Author: anniesleath@hotmail.co.uk

The holiday is over and we are back to it. We were up early this morning on a run into Birmingham to Heartlands Hospital for John’s immunoglobulin treatment. Neither of us particularly wanted to be making an early morning trip, but needs must, of course.

By all accounts the treatment went smoothly, which is always a relief, and John managed some TV watching and a little nap, so the morning wasn’t too bad.

Meanwhile, having driven John over to the hospital, I came back home and decided to do a little bit more on clearing the dining room, ready for stripping the wallpaper and ripping out the carpet at some point.

Currently, I am still filling boxes with all the goodies that normally reside in the dining room and wondering where to store the boxes so as not to incur John’s wrath…. the top of the kitchen cupboards seemed a good idea to me, until he noticed……. hehehe.

I have absolutely no idea how to decorate the dining room yet and I am hoping that inspiration will come to me as I clear it out. Furniture though, is a problem because although what we have is very old-fashioned and rather knackered, it is functional and does the job very well. We have yet to find anything that will do the trick quite as well. I guess we’ll have to keep looking.

This afternoon was a very pleasant one as we had a Zoom session with Sue and Rod in the Lake District, who were busy admiring the snowflakes falling as we chatted. So lovely to see them – it’s ages since we’d had a good old natter. They’d had a busy time on and off since Christmas, and I’ve been in the doldrums so have had no oomph to be socialising. However, we really enjoyed each others’ company and I felt better for seeing them – albeit remotely and virtually.

Spirits buoyed, I spent another hour in the dining room carefully wrapping my treasures while John had a nap. The treatment always wears him out, poor man, so a couple of hours sleep was in order before we sped upstairs for Quiz Night.

Quiz Night was fun once again but neither of us were on top form and didn’t know that many of the answers. Not only that, when we did have an answer we weren’t always able to say it loud enough for everyone to hear, so our comments were sometimes lost in the ether. We enjoyed ourselves nonetheless, despite John feeling very tired, and we were grateful to see everyone.

In other news, there was a shock text message from Dawn this morning to let us know that ‘Jack tested positive for Covid this morning‘. My response? ‘Oh, blimey!‘ I also hope that he won’t be too poorly and he won’t pass it on to anyone else in the locality…….. it’s everywhere, isn’t it?

I gather cases are starting to come down a bit, but deaths and hospital admissions are going up. That is par for the course, I suppose, but I am at a loss as to understand why the general population seem to think it’s all over.

Take care everyone. God bless.

What a treat. We spent a few days in the Brecon Beacons: the weather was glorious, the scenery was fabulous, and we star-gazed…..

The star-gazing event was my Christmas present from John in 2020. What with one thing and another we didn’t activate the plan last year, so just before Christmas 2021, it suddenly dawned on me that the voucher would run out and what a waste of money, thought and goodwill that would be. The company that had issued the voucher very kindly extended its life however, so there we were in March 2022 enjoying the Dark Sky Wales.

It was a chilly evening, but the excitement of looking at the stars through a professional telescope – and then taking photos of some of the constellations – compensated immeasurably for the cool air. What a fantastic Christmas present! I thoroughly enjoyed myself – and John did, too. Here’s a ‘photo wot I took’ of the Orion Nebula – cool, eh?

We were so very lucky with the weather last week with it being sunny every day. The apartment that we stayed in had a balcony and a fabulous view over the Brecons, so we sat out each morning to eat our breakfast or brunch and enjoyed the balmy weather and the glorious scenery.

Not only did we enjoy the sunshine and the view from our abode, but we went for a couple of walks too so that John could keep up with his ‘Mile a Day in March’. Our first walk was exceedingly demanding as a) it was uphill and down dale, and b) we got lost and couldn’t find the footpath back. It all started so well……. here’s John toiling up the lane, but going quite well.

And here he is having a rest on the stile, which we finally came to on the right path after we’d tramped through the fields, along a stream and back up through a herd of sheep……ooh, we worked hard to get there and see? he’s got his jacket off!!!

