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Things sometimes go bump in the night and you’re not sure what’s going on. Last night was one such night. Well, except that we knew exactly what was going on – the edge of the bed was too close, the floor was inviting, so John tumbled out of bed with a bump. The air was quite blue as I surfaced from my slumber, quite startled and quite concerned. “I’m alright,” he said, between expletives.

The thing is, the ol’ man is conscious that sometimes, in the middle of the night, he whacks me with a fist cos he thinks he’s defending my honour and in his dream I am the enemy, or he kicks me thinking he’s scoring a goal. So his conscious self tries to keep his distance. Only last night, the distance was a bit much and the floor met him coming up, as he went down.

No harm done though, much to our relief. Apart from pride, of course. But I like to think it’s because he’s looking after me.

Of course, night-time shenanigans means that we’re always knackered the next morning. And this morning was no different. We both woke up a bit bleary-eyed, wondering whether to get up and start our day. We did, of course, and John brought me cup of tea in bed which was lovely.

We had originally thought we’d go to the beach today but I was a little anxious, on account of it being a Sunday and the weather being absolutely gorgeous and …… there’d be a lot of people.

Catherine had told us that she rather liked The Old Vicarage Garden at East Ruscot, a good hour and ten minutes away. At first, I had thought we might not venture that far but, having been to Cromer already, I was game. “John, instead of the beach, where it’s likely to be very busy today, how about we visit the gardens today and do the beach tomorrow, when it might be quieter?” I said. “Good idea,” came the response.

The gardens opened at noon, which suited us well as we are now very slow-starters in the mornings. We aimed to set off at twelve-ish and be there 1.30-ish. Whereupon we surprised ourselves and pretty much made it to time, despite having to stop off at the garage to sort the tyre pressures out.

The gardens were a revelation. I love all that stuff, but generally speaking, John’s not that bothered normally. However, even he was interested. Stunning, for what is, after all, a private garden. I loved it. Felt totally inadequate regarding my own efforts but, as John said, “You just have to research it to know what plants to put in where.” Yes. If it were only that simple. The trouble is, I get muddled up and daunted……

We spent all afternoon there, marvelling at the owners’ lifelong work before imbibing a cuppa and indulging in yet another cream tea. I also indulged in a purchase and bought myself a rosemary plant, my own having snuffed it a few years ago.

We probably overstayed our time there because we both fell into the car tatered. But we were still on for a bit more sight-seeing before setting off back to our holiday home. We decided to take a look at the church and the lighthouse in Happisburgh, that we had spied from the The Old Vicarage Gardens.

Oh, the serendipity of visiting Happisburgh. It certainly was was a ‘happy stance’. Brilliant beach and pretty little hamlet. Exquisite Norman church and a lighthouse to boot. Oh, and ice cream. Can’t say fairer than that. And I had a paddle.

And then it was “Home, James, and don’t spare the horses!!”. We had a very good run back, with the sun lowering itself slowly in the sky, glittering through the trees and occasionally glaring at me wildly and directly in the eyes, then steadying itself into the most amazing orange orb just hovering on the skyline, before dying the sky pink.

Needless to say, we arrived home late and dined late. John keenly watched the Grand Prix he’d recorded as I cooked our meal. And what started as a likelihood of cars processing around an excellent circuit, it turned out to be very exciting with no less than two re-starts.

We’d no sooner got over that excitement than we plunged into viewing the cricket. We joined it just as Australia were in the ascendency and bound to win. The game, however, had a thrilling finish and England bowled the Aussies out to win the game. Good bowling? Yes? Poor batting? Maybe. Enjoyable though.

A great day. So, do we really want to know the COVID-19 figures? Hmmmm……I’ll say it very quietly…. shhh…. 3,330 people infected; 5 deaths in the community and 2 deaths in hospitals…. shhh….

Take care everyone. God bless.

Rather than go rushing about today, we took it easy. We spent the day close to our holiday home and mostly ate, drank, lounged, and watched TV.

We had bought punnets of strawberries and raspberries from a local roadside seller yesterday, so we feasted on those for our breakfast. Nectar in a bowl.

To be fair, breakfast, I say, but it was nearer lunchtime before we got up. Such a luxury to be able to stay in bed if you want to. Not to feel pressured into doing anything. To leave behind chores and the growing grass in the back garden. It feels like it’s doing us good just to ‘let go’.

