leukaemia-limbo-dance

That seems to be what we say whenever we have flitted about and generally not done a lot during a day. We’ve flipped and flopped. And, I mean, what can you do with a wasted journey?

I phoned the respiratory nurses yesterday to let them know that John’s prescription was coming to an end and more drugs were needed. “No worries,” she said, “I’ll do the prescription and put it ready for you in the pharmacy. You can collect it on Monday. Oh, actually, I think they are open tomorrow – either Monday or tomorrow for collection whichever suits you.” Great, lovely, thank you.

So, this afternoon we poddled over to Heartlands, only to find the pharmacy was closed. I was kicking myself. I had a niggling feeling that they might close at lunchtime and thought, too late, ‘should have made the trip in the morning.’ Ah, well, Monday will have to do.

John was grumpy that they were closed. He’d been nice and cosy at home watching the rugby when I said I was going to set off. He said he’d come with me – I think he perhaps felt obliged to. Anyway, he wasn’t best pleased to find it had been a wasted journey. I followed the advice that we’d had yesterday at the ‘Exploring Faith’ group and tried to live in the moment and enjoy what I could. It resulted in lots of inane comments all the way home…. ‘ooh, look, the sun’s shining’; ‘wow, look at that dark cloud over there’; ‘aah, listen to that music, isn’t it lovely?’ John stopped listening to me about a third of the way home. I don’t say I blame him really. After all, you can’t get away from the fact that it was a wasted journey…….

Other than that, I did manage to get the door painted in (what-we-are-now-calling) the annexe/granny room this morning. I won’t bore you with a photo though. It’s white on white, so nothing to see here. D’you know? One more coat and the room will be finished. Zipper-dee-doo-da! *Does a little dance*.

Having said that, of course, we still haven’t decided on the function of the room. Now that we have decided to stay at home and not have any visitors at Christmas, the idea that I had of Mum staying there, is now scuppered. So we no longer need to hulk the bed downstairs and set it up, after all. So far, we have one office cabinet and one cross-trainer in there. Not that cosy really, yet….. hmmmm…..

However, this evening was a bit more exciting. We had a cocktail evening. I was cooking our evening meal and thought, “I know, I’ll have a Brazen Hussy.” This is one of my favourite cocktails and has absolutely nothing to do with how I behave, of course. John is an expert cocktail maker, so he willingly got out all the ingredients and the cocktail shaker, and all the accoutrements until it was done. Ooooh, it was delicious. So yummy in fact, that I had to have another one….

I am not quite sure what John was drinking – he couldn’t remember the name of his cocktail – but I do know that it had dry ginger in it. Whatever it was, I think he enjoyed his concoction, too. The only thing is, I am wondering whether I will actually make it to church in the morning now……

Also this evening we did telly-watching. All my chosen programmes. Strictly, of course. But after that, there wasn’t much that we fancied. I ended up flicking through channels then plumping on a catch-up of the programmes on Channel 5 about the The Great Plague, just to cheer myself up. John went to bed. Ah. Not a programme to your taste then, dear?

We haven’t watched a great deal of news today but we are aware that the Brexit talks are still a bit iffy. And, of course, the COVID stats are about the same as they were.

• 15,539 people have been confirmed as infected with the virus today
• 397 people have died as a result of contracting the virus in the community
• 207 people have died from the virus in hospitals over the last couple of days
• Today is Day 4 of Tier 3, after Lockdown 2
• And it’s Day 262 since we chose to stay home and be circumspect around others last March

It’s still a case of being cautious and masking up, keeping our distance and washing our hands, isn’t it? Take care everyone. God bless.

The certainty of our lives has changed over the last year, leaving us all feeling that we’re wandering about in the wilderness just a little bit now. We are often confused by the advice from government members who have, for a while now, stopped claiming to ‘follow the science’. But we are following the science, and said scientists are definitely recommending that we do not get together this Christmas. So we’re not. The upshot of which left me feeling even more in the wilderness, once we’d made the decision yesterday.