All in all, we had a very good few days away having visited Brecon Cathedral too, which we thought was a lovely place and where we lit candles and said our prayers. I dragged John round a couple of antiques shops as well and bought us some wine glasses to replace all those we’ve broken over the years.

We came home feeling refreshed. Well, at least, I did. John was exhausted after all the walking and sightseeing. We came back on Saturday and John slept in the car all the way home, slept in his armchair when he got back all afternoon and then went to bed at 8.30 in the evening, having declined to join me in baby-sitting duties over at the Kenilworth Sleaths.

John rested for much of the day on Sunday, too, and stayed in bed while I went over to the Holy Trinity Church in Attleborough, Nuneaton, for baby Arthur’s christening. What a glorious service and how very warm and friendly everyone was. Arthur did the right thing and cried when the water was poured on his forehead, much to everyone’s amusement.

However, we had decided that with COVID being fairly rampant just now, we would forego the celebrations afterwards at the pub, which, by all accounts were well enjoyed by all the friends and relations who did go.

Here’s Arthur, looking cool and very proud of himself in his dickie bow…..

In the afternoon, I dropped John over at the Kenilworth Sleaths while I visited Mum to wish her a Happy Mothering Sunday before joining them myself for a Sunday Roast, too.

The visit to Mum was enjoyable for the most part; she was pleased the gifts I’d taken and the reading of more birthday cards that had arrived since her birthday last week – particularly delighted with a card from Graham and Gail. Unfortunately, the visit was relatively short as I needed to get back for 4 o’clock. Mum was disappointed that I was leaving ‘so soon’ and treated me to a little session of emotional blackmail – the likes of which she hasn’t done for a couple of years. Oh dear, it never feels nice. Ah well, one good thing is that she won’t remember, so hopefully she won’t dwell on it.

We had a lovely time at Paul and Harriet’s with all the family bar Catherine and Andrew. Andrew had hoped to come over but transport was going to be a problem and he’d been ‘pinged’ to say he’d been in contact with a COVID-ite, so he stayed in Cambridge but he phoned his best wishes through which was lovely.

No photos of the day as I enjoyed myself too much with an extremely tasty bottle of red and needed an Uber home, but Paul took a cracking photo of the boys in the bath….. they just melt my heart…….

Yesterday was another exciting day with a visit to Dawn’s in the morning. It was the final fitting of her wedding suit and, honestly, she looks absolutely stunning in it. The tailoress has done a wonderful job in the design and sewing of the suit and it fits beautifully. Dawn and I did a wonderful job, too, of choosing the colour of the suit which will be brilliant on the day. Great excitement all round. Just got to choose the accessories now!

And today we have had another great day, spending time with George and Sue, and Dave and Chris, at Brixworth Country Park. The weather wasn’t so great with fog, mist and drizzle, but the walk was good, the company the best and the food and drink delicious. Oh my, thank the Lord for good friends.

Take care everyone. God bless

Forgive me if I ramble. A nice glass of wine – well, that was OK, but the whisky afterwards? Hmmm, not sure about that!

Anyway. It was Ellie’s birthday yesterday. She was Twenty-One Years Old. Good Lord, who’d have thought it? Memories came flooding back of the gorgeous little girl she was all those years ago, the horrible tantrums in between, and what a beautiful woman she has grown into now.

To be honest, she was feeling a little green after her evening out with her mates on Saturday night, but she was game enough to celebrate with the oldies – so I was very grateful for that.

The original plan had been to have a little get-together before the Kenilworth Sleaths took Ellie out for a slap-up, adult meal in the evening, while we babysat Freddie. Hmmm… it still went ahead…. with a different babysitter…… but for us? Ha! COVID put a stop to that. We discussed it and decided that our babysitting plans should be put on hold until everyone had tested negative. However, we thought we could sit outside with the birthday girl on the day to wish her all the best – so that’s what we did.

