leukaemia-limbo-dance

“Don’t the leaves look pretty on the pavement?” I remarked to John as we bowled along into Birmingham for an appointment at Heartlands this morning. John was scornful. “Only a woman could think that the fallen leaves look pretty.” he replied. “Men are different. We don’t think like that.” He may have a point. As a woman, I do find odd things attractive, and the golden and russet leaves seemed just that as they nestled into the pavement, framing the road ahead, and occasionally rising and skittering along the pavement in a gust of wind. He wasn’t having any of it though. I suppose the roads into Birmingham are a bit bleak – and no amount of leaf-shaped confetti was going to do it for him.

I left John at the hospital for his treatment and was in two minds as to whether to come straight home or to go into Aldi to see if I could get all the ingredients for a Christmas lunch from their freezers, just in case…… I decided I’d do Aldi and I was in luck. They certainly had all the main ingredients that you’d need, so I bought ’em. It’s the siege mentality in me, you know……

Home again, and I stuffed all the ingredients into the small freezer that we’d had to empty because of the malfunction last week. I had intended to put it all into the freezer in the shed. However, this morning, when I went to check on it to make sure it was functioning appropriately, I got the shock of my life when I found that the door had been wedged open and I was faced with a veritable wall of ice. Oh….. that’ll be a defrosting job then, before I can use it.

This afternoon, I left John to it again as I toddled off to have a game of badminton. I wasn’t sure whether the game would go ahead, as there has to be a minimum of four of us to sort out the equipment and, with one being poorly, another on holiday and another one otherwise occupied, we weren’t 100% certain that we’d be quorate. However, we were in luck again, and four of us were keen for a match. Great fun and we all enjoyed ourselves.

John was watching the box when I got home and doing a bit on the computer – I think he’s got his self-assessment to do….. well, there was a lot of chuntering, so I think that’s what he was mulling over, anyway.

This evening it was a chat on Zoom to the college crew – all who could make it, at any rate. Had a lovely time catching up with everyone, commiserating with those who had ‘stuff to deal with’ or sons/daughters who have challenges before them; and laughing at the antics of everyone’s families. Lovely. But 50 years……. 50 years we’ve known each other!!! Crikey!!

If you haven’t seen the news – any guesses as to how many people have succumbed to the virus and tested positive today? Go on … guess!

45,066 people have been officially diagnosed with the virus. There will be many more, I have no doubt, who haven’t done a test to confirm their status, so who knows how many people it is in reality? This is madness.

157 people died in the community today; 37 in hospitals in the previous 48 hours.

This time last year? 19,724 people were COVID positive; 137 people died in the community; 45 in hospitals on 12 & 13 October.

Why does the general population no longer care? I don’t get it. Answers, please, on a post card to: The Mad House, England.

Take care everyone. Look after yourselves and your loved ones. No-one fully knows yet, the extent to which COVID affects us after the initial illness. So let’s not catch it, eh?

God bless.

The other morning I spent a while sorting out John’s various medical appointments, one of which we arranged for today. It was an early one at 9 o’clock and over at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. We were keen to arrange it early, because at noon we were to attend the funeral of our lovely neighbour, Richard.

As it turned out, the journeys to Birmingham and back were both ‘just in time’. We set off at 8 o’clock with the SatNav suggesting we’d arrive at the QE in about 50 minutes. Ha! Of course, by the time we’d arrived at the Stonebridge island, the SatNav was still suggesting we’d arrive in 50 minutes….. traffic builds up quickly at that time in the morning.

Anyway, we arrived not too many minutes after the appointed time and I dropped John off at the front of the building and went to park the car. Had a bit of trouble finding the ol’ man again though – I’d said ‘no’, when he’d asked if I wanted an email copy of the letter he’d been sent, not deeming it necessary that we both have it, so in essence I had no idea where to go. I wandered about a bit until someone pointed me in the right direction. It turns out I’d never have found him anyway, as he was warrened away behind ‘staff only’ smart-pass doors.

