Author: anniesleath@hotmail.co.uk

It’s July for goodness’ sake!! The seventh month of the year already, when we’d normally being thinking of us ‘olidays and relaxing on the patio with a little alcoholic drinky-poo at sundown. But it’s tipping it down with rain; the temperature is cool and, when I walked to Kaye’s for a socially-distanced meet-up under her gazebo this afternoon, I matched my steps to the ‘hot chocolate, drinking chocolate’ advert of 1964, and drank just that, wrapped in a warm woolly and my waterproof mac. A bit of a contrast to yesterday, eh what?

I really do need to get a grip though now. The once-sparkly life we used to lead is long gone and, despite the few occasions when I am uplifted by family visits, we are definitely in the doldrums. Others are beginning to be out and about visiting the hairdressers, the dentist or the pub, and ‘bubbling’ with loved ones, hugging and kissing. Not that I am jealous, you understand. I am delighted for all those who can (seriously), but wondering whenever we will be released from the straitjacket we’re in. And it’s leaving me a bit purposeless. John keeps saying “Smile?” but it’s a bit of an effort.

I mean, it’s been quite a good day today, one way or another, so I can’t really complain, but find that I’d like to, thank you very much. How ungrateful is that? We are warm and dry; we have delicious food and the means to cook it; we have ample clothes to wear (even if I do need a new pair of jeans); we have entertainment in pretty much every form, including the means to exercise; we have the most wonderful space for flowers and plants, with trees for shade and garden games to play if we want them. We have everything we need – so I can’t really complain…… but I’d like to, please!!!

Anyhoo…. as you were, and as I say, it’s been a good day. We have all been well and generally pottering about doing our own little bits and pieces. John has been beavering away sorting out the ‘office-cum-gym’ and it’s now ready for a jolly good clean up and a lick of paint. I am undecided exactly what colour to put in there but may end up just using the leftovers from the business to start with – white or magnolia – and install a feature wall.

I am equally undecided as to how we will dress the room. There are two or three ‘givens’. One is the cross-trainer, which is already in situ, as are an IKEA bookcase and some shelving. But do we put a bed in there so that we can use it as a spare room at Christmas? More to the point, will we ever have anyone to stay over ever again at Christmas? Or do we put a futon in there and a telly so that it can be a ‘bolt-hole’? Decisions, decisions. Answers on the back of a postage stamp please….

I had the thrill of a spot of ironing and then the anticipation of putting it all away – lucky me – before I trotted round to Kaye’s. The original arrangement, to meet on ‘the green’, was made last week but, for a variety of reasons, only three of us could make it. Of course, I was in the doubtful category. Should I go? Was it safe? My friends assured me it would be safe. Take your own chair and your own drink and sit two metres apart. It’ll be fine.

Well, as before, when we went to Sandra’s, it was raining. Ah-ha! A get-out clause, I thought. But no, they are a determined bunch. Instead of meeting on the green, we met under the shelter of Kaye’s gazebo in her back garden. The mantra was repeated; bring your own chair, bring your own drink, sit two metres apart – it’ll be fine. It was fine, of course, and I had a lovely time.

Mum also had the excitement of putting away her clothes. I had left them in a pile next to her on the settee, where they sat for a while before I broke the news to her that she was going to take them upstairs herself. She shrugged, helplessly, and said she couldn’t possibly as there was such a big pile. I had an answer for that. Take them up bit by bit. She looked crestfallen. She could tell I was serious. Not long afterwards she picked up half a dozen handkerchiefs and took them up to her room. I smiled to myself. She was definitely going to take her ironing up, but it may take a while…..

While Mum was making her way up the stairs, John and I had an exciting half hour. The other day, we decided we’d buy a gazebo. “Shall we have a look and see what there is?” John suggested. “Ooh, yes, let’s” I replied, and we settled down in front of the computer to select an appropriate one. This is what our lives have come to, folks, and that’s as exciting as it gets.

Not only that, a gazebo purchase is a bit more difficult than you think. We wanted a sun defender, as well as also a waterproof gazebo, given that we may be sat out in the garden for some time to come. Most, don’t you know, say they are water-resistant. That’s not quite what we’re after. And then, you see one you quite like – only to find its five hundred quid or something. Anyway, we did find one, but we had the devil of a job to order it. Amazon kept taking us round and round a loop telling us that the choice of delivery wasn’t an option and getting stuck there before the payment window. We ordered it from somewhere else in the end. Wonder how long it’ll take before it arrives?

After we’d eaten, we took delivery of another Ocado ‘specialist’ shop, so I whiled away half an hour on ‘shopping washing’, while John did ‘pot washing’, and Mum did ‘place mat washing’ before we all sat down to enjoy a bit of TV. And thus passed another day. Tick, tock.

So, what do you think to today’s figures on COVID-19? The weekend catch-up? 155 people have died in an all settings according to the government as at nine o’clock this morning; and 581 people are confirmed as infected. The NHS report 7 deaths in hospitals as at four o’clock yesterday, and 9 were confirmed for the day before.

God bless you and yours, everyone. Take care.

Did alright, didn’t he? The ol’ man doing yesterday’s blog? Who’da thought it, eh?? Marvellous.

So, after a good night’s sleep, I woke up quite a bit more cheerful today, and shook off yesterday’s melancholia. None of us got up especially early – well, you might know Mum wouldn’t – even though we were all awake with the lark. I was particularly brightened by the thought of the Sutton Sleaths calling in. An early morning text to let me know that a picnic in the back garden was on, if that was OK and we hadn’t got any plans? Had to laugh. Plans?? None whatsoever – the only plans we have, generally speaking, are hospital trips and there were none of those today.