That is, mind you, until I went to the church hall this afternoon for a meet-up with the little Bible study group I belong to. Guess what the topic was? The Wilderness. Couldn’t have been more apt. And the discussions were so helpful, from such lovely, thoughtful friends. They may be clichés, but to understand that: ‘it’s OK not to feel OK’; to ‘be mindful of, and appreciate, the now’; and ‘you’re never too old to learn’, was brilliant, because the ideas tossed around just peeled another layer from my sadness and self-centredness, making me feel such a lot better.

We may still be in the wilderness, still not knowing what is going to happen and having to face a future with less certainty than we had, but it’s good to know that we’re not on our own.

I was already is a relatively good mood when I got to church this afternoon because, this morning, I had got up and got on with the wallpapering in the old office. I was very glad that John was up and about when I started the job, too, because he was my rock and support all the way through. I kept nipping out to him to ask him how to do this, how to do that and, “Can you just come and have a look at this bit and tell me what I should do here, please?” The main sticking point was, would there be enough wallpaper? And there wasn’t. Oh, groan. No matter, John to the rescue. “If we cut it like this, and put that bit there, it should be OK.” So…. what do you think, folks? Can’t see the join, can you? Well, I can’t anyway!

So, despite the fact that I thought I might not put many Christmas trinkets out this year, one of our favourite things to do is to string fairy lights over the arch in the lounge that takes you from the old part of the house to the new. Time had taken its toll on some of our lights, so I used the ones we normally put up there on the the tree. “Shall we nip to the garden centre and buy some new lights, John?” I suggested about four o’clock. He was cosy in the lounge watching TV, but thought a spot of fresh air would do him good, so we did. We got the lights….. aaand, a couple of other impulse buys later and we were on our way home. Any idea what the impulse buys might be? Mmmmm….. chocolate, of course!

So, that was our day, really. Uplifts from our own endeavours, church friends and the family today, who WhatsApped us – including a video of Thomas listening to Jungle Bells and jingling along and melting my heart. Some days, it’s just good to know that people have got your back, isn’t it?

Today’s stats are less encouraging than recently though:

• 16,298 people have been confirmed as infected with the virus
• 504 people have died from its effects today in the community
• 181 people died from its effects on 2 & 3 December in hospitals
• We’re into Day 3 of Tier 3 here in Balsall Common, after Lockdown 2
• And Day 261 of keeping ourselves to ourselves as much as we can since we started in March

Take care everyone, and really look after yourselves. Follow the science…..it might save a life. God bless.

……. but not as we know it.

We have made the excruciating decision this evening, en famille, that we will keep ourselves to ourselves this year. Well, that’s going to be different, isn’t it? But sensible. No point isolating and keeping our distance all this time only to blow it at the end of the year.

For a while, we had been hoping that everyone could perhaps self-isolate for a couple of weeks before Christmas so that we could all spend it together. But it’s really not possible. Paul and Harriet have their girls to think about and bring home for Christmas and, as are Michael and Andrew and Christiana, they’re working right up to Christmas. So, there we have it. A family conference confirmed this evening what we thought would be the case, and we now have plans for a remote celebration instead. Ah, well, maybe it’ll be the full family do next year.

Other than that momentous decision, we have had a typical sort of day. Despite the fact that I had had a couple of glasses of wine last night when we were doing the quiz, I felt bright enough to take part in the Zoom yoga class, offered by Jaime, this morning. I was surprised and chuffed that I was fit enough to do all the poses she was suggesting, so felt good afterwards.

Funnily enough, I felt tired though. So I sat on the sofa to recuperate and caught up on some telly watching. It wasn’t long before it was lunchtime and I hadn’t actually got up off my backside. John said he’d prepare the lunch, which was very nice thank you, and then we took a trip into Birmingham to collect the prescription, which was now ready, for some eye drops. It was a bit of a jaunt, through filthy weather, and a slow journey. The M6 was full of slow-moving traffic, down to 40 miles an hour in places.

When we got back, I popped up to the local pharmacy to collect the remainder of John’s prescription. This was today’s haul – just a few more eye drops…..

For the last day or two, I have been promising myself that I’d do the wallpapering in the snug, and today was no exception, but by the time we got back from the hospital it was dark and I was weary. Maybe tomorrow.