The appointment was to have a vaccination against COVID, but on a trial. The medics are trying to find out if the Pfizer jab or the Modena one creates any immunity in people who are immunocompromised. We know that the Astra Zeneca made no difference whatsoever.

After an hour of checks and questionnaires, John was vaccinated and we were on our way. Wonderful. “You may think I am mad, John,” I said, as we drove along the M6, “but when we get home, I’m thinking we’ll try and get to the church for Richard’s funeral early, before the cortege gets there. I can park in a disabled bay then. Not so far to walk.” Great idea – but the best laid plans…..

We came out of the house at 11.30 after a quick turn around and change of clothes, thinking we were early, only to see the cortege just passing our door. Ah, well, best follow along then.

The church was full. Full of beautiful people who loved Richard and love his family. The tributes were very poignant and on point. The Rector led the service splendidly and we all, I think, felt moved yet uplifted by it. Afterwards, John thought he’d prefer to come home for a rest but I went along to the wake to meet up with people whom I hadn’t seen in a while. It was lovely – the atmosphere wasn’t sombre, but full of life and reminiscences of a very nice man. Glad I went.

This evening it was Quiz Night. However, contrary to our normal eagerness to join in, we both felt drained, so we baulked at the opportunity for once. Nigel has sent us the questions though, so we can do the quiz in our own time if we want! Might just do that.

42,776 people tested positive for the virus today. Who’s counting? Anyone?

136 people died in the community. 40 in the previous 48 hours in hospitals.

Admissions to hospitals in the last seven days are up by nearly 7%.

On the plus side, the population is increasingly protected by the vaccine as children aged 12 and over are vaccinated. This means that 85.6% of the population 12+ has had its first jab, and 78.7% have had both jabs.

Let us pray that the vaccination does the trick and protects us all. In the meantime, here is the beautiful Irish Blessing that the Rector offered us at the end of the service today.

May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Amen to that. God bless.

It’s Tuesday. We’d like it to be ‘Choose Day’ and have the wherewithal to find something exciting to do but, with John still being a bit under the weather we chose not to do a lot, after all.

We were up early and out to Solihull Hospital for a 9.30 appointment this morning, for John to have his eyes checked. Lovely girl who checked him over and then she said, “I’ll just let Mr Patel know the results,” Mr Patel is the boss and has been monitoring John since the very first days of his eyes going haywire. “Hmmm… ” says Mr Patel, ” Your eyes are very dry. In fact, they are the worst I’ve seen them since I first saw you. Make sure you keep on with the eye drops as often as you can.” OK. No wonder John’s left eye is so sore.

However, when we got in the car, it suddenly dawned on us that we failed to mention that John hadn’t been using his serum for the last five days, since the freezer breakdown. In our heads, that explains it….. fingers crossed it’s just a blip.

“When we get home, I’ll pop some pains aux raisins in the oven and we’ll have an elevenses treat, shall we?” I suggested, plumping on something to cheer us up. And they did cheer us up a bit. We really enjoyed them.

By the time we were tucking into our pastries, we had slouched in front of the telly again and were wondering what to do. I thought I’d pop back into Solihull to continue the impulse buying theme that I’d started on Saturday, and see if there was anything there suitable for birthday gifts. Michael, Danielle and Andrew all have October birthdays and are to buy for; and Gloria, too, to get a card for. No idea what to get …..although it seems that household goods are wanted by the Sutton Sleaths, so I had a browse round John Lewis, Dunelm and Lakeland.

I’ve got to say, though, there’s not much choice. In other stores, such as in the House of Fraser, there were empty shelves and things spread out sparsely across the shop floor; shops like ‘Le Creuset’ and Marks and Spencer’s have both closed. In addition, of course, all of the stores that are/were part of the Arcadia Group are closed too – Dorothy Perkins, Burtons, Topshop, Topman. It was a bit depressing, to be honest.