The weather had looked good early this morning, but by mid-morning the wind was up, and it was a bit cooler than I’d hoped. Let’s get the chiminea ready, I thought. At least we can huddle round the warmth of the flames if necessary. In the end, although the heat of the fire was very welcome, by the time the family arrived, the wind had slowed, and it was quite mild.

The car drew up on the drive and we excitedly went outside to greet them. William was asleep. Thomas was asleep. Well, thank goodness for small mercies – snoozing children on the ride over is always a bonus. We opened the back gate in readiness and invited them round into the garden. I shot upstairs to tell Mum they were here and get her up, but to my surprise, she was actually dressed and already grinning because she’d seen them arrive from out of her window.

Picnic blanket spread out on the lawn; picnic hamper opened and contents disgorged; sleeping baby; and one very happy William tucking into egg or cheese ‘n pickle sandwiches followed by fresh fruit and a brownie. Bliss. Even Grandma Hazel got in on the act once she’d had her breakfast, eagerly stepping out of the patio doors to see the new baby.

We had no idea how long the Sutton Sleaths would stay. I think they thought maybe a couple of hours; see how Thomas behaved, see how William was, see what the weather was like, and so on. We had no agenda. We had nowhere to go and nothing particular to do. The weather warmed up and the wind abated. Thomas fed and slept. And slept. William was as happy as a sand-boy rediscovering the garden – feeding the fish, playing on the swing and digging in the sandpit.

Despite the weather improving, Grandma Hazel went back indoors as she was getting chilly. She was disappointed though, not to be joining in. I moved the wing-backed chair into the patio door recess, so that she could watch in the warm. We all noted it was even more like Bates’ Motel, as she stayed there all afternoon, but she thoroughly enjoyed watching the to-ings and fro-ings of the family, smiling and waving at us all intermittently.

The sun came out and Michael and Danielle stretched out. One on the picnic blanket, one in the lounging chair. John chatted to them and I plucked at a few weeds and William joined in. We put the weeds into the ‘YumYum Bin’ (aka the green wheelie bin) which gobbled them up with its big mouth, ready to rot them down to make new soil. I know this because William told me so each time that we made the trip there and back.

We exhausted one flower bed and moved onto the next. We found little stones and started to collect those. William trotted back and forth with a handful of stones to place in the gravel bed at the top of the garden. Wagging his finger at me, he said, “You stay there Grandma, and you do some more weeding.” I stayed where I was told. Trotting back to me, he called out to John, each and every time, “Hers waiting for me!” and I would reply as, his eyes shining, he arrived back at his station near to me, “Yes, I’m here, waiting for you.” Then he’d say, “You’re my friend.” And I’d reply, “You’re my friend, too.” And thus, we spent a very happy hour, or even two, just searching flowerbeds for weeds and stones, marvelling at the different shapes and sizes of the stones; and discovering white, floaty, chick feathers which William placed safe in a bowl, and then in a teapot(!).

Meanwhile, Michael and Danielle rested. John rested. Thomas was asleep. William was playing with me. It was a lovely afternoon and my tears of yesterday, broken-hearted at not seeing Freddie so often and missing the Kenilworth Sleaths so acutely, was put into perspective. The time will come when I can companionably play with Freddie again, I am sure. He’ll have moved on from stones and feathers and weeds, but I shall look forward to whatever it is and wherever it is that his imagination takes him, and I’ll follow.

Finally, it was six o’clock. William was feeling hungry. Each of us feeling reluctant but we thought it must be time to go. We offered to make egg and chips, but it really was time to go. Chips in the making in Sutton, so no worries. A ‘Red Cross Food Parcel’, including a belated Easter Egg, was thrust upon them as they got into the car and then, with a smile and a wave, they were on the way.

Such an unexpected treat today. We had no idea when the day started that we would be enjoying ourselves so much. Felt like we were on holiday. And we felt very, very blessed to have been close to all three sons, as well as their wives and the grandchildren in the last few days. Lucky, lucky us to know love like this.

Meanwhile, people have still been infected with COVID-19 and died from it. The government reports 16 deaths in all settings up until five o’clock yesterday, and 352 people confirmed as infected. The NHS reports 3 deaths in hospitals for the same time period, and 10 deaths confirmed for the day before. My thoughts are with the families of all those people.

Love is all. Stay safe everyone. Keep on keeping on with all the precautions, lest the lurgy strike unexpectedly.

It must have been in 1961, just after Christmas, when the vicar came to call. We had been playing with my new WHOOPEE cushion, which were all the rage at the time. As kids do, we were hiding it under various cushions on assorted chairs, and waiting till some poor unsuspecting person, i.e. a parent, sat on it. Well, we had never had a visit from the vicar before. Come to think of it, we had never had a visit from ANY Vicar before. However, this one, Anthony Rowland Smith, (honestly) was trying to get all his parishioners to sign up to regular “giving” for St Christopher’s Church. I had answered the door and, in a state of some shock, had directed him to the “front” room. As I went to call my Mum, I heard a distinct PHUUUT. Now, those of you familiar with whoopee cushions will know that they have two different responses to being sat on. The preferred option is when a light person sits down on it and you get a long satisfying raspberry sound (for want of a better word). However, when the cushion is subject to sudden heavy weight, the air is expelled very quickly, and produces the aforementioned PHUUT. Anthony Rowland Smith was a large man. As my mother went in to talk to him, I decided to remain in the kitchen, and tried to explain the situation to my father.

