Category: Uncategorized

We are anticipating taking delivery of a new garage door sometime this week for John’s ‘man-shed’. This necessitated us having to do a ‘bit of a tidy’ at the bottom of the garden and shifting the old garage door. The tidy up wasn’t too bad, but the existing garage door was a bit unwieldy, so we simply staggered from the ‘man-shed’ to the swing, plopping it down two or three times before we got there, puffing and blowing a little bit, and then leaning it up against the frame of the swing. I am hoping that the wind doesn’t blow too hard this evening, otherwise there is going to be an almighty clatter….

The order for the new door was put in weeks and weeks ago, but the company has confirmed a delivery date of between the 2nd (today) and the 4th June. Fingers crossed it arrives. I am planning to ask the delivery men/women/people to walk the new door down to the bottom of the garden. If the simple request doesn’t work, I am planning to cajole them and play the ‘my husband is too ill and, being a very small female, I am too weak to move it…..’ card. A ploy I cannot normally agree with, but we are living in very strange times – so strange that I would be shocked at myself if I’d could have seen the future me thinking such a thing ten years ago. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Other than that, I have lived in a state of anxiety all day today. Heaven knows why. Nothing untoward has happened – although I did have a weird dream, which I woke up to, so maybe that set me off for the day.

I have been anxious about all sorts of things. For example, John’s cough; and as to whether he needs more medication. I persuaded him to provide a sample that we could get down to the surgery to check the state of play, so we’ll see. Paneesha’s secretary phoned this morning too, to tell John that he needs to go to the ‘walk-in’ clinic on Thursday, instead of doing a telephone consultation on Friday. I am anxious about that. The ‘walk-in’ situation meant that we had to phone to book a blood test – all new arrangements for keeping infection down, I believe. Whether they will let me into the clinic with John on Thursday we are yet to find out. I am anxious about that, too….. oh dear.

However, we did have quite a good day once I finally got out of bed this morning, having had yet another lie-in. We interspersed activity with sitting in the sunshine, drinking tea and chatting – in fact we paced ourselves and enjoyed it. A key activity was yet one more go at moving various materials from one place to another. From ‘man-shed’ to the house; from house to utility room; from utility room to the former office; from the former office to the garage, and sometimes back again. I’d love to be a fly on the wall….. The main thing though, was locating one of the ‘project’ car’s doors onto a workbench for it to be worked on. We managed that move quite well. And I was a good assistant today.

Mum was a bit confused this morning when she found that I was still in bed reading when she got up. She was puzzled as to why I was still in my room. “Are you all right?” she asked. “Yes, I’m reading.” I answered. “Are you poorly?” she continued. “It’s not like you to be in bed. Are you sure you’re all right?” I assured her that I was fine, but I could tell she was troubled by this strange turn of events. She went downstairs and then, no sooner had she got there than she came back upstairs again to her room. I thought maybe she was getting dressed. Fifteen minutes later, I went to check. She was just wandering in her room still in her dressing gown. She had no idea what she was doing and why she hadn’t stopped downstairs. Note to self: don’t confuse Mum by staying in bed reading….

After the confused and slow start, Mum also had a good day, eating well, enjoying her cups of tea (which are always stone cold when she drinks them, as she forgets she’s got them!), eating cakes and watching her TV programmes. No walk outside today though, despite the lovely weather. I did offer, but she said she’d only just sat down so couldn’t possibly. She did, however, have a bit of a wander around the house, peering out of first one window, then a door and then another to check up on what we were doing. John says it reminds him of Bates Motel……

And so to statistics. I was heartened, in a bizarre sort of way, to read the letter from the Chair of the UK Statistics Authority, Sir David Norgrove, to Matt Hancock today. Sir David stated very clearly that the statistics being put out by the government are ‘far from complete and comprehensible‘. I thought it was just me. What amused me also, was the little lecture that followed on what statistics are supposed to be for. It made me howl – both with laughter and despair. This was a very public slap on the wrists – and surely an embarrassment for the government?

But the good news is that many NHS Trusts reported no deaths yesterday, with just 19 accumulated on the spreadsheet up until 5 o’clock yesterday evening, and 47 having been confirmed for 31 May 2020. The government figures on the other hand, show 1,613 people were confirmed as infected, and 324 people had died in all settings, for the same time period.

The virus may still be out there, but things are looking up. I hope and pray it will continue that way. We’ve got to be able to hug our kids and grandchildren sometime soon, surely??

Stay safe everyone – and keep washing your hands……

After the vat of wine drinking yesterday, I decided to have a lie-in this morning, reading my book, snoozing and playing word games on my phone. It was lovely. I know the sun was shining. I know I should have been out there, but I really just fancied an hour or two to myself for a change. John got up and brought me a cup of tea, so why not?

I finally emerged at about 11.30, swanning down in search of the phone charger. Not much point staying in bed playing games on your phone when the battery has run out, is there? At that time in the morning it was brunch of course, so we indulged ourselves with smoked salmon, avocados, poached eggs and so on, sitting outside in the sunshine. Another lovely. We are so very lucky to be able to eat such wonderful food and enjoy it al fresco.

After brunch, and having eased Mum out of bed, also late, I decided it was time to tackle a job that I’ve been putting off – re-pot the bay tree. The tree is now seven years old, having been gifted to me for my sixtieth birthday, and it has only been potted on once before. It’s still a fine specimen, but it has been looking a bit poorly of late. I suspected it was pot-bound, and sure enough on inspection, that was found to be the case.

