I have left this blog for a couple of days as, apart from the death figures, each day is very much the same. Over the weekend we have had two good walks and are feeling very healthy. The weather has been great and we have done little bits in the garden to prepare for planting. We want to plant lots of colour although actual landscaping on the plot has taken a backseat for now. We hope that on sunny days we can spend lots of time sat in the garden with a cup of tea and a book. in Spain we would be close to using the pool and we would certainly be outside and no longer living full time in the main house.

We had another food delivery from our local garden centre. Lovely fresh vegetables, bread and butter and two large bags of flour and yeast for some baking. We got some biscuits as a treat. Once things have settled down we hope to go and do a supermarket shop although we are still absolutely fine for the basics such as soap, toilet and kitchen rolls. We should also be able to select all our plants for the garden soon too.

Sam our plumber agreed to come and fix our upstairs toilet flush as we could not use it without the aid of a full bucket of water. Having just one fully functioning toilet was, however, good for exercise. In the end he had to completely replace the flushing mechanism. When he arrived, we stayed in our lounge whilst he had the run of the route to upstairs. It worked very well and we left payment by the front door for him to collect as he left. For the complete mechanism, 45 minutes labour and his callout time, he only charged £60. A bargain.

I was 72 years of age on Sunday and was innundated with cards, messages and phone calls. David called on WhatsApp and the granchildren sang “Happy Birthday”. Thea did her best to play it on the Ukelele. Thankfully they all seem to be in top form and are not in the least bit bored. Sally and Jim called too and we were able to link up via Zoom which is the latest communication app and is able to be used for conference calls etc. It was excellent and did not seem to suffer from time delay. They had both composed and recorded five different instrumental versions of “Happy Birthday” which I was able to pick up from sound files on Email. Brilliant work and clearly they are able to find plenty to do.I quickly rang my my mum who is very well and continues to be looked after by carers four times a day. When you think about it, she is getting more stimulation from talking to more people each day than the rest of us. As for actual birthday celebrations there clearly were none. I did have a Martini in the evening but the best present is still to be fit and well each morning.

I really enjoy our Queen’s speech. sensible and inspiring. Yes, it may have been part written for her but from the many documentaries I have watched she has more than a little input and I felt as if she was talking directly to me. I think she should do a weekly broadcast. Let us hope she stays well. We sometimes forget she is 94, like my mum.

Sadly, our Prime Minister has come down, badly, with the virus. He is not, at the moment, on a ventilator but is in intensive care and is clearly not well. I have little time for Boris and to some extent I believe he has brought it on himself. His hand shaking with absolutely everyone just a couple of weeks ago did not show common sense and I believe he announced the lockdown far too late. However, he is our leader and we need him to be fit and at the helm. At the moment, I cannot think who would replace him although we are always surprised when someone steps up to the plate and does a good job.

Jenny had me go into the loft yesterday to look for cookery books. I found what she needed vey quickly and had a bit of a tidy up too. I found a box of bank statements etc that need shredding. We will never need them now. I have ordered the shredder from Amazon fo £30.

UK daily death figures seem encouraging but let’s not be complacent.

UK deaths Saturday   708

UK deaths Sunday      621

UK deaths Monday     439