Category: Uncategorized

I might have said this before…….I hate the prep before painting and decorating….. oh, fiddle, fiddle, fiddle!

Before you can even start your painting jobs there’s stuff to do. It may seem trivial and ‘not even prep’ to some people (not naming John, of course) but, all the hulking in of the big steps; then making sure that the brushes and paint tray are clean enough to use (because you left them in a state last time you painted); the searching for the right pot of paint; the clambering up for it because it’s on the top shelf; the seeking out of dust sheets; then the spreading out of the dust sheets; and the shifting of the furniture – all, all, of it is exhausting! Not to mention the unscrewing of light fittings, the clearing away of the drapey cobwebs and the washing of the walls and ceilings with multiple changes of water.

So I was up early enough to get on with most of the prep this morning, before I made a conscious decision to ‘keep calm and carry on’. There was an oasis of yoga to look forward to at 11.15 this morning but, above and beyond that, I sat with a book Michael had given us for Christmas about mindfulness. It’s actually a sort of workbook that takes you through a whole series of grounding activities. I had flicked through it before now, but I made a conscious decision to sit down and get seriously started on it. Half an hour of bliss. Then of course, another hour of bliss in the Zoomed yoga class in the SnuGym, which was perfect. John’s draught excluding work was marvellous and not a whisper of wind anywhere. Well, not through the doorways anyway.

As soon as the yoga session was over, it was a quick change before my first singing lesson. Yes, a singing lesson. Now, I hear you saying, who on earth has singing lessons? Well, those of us who can’t really sing – or think they can’t sing.

I had joined a choir about four years ago but my attendance was a bit hit and miss and I wasn’t always able to take part in the concerts because it was at the time when John was really poorly. In the end, I withdrew a couple of years ago, for what I thought would be about six months, but I have never got back. Our choir mistress, Melissa, advertises singing lessons, so I thought I’d have a go. No longer confident about my singing, I figured it would be great to be able to sing something other than hymns.

I had also been encouraged to have a lesson because Sue D had had one bought for her before Christmas and told us that she’d enjoyed the experience.

Melissa was wonderfully patient and encouraging, and in fact, I wasn’t really as bad as I had thought I was. Very rusty and not at all confident but, to my delight, she got me singing a whole song before the end of the session. Another one booked for next week now.

Meanwhile, John was tinkering about with poker and spreadsheets. Andrew is setting up a sideline cottage industry of making preserves – jams and pickled vegetables or fruit – and had done a business plan that John was casting his eye over. John was pretty impressed with the work done and didn’t have too much to offer in the way of any changes. It’s work in progress and at the development stage but it’s looking good so far….

After a bite to eat, and a little more prep, I got on with painting a portion of the ceiling in the extended part of the lounge. It may look swanky and quirky but it’s a little devil to paint because of all the curves and arched areas. I puffed and sighed my way through it, but I managed to achieve just what I had set out to do. One coat of paint on that bit. Yes. I kept calm and carried on.

I nipped over to Mum’s this evening to return her now-mended broken glasses which had caused panic stations today, before settling down to watch a bit of TV. Several people have said what a good series Bridgerton is on Netflix, so I thought I’d try the first episode. Thoroughly enjoyed it and will watch more – although I don’t think John is going to be a fan.

We caught up with the news too, and noted that there were no figures on the instances of infections or deaths due to COVID from the government today. A glitch in the system…. maybe tomorrow…..

Take care everyone, God bless. And feast your eyes on this little beauty…… we’re hoping it’s going to take the market by storm!

Rip Van Winkle hasn’t got anything on us. We can sleep the day away. Well, we slept the morning away anyway today. We were only winkled (!!) out of bed when Michael phoned at lunchtime to see how we were doing.

The thing was that John had a restless night. That usually means I have a restless night too. It culminated in John going off to the spare bedroom at five o’clock in the morning after he’d had a couple of goes at kicking my shins. Not sure what he was dreaming about – saving a goal in an England match, maybe? Playing footie with Freddie or William? Or kicking the cat?

So we were both undisturbed from that moment on and we both snoozed our alarms, then just kept on sleeping. I started to read my book in bed about half past ten and was still doing that when Michael phoned at about 12.30. I called John through and we sat in bed chatting to the Sutton Sleaths, duly admiring William’s newly decorated bedroom that he proudly presented to us. We grinned inanely at Thomas and made cooing noises, and he grinned delightedly back at us. It was lovely.