When I say today has been rather a PHUUT of a day, I hope you will understand what I mean. Those of you who are connoisseurs of English prose, may also have noticed a totally different style of writing. This is because the writing of today’s blog, has been taken over by your usual scribe’s spouse, your usual scribe having succumbed to a PHUUT of a day.

So, today has been a strange day, which actually began last night. Although every day is the same, somehow, Sundays still manage to feel different. After Anne had posted her Blog last night, she came to bed about 1 a.m. I had been having a restless sleep, and shortly after getting into bed, Anne asked, “Do you think taking a couple of paracetamol might help??” This is code for “either lie still or go to the spare room”.

The spare room was cooler than the master bedroom, and very dark, thanks to blackout blinds. I woke sometime in the morning, expecting to hear Anne singing along with her church service. As there was no clock in the spare room, nor any light, I assumed it was not yet 9 a.m. I eventually got up, and discovered it was 10:30 and Anne was not “going to church”. She was going to join the group for “morning coffee” at 11.

About 10 past 11 Anne came into the kitchen having left the coffee morning. “Just not in the mood”.

We decided to try and do an Ocado order, so I went and booked a delivery slot, whilst Anne did the fruit for breakfast.We ate breakfast then did the online shop. How does one make that sound interesting????

Because it was a PHUUT of a day, there was a certain reluctance to keep going upstairs to winkle Granny out of bed. Consequently, it was about 1:40 p.m. before she got downstairs. Anne had made her a lunch of an egg sandwich, and we had some discussion as to whether or not to take it through to the lounge, or get Granny to come into the kitchen. Granny normally can manage to get her own breakfast of Apricot Wheats, and then eat her lunch about 30 mins later. Anne left the sandwich at Granny’s place on the kitchen table, and she eventually came through and ate the sandwich for breakfast.

By now, it was time for the Austrian Grand Prix on TV. I sat down to watch it, Anne got the ironing out, and Hazel came through and sat in her usual telly watching spot. Now here is one of those little conundrums that play out in the back of your mind. I COULD have recorded the Grand Prix and watched it later. Granny clearly was not happy at having to surrender the choice of TV programme to someone else and miss watching Tenable, Tipping Point, The Chase. Again, I COULD go and get on with tidying the “office-cum-gym” and let her watch her programmes…….. but the Grand Prix was very exciting, with a large number of cars retiring due to mechanical failure; signs of a long layoff it seems.

After the GP, Anne and I went to Paul’s, to deliver some goodies we had ordered for Freddie and Lily. We spent a heart-warming half hour socially distanced in their garden. Funny how missing a hug with the ones you love can seem so weird. So near yet so FAR!!!!

On our return home, Anne made the Spaghetti Bolognaise whilst I finally finished the office-cum-gym. Hazel normally spends most of her dinner time forensically dissecting her meal, looking for anything that might be regarded as “tough”. We managed to convince her that the mushrooms did not fall into the “tough” category, and about 7:30, we managed to retire to the lounge to watch TV. We watched The Durrells again, and then Maigret. At about 9:30 we remembered we were supposed to be joining in the Kenilworth Sleaths Zoom Quiz. Oops. Was it because today was Sunday? Was it because today was a PHUUT day?? Or was it because of copious amounts of wine? Who knows.

Remembering the Covid-19 figures, the figures are clearly “Sunday” figures, because there were 2 deaths in hospitals, the government stated 22 deaths in all settings and there were 516 newly reported cases.

So, it’s been an odd day, definitely felt like a Sunday, yet nothing happened to make today any different to every other day. Driving to Paul’s today, we saw lots of people out walking, entering pubs, but we didn’t see any face masks. And, surprise surprise, the papers report on last night’s lack of social distancing as the pubs open, after 12 weeks, on a Saturday night!!!! If it didn’t have the potential for being so tragic, it would be laughable.

Well folks, please do what you can to keep yourselves safe, hopefully normal service will be resumed tomorrow.

Stay safe, and alert.

John

When you wake up at half past five in the morning, what is your inclination? Groan, turn over and snuggle back to sleep? Get up and go to the loo – then go back to bed? Sit up and read? Or get up, get up? That was my dilemma this morning. In fact, it’s been my dilemma for the last couple of mornings. Not sure what is so magic about that time of the day, but something is waking me up. Dawn chorus maybe, or the sun rising, perhaps.

I was actually tempted to get up, get up. For about ten minutes I thought I might wander downstairs and start on the ever-lasting jobs list or go for an early morning walk. However, I resisted temptation, rolled over and went back to sleep until eight o’clock. Then I started on the ever-lasting jobs list.

One of the things I wanted to do was to put all of the lockdown blog into the leather-bound Family Album. I had started it a few weeks ago but made a mess of backing some of the pages when printing it out. Today, it was tidy-up time. I am sure there are going to be oodles and oodles of writings about the pandemic and the lockdown situation from different people, but this is my personal account for the friends and family – and anyone who’s interested really.

Because the putting-together of the album is for the family, I am kicking myself now for not including more photos, so I intend to rectify that by choosing some apt ones to accompany the words where I can. However, the album is now full, and I can hardly squeeze any more pages in. I thought I’d start a second volume, so researched the company that made the original book, only to find that it’s a Polish company and it looks like they may not make that particular product any more. So, here’s another little project – hunt down a similar family book to complement the one I’ve got. Yay!! Another project……. photos and a new album.

John, as you know, has plenty of projects on the go and today’s tasks were to a) watch qualifying for tomorrow’s Austrian Grand Prix, and b) fit the edging round the ‘office-cum-gym’ on the laminate flooring. In between times, he offered to cook our late lunch.

