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We had a very lazy morning, both sleeping until late. The only real task for the day was packing. Neither of us felt any urgency to get up so we took the opportunity to have our sleep out instead of leaping from our beds and getting on with things.

For most of the day, my head has been full of ‘what to pack’ and making lists. It’s a year since we went away and, goodness me, how easy it is to forget just what, and how much, to take with you when you have a week away. I did that thing whereby I washed everything, so that I had a good choice of what to pick to pack. There were some things that needed ironing too, including my Mum’s coat which fell foul of the tumble dryer the other week and was rather creased.

I did the ironing while watching Judge Rinder on daytime TV. Just as I was putting the ironing away, John started watching a daytime TV film – you know the sort, girl meets boy, boy is married, boy turns out to be a baddy, falls over the balcony and (we assume) is smashed to a pulp several stories below, girls sobs, but is relieved that the baddy is gone and it all ends happily ever after. It was a rubbish film, but once we started watching it we carried on, so whiled away the afternoon without doing much of the packing.

Of course, by the time the film had ended it was time to sort out something to eat for our evening meal. I have been a bit concerned that John hasn’t, perhaps, been eating all of the right things recently, and that is affecting his health, so I decided to make a meal in a soup – chicken and vegetable – with all of the recommended ingredients for a healthy gut. But why, oh why do these things take longer than I think they are going to? The recipe was easy – roast yer veggies, blend half of’em, then bung everything in some stock and simmer for a bit. Well, it was easy but it took me a good forty minutes to get it ready. Tasted delicious though – even John thought so.

After we’d eaten, I left John watching more TV and went upstairs to pack the case. As it turned out, that wasn’t so difficult after all. I just consulted my lists and chucked stuff in. Nearly there. Left a load of items on the bed for John to pop into his case though – tee-hee. What a shock when he goes to bed…… no room unless he does his packing.

I had thought I wouldn’t take a great deal of foodstuffs with us, having ordered a ‘click and collect’ order at the local shop near where we are staying. However, having failed to get up and at ’em this morning, time drifted on, and I suddenly realised that the deadline for amending the order had passed. So I’ve had to raid the cupboards a bit now….

This evening was a Zoom gathering with the college crew, but I wasn’t able to join in as I was behind on sorting out me bits ‘n bobs, so sent my apologies. Shame really, because the last time we met up we had a pamper session, which took up all the time and we didn’t get to chat much then, so it’ll be six weeks before I catch up with them all.

It’s nice to know that they are there though, even if I haven’t done the Zoom chat this evening. They are always there, whenever I need them. How wonderful it is to have such good friends and how blessed am I when I think of all the dear friends I have. Lucky, lucky old me.

Of course, many of our friends are in different parts of the country, flung far and wide, and with regards to the pesky virus we hear that some may be living near the hotspots for infection, which is a bit of a worry. However, each and every one of them is sensible, so I expect everyone is doing everything they can to avoid infection.

Today the government report tells us that there is another rise in the infection rate with 1,735 people infected and thirteen deaths in the community, but only one in a hospital setting.

The darned virus is circling around us and is still waiting to pounce if we get too relaxed about it all. I must confess, I had started to relax, but I am not so sure now with the ever increasing numbers. However, I don’t think we’re in a hotspot and where we travelling to isn’t either, so perhaps I’ll breath easy.

Take care everyone. Keep washing those hands!! God bless.

Well, hello, Wednesday! What a great day. Love, laughter, friendships and general all-round thankfulness for the gift of life. For a start, the sun was shining in this morning, and smiling on us. That, for me, was in itself a good beginning to the day, so I got up and set about getting things ready for Jack coming mid-morning to valet the car.

It is such a long time since Jack has been round – I miss the days when we did the gardening together and we’d sit for our elevenses and have a cuppa and a biscuit. I think the last time he came was over a year ago and it was another car valeting job then too. Our gardening together days are over.

John is still feeling the effects of the physical effort he’s been putting in recently, so he dozed on this morning while Jack did the car and I labelled all of the photos I’d put into the ‘Lockdown 2020’ album. Jack did a wonderful job of vacuuming and washing the car, so it’s all set for its holiday next week. Just need to check the tyres, screen wash, oil etc – and buy the chocolate Minstrels to sit in the glove compartment ready for the journey – and we’re good to go.

No sooner had Jack left than Michelle and Tim arrived. What joy! It is more than year since we’ve met up (might even be two?) and so I was delighted to greet them. Sad not to be able to give them the biggest, squeeziest hugs though….

We settled ourselves outside and lit the chiminea – although to be truthful it wasn’t that cold – and Michelle handed me a bottle of Prosecco. Ah….. couldn’t resist of course, so we cracked the bottle open to accompany our chicken sandwiches. Haute cuisine or what?

The warmth of blazing wood in the chiminea was keeping us all warm except John. He was huddled in his chair, wrapped in a blanket, yet still feeling a bit chilly. We persevered, however, for most of the visit, and nattered away, sharing stories and generally catching up with each other’s news. There were a few drops of rain, but nothing too bad so we stuck it out.