However, as I walked past Millets, I noticed that they were advertising reductions on Berghaus waterproofs. Ah-ha! My own is a good few years old now and has a rip in it, where it caught under the wheel of the buggy last year, having been wrapped round one of the grandchildren to keep them warm. ‘I’ll just have a little browse,’ I thought to myself. I am now the proud owner of a brand new jacket in a lovely shade of….. ‘when I am old, I shall wear purple‘. Feel a bit like me Mum, now….. and John says it looks a bit small on me….ah, well.

Home again, and it was more telly watching for the rest of the afternoon and evening. I do love a bit of ‘Bake Off’, ‘Saving Lives at Sea’, and ‘Our Yorkshire Farm’. So, we did have a bit of a ‘Choose Day’.

Numbers on the COVID front remain high and, I have to confess, I was very cautious in town. There are so many people mask-less. Anyway, 38,520 are reported as having tested positive for the virus today and 181 people have died in the community. 43 people died in hospitals in the previous 48 hours.

No surprise that the all-party inquiry into the government’s handling of the virus in the early days has come in for some sharp criticism in their report, published today. But hindsight is such a wonderful thing, isn’t it? I’d be a bit more cheerful if they’d take the blooming thing seriously now! I expect there’ll be another report in a year’s time loaded with criticism, too, looking back at autumn 2021, but it’ll all be too late.

Take care everyone. Keep your distance; wear your masks; wash your hands and ventilate your indoor spaces. God bless.

Apparently, according to Andrew, my best blogs are those that come on an email that says say ‘no blog tonight‘. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have time to read them.

So I thought I’d thrill him by writing a ‘mini blog’ today. One that says: we got up late because we are tired (John at one o’clock!) and we did almost nothing all day, but sit on the sofa and read books or watch telly.

I arranged and re-arranged medical appointments for John this morning, went for my flu jab at lunchtime and went to a yoga class at tea-time. That’s it!

Mini blog done. A longer one tomorrow I expect, if we’ve had a full day. Take care everyone. God bless.

• 40,224 people tested positive for the virus today…..
• 28 deaths reported in the community
• 9 deaths reported over the weekend in hospitals
• 816 people were admitted to hospital
• And Balsall Common is still purple…..

I spent this morning, it being a Sunday, in spiritual contemplation. “Are you going to church tomorrow?” John had asked last night. Actually, I had been thinking I would go but, having learnt that the village is rife with COVID, I thought better of it. I watched the service live online instead. It’s not as good as being there in person, but it gave me food for thought.

Peter’s sermon was interesting because he reminded us that, in order to get to where you want to go, or get something you need, you might have to move something. Just looking in one place may not get you to where you should be. And advice often comes from someone who loves you. OK. Noted.

After I’d watched the service, I went out into the garden where the sun was shining and it was rather warm. Sat myself down on one of the loungers and did a spot of meditation. The trouble with meditation is that, sometimes, you fall asleep. You are not meant to but, you know, with the conditions being so warm and comfortable, the eyelids droop and………. well, before you know it, you’re a-snoozing……..

Over an hour later, I heard a cough and then the back door opening, as John made his way outside. “Do you want a cup of tea?” he asked. Good idea, I thought, as I opened a bleary eye, it might wake me up. We sat outside for another forty minutes or so, just enjoying the garden and the weather. Gorgeous.

Then this afternoon, I thank you, Lord, for my Mum who, at the age of 95 and without much memory, is happy, cheerful and pleasant.

I spent a very happy couple of hours with Mum this afternoon. She was, as always, delighted to see me, giving me a huge hug and a beaming smile. She was delighted with the bits and bobs I’d taken over but, once again, wasn’t sure she was allowed to open the box of chocolates. “Why don’t you want to open them, Mum?” I asked. “Well, because I shall just eat them and eat them,” she replied, with a grin.

