leukaemia-limbo-dance

We were just whiling our morning away in bed, browsing our phones and generally not getting up, when John reminded me that he was planning to drive into Coventry to hand over an item he’d sold on eBay to the purchaser in Coventry, and would I go with? Well, of course, I’d go with him.

But we were both reluctant to leave our cosy bed this morning and, in the end, it was all a rush to get out through the front door, minus breakfast. Never mind, we’d soon be back home and we’d have a nice brunch.

Harrumph….. maybe not. On our way back home, we called into B&Q to buy dingy beige paint to replace the Duck Egg Blue that doesn’t go with the tiles, and then a reminder buzzed on my phone. Oh, what’s this? I knew I was babysitting Freddie this afternoon, and I had it in my head that it was at 2 o’clock. As the reminder went at 11.30, I thought I’d better check with Harriet what time they were expecting me. Twelve o’clock, please. Their afternoon appointment was at one. Oh….brunch was on hold.

We had a good cup of tea when we got to Paul and Harriet’s and then John went home and said he’d collect me later. Freddie and I had a great time together and I also ate some food, for which my belly was calling. First, we played Minecraft on the TV – well, Freddie played – I just watched in amazement and learned that there were Creepers, Zombies, Spiders and Skeletons. And you could also knock or burn houses down if you wanted, or leave a stray cow down in the pit into which it had strayed and fallen…….hmmmm….. lovely.

After we’d had enough of that game we went outside to go on a ‘bug hunt’. It was great entertainment and I was surprised at just how many varieties of spiders there were in the garden, We were obliged to make a bug trap out of a yoghurt pot, of course, to put bugs into for further examination – wood lice, spiders (that didn’t stay) and a ladybird all went into the pot that had been lovingly furnished with pebbles, sticks, leaves and grass. It was very good fun.

John came back later, disguised as a JobSquad technician, bearing tools to mend the downstairs loo that I had inadvertently broken (twice). Freddie was fascinated to watch the ol’ man at work for a while before we went upstairs to his room.

All of Freddie’s books were in the spare room, following a decorating activity on his cupboards, so we slowly gathered up as many of them as we could, to put them back onto his shelves. It took us a very long time. We couldn’t help ourselves and stopped every few minutes to read a book that took our fancy.

Then the grown-ups came home to spoil our play and to show us what they had been out buying. Paul had bought himself a replacement watch for one which had been broken, and Harriet brought home a little necklace. All very, very nice to be able to treat yourself occasionally, isn’t it?

We said our goodbyes then and set off home, taking a detour via Waitrose to buy a few bits and pieces and their very delicious Thai ‘take-away’ kit, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Another day of un-paleo food. We’d better watch out…… don’t want the ol’ man to be ill again.

This evening we caught up on TV viewing, dipping and out of the footie, which proved to be interesting matches in many ways, but probably the right people won.

At the six o’clock news, there was no mention of a Hancock resignation, but by ten o’clock…. boom! There it was. Goodness me, what shenanigans among our ruling party, n’est-ce pas?

• 18,270 people tested positive for COVID today
• 23 people died in the community with it in the last 24 hours
• 227 people were admitted into hospitals as a result of the effects of the virus
• And, being the weekend, there are no figures for those who may have died in hospital
• Those who have been vaccinated with the first dose is nudging the 84% of the population now; and just over 61% having had both doses.

Be careful everyone. The horrid virus is still out to get us, so we must do everything we can to keep it at bay. God bless.

I am not sure that I can do the day justice today. I don’t have the words – for a change, I hear you say!! So a short Blog….

I was up early, having heard the bin men banging about outside and having suddenly remembered that we hadn’t put the bins out…. too late, they were halfway up the road and our green bin was still out the back. I did manage to get the general waste bin out though….

I was pleased to have leapt out of bed early. We were taking a trip. We had booked in to the restaurant where Andrew works, and lunch was at twelve.

We got ourselves ready and set off on the dreaded M6/A14, only to find it wasn’t so dreaded after all and we had a good journey enabling us to arrive in good time in Cambridge.