It was soon time for the qualifying round of the Grand Prix however, and John’s thoughts turned to settling down on the sofa to watch it. John prepared drinks, and himself, ready for the thrill of qualifying. I decided I would rather go out into the countryside. The sunshine was beckoning and Catherine had pointed me in the direction of a circular walk. “Do you mind if I go for a walk, John?” I asked. “Not at all,” he said, ”I thought you might,” He’d clearly looked at weather too and knew I’d been hoping for a country walk. “I’ll stay and watch qualifying,” I smiled. “I thought you might.” I said.

I got ready for my walk and off I set. It was such a glorious afternoon and the path was easy, taking me first to the village pond – without geese, who’d been shipped off somewhere because they’d become a nuisance, but with ducks and swans. Then on to the ruined church, covered in ivy, and the graveyard overgrown with weeds and brambles. A listed building, allowed to fall into total disrepair, such a shame, but the grounds echoing the times gone by as I read the inscriptions on the gravestones.

I strode on, along the path past woods, fields full of crops yet to be gathered and fields shorn of their bounty. I watched the birds and animals in their own habitats before finding an oak log upon which to sit and savour the world. Food for the soul. Not bad this life, I thought. I had the time to sit and stare.

As I neared the village again, I popped into the local shop and bought a couple of scones. To go with the Jersey cream and blackberry jam we’d bought yesterday, you see. John was thrilled to be eating another cream tea. That’s the third one this week! We’ll be rolling home.

After such a busy day, we naturally ensconced ourselves in the sofa for a bit of TV watching this evening. But honestly, what rubbish Saturday night viewing is. I thought I might watch Britain’s Got Talent but after ten minutes I switched it off. John had already decided there was nothing on he’d like to watch so was laid out on the other sofa listening to his audio book. At least, that’s what he said he was doing but there was a bit of snoring going on….

Our evening was enlivened, however, with looking at pictures on our phones – first, views of their ‘garden-in-progress’ from Graham and Gail; then scenes of love and laughter from the family barbecue at Michael’s. An early birthday party before lockdown for William. We enjoyed dipping into a bit of life on the other side of the world and back in the Midlands. It’s not all doom and gloom after all.

It may not be all doom and gloom for now, but for some, there’s a shocking reality as they contract the COVID virus and, perchance, die from it. 9 deaths in the community by the new counting system today; 6 in hospital on Thursday and one yesterday; and over 3,500 people infected. The experts say it’s going to get worse. Which makes me miserable as we will be all looking over our shoulders all the time. Oh, dear, Lord preserve us.

Whatever we have to do, let’s do it with strength and hope. Take care everyone. God bless.

Our plan this morning was to get up early-ish and zip over to Holkham for a bit of a visit to the grounds of the Hall before making our way to Cromer. We didn’t get going very early though, so we just went to Cromer.

I have to confess to having been anxious about the trip. Even though the children are back in school, if Wells-Next-The-Sea was anything to go by, it was going to be busy. With people. And we’re not really doing people mingling. We’re still trying to avoid close contact with the ‘great unwashed‘. Just in case.

However, we went. It was busy. But we decided to at least take a walk to the pier. It was cloudy with the occasional break when the sun shone through, so it was pleasant enough but it was a bit windy. We strolled at a nice, leisurely pace down to the ‘front’ via the back roads so as to avoid the throng. We looked down on the pier. “Are we going down the steps?” we asked ourselves, knowing we’d have to walk back up again. Yes. So off we went.

Had a lovely walk along the pier but there were far too many people, so we found ourselves a nice little sheltered corner near a couple of sea anglers and sat there for a while, admiring their skill and nonchalance at their catches. People walked by but we were well back so felt safe enough. The sun was shining then and the wind was the other side and we were nice and cosy.

“Fancy a coffee?” says John. We looked at the tables in the bar area. All full. “Nah, we’ll give it a miss.” We walked on. A bit further down, there was the cafe. Tables were well distanced, and there were very few people sitting there. We stopped for a coffee. Someone had fish and chips. “They look good,” John commented. “Shall we have some?” I asked. “ Go on then, let’s treat ourselves,” John grinned. It’s not on either of our diet sheets but we’re on holiday after all. They were delicious – with curry sauce. Mmmmm…..

After we’d eaten, we carried on with a little walk further on towards the RNLI Museum which, to our disappointment was still closed. Never mind, I’ll have another paddle…… The beach was very sparsely populated and I had the waves to myself, apart from a small shoal of surfers just learning how to ride the waves. Bliss. Although, to be fair, the wind chill factor took the edge off just a bit!!