It was a lovely hour. Almost everyone was there and there was cake. Regrettably, I was lax with the camera and the only photo I took was one of the birthday girl as the champagne was being poured and Harriet was still arranging the chairs…….. ah, well, it captures the moment, anyway!

21! I still can’t believe it!!

We left the Kenilworth Sleaths after about an hour and made our way to the Kenilworth Newbies. Michael had invited us over for a change of scenery and we had accepted because, let’s be honest, one way or another, we need to get our ‘kiddie –fix’ – whether that be adult kids or kid kids.

Michael cooked us a cracking Sunday Roast to round off the afternoon. Brilliant. And, of course, we had worked up an appetite beforehand with a play in the park. Personally, I was on top form. Not only did I do racing, but I did ‘pulling the children round on a swingy-thing’ – and played a mean game of football. Sensibly, I had taken a warm jacket with me, so I was ‘alright, Jack’, but John went in and had an early bath because he was a bit chilly – well, actually, he watched the Grand Prix…..

But, here he is, enjoying the sunshine with the children before the lure of the Grand Prix:

And here is me and the boys enjoying a sports day….

So, back to front – that was yesterday afternoon. Yesterday morning I called in to see Mum, another birthday girl. Strictly speaking, it’s her birthday tomorrow, when she will be officially old (96) – at which life starts, I am told. We couldn’t visit tomorrow however, so I went yesterday instead.

Mum was on top form. She spent the whole time in bed (bar the last few minutes when it was lunchtime) because that’s where she was when I arrived. Fully dressed, but the window was open, so I think she may have felt the cold, hence the snuggle into the bedsheets.

We had a good giggle, as we always do, and she was delighted with the gifts I had taken her. She had no idea how old she was however, nor who I was for a while. I thought she recognised me when I arrived, but when she was perusing her birthday card, she mulled over, for a good while, who ‘Anne & John’ could possibly be?

She eventually cottoned on and enjoyed my visit – even recalling members of the family, even if she couldn’t actually remember their names.

Mind you, she did that amusing thing of toddling to the loo and then forgetting that I was there. Hehehe! Always makes me smile when she’s startled to find me in her room. We also had several lovely renditions of ‘I was born under a wand’ring’ star…’ again, which is obviously flavour of the month!!

I’d share the video of her, but I think it might frighten the horses, so here’s a lovely one of her laughing instead.

So very grateful for the love in our lives – the laughter, the fun, the delight of the family in seeing us – can’t do without it. Very thankful for our blessings, when we know there is heartbreak everywhere.

God bless. Take care everyone.

We were busy yesterday – we went out!! Can you believe it?

I had yoga in the morning which was very good and helped me stretch my body out from its curled up position – the ‘red light reflex’ according to the Somatics class I’m attending – to the ‘green light reflex’, which is a much happier place. I also dealt with the ‘trauma reflex’ which I seem to have in abundance….. I blame the children – carrying them on my hip for years on end has done the damage, and now I’m repeating it with the grandchildren. Ha! Never learn, do we?

Once I was home, we bustled about a bit, having a bite to eat and a cuppa, before setting off to the NEC to the Classic Car Exhibition. Well, I am not sure what I was expecting there, but we both really enjoyed ourselves. There was plenty to see both in the car line and in the assorted spare parts line.

For me, my interest is held when there’s a project to relate the pieces to and of course, we were on the prowl for spare parts for the Lotus. We found a company that does tiddly bits of things like screws and nuts and bolts – and they are based in Torrington Avenue – how good is that? Just down the road, so John can toddle off there whenever he wants.

We had a good look round a stall which had loads of vinyl covering – not quite sure which bit John is doing on the car, but we brought some cool samples home for it, some special glue and great advice on how to use a hairdryer to warm the fabric up as you fit it……. I am sure that’ll do the trick.

We had a good old wander in both the halls, admiring the cars, marvelling over the paint jobs, reminiscing over the cars we remembered that our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles had and, of course, those old jalopies we and our friends had back in the day, too. Ah…. yes, good old nostalgia.