Instead of wallpapering, I decided to decorate the Christmas tree. Freddie and I had got as far as putting the fairy on it but that was all. I spent a happy hour doing that, but listlessly sifted through the remaining decorations and decided I’d perhaps streamline the house decorations this year. Now that I know we won’t be having guests, I think I might just concentrate on finishing painting and decorating the snug and the lounge instead of putting Christmas trinkets out.

There’s not much else to report today. So, just the stats, then….. with the incidence of COVID cases slowing, is the lockdown/tier strategy working?

• 14,879 people were confirmed as having contracted the virus today
• 414 people died in the commnity from the effects of COVID today
• 189 people died in hospitals from the ffects of COVID in the last couple fo days.
• And we are out of Lockdown 2 now, into the Tier system
• But it’s Day 260 since we first isolated in March.

Take care everyone. God bless.

No darling Freddie to wake us up this morning. We just woke up to the memories of a wonderful couple of days and the hope that there’ll be more to come with all the grandchildren sooooon.

The news that there is a vaccine about to hit the streets is fantastic. We know that we won’t be first in the queue, but the fact that there is one on the horizon has boosted us no end. Which means that there is hope on the horizon too, and we might be able to see the family unrestricted sometime next year. Fingers crossed anyway – even if it’s late into the year. This time next year, Rodney…..

I came down to the earth with a bit of a bump this morning though, I must confess, and immediately missed the company of a youngster. On the other hand, I did get on with jobs that I wouldn’t have done otherwise. If Freddie had been here, I wouldn’t have cared about the jobs, but as he wasn’t, I thought I might just as well get on with them. Put all those galloping thoughts about the family into a compartment, and on we go.

So it was back to painting and decorating and tidying. Before I started anything though, I decided I’d make a list to keep me on track. Crikey! I had a list three pages long!! There is so much to do and I am still a bit slow. For example, I did a bit, then thought “Oooh, a cup of tea would be nice. John? Would you like a cup of coffee? I’m making tea for me.” And then there’d be a little sit down to drink tea and coffee. Then a little while later, it would be, “John! I’m making a spot of lunch. Do you want any?” Then a little sit down while we had a bite to eat. Mid-afternoon, it was more tea and perhaps a bit of fruit. Late afternoon, it was a case of, ‘I think I’d better get on with the quiz for this evening.’ and another sit down at the computer this time. No wonder nothing much happens in the decorating line…..

Mind you, I did spend a fair bit of time looking for a lost roller. A teeny, tiny little thing that had shot off a piece of specialist equipment John was using to fit the rear windscreen on the Lotus. I had gone into the garage to put the paint pots up onto the shelving and could hear John puffing and blowing – and generally cursing, too. “You OK?” I asked. There was a growl or two and it transpired that the fitting of the rear window wasn’t going to plan. Not helped, of course, by the loss of the teeny, tiny roller.

No worries, I thought, I’m sure to find it quickly. Erm… nope. Nowhere to be seen. I know, I thought, I’ll sweep up and it’ll just roll into my dustpan. Nope. OK. Time to get the big guns out. Got the big broom. Nope. Still no luck. By now, I was praying to Saint Anthony. Dawn tells me he has never failed her yet. And he didn’t fail me either. No sooner asked for than the said piece was found, hiding behind a piece of upholstery. Not sure if it helped John fit the rear windscreen any easier, but I felt I had done my bit.

We had the quiz evening tonight and a very enjoyable time. Although, it must be said, that as I was quiz master, I am not sure how much anyone else enjoyed it. I don’t know how it is, but I always seem to choose difficult questions…..We normally come out with about 75% of correct answers. I have only set the quiz twice and the first time, the team answered 53% correctly. Oh. Today it was about 67%….. Oh. Oh, dear. And I thought the questions might be easy as we’d had some of them before. Ah, well, I’ll try harder next time.

So, I still haven’t started the Christmas decorations, even though John rushed out on Monday to buy the tree in anticipation of me and Freddie getting on with it. It’s got the fairy on the top, but that’s all. Maybe tomorrow? Yes, maybe tomorrow. Well, that’s if I’m not decorating the snug….

There are still a fair few people infected with the virus and too many dying from it. By now, of course, we know people who have been infected and died from it. But it’s always a shock isn’t it, when you hear of someone else you know who has succumbed? We received our first Christmas Card this morning, only to find a note in it from my friend with whom I worked at OCR, telling us that her husband had died from the virus in February. It was a very sobering moment as we read through her note.