Of course, we thought we really ought to get up then, so we did and looked ruefully at each other as we acknowledged that half the day had gone. We had breakfast at lunchtime and then set about trying to adjust our day. John was busy mending Freddie’s toy; I was busy making phone calls – either medical related or friend related.

We had agreed we would go for a walk this afternoon but at one point I thought we weren’t going to make it. We were tinkering and the afternoon wore on. We did finally manage to get ourselves out of the door however, and quite enjoyed our stroll. Although it has to be said that I took us down a muddy alley, and we got our shoes caked in mud, which I am not too sure whether John was altogether happy about.

Once we were back, John went and had a tinker with the Lotus while I cooked our evening meal. Had a lovely roast chicken dinner today, which was delicious.

After we’d eaten, it was pretty much time for Quiz Night, so we settled down for a good night in. It was great to see Caroline joining in, recovering from her knee operation, and looking so well. Malcolm had set the quiz today and what a good one it was. We did quite well despite some difficult questions. The ones we got wrong though, were mostly repeats of ones we have got wrong in the past. Made us giggle at our failing memories – I mean, just how many time zones are there in Russia? Surely we should remember the answer to that? There are loads.

So, all in all, there’s only half a day’s tale to tell today, so that’s about it. Except that we took a phone call from the furniture shop this afternoon and lo and behold, our new three piece suite is now in! Delivery next Tuesday. Oooh….. that’s a bit tight to get the decorating done, isn’t it? The plan is to paint the ceiling at least…. wish me luck. No laying in bed all morning tomorrow then. No competing with Rip Van Winkle now.

What with one thing and another we haven’t really concentrated on much of the news today, but we’ve picked up the headlines. Trump is impeached. That’ll be interesting to see how that unfolds, won’t it? I am quite scared for America right now. It’s a gunpowder keg, liable to be lit and go off at any moment.

On our own shores, the free schools meals situation still dominates the headlines, with Matt Hancock refusing to offer any regret for voting against continuing to offer the free school meals during lockdown in the House a few weeks ago. And, of course, the COVID-19 situation. The numbers of those infected is slowing, but obviously, with the two-week time lag the numbers of deaths is increasing. There’s still a lot of shrugging of shoulders and ‘what we gonna do?’ questions being asked. It feels very exasperating.

• 47,525 people were recorded as having tested positive for the virus today
• 1,564 people were recorded as having died from the virus today in the community
• 488 people were recorded as having died from the virus in hospitals over the last couple of days.

The figures for hospital admissions hasn’t been updated on the daily summary from the government today, but we hear locally that the hospitals are admitting a lot every day now. Certainly, the QE has 368 inpatients with COVID and Heartlands has 297 as of today. Let’s hope we can keep illnesses at bay until the corona crisis is over.

Take care everyone. God bless.

Well, contrary to the way my thoughts were going yesterday, John said he feels fine today and no, there were no Monday blues. Ah, sorry if I lead anyone up the garden path. In fact, he’s been busy today and happily tackling those picky little jobs that have been hanging around for a while.

Bless him, he’s been creating a draught exclusion zone between the SnuGym and the garage, so one of the last things to do was to affix a piece of wood between two doors and paint it, which he did today. Not only that, but he’s been considering how best to send a piece of heavy equipment through the post to someone who bid for it on eBay, and doing research on that. And finally, he’s replaced a very noisy extractor fan in the shower room. Gosh, he’s done well.

I am not really sure what I have been doing today. I spent quite a bit of time fiddling about on the computer trying to re-order the supplements the nutritionist recommended for John. Unfortunately, the link she sent to us no longer works and you have to have an access code from your professional consultant now to get into the website. In the end, I ordered stuff from the USA which will take weeks to arrive.

I then paid a pile of bills and dealt with some of Mum’s monetary affairs, by which time, it was lunchtime. Heaven knows where the morning went.

After lunch we went out for a walk just in time to greet the sunshine. It had been overcast this morning but the sun was playing hide-and-seek by the time we went out, so it was really very pleasant and boosted our spirits no end. We had another walk-a-bit/stop-a-bit promenade but we really enjoyed it. Especially as we met one or two acquaintances along the way and stopped to chat, shouting at each other from a great distance. In one case, we were on opposite sides of the road and had to try to make ourselves heard over the trundle of traffic.