After that, we called it a day. We made our way through as many of the back roads as we could but, from where we’d ended up we had to walk through the town. We kept our masks on and our fingers crossed.

Once back at the house, we kicked off our shoes and sank into the sofa with a cuppa….aaahhhh…… that was nice. We didn’t sit long though, because it was time to ‘click and collect’ again in Swaffham. Successful trip with a fill-up of fuel, a purchase of our journey companions, Minstrels, and the pleasure of seeing yet another super sunset to boot. Grand, eh?

Not so grand though, was the WhatsApp conversation going on between the family members, revealing the horrible truth the we’re going to be in lockdown as of Tuesday. It’s William’s birthday celebrations next weekend – all planned, a barbecue, people coming from various parts of the country….. but not now….. can we bubble? Can we? Should we? Shall we? Oh, dear… here we go again. I don’t think I’m a happy bunny now!!

Talking of bunnies, we saw hares in the fields today. That was a bonus. I do love to see a hare racing across the field.

And, so, what can I say? 3,500 people infected with the virus today. The rate of infection doubling every seven days and predicted to increase over the next week or so. Hospital admissions up and death rates up.

We hope we’ve done all the right things to avoid infection while we’ve been on holiday. We thought we’d be bold and go out, but who knows? Fingers crossed.

Stay safe everyone and take care of yourselves for your own, and your loved one’s sakes.

Cool. A cool day in two ways: the breeze brought the temperature down to about sixteen degrees so we dressed up warm; and then we spent a thoroughly enjoyable day out and about – and it was cool!! Loved it!

Had a lie-in this morning. Woke up feeling a bit grumpy following a bad dream, so I turned over and went back to sleep for a bit. John says he thinks I woke up grumpy because I had too much pop last night. I couldn’t possibly comment.

However, once I was up (John had been up for hours) and had eaten my breakfast and faffed about a bit, it was time to get ready to visit the local windmill. I grabbed my walking shoes for the mooch along the path, only to be met by a pained look from John. “We’re walking?” he asked. “I thought we were going in the car so we could go straight on to our next port of call?” Oh. Abandoned my walking shoes and popped them back in the boot of the car. John had done enough walking yesterday and wasn’t ready for another trek just yet.

Once we arrived at the windmill we donned our masks, sanitised our hands and waited for our timed slot, then off we went. Fascinating history and interesting ‘gubbins’ inside. We made it to the very top and took ourselves a wobbly selfie there just to prove it, but it was very high up.

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Of course, while we were there we had to sustain ourselves with a cream tea too, didn’t we? The diet’s going well, then….

What next then? We decided to drive along to Holkham – I’d seen the signs for a beach there and, despite the fact that we’ve visited one or two seaside places, I hadn’t yet had a paddle.

All I can say is – we were thrilled with our trip to Holkham beach. John may not have been ready for a walk this morning but he was ready by this afternoon and we had a fabulous walk along the beach past the salt marshes and in amongst the pine trees. Not only that, but the sun was shining and the temperature must have risen by a couple of degrees, so we weren’t quite so chilly.

The tide was out so it was a good long walk to the sea itself, but it was a lovely paddling sea. John sat on his walking stick seat while I played in the sea. Oooh, it was fun!! And the water wasn’t that cold either.

Inspired by Catherine’s artwork on her conservatory walls, of shells and feathers and driftwood collected together to make stunning pieces, we collected a few shells from the seashore ourselves. Hands full, we searched in my bag for a suitable container, or containers, to hold our burgeoning collection. Found a pair of spare socks. That’ll do. A sock each. Great. We were concentrating hard on scouring the sand, swinging our socks nonchalantly, when all of a sudden, we came across a couple that we know from our village. What!!?? They were as surprised and delighted as we were to meet up. Kate was so thrilled that she said “Come on, let’s have a photo to send to Rachel (her daughter), or she’ll never believe me when I tell her we met you!!” Photo duly taken, we set off on our separate ways, uplifted by the encounter.

We then took a circuitous drive back to our holiday home via Walsingham, where I’d once been on a pilgrimage with fellow members of church, and Little Snoring where we looked at a house for sale. As you do, when you’re on holiday.

Home again, we sat and had a cup of tea and, to my shame, I fell asleep for half an hour. John got the tea ready which I thought was very kind of him being as I was snoring my head off!