Today’s stats, then:

• 16170 people have been confirmed as infected with the virus today
• 648 people have died from the virus today in the community
• 194 people have died from the virus in hospitals over the last couple of days
• Today is day 28 of Lockdown 2
• And we are on Day 259 since we started our self-isolation in March.

Even if you are not the praying sort, please spare a thought for all those in trouble just now – whether it be through illness (COVID-related or otherwise) or in financial difficulty. There’s such a lot of it about. And, in the meantime, take care everyone. Stay safe and God bless.

Not a peep out of Freddie overnight. I half expected a midnight wanderer, but no. He stayed in bed until 7 o’clock before tapping on our bedroom door. I was already awake, anticipating the early morning call, and he came scampering in, grinning all over his face as he hopped into bed with us for a half an hour snuggle. Such bliss.

What got us out of bed, of course, was the promise of the ice cream he’d made the day before. Unfortunately, it was very disappointing. The recipe had called for strawberries, of which we had none, so we had used raspberries instead. What we failed do though, was sieve the blooming things, so the ice cream had little seeds all dotted through it, which didn’t suit Freddie at all. What a shame.

Never mind. “Let’s make a cake.” he said, “oh, and can we do the orange hedgehog, please?” Then, two minutes later, “Can we go to the park? And we need to go into the garden.” Then a minute after that, “We haven’t decorated the Christmas tree yet…..” I suggested we make a list for him to decide what he wanted to do first, and that worked a treat – well, nearly……

Freddie charged back upstairs after the disappointing ice-cream episode to tell Grandpa all about it and let him taste it. Meanwhile, I promised to make volcano eggs for breakfast. Great squeals of laughter and frivolity drifted down the stairs as I worked. Whatever was going on? Ah…. “Grandpa’s tickling me!!” yelled Freddie, with great glee, going back for more.

After breakfast, we made the orange hedgehog (Christingle) of which Freddie ate half and saved half to take home. He also ate half of the bowl of sweets we’d poured out to make it easier to put them on the cocktail sticks. Nice follow-up to breakfast. “Let’s look at the list.” Freddie suggested after we’d finished the orange. Ahhh….. chocolate cake…… and ‘can I lick the bowl?’

Mid-morning, I thought I’d better check on what time Harriet planned to collect Fred-Fred so that I could prepare him for going home. We were driving into Birmingham for a hospital appointment just after three, so with regret, he couldn’t stay all day. Nearly broke my heart when he said, echoing my own sentiments of yesterday, “But Grandma, there’s still so much to do! We haven’t been in the garden yet, and can we go to the park?”

We did go to the park and had so much fun playing in the Katharine’s Wood, seeking out dragons and finding their nests. We even followed their trail. Watching the birds in the hedgerows and listening to their song lifted our spirits no end. “Listen, Grandma!” said Freddie, as he stopped in his tracks, wide-eyed, when he heard a flock of sparrows twittering in the woodland. Then he raced off, over the football field, heading straight for the skate park where he spent fifteen minutes, rosy-cheeked and happy as a sandboy, charging up and down the concrete mounds.

Disappointingly, the visit to the park ended on an upset though, as we were walking home. Lots of great puddles to splash in and OK to do so as Freddie was wearing his wellies and his splash suit. The only thing is, that neither of those pieces of clothing were able to save him from tripping and diving headlong into the largest puddle there was. Oh, dear, bless him. He was very upset, having grazed his elbow and hand. He walked home very miserably indeed and no amount of cajoling cheered him up. In the end, I carried him for the last hundred yards home and that helped. But blimey! He isn’t half heavy….

Once home, Grandpa had the beans on toast at the ready and so we started on lunch. Just at that moment, Harriet and Catherine arrived. I think it was a good job Catherine was there, because Freddie was already saying, “But we haven’t…..” and about to list all the things he wanted to do but we’d not had time for. The thrill of Catherine and the thought of taking a massive chocolate cake home with him distracted him, and there no tears on leaving. Well, not from him, anyway.