Once we were back home, we gratefully washed the shopping that dear Harriet had done for us and left in the porch, then put it away, before making ourselves a lovely hot chocolate to settle down with on the sofa.

The trouble is, once we sit with a mug of warming chocolate, we don’t want to get up again. So we had a bit of a repeat of yesterday afternoon, although we didn’t fall asleep this time. Well, I didn’t anyway. I think John may have snoozed a little bit…..

That’s been about it really today. An evening meal, which John cooked (thank you) and more TV this evening, catching up on programmes we’ve missed. So all good and sheltered and safe.

The only other exciting news today was from Andrew who said he heard the sonic boom of the aeroplane that was travelling across Cambridge. He said the sound shook his house and he thought someone had been shot! And I can see why when you watch the videos of people’s reactions.

The news has been harsh again with stories about apparent profiteering by large organisations at the poor’s expense – this time Chartwell, who has the contract to supply lunches for those eligible for free dinners in schools, only they have supplied meagre amounts. Another scandal waiting in the wings? Who knows? And, of course, the COVID situation, with hospitals at bursting point and the staff nearing breaking point. Lord give us strength.

• 45,533 people tested positive for the virus today
• 1,243 people died in the community today having recently tested positive for COVID
• 422 people died in hospitals in the last couple of days having tested positive for the virus
• And the latest data on hospital admissions is 5 days ago, on 7 January. There were 4,240 people admitted in one single day last week.

Numbing numbers, eh? Stay safe everyone. Look after yourselves. God bless.

Not really the Monday Blues, more like the Monday Slows. We had a bit of a restless night one way and another, so both woke up groggy and bleary-eyed. However, we got up at a reasonable hour and spent the morning pottering about with this and that. I had failed to sort out my paintbrushes properly from my decorating spree before Christmas, so thought I’d have a go at clearing them up; and John concentrated on reading the instructions for installing the dashcam he’d bought me for my birthday, for the car.

I merrily faffed about in the utility room, but started to feel a little green at the smell of the white spirit. John merrily faffed about with the dashcam and went out to the car to set it up. He came back in, however, to see if I could give him a hand – or, more precisely, a second pair of eyes. Black on black is not easy, is it? He baulked however, at the smell of the white spirit. “Blimey! What have you been doing?” he wondered – or words to that effect. Well, I’d only gone and thrown the old white spirit down the plughole, hadn’t I? And rinsed it away with a bit of hot water. “Haven’t you seen those programmes where chemicals mix and blow up in the sink?” John asked. Ah. Might have. On the other hand, the information might not have lodged in my memory bank….well, I’ll know for the next time, anyway. Sorry, sewers.

We went out to the car to see if we could winkle the black wire into the teeny, weeny little gaps in the black upholstery and make it stick. As it turned out, we did manage it successfully between us. I was rather pleased. That is, until John said, “And now we’ve got to wire in the camera for the rear window.” Darn it! I thought that was it!! Finish it tomorrow?

We came back in for a cuppa, opened all the windows and doors to let the smell out of the utility room and ensconced ourselves in the lounge to watch the lunchtime news. We wrapped ourselves up in blankets – against the imaginary cold that the open windows might let in, you know. And then we both nodded off for an hour.

When we came to, neither of us could be bothered to press a button on the remote control so we carried on viewing the channel that was on – first, Escape to the Country and then, a programme about a couple of families getting ready for a farmers market, The Farmers Country Showdown.

Chalk and cheese, that’s what John and I are. As we watched the programme about the market, I was delighted to see such an array of fresh vegetables and looked on enviously as people bought giant curly kale or Romanesco broccoli or massive leeks. “Look at all those lovely vegetables!” I exclaimed. “Don’t they look wonderful?” John curled his lip. Then he got excited as the camera panned to a cake stall and lingered on the pastries, the gingerbread men, the millionaire shortbread and the lemon drizzle cake. “Now, you’re talking!” he said, turning to me with a challenge in his eyes. We laughed. Chalk and cheese. Well, it’d be boring if we were all alike, wouldn’t it?