Having arrived early, we sat in the car for half an hour to rest before setting off across Jesus Common to the restaurant. We were still a few minutes early, and so we sat outside in the garden, enjoying the rather balmy weather, listening to a trilling blackbird, and waving and grinning sheepishly to Andrew as he whipped in and out of the stores at the back of the restaurant. The experience had started very well indeed.

I don’t know how to describe the food and the service, but it was all exceptionally good. Not a single item on the menu to turn our noses up at. And the food and drink kept coming – an extremely accomplished tasting menu, served by very pleasant staff – well, I suppose you’d expect that in a two-star restaurant really, wouldn’t you?

We were so engrossed in the food and drink, chatting to the staff, having a tour of the kitchens and shaking hands with the Head Chef, Mark Abbot, and the owner, Daniel Clifford, that we took no photos at all. But here’s the menu and some fellow-chef’s comments about the restaurant, just in case you’re interested……

With our tummies full, we managed a few words with Andrew before we went back to the car. He had no time to stop and chat for long as he busy, busy, busy cleaning down and getting ready for the evening service.

But we were thrilled to have seen him in his natural habitat. Not only that, but Chef, i.e. Daniel, was extremely complimentary about Andrew’s work, going so far as to say that they planned to pin his feet to the floor so that he couldn’t leave as they valued him so much. Well, that was nice, wasn’t it?

We drove home tired, but on a high. We had had a great time. Great memories created today.

• In the meantime, the COVID figures for today were as follows:- (and we hope that there was nothing in our vicinity today…)
  • 15,810 people tested positive for the virus
  • 18 people died in the community with it in the last 24 hours
  • 224 people were admitted to hospital
  • 5 people died in hospitals with the virus on 23 & 24 June
  • 221,534 people were dosed with their first part of the vaccination today
  • 177,813 people were given their second dose.

Stay safe everyone. God bless.

We have had a day of backwards and forwards-ing, but with a cherry on the top as we were celebrating Thomas’s First birthday today. Here’s the birthday boy himself, under an archway of balloons…..

But first up, we were travelling over to Heartlands Hospital early on this morning for John’s three-weekly immunoglobulin infusion. There is a shortage of said item in the UK however, and the sessions have now been moved to monthly. Fingers crossed that there is no adverse effect from that. No-one has said the shortage is related to Brexit yet – we are still waiting for the reason to be disclosed.

I dropped John off and came home with a long list of jobs to do, one of which was to apply the Duck Egg Blue wall paint. The only thing is, now that I’ve got some of it on….. I don’t really like it. I hadn’t thought carefully enough about how it would go with the colour of the tiles, which are a clotted cream and apricot colour. John agrees – he has turned his nose up, too. Ah, well back to the drawing board. Off to Homebase/B&Q as soon as I can get there….

Once John had finished at the hospital, I collected him. We nipped into the pharmacy in the village to see if we could sort out various medications that hadn’t arrived for John, and then grabbed ourselves a non-paleo Cornish Pasty from La Delicia deli. Such a naughty treat – which we thoroughly enjoyed. Reminded us of our holidays by the seaside.

At home, we were confronted with deliveries. We had ordered a box for the garden to keep the cushions in for the outside furniture. It turns out to be huge. I had ordered a parasol stand, too – which turned out to be very heavy. And then there was a another heavy bag on the doorstep – of dog food, this time. The delivery man hadn’t even tried to heave it into the porch. This last delivery is a throwback to me having looked after Chester a few weeks ago when the food order was diverted to my house. Ah…. must change the address.

Our plan was to go over to the Sutton Sleaths to see Thomas on his big day, sometime this afternoon. The family had gone to Drayton Manor for the day with Danielle’s parents, Bernie and Marie, who are over from Jersey for ten days. We were to join them all once they were home.

Michael phoned to say they were delayed – thoroughly enjoying their time out in Thomas Land. No worries, we said. It suited us to go a bit later. John could have more shut-eye, having come home from the procedure this morning feeling very washed out and tired. And I could get on with the painting.

Once it was time to go, I loaded the car with all the essentials – the dog food, the presents and the cake, which I herewith present to you:

Not only was the cake designed to be visually musical, but it also played music as well. A lovely, long, drawn-out piece that you may recognise, called ‘Happy Birthday to You’. We all enjoyed it anyway, but Thomas was a bit gob-smacked by all the attention, I think. He did, however, join in the music side of things, raising his arm to the beat. What a cutie.