A wonderful interlude to this horrible lockdown and I am so uplifted by it that I am sure it’ll keep us going for a good while. We certainly need it.

Our visit to the hospital was a good one this afternoon, in the sense that we now know why John’s eyes are so sore and he has come home with a prescription for four or five more things to use….. It’s good that he has some products to help but, of course, it’s distressing to know that there’s even more stuff to remember and think about each day.

When we got back home, we surveyed the scene and we were reminded of that card from Wrinklies.com…… and we nodded at each other, laughed and said, “Let’s clear up tomorrow.”

Thank the Lord for such a good couple of days though. Marvellous.

The same can’t quite be said for everyone who’s been affected by the virus today though, of course, with the stats as follows:

• 13430 people confirmed as infected
• 603 people died in the community
• 203 people died in hospitals
• We’re on Day 27 of Lockdown 2
• And Day 258 since we first self-isolated in March

Stay safe everyone. God bless.

You may be wondering how we have been able to have Freddie for the day and a sleepover. Well, the Kenilworth Sleaths have been isolating and seeing no-one because Lily had the virus a couple of weeks ago. They are all out of isolation now, so it is as safe is it’s going to be, we think, to have a beloved grandchild over, so we have.

And I really can’t tell you how wonderful it has been. Freddie has been such fabulous company all day and as good as gold. Although we are tired, it has boosted our spirits no end to enjoy the little man’s chatter and excitement at having a day with Grandma and Grandpa.

We did wonder how he’d be. It’s such a long time since he’s been over properly, and it was probably last Christmas when he last slept over. But he took it all in his stride and just strolled through the day with such confidence that it made our hearts melt.

We picked up all the familiar things and rhythms as if we’d never had a break. We cuddled and laughed and played and let our imaginations run riot. Freddie was keen to do everything. ‘Let’s bake a cake/go into the attic/get out the games, toys and glo-sticks/play at the sink/bounce on the bed/play the monster game/tickle each other/decorate the Christmas tree/make ice cream/light a fire and toast bread over it’ and more besides. Oh, our hearts are full.

There really isn’t much more to say. We have another half-day of the same tomorrow, when we have planned to eat the ice cream Freddie and Grandpa made today for breakfast, and we’ll make a cake and a Christingle orange (only with an easy-peel satsuma, as the Co-op were out of oranges on their delivery service today), plus a run-around the garden and a snuggle on the sofa.

There’s so much to fit in….. I mean, I was so busy enjoying myself today that I had no time whatsoever to take a single photo. John managed one little video-clip while they were waiting for the ice cream to churn, and Freddie was swivelling round and round at vast speed on the swivel chair in the kitchen – but that was all we managed today. It’s just been too much fun.

This is what life is all about, isn’t it? The family (and friends) connection. And I am so very grateful that we have had this wonderful chance to capture a few moments with Freddie before he’s plunged back into school and we are thrown headlong back into Tier 3.

The outside world has meant nothing today. We have created our own cosy and safe environment today. But, of course, we are aware that the virus is still catching hold of people, so I offer you the stats, just because it’s now a habit of mine.

• 12,330 people were confirmed as having been infected with the virus today
• 205 people have died today, in the community, from virus-related issues
• 131 people have died in the last couple of days in hospitals
• This is Day 26 of Lockdown 2
• And we are on Day 257 since we first isolated in March.

Wishing you all as many ‘Freddie days’ as you can possibly get. Stay safe everyone, and God bless.

Crikey! Sundays come round fast don’t they? It seems only yesterday that it was Sunday. And today is the first Sunday in Advent. Counting down to Christmas and the birth of Jesus in a stable. Not really counting down to gorging ourselves on fine food, fine wine and fine gifts, honest guv……but, given the sort of year that we have had, I am not at all surprised that lots of people want to start counting down early. Christmas decorations are up in the village and houses are bedecked already. I have even ordered my turkey, just in case we might need it.

Still having a faith wobble, the Advent season started me thinking about the significance of the Christian teachings. Everything that Christ taught makes sense for a peaceful world, so it’s no wonder that his word has been picked up and acted on over the centuries. Being kind to each other, avoiding the jealousies that arise, and having a day’s rest is all good advice. But did I have a day’s rest? Ha! No. I forgot to take him at his word. And this is what we do, isn’t it? We forget to abide by the gentle things in life. We’re still hell-bent on ‘getting back to normal’ and driving forward as hard as we can. I don’t know what the answer is, but I do pray for peace and harmony.