After a couple of hours we thought we’d had enough, so we set off back to the car. Just outside, John’s ‘Map My Walk’ app pinged him to tell him that a) he’d been walking for 2 hours, and b) he’d done 3.5 miles. How good was that?

Made us laugh though when we looked at the route we’d taken….. higgledy-piggledy…. then….Zoooom……. forgot to turn the app off when we got in the car, didn’t we?

We’d had a lovely time, but by the evening, I went flop again and couldn’t quite bring myself to sit and write about our day.

Another reasonable day today though, kicking off with a fabulous little video of Thomas singing to some music, and then chatting to Harriet, Paul and Freddie, who were about to go across to the woods and walk Mac. They are all feeling better if a little tired.

We spent a fair bit of the day running backwards and forwards to shops in Kenilworth and then Dunelm in Coventry to buy new bedding and a gift for Mum as it’s her birthday on Tuesday. Minor panic as we got in the car to come home – John had lost one of his hearing aids. We hunted around the car, then I set off to re-trace our steps. After about ten minutes, John phoned to say he’d found the darned thing – it must have been in the folds of his clothes somewhere because, as he stood up, out it plopped. Phew…..

John has had a particularly good day, mending things we’d broken. He put up a new shelf in the downstairs shower room and re-fitted the cover on the fan in the there. Excellent stuff. He then went into the garage to have a tinker on the car. I wonder if he checked that the nuts and bolts he’d bought yesterday fitted?

Meanwhile, I sat and read my book in the hope that it will contribute to an improved feeling of well-being – and ate chocolate. Fingers crossed it helps.

Take care everyone. God bless and get well soon those of you who have recently contracted COVID.

“What are you doing today?” John wondered. “Erm… well, we’re taking the white car in for a service this morning,” I said, “and then I’ll probably do some paperwork. I’ve got to tax the blue car.” “Oh, right,” John replied, “I can do that – tax the car.” Lovely, thank you – I mean, you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth do you? So I left him to it.

Some while later, John came through to tell me that he couldn’t tax the car…..because it hadn’t got an MOT. Whaaaat? I leafed through all the paperwork for the car and, sure enough, there was an absence of an up-to-date MOT certificate. Oh, crumbs. I looked at John, horror stricken. “That means……. I’ve been driving the car for nearly five months without an MOT……”

Goodness knows what I had been thinking about last October, but it certainly wasn’t the car, obviously. I got on to the garage. “When are you looking to book it in for?” said the very nice chap on the other end of the phone. “ASAP?” I offered hopefully. I could hear him turning over the pages of his book of bookings…… oh, please don’t say next week! “We’ve had a cancellation for this afternoon. Is that any good to you? At 3 o’clock?” Oh, you little life-saver!! “Yes, that’ll do nicely.” I responded as cool as you like, as if I wasn’t desperate.

So we scrambled about to get ourselves there on time this afternoon but first, walk the dog. I had suggested to Harriet that I’d go over this afternoon. The scramble to get the car MOT’d brought forward the dog walk. At 12.30 I texted the Kenilworth Sleaths: ‘We will come and walk the dog now if that’s OK? Be with you in about twenty minutes…’ The reply came back: ‘We are just looking for him, he has escaped!’

The little monkey. He’s always doing that. Someone leaves the gate open and he shoots out quick as flash, tail wagging, off on an adventure. Many’s a time Paul and Harriet have had to scour the streets for him. He’s even been featured on Facebook before now, with a poster emblazoned across the top of his photo: ‘Do you know who owns this dog?’ as people come across him on their travels.

Anyway, about ten minutes later we got a text: ‘Found him’ accompanied by the following photo:

A slightly bedraggled pooch, clearly having found some lovely water and/or mud to play in. Oooh, and he was as happy as anything having had a taste of freedom.

