The big news today is that EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier tested positive. I’ve also been told that the ex tax office worker, model and actress Linda Lusardi has  succumbed. Guess which one upsets me the most. Spain has had a massive increase in deaths today and I worry for all our friends who still live there.  The restrictions placed on Spanish residents is very difficult but necessary. And another shocker is that the much anticipated reunion of  tv series “Friends” may be delayed. Oh what a shame.

We have been for a walk to our local garden centre and bought marzipan and a rhubarb plant. The air was lovely and fresh and we feel better for it. Neither of us is feeling ill and we had a wonderful meat pie for lunch. So things are ok here. Our hands have never been so clean. We are probably washing them over 30 times a day. I may keep count tomorrow.

Buses are still running but we just saw a bus to Hull, which can carry 70 or more people, with just two passengers. One upstairs and one downstairs. Social distancing at it’s most efficient. We’ve  also checked on the lady next door who has breathing difficulties. She is ok and has her daughter living with her.

Jenny and I spent some time in the gardens this afternoon. It was a lovely day and we made a start on the back and front gardens. We had asked for a quote to landscape both and were quoted over £8000. We may be in our 70s but we are not senile yet. We know a handyman who can help us out with some of the work as and when we need it.

Interest rates have been slashed to 0.1%. The lowest ever. Soon they will be paying us to have an overdraft. Very strange times so we all need to help each other and be sensible. The queues outside some supermarkets are ridiculous, stretching for hundreds of yards with each person within touching/breathing distance of each other.  British people can sometimes be an embarrassment if not a downright danger to others.

UK deaths 144.

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A very quiet day today. Just a visit to our Sister in Law, Carol. We greeted each other with elbows. We are 72, 71 and 70 and needed a couple of hours of company. We are on the edge now of total self quaratine.

Our local shop has run out of toilet paper and bread. I needed some tea and there were only a dozen boxes left. I bought just one. People were ringing the shop about bread and toilet rolls. What is going on?

On the journey to see Carol, we saw very few pedestrians but as we got closer to Asda Supermarket, the traffic increased. So many people are hording goods even though the evidence is that supplies are plentiful. Most schools are open but teachers are now making the decision to self quarantine, causing some classes to be closed. Including that of our eldest grandchild. She won’t mind at all!!

My appointment with my Orthopedic Surgeon tomorrow has been cancelled due to the current situation which is totally understandable. They will contact me in due course with a new date. I would hazard a guess at November time. Quarantine here we come.

We are now habitually washing our hands on a very regular basis. The advice is to wash for two verses of “Happy Birthday”. I’m getting bored with it so will try for a new song that lasts about 20 seconds. Does any one know the words to “Eskimo Nell” (60+ verses).

UK deaths now 104.

 

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My shifts at the East Riding Theatre this week were cancelled so this morning was very relaxed. A nice cup of tea and a slice of toast before the day’s jobs. These included delivering my Mum’s Mothers Day card. This meant a quick visit to her house to deliver it. I went in just to say hallo and make sure she had her phone nearby so the family could ring her at any time.

I also took my repeat prescription to my doctor’s surgery. I was not allowed past the door and handed the papers to a nurse who seemed to be there to decide who could or could not enter. Fair enough.

When I got home Jenny and I discussed an arrangement we had made for an Indian meal  tonight with friends Mike and Maria. The tv news was full of advice not to go to restaurants generally and certainly not if you were over 70. Relunctantly we cancelled the meal in favour of staying at home. Our friends completely understood.

Further phone calls were made to friends to see how they were and also to check on future concert bookings. All have been cancelled. Fascinating Aida (Hull City Hall), all folk nights at the Processed Pea Folk Club and Creedence Clearwater Revival Tribute Band have bitten the dust. There is a danger that a show booked at the end of April is also in danger as is our holiday with Val and Nick to Germany in Mid May. A concert by Andy Fairweather Low in October, a holiday in the same month to Austria and our Golden Wedding celebrations in August, may all need to be called off. A great shame but a small sacrifice if we manage to stay healthy.

Jenny and I are both well and showing no signs of the dreaded virus. So a list of tasks in the home is getting longer. We might as well make use of the time. Our young neighbours, Simon and Shareen, put a card through the door offering help with shopping etc. How kind!! Hopefully we will not need any help but if we do, they are going to be our first port of call.

All the news about the virus is bad and we are constantly monitoring developments. The worst is yet to come but at least we have “Catch Up TV”.

The £/€ is £1.10.09. A week ago it had reached £1.20.60. So it has gone down 8.35%. That is really bad for travelling to Europe. Oh, I forgot. We can’t.

 

I’m pleased we have emigrated back to the UK from Spain. Our home in Spain was in a very small hamlet where our only reliable neighbours were Bill and Irene. They are now back in Scotland and surrounded by family so they will all look after each other. Back in the UK we are kept very well informed about the very fluid situation. We would have had some dificulty in our Spanish home which was 5 miles from the nearest supermarket. Our GP though, was nearby and spoke perfect English so he would have been a great help to us all.

What is it about the panic buying public here. Fighting in supermarket aisles for toilet and kitchen rolls and pasta apparently. Shameful behaviour. People accusing each other of being rude and unfriendly when we should be pleasant and helpful towards each other.

Since our return to the UK, one of the tasks we had set ourselves was to make a new will. We have no Spanish assets any more and so it should be an easier task. It is pure coincidence that our appolntment is just as we need to be extra careful about our health.

One of the things (and there are a few) that we will not miss about Spain and that is the beaurocracy. It was awful. From the buying and selling and taxing of cars to dealing with the town hall about your own property. The problem is that the rules are different in each region and we always needed a proficient translator who not only knew the language (even though our Spanish was not too bad) but also knew the system. We were lucky to have a wonderful chap called Simon who we always took with us when the need arose although he was not always needed when we realised our Spanish was OK or at least passable. It was still good to have Simon as backup.

My little voluntary cleaning job at The East Riding Theatre in Beverley  has been postponed until July as the theatre is closing down until then at least. I have just had a copy email sent to me in which the theatre management (mostly volunteers) have asked as many as can afford to, to donate their ticket money to help keep the building open ready for restarting a some point in the future. I do not think it will be an easy task but I will help if I can, It is a wonderful place and the management hope to help in the community in these difficult tmes. All power  to their elbow.

 

 

The 15th of March, 2020, and it’s Day 1 of our voluntary isolation. Yesterday we saw our son and our three grandchildren. Who knows, it might be the last time for a while. The Government have advised that the elderly, that’s us, keep our distance from all human contact unless absolutely necessary despite having no symptoms. They are recommending a self enforced quarantine period of four months. It may be a bit premature but we have to keep ourselves safe. The trouble is I don’t get any exercise. Only 700 steps today. Very bad. I must do better tomorrow.

An email from my cousin Petra in Germany confirms it is alot worse there. We all worry about each other and at the moment the feeling is that it will get alot worse before it gets better. I will do a fuller appraisal tomorrow.