Week Three – Day 1 In an unexpected development, the Head of Fundraising referred in passing to an article which suggested that to add a fun dimension to Teams meetings, we should perhaps try hats or fancy dress. I don’t think he was expecting the enthusiasm with which the fundraising team took this up and ran with it. It certainly added a new dimension to the morning’s fundraising catch-up, whether it was fun I can’t say
I have decided that I will aim for a different hat for each Monday morning catch-up, I am hoping the fancy dress box will be up to the challenge.
My lunchtime wander involved a different route back from the village up a steep hill which left me puffing, followed by a similarly steep descent. At the bottom of the hill I heard a strange noise, as if someone were hitting two sticks together. I paused to try and see what was causing the racket and spied 2 young stags clashing antlers! Bold as brass they stopped and looked right at me as if to say “You want some?” I watched for a couple minutes and then walked on and left them to their game.
Week Three – Day 2 An uneventful day until dinner preparation, when an exchange between Robert & Nick made me thankful we were past the home schooling stage. Robert was showing Nick his foolproof way to make fluffy rice every time and the instruction went something like this Robert “No, no not like that. Oh seriously! You f****** idiot!” Nick ” Yeah that’s fair” and that was just getting the uncooked rice into the pan! We had our first Pub Zoom chat – which passed a happy hour and then I settled down with the LWL for our weekly Tuesday catch-up, always a pleasure never a chore. We have ditched House Party in favour of Zoom.
Week Three – Day 3 April Fool’s Day. It did not start well as Robert won pinch punch 1st of the month, guaranteed to put me in a bad mood. It’s a silly game, but we have been doing this for nearly 30 years and it never ceases to amuse, unless of course I lose. Nick managed to convince his mates he’d been to the doctor because of the loss of his sense of smell and had tested positive for Covid-19 – much concern and then hilarity when he confessed to his prank. The lunchtime wander involved a river walk and the UoR Greenlands campus looked beautiful, but very quiet on the other side of the river.
Week Three – Day 4 Nothing spectacular today, work passed without incident and I baked a banana cake after I’d shut up shop for the day. I made more soup – in fact move over Delia & Nigella, I think I may have cracked this catering lark. Mummy Duck hopped off her nest and I tried to have a count of how many eggs she’s laid and think we are looking at a round dozen – very exciting.
Week Three – Day 5 It’s Friday – woo hoo. I work a half-day on Friday and I usually head out for tennis at 2pm which heralds the start of the weekend, but since lock-down there’s not much to distinguish the days. Nick came with me for the lunchtime wander, as he needed to post the Manchester University budgies out to his rugby team buddies, so we went via the village shop & post office. Mission accomplished, we headed home and with Nick’s mood matching the sunny weather, he wished one of the older village residents a good afternoon over her garden wall. I will admit we were carrying rucksacks and may have resembled ramblers, but I thought to be quizzed as to whether we were village residents, when we lived here for nearly 30 years, was a bit rich. It was a clear demonstration of how the fear of infection makes people protective of what they regard as their space.
Week Three – Day 6 Busy, busy, busy! A lie in – well of sorts. Robert bounced out of bed to make the tea as he had a shed to paint, Nick was going to help him. The only fly in the ointment was Nick’s hangover from his pub quiz the night before! It took a little while to winkle him out of bed and get him rolling along. Coffee and banana cake seemed to help. While they were busy with the creosote, I set about a deep clean of the kitchen. I washed down tiles, surfaces and appliances, I even climbed up and washed the top of the units. It was going swimmingly well until the shed painters returned demanding lunch. We had a great brunchy lunch and then I got my own back by roping them in for cobweb clearance duty, a two-man job which involves a ladder and the hoover. I act as technical director, identifying cobwebs and supervising removal.
Late afternoon with chores done Robert decided he needed a haircut and, brave as a lion, sat down to let Nick use his new clippers. I again assumed the role of technical director, basically pointing out where he’d missed a bit! I wasn’t confident of a successful conclusion, but he did a pretty good job.
We had just settled in for the evening, when there was a knock at the door and our lovely friend Helen delivered a Bakewell Tart & custard to the Spicer household. Robert was like a dog with two tails, it is one of his favourite things in the world and the only sad thing was not being able to give Mrs Ashworth the biggest thank you hug.
Early night for all, particularly Nick who was still struggling following his blowout on Friday night.
Week Three – Day 7 Another week has gone – we head into our third week of lock-down and my fourth week of working from home. We are living in a bit of a bubble, I know people are enduring horrible illness and are losing loved ones, but to be honest it really hasn’t hit us in the Hambleden Valley. I had a wobble on Thursday, after speaking- to Amy & Alex, they sounded a bit worn down by it, as they are in a 1-bed flat with no outdoor space, so everything is more intense. I miss them and wish we had them here, but Amy works in the NHS and so has to go into work and Alex is staying there so she is not alone. She is due to move job and home to Cornwall at the end of the month, so we will get Alex back home then.
The weather was glorious and I did a bit of light weeding in the garden and then took to my sun lounger, which has made it out of the shed. I played a bit of bat/ball (the Brazilian beach game) with Nick and then went for a walk. Earlier in the week Nick had expressed a desire for a kebab and so we fired up the Egg and produced a really passable lamb kebab. It was in every way a really lovely way to spend a Sunday, but for the pandemic that rages round the country. We watched the Queen’s speech at 8pm. Although she wasn’t saying anything new, her reminder that this will pass and we will be with family and friends again, was remarkably comforting.