She did show a flash of her former self at this visit – something she’s done just once before recently – when she objected to the blouse I was wearing. “Whatever have you got on?” she said, searchingly. “It’s a blouse, Mum,” I replied. “Well, it looks a bit crumpled.” she said, “and you don’t look like yourself at all.” Oh….. well, truth to tell, the blouse is supposed to look a bit crumpled but, I hadn’t ironed it either….. she shook her head despairingly and tutted. Ah! That’s the Mum I used to know…..

Other than that, we had half a dozen renditions of her favourite song ‘I was born under a wandering star’ and a whole lot of reminiscence as we looked at photos of Lockdown 2020 and her 90th birthday album. Not only did we reminisce but there was a lot of giggling too. At one point, she was laughing and laughing, which made me laugh longer, until we both looked at each other, tears in our eyes, and laughed some more. Lovely.

She pored over the photographs and paused over the photos of Graham, her fingers fondly tracing his features. “How long is it since they went to Australia, did you say?” Eleven years….. gosh, what a long time ago……”I don’t suppose he’s changed much, has he?” she said wistfully. “No, Mum. He hasn’t changed at all. Still the same.” She nodded, satisfied. And then, “Send Gail my very good wishes for her recovery the next time you see her, won’t you?” Yes, Mum, I will……. must confess, I think there was something in my eye…..

It’s amusing to me now, though, when I visit, because there is always the same little routine of delight when I arrive and laughter during the visit; reluctance to open her chocolates; singing her song ad nauseum; searching for her hankies; and the shock of finding me in her room when she comes out of the loo, having totally forgotten that I am there.

When I arrived home, John had been busy. We had a leak under the sink in the utility room, so he thought he felt better enough to try and fix it. Despite all the spare parts he’s accumulated over the years, he couldn’t find the right piece for that repair, so he nipped to Screwfix to buy the right bit. Once home, he duly fitted the piece and….. voila! It looks like it done!

But you know that song about ‘The Gas Man’? Hmmm…. it was a bit like that….. the mending of the leak required moving both the washing machine and the tumble dryer and the shelf in the cupboard plus all its cleaning materials, which were all over the floor.

Buoyed up the success of mending the leak, John thought he’d have a look at the washing machine, which has been walking into the middle of the utility room whenever it’s on a spin cycle. I arrived home just at the right moment. “Here, hold this.” “Can you get the torch?” “We need a hammer” and, leaning the washing machine over at a 45 degree angle: “Have you got it? Safe? Not going to drop it?” and so on….

The thing about John is – he never gives up. I was all for having a tidy up and ‘leaving it until tomorrow’. But no, Mr Determined is his middle name. And, with me in a supporting role, he got it fixed. Boom.

“I’ll just put the tumble dryer back then,” I said, only to find that the hose on the tumble dryer had a gaping hole in it….had we got a spare? Erm… that’ll be a ‘no’. “I think I threw it away when we had the skip because we thought it was surplus to requirements,” I said. Yep, we’d chucked it out. Oh, well, that’ll be a job for tomorrow then.

COVID news tomorrow folks – can’t face it today.

Take care everyone. And to quote Dave Allen: ‘May your God go with you’.

Saturday. And a day in which we had nothing in the calendar. Well, that’s a first for a long time. So, what to do with the day?

John got up and made a cup of tea this morning and then not long afterwards he got up, up and came downstairs, dressed and ready to watch TV. “Are you feeling better, John?” I asked. He didn’t know really, but I think he’s a bit better because he didn’t stay in bed all day. And because he’s resisting my ‘healing’ suggestions. However, he’s still coughing very well, so not out of the woods yet.

“What are your plans for the day?” John asked. “Hmmm…. I don’t know really,” I replied. “I’ve got a long list of jobs…” John protested. “But it’s Saturday!” Yes. I know that but, to be honest, every day is like any other these days, so I just shrugged. “Maybe I’ll do a bit of shopping. Go to Waitrose in Kenilworth and buy you some chicken broth.”