It was nice to see Bernie and Marie, who looked very well and very bronzed from the Jersey weather. We’re not jealous at all.

We had a lovely time at Thomas’s party. Even William said what a great time we were all having. He did amuse me though. The sight of the parcels was very exciting for a little boy aged 3, and he announced very solemnly, that, as he was a ‘big boy’ and Thomas’s brother, he could open the gifts for him. He did a good job of it too.

He was especially thrilled with the musical rocking horse that Bernie and Marie had bought. So enamoured, was he, of the tune and sounds that could be played at will by pressing the horse’s ear, that he repeatedly pressed the button. We adults could not agree that the tunes and sounds and volume were to our taste. Our instinct was to say, ‘Turn the pesky thing off!’ but instead, it was a reasoned, ‘William, I think that’s enough for now, please switch it off and we can play it again a bit later.’

We are now tired but happy to have spent time among the family.

COVID is still of interest, with 16,703 people testing positive for the virus today; 21 people having died with it in the community in the last 24 hours; and 204 people admitted to hospitals.

8 people died with the virus in hospitals on 21 & 22 June; and the NHS has delivered 207,647 first doses of the vaccine and 167,988 second doses to people up to 4 p.m. today. 83% of the population has now been given the first dose and just over 60% have had their second.

That’s got to give us hope, hasn’t it? Take care everyone. God bless.

It’s been an interesting day, one way or another.

With no Quiz Night tonight because some of our members are otherwise engaged, we thought we’d got all day to sort ourselves out with our respective jobs. But it’s been a day of hiccups…..

Plan for Anne: Do more painting, with the aim of getting it finished, before we set off to town for an eye and hearing test, and shopping for shoes. Actual event: mostly phone calls to the hospital and trawling the calendar to establish what appointments John had this morning. Result: a little bit of painting, but not enough.

Plan for John: Construct Thomas’s birthday cake, the relevant parts having arrived in the post yesterday (all will be revealed tomorrow). Actual event: see above, plus medication to take…… Result: no attempt on the cake in the morning.

Revised Plans: Just go to town for eye and hearing tests and shoe shopping. Actual event: No hearing test – I missed the appointment (don’t ask); John was exhausted by the choosing of a new pair of glasses, so went and sat in the car. Parking ticket placed prettily on the car because we weren’t displaying a Disabled Badge.

Well, there was an explanation for that….. the dashcam fell down from the windscreen and knocked the badge onto the floor…… Result: We decided against going shoe-shopping after all. Shall we appeal the £35 fine or forego the pair of shoes?

Newly-revised plans: Eat lunch then get on with our jobs because we’ve got loads of time….. Actual event: To be fair, John did eat lunch and get on, but I didn’t. I watched more tennis, this time from Eastbourne, before I went back to my painting. Result: most of the skirting boards complete with a second coat of paint and the Birthday Cake started to take shape.

John has worked wonders this afternoon with Thomas’s birthday cake. He may be an amateur, but to me he is a marvel. I’ll post a photo tomorrow (don’t want to spoil the surprise). However, it has taken all of his determination and lots of creative thinking to get it finished.

Meanwhile, I was busy with prepping for painting the actual walls in the utility room, which took a lot longer than I had thought. We had been sloppy on our last painting job and left the overspill of paint on the door surround. Took me most of the afternoon to get it all cleaned off ready for masking up and loading my brush with the Duck Egg Blue for daubing the walls.

I had just taken the lid off the paint pot when John’s phone rang. It was Harriet. “Is your wife there?” she asked John. I was. “I need you,” she said, in a wobbly voice. Her father, seriously ill at home, looked like he’d take a turn for the worse and could I babysit? Of course I could. I put the lid back on the paint pot and set off, leaving John to do more battle with the cake.

I didn’t stay very long at Paul and Harriet’s in the end as Paul had arrived home just before I got there. He and Harriet went round to her Dad’s, then Paul came back to do the bed-and-bath routine for Freddie. If you are so inclined, positive thoughts and prayers are needed for the Kenilworth contingent, please.