Towards the end of the visit, however, the rain started falling a little bit too hard to be sat outside. John had dismantled the gazebo the other week in deference to the storm that threatened any unstable structure, and he hadn’t had the time, nor the inclination to re-instate it. We knew there were going to be showers today but we were hoping to dodge them. But no. Oh, dear, what shall we do? I didn’t want to be out in the wet, nor did I want John to feel any chillier than he already did.

We thought about it for a bit then John suggested that we might step indoors – with the Broadribbs at one end of the lounge and us at the other. And it was a case of, “Don’t touch anything,” then, “Put your masks on,” and finally, “Sanitise your hands,” I’d also like to have said, ‘hold your breath’, but I thought that would be a bit unfair and they might turn blue with trying.

So, we braved it. I got the collywobbles a bit, but we were very well distanced, and they didn’t stay very long, so it didn’t detract from the pleasure of their company. And they didn’t touch anything, they sanitised their hands and talked to us through their masks so, fingers crossed, none of us regret the ‘indoor’ socialising ……. I went round with the bleach afterwards though, of course.

John was still chilly after they had left, so we turned the heating up to ‘a lot’ degrees, and he stayed wrapped in his blanket to watch TV for the rest of the afternoon.

I spent a little while looking at some ‘Interval’ quiz questions that Nigel had sent us and printed a copy off for John to have a go at later. They were hard. As Linda said, they’re the sort of questions you used to get when you did your Eleven Plus. My brain has atrophied so much that I don’t think I’d pass my Eleven Plus now.

After our evening meal, it was Quiz Time. Malcolm and Caroline had accepted an invitation to visit Dorset where their son lives and didn’t join in this week, so we were depleted. He had sent his answers to the ‘Interval’ questions through though. I loved some of his answers. Question One: Can’t be a***d to work it out. Question Ten: Not a foggiest. Despite our struggles, between us, we got all of the questions right for that round, to which we did a big whoop, whoop!! And our percentage for getting questions right across the whole quiz worked out at 83%. We were cock-a-hoop at our own cleverness.

What a wonderful day. To see Jack and to benefit from his generosity in cleaning the car for us (although I did pay him in sweets); to spend time among dear friends whom we haven’t seen for ages; and then to spend time with dear friends who make us laugh each week at quiz time. Bliss. A blessed day.

In the meantime, while we have been enjoying our day, there are others who haven’t been enjoying theirs and who have been fighting the COVID-19 virus. Numbers of those infected seem to be rising, with 1,508 reported today and 10 deaths. Ten people have died with the new counting system, but in the old system this would have been 101 people today. Which is a bigger number than we’d like. Just one death reported, however, in a hospital setting yesterday.

Taking care as to how we behave is a must now that the autumn is upon us. God bless you all and peace be with you.

I decided on a slow start this morning with a bit of prayer and meditation. John, however, heaved himself out of bed and went to make cup of tea, which we sat and drank in bed. I always think it is the height of luxury to be having a cuppa in bed in the mornings, don’t you? But then, I am easily pleased.

I had a look at Twitter to see what the subject matter was of the little e-jigsaw competition we have, and found it was a portrait of Mrs Cooper, the wife of the founder of the Art Gallery that shares the puzzle with us. I wondered who was taking part this morning but no-one had posted a time, with the exception of Ken, who sent us this rhyme: ‘Can’t compete today, Mrs Cooper didn’t want to play, She came to me completed, Before I even tweeted.’ There must have been a glitch in the system, but the pressure was off, no-one had done the jigsaw, and I could take my time… how nice.

John got up and started making banana pancakes. I followed on and wondered why the kitchen door was closed……..oh!! On opening it there was a great fug in the kitchen. I hastily shut the door again lest the smoke alarm did its thing. John was growling at the frying pan and wafting at it. ” Bl***y things, keep burning,” he said through gritted teeth. We opened windows and the back door, doing more wafting.

As it turned out, despite the fact that there were black bits – well, front, back and sides – the pancakes tasted OK. We smothered them in raspberries and pecan nuts, drizzled them with maple syrup and plopped a spoonful of yoghurt on top. Not bad at all.

I had just put my plate into the dishwasher when the doorbell rang. We did that double-take to each other, like you do, of ‘whoever can that be?’ and ‘I wonder who that is?’ before even going to the front door to find out. My heart leapt as I pulled the door open – it was Paul, looking beautiful and grinning at me, pleased with the surprise he’d created. Ahhhh…. how wonderful to see him!

Paul strode round the back and I flitted through the house, calling to John on the way, “It’s Paul!” delight ringing out in my voice. Having let Paul in, we sat in the warmth of the sun in the garden, having a lovely chat. He’d been to check on the rental properties the other day, and was calling in, on his way to work, with an update for his Dad. He wasn’t in a hurry to get away – or, at least, he didn’t give that impression – and we just savoured the moments together. It’s a while since we’ve seen him on his own, so it was good.