And there was peace and harmony in my life today, despite the fact that I didn’t have a day of rest. John and I wafted through the day quite nicely – although if truth be told, John was asleep for a fair bit of the afternoon, so perhaps that’s why I thought we were getting along quite well. Tee-hee. I popped over to Mum’s where I found that she was very well, happy to see me and contented just to chit-chat.

Mum was funny though. We always have a bit of a giggle and today was no different. We pottered about putting her washing away, made a cup of tea and went through her post. I had a bit of a shock with the latter though – there were two empty envelopes. Mum never has empty envelopes. She keeps letters in them for ever – even from the 1980s. And she had no idea where the contents were. We didn’t find the contents either. I am sure they’ll be there somewhere in the flat but where, exactly, is anybody’s guess. Mum chuckled and shrugged her shoulders.

Then we sat down for a chat. The conversation paused for a minute or two and then she suddenly stood up, out of her chair, humming to the tune ‘I was born under a wandering star’ and started to jiggle a little dance. Once she’d finished, she said, “I do do some funny things sometimes.” and sat down again, adding, “And now I’ll have a silly little sit.” Well, we both roared with laughter. I mean, there’s not a lot you can say to all that, is there? She knew she was being a bit daft and laughed at herself, inviting me to join in, too.

I showed her pictures of all the family and the things that had been going on since I last went round and she was delighted to see them all. She wanted to hug everyone, and made that gesture each time a new photo came on the screen before turning a rather baleful eye at me and saying, “I wish I could hold them all.” Me too, Mum. Me too.

When I got home, John was awake and watching the Grand Prix. What a shocking race with such an horrific accident, with Romain Grosjean’s car bursting into flames. We were reminded of the Niki Lauda crash many years ago and feared that Grosjean might suffer the same fate, but the introduction of the ‘halo’ in the Formula One cars undoubtedly saved his life and his lungs. Technology has its uses after all – he was within the inferno for at least ten seconds – so what a relief when we saw him climbing over the barrier.

So, my day of ‘doings’ – painting, ironing my newly washed ‘library’ curtains and visiting Mum, is over and an evening spent in front of the TV and trashy programmes is just the ticket. John has taken his cough and ‘Puffing Billy’ chest to bed, in the hope that tomorrow he’ll feel a bit better. I hope he does, because tomorrow, all being well, is a Freddie Day!!! Woohoo!

Today’s COVID figures look a bit better, so here are the stats:

• 12,155 people were confirmed as having contracted the virus today
• 215 people died of its effects in the community
• 145 people died of its effects in hospitals over the last couple of days
• Today is Day 25 of Lockdown 2, and it’s
• Day 256 since we started our isolation in March

Take care everyone. Keep safe. Enjoy what you can and God bless.

So, yesterday, I cancelled a proposed walk because I thought it was going to be foggy and chilly. Opted for the walk today instead, when it was supposed to be dry. Ha! No fog yesterday, but a fair bit of it today. And rain. Although it wasn’t that chilly.

I was delighted to be taking a walk with Jaime. And, wow! we thoroughly enjoyed it. Non-stop walking and non-stop talking. It was bliss and just what I needed. Jaime is great company and we kept up with each other’s pace wonderfully well. I came home glowing with the fresh air and fabulous company and felt wonderfully refreshed. We were well able to keep our distance throughout the walk and didn’t meet many people on the way. Well, why would you? It was a miserable-looking day. Who’d be out and about on a day like this? Just mad ‘uns like us!!

In between walking, I did more decorating – on the homeward stretch now and it’s beginning to look as nice as I expected it to. Just a bit of wallpapering tomorrow as the final touch. Wish me luck – it’s a while since I did wallpapering. Although it’s got to be like riding a bike, hasn’t it? Never forget the skill once you’ve learned it. Fingers crossed anyway.