We watched TV this evening as is our wont, and enjoyed the TV film ‘Suffragette’ starring Helena Bonham-Carter and Meryl Streep, which reminded me what dreadful experiences women went through to get the vote. And shocked when I realised that it really is only a hundred years ago. Modern women in Britain have so much to be thankful for with regard to women’s rights. Not so very long ago we were still second class citizens.

If only we could collectively fully learn from history. I am wondering how much learning is going on right now in relation to how we behave in the face of this virus. We’re still spreading it quite well – nearly three thousand cases again today – but the acute phase of panic is over and people are forgetting just how serious it is. Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, of Cambridge University, was reminding us today that the older you are the more dangerous it is. So we do still need to take extra care.

In the meantime, peace be with you and all your loved ones.

It was a Victoria Sandwich, with black cherry jam and buttercream, wot done it guv!!!

I can resist anything but temptation….. and damn it! There was temptation again today!! Every. Single. Day. Did I have an excuse? Erm….. Can’t think of one….. could I make one up? No. The only actualite is that I am rather weak-willed. There we have it. A determination to improve my eating habits and… boom! Within a day all good intentions are lost and the spare tyre around my middle is made up of scones and Victoria Sandwich. Ah, well, I am on holiday after all.

Despite the fall from grace on the food front, we had a very good day. I rose early, breakfasted like a Queen on yesterday’s foraged blackberries and apple served with a little yoghurt, and pottered about until the ol’ man got up. He, too, was up early. And why? Because we’d booked to visit Houghton Hall where there would be an exhibition of sculptures by the celebrated Anish Kapoor.

We arrived there, spot-on time and the gatekeeper asked for our booking number. Could I find the darned thing? No. But no worries, “What’s your postcode, love?” and it was all sorted. We were ushered into our parking space, one of the first to arrive, having inadvertently jumped the queue earlier before the gates were even open. I did wonder why there were lots of cars cars parked up on both sides of the roads……

We chose to wander round the formal gardens first and, joy of joys, were thrilled to see a bed of dahlias, which made me think of Pete and Dawn and the times we’d visited Baddesley Clinton together. Although, unfortunately, by the time we got to the dahlia beds, it was, ‘I think I need the loo’ time, so it was a quick photo and off we dashed.

I have to say, my anxiety levels had been decreasing. However, there seemed to be a lot of people at Houghton Hall. Admittedly, the exhibition, bar a couple of pieces, was outside, so we were able to keep our distance. But the visit to the loos raised the anxiety level to full-on. I mean, they had bloomin’ hand-dryers, for a start, flailing every droplet they could find in every direction. I wasn’t so keen on that.

But we persevered, and I kept my fingers crossed and prayed. In the event, the crowds were well dispersed and we really didn’t get too close to anyone. And the sculptures were mind-boggling, so we enjoyed it and stopped thinking about the pesky virus.

Not only that, I was thrilled to have looked at, and admired (in a weird way), Henry Moore’s ‘Mother and Child’ sculpture and, of course, Anish Kapoor’s ‘Sky Mirror’ – loved that, but then, doesn’t everyone?? Especially as I was described as a ‘teenager’ when I was trying to take a selfie. Flattery, my dear, will get you everywhere!!

We did the full circuit, including, I might add, the ‘Ha Ha’ at the end of the lawn…… oh, dear, they do say sarcasm is the lowest form of wit….

It was all thought-provoking stuff. Although John kept saying, “Yeah, but you just need the right tools….” and “This one looks like he got half-way through and his sander gave up.” Always thinking of the practical, my husband!! He did rather like the sculpture entitled ‘Grace’ though…

The exhibition didn’t take as long to go round as we had thought and it was lunchtime when we were ready to leave. John was keen for a coffee, but I wasn’t keen to stay. The queue was long and I was getting anxious about being among too many people. But it transpired that he wasn’t really thinking about coffee – more, sort of, a scone… and jam…. and clotted cream. Once we’d established that, we set off back to our holiday home. Go to the windmill cafe? Or the local cafe?

We plumped on the local cafe which had just the one scone left. Hence the Victoria Sandwich for me.

Because we had more or less a whole afternoon ahead of us we decided to set off for Wells-Next-The-Sea. We didn’t know what to expect, but crikey!! If I was worried about crowds earlier….. it was rammed!!

To avoid too many people, we ended up driving to the far end of the harbour, parking there and catching the little train for the mile back into town. We walked along the harbour wall and back. And then, because the last return train had departed, we walked the full mile mile back to the car park. Now, this may not seem much to you, but for John, who is in a state of ‘where are my muscles?’ it was quite a tall order. But he made it. Only had to sit down once. I was was pretty proud of him.