We chatted about the family, of course, and what the kids were up to. And realised, with a jolt, that Freddie will be starting school on Monday. Crumbs!! We knew he’d be starting school this September, but we only realised it when Paul reminded us. Crikey! Where did those years go to? How did they gallop by so fast? When did Freddie turn into a little boy rather than a toddler? I mean, he’s got a uniform and everything……

After Paul had left, I meandered about the garden for a while. It was so balmy and I felt so relaxed that a little bit of dead-heading was just up my street. John, meanwhile, had put his feet up on a chair and his head back…..obviously equally relaxed but clearly exhausted by the trauma of filling the kitchen with smoke, he decided to have a bit of a doze.

Once the kitchen was habitable again I got on with my promise of yesterday – that I would do the washing up this morning, after having left the pots overnight. I spent a while tidying up the kitchen, then I emptied out the car, which was full of the tools that John had been using for Michael’s ‘man-shed’.

Why am I telling you about the car?? Well, I needed an empty boot because I had geared myself up to go to the shops.

My on-line shop had only delivered some of the items I wanted for Mum. When I visited and took her shopping round, I made a note of what else she needed. It was a good half-dozen things. Where should I get them from? Order them on-line? Go to the local Tesco? Sainsburys? The One-Stop? And how about the Co-op? I mulled it over. I ruminated. I talked to John about it. I talked to Andrew. I mentioned it to Paul. Finally, I decided I’d go to the Co-op.

I got everything I wanted bar one item and, surprise, surprise, no gremlins leapt out at me. I went round the shop unmolested, my path clear all the way and on through the checkout with no hitch. Phew!

Mum was pleased to see me when I dropped her shopping in, but then disappointed again that I wasn’t staying too long. I had agreed to pick up the key (for the barn in Norfolk) from Nuneaton at five o’clock, so I was on a relatively tight timeline. We had chance to have a cup of tea and a bit of a chat though, before I left.

When I got back from Nuneaton ‘we had us tea’ and settled, once again, before the TV. Nothing much on and, anyway, John was snoozing again. I was delighted, therefore, when Michael phoned. He was taking the dog for a walk along the beach and thought he’d have a natter while he walked. It was lovely.

Meanwhile, what has the ol’ man been doing all day? Well, mostly, I think he’s been snoozing or watching TV ensconced on the sofa. Poor man, he’s worn out with all the exertions of the recent weeks. Time for a well-deserved rest. Get his strength up for a week’s holiday – there’ll be lots to do…… well, maybe.

All the while that we’ve been enjoying our day, whatever we’ve been doing, there have been people catching the COVID-19 virus. 1,295 of them today to be precise. At least, that’s what the government has reported. Not sure how precise it is. 3 deaths today in the community and one yesterday in a hospital setting, and two confirmed for the day before. As Nicola Sturgeon said today – it’s still out there…….

Take care everyone. Don’t let the gremlins get you. God bless.

I didn’t sleep at all well last night, tossing and turning, and had the feeling that I was awake for all, or most of it. Of course, I wasn’t, but I certainly didn’t wake refreshed this morning. John thought it was his fault. He always tosses and turns and is up half a dozen times but no, I don’t think it was that. I am not sure what it was, but it led to the feeling of walking through treacle early on today.

I got up and started to wade through the various jobs I had jotted down every hour during the night. One interesting job was to load some of Mum’s poems into a portal, for a group of people to consider whether they might publish them into a little pamphlet. I don’t hold out a lot of hope as the instructions are quite fierce. ‘If your work tends to  cliché, abstraction, generalisation, worn phrasing, righteousness and outrage, it is not likely to interest us.’ Hmm….. Mum’s poems may be a bit clichéd with a few well-worn phrases….. but I’ve submitted them anyway, for a bit of fun.

However, I wasn’t long into the choosing of the poems and copying them into a Word document when I realised that I couldn’t access half of them. That was because, when I got them printed into booklet form for Mum’s 90th birthday, I did them directly into the programme for print. And access to the programme was missing. Help……. George?

Dear George, thank goodness, came to the rescue and sorted out the file path and access to the delinquent poems, from which I selected a few more to submit to the august committee. What a very good friend he is. I don’t expect to hear any more about the submission, however, but for a moment that little flame of hope flared. Think how excited Mum would be if her poems were in print for people to read!

I wasn’t far from finishing that little job (which actually took me until mid-day) when John said he was off. He was making another trip to Sutton. Must finish the electrics, he muttered.

Not very long after John had left, there was a mysterious text message from Andrew. ‘Gonna leave soon. Will let you know when I am on the move.’ Did a little dance. Excited butterflies in my tummy. Andrew’s coming home! Did another little dance. Oh, bliss. I hadn’t even been aware that a visit was on the cards today. What a lovely surprise.

And it was bliss. We naturally sat outside, but the weather was good and relatively warm. There was no breeze, so no wind chill factor. We lit the chiminea to keep the chill away though, just in case, and cosied round it, made a cuppa and sat and chatted and chatted. Bliss, bliss, bliss.