John was up reasonably early this morning and planning his TV viewing. It’s exciting stuff. There’s the rugby matches to enjoy and then the Grand Prix qualifying. It’s a great time of year for these sports and I am so glad they are able to go ahead. It really does buck John up in the winter months. Just three weeks to go before the Winter Solstice, mind you, when the nights will start to get lighter, so that’ll buck him up too.

We had another trundle out this afternoon to the University Hospital for a follow-up on the boob inspection, but nothing to see here, so all good. John missed watching the England match live as a result of coming with me, but settled down with a nice cup of coffee once we got home, to really enjoy his rugby. But, to be honest, he wasn’t that thrilled with the performances. It was a bit of a kicking game, which always irritates him, and I think the match was a bit lacklustre. Must’ve been fairly lacklustre cos I fell asleep during it.

After we’d eaten our meal this evening, we charged our glasses with wine/prosecco and plonked ourselves in front of the TV. Not to watch TV per se, but to enjoy ‘an audience with’ Pete and Dawn on Skype. Had a cracking evening laughing together, commiserating with each other and marvelling at the antics of our wonderful children. Oh, such heaven to have such wonderful friends.

Not much else to report today except the daily figures:

• 15,871 people were confirmed as infected with the virus
• 479 people died within 28 days of a positive test
• 204 people died in hospitals in the last couple of days
• Today is Day 24 of Lockdown 2, and
• We are on Day 255 since the beginning of our self-isolation since Lockdown 1

Take care everyone. God bless.

I thought I might not want to get out of bed this morning, anticipating a foggy and chilly morning, only to find the most beautiful sunrise happening outside my back door and no frost. I love it when the weather people get it rather wrong. I was disappointed though, in a way, as I’d been hoping to go for a walk but cancelled it thinking of the expected poor weather. Ah, well, maybe tomorrow.

The decorating was beckoning all day so that’s what I did. Of course, it’s taking far longer than I anticipate and there are always the little things to take care of, like unfastening an electrical socket from the wall so it can be painted round, or re-fastening the light fitting to the ceiling, or unhitching the doorstop so you can paint the skirting board. Honestly, it’s never-ending.

Despite the never-endingness of the decorating, it’s been a good day and I have got on quite well. The only thing is, that having promised myself a bit of a chocolate respite, I now find myself thinking about it all day. So much so, that this afternoon, I decided that I’d have a Magnum. That’s ice-cream, right? Doesn’t count as chocolate, does it?

The Magnum was a treat, and it soothed the raw feelings of ‘what the hell are we all doing right now?’. My mind flits from one thing to another at the drop of a hat, and I’m doing well concentrating on this particular project for, maybe, a couple of hours, then I go into freefall and start wishing it was finished already so that I can relax and swan about like a lady of leisure. Ah, well, that’ll be another ‘maybe tomorrow’ scenario, then.

John, however, has swanned about like a man of leisure mostly, today. He had another good go at watching some of the programmes we’ve got recorded on the TV planner this morning before he had to go for an ECG this afternoon. I was grateful to him though because, while he was out, he took the opportunity to collect some wallpaper paste and more paint for me. He has his uses….tee-hee!!

Once he was back, he got to tinkering with his car, which I was pleased about. He’s still fitting the doors, which are proving a bit troublesome, I think. And he tells me that the back quarter-light window is smaller (or was it bigger?) than the aperture, so he’s got to have a good think about how he’s going to do that. Keeps him off the streets, anyway!

After our evening meal, John continued the trend of TV watching and playing catch-up on programmes, while I had a lovely chat to the women who make up the little book club I am part of. It was great to talk about the books we had read and share the ones we thought others might enjoy. They are all voracious readers and have plenty to offer me as someone who is still struggling to read on a regular basis. Afterwards, I joined John in watching aother programme in the series about Oscar Pistorious- still fascinating stuff.

So, that was Friday, Day 23 of Lockdown 2 – just so you know…. although I am not sure why I am counting the days now, since it’s going to go on…. and on….and on!

Today’s figures for those who have been infected with the virus, just for the record, is 16,022. There have been 521 deaths among people within 28 days of having contracted the virus in the community, and over the last couple of days there have 218 deaths in hospitals.

And in better news, Lily is recovering nicely from her infection, and Andrew has had a second test and finds he is COVID negative. That’s good then. We do love a false positive, don’t we?

