Isolation Day 107

We can definitely class today as a good day. The weather may have been otherwise engaged, but our activities have buoyed us up and we have had some success along the way.

First up, I considered the invitation I’d had to join my friends from church in having coffee at the vicarage. Last week, I balked and didn’t make it. This week, I still shilly-shallied and when Linda asked me if I was going to go, I replied with a cautious ‘I’m planning to….’ but I was still undecided. Linda thought I probably wouldn’t go.

I did that thing you always do when you’re undecided. I prevaricated. I snoozed the alarm. I surfed social media for a bit before I got up. I texted Linda: ‘Erm…. it’s raining. Are you planning to go even in the rain?’ The answer was yes, as there was an events shelter in the garden. I took a long time over my shower. I fiddle-faddled about with my breakfast. But in the end, I couldn’t think of an excuse not to go, other than admit to cowardice. After all, I knew we were going to be outside, sheltered if it was raining, but still in the open air. I knew my friends would stay apart by the two metres. I knew I was taking my own drink. I was going to be wearing a mask. It was going to be okay.

I bid John farewell and he firmly told me to enjoy myself. And I did. I walked there and back, two paces behind Linda and Kaye, and it was lovely to sit and chat to everyone. The weather behaved itself, staying fairly warm and holding back on the rain. Very refreshing and uplifting; and wise words were offered and gratefully received. I am glad I went.

I had, of course, done my duty prior to leaving the house and looked in on Mum to get her out of bed. Yes, yes, she would get up. The thing is, Mum, I won’t be here to keep reminding you, as I’m going out. Oh, that’s OK, I’ll get up…… I smiled. I bet I’ll still find you in bed when I get back, I chuckled. She laughed. No, no, I’ll get up.

When I got back, John was beavering away at laying the laminate flooring in the ‘office-which-we-are-now-calling-the-gym’. He said, “Your Mum has just beaten you.” She’d made it downstairs then, before I got back – just. She’d only just had breakfast, but it was lunchtime, so I made her a sandwich.

I am not sure what I did for the next couple of hours – a fabulous chat to Simon for a little while, catching up on his news; dishwasher emptying and filling; parcel and letter washing; a bit of historic Wimbledon; and letter-writing to look into Mum’s future care – before I could feel my eyes growing heavy again. An afternoon nap beckoned. John was still working solidly on the flooring. I went upstairs and thought I’d just have a little lie down before getting on with those very urgent jobs on my list.

Ha! Two hours later…… I was semi-conscious and could hear an awful lot of banging but I couldn’t work out what it was. Never mind. I snoozed on. The banging stopped. Then I could hear John getting a shower. I snoozed a bit more. Finally, I started back to full consciousness. John was tiptoeing round the bedroom trying not to wake me. I giggled. “You OK?” I asked. “Oh, I thought you were asleep.” he said. Well, it was kind of him to try not to wake me, but he hadn’t accounted for the fact that the hammering downstairs to finalise the flooring had been very loud, and the pump on the shower sounds like an aeroplane taking off. Aaah……… oh……… We had a bit of a chortle about it.

By the time I eased myself out of bed for the second time today at half past six, I could hear Mum wandering about upstairs. The only reasons Mum wanders, are: a) if the TV has automatically shut off and she has nothing to watch b) she’s hungry c) she needs the loo. I suspected it to be a case of a) and b) and, not being able to find either of us, she’d come upstairs to her room for a lie down. I left her for the time being and went down to cook our evening meal.

I had half-expected a martyred look when I went to fetch Mum for her meal, but she was happy enough and came straight down to set the table. Unfortunately, the ‘happy enough’ phase didn’t last long when she realised that we were going to be doing Quiz Night with our Centre Stage friends. She was going to be on her own again. Join in, Mum? Maybe, she thought. But, of course, the lure of the TV in the lounge was too great and she stayed there for the evening despite thinking she’d be lonely.

However, at bedtime she was feeling miserable. Fingers crossed it doesn’t translate into a bout of illness tomorrow.

We had a great evening on the quiz. It was a challenging one but such fun to do, and John was on great form this evening with lots of witticisms throughout the evening. We all enjoyed ourselves so much that we stayed on talking until well past eleven o’clock. Great time; great friends.

On an entirely different note – I have ignored it all day, but just after mid-day a whacking great big parcel arrived on the doorstep. Almost too heavy for the delivery driver to lift, and he kindly said that if we hadn’t been isolating, he’d have carried it to wherever I wanted. The parcel is definitely too heavy to carry, so it’ll be a wheelbarrow job tomorrow, weather permitting. It is the bark that we ordered months ago from the online garden centre. Funnily enough – guess what? I don’t need it now as I’ve used some shreddings from the conifers John cut down, instead. Oh well, I suppose I’ll find a use for it somewhere………

I still don’t fully understand the figures currently being offered to us by the NHS and the government in relation to COVID-19 deaths and infections, but I have to confess that I haven’t drilled down into them to inform myself further today.

However, here they are as published, for the record: the NHS reports 2 deaths up until 4 o’clock yesterday and confirmed 12, for the day before; the government reports 176 deaths in all settings and 829 people infected up until five o’clock yesterday. Leicester City is in lock down with more cases of the virus than they’d like, 135 cases per 100,000 people, and several other cities are monitoring their levels very closely.

It ain’t over yet, is it? Take care everyone.