a bit better and, once again, be able to tackle all obstacles in our way.

John did a fair bit of snoozing – the fire was so warm and he’d had such a dreadful night’s sleep last night, that he felt very tired.

Apart from a plan to entertain friends on Thursday afternoon, we have no real plans this week, so we felt at liberty to take our time to rest today. ‘Why not?’ we thought. We are retired, after all!

So there we are – not a lot to report and probably about as boring as watching wood warp, but still……

The COVID news is as follows:

• 28,438 people tested positive for the virus today
• 882 people were admitted to hospital with it
• 28 people died in the community where it was mentioned on their death certificates
• 7 people died in hospitals on 12/14 August
• Nearly 90% of the adult population has had its first dose of the vaccine
• 77% of the adult population has had both jabs
• The government tells us that if we’ve had both jabs we don’t need to self-isolate if we’ve been in the company of someone who has tested positive
• Scientists, on the other hand, are telling us to make sure we get a PCR test to reduce the risk of unknowingly spreading the virus further.

Look after yourselves and your loved ones as best you can everyone – God bless.