And all the while, the sun shone and the weather was warm. Delightful.

We had hoped, this evening, to join in with our Quiz Night but technology evaded us and all I can say now is, ‘Happy Birthday, Linda!!’ and send hugs.

There are still an awful lot of people being infected with COVID-19 – nearly 2,500 today, so I continue to worry. However, we’re ‘following the science‘ and keeping our distance, hand washing/sanitising and wearing our masks. If the darned thing gets us, it will be despite our every effort to avoid it. Fingers crossed….

Keep at it, everyone!! God bless.

In anticipation of it being a beautiful day day, I got up early so that we could go to the seaside. Inland, the clouds were covering what should have been a blue sky, however, so I was disappointed. Never mind, I thought, we’ll carry on as planned and when John is up we’ll set off.

So, first up, I put my shoes on, grabbed a carrier bag to store the volumes of blackberries I was going to pick and set off for a walk along the path by the field. As I shut the gate, a neighbour was just coming out of his house, so I passed the time of day. Because we had seen a lovely old vintage car in his garage yesterday when the door was open, I mentioned it. I said we weren’t sure what the make was but it looked impressive. Pleased, he asked me if I’d like to have a look round it. Oooh, I should say so!! He opened up the garage and told me all about it. Honestly, it was lovely. And pristine. It turned out that it was just a little ‘roller’ he’d been polishing yesterday. I was not jealous, as you can imagine.

With a skip in my step, I was soon on my way. It was very mild, if overcast, and I was looking forward to collecting blackberries. I didn’t have to go far before I gathered the first lot, and then I slowly worked my way down until I thought I’d got enough. I do love a bit of foraging.

On the way back, I also picked two apples from a heavily-laden tree, to go with the blackberries. And back at the house, they stewed up beautifully. Ready for tomorrow’s breakfast.

John wasn’t up yet, so I popped along to the local shop for today’s breakfast supplies and bought a couple of newspapers as a treat. We have more or less given up buying newspapers these days, so it was quite nice to have the rustle of a newspaper in our hands.

John was up when I got back so we had our breakfast – made with the fresh eggs I’d just bought – and planned our trip. I decided against taking a packed lunch, and also decided against taking my sunglasses. It was overcast, after all.

We set off to Snettisham, a sea-side resort where John had spent a camping holiday as a child. As we approached, the clouds parted and the sun came out. And it stayed like that all day. Wish I’d brought my sunglasses…..

The stroll along the beach was lovely, and then we sat down for a rest, just watching the world go by. The sea glistened in the sunlight and the birds sang – as best they could being sea-birds – and we listened to the background noises of dogs barking, people chatting, the drone of a plane and the beep-beep-beep of a metal detector. No children that I could see or hear – all gone back to school.

We drove along a bit further to Heacham and did the same again. The sun was hot by now (25 degrees) and this time there was man with a kite instead of a metal detector. Fascinating to watch. Nevertheless, I lay back, put my hat over my eyes and dozed.

Next stop, Hunstanton for a cup of coffee, perhaps? Or so we thought. Despite the school holidays being over, the town seemed very busy. And we just didn’t find anywhere we fancied coming to a halt. So we kept driving along the coast road, round the back lanes, through the beautiful countryside until we found our way back to the house we’re staying in, and there we had a nice cuppa.

The sun was still shining so I took my crossword puzzle outside and sat on the bench. The puzzle was very hard, and it was very warm, I’ll just have a little lie down, I thought. The bench was quite comfy and I was lulled by the children playing next door. Had another doze, don’t you know?

When I woke up, I was starving. “What do you want for tea, John?” I asked. “It’s up to you,” he replied. “I’m not bothered.” Ah….. well, I rustled something up that suited us both anyway, before John went back to watching the cricket. Our rellies in Oz will be pleased. The Aussies won the last game of the series. Not such an exciting match this time, but we enjoyed it all the same.

And that was our day. A pleasant unfurling of good weather, pleasant company, the roof down on the car, and glorious views. I’ll take that thank you very much.

Once again, the numbers of virus infections are at nearly three thousand people today. And, as of Monday, no more than six people may gather together. Yikes! This thing might be like the Hundred Years War if we’re not careful!!

Keep washing your hands folks! God bless.

It lasted twenty-four hours. Just twenty-four hours before I buckled. The diet? Hmmm…. the diet. Started the diet yesterday. Felt saintly. But today we had cream tea and wine. The diet was off for today. I knew it wouldn’t last. Back on tomorrow? Maybe?