Initially, I had planned to pop the tree into another pot nearby, but disappointingly, the neighbouring pot was too small. Ah-ha! Never mind. I know, I’ll use another, larger pot that I’ve recently emptied, I thought. I lifted it up. Oh, no! Disaster! The newly intended pot had a big hole in the bottom. Don’t worry about it, John said. Just press the pieces back together, and once there’s soil in, it’ll be OK. Well that’s what I did, and it is. Fingers crossed that the trauma of extricating the tree from its existing abode into its new one won’t have done any lasting damage. There was a bit of tugging going on at one point…..

John feels a bit better and he felt able to tackle some more tidying today. One of the jobs: to make a decision about what to do with the covering for the patio table and chairs. We have had several covers in the past – all claiming to be UV proof, only to find they disintegrate within a year. This time, we are – well, John is – planning to use some waterproof material we have spare and make our own.

Unexpectedly, this involved working out what to do with the chairs. We have traditionally stacked them on top of the table, which has created a bit of difficulty in keeping a smooth surface for the coverings. But, lo and behold, John established that the chairs would fit under the table quite comfortably, so let’s keep them like that shall we? What a jolly good idea!! Now, to the sewing machine for the final flourish – ohhh……. tomorrow, maybe?

Naturally, I have been keeping my beady eye on John following his hospital stay last week, and because I hadn’t received the promised phone call from the respiratory nurses today, I phoned them. The advice remained, desist with the nebulised antibiotic as it appears not to agree with John, and just ‘wait and see’. If another infection lurks on the horizon, they will deal with it as and when. The cough? Oh, not to worry. A residual cough can go on for up to eight weeks…… crikey!!

Mum resisted getting herself dressed today until there was the bribe of a cup of tea. She got up late and was just making her bed, when I suggested she might like to get dressed before she went downstairs. The suggestion didn’t go down well, so she pointedly wafted into the lounge in her dressing gown. Her choice of brunch was an egg sandwich – her favourite – which she thoroughly enjoyed. As she sat, expectantly waiting for a cup of tea after her sandwich, I thought I’d try a new tack. “Cup of tea, Mum?” I asked. “Ooooh, yes please.” she said. “I tell you what, I’ll have it ready and waiting for you once you’re dressed.” And just like that, she went upstairs and got dressed.

We all sat outside this afternoon at about four o’clock to enjoy the sunshine. Mum had done her tour of the garden and commented on the various plants that she did, or didn’t, recognise, and then said she thought she ought to sit. We were fairly companionable for once, all three of us, but John and I were amused when Mum said, “They’ve done a good job of this garden, haven’t they?” clearly forgetting that it was our garden, and we’d done the slaving in it over the years! Ah well, we’ve got to get our amusement from somewhere, haven’t we??

This evening we decided to watch the TV. Inexplicably, we are not watching as much TV now, during lock down, as we normally do in ‘peace time’, having fallen out of love of it just a little bit. The exception being, of course, the series ‘Normal People’ which still stands out as a beacon of entertainment wonderfulness.

We flicked through the channels and paused on ‘Endeavour’. Shall we watch that? Will it suit Mum as well? We started to view but, after a very short space of time, it palled – it really is a very pedestrian programme. Mum was disappointed that we wanted to stop watching it – bottom lip at the ready. We scrolled through the films. How about Tolkein? Haven’t seen that yet. Mum wasn’t keen…. but if you want to watch it, she sniffed, and left the sentence hanging. Well, we do, Mum, so let’s try it. And we enjoyed it – including she who wasn’t keen at the start……

Another day when I didn’t want to focus on the news. Another day when I didn’t want to hear the idiots from the White House or Downing Street. Another day when I didn’t want to hear tragic stories unfolding. Riots in the USA and in Hong Kong; civil rights being eroded and misinformation, including in our own country if only we could but see; and deaths – just too many deaths. Super-sensitive right now.

But what to make of the way the government figures are presented? The number of those having been tested remains ‘unavailable’, having been so for a while; deaths in all settings: 111 – no longer separated out between hospital deaths and others; and how does that number accord with yesterday’s cumulative figures with no explanation as to the discrepancy? NHS figures tell us that there were just 13 deaths in hospitals yesterday, 31 May 2020, with 57 confirmed for the day before.

I think the writing’s on the wall, folks……. lies, lies and damned lies! What do you reckon?

In the meantime, God bless and peace be with you all. I wish you all well as you break out of lock down and see loved ones at a social distance this week. Take care. We will, of course, continue to isolate and be very careful – that pesky bug is still out there……

Day 76….. that’s almost eleven weeks, nearly three months – of isolation. In theory, we ought to be thinking about lessening our lock down in a week’s time but, what with one thing and another, I am not so sure. The virus is still lurking; people are madly congregating; we are still vulnerable; the government, it seems to me, has lost the plot; and there’s the possibility of a second wave of infection. However, we are keen to see family members and close friends, so weather permitting, we might do a little more ‘garden time’ next week – socially distanced, of course.

At the start of lock down we were absolutely adamant that there’d be no-one in, or out, of our house. But circumstances have dictated otherwise, and we have had medics trampling all over in the last few weeks – and, of course, John has had a nice little sojourn in hospital a couple of times. Not what we expected or planned for at all.

