Another week is coming to an end and, although the days are going really slowly, it seems like only yesterday that I was submitting my contribution last Friday.
Thankfully, all remain fit (in the loosest sense of the word) and well in the Batchelor household. Andy’s employers have seen sense and he and his colleagues are now working alternate days to reduce the number of people in the building at any one time, PPE is (apparently) on its way and he now has an official letter which confirms his “essential worker” status. Tom was delighted to receive his first payment from Tesco, and Josh, now on the Easter break, is very relaxed…. I’m slowly working through my very long list of jobs but don’t want to peak too soon.
This week has been one of ups and downs for me. I’m maintaining my resolve to force myself out of bed at 7am each weekday morning, I tend to cross paths with Tom for a catch up as he heads off to bed for the day, after coming home from the night shift, then realise that there wasn’t really that much to get up for. FaceTime and Zoom with family and friends this week have been a godsend and, without fail, lift my mood enormously. I’m dreading the thought that the lockdown may become more stringent at some point, and that my daily exercise could be withdrawn. The ability to go for a long walk or a run have definitely been the highlights of my days. I’m bit by bit learning that it’s ok to pick up and read a book in the middle of the day, I feel at this point I should confirm that I haven’t yet resorted to daytime TV. The daily briefing from Downing Street is demoralising yet addictive, we’re yet to start hearing good news and I feel that we’re definitely getting mixed messages from different authorities. Enough of that….
On a positive note, we have eaten dinner each night as a family with Andy, Tom and Josh each cooking once a week, I must add “clearing up afterwards” to their brief this week. It’s great to have the time to chat and laugh together if only for an hour or so each day. The garden is looking lovely and tidy for this time of the year and Andy’s “essential” trip to Sainsburys meant that he could purchase solar lights in addition to Maltesers. It’s a bonus to have the time to spend out there while the weather has been so good. I take great satisfaction from being able to hang my washing out each day (has it really come to this?) and pray that this beautiful spring weather will continue for many weeks to come.
The highlight of news from the Choir since yesterday is, former Sop 1, Hannah’s announcement that a new baby Shaw will be making an appearance in October. We’re working on engineering a posting back to Chivenor for Will. Congratulations to you both, and to Freda who will be promoted to big sister.
Hair appears to be “trending” on the Choir page. It seems that many of us are more than a little anxious about how we’re going to cope without the services of our hair stylists. For some that means colour growing out, thus revealing the truth about the real shade of our hair, others are worried about unruly hair becoming long and out of control. Our menfolk have been benefitting from our amateurish hair cutting skills. Estelle’s boy’s hair got shorter and shorter until it was easier to simply clipper the lot off. They now have military standard styles. The same in Hayley’s house, the pile of hair on her kitchen floor looked like she’d carried out six haircuts – oh hang on a minute……
All the talk of hair led Nicky to post a picture of herself with a very dubious hairstyle. She invited us all to follow suit with photos of dodgy coiffures we had previously sported. At the time of writing only a handful of us have done so including Lindsay, Estelle, Sharon, Dani, Shona and Hayley all sporting imprssive fringes. I have promised to post a perm picture if I get enough “likes” on my, aged 13 or 14, Human League(esque) style.
Shona and Eleanor have been busy perfecting a dance routine on Tik Tok (someone enlighten me – I thought this was a dating site). It was beautifully co-ordinated, even down to the socks and t-shirts. Not quite in the same vain, but Shelli treated us to some BBC archive footage of Tony Britts with his workout routine. No man should ever wear shorts so short or tight or move their hips in quite the way he does. For those who missed it the link is here. Warning you will feel compelled to watch it more than once, and it’s not for the faint hearted.
Other exciting Choir news is the forthcoming release of Jamie Lonsdale’s album, Footprints, on 9th April. We were treated yesterday to the full length video of “Circles”. What a wonderful evening we had with him and Rob back in November and I think we all agree that the finished product is a piece of beautiful music that we can all be very proud of. Who would have thought when we were recording, in the depths of winter, that the CD would be released under such bizarre circumstances? We wish him well and hope that the album is a great success despite the obvious problems with promoting it.
Emma kindly shared a crossword with us yesterday, I’m afraid I haven’t yet had time(!) to complete it, but I am saving it for a rainy day.
Following on from Sarah’s interesting fact about moles yesterday, Katie posted a picture of Milly holding a mole that she and her grandad had caught. Gardener, Jenny, had tried everything from windmills to smelly oils, only cats had been effective.
Our thoughts are with Emma and Pennie. Pennie’s husband, Piet passed away 26 years ago today. Emma’s father, who recently passed away, would have celebrated his birthday yesterday. These milestones are difficult, but an opportunity to remember the wonderful people they were to you, and to look back on the wonderful times you spent together.
Did you “Clap for Carers” again last night? We did, here in Fremington and noticed a couple of fireworks over the estuary at Chivenor. Once again, the coming together of neighbours, albeit at a distance made me very emotional.
Until next week……….
Jane
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