“Does Dad know you’re coming home?” I wanted to know. I couldn’t believe John would be out and about if he knew the prodigal son was coming home. Apparently, he did know and said to Andrew he’d be home about six. Well, that was nice. I had Andrew all to myself for the whole afternoon. It was lovely.

Before Andrew came, I hadn’t quite decided on food for the day, but I had got a whole chicken in the fridge. Always going to kill the fatted calf when the boys come home, aren’t you? So today was no exception. Winner, winner, a roast chicken dinner. And it was delicious. Magnum to follow. What a treat.

Andrew had brought home with him a fair few chattels from the flat he’s vacated and that he can’t fit into his single room. We spent a little while unloading the car and filling our house up with stuff. Not sure how long we’ll be keeping it this time….

John finally made it home at around six o’clock as promised and had a comfy hour with Andrew before he needed to head back. I was cock-a-hoop, having enjoyed Andrew’s company all afternoon but sad to wave goodbye again. It was such a short visit. Short but sweet. He set off, laden with a few bits and pieces like food, as well as one or two items he needed for the professional kitchen. “Bye! Drive carefully!” we called, as we followed him all the way down the road with our eyes, waving all the while.

The treacly feeling had miraculously disappeared when Andrew said he was on his way and it stayed away all afternoon. Funny how it came back again after he’d gone though, eh? Couldn’t be bothered to do anything much this evening – not even the pots. So, they’ve stayed stacked by the sink ready to be washed tomorrow morning. I just shut the kitchen door on them. Perhaps the cats’ll lick them clean…….

Andrew and I mulled over the COVID-19 situation and considered where the hot spots might be and concluded that neither Cambridge nor Balsall Common are ‘hot’. But there are places across the country which must be hot, because there were 1,406 people confirmed as infected today and two people reportedly having died from it in the community, and one in hospital yesterday.

Are we getting blasé to the figures, do you think? I remember there was a worry when 750 people were infected at one time, and now, we don’t seem to bat an eyelid that there are almost double that figure of people infected in one day. There’s no accounting for it, is there?

In the meantime, a visit from Youngest Son has buoyed me up for the days ahead and I am hoping that the treacly feeling goes away tomorrow after a good night’s sleep.

God bless. Go well this week everyone.

Awake at seven o’clock again this morning but snoozed on until eight. Didn’t quite spring into action immediately but soon enough to get myself ready to go to church, for the first time since lock down, at nine-thirty. I had been hoping to meet up with the Kenilworth Sleaths there, as it was a service to bless the schoolbags ready for the ‘back to school’ run next week. However, they didn’t make it, but I was glad I went.

The arrangements in church were very carefully thought out with everyone wearing a mask, and no-one touched anything, so my nerves were unfounded, and it went off without a hitch. I was touched that so many people were pleased to see me and welcomed me back. I was in trouble though. I had parked my car too near the path by the side of the church and waiting for me as I emerged, were two of the congregation ready to point out my misdemeanour. I was crushed. There’s always something, isn’t there? Ah, well, lesson learned.

Back home, I comforted myself with a couple of freshly-baked croissants, and a freshly-made brew. Felt a bit better then and got on with a few jobs, before having a little sit-down on the sofa. John made another cuppa, which I promptly ignored as I fell asleep. Whaaat? No idea what is going on. It was only one o’clock in the afternoon. It wasn’t as if I’d even been working very hard.

I woke up in time to watch the Grand Prix this afternoon, which wasn’t awfully exciting as it was a bit of a procession. Half-way through, I thought I’d better busy myself and get ready to go round to Mum’s to take her shopping.

Mum was very well and thrilled that I had taken round a photo album of the family that I’d had printed, called ‘Lockdown 2020 – March to May’. She was delighted to look at the pictures of everyone, especially of the great-grandchildren and herself. “I don’t take a bad photo, do I?” she said. Well, she doesn’t. All the photos of her in the album look good. So, she had a second look through the album to feast her eyes once more. She was even more delighted when I told her that the album was hers to keep.

It was a pleasant hour or two with Mum – she was in a good mood and, apart from commenting on me wearing a mask, she wasn’t critical at all. She thought she hadn’t seen me for ages though and had I been on holiday? Erm, no, just been busy. We sorted through her clothing and fished out a load that she thought probably needed washing, so I brought those home with me. I also brought home a bag of ironing. She couldn’t remember who had done her washing for her this week, but it had been tumble dried and the creases were embedded in – no amount of folding and laying flat was going to undo them. I soon fixed that this evening and her clothes are ready to be returned.

When I got home, John had belatedly started watching the T20 cricket on telly. I do like a bit of cricket and the twenty-over cricket format is great for a nail-biting finish. For a while, England looked like they were making slow progress, but then the pace picked up and we thought it might be easy-peasy. That was before a few wickets tumbled all at once. But they made it to the finish line and won the day. Exciting stuff.

John had planned to go out and do a bit more stone-shifting, but the cricket lured him in and he watched to the end of the match before starting the work. That meant that he delayed his tea-time by about an hour or so. I went out at seven o’clock to let him know that it was ready, and I was going to eat mine. He was on a roll however and wanted to get the last little bit done. He had to re-fresh his chips in the chip pan when he finally came in…..