All of that focuses your mind. It makes you think about what’s good in life, and what’s bad – and what you’d like to keep or discard.

Most of what’s good is people. And this was especially demonstrated this morning after I’d ‘been’ to church. As in previous weeks, I followed the church service on-line and I was especially thrilled to see that Kim, our organist, was playing all of the hymns this week. Because I can’t stop myself, I sang my heart out to his accompaniment and felt uplifted.

We usually have coffee and a natter after a church service to catch up on everyone’s news. This week, for the first time, Mark and Moira invited us to ‘Zoom’ in and meet up with fellow congregants. I was unsure as to how successful it would be but, as usual, M & M had it all sorted, and it worked out beautifully. And it was brilliant to talk to those who could join in and to see their wonderful faces again.

After church, John was up and about and so we went into the garden to see what was what. There was a lot of: ‘we must do this; we need to do that; let’s sort the other’ before we finally plumped on John being persuaded and choosing to finish a job he’d already started (trumpets sound). He attached the hooks he’d ordered for the shed to hang the tools upon. Gosh, I’ve never seen the shed look so neat and tidy!! I wonder if we’ll be able to keep it that way? And will we be able to fit the garden chairs in as we have planned? We’ll find out tomorrow when we get onto that task.

John is still coughing well and a bit of a ‘Puffing Billy’ but is, I think, improved. He’s trying to balance rest, play and work which all contributes to better health, both mentally and physically. Indeed, he was pleased with the work he did today; he thoroughly enjoyed his chat with youngest son as we prepped our evening meal; and had fun when it was ‘quiz’ time this evening, with the Sleath and Fielding families.

I also enjoyed my day, having chatted to Carol via a video link this afternoon, and then having drunk a vat of wine with my evening meal. I have no idea how I came to drink quite so much – but you know how it is (or do you?). I had a glass of wine as I prepped food, then another one as I chatted to Andrew, then another one with my meal and then another one as we did the quiz until, well, look ‘ee here…..that’s a whole bottle downed. Crumbs.

In between glasses of wine, I thanked my blessings – for my husband, my family and friends, and my home of course, but one other in particular that I am grateful for, and that is, my swing in the garden. For years and years, I said to John that I’d like a swing, until one day, I got up one birthday morning and there it was – all built and ready for me. I love it. And today was one of those days when I loved it just a little bit more. Perhaps it was the third glass of wine talking……. but still.

Mum has also had quite a good day – watching ‘Oklahoma!’ and a war film on TV this afternoon. She did feel lonely this evening though as we were upstairs quizzing, having forgotten that she could get up off the sofa and join us. Like a Queen, she does like it when the world comes to her; it’s never been quite so good when she’s had to go to the world. And now, as her memory declines, she has forgotten even that learned behaviour of seeking things out. Oh dear.

Let us not forget, though, those people who are in trouble, howsoever that trouble has come to them. For now, at the forefront of our minds, it’s those who are dealing with COVID-19 – nearly 300,000 people who’ve been infected, and almost 39,000 people who have died. 1,936 infectees as of yesterday; 119 deaths in hospitals; and 113 deaths in all settings, according to government figures. The NHS has reported 15 deaths in hospitals yesterday and confirmed 51 for 29 May 2020.

Take care everyone – hold onto your hats in anticipation of what’s to come.

Another glorious day, weather-wise, wasn’t it? A clear blue sky, bright sunshine and a balmy breeze. We sat out once again to drink it all in, savouring it, embedding it in our bones, ready for when the weather changes and we have to look back and search for it in our memory banks. For once, Mum didn’t join us. She was happy to stay indoors and watch the four walls. Michael called in just after lunch and we all sat, socially distanced and conscious of the rules, just longing to hold each other in that mother/son, father/son family embrace; to physically link and wordlessly tell each other ‘it’s alright’.

No physical embraces, so instead I plied Michael with practical stuff – a skipping rope, to keep him fit; a couple of plant pots and compost, for potting on their house plants, and a chamois leather to polish the car. All gifts offered with that unspoken love, that says ‘we’re here for you’. What else can we do?

And Michael’s trip, from his house to ours, that says ‘we’re here for you, too’ without William ‘just in case’ and being mindful of the shielding still needed. The trip that tells us they are thinking of us, concerned for us and are willing John to get better.

He is a bit better today, I think, but he’s still working hard to catch his breath – especially when he’s upright and busy. His busyness took him into the realms of reversing the Lotus out of the garage this afternoon, in order to install a bench on which to restore the car doors. This involved clearing and sweeping the garage floor, lifting and shifting the old desk from his former office into one corner and then screwing it all together again. ‘Determination’ is John’s middle name, with ‘Never Give Up’ coming in a close second.

Prepping the garage was Round One – and he clearly hadn’t finished for the day, being willing to step up for Round Two. I was whiny. I couldn’t be bothered to cook just yet. The steak was defrosting for us, the fish fingers were ready and waiting for Mum in the freezer, but I was entranced by ‘Frozen’ on the telly. John said he’d cook. Oh, thank you – just stick a jacket potato in the microwave, I suggested, and a carrot or two in a pan, and griddle the steak and fish fingers. John likes to be creative though, so we had honey-glazed carrots and parsnips as well. Very delicious, but just a bit more work…..and that was Round Two.

After the evening meal, he did have a short rest upstairs in the bedroom, watching some TV, but he soon came down for Round Three. He saw that I was still failing in my duties, not having put the pots to wash, so he set to and got on with all of that, hand washing some of the crockery and pans then stacking the dishwasher with the rest.

