Whilst this was never my intention it seems that, for the time being, my 'Random Ramblings' have turned into our very own personal Coronavirus update and there has been an awful lot happened since I last 'Rambled' ... just a week ago today.
So what's been happening over here then ...
Friday, 20 March 2020 was the Spring Equinox, Gardeners' World was back on the TV and we had three days of bright sunshine forecast ...
We were supposed to be visiting Jess, Lesley & Tom's daughter for our traditional birthday fish and chip night. Whilst we were in the early days of social distancing we decided we shouldn't go and I was so sad to be missing it.
What made it even worse was that she’s just moved out of home and into a flat with her boyfriend so, as well as fish and chips, we were looking forward to the big tour. We ended up coming to a pretty good arrangement though and had a virtual look round on FaceTime and I did still drop off a birthday cheesecake, minus our chunk of course ...
What made it even worse was that she’s just moved out of home and into a flat with her boyfriend so, as well as fish and chips, we were looking forward to the big tour. We ended up coming to a pretty good arrangement though and had a virtual look round on FaceTime and I did still drop off a birthday cheesecake, minus our chunk of course ...
As it stood on Friday I don’t think there is anyone I know that hasn’t been touched by this virus, though as I write I’m relieved that so far, no one we know seems to be suffering with it.
My youngest God Daughter and another friend's son are both 18 this year and celebrations have been pretty much postponed until goodness knows when ... and they are both feeling the impact of having worked hard for two years to take ‘A’ levels to be left with no exams to validate the work they’ve put in ... added to that a swift exit from school. No prom, no end of term celebrations and a lot of uncertainty about what will happen next.
We had managed a last lunch out on the previous Saturday though, ahead of my God Daughter's birthday, though we were all a little bit nervous about what looked likely to be coming and Martin and I had already decided that this would be the last bit of socialising that we did until everything is back to normal ...
My eldest God Daughter is expecting her first baby in July and, whilst it is a very worrying time, has been fortunate enough to be able to work from home until she has the baby ... but no baby shower, no afternoon teas or shopping expeditions on the cards ... though we did manage a very nice video call where she managed to give me a tour of her new kitchen and I showed her round our garden.
My nephew and his girlfriend are also very early on in the stages of pregnancy in what is a very worrying time.
My other good friends will be missing their first granddaughters first birthday.
Of course all of these things pale into insignificance when you think about what could happen if we don’t all get to grips with this social distancing business. Celebrations can be held later as can most things ... that may not be the case with social distancing ... we probably only really have the one chance to get that right.
As for us ... we are pretty much sitting at home counting our blessings. We are both in a very fortunate position ... for me being retired and not needing to go out to work and Martin off work for the next three weeks ... we have everything we could possibly need, though we will miss our time with friends and family ... but the internet is fabulous for making it easy to keep in touch.
Like everyone else I am sure ... we are seeing both the best and the worst in people ... those pretty much fighting in the supermaket aisle to take the last of everything and those prepared to share and take care of the more vulnerable around them. We are certainly in very strange times.
My other good friends will be missing their first granddaughters first birthday.
Of course all of these things pale into insignificance when you think about what could happen if we don’t all get to grips with this social distancing business. Celebrations can be held later as can most things ... that may not be the case with social distancing ... we probably only really have the one chance to get that right.
As for us ... we are pretty much sitting at home counting our blessings. We are both in a very fortunate position ... for me being retired and not needing to go out to work and Martin off work for the next three weeks ... we have everything we could possibly need, though we will miss our time with friends and family ... but the internet is fabulous for making it easy to keep in touch.
Like everyone else I am sure ... we are seeing both the best and the worst in people ... those pretty much fighting in the supermaket aisle to take the last of everything and those prepared to share and take care of the more vulnerable around them. We are certainly in very strange times.
So much has changed since Friday ... We are now pretty much on, what lots are referring to as, 'lockdown' ... I feel a bit like I'm on a retreat. The weather has certainly been helping with Spring having turned up to the party just at the right time.
We have been chipping away at the Spring jobs in the garden and have done far more than we would ever have expected ... with all the borders tidied and the brick edge weeded. It is starting to look more like the garden we know and love again with plenty of signs of life ...
We've also managed to rearrange our visit to Scotland, which was supposed to happen next week ... that was a real weight off of my mind ... in my mind going on holiday was definitely not 'essential' travel ... as has now been confirmed by, what is turning out to be, a pretty strong and decisive Prime Minister ... I do appreciate that all may not share this view!
We really seem to have got over our Winter lethargy and have even cleaned all of the inside windows and Martin is currently out back working on a project that he has had on the cards for ages ... sanding down and re-oiling all of the chopping boards ...
For now our days seem to have settled into a nice routine ... a nice breakfast ... today's was in the garden ...
... a bit of gardening, a bit of work inside, a bit of downtime and then cooking something nice for tea ... I am so glad that I shopped for two weeks when I did ... though I will be braving the supermarket for us, the elderly neighbours and mum and dad tomorrow.
Keeping in touch with people has become a key part of the day with plenty of 'meme's being shared ...
... photos of the family practicing social distancing ...
... keeping up with how mum and dad's lawn looks after using the new scarifier ...
... and seeing what everyone else is getting up to ...
We have even managed to have a very successful school governors' meeting on Skype ...
So, whilst things across the world are looking pretty bleak we are really trying to do our absolute best to do what we've been asked to do ... we are staying at home, we are protecting our NHS and we are trying to look for positives, as a result of which we are finding that we still have lots to be thankful for.
Take care everyone, look after each other, be kind and keep safe 😀
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