I whiled away the morning, therefore, with housework. There is always something to do, isn’t there? John whiled away the morning with the TV on and his eyes closed. Hmm.. he’s still not well.

This afternoon I did go to Waitrose – ostensibly to buy chicken broth. However, I made a firm decision that I was going to impulse buy. After all, Halloween is coming up soon and there’ll be a demand for tricks or treats. And then there’s Christmas not long after that, and there’ll be advent calendars, and chocolate tree decorations needed. And, if more excuse were needed, I thought it might make me feel good – or better, at any rate. The blues descended on Thursday and, although there have been some happy times, I still have an underlying feeling of despondency. Irrational, I expect, but there we are.

John spent the afternoon watching qualifying for the Grand Prix and then inspected the back of his eyelids again for a few hours. Poor man – it’s hard work, all this coughing. We’ll see how he is tomorrow. Might have to take action……

After the shopping spree, we chose to watch that ‘Murder Island’ programme, where novices try to solve a murder. Made us chuckle, really, and realise just how brilliant the regular detectives are. Then, this evening it was Strictly, which was a cracking programme in my opinion. John wasn’t keen and listened to his book instead, but I really enjoyed it. Some of the dances were just brilliant. Who’s your favourite?

In COVID news, there’s still a lot of it about. 34,950 people were reported as having tested positive for the virus today. 133 people died.

One of my friends from church sent me a news update this evening from our local Neighbourhood Coronavirus Community Champion (didn’t know we actually had one of those until I received it today….). Apparently, the area we live in is now one of the worst affected areas in England, with 66 people in Balsall Common having been infected with COVID in the last 7 days. Gosh, that was a shocker!!! We are almost deep purple – deep purple being the colour on the map that shows the highest infection rates. I haven’t been checking local figures recently so hadn’t been aware of this at all. Schools? Do you reckon? Probably.

Take care everyone. It’s nearer than you think. God bless.

Ho-hum….. true to form, no sooner have our guests gone home, thinking they have left John happy and healthy, than he starts….. Yep. The ol’ man is unwell. Coughing well and now taken to his bed. He is now taking the ’emergency’ antibiotics in the hope that they do the trick. We’ll see……. fingers crossed, people!

So, this morning, I toddled down to the doctors surgery with test tubes to be tested, and then had a little walk up to my friend, Chris’s house, to take her a card and gift as it’s her birthday today. I met Jack on the way – he was waiting at the bus stop on his way to work; and I was delighted to hear that he’d started a new job in Solihull and got over the disappointment of his previous job having folded.

Home again, and I fed John with chicken broth, cups of tea and coffee and some sandwiches for lunch. I was just about to go out, when Danielle phoned. They were on their way home and passing, and could they please call in to change a rather stinky nappy, please? Of course, I said ‘yes’, although, disappointingly, I didn’t have a lot of time to spend with them because I’d promised to be round at Dawn’s at about half past two.

Despite the short stay, it was such a delight to see them – especially as both William and Thomas had the biggest grins on their faces as they came through the door. Marie, Danielle’s Mum, was also among the party. She is over from Jersey for the weekend to support Danielle, while Michael and Marie’s sons and friends enjoy themselves in Manchester on a stag do.

Thomas was standing on his own two feet for much of the time that he was at our house, and was encouraged by the lure of chocolate buttons to walk over to get some. Yay! That’s a result! Walking at last!

We waved a chocolatey goodbye as they went on their way and I set off to Pete and Dawn’s. I was just in time to catch Lizzie with baby Arthur, who gurgled and chatted and waved his arms at me the whole time we were there together. Such a lovely, bonnie little boy.

After Lizzie left, Dawn and I sat at her dining table and set to serious work. With a wedding in the air next year, she is planning her outfit. We sketched, made notes and deliberated about what would be the most comfortable/fashionable/crease-resistant day wear for the ‘Mum of the Bride’. Had a lovely time mulling it all over. Next stop: the tailoress to find out what’s do-able….