Not content with having prepped the evening meal and cleared up after it, the ol’ man was keen to sort out some desserts for himself for the next day or two, as he’s not eating ‘standard’ stuff now. So, onto Round Four and the creation of some little chocolate pots, all made from organic, non-processed and natural ingredients.

There was no Round Five, fortunately. He went to bed exhausted, clearly pacing himself ready for tomorrow.

In contrast and mesmerised by John’s activity, I really have little idea of what I have done all day. Oh, I know…..not a lot.

I got up in readiness to receive the shopping from Malcolm first thing, and obviously thoroughly enjoyed myself doing ‘shopping washing’ for the umpteenth time. I did a bit of business on the computer and then I ‘went’ to the beauty parlour and spa, to colour my hair and bathe in an Epsom salt bath, pretending I was at Ragdale Hall. I also gave myself a bit of a pedicure and dressed in nice, fresh, summer clothes to greet the day.

Outside, I watered the plants, dead-headed a few and potted on the Aloe Vera that Paul and Harriet brought back from Tenerife last year – or was that the year before? I watched trashy TV – including yesterday’s ‘Have I Got News For you?’ which ticked all of the boxes and made me laugh; and I read some of my book. I did help John in the garage this afternoon though, but he said I wasn’t a very good assistant. I don’t think I was following orders very well…… I wonder if he’ll have me again?

So, moving on, I didn’t watch any news today. I really wasn’t in the right frame of mind to hear more tragic stories like the George Floyd death in America, be angered by the mealy-mouthed politicians or shocked by the goings-on everywhere. I stayed in our home bubble and felt grateful for the small mercies, for my dear friends who really are there for us and for the beautiful family I love and miss every day.

Sending love and peace to you all.

And for the record, of course: as of 5 p.m yesterday, there were 2,445 COVID-19 infectees, 178 dead in hospitals, and 215 dead in all settings. 20 deaths in hospitals according to the NHS figures, with 87 having been confirmed for the day before.

Life slowed to a very gentle pace today. I took John his breakfast in bed which signified not only a leisurely start to the day, but a leisurely rest of the day, too. No rush to get jobs done. No rush to be sorting things out. For a change we let the world just be. We let the day unfold and present itself to us.

There were some proactive moments, however, mainly to do with John’s health, but once we’d got these out of the way we did a fair bit of inspecting the back of our eyelids, resting our bums on seats, or turning our faces towards the sunshine.

The first proactive bit was, of course, driven by my anxieties over John’s chest. After the nebulised antibiotic last night, he wasn’t quite so well and so, for some reassurance, a phone call to the respiratory team was in order. The nebulised antibiotic doesn’t always suit everyone, so the advice was to leave it and see how things are by Monday. In the meantime, if John could offer up another sample, that would be good……… Ah, OK, then. Sample bottle? The respiratory nurse said she’d send one, but in the meantime, get one from the GP surgery. Ha!! easier said than done!

I phoned the surgery and explained what I was after. Yes, no worries, we can provide that. A friend will collect? Yep, yep, we’ll hand it over to him, fine, no problem. Friend, i.e. Peter, phones the surgery to check they’re expecting him. No…….sorry, who is it for? Why do you want it? Who has authorised it? We’ll get back to you…… Three quarters of an hour later and still no phone call to confirm or deny the request, Peter phones me to explain the delay.

I phoned the surgery and explained what I was after. Let me check the system. Who is it for? What’s his date of birth? Why do you want it? Who has authorised it? Oh…. hang on…. there’s something here on the system… yes, yes, that’s fine. Tell your friend he can collect. Success at last. And thank you, Peter.

A little bit of pottering in the kitchen before lunch, making up two weeks’ worth of John’s pills, sorting the washing, and generally tidying before Linda arrived with a few bits, mainly ready meals for Mum, from Sainsbury’s. We had a lovely ‘path chat’ for a while before we reluctantly thought we’d gassed enough, and it was time to go. ‘Shopping Washing’ is now de rigueur of course, so time was spent on that once again.

Mum finally emerged from her cocoon at about 12.30, having been woken and mildly encouraged to get up at both 10.30 and 11.30. She was reluctant, even at that late hour, to winkle herself out of bed, hugging the bedclothes to her; but she made a joke of it and we both had a laugh about it, before she finally swung her legs out of bed and wriggled her feet into her slippers.

Naturally, by then it was lunchtime, so we all went and sat out in the garden, sun-worshipping, whilst we ate our food. Mum stayed out a good while before beckoning to me that she’d like to go inside. Before she went though, she watered the seeds she’d planted the other day, which are now seedlings. I’m excited to see them grow – not so sure Mum’s bothered though!

Having had some Messenger conversation this week with an old acquaintance, who used to run a book club, I was invited to join in again by ‘Zoom’ this evening. I downloaded the book onto my Kindle on Wednesday, but what with one thing and another, I hadn’t got very far in reading it. So, this afternoon, I was determined to get through a bit more of the book. I settled the comfy cushions onto the swinging chair and snuggled in. John sank into a reclining chair beside me, and soon he was gently snoring. The sun was warm; it was so very, very cosy underneath the canopy of the swinging chair; and John’s snoring was so very soporific……so, inevitably, I succumbed to gentle snoring too. It was bliss.

