Lockdown Week 13 - June 16th to 22nd

Thirteen weeks, three months, a quarter of the year, however you measure this weird dreamlike state of lockdown it seems unreal - both everlasting but only a few days long.
Obviously things have changed over the weeks. There's no longer the mad panic-buying that marked the first week or so, no real shortages other than the normal supply chain glitches (though my eldest daughter couldn't find icing sugar anywhere in the run-up to Fathers' Day). Click and collect has now become our normal way of shopping, and, although it's sometimes frustrating with weird last minute replacements, I'd rather continue this way than risk actually going into a supermarket.
I've spent many many weeks doing very little, particularly during the glorious weather of April and May. Despite gardening and baking and not going out, there's been an odd relaxing holiday feel to things.

This week though I have started moving back towards normal. We had a visit from our elder daughter (but no grandson for now as he's at nursery and mingling with more people than any of the rest of us!), took more walks around home and a trip out to Kedleston. We even marked Fathers' Day by a pizza delivery. Things are getting very close to 'normal'.

It's been a busy week at the theatre. We watched The Madness of George III again while it was available through National Theatre at home, and then this week's presentation, the stage adaptation of Andrea Levy's Small Island. I read the book a while ago, and was impressed with Levy's ability to mix social commentary with a readable and engrossing story. It's one which seems particularly relevant in these times of Black Lives Matter, and this production did a remarkable job of bringing such an epic, overwhelming book to the stage.

In the garden summer continues with sunshine, thunder storms, flowers and fruit. The soft fruit is doing particularly well by this mix of weather, and I'm now trying to pick it all before the birds discover it.















This week's government update talked of restrictions being loosened even more, of pubs being opened soon, of it being possible to take holidays. It does seem that they're saying lockdown is over. which worries me more than it fills me with joy. My route back to normality will be a lot more cautious, and I'll be avoiding crowds, whether in pubs and shops or on beaches.
I do want to get out more though. I've put weight on, and lost muscle tone, over these months, and I need to get back to the fitness level I had before. Kedleston was nice and empty, the ticketing system and social distancing measures made it feel welcoming but safe, and it encourages me to make more use of my National Trust membership before these measures are relaxed; there are gardens to amble round and larger surrounding parks for more energetic walks, and maybe soon some open tea rooms. I'll almost be back to normal.

Lockdown Week 12 - June 9th - 15th

Twelve Weeks! It seems almost unbelievable that I've spent this long without really going anywhere - a couple of walks up the playing fields, trips to pick up the click and collect order, and until last week that was it!!

For once, this last week has been a busy one, comparatively, with things actually happening. 

First, the fortnightly click and collect. I used to shop once a fortnight with no problems but for some bizarre reason can't seem to get a click and collect order right. I always end up with too much of one thing, and forget something else entirely - this week it was tonic water and cake. Not the end of the world as I still had lemonade and the not-quite-ready elderflower fizz, and lots of rhubarb for muffins. I tried a new recipe this time with ground almond and white chocolate. The almonds weren't very apparent but the chocolate was a good addition.




When lockdown started I had great plans of getting my husband to do some re-decorating. On one of the last days of hot weather he did the necessary painting in the dining room, and this week re-papered this wall.

Next a sad event. One of our neighbours has been in and out of hospital a lot recently. I didn't really know her, and had no idea how ill she was, but she died a week or so ago, and the funeral was this week. Everyone came out and lined the pavement, and as the hearse left someone started clapping so we all joined in (has this become a thing? I thought it was very strange)  

Theatre night was moved forward to Thursday, as I was impatient to see this week's presentation from National Theatre Live.  I've lost count of the number of plays I've seen these past few weeks, but this week's offering was very special - Alan Bennett's The Madness of George III, which I saw twice during its short run at Nottingham Playhouse, including the night of the original cinema streaming! I'd very much hoped this would be transmitted as I wanted to compare my recollection of seeing it live with how it feels on a screen. I think it loses a little, but not much; these streamed shows have definitely converted me.

On Saturday I suggested we took advantage of a nice evening and go out to Locko Park. Going out somewhere, even nearby, makes things feel almost back to normal, and it's always good to get out into the countryside.  It was a well-timed trip, as the next day we had thunderstorms and torrential rain.

In the garden my carouby de mausanne  mangetout peas have flowered (they're purple, look very pretty and will contrast with the yellow Kentucky Wonder Wax beans), the white-flowered sugar bons produced their first pods, and strawberries are ripening. To try to regain structure in the week, for #FridayFlowers, I picked scented sweet peas and pink roses Sometimes things don't feel so bad despite everything.