In the meantime, John was still feeling unwell and had his evening meal in bed. However, the desire for pudding drove him to get up and come downstairs to find some. “Well,” he said, “You weren’t coming up with my pudding were you?” Erm… that’d be a ‘no’. Alas, I never think about pudding.

COVID is also in the air, still, of course, and there were 36,060 people who tested positive for the virus today; 127 deaths in the community and, in the previous 48 hours, 37 in hospitals.

I feel a little bit of despair creeping in. Never mind, a glass or two of Prosecco numbed that this evening – although the feeling of helplessness remains.

Take care everyone. God bless.

A bit of exercise does you good, they say – although John would want to know who ‘they’ are, of course – and, do you know what? I find ’tis true. Well, it has been in my case today, anyway.

I have no idea why, but I felt blue this morning. I had been bed-hopping overnight to avoid John’s very restless sleep. When he finally found which room I was in and brought me an early morning cup of tea, he said, “You did the right thing. I had a terrible night.”

Poor John – it’s so annoying to be so restless and continually up half the night, nipping to the loo. It’s no wonder he’s exhausted most of the time. But then I realised that that’s what made me feel blue. The helplessness and inability to solve this particular problem. I’ve made all sorts of suggestions, but nothing seems to help, so we are both at a loss as to know how to remedy the situation. Perhaps something will turn up…….

Anyway, I whiled away most of the early morning reading my book in bed and playing e-games on my phone. John also went back to bed, and had a bit of a lie-in to catch up on his lost sleep. I eventually got up at ten and got ready to go to yoga for eleven o’clock. Not sure how, but the time sped by and I ended up being late for class, so had to creep in because everyone else had started.

I was glad I went though. It wasn’t my usual class – although one with which I am very familiar, having attended it frequently in the past – and it was so delightful to see everyone and to be able to take their greetings and best wishes back to John. Several enquired after him and told me to send him their love and hopes for him to feel better.

The class suited me down to the ground and I came away feeling much better. However, for some unknown reason, I still felt a bit stressed and found myself worrying about all sorts of things – sons, husbands and mothers mostly. Yes, yes, I know – there’s no need to worry……

Once home, I had a bite to eat before I was due to set off for badminton this afternoon. My phone pinged. It was Harriet. Could I babysit tonight, please? She and Paul wanted to go out for a bite to eat to ease their stress. Well, of course I could babysit. Nothing better than seeing the grandchildren. John thought he might come, too. Even better.

I enjoyed the badminton this afternoon. Whacking a shuttlecock as hard as you can doesn’t half relieve your feelings. There were only four of us and normally we swap partners, but today, we kept the same partners for all the games, which meant that me and my partner (who used play league badminton) won all the games. That cheered me up!

Home again, to find John painting. He’d done the second coat on the side gate and was now onto the blacking of the wood that surrounds the garage doors. I left him to finish off while I popped up to the shops to grab something for Freddie’s tea. When John came in, he looked absolutely jiggered. “Do you still want to come with me to babysit?” I wondered. No. He didn’t – he was way too tired to be thinking of getting ready to go out and try and entertain a nearly-six-year-old. “I think I might have a bath,” he said. Good idea. Rest those weary limbs.

I toddled over to Kenilworth and was absolutely delighted to see the family. It’s a while since I saw them….ooooh, might the whole of a fortnight…. and I had had withdrawal symptoms. Freddie dashed in from school and was equally delighted to see me, too. Warms your heart doesn’t it?

Naturally, we didn’t sit about. Freddie and I were busy. We were out and about in the garden, bug-hunting. “It’s bit too late at night, Freddie, to find the bugs.” I said, when we found that there was a dearth of bugs. “They’ll have gone to bed already.” He didn’t mind. He still prepared his bug-house and we set it, in the hope that it would attract something overnight.