I did manage to get some of the book read, and it was just sufficient to have a bit of conversation about it this evening, thank goodness. Inevitably, everyone had different ideas about whether the book was any good or not, but I am enjoying it sufficiently to plan to read it to the end if I can. It was good though, to join in a conversation that wasn’t about the latest political storm, or corona virus, or the weather, or even John’s health!! I was refreshed by the warmth of welcome I had among the group, most of whom I didn’t know, and the relaxed chat that ensued.

Before all of that, though, I had had a lovely ‘path chat’ with Margaret and Chris, who had called in with chocolate. I was delighted to see them as I had been thinking of them only on Wednesday, but the days had slipped by and I hadn’t been in touch. An extra pleasure was offered to us all as well, when Jaime stopped for a chat as she was striding by on her walk with a friend.

Then, a little later on, Chris Price called in….. she’d texted to ask if I needed anything from Sainsbury’s. Well, Linda had just bought me the ready meals for my Mum; I was hoping (expecting?) Malcolm would offer me some staples from the Co-op tomorrow, so what could I do but ask for luxuries? Erm….. can you stop by the ice cream aisle and pick up a box of Magnums, please?

And there we are. Another day of doing nothing, working the whole day through – tra-la! I raised a glass to absent friends at seven o’clock, mourning the loss of our long weekend in Hampshire, and tittered at the various comments the college girls made on WhatsApp throughout the evening – which just about sums the day up really – lots of passive activity that has kept us amused.

Not amused by the response from my MP Saqib Bhatti though, about the Cummings/Johnson affair; nor amused by the latest corona virus figures from the government. 2,095 infectees; 173 deaths in hospitals; 324 deaths in all settings yesterday by 5.p.m. NHS figures are offering us 36 deaths yesterday, with 88 having been confirmed for the day before, and 114 on 26 May 2020.

Friends are now making plans for 6-member gatherings as from Monday, but it’s still giving me the willies as to how on earth we are going to play out this next phase. Oh, I know!! Stay at home, be alert…..isn’t that how it goes?

God bless, everyone.

The ol’ man is home. Such a relief to have him back. He’s not yet feeling great and he’s still feeling the effects of having stared at four walls for the last 9 days, but hopefully with some rest and TLC he’ll improve and be back at it soon.

In the end, the medics didn’t wait for the results of the errant blood test and have said that John’s consultant from Heartlands will follow up on that, and the haematology, in due course. So, he was discharged with instructions to continue with the nebulised antibiotics, to take his former medication and to drink more water. Apparently, his blood pressure is often alarmingly low, so this is an attempt to improve it.

In hospital, the nurses were surprised at the blood pressure readings, so consequently kept pumping him with water. Inevitably, when they then asked if he was managing to go to the loo OK, I think they got a withering look and a suitable response…..

Being home has its plus sides – being able to eat what you fancy; sit out in the garden and feel the sunshine on your face; have an alcoholic drink if you like; see your eldest son (unexpectedly); take a video call with your middle son (we have Wifi, don’t you know); and feel your own bed welcoming you back. On the other hand, it has its minuses….. there’s the Mother-in-law, there are the cats, there’s the wife (nagging already), and there’s the reminder that you’re not actually up to doing the stuff you really want to do just yet. It’s early days, but I do think there will be some better days ahead.

Mindful that John might be home today, I stopped the drift of yesterday and got on with making sure that there was a clean and tidy house for him to come home to. That meant a whizz round with the vacuum cleaner, a properly made bed, a ‘flash’ round the en-suite (which I had been putting off…..) and bin-emptying.

But before all that, I came down for breakfast expecting both the cats to come purring round for their food, however, only Shadow put in an appearance. I got the food out ready to call Rio in, only to find him in his bed, looking very forlorn. I had noticed yesterday that he’d been a bit off-colour, but clearly, today he was very unwell and there were streaks of blood in his fur. I called the vet.

“5.20 OK?” the receptionist said. “I think so.” I replied, “I need to check with my son if he can bring him in for me at that time.” Fortunately, Paul was able to finish up what he was doing and oblige.

Of course, it meant keeping Rio in for the rest of the day. I prepped the lounge with all the usual things: bed, water, food and litter tray, and plonked him into the room. Strict instructions to Mum to keep the door shut so that Rio stayed put. She took her duties very seriously.

It transpired that Rio had been in a fight. He had taken a vicious clawing to much of his face and head, and the wounds were beginning to swell and leak. No wonder he was feeling a bit meh. A course of antibiotics, instructions to bathe the wounded areas with salt water, my purse much lighter than previously, and we’re good to go. Cats!! Who’d have ’em? Not John, obviously……

Paul was a double saviour today. He’d already had to take some time off work to trundle to the hospital and take John his specialist eye drops this morning; and then, of course, he’d had to drop everything to help with the cat this afternoon. Sons. I love them. Thank God for them.

After our evening meal, John went outside to take in more of the sunshine and contemplate his lot and the universe, before going to have a lie down on the bed. I, on the other hand, had an evening with friends planned. Naturally, had John wanted my company, I’d have been there like a shot, but he was happy for me to participate in this evening’s ‘Zoom’ session with my dear friends from college.