John came with me on the dog-walk, through the woods that he’d rejected the other day. To be fair, the route was a little bit up and down, but John managed brilliantly and we had a really lovely time. Apart, that is, from nearly getting run over by a cyclist. He screeched to halt behind me and then fell off his bike. A couple who were following on, called across to me, “He’s been riding like a maniac.” Oh, dear. “Well, he fell off his bike.” I said. “Good,” came the savage reply. Clearly, they had no time for the maniac.

This evening, it was time to say hello to the college crew. Once again, lovely to speak to those who could make it, and to catch up with what’s been happening in their lives. Sue P made us smile: “Victoria rented her house out last week, for four days, while they filmed an advert there,” she told us. “Ooooh,” we said, impressed. What was the advert for? “Tena Lady,” Sue replied giggling…….. hehehe. Watch out for the Tena Lady adverts, everyone……

I never did get any paperwork done today…. maybe tomorrow?

Just because it’s St Patrick’s Day, here is a blessing written by the Irish poet, John O’Donohue, for you:

“May the nourishment of the earth be yours, may the clarity of light be yours, may the fluency of the ocean be yours, may the protection of the ancestors be yours.”

Take care everyone. God bless.

Covid rates are still going up. In the last 7 days: 534,747 people tested positive for the virus (up 43.9%); 740 people died with the virus (up 1.9%); and 11,580 people were admitted to hospital with it (up 21.9%)

With the Kenilworth Sleaths still suffering from COVID and unable to get out of the house, I offered to walk Mac yesterday afternoon. John thought he might come too, so we set off and did a reccy of the woods I was planning to go to. In the end, it looked a touch too hilly for John, so he set off on his walk around the streets near where Paul and Harriet live, and I toddled off to the woods.

We both had great walks. Mac was as good as gold – not once pulling on the lead, which I thought he might do – and very obedient to all the commands I gave him, sitting at the kerb, waiting to cross the road, and generally following me on beautifully. He was great company and here he is looking as happy as anything, enjoying the woodland:

John, meanwhile, took a circuit that took him towards the Kenilworth Newbies’ house. His phone told him that it was just about a mile away and a twenty-minute walk. What it didn’t take into account of course, is that Kenilworth is unexpectedly undulating, so John felt like he was walking uphill and down dale. After I’d taken Mac home, I walked along and met up with John who was just on his way back. He’d done an excellent job of walking 1.4 miles, but he said it felt like three!!!

Despite a good session of yoga in the morning yesterday, and a really lovely walk in the afternoon, the doldrums returned when I got home and I didn’t go to my prayer group in the evening. Everyone in the group is very kind and thoughtful, but I just couldn’t get myself bucked up enough to go. Ah, well, maybe next time…..

We had a very enjoyable morning today, with Pete and Dawn calling in on the way back from Dawn’s hairdressing appointment. They are very good company and they were also very useful today – explaining what the ‘Ides of March’ is. A question came up about it in the Quiz this evening, so we were well-informed!!

This afternoon, I decided I was going to start ‘killing’ the dining room. The refurbishment of the dining room is going to be a big job. But you’ve got to start somewhere, so I filled boxes with our glassware from the dresser and stashed them above the cupboards in the kitchen. Heaven alone knows what I am going to do with the mountains of the other things in there, like my nick-knacks, the crockery and the booze……..I think I may never find anything ever again!

While I was unearthing everything from the dining room, John took himself off into the garage to have a go at some bits and pieces on the Lotus. He came back in later, however, disgruntled and distressed. His eyes were not at their best today, and he couldn’t see clearly enough for those very fiddly bits he’s got to fit. So, we’re both in the doldrums now…….Mind you, I told him that he wasn’t allowed to be because I am relying on him to keep my spirits up.

Anyhow, we had Quiz Night this evening which we both enjoyed while it lasted and we were glad to see everyone. A great quiz and I was very pleased, because…. we both knew a fair few answers! It was a great feeling to be able to answer the questions and even remember answers from things we’d had before. Note to self though ……. must remember that Nokia started out as a mill producing pulp for the paper industry. That’s a question we’d had before that I’d forgotten the answer to tonight.

