A Practice Walk

So, here he is, the ‘ol man – all set for March and walking a mile a day to support the Anthony Nolan Trust, T-shirt at the ready. So far, however, he’s exhausted himself just getting the T-shirt out of the box this evening!!

Mind you, we did have a proper walk this morning – another ‘practice walk’ in readiness for the challenge ahead. He’s banking these walks, just in case…. We did a mile round the park, enjoying the seating that every single bench had to offer on the way. Here’s a little example….

It was a beautiful day for a walk today, too, with the sun shining and the air crisp and cool but not cold. We enjoyed ourselves but it took a little longer than we anticipated. I spent a few minutes acting my shoe size and not my age in the children’s park, where they have installed new equipment. Great fun.

We were both supposed to be popping round to meet Harriet at her parents’ bungalow to have a look at a disability scooter this afternoon. I looked at John, settling into his chair, “Are you going to come with me?” Yes, yes he was. I started to get ready; he went to the loo. When I came back into the lounge he was back in the chair, “I’m not coming,” he said. Poor boy – he was too worn out to move. I left him to have a snooze.

Poor Harriet, too. It’s distressing to go back into your parents’ home and they not be there, isn’t it? We had a little weep. But we weren’t there long. We just did what we needed to and came away.

I came home thinking I might do a little sort out of the Christmas stuff which has never actually got up into the loft yet, but by the time I’d sat down and had a cup of tea and a bit of cake and watched a bit of telly, I was grateful that that horrible sensation of ‘doing something’ had worn off and I didn’t tackle it after all. Maybe tomorrow.

I rather liked Susie Dent’s Word of the Day today. It describes my situation exactly. She offers us: ‘arsle’ (verb, 19th century): to find yourself going backwards in a task rather than making any progress at all.

Maybe we’ll have better luck tomorrow. Take care everyone. God bless.

58,899 people tested positive for the virus today, which is good news as the figures are coming down; 193 people died with it; 1,395 people were admitted to hospital.