A really mixed bag

What a day!

I have been going to the off lead park with Himself and the dogs this week and it's been lovely to see all the regulars. It has made me realise how bad my depression had become as I didn't want to leave the house. Going to the park has lifted my spirits and is healing my soul.

In typical Melbourne Spring style we are going from having to wear a hat and sunscreen one minute to ducking the hail the next. We are currently experiencing constant, steady rainfall. Hark back to the Great Earthquake of last week (5.9 on the Richter scale) and I recall thinking that it sounded as though someone was running across the roof. It was more likely the tin roof buckling and waving and today the results came in. We have a leak. A claim has been put in with the RACV* and someone will come out next Thursday to assess. Himself has been up in the roof and can see evidence of water entry but it seems to be away from electrical stuff so we aren't classified as urgent. I guess if the roof falls in we might get upgraded! But so far, so good. Just a bloody nuisance with a bucket in the middle of the floor.

This morning I was reading the paper and saw there had been a murder in a SE Melbourne suburb. As this is where we are I read the article and found it was in the street where my student lives (remember I volunteer with a program teaching English to migrants and refugees?). It's a long street. The stabbing was in the flat right next door to poor Annie. She was woken at 2am with the police pounding on her door. It made for an interesting conversation session. Sadly it appears to be another domestic violence situation but she was worried that someone might come back. How awful to leave a strife torn country to have this happen next door. 

*RACV has always prided itself on being local and is why I stay with them so I was a bit taken aback when it sounded as if the claims department had been taken offshore. I was having a whinge to Three about this and he pointed out that noone wants to work in a call centre so even if they are based in Melbourne they are likely to be staffed by people from overseas. I hang my head in shame.

Dementia

On Friday MIL rang Himself many times (yes the phone is back on) saying that someone had told her that both her parents were dead and she wanted the police to investigate. Normally these things are forgotten and she moves on to something else but she has become fixated on this.

I rang the nurses station and asked if they could test her for a UTI as she gets them frequently and they send her completely doolally to the point of hallucinations. The test suggested faintly that something might be brewing but certainly not a full blown infection.

She continued to ring over the weekend and Himself would assure her he was looking into it. I rang her as well and she said she understood if they were dead as they were old (no shit sherlock) but she wanted to know why she hadn't been told and there was a skeleton in their room.

Today I spoke with the care coordinator at the facility who said MIL has been asking her the same questions. I told her about the family, the history during the war, the relationship between MIL, FIL and her parents (not good) and how and when Nana and Grandad both died and where they were buried. She will sit down with MIL and use that information to hopefully get her to understand they have died and there was no foul play.

I feel so sorry for my MIL. It must be awful living with chunks of your memory gone and those that remain don't make sense.

The care she is receiving and the staff at the facility are phenomenal.

Dementia sucks.

** we just had a call from the coordinator who said she managed to calm MIL and now she just wants to see the death certificate. Considering she is blind I'm sure we can provide that.

*** and we just heard from MIL and she's all over the place. I assured her I would get her the death certificate but now she's stressing cos she didn't give them a funeral. And when I told her about the plaques on the grave she told me they were made in advance. I see a few challenging days ahead of us.

Monday musings.

I miss libraries. I know they still exist but I miss the days of going to the library if you wanted to find out stuff. Yes, it is so much easier to ask Dr Google but the old way led to interactions with other humans and often led to finding out other stuff we didn't know we needed to know. Not to mention the quiet reflective atmosphere and the sense of being among other like minded people.

If you couldn't find what you were looking for you could ask someone. 

I am saddened by the number of posts I see on Facebook where someone in a group will ask a question and be told to look it up or search the files. Yes, that is a way and probably an easy way but it doesn't result in an interaction with others (even though they are faceless) and a conversation even if only a short one. Sometimes asking a question is a way of saying "hey, I want to talk to someone".

In these awful days of isolation and lockdown we need human interaction and kindness more than ever. 

A quiet Sunday

To be honest, all our days are quiet at the moment.

Yesterday we took the dogs for a walk between showers (and in typical Melbourne Spring style today is glorious) and then Himself convinced me to go to check out the renovations at a local shopping centre. 