This evening we have had a lovely time Zooming-in with Dave and Chris, and George and Sue. Our trial run had worked with Dave & Chris and they were on and set up really well. George and Sue didn’t appear initially. I texted wondering if they had received my invitation. Nope. Oh…. I re-sent it. It transpires that the invitation had gone into George’s junk mail and so they were in blissful ignorance that the session had even started.

Anyway, we had a great chit-chat and even managed a political discussion. No surprise there really, I suppose. John was rapidly sinking a bottle of white wine and had opinions to share. George is always up for a debate and, I have to confess, I happily joined in and supported John’s arguments today. Dave and Chris watched on. Fortunately, we’ve been friends for such a long time that this is not new and they know when to keep shtum.

We grinned as John told us about a programme he’d watched about how the immune system is compromised by alcohol, and we looked pointedly at the now empty bottle next to him. We chuckled about it but I don’t think John saw the funny side.

We also chatted about the current situation. We bemoaned the ‘stay-at-home’ instruction and mourned the loss of our freedom to meet our families. We agreed that the government had been too slow to act from the very beginning, but we all thought that lockdown was probably the only way to get back on an even keel until the vaccinations are all done. Hard, isn’t it?

• 46,169 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours
• 529 people have lost their lives in the community to COVID
• 309 people lost their lives in hospitals on 9 & 10 January with COVID mentioned on their death certificates

Day 6 of Lockdown 3 (Day 299 since the March inception of lockdown) has been a slow day, and I think John may be suffering from the blues. I’ll know tomorrow. It’s to be expected though, I suppose. It’s mid-winter, isn’t it? Must get the sun lamp out!

Stay safe everyone. Look after yourselves. God bless.

It comes round so quickly, doesn’t it? Another Sunday. Crikey!! I felt a bit melancholy today, reminiscing over Sundays gone by – for those when I was a kid, having run down the hill from church, to sprawl out on the floor with broadsheet Sunday Express spread out in front of me so that I could read every word; or when I was a teenager and I used to go to John’s house and his Mum’d cook us a roast beef dinner and we’d all sit, cramped round the little table in the dining area; or yet again, when we were first married and it was a long-awaited lie-in, followed by a roast dinner and then meeting friends in the pub in the evening. Ahhhh….. Sundays….. I love Sundays.

And the word of the day, according to Susie Dent, is ‘desiderium’ [dessi-deer-ium]: a longing for something once possessed but now lost. Hmmm….yes…that.

I am not sure that today counted as a Sunday very much though, as I didn’t go to church, cook a roast dinner, go to the pub or see any friends or relatives. In fact, we didn’t do much ‘Sunday’ stuff at all. John spent the day pottering about with a spanner, or a hammer, or a piece of wood in his hand, and he tinkered. He actually spent a little bit of time on the Lotus. It really wasn’t that cold today at all so, with the fan heater on in the garage he was quite cosy. And he did a lot of thinking. Puzzling over why this bit doesn’t quite fit or why that bit is skew-whiff.

I finally made a start on a bit of a tidy-up and Christmas decoration removal. I decided not to think about it too hard and just pace myself. First off, I chose to dig down the various layers of grubbiness in the kitchen, which did me a world of good. That meant that my mind was in a fit state to start taking Christmas things off the walls and the shelves and pop them in boxes, which in turn, led me on to dismantling the tree and ditching it outdoors. Nearly there.

We didn’t get out for a walk today, though. John was too busy concentrating on other stuff and, although I fully intended to get some exercise, I was also engrossed in the clear-up, so found that the time had passed me by.

One reason for a little bit of a tidy-up is that Michael and Danielle have set up the larger back bedroom for William, selling off the day-bed and generally clearing the room out of the things it was storing. For example, camping gear, an electric organ, double bed bedding, books and so on. “Hi Mum. Just wondering…… if you wouldn’t mind storing some stuff for us? It’s just that we don’t want to actually get rid of it, but we’ve got nowhere to keep it.” Of course we will. Goodness me, we have five blooming bedrooms waiting for guests to stay in, which isn’t going to happen anytime soon, so we might just as well fill them up with things ‘that’ll be useful in the future’ and make use of them that way. Now to find a home for it all……

After I’d done me chores, I thought I’d just log on to Ocado to do a bit of grocery shopping. Had the shock of my life to find that the earliest slot is 19 days away…… Friday 29 January. Heavens above!! That’s crazy, but not unexpected, I suppose. Ah well, we’ve both agreed we should go on a diet, so perhaps now’s the time. Although, to be fair, we have got a good stock of chocolate and wine in after the Christmas gift exchange, so if all else fails we can dine on that.

