As things got worse, then better and now are getting worse again, Sue and I have continued to work from home and to take things cautiously – shopping online and rarely venturing out where there may be crowds. We have though relaxed a bit as time went on.
We became a ‘support bubble’ for Deb (Sue’s sister) and she
has stayed with us a few times, and Sue often stays over at her place so that
she can spend more time with her family.
As the weather improved, we visited Chris (Sue's eldest brother) & Lynne and
spent a lovely afternoon down at the seaside in Seaford and in their beautiful garden.
A heatwave swept across
the country and we experienced temperatures in the low to mid-thirties for
several days in a row leaving us sweltering and characteristically complaining about the weather.
Our garden continued to be our refuge and we planted,
cultivated and reaped the rewards of our small vegetable plot (Apples and the soft fruit was
exceptional this year along with the tomatoes, cucumber and chilies).
On Sue’s birthday we took time off work and went to the
seaside, enjoying a walk and fish & chips during the day. In the evening I cooked, with
ingredients provided by Cotes, a restaurant chain that had adapted to the restrictions
with a delivery service. It was a tasty French inspired menu courtesy of Cotes
at Home. Afterwards we curled up on the sofa and watched a movie.
The street party celebrations continued and there was a special event
for the 4th July.
Our walks in the countryside evolved as we started venturing further afield, sometimes on our own, sometimes meeting up with others. We helped out at Sue’s mum’s, gardening and cleaning as she had come down with an unknown illness (tests only proved that it was not COVID-19 but not what it actually was). A couple of times we travelled to Tring to visit my uncle and his partner for socially distanced lunches in their garden.
Our virtual conversations with friends and family further
afield continued and we managed to link my mum and uncle into regular family talks, which was good for all of them.
Dave’s (Sue's other brother) 60th birthday was celebrated in Deb’s back
garden and it was the first time since lockdown that mum came out (apart from
those trips to hospital!).
We bought a large gazebo for our deck to provide shelter
from the sun and rain so that we could entertain more outdoors and hopefully keep socialising as the restrictions of people indoors became tighter again.
Our first holiday since lockdown began was to the Peak
District, glamping in yurts with friends (Deb, the Whittenbury’s – Deb, Dave,
Tom, Ollie, Sam & Steve, and Paul and Lorraine). On our way up we stopped
at Calke Abbey which has some impressive gardens to explore. Much of the holiday
revolved around BBQ’s, Swedish hot-tubs and plenty of drinking. We were based
on a farm that had camping facilities near the village of Monyash and it was
here that we walked around Lathkill Dale. Driving further afield we visited the
quaint village of Tissington and the market towns of Buxton and Bakewell. The
weather was variable so when rain made going outside less fun, we found refuge
in the Devil’s Arse cave. Partying continued in the rain though. We had some
lovely walks around Carsington Water, Dovedale and the magnificent gardens of Chatsworth
house.
As the summer continued, we watched Tom and Ollie play cricket
on a local village green.
Jamie bought a house in Peckham, and we went to help him
move. The removal deliveries were unusually by bike (an electric assisted delivery
bicycle with huge trailer) run by a friend of his and called Pedal Me. later on we took mum up to visit him (along with a car full of presents).
Later in the season we went on another holiday, this time it
was in a static caravan down in Cornwall with Chris and Lynne. This consisted mostly
of various beaches, busy roads and finding it difficult to get in anywhere. We surmised
that many people of our generation without kids (they had gone back to school)
and not wishing to risk travelling overseas (many countries had started to see
rises in infection rates and travellers were having to isolate when they
returned) had instead flocked to the UK holiday resorts. This in conjunction
with closed facilities or reduced capacity at venues, meant there was loads of
traffic on the roads and everywhere was packed when we arrived. Some restaurants
were fully booked for days in advance and some had run out of ingredients to
make their dishes. We still managed to have fun though exploring Port Isaac, Polperro (where
Sue’s dad was evacuated to during the war), Praa Sands and Falmouth (where we
ended up when we could not get into St Michael’s Mount). As we left the county,
returning home on the Friday, we noticed a constant stream of traffic heading
back the other way undoubtable making it even busier.
Now autumn is firmly upon is and temperatures have dropped from the summer heat and clouds and rain are a more dominant feature in the sky. The days are drawing
in, the kids are back at school, universities have reopened, and the infection
rates have spiked again, resulting in some cities being put under stricter
controls verging on lockdown again. Our companies, along with many others, are
feeling the pinch economically and some are making unpalatable, but not wholly
unexpected, decisions.
We are bracing ourselves for a rough winter to come and hope
we all can get through and out the other side in one piece.
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