The Shambles

The world around us may be a bit of a shambles, but it’s not what you were thinking – it’s this!!

The Shambles in York. It’s complete!! It’s good, isn’t it? I love the picture, but the jigsaw was difficult – even to the end, when I found the last piece lurking in a shoe under the coffee table. Go me!!

So you know what I have been doing all day now, don’t you? Mostly the jigsaw because, once you get to a certain stage, you don’t quite want to give it up and you grind on to the bitter end.

Other than that, it’s been a bit of a non-day today, albeit full of best intentions. We were up reasonably early and I did a little bit of tidying round and had the intention of putting away all the Christmas decorations, as it’s Twelfth Night. However, sometimes it’s the 6th, not the 5th, so I thought I’d have the pleasure of them for another day. It is lockdown after all, and a bit of leeway is allowed, I’m sure.

We had also planned to go out for a walk while the sun shone but, by the time John had done all his medical bits and bobs he sprawled out on the sofa and inspected the back of his eyelids for a good hour or two. I didn’t wake him up because the day seemed to be getting colder and colder and I couldn’t drag myself from some very warm and cosy surroundings…..

I also intended to arrange my books in my library since they have only been thrown onto the shelves in a hurry, and I have new ones to load in and others still to transplant. But I didn’t get around to doing that either. I think I was nibbling on chocolate when I was supposed to be doing that.

John has pottered about fiddling about with the shower cubicle door again. It’s a bit like the Forth Bridge – not sure it’ll ever be finished! And, daily, pieces of equipment arrive through the post to try a new idea out. It’s too cold to be faffing about with the Lotus in the garage so indoor jobs are the order of the day.

We thought there wasn’t much on TV this evening so dived into the programmes we’ve recorded. We opted to watch ‘Grease’ to remind us of our youth. However, two things: 1) John says he doesn’t remember watching it before (shocked face); and 2) I certainly don’t remember how risqué it was – and is! Goodness me! I was a bit shocked at some of the things they said and did. It felt a bit crass, which was awfully disappointing for a film I fondly remembered, and thought would be a classic.

We braced ourselves and watched Boris’s Briefing today which told us no more than we already knew or could surmise from all the scientists who have become very vocal in the last few months. I mean, how he could say, with a straight face, “….it only became clear yesterday (i.e. Monday) that schools needed to close….” is beyond me. But then I have come to expect lies, lies and more damned lies, now.

The figures are shocking today, too. Although there has been some adjustments for this and that delay in reporting, which swells the numbers a bit, I understand.

• 60,916 people have tested positive for the virus and been reported on in the last 24 hours
• 830 people have died, having tested positive for the virus, in the community in the last 24 hours
• 277 people died having tested positive for the virus in hospitals on 3 & 4 January
• Over 3,000 people were being admitted, daily, to hospitals on 28 December, but today’s visual on the briefing showed a helluva lot more than that today. I noted that none of the panel mentioned a specific figure. they daren’t, I suppose.
• The NHS figures report, however, that as of today, there are 26,467 people in hospitals beds, as confirmed COVID-19 cases

Numbed by numbers again. This happened in the last lockdown, when my brain was unable to visualise just how many people affected it actually is. Not sure I really want to do that visualisation. Too big a horror story.

Whatever your circumstances though, my thoughts and prayers are with all of you, whom I love dearly. Stay safe, wash your hands, wear your masks, keep your distance, etc. etc. God bless.