By the time John made it into the lounge, I had started watching a film about Barbara Windsor. I thought it was just a documentary and, it probably not being John’s cup of tea, I decided I’d view it while he was out labouring. However, it was a really well constructed piece of theatre and I thoroughly enjoyed it. John came in half-way through and even he enjoyed too.

The ol’ man made me laugh this evening though. I came up to write my diary and, after the night-time ritual of locking the house up, he wheezed his way upstairs, plonked himself on the chair beside me and said, very breathlessly, “I think I’ll have to review how much I think I can get done in a day….” No…. you don’t say?? He’s nearly seventy years old, with a variety of ailments and he’s only just thinking now about reviewing the situation?? Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle. You gotta love him.

I constantly think about how I shield John in the current circumstances as I am not keen for him to become a statistic of COVID-19. Despite there only being one reported death in the community using the new counting method, shockingly, there have been 1,715 people confirmed as infected today. I am hoping it wasn’t a mistake to go to church this morning……fingers crossed. It seems we still need to be shielding.

Take care everyone. God bless.

It was seven o’clock and I was awake. I peeped outside. Dull as ditch water out there. Light, but not bright. At this time in the morning I always mull over what I should do – step outside for a walk? Or…. stay inside for some meditation? …. listen the daily prayers on Lectio 365? …….get the yoga mat out? Or even, go and get a cuppa and some breakfast? I opted for a bit of meditation, which worked very well, but you are encouraged close your eyes. It was a couple of hours before I woke up again…..

I know why I am tired – went to bed late, of course, but I also enjoyed a great tasting red wine last night, and this morning I think I may have been a little hung over. I read a bit of my book and then John, too, was awake so we softly chatted, still in bed, until we thought we really ought get up.

One of the things I have been enjoying during the period of staying in ‘at home’ is to do an e-puzzle. One of the art galleries on Twitter post one every day, so I like to challenge myself each morning to see how quickly I can do it. One or two others have also risen to the challenge so we share our times in a little competition. I am by far the slowest, but it’s such fun that I keep at it in the hope that, one day, I might move up the league table.

So, after I’d done my puzzle and eaten my brunch, John was ready and raring to go over to Sutton to do a bit more on the ‘man-shed’. I went with him so that I could have a go at shampooing the carpet in the front room there, with my brand spanking new carpet cleaner.

I think we both enjoyed the jobs we’d allotted ourselves today. I was particularly keen to see how my carpet shampooer worked because, as you may recall, the original one I had didn’t work and had to be sent back. I was sent a replacement but, no sooner had I got it than Michael was borrowing it. When you’ve got a dog, your carpets always suffer, don’t they? Well, it was time for another carpet wash and brush up chez les Sutton Sleaths.

The carpet cleaning went very well. I gave the carpet a deep clean and shook my fist at it daring it to come back for more. It was a bit cheeky, because it’s saying yep, it’ll come back for more. So I might give it another go another day and see how it likes that. The challenge is ON!

John also had a successful day tinkering with the electrics on the shed. I think he’s more or less put all the plugs in, but I can’t be sure, as there always seems to be something still to do. “I’ll come back tomorrow,” he says, “and finish that off.” I’m never quite sure whether any of it is ever finished. If it’s anything like the jobs in our house, it might be a case of: “Do you want it finished, or do you want to be able to use it?”

This evening we took delivery of an on-line shop, which had gone a bit awry when I sent the order in and it was a bit like a lucky dip. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to get. Seemed to get some of the important things though, like chocolate and wine, so we might survive.

We also took delivery of a take-away. Only the second time we’ve done it, and the last time we did we both had tummy aches because we aren’t used to rich food any more. But we’re determined to fight and get used to rich food, so we thought we’d have another go. OK so far.

We sat and watched TV before bed, but not before I had started planning our little trip away to Norfolk. Catherine phoned me today to confirm the arrangements, so I am now very excited to have something to look forward to. Walking boots. Tick. Walking sticks. Tick. Binoculars. Tick. Camera. Tick. That’s all we need right?

The programme we chose to watch this evening was the film about the plane that crash landed on/in the Hudson river in 2009. I remember the incident very well, but I hadn’t realised how well the pilot had done to avert a disaster. The film wasn’t really that good, but the story line was fascinating. I hadn’t realised that the investigators thought that the pilot may have been at fault. Every day an education, eh?

Talking of averting a disaster, we will do well to avert one and avoid a second wave of the virus, from what I understand in the news. However, I am relatively encouraged by the steadying of the figures and by the attention being paid by the majority of people who are doing the right thing and keeping their distance etc. 1,108 people were confirmed as infected with the virus today – how does that feel to you now? Still seems a lot but it’s not going up. And 12 people died in the community with just one death in a hospital yesterday. That’s getting better – not for the dead people and their families, of course, but better statistically and gives us hope.

Blessings to you all.

OK – so this is turning into a marathon. Almost everyone is bored of reading the The Daily Echo, with the days trundling by and me blarting out the same sort of stuff every day.