We do a mean poached egg and vegetable ‘stack’, so we thought we’d have that. I made the mistake of suggesting that, instead of simply frying sliced sweet potato, we could have rösti. Great idea, and John was up for the challenge. The only thing is, that in doing the ‘stack’ you have to get the timings right. Bless him, he got exceedingly hot and bothered fulfilling the brief and was, in fact, exhausted by the time it came to eating it! The only saving grace was that whilst he was cooking he was able to watch the Grand Prix qualifying at the same time!

Despite being exhausted, John did tackle the edging in the ‘office-cum-gym’ and it’s looking good. I did hear a fair bit of swearing along the way, but I can’t see what there was to be swearing at. He’s doing a grand job and I think he’s feeling quite satisfied with it and himself.

Mum, on the other hand, was feeling very weary-willy today. The heating had kicked in due to the drafts circulating in the house, and I think it had made her room too warm. She wasn’t keen to get up and showed me a very woe-begone face. I decided not to take notice of it but just to be matter of fact in the hope that she’d soon get over it. And, indeed, she did.

But she was funny. I’d suggested that she stay in her dressing gown until she’d had her bath. Unfortunately, because she’d got up so late and I was so busy with my Family Album that it was mid-afternoon before it was on the cards. It’s the first time I have actually heard her ask, “When am I having my bath?” Had to laugh.

And the laughter continued into the evening. Being a people-watcher, I enjoy a bit of Gogglebox – whether it’s standard folk or celebrities – and so, wanting a little light relief at the end of the day, I put it on. Well, Mum and I had a real giggle, then John came and sat with us and he laughed along too. We fell into the highlights of the Michael McIntyre show afterwards and, unusually, found ourselves laughing at that too. Sometimes, it’s good to be entertained by something other than an earnest piece of drama, isn’t it?

With our social interaction also being soft and gentle today, we’ve generally had a decent day. Malcolm called with the shopping this morning, with whom I enjoyed a ‘path chat’. Excitingly, he brought cherries – not just any old cherries in a punnet, but a great big tray of them. I have lots of favourite foods, and cherries is one of them. Honestly, I am as happy as a pig in clover!

All our boys have been in touch one way or another today, too. Andrew called us on his way to viewing a flat, with the news that the car wouldn’t start. It transpired that he’d left the lights on and the battery was flat. All sorted now, but it’s one of those little things to remember, with it being an older car. We have got so used to modern cars thinking for themselves, haven’t we? Michael called us on a video chat. Well, to be precise, it was William at bath-time, who spent a good twenty minutes telling us all about his SuperWings and how they’d got put out the fire. Plenty of actions to accompany the words as well. Made my heart sing, I can tell you. Paul and Harriet went across to West Midlands Safari Park today and Harriet sent us photos of them having a great time there. Looked fabulous fun and I wished I’d been with them. One day……

One day…. when there’s zero deaths from COVID-19 perhaps, but not yet. Today’s figures from the government, as at five o’clock yesterday, show 67 deaths from the virus in all settings and 624 people infected. The NHS figures show 2 people died up until four o’clock yesterday with 19 deaths confirmed for the day before.

The pubs were open today. Let’s look at the figures in a couple of weeks time……In the meantime, take care and God bless.

It’s been a blustery old day today, hasn’t it? So much so, that the wind has whistled through every nook and cranny of our hundred-year-old house. This morning, I wondered why it felt particularly cool downstairs, then I remembered. The door to the ‘office-that-we-now-call-the-gym’ is off its hinges, leaning up against the wall, as part of the floor-laying process. Equally, one of the doors through to the garage is off its hinges too, as part of the same process. The wind is enjoying playing round and round, and then scudding into the kitchen, lounge and half-way up the stairs.

This morning it didn’t matter too much. I busied myself mending the cupboard in the ‘office-cum-gym’ and putting more washing into the washing machine, before it was time to have a run out in the car over to Heartlands Hospital, for John’s regular clinic appointment with the haematologist.

Mum made it downstairs before we left, so I was sure she was safe and sound, and she’d managed to have her breakfast. I made her a cup of tea and a sandwich, which I left on the kitchen table, in readiness for her lunch, along with a little tub of jelly and a few sliced strawberries, before we set off. I shut the door between the kitchen and the utility room to stay the wind as best it could, put the TV on for Mum and then we were away.

We had a good run into Birmingham, marvelling at the length of the traffic queue to get into the recycling plant, and the volume of traffic on the way. We also noted, with some irritation, that the tyre pressure warning light pinged on as we were half way to our destination. We chose to ignore it just then, promising ourselves that we’d deal with it on the way back. We didn’t. I needed the loo on the way back, so that’s a job for another day.

The report from Paneesha, John’s haematologist, was mostly all good. Blood counts all behaving themselves, so Paneesha was delighted, and the results of the recent lung function test and CT scan was in. The scan showed that John’s bronchiectasis is about the same, and the lung function test confirmed similar results to the test he did a couple of years ago. Just got to get rid of the stubborn infection lurking there, and manage the bronchiectasis condition going forward. All in all, not too bad. And Paneesha was thrilled to see John looking so much better and upbeat.

Home again to put the kettle on for a cuppa, to find that Mum hadn’t touched her lunch or the cup of tea I’d made her earlier. “Didn’t you fancy your lunch, Mum?” I asked. She looked startled, the cogs whirring in her head. “Oh……. yes, yes. I just haven’t had it yet.” she replied. Made me smile. Good for her that she had the wit to think – she had forgotten about it but didn’t want to upset me by saying so. A few minutes later, she got up to get her lunch and, to my surprise, she ate the jelly and the strawberries…….. there’s really no accounting for it – one day she doesn’t like them but the next she does. Made me smile again, but in a resigned sort of way this time.

