Old friends

I was at a funeral this morning, saying goodbye to a former OCR colleague, Amy. No longer being ‘on the circuit’ so to speak, I hadn’t known she’d been poorly so that when she died, it was very unexpected. It turned out that it was unexpected for others too, although they had known that she had been having check-ups to try and bottom out exactly what was the matter with her.

But funerals are funny events, aren’t they? People are sad; some heartbroken; some celebrating the life of the loved one; and some, like me today, just trying make sense of it all and put it all in some order. The funny thing is that it’s an occasion to re-connect with those people you haven’t seen in ages, but of whom you are very fond. And, odd though it may sound, I am very grateful to Amy for the gathering of those people today.

I loved seeing some of my old friends from work. It was delightful to catch up with their lives and to hear how their families are doing. Many of them are now retired (catching up with me) but some are still working – same old, same old – and had tales to tell of how it is now. Oooh, I am glad to have retired.

I came home to both John and Andrew just getting up out of bed. They’d both had a long lie-in and, much to his dismay for having realised too late, John missed a doctor’s appointment this morning for a routine procedure. Maybe tomorrow?

We tucked into hot cross buns for a bite to each across lunchtime and then, not more than a couple of hours since he got up, John had an afternoon nap. Andrew and I pottered about with one thing and another and sat chatting for an hour before deciding it was time for a walk. “Are you coming with us, John?” I asked. Yes, he was – another practice walk for his 30-day stint in March.

With the weather being unpredictable, we set off in the rain. Half an hour previously, the sun had been peeping through the clouds. But the rain soon stopped and we finished the walk under clouds, but dry.

Great excitement as we came along the ‘Yellow Brick Road’ though. As we sat on a bench for a breather, we’d chatted to a dog-walker with two Cavachon dogs, before she walked on ahead of us. Not two or three minutes later however, her dogs were running back towards us, being chased by a much larger dog – perhaps a labradoodle. Tearing behind them and shouting ‘Bentley! Bentley!’, we recognised the dog-walker. Cue: immediate images in our minds of Fenton* in Richmond Park – hehehe!

At first, we thought the dogs would circle back round behind us, but no, they tanked on towards the entrance to the park, the littlest Cavachon yapping frantically. The dog-walker was wild-eyed and panicking as she came running towards us…. “Do you need a hand?” I asked. “Yes! It’s not my dog!” she cried, desperately. I was about to run, but Andrew beat me to it. He thrust the walking stick/seat he was carrying to me and pelted after the dogs.

John and I carried on walking to the next bench. The chasing dog came trotting back to its owner, who seemed not at all nonplussed at what had just happened. It took a while, but eventually, Andrew and the dog-walker came back. The dogs had stopped at the entrance to the park fortunately, so the visions of them running in the road were not realised. But the thrill of it all perked our walk up no end, I can tell you.

I was also very perked up by a parcel that arrived today…. you gotta love that man, haven’t you? Look what he had delivered!

Apropos of yesterday and the fact that I said I hadn’t taken any photos ‘cos I was too busy……. I actually did take one or two. All of the same event, and one of which I share with you here. Chocolate chops, courtesy of Nutella on toast…… I think it’s cute, but you may beg to differ.

Take care everyone. May you all be Covid-free. Get well soon and may your illness be mild, to all those who have recently texted me to say they have succumbed…… God bless.

41,648 people tested positive for the virus today; 35 people died with it; 1,413 people were admitted to hospital. Hospital admissions aren’t going down yet, are they?

*Fenton: if you don’t know it, or want to have another laugh, copy and past this YouTube page into your browser to watch the Fenton clip entitled ‘Jesus Christ in Richmond Park’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GRSbr0EYYU