So, how did the fall from grace happen, then? It was like this, your honour……

We woke up, nicely refreshed, with our mission to go for a walk this morning in our minds. We ate our breakfast and, while John was soothing his poorly eyes, I did a bit more jigsaw. I don’t know how long it was that I’d been doing the jigsaw, but I was conscious that it was quite long time, when I heard a snore or two from the lounge. John had nodded off. Ah, well… I’ll do a bit more jigsaw then.

When John woke up, it was gone mid-day. “Let’s go for our walk,” we said. Good idea. Mind you, took me another half an hour to get our bits of kit ready….

The plan was to walk as far as the windmill if we could. Not far – only half a mile or so – but we took our time. Consulted the OS map first. Shall we take it with us? Nah…. we’ll set ourselves up on the Sat Nav on the phone if we need to know where we are.

It was a lovely walk along the path. Loads and loads of blackberries to pick (I’m going back with a bag!!) and lots of flora to wonder at. Not much fauna that we could see though.

Anyway, we arrived at the windmill. It dawned on us that we hadn’t had lunch. The cafe was serving such delicious-looking scones with clotted cream and jam. How could we resist? Masks on, standing well away from everyone and using the sanitiser available we braved it and stepped inside. We decided we’d have the scones. We ordered drinks as well and took everything to a table outside. It was lovely.

After we’d had our scones we wandered round the little garden and admired the flowers they’d planted and the animals grazing in their fields. The chickens in the little garden were very tame and followed us round. Cute.

A nice wander back home to the jigsaw and a glass of wine while the chicken was roasting for our tea. It wasn’t one of the ones that had followed us, honest!

In between times, we were following Freddie’s First Day at School on the WhatsApp group. Oh, dear. My heart was full and then overflowing. We saw him ready, first thing, in his uniform looking gorgeous and very excited/nervous. Then we saw him walking in through the school gates, getting his name badge and sanitising his hands. Then the handover to the teacher. And the kiss and wave goodbye. And finally, the excited exit at the end of the school day falling headlong into Mummy and Daddy’s arms. It was too much! Ah…. Freddie, love you so. Where did those baby/toddler years go?

This evening, we had another glass of wine each….. and then, there’s only a drop left, shall we finish the bottle? Be churlish not to, we thought. We’ll drink it while we watch a film, so we watched The Good Liar with Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen. I thought it was good fun and thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Oh, and by the way. We finished the jigsaw! Just wondering what we’re going to do now…..

We did watch a bit of news today, too, and note that the country is going to hell in a handcart. The virus is spreading again, there’s shootings and stabbings and the negotiations on Brexit are all over the place. Eeeh, but it’s good to be British isn’t it?

Nevertheless, we are keeping our distance and feel comforted that the people of this part of Norfolk have clocked on to the safety precautions.

Take care and look after yourselves everyone. Let’s safeguard the future for our loved ones.

We had plans today. However, we decided to shelve the plans in favour of sleep, reading, jigsaw puzzling, TV and eating. That was it. That’s all we did all day. And guess what? It was very nice.

First off, we stayed in bed until we’d finished sleeping. No alarm. No deadlines. No need to get up.

Did a bit of reading in bed before I winkled myself out of it. Once I was up though, I had a leisurely breakfast and watched the birds outside, for a while. To be fair, it was mostly pigeons that were chasing each over and over again, and landing with very large thuds on the top of the conservatory roof. Pesky things!!

I wandered into the conservatory and pondered whether to do some more of the jigsaw. Well, why not? Spent most of the day doing it really, although I haven’t got as far as I’d like. It’s very hard.

John was up and about, supplying the cups of tea, and then it was Grand Prix time. But what about the cricket?? “No worries,” John said, “I’m recording it,” Phew!!

So first we watched the Grand Prix, in fits and starts, which was very exciting and very eventful. John paused it every so often while he baked paleo bread. Sometimes he left it running thinking the race was going to be a procession, and I’d have to call him through to tell him that there was more drama. Rewind to watch.

And then it was cricket. Which was just as exciting as the previous match, but England were batting second this time. With a few balls to bowl it looked tight, but Butler was in fine form so we sailed through. We enjoyed that!

I did a bit more jigsaw before we ate. Had a lovely meal – steak, but without the chips, I am after all, on a diet. No wine, for me either. Saintly. Well, except that I did have a few squares of chocolate this afternoon….