After lunch, John was tired, so he made his way upstairs for a rest. Five minutes later, there was a tap at the front door. There was our darling Andrew. He’s moving out of his flat shortly, so he’d brought some more pieces of furniture for us to store. John made his way downstairs again – not so tired now, eh?

As I said, it’s been a blustery old day and neither John nor I fancied sitting outside with Andrew today. Not even to sit in front of the chiminea. So, Andrew sat in the porch, and we sat, marooned, in the middle of the hall like we did once before. It worked really well.

There are really no words to describe the feeling you get when you see your children, are there? It was just so lovely. Like a warm blanket wrapped around us. Comfortable, easily chatting, chuckling, planning, considering the future, debating our situation, reminiscing, righting wrongs – all sorts of stuff, and just blooming marvellous!

As always in these situations, it was over all too soon and he had to go. I thrust what we laughingly call a ‘Red Cross Food Parcel’ at him. “Ooooh… loo rolls and chocolate, Mum? Spot on!” he laughed, as he peered into the contents of the bag.

After Andrew had left, John went upstairs for his rest and I had a little sit down on the sofa and maybe I nodded off for half an hour. I knew it was the wrong thing to do though, because in my half-conscious state I knew I should have been bustling about getting our evening meal ready. And I knew that because just as I was dropping off, Mum said, “Anne? Are you asleep?” I said yes, kept my eyes firmly closed and ignored the fact that I should have been getting on. A short while later, I could hear Mum on her perambulations with a little bit of tutting and sighing going on and standing very close to me. I opened one eye and saw her watching me, disapprovingly. The TV was on. She’d recently been to the loo. So, it could only be that she was hungry. I ignored the eyes boring into me for another ten minutes or so before I gave in and scuttled into the kitchen. Honestly, you’d think I was ten years old!

Having been in and out of the back door earlier in the afternoon we had forgotten to close the door between the kitchen and the utility room and once again the downstairs was feeling a bit chilly. So, John lit a fire. Oooh, it was so cosy. Loved it. It’s July and we lit a fire!! The seasons are a bit topsy-turvy, I think.

The topsy-turvy world still includes a fair few deaths in the community from COVID-19, which is disappointing. The government report today indicates that there were 137 deaths in all settings up until five o’clock yesterday, and 544 people who were infected. The NHS report counts 6 deaths in hospitals up until four o’clock yesterday with 8 deaths having been confirmed for the day before.

That’s it, folks. Another day of doin’ nothin’ much but appreciating what we’ve got – a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, the capacity for warmth when it’s cold and, above all, our love for each other. God bless.

Some time ago, you may recall that I wrote about the lamp outside the backdoor that needed re-wiring. John did the work, successfully, he thought at the time, using that tried and tested ‘Sleath’ approach. This week, however, it’s been on the blink again. So he thought maybe he’d done a less-than-perfect job. He’s puzzled over it for a few days, every so often having to flick the trip-switch to restore lighting to the garage, our bedroom and Mum’s room.

Ah-ha! Maybe it’s the actual switch, he thought. He unhitched the wiring from the switch. Any good? For a little while, yes. Must be that then, he thought, with a sense of satisfaction. Then…. POP! Off it goes again – the circuit has tripped. More puzzling, and a furrowed brow, to try and think what the heck is the matter with the darned thing – and, had he wired it up correctly? He was sure he had.

Up in the bedroom yesterday, just as I was getting up, I could hear a peculiar clicking sound. I looked out of the window. Nothing to see. Still in me undies, I ran downstairs to see if I work out what it was. Oooooh, it was the lamp. The lamp that wasn’t connected to the switch. The lamp that shouldn’t be doing anything. “John!” He came and saw (not sure he heard) and reckoned there was problem higher up in the roof. Ah….. a job for tomorrow; for yesterday, of course, he was laying laminate flooring.

For safety, he left the trip-switch tripped last night, much to Mum’s annoyance. I put the lamp on in her bedroom (the plugs are working) so that she had some light to see her to bed. She was funny, she kept switching the main light on and off. “Mum,” I called, “the light isn’t working, remember? You’ve got the lamp though, OK?” She pulled a face. “Well, it’s not very convenient, is it?” she said. I explained why the light wasn’t working. “But I want the light on.” she insisted. I sighed. Clearly, she wasn’t going to grasp the reason for being lit up just by a bedside lamp. “John is going to have a look at it tomorrow, Mum, so tonight we’ll manage as best we can, alright?” I gave her a hug to sweeten the pill. “I suppose so.” she huffed.

This morning, John had his ladders out, the tiles off the roof and inspected the wiring in the roof space. There it is!!! The little b****r! That’s the bit of wire that’s the culprit. Something had chewed through it, so it was intermittently shorting out. See? John had done the perfect job after all. Wouldn’t expect anything less. Pretty sure it will have been pesky squirrels feasting on the wire. Or maybe mice? We do have one or two of those occasionally, despite the cats prowling around.

I know I’ve said it before, but John is an amazing man. He can turn his hand to pretty much anything and resolve the problems that are presented to him and, once again, he’s proved it. Feeling stronger in himself, he is enjoying tackling the work. Admittedly, he’d rather things were more plain sailing and we didn’t have rodents gnawing their way through wires, so that he could get on with the Lotus, but he’s solved the problem and there is a sense of fulfilment in that.

One of the pictures we took down from the office wall yesterday, says it all…..