It has gone from being small and rather downtrodden to much larger with a diverse range of shops. It still doesn't have any high range stores - that wouldn't meet the demographic - but we have lots more to choose from and the food area is amazing. At least it all will be when everyone can open up. There are three supermarkets all within spitting distance of each other (instead of at each end of the centre as is the norm in others); a huge fresh veg outlet with so many different cuisines represented; meat, chicken and fish; bakeries and of course lots of takeaway outlets. It will be really interesting to visit when everything is opened again. I hope the book exchange will return. A place to borrow a book and take it home, sit and have a read and donate books you've finished with. No membership required.

As we were heading out we bumped into Amy with Sally and Alice. Sally needed an eye check after a bout with conjunctivitis and I offered to either go in with her or babysit Alice who was fussy. I drew the long straw and had half an hour snuggling with a 10 day old bundle of squishy delight. And she hardly fussed at all. 

Sally's eyes are fine. My heart was full.

A musical interlude

Vika and Linda's new album The Wait is amazing. This is one of my favourite tracks as much for the lyrics as anything else (the clip takes you on a mini tour of St Kilda which is worth seeing). The songs were written by a variety of talented people and there is a huge variety of styles but all make for great listening. I have been a fan of these two since I first heard them singing with Joe Camilleri. They sang on the great ABC* series Rockwiz. They did regular Sunday performances on line during last years lock down and released an album of the songs. They are lovely people and great musicians.

Australia really does have some outstanding musical talent.

As Molly Meldrum would say "Do yourself a favour"

*As the ever wise Andrew pointed out, Rockwiz was on SBS - not the ABC. 

And on life goes.

Our vaccination rates are heading in the right direction and I think (if I can understand PollySpeak) we should be looking at leaving lockdown in another month or so. We might get some minor relief in the interim. I really can't keep up with what we can and can't do so tend to play it safe. The outrageous behaviour of the construction industry could see all this blown right out the window. I think the image below says it all.

We popped in to see the new family yesterday. We picked up some pies from an excellent bakery and dropped them off so you could argue it was care giving. And it was within our new (woohoo) 10km zone. Alice is very jaundiced and Amy needs to see a lactation consultant as Alice might need a lip tie resected. Sally had the same and the scream of that poor baby when the doctor injected the local still makes my skin crawl. Hopefully they can avoid that path.

I am still fragile but the desperate actions of last week appear to have no long term effect. It needed a few days to be sure. 

When I picked up the pies yesterday I asked the owner of the flower shop in the same space if she would be interested in selling some of my woven table runners. Not on consignment or anything - just a donation and if they sell she keeps whatever she makes. The company has an amazing philosophy. Whilst I am an atheist and have a strong aversion to people trying to change my thinking* I admire the way these people put their religious beliefs into practice with not a word about god things. They are a registered charity and work with organisations giving opportunities to people who would otherwise not get them. Their slogan is "We don't give opportunities to people to make Coffee, Food and Flowers; We make Coffee, Food and Flowers to give opportunities to people!" There should be more like this. Their coffee and food is amazing and the flowers are fresh and beautiful. Sharon said she would be happy to take whatever I can give her so it gives me a reason to keep weaving.

*I am getting letters addressed to Dear Neighbour from the local JW lot. I guess they can't door knock under lockdown. Must cost them a fortune in postage but like most religious groups who prey on the vulnerable they aren't short of a quid. Next time I shall return to sender/not known at this address!!

With love

I am a member of several Facebook groups that cater to my yarn based hobbies. Recently I read a post in reply to someone saying they were not enjoying their current project (I can't find it so will have to paraphrase). The person replying cited a native american belief that what you think and feel as you create something will be felt by the recipient/wearer of your creation so always create with love.

I have experienced quite a bit of self loathing of late (I went down a very dark hole late last week and am surprised I am still here - but that is a post I am still writing in my head as I feel it needs to be said). Anyway, my point here is that over the past few weeks I have tried on umpteen occasions to knit a simple top for me to wear in summer. I just couldn't do it. I hated the yarns, I dropped stitches, I definitely wasn't feeling the love. I really enjoy knitting but this just wasn't doing it for me. Himself loves the jumper I knitted for him earlier this year and I planned another one for next winter. On Thursday I jumped on line to my favourite yarn store which is off limits at the moment and bought some yarn which arrived yesterday. Last night I started knitting his jumper and it is such a delight to work on.

I guess it really does make a difference when you create with love and love the person you are creating for.