Anyway, take care everyone – God bless – here’s us, enjoying our Magnums……

So, how’s everyone doing? We’re all in Tier 3 here in the Midlands. Oh, whoopee-doop! Lockdown ends next week, and howzat? Bowled with the first ball – back into isolationing. Anyone depressed?

I don’t actually feel depressed, but I do feel a bit weary. I mean, it’s jolly hard work, living on your nerves all the time and trying to think about what you can and can’t do. I’m feeling quite exhausted and a bit teary.

However, life goes on and we do what we can. And today, I could do yoga in my own lounge. It was great. Streaming Jaime into the room with the sun also streaming in was bliss. She is an incredible teacher, and she reminded us today that it’s not all about tightening your glutes or firming your abs. It’s about your heart and mind too – opening them up and letting the light in. Yep. A very good session, thank you very much.

I am also grateful for yoga because it does seem to help with flexibility. This is just what I need when I am crawling about the place, reaching under radiators to paint skirting boards, or reaching high to paint ceilings. I was in child’s pose as I crouched to paint today, then did a lunge, then a side bend and even, a dancer’s pose. Oh, yes, it was all going on as I worked up a sweat.

While waiting for the paint to dry in the former-office-cum-snug-cum-gym, I opted to tidy up a few snagging jobs in the library area of the lounge, and was really rather chuffed that I got them done. Having cleaned down the window frames to remove any paint residue, I thought, ‘Ah-ha! Why don’t I get my new toy out to play with and clean the windows with the Karcher equipment?’ Well, I did just that, and now I have another favourite toy to add to my list. Honestly, it worked a treat and hardly took any energy at all. Marvellous. Thank you, John.

John has spent the day mooching about, wishing he felt a bit better. He watched TV this morning and medicated with the millions of things he has, then pushed himself to shift the bags of coal that had been delivered and dumped on the front drive. Unfortunately, his breathlessness is still very much in evidence and doing these sorts of jobs really makes him out of puff. I really don’t know what the answer is. I can’t make up my mind as to whether the new nebulised drug is helping or hindering just now. I suppose we have to give it a bit longer….but there’s a very audible wheeze going on just now. Bit like a concertina – most entertaining.

Yesterday, when we drew up on the drive, I happened to glance up and noticed a lawn growing out of the guttering above the garage. So John thought he’d clear it today, after he’d shifted the coal. Well, that was the thing that jiggered him. Going up and down the ladder was energy-sapping and breath-taking. He was out for the count on the sofa then, for an hour or so.

However, he has been productive today what with the coal-shifting, the gutter lawn-mowing and making up the new patio heater that he had for his birthday. I can’t wait to try it out. Although I don’t think tomorrow is going to be conducive – they reckon it’s going to be foggy tomorrow, don’t they? And a bit chilly at 4°C. Although, at that temperature, we could put it through its paces, I suppose.

After we’d eaten our evening meal, we settled down to watch a touch more TV, but then I left John to it. He’s still watching The Undoing and also Tin Star, so he’s really cracking on with these great programmes. Leaving me behind….. ah, well, I might catch up eventually.

I was zooming in on the College Crew this evening and it was lovely. So nice to see everyone and to chew the cud. There’s always some amusing story, something to ooh and aah over or something to debate. Today, the debate was about charity-giving. So many people needing support now, we are inundated with requests and bombarded with news items about someone doing some good works somewhere. Makes us all feel a bit guilty.

Pretty much everyone was feeling the pinch of being in Tier 3, although Sue P and Linda look like they are sitting a bit prettier than the rest of us being in Tier 2, so probably feeling slightly less cabin-fevered than the rest of us, I think.

It’s all in a good cause though, isn’t it? But the thought of what we can/should/ought/want to do at Christmas is doing my head in, and will probably give me a meltdown before long. And what to do about mother? We’ll see, I suppose, all will be revealed in good time.

We understand that the numbers of infections are not going down fast enough. But they are going down, which is good news. 17,555 people were confirmed as infected today. 498 people died in the community and 217 people died in hospitals on 24 & 25 November. So we might see some more progress as the Tiers are applied next week. Hope so, anyway.

Take care everyone. God bless.