While our life goes on, albeit still a bit stilted by the coronavirus still swirling around, the news from Ukraine continues to provide us with a horror story background. So very, very distressing to see people fleeing and no knowing if, or when, they might ever go back to their homeland. War is never justified in my view and to be shelling residential areas is just unforgiveable. I do hope that the starvation of the Russian economy will stop this madness soon.

Take care everyone. God bless.

516,289 people tested positive for the virus in the last seven days, and the figures are still going up. This latest figure indicates a 49% increase on the previous week. And with Cheltenham Races currently on the go, I imagine we’ll see another rise in ten days’ time. However, 744 deaths in the last week have been reported, which is a fall of 4%. There isn’t anything much to read into that though as far as I can tell. The data for hospital admissions hasn’t been updated today, so it’s unclear what the situation in hospitals is right now, other than busy and full of stressed-out staff.

We were up with the lark this morning trundling across to the Dudley Road Eye Hospital in Birmingham to be there by 8.45. The M6 was a slow train of cars all the way, but the traffic kept moving so we arrived on time, which was rather a relief.

The medic who saw John reported that things were good on the eyesight front, but reminded us that the lotions and potions they’d provided would maintain the health of the eyes, so keep on with those. Reminder noted…..

Next up: a telephone consultation in the car on the way home with the mental health team – and all good there, too.

We were so buoyed up by the positive news from the Monday’s Medics so far that we enjoyed a few hours medical-free, before we started on again. The weather was good, so we sat out in the garden to have our elevenses, before we set off for John’s daily mile walk. As it turned out, we’d spent so much time enjoying the patio picnic, that we had to squeeze the walk in and do as much as we could in about half an hour, before we set off for Solihull. Phew! Made the mile – just!

We went to Katharine’s Wood, which is always a boost to the spirits for me, and it was a delight to hear the birds singing and see the trees beginning to bloom.

We arrived early for John’s appointment in Solihull because we had a mix-up in our calendars, thinking there was an appointment at one o’clock, then another one at two. Nope, no appointment at one – oh, well, never mind, John waited in the car and listened to his book, while I nipped into town to grab one or two things I wanted.

The consultant was very positive about John’s eyes and must have been patting himself on his back, because basically, he has overseen John’s eye care since the horrible GVHD mess, and he has brought them back to okay-ness. Thank you to the great NHS.

When we got back home, we thought we might sit and watch a bit of TV before getting on. Hahahaha. We both fell asleep. What is it with afternoons? The sand man is never supposed to arrive before ten o’clock at night, is he? Ah, well, may be we’ll get on tomorrow. Although, to be fair, John did go and do a bit on the car, so he wasn’t completely out of it. Just me, then.

At tea-time, I totally forgot that it wasn’t yoga class this evening, and got myself ready to go. Arrived there and then remembered, so turned round and came home again…. d’oh…..

Anyway, Fran sent us some photos of her 70th birthday dinner party so here’s a lovely one of us all grinning inanely at the camera but looking good!!

Take care everyone. God bless.

444,201 people tested positive for the virus over the last week, according to today’s government figures – up by 48% on the previous week. 726 people died in the same period – up by 2% and 9475 people were admitted to hospital – up by 20%. Thoughts and prayers are with everyone who is suffering.

This weekend we were invited to celebrate Fran’s 70th birthday. As a gift from Pete to Fran, John and I, along with several other of Fran’s intimate friends, sat down to a slap-up meal on Saturday night, stayed over in the hotel and then most of us got together again this morning for breakfast. It was fabulous. So very lovely to be among a group of people we have known for so long. Over 50 years since the Uni group met – and what times have been had since those first days. Reminisce? I should say so!!

Regrettably, we were so busy enjoying ourselves that we failed to take any photos of the momentous event. Just shows what a good time was had by all. I think Pete did take one or two photos, but we have yet to see them – but what I can say is this: everyone was looking good.