Regardless, encouraged by a few stalwarts, I am carrying on. And, you never know, this may be the stuff that my grandchildren alight on in many years to come, and they may wonder at the ‘nuttiness’ of the times we are living in. The ‘nuttiness’ being the pandemic (of course) and the English government’s madness just now. (Please don’t ask me to elaborate – it’ll have to be the newspaper cuttings that inform…. or social media?) At least, I hope that the grandkids’ll find this blurb/blog/diary interesting – even if they decide it was their Grandma who was mad….see below. But does any of it seem mad to you?

In reality, not a lot to report today. John decided he was going to do more ‘man-shed’ work over in Sutton, so he set off, mid-morning, to get on with it, leaving me at home to get on with…… oh, I don’t know …. stuff….

Firstly, my ‘stuff’ comprised sharing, far and wide, Michael’s request for participants in research for his PhD. (If you haven’t had any communication from me or John on this, please let me know). That took a while. And thank you to those who have already responded – mostly saying, “We don’t know anyone,” but, please even if you think you don’t know anyone please, please share. It may be a friend of a friend of a friend who knows someone who can help.

Then, I thought about improving both my mental and physical health, so scrolled through all of the yoga sessions Jaime had sent me, with a view to streaming one of them on YouTube. Grrr…… unavailable on my phone… how’s that happened then? Argh… I transferred the emails to a folder in my email account and the folders were empty. I know, I’ll check out how you ensure that the folders in your email account have content. Hmmm…….. It turns out, if you have a problem in this area, you have to delete your account on your phone and then re-install it. Oh, right, yeah…… as if I am going to do that without backup??? No worries, the lady from Apple re-assured me. You’ll get a phone call about 4.30 this afternoon to help you do that. Did I get the phone call? Did I? What do you think? Humph! And I never did get to do a yoga session today……

I seemed to spend hours on the research for what to do with my email account on the iPhone. Fortunately, Michael phoned from Jersey, which broke the spell, and I promised him that I’d go for a bit of a walk to prise me away from the computer – which I did – and then I called on Pete and Dawn to offer the very belated birthday gift I’d got for Dawn. They were well and feeling rather good, having been out for lunch with Lucy today. I was not jealous, as you can imagine.

I didn’t stay long at Pete and Dawn’s, anticipating the Apple phone call. And once I was home, I started preparing a nut roast. It’s one we particularly like, and it’s easy to make – just chop up a few nuts etc, sling in a few veggies, and add a couple of eggs. Ha! You think? It took me an hour to prepare. Admittedly, I had a bit of a wander round the garden gathering fresh sage and lemon balm, but still. I have no idea why it takes me so long to prepare this meal, but it always does, and I always think it’ll be quicker the next time, and it never is. Nevertheless, it tasted pretty good.

All the while that I was preparing the evening meal, I kept checking my phone for the anticipated phone call. Nothin’ doin’. Never did get the call. Will have to do a follow up tomorrow. Sigh…..

John arrived home just as I put the nut roast in the oven. Ah…..it’ll be a good forty-five minutes or more before it’s ready. Oh, and at seven o’clock I’m going to be chatting to my book club, so can you sort your own food out, please? Yes, no problem.

This evening, then, was book club, while John sorted out the food and watched a bit of TV. I, meanwhile, thoroughly enjoyed chatting to everyone about the book we’d read, “The Beekeeper of Aleppo” and planned the next book to read. I am so enjoying this book club. Firstly, the books chosen are interesting. Secondly, the people with whom I chat, are interesting. And thirdly, there’s no pressure. Nice.

After book club, I ventured downstairs, where John and I drank lots of red wine and watched trashy TV. I’d love to be able to say we watched ‘intellectually stimulating TV’ one day, but the truth is, we mostly don’t. This time, it was about a serial killer in America. And all I could think was, “Dear Lord, save their souls.” Unfortunately, the women’s bodies were not saved – all eleven of them – so it was distressing.

Meanwhile, people in the community are distressed that their loved ones have contracted COVID-19 and are worrying as to how it will all go. For nine people in the community it went badly today, with them dying from the virus, and three deaths in hospitals yesterday; and for another 1,276 there is the worry of the effects of the disease – whether they be acute or chronic.

Stay safe everyone – you don’t know where the pesky virus lurks. God bless.

A day of rest. Not sure whether it was the weather that was the influence, but neither John nor I wanted to get out of bed this morning. I snoozed the alarm at seven o’clock, then switched it off altogether ten minutes later. We slept on. I finally emerged at nine-thirty, shocked that I’d slept for so long. John slept on until mid-day.

I was determined to have myself ‘a holiday’ today and read my book. With the book group getting together tomorrow evening I wanted to be sure to have finished it in good time. I read in bed all morning, and finally winkled myself out of it just as John woke up.

Still glued to my book, I slothed down the stairs, grabbed something to eat and then perched myself on the sofa in the lounge, wrapping myself up in a blanket. Didn’t move all afternoon and I finished my book. Ta-dah!!