Meanwhile, I have been simply ploughing through chores, today. Digging out the kitchen (again), mopping floors, washing, cooking, washing up and so on. Nothing to see here folks, it’s just more of the same.

However, I have been doing some reading and I did watch the seventeen-year-old Boris Becker winning Wimbledon. What an amazing final that turned out to be. And horror of horrors, it transpires that it was thirty-five years ago. I remember it like it was but yesterday……

You might remember a few weeks ago, I started the book by Lemn Sissay, called ‘My Name is Why’, but found it heart-breaking within the first few chapters, so thought I’d wait until I felt emotionally stronger before tackling it again. I have read a few more chapters today and find it just as heart-breaking, but I am enjoying reading it, so will carry on with it now. I bought the hard-back version, but the paperback version has just come out, so if anyone fancies reading about the experiences of a little boy growing up without his birth mother, fostered then shunted from care home to care home, it’s worth buying.

Mum has helped with the chores today, too. There are one or two things she is good at – folding clothes is one of them. Every time I disgorged the tumble dryer, I dumped a pile of jumbled clothes onto the sofa, and Mum folded them up. She was anxious though, after a while. “Anne, the basket is full. What shall I do with the rest?” she asked, gesturing to the overrun sofa. “Pile ’em high!” I responded. Tee-hee – we didn’t half have a stack of clothes in the ironing basket!!!

She was actually on good form today. Gone were the woes of last night and she was chirpy. How nice for us all. Must’ve been the hug I gave her just before she went to bed.

Finally, I was determined to finish the chores I’d started today, so didn’t get out in the garden until after our evening meal. I managed to dodge the showers and spent a happy hour out there, marvelling at God’s creation. The sky was spectacular again this evening; bright sunshine challenging the darkest black cloud you ever did see. The black cloud skulked away leaving sparkling white clouds behind, reflecting the sun in all its glory. It was just breath-taking.

I chose not to follow the news today. Decided not to disturb my peace. However, I have looked at the stats re COVID-19 this evening, and can report that the NHS figures, which had gone AWOL, are back. The toll of deaths up until four o’clock yesterday was two; with seventeen having been confirmed for the day before. By nine o’clock this morning, there were 89 deaths in all settings and 576 people infected according to the government records.

Prayers for everyone suffering today, through whatever cause, and grateful thanks for a wonderful family and friends. Time to stop and smell the roses again, I think. Take care everyone.

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.

The day has been overcast, but mild. The clouds have scudded across the sky non-stop all day and this evening they have incredibly pretty rainbow hues. Some are white-grey, some blue-grey, others golden-grey or pink-grey, and the stormy-looking ones, iron-grey. But none of them have threatened to pour raindrops on us. Indeed, they have been benevolent today, and were particularly so when we made our second trip over to Sutton, parting their ways and allowing the sunshine to peep through. How blessed we have been.

Our intention was to call over to the new-born’s house sometime later on in the week, to drop in the gifts that Dave and Chris brought yesterday. Our plans for today were to tackle the clearing of the former office area, emptying cupboards, removing the contents of the room, denuding the wall, cleaning and hauling up the carpet to make it ready for fitting the laminate flooring.

It was a job we started and have done reasonably well, having got as far as half-lifting the carpet. However, a chit-chat to Michael and half a hint that we might be welcome to go over to see them and, well, the job can easily be done another day, can’t it?? Any one of the family only has to hint that we’ll be welcome, and we’re there!! Well, within social-distancing and isolation rules, of course.

I had started the day baking, trying to rustle up a bread substitute for John and his wacky diet, which actually turned out really successfully. Sandwich rolls they are called, looking more like very large scones, but they tasted good. Those, and home-made guacamole, made a delicious lunch.

A little work in the garden after Steve, our milkman, had been to mow the lawn, before we set to with the main aim of the day – prep the old office. Gosh, it was grubby. We knew it would be, because it was the main walkway from the garage when John ran the business, and there have been years and years of workmen coming in and out every day.

John was especially anxious about moving the cupboard in the corner, though. He was convinced there might be some damp in that corner as he’d had trouble with it when he built the extension. But no, hurrah!! All dry as a bone. He gave a little skip and patted himself on the back.

Surprisingly, we had loaded the walls with such a lot of pictures (well, it was mostly me attempting to cheer John up at one time or another). There were pictures of the family; of our time in Australia; Andrew in Australia; car memorabilia; old birthday cards with funnies on the front; a couple of large prints – a dreamy scene of mountains and a lake, and a sporty scene of a racing car; plus, a photo of John racing round Silverstone. Not sure where we are going to put them all now – unlikely to go back into that room, I think. But anyone remember this one?

So, after the half-hint that we might like to call over to Sutton, we had our lunch, said goodbye to Mum, who decided for the second time that she didn’t want to come, and set off, bearing Dave and Chris’s gifts, a jar of the home-made lemon curd, Chris’s famous cake, a very large mallet and a piece of wood – don’t ask me what the last two were for……

As we arrived, the sun came out, the air was balmy, and we settled into the chairs on the decking. William was having a nap, Thomas was having a feed and so we sunned ourselves for a few minutes until the family emerged. Thomas was fast asleep and wore a post-feed contented smile on his face. Not long afterwards, William was up and running about, chattering away and telling us what he was doing in great detail. Lots of shrugging of shoulders when he couldn’t find his tools in his shed……. but his kitchenalia seemed to make a good substitute.

It was delightful again and John felt very useful advising Michael on laying paving slabs at bottom of the garden while Danielle and I chewed the cud sat in the warmth of the afternoon up at the top. Time went too quickly, and it was soon the bewitching hour, when Mum turns back into Cinderella wearing ragged clothing, and we had to come home.