There are a rush of 70th birthdays in 2022, including mine later on in the year, so I reckon 1952 was a very good year. Vintage, in fact. I dare not mention everyone who has a 70th birthday this year, of course, because some of us might want to deny having reached such a ripe old age, so I don’t want to drop anyone in it…… but suffice to say, Kelv did suggest we might have a group celebration mid-year…… I think we’re definitely up for that.

John had a mile in hand, so he didn’t feel too bad about not completing his walk yesterday. He was so busy trying on clothes to choose just the right ones to wear, then packing them, that the morning flew by. Then, of course, we travelled down to Letchworth on a slow, slow M1, which is still beset by roadworks, that there really was no time at all for a walk.

However, today was a different story. Using his walking stick yesterday, he noticed that he’d lost the ferrule and there was just a pointy bit on the end of it. Bother! “I wonder if the National Trust sells spares?” he mused. “Shall we go to Baddesley Clinton when we get back and see?” I suggested. “Good idea.” he agreed.

So this afternoon we had the most pleasant walk around the grounds at Baddesley Clinton and, as a bonus? No, they didn’t sell spare ferrules for his walking stick, but here’s one you can have for free from the backroom……… a good afternoon’s work in my opinion!

Here’s the ol’ man enjoying the sunshine and his spot of exercise today.

And how about these camellias, eh? I know Baddesley is renowned for its dahlias, but really, the camellias were something else today. Gorgeous.

Take care everyone. God bless.

We had no particular plans yesterday or today, apart from a yoga class for me this morning and John intent on doing his mile a day.

A ‘no plan’ day means that we can faff about with bits and pieces at home. John in particular, is always happy to have such a day, because it means he can knuckle down and potter in the garage. I have no real idea of what he does in there, but it’s clear that he’s enjoying it.

A ‘no plan’ day also means that we can indulge in activities that we might not ordinarily do. In my case, it meant that I could choose to go into Solihull to shop for new lingerie. In the event, I spent all my time in John Lewis, rather than round all the shops, and I spent all my money there. Well, now that M&S has closed down in town, where else do you go for such items? The shop was reassuring, too – there weren’t many customers and the assistants all wore masks. Boom! That’s my sort of shopping, thank you very much.

I had a successful trip and came back, not only with the lingerie I had intended to buy, but also with some new make-up, two new cardigans and two new roasting tins. I do love an impulse buy, don’t you?

John is still doing his walking and is a mile ahead of schedule. Today he did two miles instead of the requisite one and, in my opinion, it is doing him a lot of good. He looks better and is moving more freely, so it can’t be bad. Not only that, although he is still out of breath when he comes up the stairs, he isn’t as bad as he was. Another Boom! That’s the way to do it. Clearly, he just needs the motivation. How can we tempt him to continue, eh?

Meanwhile, I have had a slightly better day today after the doldrums yesterday. I went to yoga this morning and Jaime, the dear girl, did a great job of giving me sage advice and just the right postures to uplift my mood.

In fact, when I got home, I felt able to tackle the clearing-out of the bottom of the wardrobe this afternoon. Not something I have been able to face in recent weeks – anything that requires a decision has been much too hard!!!

I do hope things are on the up. We don’t want to be in the doldrums for too long, it’s an ‘orrible place to be.

You may recall that I did some wallpapering the other day round at Michael and Danielle’s, so here’s a little pic of their artistic vision and my handiwork.

Given that the news emerging from Ukraine continues to be so distressing, I find I can only watch a little of it. What can we do, other than send money to the agencies helping those poor refugees? “Are we going to offer rooms to a Ukrainian family?” John mused. “Yes,” was my reply, “if we are called upon, we will.” Not sure how it would fit in with our shielding situation, but God knows, if it was us in that predicament, we’d want to know that someone would be there to offer us shelter.