Of course, I don’t know about you, but once you are ensconced on the sofa it’s quite difficult to motivate yourself to get up and do anything else. John had also slothed down the stairs, grabbed something to eat and cosied himself on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket. It wasn’t cold, but the outdoors was a miserable sight and we were sedentary.

John watched a bit of TV and then inspected the back of his eyelids while I carried on reading. Then we both watched a bit more TV, before drowsy eyes drooped again. And then, all of a sudden, it’s tea-time. By now, I have read my book and switched to a trashy film instead. “Any ideas as to what we’re going to have for tea?” John asked. I nodded. “Yes,” I said, unhelpfully. He looked at me questioningly. “Thought we’d have the remains of the spag bol from yesterday, with a jacket potato and salad on the side.” Right. And off he went into the kitchen to sort it out. Well, that was nice – having my food prepared for me. It was tasty delicious too.

Then to more TV watching and really, shouldn’t our bums be getting sore by now? That’s all we’ve done – sat down all day!! John recognised that we were in danger of turning into couch potatoes, so he upped and went outside to do a bit more stone riddling, washing and shifting for half an hour. He welcomed the break though, when Michael phoned, and he had to stop to talk to William. I did a bit more welding of my bum to the sofa before I galvanised myself into proofing Michael’s final piece of work for his assignment. I dotted a few i’s and crossed a few t’s before sending it back. Nearly there……

I had thought I might get out this afternoon – Linda had invited our little prayer group to her house this afternoon. As always, I had said I’d ‘wait and see’ but one look at the weather and I wondered if the gathering would go ahead. But no, it didn’t. It was a bit too wet. Maybe next week. We’ll see.

So that’s it – not a lot to report, really, but we’ve enjoyed our day of rest. Up ‘n at ’em tomorrow, no doubt. In the meantime, one of the programmes I watched today was ‘How to avoid a second wave’ (of the Corona-virus) that had been shown on Channel 4 the other day. Don’t know if any of you watched it, but I found it about as reassuring as sitting in front of a chocolate fire guard. It’s all good until someone lights a fire……

So the government reports that there are 1,522 people infected with COVID-19 today and there were twelve deaths in the community – and three deaths in hospitals yesterday. The infection rate seems to be creeping up, no? Bring on the Test, Trace and Track app, that’s what I say!!

Meanwhile, let’s keep on keeping on, shall we? God bless and peace be with you all.

“What are you doing today?” says John, as we woke up this morning. “Dunno,” I shrugged. “Probably try and finish the sorting out of the front bedroom.” See? I’ve moved on. No longer calling it Andrew’s room. Ha! A milestone! “How did you sleep?” I asked. “Dreadful, up every hour or so,” says the ol’ man. Oh dear. It’s a bit of a pattern and I have no idea how to help. However, his day of rest yesterday did him a world of good and he’s not coughing so much today….. although Puffing Billy is in residence, I can hear.

In fact, John felt so much better that he decided to go over to Sutton to do a bit more on Michael’s ‘man-shed’. I chose not to go. I stuck to my plan to do more digging out of the hoard – just in case, you know, Andrew might come home with more stuff sometime soon. I’m still in a dither about what to do with some of the items, but an old rug did make it out to the skip, and there was a lot of shredding of papers, so that was another success.

John set off just before lunch and I was dealing with Mum’s affairs up in the Computer Room when my phone rang. It was Harriet. “Are you doing anything today?” she asked. Not really – any excuse not to be clearing out the bedroom. “We’ll come over this afternoon, that OK?” Oh, yes, thank you. To have an hour or two with Freddie? Wonderful.

Hastily, I sped into the bathroom. I thought I had time for a quick wash and brush-up before they came, but in fact, I was still in my dressing gown when they arrived. “I’ll just dry my hair and I’ll be with you.” Fifteen minutes later, I’d joined them in the garden where we had a cup of tea, and I served Freddie his, now traditional, banana sandwich.

The weather was lovely. Very overcast and it looked like it might rain, but it never did, and the air was so warm we could be outside just in our flimsy clothing. No need to wrap up warm at all. I fished out a soft cushion for Freddie to sit on and he played, on his own, with the Downfall game and the Marble Run, squealing at the way the marbles were dropping down (or not) and landing at the bottom. Warmed my heart to watch him play and lifted my spirits to listen to him laughing out loud at the unexpectedness of the marbles’ behaviour.

Harriet and I had a lovely chat – and that felt really good. It’s so long since I’ve seen her to talk to at any length, and often, the kids are chasing round so it’s an interrupted conversation. But not today. It was a serene and cosy chat. Another spirit-lift.

After they had left, I did go back and do some clearing of the bedroom and actually managed to vacuum in there too. But as I got to the bare minimum in there, it started me thinking. I mean, there are two sofas-cum-bed settees in there. They’ve had plenty of use over the years as we’ve frequently accommodated lots of people all at one go, in the past. But is that ever going to happen again? Will we have the whole family here again like we used to? And will we need to put so many up that it’s sleeping room only on the floor? I don’t think so. A new era, I think.