When it was almost bed-time, we did sit at the table and play a guessing game. “I’ll draw something, Freddie, see if you can guess what it is,” I suggested, as I drew a fox. I was about a third of the way through the drawing when he guessed. “Your turn,” I said, and he drew a bird. Soon after, he looked to be concentrating very hard, “Just a minute, Grandma,” he said, as he spelled out a word and then triumphantly showed me his picture. Ahhh…… now that’s a picture!

The day had started blue, but ended purple. Such richness encountered along the way. So many blessings to be thankful for. The spikiness and irritation all gone, smoothed away by the activities of the day and the company of loved ones. Marvellous.

Meanwhile, COVID continues rampant. 40,701 people tested positive for the virus today. What the…..? I mean, this is beyond a joke, isn’t it? 122 people died in the community; and 33 in hospitals in the previous 48 hours. Over 40 children were admitted to hospital in the last week.

Mitigation cannot be the vaccine alone, surely? We must be encouraging everyone to do those things we were doing before, in my opinion – keeping our distance, wearing masks, washing our hands and ventilating our indoor spaces – to keep infections and deaths down. Or am I in Cloud Cuckoo Land and no-one cares about the affects of the virus any more? I think I’m beginning to rock in the corner over here now…….

Take care everyone. God bless.

Having had a busy day yesterday, I decided on a day of rest today. John also decided he needed a day of rest and he spent the morning in bed.

My plan was to catch up on programmes I had missed and do some reading. You know, put my feet up. Anyway, once I was up this morning and came downstairs, I realised that there were some spoils from the freezer that had been saved, and would be OK if they were cooked.

I nipped round to the shops to buy a few additional ingredients, and then I set to. I made plum jam and blueberry compote with the defrosted fruit; then roasted the tons of chicken we had with parsnips, pecan nuts and orange. All delicious, but all took time to do and be re-labelled to go back into the freezer. Hey! I thought I was going to have a rest?

After I’d done a bit of cooking, John had made his way downstairs and so we sat and watched last night’s Bake-Off. They were making bread. It did look very good. And it was lunchtime. Increasingly, we were hungrier and hungrier. “Shall I pop round to the shops to see if they’ve got any exciting bread, John?” Oh, yes. That would go down a treat. So I toddled off to the shops for the second time today…..

After lunch, I did watch a little bit more TV and read my book, so I did have a rest. John, too, had some rest and spent a good proportion of the afternoon asleep. While I was faffing about with our evening meal, however, he woke up and leapt outside with a paint pot and brush, and painted the side gate. A job he’d been meaning to do for a long time. “All OK?” I asked. Yes, all OK – although he wasn’t awfully happy with what he’d done. He hates painting. “It’ll need a second coat though…..” I bet he’s looking forward to that.

This evening, it was Quiz Night. I don’t know whether we’d all been inhaling laughing gas, but we did nothing but giggle our way through the evening. So much so, that at one time, we could hardly stop and our sides began to ache from having laughed so much. And none of us were even drinking alcohol either! A really great evening. Such fun.

In between times during the day today, we’d been in touch with family members. Michael phoned to say, in high excitement, that the offer they’d made on the house they saw last week, had been accepted. Gosh! I was overwhelmed with joy. They have had such a long hunt for a house and I was praying that this one would work out for them. Still praying, but at least it’s one step further.

Andrew got in touch, too, and his news was just as good. He’d been offered a promotion at work, so we are thrilled. It’s such an arduous job being a Chef, and he works so very hard to get it right, that it’s about time he saw some reward for his efforts.

John, in between naps, took a phone call from the laboratory that makes his serum eye drops. They were very understanding about the fact that the whole stock had had to be discarded, and they promised a fresh supply by Monday. Considering there’s a shortage of supply, that is very good news. John has only got to last four days without it, so it might not be too bad.

On the COVID front, the figures are startlingly high today: 39,851 people tested positive for the virus; 143 people died in the community and, in addition, in hospitals, 32 people died in the previous 48 hours.