In COVID news, not surprisingly, Harriet has now tested positive, too. Freddie is on the mend, Paul is feeling extremely tired and Harriet declares that she’s not going to give in to it…… let’s hope they all feel better soon.

The fact is that the numbers of those infected with the virus are rising: 399,820 people tested positive in the last week, which is a rise of just over 56%; 730 people died with the virus in the last 7 days – a rise of nearly 3%; and 9,475 people were admitted to hospital in the same period – a rise of the almost 17%.

Take care everyone. God bless.

“Grandma…. What are you doing here again?” William said this morning, when he saw me. “Ah…. I’m still helping Mummy with the decorating.” I said, “But I will be going home when I’ve done the papering.” Poor William – we would normally be playing when I see him – but not for the last few days and I think he’s getting confused.

Anyway, I did a reasonable job of the wallpapering in Michael and Danielle’s room, and it looks quite good. Then I came home to write a couple of rounds for the Quiz this evening.

John, meanwhile, was busy tidying and cleaning the house, much to my delight. The only trouble, of course, was that the vacuuming exhausted him, so today’s walk went out of the window. Ah, well, maybe tomorrow?

Quiz night was a great giggle – we all did a round each instead of one person being Quiz Master – and honestly, there were some crazy rounds with much laughter involved. Thoroughly enjoyed it and it topped off what had been a busy day.

Yesterday was busy too. I popped to see Mum in the morning which was very enjoyable as we had a good laugh. We looked at photos of the family again, and I was keen to show her the recent half-marathon event that Michael had been involved in.

She duly admired him with his medal and then admired him still more as she saw him in full running mode – only to say: “Why, he looks really…. you know ……..really….antique!” I burst out laughing. She knew she’d got the wrong word and searched some more in her memory for the right one. “Do you mean athletic, Mum?” She did. “Yes!!” she said, relieved. We giggled for a while together over her mistake. Eeeeh, but it was funny.

I had another full-on belly laugh a bit later on, too. “Do you want a bit of my chocolate?” Mum asked as she offered me some of the Flake I’d taken for her. “No, thank you, Mum. I’m on a diet.” Mum looked surprised. “What ever do you want to diet for? You don’t need to go on a diet. You look alright.” How kind.

Not more than a minute later, as I sat next to Mum and once again refused a bit of chocolate, she looked me over critically and said, “Do you know, I think you’ve put on a bit of weight….” Well, I could hardly contain myself….. Laugh? I should say so!

It’s such fun visiting Mum now, because you never, ever know what she is going to say next. She’s on top form and looking so very well. Blessings, eh?

In the afternoon, I did a spot of shopping – I actually went to a supermarket. Not a bad experience though, because in the Kenilworth Waitrose you can rely on many people to wear a mask and keep their distance.

We were relieved to take another phone call from Graham and Gail in the early evening yesterday. It was good to know that they continue to be safe after the floods, but they tell us that getting supplies is a bit of an issue. The electricity was out for a while of course, which has meant that all the contents of their freezer have gone and now they need to buy food each day.

The town of Lismore has been completely washed away and it’s in a dreadful mess, with stock in the shops damaged and decimated; the streets mud-filled with sludge; businesses gone under; and homes broken and swept away. Fortunately Graham and Gail’s home is OK and the local shop has been able to get some things in, so they’re relying on that, but there’s not a great deal of choice and I think it’s been minced beef three days in a row now. Better than nothing, of course.

I am very thankful for all the blessings of all the days and am busy trying to count them just now, as we see the horrors of war on our screens every few hours. The sun was shining today so that lifted my spirits a little and it made me hope that it will shine on everyone who is suffering, and its warmth translate into people’s greetings to support them wherever they are.

Take care everyone. God bless.

COVID figures are up (what a surprise!) and 346,059 people were reported as having tested positive for the virus over the last 7 days (up 46.4%); deaths reported were 778 in the last 7 days (up 19.5%); and hospital admissions were listed at 8,950 for the last 7 days (up 12.2%).