After we’d eaten our evening meal tonight, I decided that the light was too poor to be painting, so have done very little, while John has laboured on the clearing up tasks. It’s good for him…….isn’t it?

COVID. Cases increasing, do you reckon? Well, what a surprise…..

• 16,135 people tested positive for the virus today
• 19 people died in the community
• 211 people were admitted to hospital with it
• 7 people died in the last two/three days in hospital with it

Do take care everyone, even if you’ve had your jabs. God bless you and all those you hold dear.

Meanwhile….. round at the Sutton Sleaths, their lounge looks like this…..

You may recall that we decided to change our broadband and TV provider. Switch from Murdoch to Branson. And today was the day.

As it happened, I had gone out for a well-needed haircut and, by the time I got back, the Virgin van was outside, the front door wide open and rolls of cables were waiting on the path, ready to be unrolled. I stepped inside the house and made my way to the lounge, where a young man, mask-less, was standing talking to the himself, it seemed. Ah… no, John’s voiced floated out from the library area round the corner.

The engineer was recounting how difficult it was going to be to put cables everywhere, nay, anywhere, in our house. And not only that, there would be additional and miles of cables snaking round the house, upstairs and downstairs and in My Lady’s Chamber, for each of the tellies. Plus the cable for the Broadband.

Oh. We hadn’t known all of that when we made our decision. Naïve, maybe, but we had expected something like the service we were already getting from our current provider. You know, a Wi-Fi enabled system. I suppose the giveaway is that the provider is offering a cable service………

Ah, well back to the drawing board. But not before we had hissed at the engineer to put on a mask whilst in the house, and then spending over an hour on the phone to Virgin, and another half an hour to Sky.

Change? Of course we don’t mind change. But we’re both secretly rather happy to be keeping all the luxury of the telly options we have now. Psst…. don’t tell anyone.

We finally sorted out our predicament and we both went back to the other important jobs that we’d planned to do. John’s of course, was the Birthday Cake. “We need butter and icing sugar for the butter icing,” John said, “Have we got any?” Erm…. no – well, not enough. We’d have to go and buy some. John was game. “Anything else you need?” Carrots and sweet potatoes, if you’re going.

Bless him, he did well. Managed to get all the things he needed and walk there and back to the Co-op. Slept for a couple of hours though, after such a momentous day of turmoil over the TV and a walk with a heavy bag of groceries. He woke up just in time for the footie.

In the meantime, I was still on with the decorating. Another coat of ceiling paint and that bit is complete – *does a little dance* – and the first coat on the woodwork.

But I was puzzled. As I painted a soft, snowy, virgin-white colour onto the woodwork, I wondered why we had previously chosen a dingy beige? All was revealed as I came to an area that had not been degraded by the sunshine, or the heating, or the dust from the garage…..the paintwork had been white…. It’s funny isn’t it, how you don’t really notice a creeping change before your very eyes? A bit like the state of the country, methinks.

However, I think we’ll be pleased with the change of décor when it’s finished, even if we’re not having a change in TV provider.

We watched the football this evening and thought England played marginally better than the other day. Well, they must have done, mustn’t they? Because they won!! They are going to have to up their game considerably if they are to beat anyone else though, in my humble opinion. Time will tell.

I wish COVID would stop upping its game though. More infections today.

• 11,625 people tested positive today
• 27 people died in the community
• 225 people were admitted to hospital in the last 24 hours. I’d like to know how many COVID patients are discharged, though, wouldn’t you? I have visions of more and more people being stuffed into hospitals and never coming out…..
• And deaths in hospitals totalled 21 over three days, since I last reported the figures

Take extra care now, everyone. With infections rising, you never know if it’s the person you are talking to who is a carrier, do you? God bless.

Yep. Prep. Preppity-prep-prep-prep.

I’ve started on the decorating of the utility room, folks. And I’ve gone for Duck Egg Blue. I’m sure it’ll be nice – whenever I actually manage to slap some of it on the walls. In the meantime, there’s an awful lot of preparation to do before I get to the nice part of decorating where a new colour transforms a room.

