Last year I wrote about the dance class I attended in our little cul de sac. A good friend and neighbour, an ex dance and PE teacher, kindly offered her services. These classes have continued, albeit sporadically, over the last year.
Weather permitting we are now meeting outside three times a week. The camaraderie is great and it gives us a chance to catch up on local news. Another important benefit is social interaction which is crucial to allay those ‘down’ days many of us have experienced throughout this debilitating pandemic.
The world is slowly getting back to a new kind of normal. Vaccination rollout has been phenomenally successful and restrictions will be lifted next Monday. I have mixed emotions. On the one hand the worry of the new variant, which is causing rising daily cases and hospital admissions, is frightening. On the other, we cannot remain locked down forever.
Our government has decided to make us all responsible for our own actions. Let’s see what effect this is going to have on the spread of the virus and the need, if any, to reinstate restrictions. I’m sure cases will go up due to extra social mixing, but am hopeful that the greater British public will behave with restraint! We must never forget that the virus is still out there! It continues to make a lot of people very ill and some are still dying!
So, slowly getting back to normal, we’re having our kitchen upgraded with a new worktop, sink, tap and hob. Yesterday the kitchen company removed the old work surface and appliances and have left us without water. I came home from my final yoga class of the season looking forward to a cup of tea.
What a palaver to get the kettle filled! The guest toilet has a small basin so I went outside to use the garden tap. The workmen had packed the old work surfaces against the back wall and covered it! I went upstairs to the bathroom and filled the kettle but couldn’t get it out of the basin. The lid had jammed! I turned the kettle at an angle and flooded the bathroom floor! There was no other option but to uncover the garden tap. I felt as if I needed something stronger by the time I sat down with that hard earned cup of tea!
I really struggle with chaos! Looking around the kitchen I saw the pile of dirty lunch dishes packed into a large brown bowl. I boiled the kettle again and washed them up outside on the patio floor. The water supply had to be turned off in the kitchen so that included the dish washer! It reminded me of those dreaded caravan holidays as a child. Even then I preferred my home comforts to weeks away ‘roughing it’!
Wimbledon tennis and the Euro 2020 football games are over. Even our television programmes are getting back to normal. The next big event is the Olympic Games in Tokyo, this time with no spectators crowding the stands, unlike Wimbledon and Wembley!
The weather forecast promised sunshine today! Currently there is a strong wind and dark clouds gathering ominously outside my office window! It’s not raining so I’ll go for a walk before the heavens open! I’ve decided to visit our local pub for a meal tonight. I can’t face washing up a huge load of dirty dishes, pots and pans crouched on the patio floor! Tomorrow the kitchen company will return and my home life revert back to normal! 👠
Jenny Burrell 