On baths and bathing

As a kid growing up in Hong Kong we always took baths. This is probably down to my English background. We never showered. We also had a bath at the end of the day so we were all clean for bedtime. With typical child self centredness I have no recollection of what time of day my parents bathed. Maybe they took a shower. In the mid-60s Hong Kong suffered an horrendous drought which saw our water being turned on every 4 days for a couple of hours during which every available receptacle was filled. We bathed out of a saucepan. On more than one unfortunate occasion the taps had been turned on and left on so when the water came back on it flooded the place. 

When we came to Melbourne in the early '70s it didn't take me long to realise that everyone showered in the morning. Do not do so was somehow disgusting and as the new kid on the block with the "posh" accent I desperately wanted to fit in. Why my ablutions were anyone else's business didn't enter my mind. I remember those early days in Melbourne so well as I was struggling to fit in and my mother was struggling to retain her Englishness. It led to some inevitable clashes and I don't think our relationship ever recovered. I left home as soon as I could.

I do love a bath. Showers are for getting clean (and waking up) but baths are for relaxing and unwinding. I have a collection of yummies to put in the water depending on my mood and mindset.

This house has an 80s bathroom with lots of cream walls and tiles. Until we painted the walls grey it was like bathing in a room full of porridge. It does have a red and cream cast iron bath on feet which is something I have always wanted (not necessarily the cream bit). To my dismay the cast iron causes the water to cool down very quickly. So once we have the dollars to spend on the bathroom I intend to buy a deep acrylic bath with sleek lines. And room for my wine, my book and a candle.

All good things are worth waiting for

 

She is tiny and delicate and precious. The monkey in the top photo was dropped off this morning. It is bigger than she is.

I am in love.

Sprung!

I was sitting in my pyjamas (comfy qantas business class jammies thanks to Two who works for qantas - I have never flown business class nor am I ever likely to) as the clock ticked closer to midday and I started entertaining thoughts about shower and getting dressed. To my horror the door bell rang and it obviously wasn't the postie. A masked figure was visible through the flyscreen carrying a couple of brown paper bags. It was a good friend who had made some soft toys for Alice and Sally and had also brought me some scrap yarn for weaving. Phew! but even so, there are some things even close friends shouldn't be subjected to and me in my jammies at lunch time is right up there.

Himself had taken the dogs to the park and I was faffing around on my computer which is how I spend waste too many hours these days.

Needless to say I am now showered and dressed and the door bell will remain silent.

Last night Himself made the best fried rice ever. Way too much was eaten but it was so good I couldn't stop. He has gone to Aldi to get their marinated chicken breasts which we shall have with Aldi spuds and peas. And wine. I made another batch of muffins yesterday but the pinger thingy didn't ping so they were a tad dry. I'll try microwaving them with some butter otherwise the dogs can have a treat. I grated apple into them instead of blueberries and that might have added to the dryness - should have added more liquid. I cannot believe I am waffling on about muffins. And dry ones at that. I think a coffee is in order and some knitting whilst I listen to ABC conversations on podcast.

Could my day get any more mundane!

Maybe tomorrow

 Still no visit to meet Alice. I feel a tad sad as I would have thought we would be invited over (they are still with her parents which is 2km from here) and friends have been over. But I must remember we are the "other" grandparents. As I said this morning, it's times like this I miss not having a daughter. Andrew put things in perspective for me and I am now having a green ant gin and tonic. Yes, the gin has green ants and their eggs in it. I almost needed a drink to try it but it's interesting and not unpleasant. I haven't swallowed an ant yet, though.

Still waiting

Discharge happened later than expected and everyone was very tired so I told Three we would wait until today to meet Alice. I am waiting to here from him. He did send me a lovely video of Sally meeting her sister for the first time. She will be a great big sister.

Amy very kindly invited me to "tag team" with her mum but as it turned out that wouldn't have been allowed. I also felt she might feel a bit awkward with her mother in law there. It's at times like this I wish I had a daughter. I love my boys to bits and am blessed with great daughters in law but I sometimes wonder it would like to have had a mother daughter relationship. Which is funny because my relationship with my mother was strained to say the least.

I am feeling very uncomfortable in my skin at the moment. Season changes (especially cool to warm) always affect me and it is most unpleasant. Without the distraction of seeing friends and family it seems worse this year. Hooray for online friends.

She's here

 

Meet Alice Mae born at 4.08 this morning. Parents are exhausted. Grandparents are ecstatic.

Because of Covid we are unable to go and visit them in hospital but they are going home this afternoon and will stay with the other grandparents so we will get a sneaky visit later on today.