When did we get so complacent about these numbers? And why are we allowing this to continue? I am baffled. If you have any answers, please let me know…….

Anyway, my prayers are with you all – everyone I know, family, friends and acquaintances – I pray that you all stay safe and are mindful in taking care. God bless.

Oh, and by the way, Susie Dent’s Word of The Day is: ‘ultacrepidarian’ – one who gives opinions and judgements on matters they know nothing about. I wonder what made her think of that, today of all days?

Well, we were both on the A14 today – but separately. John had to go over to Corby to see a man about a house; and I had to go to Cambridge to see a man about moving house….

John’s task was to establish what else he needed to do for the red tape brigade. He and Paul have a house there that needs this certificate or that certificate; this monitor or that monitor and this sort of door, please. Right, OK. Thus apprised, John made his way home again. An hour on the A14, half an hour chat to the bureaucrat, and an hour and a half on the A14 home again. Job done.

I was a couple of hours on the A14 before I arrived at my destination: Andrew’s flat, from which he was moving today. It needed a bit of a clean-up before departure and a few boxes transporting to the storage company. “I reckon there’s only about an hour of cleaning to do, Mum,” says Andrew. Right……. you reckon? Nah.

As it turned out, I arrived at the flat only to find that Andrew wasn’t there. He had taken his bed to his new place and slept overnight there. His phone had died and there had been no alarm to wake him up.

The landlady answered the door, “Oh, yes, Andrew said his Mum was coming to help with the cleaning. Good luck with that….” and, with a raised eyebrow, she opened the door to his more-or-less empty room.

Ah….. I could see what she meant. Where Andrew had had his bed, the paint work was a bit grubby and worn. I knew it was a forlorn hope to remedy the issue, but I was game. I had a few goes at it and did make it much better-looking, but even I could see it would need a new paint job. “She’ll have to charge for re-painting that bit, Andrew,” I said. He shrugged and supposed so.

We managed to clear the rest of his flat and the kitchen where he had all his various pots, pans and caboodle. And the cleaning only took four hours. I mean, we had to wait a bit for solutions to work – things like the limescale remover on the shower door, for example. In every day use, it’s easy to forget that water can build up residue, isn’t it?

Anyway, it was all spick and span; and we took the rest of Andrew’s belongings to the storage company before he handed his keys in. The landlady was generous and hardly charged him anything for the repainting, so that worked out well.

We toddled off to the pub then, for our ‘lunch’ – at 4.15 in the afternoon……. A few hours later than we’d anticipated.

I then took to the road and had another couple of hours on the A14 to come home – the sun shining straight at me. A huge, orange orb in the sky, hanging just above the horizon, cloaked on one side by a very, very dark rain cloud. The cloud was burnished by the sun and presented a very pretty purple….. until it dropped its load on the road. It fairly lashed down. Everyone had to slow down – not only was the sun still shining straight at us, but the windscreen wipers were struggling to keep up.

I got home about half past seven – almost twelve hours since I’d set off. “I think might have a long soak in the bath, John,” I said. John nodded. “Good idea.” he said, and then very kindly brought me a heater as the bathroom was pretty chilly. How kind.

In the meantime, I wondered if John had had chance to see what might be wrong with the freezer. This morning I’d found that everything was defrosted – including John’s eye serum, which is a bit of a disaster as he’s only just taken delivery of a new batch after a delay due to short supply. “Yes,” he said. “I switched it on.” Eh? You mean it was switched off? Not broken? “Nope, not broken.” Well, neither of us has a clue as to how the thing got switched off, but I am glad the mystery is solved anyway. Pity about all the food we’ve had to throw away though……

On the COVID front (cos I know you’re dying to know), there were 33,869 people who tested positive for the virus today; 166 deaths in the community and 46 in the previous 48 hours in hospitals.

Take care everyone, whatever you are doing. Look after yourselves and your loved ones. Tell them you love them. God bless.