We should have been packing our bags this evening; I should have been prepping lovely food; we should have been choosing delicious wines and spirits to take with us; we should have been excitedly anticipating a weekend of friendly banter, walks, crossword puzzles, silly games and giggling our heads off. This weekend should have been our Hartley Wintney weekend and our annual jaunt down to Sue and Chris’s. Instead, we’re raising a glass to them and the whole ‘gang’ tomorrow in a ‘what would have been‘ toast. I’ll drink to that!! Well, you know me – I’ll drink to anything….. Lock down has a lot to answer for!

It’s not the lock down that has to answer for the infections and deaths of course, because without lock down it would have been even worse. It’s bad enough though, isn’t it? Nearly 38,000 people have died from the virus now. I find it unimaginable and sickeningly sad.

The figures then, as of yesterday, at 5 p.m. are: 1,887 people infected; 214 people have died in hospitals; 377 people have died in all settings, according to the official government website. The NHS reports 29 deaths for the same time period, with 97 having been confirmed for the day before (26 May 2020).

I am thankful for many, many things, and the lock down has taught me to value family and friends like never before. Such a blessing to have those we love, love us.

Peace and love be with you all.

If you are on John’s side of the fence, it’s pretty rough going. If you are on my side of the fence, there are difficulties, but generally it’s not too bad.

So, John didn’t come home today. We had been hopeful, but it transpires that the blood test they took the other day didn’t have the right request with it, so another twenty-four (maybe forty-eight?) hours will elapse before discharge. The second-year medical student looking after John said that they wanted to be sure he was stable before sending him home. Although this is right and good, it hasn’t helped his mood unfortunately, since he is feeling a bit better and wants to be out. So, it’s still just him and the four walls, which he is climbing every day with very little respite. And there seems to be nothing much I can do.

We spent a good while on the phone today, hanging onto each other, not wanting to let the other go until the time ran out on the phone call. I often said the wrong thing, because really, what do I know about the situation he finds himself in? I can’t fully imagine how he feels. But at least we were talking, which was better than just looking at a vanilla wall.

I had hoped that John might feel able to join in a little bit with the weekly quiz, but I think it wasn’t quite the right timing for that this evening.

Anyway, the good news is that he has stayed off the oxygen, and his own, self-generated oxygen levels are within range; his blood counts are back up to normal; he is off the IV antibiotics; and he passed the stair-climbing test with the physio today. All good signs that the medics are getting ready to give him the green light to come home.

In the meantime, on the outside, I have drifted through the day. Half-expecting to leap into action and rush over to collect the ol’ man, I have felt a bit in limbo. There has been the regular prepping of food and drinks, the standard care of Mum, such as ensuring she’s taken her tablets; got her breakfast/lunch/tea; got dressed i.e. changing into clean clothes; taking her a little walk round the garden; and settling her in front of the TV. But I haven’t felt able to do much more than that really – although I did read a chapter of my book out loud to her as we sat in the garden this afternoon, which was a bit of a change.

My drifting about consisted of twitching the bedclothes for the semblance of having made the bed; lethargically putting the ironing away; rinsing some pots – and then leaving them to dry; and wandering into the garden to see if there was a weed or two that I could pull at.

I was motivated though, just after lunch, when my friend and yoga teacher, Jaime, said she’d call in for ten minutes to check out the garden on her way to visit another friend. I gathered up and installed the cushions for the swinging chair and the general garden chairs so that we had somewhere comfy, but socially-distant, to sit.

To my delight, but to the disappointment of Jaime’s other friend, the ten minutes turned into forty-five minutes and could have gone on longer. Oh, my!! It was such a pleasure to sit and chat to Jaime. How blessed I am to know her. In fact, I can’t help but think how blessed we are with all our friends. Each and every one wishes us well and extend their hands of friendship in all sorts of ways. Mwah!

So… I am sure you noticed. It was a very warm day today, wasn’t it? And the swinging chair was all set up? What else could I do later, once Mum had retired indoors to watch her quiz programmes, but to lay down on the full length of the chair and chat to John? It had to be done. And then a bit later on, to read my book.

It is years and years since I have sat, or lain, on the swinging chair to chat or read a book. And I loved it. I can’t describe how it felt, because I was still in a ‘drifty’ sort of mood. But I almost felt like I was sixteen years old again, with the world still before me. And I felt exultant that this was something I was able to do. Lucky, lucky, lucky me. Lucky us. Lucky us to have a such wonderful home and beautiful garden to sit in.

And so, onto this evening, when it was the quiz with my Centre Stage friends. It was light relief and fun. I knew no answers whatsoever, being totally brain-dead, with the answers that I did offer being mostly wrong. But it didn’t matter. Everyone was very good humoured, and they didn’t seem to mind that I was addled. Everyone asked after John and all sent their very good wishes and fervent hopes for his return to the fold. Me too.

Tomorrow is another day. Indeed, it is – and I hope beyond hope that tomorrow is a better day for John and we are back together, home.

In the meantime, take care everyone. It is still not over, and every precaution is still needed. So, for the record…….

2,013 – people infected; 212 – people died in hospitals; 412 people died in all settings (government official figures, 5 p.m. 26 May 2020). NHS figures: 24 deaths in hospitals; 87 having been confirmed on 25 May 2020.

I felt as if I was in Provence on ‘me holidays’ today. The weather was so beautiful, the garden so lush and the trees so green that as I sat on the patio eating my French-style salad and a lemon tart lunch, I was transported back to holidays long gone. It was lovely. The only thing missing, of course, was the company…….oh, and the swimming pool. Happy memories.