The Telstra NBN fiasco is ongoing. The ombudsman has been contacted again. No one is taking responsibility and they are denying the NBN was ever connected in the first place. So the modem in mother in law's room was just for show? 

I really must stop biting my fingers. They are raw and bleeding and bloody sore.

Waiting

Amy was admitted to hospital last night to start the process of inducing labour. It is certainly a more gentle approach than a couple of generations ago. She is bored and frustrated and the hospital is understaffed and over patiented. Three will be in for an interesting time as a frustrated Amy is not a pretty sight!! Hopefully things will kick off soon and Alice will make her entrance in a timely fashion. I can't wait to meet her but have no idea when that will be as no visitors to hospital and they are outside our 5km limit. If she goes to stay with her parents for a couple of days we might be able to sneak an illegal visit as they are a couple of kms away from us.

Our numbers keep rising and we get vague hints about vaccination targets and release from lockdown but no one can really say when this will end and what the beginning of the end will even look like.

The blueberry muffins were a success. The recipe made 6 and I shall make them again. Not exactly helpful in weight reduction but sod it. 

My new weaving project is time consuming but very rhythmic and relaxing. The end result will be a couple of table mats and then I  will tackle something a bit larger. I really want to get more yarn but I have so much in my stash I really need to use that first which limits me a bit in what I can make. Still, I'm lucky to have a hobby that gets the creative juices flowing.

The latest on the garage door is that we are quietly hopeful it will be installed in the next few weeks. Himself will then withdraw his complaint to Consumer Affairs. In October we will get a new driveway which will make the place look much better. I then want to plant some trees in the back garden and turn in from lawn and beds into more of a bush block. Easier to maintain and a bit more dog proof. I just need to be able to get to a nursery so I can buy the plants. And some vege seedlings for my tubs which I will have to put in the front as Jinx can climb onto them and dig them up. But until lockdown is lifted it's all academic.

Acceptance Commitment Therapy

 

I love this cartoon. It embodies what I was taught when I did a course in ACT. It really does work to accept and embrace all your emotions - especially the negative ones. It tones down the anxiety levels considerably. I just have to remember to practice it!

A better day today. I took Andrew's sage advice and doubled the gin and halved the tonic! Coupled with a very nice red with our gourmet snags and I went to bed very early and slept like a log.

Himself has been buying berries a lot lately and blueberries seem to suddenly turn so I have a batch of blueberry muffins in the oven. I've not made blueberry muffins before and found a recipe online which has a crumble topping and the house smells divine. If it works I have found my new go to recipe as I imagine it would work for many fruits and is so easy to whip up. It also doesn't make a huge amount which is a bonus when there's only two of us.

I have done some internet shopping (skin care products from Moogoo for me and the hounds) and will have a look at some cotton for weaving. This afternoon I will start a new weaving project which looks fiddly so will take some concentration which is always a good thing.

Himself has gone to buy steak for dinner (another bottle of red, yay!) and maybe some prawns to have with the avocado which is nicely ripe. 

Today is a good day.

Friday - not that it really makes a difference what day it is!

Firstly a mother in law update. Telstra managed to deliver a phone to the facility which has been plugged in and I was able to ring her and speak with her. Sadly her dementia is such that, whilst she knows who I am, she gets confused about who fits where. She seems to forget that I am married to Himself who, apparently, was lent money "that I will never see again" to buy a house. And Robert (who is dead) will be next in line to buy a house after his paramour died and he is therefore homeless. So, so sad. On a good day I can see the funny side but today is not a good day.

Three's wife is being induced on Monday with granddaughter #6. She had her final obstetrician appointment on Wednesday and we were asked to look after Sally for a couple of hours. I offered a sleep over which was grabbed at! The agreement is that whatever Sally wants at a sleepover Sally gets as long as it's not naughty and she remembers her manners. To date this works well. Painting, playing ball, watching TV, stories read and biscuits eaten. The park played at and dogs walked. She got to choose dinner and ate it all. Ice cream may have also been consumed followed by a bath where I was given swimming lessons. Fortunately I didn't have to get in the bath. According to her parents Sally is struggling a bit with separation anxiety and this was evident whenever Himself went out "when's Grumpy coming back" and when a call to her mother dropped out "what if she's dead". And it meant that Granny slept with her. Let's use the word "slept" in it's loosest form, shall we? Granny got lovely cuddles when she got into bed but barely a wink of sleep so was very happy when mummy decided to pick the girl up in the early afternoon. I will do it all again in a heart beat, of course. Grandkids are so special. I also realise why young people are the ones to have children. I used to think it a cruel twist of nature that men could procreate for ever but women were time limited. As usual, nature was right!

