It’s Tuesday. We’d like it to be ‘Choose Day’ and have the wherewithal to find something exciting to do but, with John still being a bit under the weather we chose not to do a lot, after all.
We were up early and out to Solihull Hospital for a 9.30 appointment this morning, for John to have his eyes checked. Lovely girl who checked him over and then she said, “I’ll just let Mr Patel know the results,” Mr Patel is the boss and has been monitoring John since the very first days of his eyes going haywire. “Hmmm… ” says Mr Patel, ” Your eyes are very dry. In fact, they are the worst I’ve seen them since I first saw you. Make sure you keep on with the eye drops as often as you can.” OK. No wonder John’s left eye is so sore.
However, when we got in the car, it suddenly dawned on us that we failed to mention that John hadn’t been using his serum for the last five days, since the freezer breakdown. In our heads, that explains it….. fingers crossed it’s just a blip.
“When we get home, I’ll pop some pains aux raisins in the oven and we’ll have an elevenses treat, shall we?” I suggested, plumping on something to cheer us up. And they did cheer us up a bit. We really enjoyed them.
By the time we were tucking into our pastries, we had slouched in front of the telly again and were wondering what to do. I thought I’d pop back into Solihull to continue the impulse buying theme that I’d started on Saturday, and see if there was anything there suitable for birthday gifts. Michael, Danielle and Andrew all have October birthdays and are to buy for; and Gloria, too, to get a card for. No idea what to get …..although it seems that household goods are wanted by the Sutton Sleaths, so I had a browse round John Lewis, Dunelm and Lakeland.
I’ve got to say, though, there’s not much choice. In other stores, such as in the House of Fraser, there were empty shelves and things spread out sparsely across the shop floor; shops like ‘Le Creuset’ and Marks and Spencer’s have both closed. In addition, of course, all of the stores that are/were part of the Arcadia Group are closed too – Dorothy Perkins, Burtons, Topshop, Topman. It was a bit depressing, to be honest.
However, as I walked past Millets, I noticed that they were advertising reductions on Berghaus waterproofs. Ah-ha! My own is a good few years old now and has a rip in it, where it caught under the wheel of the buggy last year, having been wrapped round one of the grandchildren to keep them warm. ‘I’ll just have a little browse,’ I thought to myself. I am now the proud owner of a brand new jacket in a lovely shade of….. ‘when I am old, I shall wear purple‘. Feel a bit like me Mum, now….. and John says it looks a bit small on me….ah, well.
Home again, and it was more telly watching for the rest of the afternoon and evening. I do love a bit of ‘Bake Off’, ‘Saving Lives at Sea’, and ‘Our Yorkshire Farm’. So, we did have a bit of a ‘Choose Day’.
Numbers on the COVID front remain high and, I have to confess, I was very cautious in town. There are so many people mask-less. Anyway, 38,520 are reported as having tested positive for the virus today and 181 people have died in the community. 43 people died in hospitals in the previous 48 hours.
No surprise that the all-party inquiry into the government’s handling of the virus in the early days has come in for some sharp criticism in their report, published today. But hindsight is such a wonderful thing, isn’t it? I’d be a bit more cheerful if they’d take the blooming thing seriously now! I expect there’ll be another report in a year’s time loaded with criticism, too, looking back at autumn 2021, but it’ll all be too late.
Take care everyone. Keep your distance; wear your masks; wash your hands and ventilate your indoor spaces. God bless.