So mostly it’s been clearing work surfaces; washing skirting boards, walls and the ceiling; rubbing down the woodwork; fillering the cracks; mopping the floor (don’t ask) and painting the ceiling. Woohoo! I did actually manage to get a lick of paint on one surface anyway.

The aim is to have it painted before the new work surfaces arrive next week. Fingers crossed I’ll find time to do it. I know it’s only a small room, but we seem to have a busy week ahead and gone are the days when I relished a packed calendar. I mean, if we’re busy, when am I going to find time for my nap?

John, meanwhile, spent the morning in bed and was finally geared up and ready to roll at about lunchtime. He spent a happy hour dealing with the paperwork for the quad bike which he sold the other day, and then dismantled the brand new clock that we had bought on Friday. Lovely clock. Large. Specially purchased so that John could easily see the time. The only thing is that the whole thing blends in with the room and the hands are very difficult to distinguish. So he’s painting the hands black…..

Next up, it was all the planning to bake Thomas’s cake for his first birthday. Seemingly now a Grandpa tradition. The contents of the baking cupboard were unearthed to establish exactly what was needed from the shops to complete the cake and then a trip to the shops to fill in the gaps.

Wonderful aromas soon emerged from the kitchen and in a very short space of time the cake was ready. Mmmm…..it’s going to be delicious. He’s just got to create the masterpiece now…..watch this space…..

We are looking forward to seeing Thomas on his birthday, at which time he will have had a couple of afternoons in nursery. Danielle goes back to work next week, and so he’s having two or three trial days. Ouch – painful, isn’t it, to wave your little one bye-bye at the nursery gate? I’m re-living the whole painful experience with them, as I have with each of the grandchildren. I’m such a softie.

And that’s us today. A good day all in all, even if we have worked our little socks off.

And the COVID figures for your delectation, just because I’ve started so I’ll finish….

• 10,633 people tested positive for the virus today
• 5 people died in the community in the last 24 hours
• 226 people were admitted to hospital with the virus
• And, seemingly, no deaths in hospitals – I am sure that will change by the time the data catches up tomorrow…..

Look after yourselves. God bless.

Gosh, we have so many fathers in the family now that we don’t quite know where to turn! And how delightful it was that there were WhatsApp chats this morning, sharing the Father’s Day greetings among the family.

There was a little bit of competition about breakfast in bed – Michael, however, didn’t want any because he was feeling nauseous with a tummy bug that the children had shared with him this week; and Harriet had said Paul was to get his own breakfast because she was cooking him a special lunch at 1 o’clock. She was clearly joking though, because not very much later a photo appeared with Paul in bed and a nice breakfast next to him. I think John thought he’d won the competition, though, with a full English and the Sunday newspapers to read in bed.

John stayed in bed as a treat (!!) while I pottered about downstairs, having another go at tidying up. Honestly, it’s like the Forth Bridge at our house….. and then, of course, John had all his medication to take and nebuliser to have, so it was gone lunchtime by the time he surfaced.

We were both magnanimous and offered each other the viewing rights to the TV this afternoon. “You can watch the tennis. It’s the Men’s Final,” John said to me. “No, no, it’s fine, honestly. It’s Father’s Day – you can watch the Grand Prix.” I protested.

In the end, John persuaded me that he’d rather record the Grand Prix so that he could fast forward if he got bored. That way, I had a lovely afternoon wrapped up in the tennis. John also had a lovely afternoon – wrapped up in a blanket, having fallen asleep for the two hours that the tennis was on.

Once awake, John watched the Grand Prix; we chatted to the Sutton Sleaths; we spoke to Andrew in Cambridge and then, we were just prepping the evening meal when the Kenilworth Sleaths got in touch. Would John like to go out to the pub with Paul for a Father’s Day drink?

Naturally, John said ‘yes’. But he then admitted to me that he was slightly nervous about going out, out. It’s the first time in a long time that he’s been out in the evening to a pub. “Right,” said Paul, “I’ll be there in 20 minutes.” Ah…. OK. “What time will the meal be ready?” John wanted to know. “Not before you go out,” I replied. “Here, have some ‘un-Paleo’ cheese and biscuits….”