Yesterday I got a call from a very dear friend who is a grey nomad and is currently in Cairns. She has been diagnosed with endometrial cancer. They will head to Brisbane where she will have a hysterectomy. I wish I could be with her but obviously that ain't going to happen. She had a CT scan yesterday and bloods today and will get the results on Monday or Tuesday which will indicate possible spread and then they can leave for Brisbane which will take about 3 days of driving (and towing a caravan). Another reminder to get those tests and be more body aware as we get older. Fingers and toes crossed it is still contained and the op will fix everything. Too many friends of late have been given similar diagnoses. Getting old has whiskers on it but is better than the alternative.

A gloomy post. I think another gin is called for.

The mother in law vs Telstra and NBN

In October 2018 my mother in law moved into an aged care facility. Her husband and eldest son (who lived with them) had just died. She had recently been diagnosed with dementia and her eyesight was deteriorating rapidly.

Himself arranged for a phone to be connected to her room so she could stay in contact with the Polish community, family and friends. She just needed a landline but we were told she had to have NBN connected as that was the way of the future. So after a couple of weeks the NBN tech connected her and she got her phone.

Together we went through her address book and she told me who she was still in contact with and I wrote a letter telling people her new address and contact details. I even used google translate for the Polish friends! At this stage her eyesight was such that if we wrote names and numbers in big black letters she could read the and dial the large numbered phone. So for a while things were hunky dory.

Over the past 3 years she has gone downhill. She is now almost totally blind and her dementia has progressed which, combined with recurring UTIs, means her memory is unreliable and she has difficulty remembering things that happened recently like who has called her. Her phone is her only way to deal with her anxiety over things (like where is her husband and can we tell her mother she will be late home from work) and we had Himself's number programmed as the only one she could call regardless of which button she pressed. Initially we had other numbers on speed dial but after getting random calls from her in the middle of the night we figured it was kinder to her other contacts to allow them to call her! I know her other son calls her even though she doesn't remember and we can only assume her Polish friends also call her.

Until now.

Mid August we tried to ring her. We got "the number you have called is not connected. Please check the number and try again". After a couple of days Himself reported the issue to Telstra and was told the number had been disconnected by NBN. But no one could say why or by whom it was authorised. Since then he has made numerous calls to Telstra, NBN and the telecommunications ombudsman. We have been told it was a Telstra issue. An NBN issue. NBN disconnected it because they didn't recognise the number. The address was wrong. Optus pinched the connection. It was an automatic cancellation because it was a landline and she needed NBN connectivity. We were told they needed access to the facility to reinstall a modem. Provide a modem. Check the modem. They disconnected her remotely - surely she could be reconnected remotely. No. They need access. Which part of lockdown and restricted access to aged care facilities don't you get? WE aren't allowed in.

Himself has dealt with so many people ranging from knowledgeable and helpful (rare) to extremely rude and unhelpful (very common). He has shown great restraint but has raised his voice in frustration. Especially when the person at the other end (in another country say no more) won't listen and keeps talking over him. Everyone is very sorry but no one wants to fix it. I guess it's hard to fix if no one knows what the problem is. Correction - everyone knows what the problem is, it just differs depending on who you talk to. But they still can't fix it.

He is currently on the phone for the umpteenth time. I have no idea where this will end. In the meantime my poor mother in law has no contact with the outside world. I cannot begin to imagine what this is doing to her already fragile mental state. I fear when we are finally allowed to see her she will not know us.

And yes, we can ring the facility and she can speak with us but this seems to add to her confusion. The staff there are great and I know if there is an issue they will ring us but we just want things back to normal.

A few of my favourite things.

In the early hours of this morning I was lying in bed listening to the rain on the roof and the purring cat tucked in beside me. Bliss.

It got me thinking about the little things that make life tolerable sometimes, perfect other times and often are just little bursts of happiness that occur out of the blue.

In no particular order ...

I love the sound of rain and thunder and wind. Especially as we have a tin roof.

The smell of dogs that have been outside (NOT in the mud!) and the happy grins when they greet you with tails wagging. The way Murphy will plonk himself at (on) my feet if I stand still for too long. Jinx coming up to me for a quiet cuddle when Murphy is elsewhere. The fact that Murphy is terrified of the bath (we traumatised him) so bath time is just Jinx and me sharing female companionship (and the crisps - yes, I eat crisps in the bath and Jinx is next to it not in it!)