Amazingly, for coming home in the rush-hour, there was very little traffic and we were home within twenty-five minutes. Mum was safe and sound when we got back, having alternated her time between watching TV and falling asleep. I had offered her the colouring book before we set off and excitedly encouraged her to show me to fruit of her labour when we got back, but no, she hadn’t been in the mood for that today. So far, we have just a few leaves coloured in……..

Being safe and sound is what we’re all after, and I am still a little (!!) anxious about going out and about, so generally speaking, we’re not. However, as Malcolm said on Saturday during our ‘path chat’ the scale of infection is less and less, so the risks are fewer too – which should give me confidence. And yet, we are not getting the whole picture as I understand it, and the stats remain confusing.

The NHS figures published today don’t fit with those I saw yesterday as they don’t reveal previous data. However, for the record, the NHS numbers stated are 5 deaths in hospitals up until four o’clock yesterday, and 10 the day before. The government numbers are 155 deaths in all settings and 689 people infected.

The confusion appears to be that these figures take no account of Pillar 2 where figures have been unavailable for a good while – and if you can make sense of the blurb explaining why it’s unavailable, please let me know. Dan Walker, the BBC presenter tried to get to the bottom of this today when he interviewed Matt Hancock, but to no avail, and I remain ‘Confused of Coventry’.

All I know is, I am still insisting on keeping very strictly to mask- and glove-wearing, hand-washing and/or keeping our two metre distance whenever we’re in anyone’s company. Stay safe everyone, let’s not get sloppy.

PS….. I had chocolate delivered today….. dear Margaret called to drop it in, and her husband, Chris, is lending John a Lotus magazine, too – happy days.

After the excitement of successfully laying the kitchen floor just before lock down, there was a bit of spare laminate, so we thought we’d continue the wooden floor theme into where the old office was, at the back of the garage. Of course, there wasn’t sufficient spare of everything we need, so John ordered the relevant underlay and extra pieces of laminate to fulfil the job. The laminate arrived a few days ago and we had been waiting for the underlay which – ta-da! – arrived today.

I scrambled some clothes on as the doorbell rang and ran, helter-skelter, downstairs to see who was ding-donging so early. Ah….. it was the Wickes’ delivery. In our current state of floating about, early morning deliveries are a bit of a distant memory. I gave the delivery driver the thumbs up and scampered back up to bed. The house felt a bit cool, and the bed was cosy warm. I’ll get up in a bit, I thought.

It was half-past ten before I eased myself out of bed. “Come on, John.” I said, “Dave and Chris’ll be here at eleven o’clock.” I hummed happily as I made a cup of tea and had just sliced myself a nice piece of melon for breakfast, when Dave and Chris arrived. I beckoned for them to go round the back for our garden get-together.

As they walked in through the back gate, Chris offered me a goody bag. She had brought her famous home-made cake. And some lovely fruit. And a gift for the new baby, Thomas, as well as a little something for William. So thoughtful and so exciting. Hmmm…… we’ll just have to make another trip over to Sutton soon, shan’t we? What a hardship that will be….. (does an excited little dance…..)

When we made the arrangement for an outside chat with Dave and Chris we hadn’t bargained on just how windy it would be, nor how cool it would be. It wasn’t cold, but the gusts of wind made it feel slightly chillier than it was. Ah-ha! I know, said John, we’ll light the chiminea and sit right on top of it to keep warm.

So, that’s what we did and ooooh, it was smashing. We gathered the chairs round, all suitably distanced, and settled down to enjoy each other’s company, warming our legs in front of a blazing fire. “We won’t stay long.” Chris said. But we couldn’t stop chatting and we were enjoying ourselves so much that, when we finally thought it was time to call it a day, three hours had elapsed. That’s good friends for you, isn’t it? When you don’t notice how the time flies.

Having got up late myself and fallen immediately into entertaining, I hadn’t checked on Mum’s progress. I finally thought I oughta about twelve-thirty and popped upstairs to see how she was doing. Still in bed, sleepy. I suggested she got up but had no expectation that she would really. However, about three-quarters of an hour later, Dave said, “Here’s your Mum at the window.” Sure enough, there she was peering out at us, all tidily dressed and wearing a bit of lipstick. She even opened the patio door to say hello. I don’t think she had any idea who Dave and Chris were though, because she asked me later, “Who were those people you were talking to today?”

After lunch, John went into the garage to tinker about with the car and glue some more sound proofing material into the shell and boot of the car. He was very successful and once again enjoyed himself. I’ll have to have a word. This enjoying himself is unprecedented. Two days running – it’s unheard of….

I had an hour or so in the garden, despite the breeze. The roses had been absolutely battered by the wind and, from a distance, the white rose petals on the flowerbed looked like snow all over it. But I am delighted with the plants I bought from Bracey’s as they have settled in well and are flowering beautifully. The Gardening Express plants are still gasping. Certainly most of the house leeks look like they won’t survive and the ten echinacea rootlings were rotten, so never likely to take. Disappointing.

Not a lot else to report today. As Chris said, the blog is ‘same, same’ every day. I mean, there’s not exactly a lot to write about is there, when you’re still in isolation? I had thought I might develop deep, philosophical thoughts during this enforced period of seclusion, but no. Just brain atrophy instead. Ah, well. I am hoping that a bit of book reading will help. I am starting to read again with the help of the little book club I belong to, so maybe the grey cells will show a bit of activity before much longer. If only I could find some energy from somewhere though, that’d be a bonus.