We are again getting reports of people we know being infected with the virus and we have had a couple of bereavements too, although not due to COVID, as far as I know. So, all in all, I am fervently hoping that everyone I know is being sensible and keeping their distance and so on in these infectious times.

• 54,940 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours
• 563 people died in the community having tested positive for the virus in the last 28 days
• 247 people died in hospitals on January 8 & 9 with COVID recorded on their death certificates

It’s Day 5 of Lockdown 3 and Day 298 (I think) since we settled in for the long haul in March. Are we getting used to it yet? No, but I think we’ve got to for a while yet, because the vaccinations alone are not going to be the answer to this, from what I hear and read. Ah, well – keep smiling, that’s what we’ve got to do!

Take care everyone. God bless.

I wasn’t altogether looking forward to this morning. It was to be a re-run of the vaccine trip, and I anticipated a struggle in more ways than one. But, in reality, it wasn’t too bad after all.

I had expected a bit of a tussle with Mum, winkling her out of her front door, but despite the fact that she turned her nose up at the idea of going for a jab, and turned a baleful eye to me, saying, “I’d really rather not,” she got her outdoor clothes on with very little fuss, got in the car willingly, and placidly waited in the wheelchair until she was called in.

The surgery was well-organised again, and so was the car park. I sailed into the car park, no bother, and slotted into a disabled spot before running in to see if there was a wheelchair available. Two minutes and a wheelchair was produced. And then, when we presented ourselves at the entrance, we were shown down to a treatment room straight away and the job was done before you could say, ‘Bob’s your uncle’.

Mum was happy to be back in her flat, but she had behaved impeccably, much to my relief. I settled her into her reclining chair, made her a cup of tea, gave her a couple of paracetamol (just in case) and gathered up her washing to bring home. Her lunch was delivered, so I left saying, “Someone will be coming shortly to serve you your lunch, Mum.”

When I got back home, I had a cuppa and then checked on the app that tells me whether the carer has been to Mum or not. There hadn’t been a visit. I fretted about it and so thought I’d better go back and make sure Mum had had her lunch. When I arrived, it was clear someone had been. The plate and cutlery were all ready, but the food was still in its foil containers, untouched. Mum couldn’t remember anyone having been in. It transpires that Mum had said she wasn’t hungry so the carer had simply left it at that. Anyway, she tucked into the food once I set it out for her and then I went on my merry way.

We briefly saw Michael and Danielle at lunchtime as they called to collect some wallpapering materials. They had been to Abbey Fields to look after Freddie for an hour while Paul and Harriet were out, and so called in on their way home. It was such a fleeting visit that I felt exceedingly dissatisfied, not having had a good ‘fix’ of family time. I was thrilled later on, though, when they sent pictures of William’s new bedroom decorated so far…roar!

This afternoon we pottered about with this and that; John making a great big batch of sandwich rolls which will hopefully see him through for a week or more; and I toddled off for a little walk across the fields. John’s back is still twinging so he thought a walk might be detrimental rather than beneficial today.

By the time I set off, however, it was nearing twilight. I love a twilight walk. The afternoon has paused; it is hushed and waiting for nighttime to fall. Nighttime is stealthily creeping in and the birds are all a-twitter, raucously screaming ‘night-night’ to each other. It’s always a special feeling at twilight for me. Loved it.

Once I got back, we prepared and ate our evening meal and then set ourselves up for a lovely Skype session with Pete and Dawn. I am not sure why, but I started the evening feeling a bit grumpy. It soon wore off, however, as we chatted away with our dear friends. In fact, there were moments when we were giggling so much that our sides ached. It is just such a blessing to have friends who know us so well that we can let our hair down. Great fun.

We mulled over the current state of affairs and generally commiserated with each other on the restrictions. We nodded our agreement with each other that it was necessary though – torture, but necessary – and hoped that people would be sensible taking all the relevant precautions so that we can have some relaxation to meet up soon, even if it’s outside.