The satisfaction of a project turning out better than anticipated.

The smell of a sweet flower when out walking often unseen and unidentifiable.

The sound of children laughing and playing. Something we hear less of these days, sadly. The wonder in their eyes when they discover new things.

The smell of baking. Anything baking.

The gurgle of that first pour of wine. The crack of the seal on a new gin bottle and the fizz of the tonic/soda water. 

Clean sheets. The upside of muddy dogs is we get clean sheets on a very regular basis!

Roses, sweet peas, daffodils, daphne, jasmine - you get the drift.

Home grown vegetables.

Hugs.

A perfect coffee. Hard to find but always a wonderful surprise.

I could go on but the seal on the gin needs breaking and the tonic is waiting to fizz.

Old

Today I turn 65. Once upon a time this would mean I was eligible for the Aged Pension but I have another 18 months to wait.

My second birthday in lockdown so no visits from sons and their families. Himself bought me a bottle of gin (he knows me well) and my brother and sister in law sent me two gorgeous bags which were meant to a travel gift when I was going to visit them in Italy but that won't be happening. Not sure when they will be able to get back to Todi but I doubt I will fly overseas. Maybe New Zealand. But I need a passport and that means I need my citizenship and that's still in the too hard basket.

I was going to talk about the debacle that is my mother in law's lack of phone service after either Telstra or NBN disconnected it but that can keep. 

I'm going to have a boiled egg with soldiers and count the hours down to gin o'clock.

Stranded

 

I have a friend who is stuck in Sydney. She went up a month ago as her father was dying. Sadly he passed away as she was waiting at the airport. She has been staying with her 94 year old mother trying to get her to eat and get some supports in place. Now she is desperately trying to get home. She lives alone. She is double vaxed. She has an adult daughter in Melbourne who has some mental health issues and needs her mum. The hoops the Victorian government is making her jump through to get home are ridiculous. Proof of residence, provide bills (all at home of course), financials. She has even got a letter from her daughter's psychiatrist. It's a shame she's not someone important, wealthy or sporty. In the mean time, HER mental health is deteriorating and this is a woman who has been through a lot in life and never crumbled. 

I had a shit of a night's sleep last night. It was extremely windy and the dogs were very unsettled. To make matters worse there was a possum somewhere in the garden. I could hear it hissing and growling and then the dogs whimpering. I ended up getting up and trying to settle Murphy on the couch. He was very agitated. Eventually I closed the gate to the back stairs to keep them on the deck, gave them a dentastix each and dozed on the couch until they were asleep and went back to bed around 4. I lay there listening to the rain and thunder which was nice. Finally fell asleep to be woken at 7 by the dogs telling me it was MORNING!!! So I let them downstairs and slept until 11.30!

It is very muggy. I think we will be in for some decent weather later (by decent, I mean rain and thunder!)

And life goes on in lockdown.

I am rapidly becoming THAT grumpy old woman!

Remember when eggs came in small, medium and large? And now they come in large, extra large and jumbo. Have the eggs become bigger? Are we being duped by marketing? Do we NEED everything to be bigger? What has happened to the small eggs?

It's fun being inside my head whilst at the supermarket!

Dinner plates used to be so much smaller. What we use today as a dinner plate used to be a serving platter. Ditto bowls and mugs. Does anyone use a cup anymore? I love a cup and saucer for my tea. Oh, and the little matching plate that these days wouldn't even hold a slice of cake.

I have old recipes that served 4 but in today's terms would serve 2 at the most. 

The takeaway and disposable culture would be unthinkable a generation ago. And at the risk of enraging the entitled youth, I don't see many oldies walking around with the ubiquitous disposable drink container which inevitably goes into landfill and adds to the climate and pollution issues. Can't anyone go for a walk, do the supermarket shopping, visit a friend without a cup of coffee in hand? I remember my mother telling me that only the uncouth ate whilst walking. I scoffed at her but I guess I have turned into her in many ways. And she was talking about icecream cones - she would be horrified to see what people consume on public transport and down the street these days.

Today was glorious. I managed a bit of weeding and the spring bulbs are still bringing a smile to my face as the roses promise a spectacular display soon.

I prefer not to think about ongoing lockdown other than to be satisfied I have done my bit to getting out of it. Hopefully others will as well.