John finally made it home just before tea-time. He’d had a good, if somewhat painful, day. The rods he was adjusting and slotting into place fought back, apparently, and he needed all his strength to whip them into shape. “Tell you what, have shower and a rest in bed for ten minutes while the tea is cooking,” I suggested. So that’s what he did, and he felt a bit more refreshed ready for Quiz Night at eight o’clock.

Malcolm greeted us all with the news that the quiz was an easy one this week. Oh, yeah? It didn’t seem like it for the first two rounds. Erm……. no, haven’t a clue on that one, next? Ooh, erm….. nope, next? Anyone? Hmmm………As we worked our way through it though, we were able to answer quite a few of the questions and even managed ten out of ten on one round. With trepidation we totalled the score – only to find to our surprise that, actually, we had a respectable 79%. In the end, not bad, eh?

And it was fun, as usual. Great evening among great friends for which I am so grateful. All in all, a good day.

A good day for us, but obviously not so good for those who’ve been infected with COVID-19, of whom there are 1,048 people today, and 16 people have died from it (according to the new way of counting) in the community, with four in hospitals yesterday.

Keep your wits about you everyone. The nasty virus is still around, so take care. God bless, and peace be with you all.

Well!! Would you believe it? It’s been an amazing day, with a few surprises today! How good is that?

First of all, I was just pottering about, as you do, in the house mid-morning, because it was such a blustery, wet day outside, when the phone rang. It was my cousin, Catherine, with an initial query of, “Where’s the blog today?” Oh…. I thought I’d sent it? Did a quick check, only to find that I’d sent it to just one person. Failed to click on the relevant ‘all subscribers’ list, so one recipient got the the blog at midnight, but no-one else.

Ah…… rectified that mistake fairly quickly, then Catherine said she’d been reading that we were thinking of trying to go away somewhere. “Fancy coming to our barn in Norfolk?” she asked. “Oooh, really? Yes, please!” I said immediately. How absolutely, wonderfully kind. Out went all that anxiety of how we were going to go away safely and in came the thrill and anticipation of some time to ourselves. Didn’t even have to think about it, and practically snatched her hand off. Thank you. Thank you. “Check with John,” she said, “and let me know.” Yes, I will. I know what John will say but, yes, just to be sure, I’ll check with him. What do you think, John? No brainer. Yes, please.

With excitement flowing through my veins, I carried on with me pottering while John, in the meantime, had decided that the morning in bed would be the thing to do. He’s been working so hard on his stone shifting that it’s finally caught up with him, so I agreed, definitely the best thing to do – recuperate a bit.

The pottering took me to the continuance of the clear-out in what was formerly known as Andrew’s sitting room, before it became Michael and Danielle’s sitting room. Which was formerly just the front bedroom. Anyway, it’s a BIG JOB. There are boxes of material to archive from John’s business. Then there are knickknacks to box up – little things I don’t want to throw away yet…. and there’s clothes and bedding and artwork and old TVs and photos. I tell you, there’s a fair bit of stuff to go through. But I have done a good job so far, and it’ll soon be neat and tidy again. John has a skip on the drive. I wonder if any of it will make it there?

Soon it was lunchtime. I didn’t feel like eating and John had only just got up so he had his breakfast and we sat with a cup of tea watching the news (cricket rained off) and then the front doorbell chimed. I trotted to the door and took a parcel from the postie as she gestured to a much larger parcel leaning up against the wall. Oooh, flowers!!

I did that thing that I often do, and wondered who they were from, well before I opened them. Who would be sending me flowers? I bet they’re from X? or Y? Once I’d opened them of course, I wondered no more – how lovely, they were from John. How thoughtful and romantic. I was a bit pleased. A very nice surprise with a very nice note to accompany them, thank you very much!!

With the flowers popped into a vase and put in pride of place in the lounge, I nibbled on one of the chocolates that had also come in the parcel and considered the smaller parcel that had arrived. I’d ordered some chocolates for Dawn, for her birthday – that’s what they’ll be, I told myself. But no. It was a bit of pampering kit I’d ordered after our pamper session with the college girls last week. Lucky me! It’s my lucky day today!! And I’m hoping, of course, that the pamper stuff will make me look ten years younger…….. ‘scuse me? Did I hear a snort of laughter somewhere?

And thus the day went on, me pottering, John resting (thank goodness) and then tea-time before watching a bit of TV – last one in this series of ‘Our Yorkshire Farm’ this evening. What a brilliant programme that is! All life is there to be seen and appreciated. Great programme to catch up on if you haven’t watched it.

With 1,184 people having been confirmed as infected with the virus today and 16 people having died in the community and 2 yesterday in hospitals, the news shows everyone is now arguing over what we should do about protecting the kids and the staff as everyone goes back to school next week. It’s not clear at all what the best course of action is. To wear a mask in the school corridor or not is today’s question. Oh dear. Even the experts can’t agree.

Stay safe everyone. Wash your hands. Keep your distance. And thank the Lord for every little mercy. God bless.