We have had an ‘allsorts’ day today – a mixed bag of activities and sensations going on: feeling up, then down, then back up again; raring to go one minute and feeling ‘flop’ the next; happy one minute then irritable the next. Life would be very boring though, if we operated on the same wavelength the whole time, wouldn’t it?

We haven’t watched the news avidly today, but we do know how things are on the COVID front. Still not good, and lots of very worried scientists wondering how the NHS is going to cope with ever more people going into hospitals with the effects of the virus.

• 59,937 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours
• 1,035 people died in the community in the last 24 hours having tested positive for the virus
• 380 people died in hospitals on 7 & 8 January having tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 28 days
• 4,051 people were admitted to hospital with COVID-19 on Tuesday 5 January

So, while our day was pretty good, there are lots of families who are suffering badly today. I say a prayer for each and every one of them, that they might find solace among friends and family, and strength to brave the world.

Stay safe everyone. God bless.

John was excited yesterday because it was Thursday. He was so excited, in fact, that he must have mentioned, and checked, that it was Thursday about six times. Put the bins out, Thursday? Yep, put the bins out, Thursday. That’s how I knew today was going to be Friday. So, when he asked me if it was Friday today, I was able to say, with absolute confidence, that it was Friday.

And it’s been Friday all day. The only thing is, we haven’t really had that ‘Friday feeling’. Disappointing really, but now, every day is like the one before and the thrill of the weekend approaching doesn’t quite have the same pull as it used to. Gone are the days when we looked forward to a glass of wine, or a pint in John’s case, as Friday swung into view. We have a glass of wine/beer any day now – tomorrow is never a ‘school day’, as they say. Gone are the days when we’d go out for a take-away with friends just because it was Friday. Can’t go out at all now. And gone are the days of putting on your ‘glad rags’, throwing off your weekly work-clothes and putting on your ‘best’ just because.

However, we have had a good Friday. John has spent all day whittling away at the two doors between the garage and the SnuGym to exclude the draught howling in. It’s been a labour of love and taken him far longer than he anticipated. “Honestly,” he puffed, “it’s ridiculous, isn’t it? I’ve allowed a whole day for what should be an hour’s job.” I giggled. Ah…. here we are, welcoming in our old age. I’ve allowed the whole morning to take Mum for her jab tomorrow – in the past it would have been an in-and-out job and back-before-you-know-it, but there we are.

Anyway, John was beavering away in the West Wing, while I was just faffing about with the household stuff, like changing the sheets on the bed, putting the washing on, transplanting the washing to the tumble dryer, washing the shopping and so on.

In between the tasks we’d set ourselves, however, we thoroughly enjoyed a walk in the park again, despite the bitterly cold weather and the stop-go progress we made. John had twinged his back in the course of his labours, so we walked a hundred yards, stopped a bit, walked a bit more, stopped a bit and so on. It was a very nice walk though and we were glad we’d been out. The trees were bejewelled with diamanté raindrops, shimmering and glittering as we walked past. Lovely.

On the way to the park, I had intended to call into the chemists but, I couldn’t believe it, the queue to get in trickled all along the pavement down to the newsagents. I wasn’t going to wait, so I thought better of a visit at that time and went later on in the day when there was, literally, no other customers there.

This afternoon we held a ‘trial run’ on Zoom with Dave and Chris. Had a great chat and spent far longer than we thought we would, just nattering away. Last summer, I had suggested that we get together with them and George and Sue, too. So I proposed Zoom to Chris, but she thought Zoom was a ‘no-go’. I suggested a trial run first, therefore, thinking we’d perhaps have half an hour or so just checking the system etc to make sure they were confident using it. However, we can never see our dear friends without chit-chatting away to our hearts content, and it was no different today. Nearly two hours elapsed before we finally thought we’d better call it a day. But really, we loved it. Great to see them looking so well and hear all their news. Now to set up the ‘real’ event and get in touch with George and Sue…..if they’re listening?

I have finally started to do something about the Christmas decorations today, too. I clambered up into the attic and retrieved the boxes to put everything in and I have bagged up Father Christmas. The tree, however, is still up but I was relieved to hear that I am not the only one. Dave & Chris admitted they, too, are dilly-dallying over the dismantling of their decorations.

Anyway, sorting out the decorations is going to keep me occupied for a few days yet, so I don’t have to think about the horrors unfolding elsewhere. With several areas, including London, declaring a ‘major incident’ because the hospitals are already overwhelmed, I can’t bear to think about anyone who is poorly having to wait for treatment, whatever their predicament. It’s too close to home. And on that point, I have given John strict instructions that he is not to get poorly any time soon.