Apparently, they had a lovely time. I took them to the White Horse, and a couple of hours later, collected them again to ferry them home. They were a little bit tiddly. John had particularly enjoyed himself and was delighted in his eldest son’s company. Paul, too, had delighted in John’s company but was feeling rather maudlin as he came out of the pub, having heard the news that one of the ‘lads’ he’d employed in the Job Squad had passed away. I’m not making light of it, but that’s always a risk you run when you employ the elderly in your organisation……

9,284 people tested positive for the virus today and 6 people died in the community. The number of admissions to hospitals is still going up, with 226 in the last 24 hours.

Look after yourselves, everyone. If you are going ‘out, out’ – take care. God bless.

All week I have had one job on my mind. That is, to paint the utility room. However, one way and another there has been a stumbling block each day to prevent this activity actually happening. Ah-ha! I thought, Saturday! No plans, so I’ll get on with it. Hahahahaha……..

We were up and breakfasting by mid-morning. There were ‘other’ things that needed to be done before I could get on. Clearing up the barbecue for one thing, which we had left out in the rain; clearing the work surfaces in the utility room, which were cluttered with tools from the recent repair; popping a load of washing into the newly repaired machine to check it worked properly (and it did, thank you very much); unstacking and stacking the dishwasher; and so on. Nothing of any particular note, just stuff that you do every day.

John, meanwhile, reminded me that he had sold the quad bike and someone was coming to collect it today. And, to help him shift it down the side of the house, he’d asked Paul to come over. “Right,” I said, absent-mindedly, and then, “That’s good. It’ll be nice to see him.” John then added, “He’s bringing Freddie.” “Ah… right,” I said, taking a little bit more notice. That meant that the painting would have to wait, because I was definitely going to play with Freddie.

So, once again, the painting hasn’t got done, but we have had the pleasure of grandparenting time. Freddie was as good as gold while he was here and, as he is now five years old and pretty independent, he is able to do all sorts of things without our worrying as to whether he’s fiddling with something he shouldn’t. He’s a delight, in fact.

“Where are the cats, Grandma?” Freddie wanted to know. “I think they’ll be upstairs in the attic,” I replied. “Let’s go and see,” said Freddie. I was able to tell him to go on up and look to see if they were there and I’d be there in a minute. When I got there, hot on Freddie’s heels, he was half way up the second set of stairs and whispering excitedly to me that both the cats were there and could he stroke them?

He was very successful in his petting of the cats, who didn’t run away as is their usual wont, and they allowed Freddie to extend his hand to stroke them for a good little while. Regrettably, however, the quad bike was safely stowed on the van with its new owners and Paul had finished his work, so Freddie had to go home, just as we were about to investigate the contents of a very interesting box in the attic. Next time, maybe……

I wasn’t inclined to do the painting after Paul and Freddie had gone, suddenly feeling rather tired. John, too, was feeling tired, so we watched TV. First we watched the Grand Prix qualifying and then some tennis at Queens, before it was soon time prep our evening meal.

This evening was also spent in front of the box – we are trying to watch all of the important programmes we have on the planner because, next week we have D-Day when we change supplier….not sure how I’m going to cope, folks – watch this space!

All while we are enjoying our little lives here in Balsall Common, I am conscious that the COVID situation is continuing in all parts of the country now. 10,321 people tested positive with the virus today; 14 people died with it in the community; and 226 people were admitted to hospital with it.

I am tired of it now. If only we could find a strategy that works and reduces the continual spread of the virus so that we could be less worried about going out and about. I am a shadow of my former self…….

Anyway, tomorrow is another day, so perhaps the sun will shine.

Take care everyone. God bless.

Well, the wished-for rain arrived, thank goodness, and it’s doing a good job of soaking the garden. No hosepipe watering needed today and the plants are already looking a lot happier. Although, inexplicably, the blueberry bush looks like it’s had it. It stopped fruiting a couple of years ago and threw out a massive new section. Tinternet suggested cultivating this bit rather than the old, but sadly, it’s all on its last legs. I shall do an inspection when the heavy rain has stopped.

The heavy rain didn’t prevent me from visiting Mum today though and I found her in very good health and happy. She was still in the lounge when I arrived, but soon trotted down the corridor with a big grin on her face, actually recognising me this time. Mind you, she had no recollection of what she’d just been doing, so I am none the wiser as the activity she might have been involved in.