So, the latest book we are reading (when I’ve downloaded it onto the Kindle) is ‘The Girl with the Louding Voice’ by Abi Dare. I’ll let you know if it’s any good. Thoroughly enjoyed the last book we read: ‘An American Marriage’ by Tayare Jones, and can recommend it.

Good news in the West Midlands today on the COVID-19 front, with zero deaths being reported in the region’s hospitals. Nationally, 6 deaths have been reported by the NHS in hospitals up until five o’clock yesterday, and 9 confirmed for the day before. The government has reported that by nine o’clock this morning there were 25 deaths in all settings and 815 people infected.

There has been a reported spike in cases in Leicester today, however, and there is a kerfuffle about who is going to be responsible for managing that, so we’ll see what happens. A little glimpse of what is to come, I suspect.

Keep on keeping on, folks. Wash your hands. Keep your distance. Treasure your loved ones. God bless.

Footnote: Mum enjoyed her lemon curd sandwich today.

Sunday. A change of pace normally, when I stop for a short time and catch up with myself. There was no catching up with myself needed today, but I still paused to be still and ‘re-centre my scattered senses’. I ‘went’ to church. I have got used to the on-line service now and am especially thrilled that Kim, our choirmaster, has started to play all the hymns each week and, as requested by me and others, played the intro and the ‘outro’ music today. He is such a talented musician that it’s an absolute pleasure to listen to him play. Rachel read the New Testament beautifully, while Alison gave us a wonderful sermon. And, of course, I sang my head off as usual. Mum and John were still in bed, so I don’t think they heard my howling – well, they made no comment anyway.

After ‘church’, I made myself another cuppa and then went back upstairs to ‘Zoom’ in for a coffee chat with other members of the congregation. It was so nice to see everyone, and we had a good old natter. It was interesting to hear about the plans for the future and how services will be delivered. As John and I are continuing to shield, I was heartened to hear that there is an intention to buy equipment for streaming the live services online. Good-oh.

Once again, I had no plans for the day. So, after the ‘Zoom’ coffee chat had finished, I stayed upstairs in the computer room to sort through all the stray papers that were littering the bed. I have folders for filing letters, bank statements, tax affairs and so on, but habits of a lifetime mean that I don’t file things away immediately, so they float about the premises waiting to be dealt with for weeks on end. I am still looking for the receipt for the TV, just in case that goes on the blink again, but even a deep dive into the papers revealed nothing. Goodness knows what we did with the blooming thing.

John was all about the Lotus today. He’s putting all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together for sound-deadening. Fiddly bits of felt, pre-prepared, that seem not to fit anywhere, and then new pieces that he’s bespoke tailoring to fit. The ‘cabin’ is all finished; starting on the boot tomorrow. Overdid it, of course, but I think he’s enjoyed himself.

John is also pleased with himself. Bit by bit, he’s finding things to sell. The latest was one of the kids’ boom boxes from when they were teenagers. We have (had) two, carefully conserved, just in case they ever wanted them back. I don’t know who we’re kidding, us or them. They had them when they were teenagers for goodness’ sake and they are in their thirties now…… Anyway, John advertised them locally and one of them has sold. A little bit more pocket money for the Lotus. Oh, do I hear you wonder why we’re not handing the dosh to the kids? Storage costs – that’s all I’m saying.

Mum has also had a good day. She can’t remember anything of course, but she’s been happy. Emerged by one o’clock and had a sandwich before settling down to watch Songs of Praise that we’d recorded. She, too, was singing her little heart out to the hymns she recognised. Then I suggested she help me make some lemon curd. I like to use Delia’s recipe. Delia says, ‘Home-made lemon curd is so easy even a child can make it’, so I thought Mum might manage it and get a sense of satisfaction from working alongside me. She did, although she had to abandon ship before we were finished.

She was nervous about cracking the eggs, not having done that for a long time, but managed it beautifully; then needed reassurance that she was mixing them properly – which she was; then ever-so-carefully measured out sugar, spoonful by spoonful, before adding the butter. All good. The recipe asked for the mixture to be frequently stirred on the hob while it was cooking. Well, Mum is about four foot nothing now and can hardly reach the pavement, let alone the cooker, so she started the job but found it just beyond her, so I finished it off. She was delighted once she saw the results potted up though.

After our evening meal, we decided to see if there was a film to watch on TV. There probably was a much better option, but we chose to sooth ourselves with Downton. Mum loved it. We had seen it before, but still found it pleasant and even funny sometimes. Suited our moods just fine. Not challenging, but a reminder of times gone by when the gap between the haves and the have-nots was very marked. We were wondering whether today is any different to those times where even today the rich are very rich, and the poor are very poor. Couldn’t make up our minds as to how well our society has moved on in that respect.

So, a quiet day in which we were very busy doing nothing much at all but enjoying it, nonetheless. Feeling helpless that we can’t rush over to help out with the kids to give their parents some respite, though. The latest from Sutton in particular is that we hear the new baby is sleeping very well – during the day. We understand he’s enjoying being nocturnal and just dropping off to sleep as the rest of the household wakes up. I can provide matchsticks but that’s about all…… And we hear from Kenilworth that the TV is an excellent babysitter when the parents have ‘working from home’ duties. Oh, we’d love to be there, playing. Well, I would, anyway.

The NHS report, up to five o’clock yesterday, records just 3 deaths in hospital and 18 the day before. The government reports 96 deaths in all settings, and 901 people infected. It may be the ‘weekend’ syndrome and both figures will alter significantly tomorrow, but I do hope these figures indicate a real levelling off.

As another week beckons and the loosening of the strings kicks in, may you all encounter nothing but goodness and love along your way. God bless.