• 68,053 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours
• 1,325 people died in the community, in the last 24 hours, having tested positive for the virus in the last 28 days. And stories are trickling through again of people dying beyond that time frame having tested positive, too
• 392 people died in hospitals on 6 & 7 January having tested positive for the virus
• 3,867 people were admitted to hospital in a 24-hour period on Monday

Kirsty Wark reminded us on Newsnight last night, that to visual all the lives lost to the virus since this all started is nigh on impossible. So she showed us the Olympic Stadium, at near capacity during the 2012 London Olympic Games. If you haven’t seen it, I tell you, it’s mind-boggling.

With Day 3 of Lockdown 3, and Day 296 since the first lockdown, coming to an end, I wish you all the very safest of journeys through the coming months. Take care. Stay safe. God bless.

Goodness me! The world was white this morning, but not from snow. Jack Frost had been exceedingly busy during the night here in Balsall and everywhere was heavy with hoary frost. Not only that, but there was a thick mist which reflected the whiteness of the ground, the trees, all the buildings and equipment everywhere. It was stunning – but I was relieved I didn’t have to go anywhere in it.

We are lucky. Our heating is doing the trick and keeping the house warm. John had switched it on overnight to respond to the outside chill and I was very glad he had today. It meant that my yoga session in the SnuGym this morning was absolutely perfect. Lucky, lucky, lucky.

Although we didn’t have to go anywhere today, we chose to go for a walk this afternoon. I put my thermals on and we both wrapped up warm with scarves and gloves to venture a circuit of Lavender Hall Park and Katherine’s Wood. It was fantastic. It may have been minus 1°C but we didn’t feel cold at all, and just marvelled at the scenery around us. It was magical.

Michael sent us a picture of the frozen pond in the field where he walks today, which reminded me to check on our own pond here in the garden. As you can see from the photo, the fish are still OK, although they were frozen in and I had to break the ice up a bit to allow some oxygen in.

Once we were back from our walk, hot chocolate was in order, along with a mince pie. Now that was delicious! Nothing better, is there? Hot chocolate after a chilly walk – bliss.

I spent a short while this afternoon looking at and thinking about the taking down of the Christmas decorations. I did a little bit. Gathered a few pieces together, took down the Christmas cards and tore the fronts off a few of them to make nice labels for next year. “Do you know what we should be doing now, John?” I asked. He looked up to check. “We should be going to the garden centre and buying the half-price Christmas cards ready for next year. They’ve got a sale on.” He shrugged and gave a half-smile. “Would that be an essential purchase? Would it be an essential journey?” Ahhh, yes, hadn’t thought of that. Gosh, how easy it is to forget we’re in lockdown. The answer to those questions would be ‘no’, then.

I was pondering the removal, or otherwise, of the decorations today, and puzzled over my reluctance to get on with it. I can always find something else to do instead. Read my book, for instance. Do an e-jigsaw. Or play an e-Scrabble game. Or nibble on chocolate. However, it dawned on me that as soon as the decorations are down, cleaned and put away ready for next year, I have promised to start decorating the lounge. Ah. Hmm. Right then.

After we’d eaten our evening meal, which we ate at our breakfast bar for a change instead of on the sofa spilling things down our fronts, we watched a bit of TV; and then I abandoned John leaving him to watch some more, while I chatted to the College Crew on Zoom. Had a lovely evening. It was so nice to see everyone after Christmas and to hear how everyone was coping. We were missing Lizzie, who opted out due to a sore throat (she promises us it’s nothing more sinister), and Sue D, from whom we had heard nothing. Eventually, just as the Zoom session was about to expire, we texted her to say, “Do you want to join in?” and she did. Of course, the last five minutes wasn’t enough to hear all the news, so we logged back in again and carried on chatting for another half an hour…… marvellous. Boosted my spirits no end. Thank the Lord for great friends.

Betwixt and between all the pleasurable things we have done today, we have been peppered with shocking scenes from overseas, catching up on how America is responding to the horror that is Donald Trump, in particular. Much too late, but the social media networks have finally caught on that his messages incite anger, hatred , violence and insurrection. He is banned from using them – although not indefinitely in some cases. Starve the man of a platform? Yes, please.