This evening, we did a bit of our homework. Our quiz buddies have entrusted us to be James Bond ‘experts’, so we watched Tomorrow Never Dies. I took copious notes. But really it’s a dreadful film. Incredibly violent, which I had forgotten, but at least I know what it’s about. Well, I do today. Might have forgotten all about it tomorrow by the time I’ve slept…

Although we watched TV, we haven’t been following the news. Except on Twitter, which tells me that there were nearly 3,000 people infected with the virus today. Scary.

Take care everyone, please. Might sound dramatic but our lives depend on it. Depend on everyone doing their bit.

God bless you all.

Despite a luxury bed and luxury linen, John said he had ‘a busy night’. He always has a busy night!! I, on the other hand, slept wonderfully well and woke up lovely and refreshed this morning. The sun shone in and the birds were singing their little hearts out to greet me.

We had decided that we’d have a lazy day – perhaps a little walk later – so I took my time over my breakfast, watching the clouds chasing across the sky and warming myself in the sunshine.

Afterwards, John was still catching up on his rest, so I did a little photo shoot to send to the kids. Took a while deciding on the pics and then composing them, but it turned out quite well I thought.

Then it was time to pamper myself. Something I haven’t done for a very long while. We were lucky to get our little trip to Ragdale in before lock down, but since then, I really have done nothing. Not even had a haircut. So this morning I spent hours faffing about in the bathroom. Oooh, it were lovely!!! Had a bit of panic about drying my hair though. Couldn’t get the hairdryer to switch on. Now that would have been a disaster if I couldn’t dry my hair! Mrs Frizzalot here we come……. anyway, all’s well that ends well. The switch I needed was in our bedroom, not the bathroom. Frizzy hair avoided!!

Meanwhile John was up and making me a nice cup of tea before watching a bit of TV. I finally unpacked the rest of our things and joined him. He was watching yesterday’s T20 cricket – England versus Australia. We had forgotten about it yesterday with the excitement of travelling and arriving here. But we’d heard it was an exciting match. Even though I knew the result, I was on tenterhooks. It was such a thrilling cricket. For those of you who don’t know, England won – after Australia looked like they’d walk it with about four overs to go. Great fun.

This afternoon we took a bit of a walk down the road. The weather was pleasant and the terrain not too hilly. We passed the little shop and peered in through the window. “Shall we get a paper?” John suggested. Fat chance. He’d temporarily forgotten that most papers had been held up by Extinction Rebellion blockading the newspaper delivery points. Ah well, plenty of books to read and news to listen on the the telly if we want to.

We meandered on down the road and came upon live cricket at the local cricket club. We ventured in to watch at a distance. Chaps were in their underwear, kitting up, seemingly oblivious to any spectators around the field. We established that the home side had scored 130 runs and the visiting side, Sandringham, were just beginning to bat. “Will you make the 130 runs?” I asked one chap who wasn’t ‘in flagrante’. “Oh, yes, should do, should win” he said, confidently. We watched with interest. I did a bit of a running commentary. The bowler was coming in, and he bowls…. oh!! The batsman’s been clean bowled! I turned to the young man who’d confidently predicted a win, and asked what the score was. “I think that’s five for one,” he grinned, ruefully. “Let’s watch a bit more, shall we, John?” I asked “ Let’s watch them get a run or two,” John agreed, so we stood in the warm sunshine a bit longer. Well, we watched two more batsmen get out and four leg-byes scored, before we left…….. I wonder what the final score was…..

We continued on our walk for a little longer before turning back and considered what we might have for our evening meal. I was starving hungry by the time we’d got back and was tempted by chocolate, or crisps, or nuts. But we’d had a bit of conversation earlier on about me getting fat. I said I thought was fat. John said he thought I was, well, getting….. round. Hmmmm, perhaps I’ll give the snacks a miss. Drank wine with our meal though! Ha! Take that! Oh….. it’s only myself who’s going to ‘take that’……. oh…. best think again then.

This evening we decided to settle into the rather comfy sofa and watch a film. Nothing too dramatic – just a gentle film that wouldn’t tax us too much – Ocean’s Twelve. Always makes me laugh that film – it is all so improbable and impossible but very satisfying. John fell asleep through much of it. He’s seen it too often to care about the capers going on and would probably have preferred something a bit more gritty. When it was finished, I handed him the controller so he could find something a with a little bit more bite to it while I went to do my jigsaw.