The happy memories saw me through the day, because it stayed nice all day and I was able to enjoy the beauty of it. And, with those memories humming in the background, it’s been a fabulous day of surprises, too.

As you know, Mum stays in bed forever, so I thought I’d read my book in bed for a little while this morning, which I was just doing, when my phone rang…….and to my great astonishment, it was Graham on a video call!! Could have knocked me down with a feather! “Hellooooo” I said cautiously, “You OK?” Yes, they were fine, just phoning to see how John is and how Mum is getting on. We chatted for a bit, then I offered to take the phone through to Mum, who was also in bed. For once, she was awake and very keen to take the call. She had a fine chat with Graham and was actually on top form, remembering all the stuff that I’d just told Graham she couldn’t remember at all….. sod’s law that, isn’t it? Anyway, it was wonderful to see him, and he was lovely to talk to.

As the video call finished, Mum was quite perky at the point, so I suggested that she might like to get up. However, she snoozed some more until lunch time, which meant, in the end, that she had a bit of a late start to the day – again.

Having promised myself for a while that I’d sort them out, I was determined to clean some garden chairs today, so I knuckled down to it. It was a warm day, which meant that I stopped occasionally for refreshments. On one occasion when I’d stopped for a breather, I heard the postman plop the post through the letterbox. Ah-ha! A set of plants I had been waiting for had arrived. Excited, I put the rest of the post to one side and sorted out my plants, which were looking very sorry for themselves, having been dispatched last Friday and then languished in a warehouse somewhere over the Bank Holiday.

When I went back in for more water later, I decided to open the rest of the post. Ah…. how very nice… a lovely card from my goddaughter, Liz, thanking us for the plants we’d donated to her garden a year ago, showing us how they’d come on in the last year. Unexpected. Wonderful.

A wander in the garden with Mum before more scrubbing of the garden chairs, and she did the ‘Princess and the Pea’ thing again; finding every chair or position or atmosphere just ‘not quite right’, until we settled on the bench outside the patio doors where it was warm, breeze-less, sun-less and comfortable.

We came indoors after a while to organise something to eat. I saw Mum moseying towards the porch and wondered what she’d found. It was another parcel!! Addressed to me from Amazon, I thought, “Oh, no… what have I been ordering now that I can’t remember??” Anyway, it wasn’t me…. it was my dearest friend, Lizzie, who sent me some Green & Blacks chocolates. Boy! Does that girl know me well??!! I had quite a lump in my throat, to be honest.

All this, and no John?? Well, in between times, I did talk to the ol’ man, although I have to confess that when he phoned this afternoon, I missed his call as I was too engrossed in planting plants and chair-scrubbing.

He’s feeling better. The medics have taken him off the oxygen to see how his oxygen levels are without support, and his neutrophils are up. The doctor told him that they’ll stop the antibiotics now (which suggests that they’ll probably send him home tomorrow) and set him up on the nebulised ones at home. In fact, as we were chatting this evening, surprise, surprise, nurses came in and unceremoniously transported him into a different room. The room he was in, apparently, is for people with ‘bad chest infections’. All looking good, then.

And looking better, too, are the figures from the government with regards to COVID-19: 2,004 people infected; 135 deaths in hospitals; 134 deaths in all settings. NHS figures, yesterday up to 5 p.m. are: 23 deaths and 59 confirmed deaths for the day before (24 May 2020).

So, do I feel better? Well, more hopeful, anyway, and….. grateful that my brother phoned – it cheers Mum up for a couple of days at least, which offers me some respite; but……

I’m still feeling impotent over the Cummings/Johnson stuff – what have we got ourselves into? I’m anxious over the COVID-19 situation, because where does it leave us? But yet, I’m uplifted by friends’ and goddaughter’s thoughtfulness and excited that the ol’ man might be home tomorrow (or Thursday).

In the meantime, God bless you all. May tomorrow offer us all new hope.

According to Susie Dent, that wonderful wordsmith on Countdown, a ‘mumpsimus‘ (16th century) is someone who refuses to budge/insists that they are right, despite clear evidence that they are wrong. Plural: ‘mumpsimuses‘.

Is it just me, or do you recognise a mumpsimus or two in our midst? And more worryingly, those mumpsimuses, despite being challenged over and over again, look like they are going to get away with it and we’ll all roll over and say, ‘Oh, alright then, as you were.’ Yikes!! British politics is often sleazy, but this takes the biscuit, in my view. It’s going to be interesting, the next few days…..

In the meantime, when I wasn’t being distracted by the Cummings/Johnson story, I was generally having a good day. John, too, has had a reasonable day, despite being on the end of strong, but kind, words telling him he must wear his oxygen mask at all times. Oxygen has been prescribed and it is not optional.

John is feeling a little bit better, and he decided to do some strengthening exercises. The oxygen mask was in the way, so he took it off, and then forgot to put it back on again. The fact that he was keen to improve his muscle tone and felt well enough to forget his oxygen suggests he is on the mend. Just waiting for some blood test results and a pronouncement as to when he can come home, and we’ll be able to start getting on with life again – in a lock down sort of way.

However, the ol’ man’s eyes are sore, not having been able to take his specialist serum into hospital with him when he was whisked away, so Paul offered to take some in to help improve them. Of course, Paul had to come here didn’t he, to collect the eye drops? What a shame that I was forced to spend ten minutes chatting to him in the garden when he called in………one happy me.