We chatted for about an hour and a half and then the carer came to take her to the dining room for her lunch so I came away. She was disappointed that I was leaving, but I had promised to go into Kenilworth with John for a second assault on the bank. As it happened, John didn’t wait for me and was just setting off when I arrived home, so our paths crossed and I didn’t make the trip to Kenilworth after all.

This afternoon, John decided that the inspection of the back of his eyelids was high on the list of things to do, so I just pottered about trying to have a bit of a tidy-up, yet again. I continue to be overwhelmed by the amount there is still to do in terms of sorting out Mum’s things, but I am hoping that I will be able to pull myself together and actually get on with it. But energy levels are low and the bootstraps seem an awful long way down…..

We watched the football match this evening in the hope of having a little bit of excitement, but honestly, what a dreadful match from an England point of view. It reminded me of the ‘bad old days’ when England just passed the ball back to the goalkeeper all the time or hung onto it in mid-field. Yawn, yawn, yawn. Having watched this performance, I doubt there is any chance that England are in with a shout of winning the competition, like some of the pundits suggested.

The news was full of the win by the Lib-Dems over the Tories in the by-election in Amersham yesterday. People seem shocked by the big overthrow – not sure why…….

In the meantime, COVID continues its merry little journey around the country, with 10,476 people having tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours. 11 people died with it in the community, and 6 people died in hospitals on 16 June. 221 people were admitted to hospital in the last 24 hours, too.

The map of the UK, showing the spread of the virus, is gradually turning blue and it’s very easy to see where the infection is spreading. And in the charts of coming first for something, guess what? We have the highest infection rate in Europe.

Wishing you all a great weekend – stay safe everyone. God bless.

I may rue the thought that we haven’t had enough rain, but I was hoping to wake up this morning to find that the garden had been drenched – however, it was hardly damp. I think we may have had a downpour in the night, but the ground was so dry that it’s hardly made a difference.

I had planned to water the garden this evening but in true princess fashion, I was still lazing about and so it hasn’t got done. Fingers crossed for more rain overnight. Never thought I’d be saying ‘not enough rain’!

There is little news today from the Sleath household. We stayed in bed all morning – me reading a book and John snoozing. He needed the rest after yesterday’s exertions with the washing machine. And I, of course, needed the rest after my considerable exertions in the hot tub (I don’t think).

This afternoon we nipped into Kenilworth to pay some money into the bank, only to find it was closed. Coronavirus is limiting its opening hours from 10 until 2 apparently. Hmmmm……there were three of us outside the bank at half past two, scratching and shaking our heads at such a notion.

We then nipped across to the garage from which we had bought the car, to take possession of the cover for the boot. They had forgotten to fit it when we collected it a couple of weeks ago.

As we were near Dunelm, I suggested to John that we nip in there to see if they had any nice cushions to go on our sofas. They had, so we bought some.

Home again, and Michael and William were in Balsall, having been to visit Moira, our Lay Reader at church, to discuss Thomas’ christening. They called in for a cuppa and a half hour chat, which was rather splendid.

And that’s it. An uneventful day really – with apologies that it’s a bit like watching wood warp. We seem to be glooping through our days just at the moment with not a lot happening.

I caught the last half of a play that was on BBC 2 this evening, called ‘Together’. I don’t know if anyone else watched it, but gosh, it was powerful. Family life and the impact of COVID – makes you think.

• On the COVID front, we have the following figures:
  • Over 11,000 people tested positive for the virus today
  • 19 deaths in the last 24 hours in the community
  • 222 people admitted to hospital with the virus
  • 8 people died with the virus on 15 & 16 June

It’s all hotting up – especially in the North-East again, around Birmingham and in & around London. And the Cornish folk are hopping up and down about the increase in cases in their county, blaming the G7 meeting, although, in fact, it’s more likely to have been the tourist influx during half-term that brought the bug.

There are clear indications of how to keep ourselves safe – we know it, but don’t seem to be able to do it, do we? Even we have got a bit blasé. Must take ourselves in hand.

Look after yourselves, folks. God bless.