Week Two – Day 4 The weather continues to surprise us and remains sunny and bright, chillier but still lovely. I have company for my lunchtime wander as Himself is about and decides I am in need of company. I will admit this was lovely, however Robert is more of a stroller than a marcher and so progress is slower.

Nicholas is spreading out his chores so that they last a week, today is car cleaning, inside and out, which is when he remembers the University 1st XV’s set of dirty rugby kit in the boot – the laundry fairy is unimpressed.

On a brighter note Mummy Duck has popped out to stretch her legs and so I manage a quick peep at her nest – 12 eggs I think

Thursday evening at 8pm we go outside into the communal courtyard and I blow our Wasps hooter to show support for our NHS heroes. The din brings the neighbours out and we all applaud those on the front line, making a commitment to do the same every week until this is over. Thank you NHS from the bottom of our hearts.

Week Two – Day 5 It’s Friday! Woo hoo! Though to be honest the weekends are less special when you can’t go out to play, anyway to celebrate I have put a bottle of Harrow and Hope in the fridge which I intend to share with my lovely neighbour, at a safe distance. She brings her own glass and I am the only one to touch the bottle. We sit on my patio about 10 feet apart and catch up on the week. She is an accountant and has been really busy advising clients on what they can do and are entitled to from the Government. Nick wanders past having done his Friday job – digging the vegetable patch for the next-door neighbour who has a bad back. Not entirely altruistic as Jonathan has offered to pay him for his efforts.

The evening involves my first use of Zoom with a group who usually meet for a book swap, so quite a number of us, which is both funny and chaotic depending on the strength of the WiFi connections in various parts on Marlow. Private spaces are grabbed in roof eaves, home offices, bedrooms and dining rooms. Some are drinking (most of us), knitting (1 of us) and swapping lock-down stories (all of us). Topics of central importance are hair colouring (how long before we are all our natural colour), waxing (please God don’t let it get any warmer or the increased level of hairiness will be revealed) and the challenges of being confined with our nearest & dearest (as one joke put it – Jolene you can have my bloody man). An enjoyable hour passed really quickly and was a real tonic to end the week.

I came off the phone to the deal with the pain barrier that happens when Nick returns home. We go through a statutory adjustment period, where he realises he is no longer living in a student house but at home. This involves re-introducing concepts like making your bed, getting up before noon, going to bed before dawn, using a toilet brush and picking wet towels off the floor. It usually takes one really good rant, the penny drops and normal service is resumed. So after a quick shout about the need to use a sodding toilet brush, I left the men of the house in the lounge, rolling their eyes and went to bed to read my book.

Week Two – Day 6 Slightly alarming development – Nick announced yesterday that he has lost his sense of smell, and this morning I read in the newspaper that this may be a symptom of the virus. Nothing definitive as it could be a symptom of any virus, however I will be keeping an eye on him. He is currently as healthy as a lop other than that, no cough, fever or loss of appetite, so we will monitor him and see how we go.

Today is a day of chores and cleaning. In the absence of the cleaning fairies I set about the bathrooms and Robert wields the hoover. I strip and remake beds and open windows in an attempt to blow the virus away – if only.

I am too exhausted after all the scrubbing and sorting for a lunchtime wander so skipped on the patio for 5 minutes (on and off). Then a highlight of the week, a trip to Waitrose, and I realise I have not been out to Marlow or Henley for over a week. The trip takes longer than usual, as they are understandably operating a restricted numbers policy and then there is a peculiar dance around the store avoiding getting too close to anyone. I get most of what we need apart from flour – none to be had anywhere. Stuck at home we’ve all become Mary Berry.

I cast an eye over the house social diary for next week – not much in the way of activity and what is there is virtual.

Week Two – Day 7 Sunday and I volunteer to accompany Robert on his parish magazine delivery run ( a once a month run round the local homes who subscribe to the parish magazine) We walk the whole 3 & a half mile route and chat away. We wave to neighbours and friends, some of whom open windows to shout thank you. We pick up a companion, Elsa, our neighbour’s black Labrador, for part of the trip as she heard Robert’s voice and barked until her owner let her come with us.

We get home to discover Nick has taken delivery of some hair clippers and left to his own devices he has given himself a haircut – it’s like living with a supporter of Tommy Robinson, still his eyebrows are still there so I suppose I should be grateful.

I end Week Two laughing at the smallest boy and make a mental note to keep him busier next week. Bring on Week Three – what could possibly go wrong