This afternoon was one of those that stuttered. I got myself all prepared to clean down some of the garden chairs and had walked my Mum out into a shady spot so she could keep me company, when the phone rang. It was John, up for a chat. Lovely. The chairs can wait.

John cut the call short though, as he had a visit from a medic. “Phone me back.” I said. Meanwhile, Mum was fidgeting. Too cold in the shade. So, I walked her over to a chair in the sunshine. John phoned again, and we settled in for a nice, long chat. Mum was fidgety. The sun was too bright. I ran in to get her a hat. Carried on chatting. Mum was fidgety again; the sun was too on her neck. Hang on. I’ll get the parasol. Carried on chatting some more. John wondered what the temperature outside was, so I ran in again to look at our inside/outside thermometer. Meanwhile, Mum had managed to manoeuvre her chair round all by herself to avoid the breeze…….

At the end of the phone call, I heard another phone ringing. I looked at both the phones I’d got – nope, not one of them. Must be the neighbours. Mum was keen to go inside. No worries, I’ll just run in and take the phones and crockery in and come back to get you. That phone was ringing again, somewhere. I ran in. Oh!! There was a stranger at the door. The penny dropped. It was my front doorbell that had been ringing, and the Tesco delivery had arrived. Poor man was just about to load the groceries back into the van…….

So, it was ‘shopping washing’ and then cooking the evening meal. The garden chair cleaning? Maybe tomorrow….

For the record though – corona virus infections, as of yesterday at 5 o’clock, were: 1,625. Deaths in hospitals: 76. Deaths in all settings 121. Deaths according to the NHS figures: 19; with 56 being the final figure for the day before.

I have no idea what to make of any of it any more though, and the more I listen to Boris and his mate, the more like Animal Farm it seems, and I am Horse.

Peace be with you all.

Having banged on about my kitchen (which still isn’t finished), my dear friend Michelle asked if she could see a pic of it so far. No worries, I said. I’ll send you a video. Well, the video I took was too big to load and so the video was never sent. Since then, apart from the time when I cleaned all the cupboards down, the kitchen has constantly been a mess. However, today it was tidy. I videoed it again and the pics were sent. Whoop!! Whoop!! Tomorrow, of course, it will be messy again, but there you are. I’ve had a nanosecond of tidiness and I feel gooood. (Does a little dance…..)

After the cancellation of an appointment with the bathroom yesterday, Mum felt up to her weekly wash and brush up today, so we tackled it. For once, it was very successful. Mainly down to the fact that I had bought hundreds of curlers for her hair, so it wasn’t quite so scraped together, but also because we did some imaginary play, just like I do with the grandchildren; she loved pretending to actually be at the hairdressers, offering to pay her money for her hair set, plus a little tip. We had a laugh about it, but it buoyed her up for the rest of the day, which is always a bonus.

Being Sunday, I went to ‘church’ in spirit, if not in reality, and joy of joys, Kim played the piano for our first hymn. I am so missing his music, so I was delighted!! Then both the reading by Linda, and the sermon by Alison, were delivered beautifully – and gave me food for thought. And, despite the ‘cummings’ and goings in Downing Street, I lit a candle of hope this evening, as I always do at the appointed time each week, in an effort to remind myself that the world isn’t wholly populated by disingenuous people.

John and I had a couple of natters on the phone today, but I am not sure they helped, really. He’s stuck in a room, more or less staring at the four walls, as his usual access to entertainment is limited, and not only that, he just wants to get on doing stuff. Although I think he is feeling a bit better physically, that’s not much good if the mental state takes a dive, is it? I phoned up the ward, to ask them to see what they could do to support him, but today was probably ‘not a lot’, so I’ll have another go at getting in touch tomorrow. But I am worrying because I can’t physically be there for him, which I normally am, of course. Darned virus!

Had a couple of ‘awww’ and LOL moments today though, over the grandchildren, which lifted my spirits. Just after lunch, Paul sent through a video of Freddie, riding his bike round and round the island in their kitchen, naked, apart from his socks! I have no idea why he was naked – perhaps he’d been in the paddling pool, but oh, it so amused me!! He was as happy as a sand boy, his little face lit up with glee and giggling his way round his ‘track’. It’s definitely one for the 18th birthday party, that one!!

Then later on, Michael sent a picture of William, lying on the new decking that had been installed yesterday, looking up into the sky, with his hands behind his head. He also looked as happy as a sand boy as he watched the clouds go by. Oh, my, how I miss being in the company of those boys.

After the blustery-ness of the last two days, it seemed to calm down a bit this afternoon, so I had a wander out into the garden to ‘survey the estate’, as they say. Just to be part of the outside, to smell the heady perfume of the jasmine climbing up the back wall, to feast my eyes on the flowers in bloom, and to anticipate the emergence of those yet to bloom, was manna from heaven. Sat on my swing and began to muse about life….and wondered what will be thrown at us next…..it’s getting hard, dammit!!

Or at least, it’s not getting any easier, with the virus still bouncing about in the population, albeit to a lesser extent than previously, with 2,409 people having succumbed to infection according to the official figures today; 171 deaths in hospitals and 118 deaths in all settings. 28 deaths in hospitals according to the NHS figures for the same time period (5 p.m 23 May 2020), with 70 having been confirmed for the day before.

But it’s mind-bending to try and think what we are going to do as time goes on. It’s the weirdest prison sentence ever, isn’t it??

In the meantime, God bless. Take of yourselves and remember to smell the roses.