In one of the other ongoing horror stories, we hear that the number of COVID-19 infections is increasing still, albeit slightly lower today, as is the death rate. Both of which we expected. Distressing nonetheless.

• 52,618 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours
• 1,162 people died in the community, having tested positive for the virus in the last 28 days
• 364 people died on 5& 6 January, in hospitals having tested positive for the virus in the last 28 days
• On Sunday, 3 January, 3,600 people were admitted to hospital suffering from the virus.

So, more of the same precautions then, folks! And, of course, a vaccination. Fingers crossed that it really works for us and it enables us to get together again come the summer at least.

On Day 2 of Lockdown 3 and Day 295 since we had the frighteners put on us in March 2020, I hope we can all find some gems in amongst the dross and spend a good portion of our time happy.

Take care everyone. God bless.

It was snowing. The garden was a lovely picture of green and white as the flakes fell steadily this morning at seven o’clock. We were up early for a run into Birmingham, to Heartlands Hospital, for John to have immunoglobulin treatment this morning. The roads were relatively light on traffic and we made our way there easily, with no hold-ups, and John was disgorged from the car at the entrance bang on time.

No bother on the way back either – although the snowflakes were falling thick and fast on the A45 and I began to wonder if we were in for a real snowstorm and would have trouble returning later to collect John. But no, the snow eased, and there was very little to be seen back in Balsall. What we’d had early on was melting away fast.

After the first consideration of looking after John this morning, I decided to consider my mental health next today. Instead of setting to with jobs galore, I went out into the garden and had ten minutes playing on my swing. It was brilliant. Although it was chilly at 1°C , it didn’t feel too cold at all. I am probably losing my marbles, but I chuckled to myself. The thrill of swinging high and overlooking the neighbouring gardens filled me with glee.

Next, I took myself off for a stride around the park, and in particular, Katherine’s Wood. It was a great walk, stopping to chat to fellow walkers at a good distance and pet their dog before making my way through into the woods themselves, where I saw what I think were chaffinches. Makes a change from sparrows, pigeons and blackbirds.

I was just on my way back when John texted to say his treatment was nearly finished. So off I set to collect the ol’ man. No snow now. And all hunky-dory at the hospital – the treatment had gone well, although John said his chair refused to recline so having a bit of a snooze was out of the question.

After lunch, John announced that he planned to sleep awhile. I thought that was a jolly good idea and I would follow suit. In fact, I thought maybe I’d lie on the bed for a while, rather than settle in the sofa.

When I woke up, it was dusk. The sun had set and the sky was blushed strawberry pink. ‘Goodness! I wonder what the time is?’ I thought. It was 16.45. Whaaaat? I had gone for a lie-down at 13.45. Three hours I’d been asleep. Three hours!

Well, there’s not much to say, really, because the day was gone. Managed to rouse myself enough to prepare something to eat for our evening meal and then get ready for Quiz Night. So, guess what? The Christmas decorations had another stay of execution. No bauble removal today. Maybe tomorrow.

Quiz Night lived up to all expectations with lovely company, amusing jokes in between the questions – John was on fire – and a good result at the end.

So that’s it! Day One of Lockdown Three, and Day 294 since the March 2020 incarceration, draws to a close. It was a peaceful and happy day. Of course, the news is anything but peaceful and happy with horrible happenings in America on Capitol Hill, and hospitals here in our own country worried about how they can cope with the volumes of people now forming a steady queue as they fall ill with COVID and hospital admissions now daily top the 3k mark.

Susie Dent’s word of the day is ‘sequaciousness’ from the 17th century – the blinkered unreasoning, and slavish following of another, no matter where it leads. And that leads me to the ‘mubble-fubbles’ – a 16th-century term for a feeling of despondency and a sense of impending doom. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but heaven help us turn the ‘unreasonables’ into ‘reasonables’ otherwise we could be looking at years of civil unrest both here and in America.

In the meantime, let’s spare a thought for all those who became a statistic today.

• 62,322 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours
• Over a thousand, 1,041, people have died, in the community, within 28 days of a positive COVID test in the last 24 hours
• 323 people have died in hospitals on 4 & 5 January from COVID-19

Take care everyone. Stay safe. God bless.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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