I am determined to do the jigsaw this holiday. We had bought it last September when we were up in Northumberland, with a view to completing it at Christmas. We didn’t do it then, though, having selected a more Christmassy one. When the lockdown started I got it out, fully intending to complete it in the ‘couple of weeks’ we might be isolated. Then Mum came to stay and I didn’t fancy doing it over the following weeks and months we were isolating. So it’s never got done. Now’s my chance!!

As you can tell, haven’t watched the news. However, I did see on Twitter that over 1,800 people are reported as being infected with COVID-19 today….. I know not so many people are dying as at the beginning, but the infection rate is climbing which really isn’t good news.

I am not thinking about it too much though as we’re keeping well away from people (even at the open air cricket match!). I am determined to enjoy our break away and leave Anxiety behind. Take care everyone. God bless.

So today was THE BIG DAY! Having a break away – very excited!

I woke up early and did a spot of meditation to prepare me for the day and was just at the end of it when, surprise, surprise, the phone rang and it was Michael phoning from Jersey. All the family were there, so it was delightful to chat to them all – including Thomas, who did lots of smiles and gurgles. They all look well and relaxed for their break – although, to be fair, Michael hasn’t really had a break as he’s been working more or less non-stop.

After the little chat with the Sutton Sleaths, I was up and raring to go. The most pressing thing to do was to run up to the pharmacy to see if they’d had John’s prescription through. So, off I toddled, mask in hand (and on face when I got into the shop, I hasten to add). Yes, they’d got his prescription from the doctor. No, it wasn’t ready. OK, I said, I’ll wait. I waited for a minute or two in the shop then realised several others were coming in and there were too many people inside. I waited outside, where there was a queue of three more people. One chap was complaining. “Look,” he said, gesturing to those inside, “there’s only supposed to two people in the shop at any one time.” I nodded, feeling guilty. I’d added to the number originally. “This is first time I’ve had to queue to get in,” he continued, disgruntled. I shrugged. I really had no idea, not frequenting the pharmacy very often in the last few months. It was quite a long wait. There was a lady in the shop waiting for her prescription too, but, unlike me, hadn’t realised that she really ought to wait outside to let the others in. Ah, well, it was good fun as I chatted to those in the queue. And successful in the end, when I triumphantly brought home the spoils.

Once home, I got on with sorting all the things we were taking with us. John, bless him, was feeling a bit ‘meh’ today so stayed in bed for most of the morning. As a result, he hasn’t a clue as to what I’ve brought with us. When he emerged, his first thought was ‘pharmacy’ – ah-ha!! Job done!! Which he was pleased about as it meant he didn’t have to walk up the road. His second thought was ‘money’. A visit to the Post Office to pay some in. He didn’t look keen. “Shall I go?” I asked. “Well…. if you wouldn’t mind…” So, off I toddled again. No-one in the shop. No-one queuing for the Post Office services. Yippee!! I plonked everything down on the counter, only to be told that money and a paying-in book doesn’t work any more. You gotta have the bank card, too!! Oh. Oh? Yeah. They changed it a couple of months ago. Oh….. home again; rummage in drawers; toddle back up the road and finally do the deed – although this time there were people in the shop and there was a queue.

Would we ever be on our way? John, of course, having done the washing up, was ready and waiting. I was still emptying bins, chucking out dead flowers in vases, bleaching sinks and loos and chasing the cats out for the umpteenth time as they kept escaping into the house each time I left a door open. But finally, finally, we were ready to go. It was two o’clock. Only a half an hour later in departure than I’d promised myself. Not bad…… We got in the car. Clicked on our seat belts and pulled off the drive. “Once round the roundabout?” I asked. John grinned. “Might as well.” But actually, we didn’t need to do the traditional ‘once round the roundabout’ as it turned out, as we hadn’t forgotten anything. At least, we’re here now and we don’t think we did!!

Journey was good – only one packet of Minstrels devoured in the way – and we located the premises very easily. And, well, suffice to say, it’s a very nice barn conversion, thank you. Don’t mind if I do. Thank you for your generosity, Catherine and John. How lucky are we?

There was the most fabulous sunset this evening, too. I sat in the conservatory, with a glass of wine and watched the sun go down. Can’t get much better than that, can it?

• 

And…… breathe……..

I am not sure what the figures are today in terms of COVID-19 infection rates and deaths. Am using my lil’ ol’ phone to write my diary, and can’t be sure I’ve checked the figures properly. However, I think the figures as the up. Not good.

In the meantime, I am determined to enjoy my holiday and hope that we, and you all, stay safe anyway. God bless.