I'm not impressed with the whole idea of social bubbles as they won't make any difference to me. I'm sure they'll be of help to some people but they just feel like a crumb we're being thrown to keep us docile. In the same vein, from the fifteenth non-essential shops will be open. I'm not tempted though. Despite the mishaps, for now I'll stick to click and collect for groceries, and online shopping for anything else.

One thing that didn't happen this week was a planned trip to Tangled Roots Festival in the West Country. I'd bought tickets at the beginning of the year and had been looking forward to taking the tent and experiencing a new festival - listening to the music and maybe even joining in with the flamenco class. Covid has forced so many events to cancel, and Tangled Roots is another of them. The organisers are hoping the event can go ahead in September, but although I'd love to go then I'm not sure it will take place. Something to mark in my diary for next year.

Lockdown Week 11 - June 2nd - 8th

Time definitely seems to move differently under lockdown, and this has been another week when I seem to have busy all the time but don't really have anything to show for it.

It's also been another up and down week.

With the relaxation of lockdown rules my eldest daughter was able to come and visit, bringing her toddler for a more-or-less socially distanced afternoon in the garden. Neither of them has been out and about during these past few weeks so we judged it okay to meet up now before my grandson heads back to nursery.
My younger daughter lives further away, in an almost-city-centre flat rather than a house-with-garden in the suburbs, and has seen more people, walking to shops or in the park, than the rest of the family, so reluctantly we decided it wasn't really practical or safe to visit for her birthday at the end of the week. Instead we bought presents online, trying to avoid the big guys wherever possible and use small businesses, and joined in via video messaging to see her open her them. Better safe than sorry is still my motto for getting through this period. 

After so many weeks of hardly interrupted sunshine, the weather has turned unpleasant with wind and rain, forcing me to stay indoors, but I've still managed to join in with the Wildlife Trusts' 30 Days Wild, the garden is coming on well with summer flowers opening and fruit ripening, and we've actually started the wallpapering project planned back in March!

I found I've lost some of my enthusiasm for live-streamed gigs. At first I really enjoyed these - they help raise funds for musicians who can't work, and keep me in contact with the music scene - but of late I haven't bothered to watch. Maybe I just saw too many? Certainly I'd never go out to actual gigs as frequently as I've watched them online, so they've stopped becoming an occasional treat. It's going to be a long while before I feel comfortable enough to go to a crowded gig venue so I really ought to make the most of what's available at the moment.

Luckily, live, or at least recorded live, streamed theatre hasn't lost any of its appeal. Friday night is now designated 'theatre night', and this week I watched Tom Hiddleston in the title role of Coriolanus, a National Theatre Live/Donmar Warehouse collaboration. The whole production was brilliant, and Hiddleston amazing
Sunday was time for Romeo and Juliet from the RSC, as part of the BBC's Arts in Quarantine series. We've seen R+J recently from the Globe, back in week 4 of lockdown, and it's always fascinating to see two companies take the same script and interpret it differently. I preferred the RSC version, with Bally Gill and Karen Fishwick in the title roles; my husband said the Globe's version was best.

During these lockdown weeks I haven't ventured out much at all - an occasional walk to the nearby playing fields has been enough - but on Sunday we drove to Shipley Country Park for a proper walk with different views. It was busier than I would expect for a normal overcast day, even at weekend, but the paths are wide and it was easy to avoid people. Getting away from housing and people was great, and I'm wondering where else nearby I could do this regularly.

Lockdown - week 10: 26th May - 1st June

Another week staying in, keeping clear of everyone, with days slipping into each other. It's been hot and sunny but I've resisted the temptation to go dashing off to the seaside - to be honest the thought of all the other folks heading there is off-putting.

Instead I've sat in the garden, watched the birds splashing in their bath, planted out the last of the beans and tomatoes, and watched things grow.  

I've made time to finish a skirt project which has been sitting around for years, and took a short walk to pick elderflowers for fizz.

This week I've made an effort to cut back on my jigsaw obsession. The number of pieces in an online jigsaw is limited - 300 pieces - and I know they take a little less than an hour. Trying to cut that time turns a restful pursuit into a race, and stops it having any resemblance to mindfulness.

I've spent a lot of time watching live events from Hay Festival via Crowdcast (so many I've given them a whole post  of their own).

I caught this week's National Theatre Live; This House - the story of the beleaguered Labour Government of the mid70s, shown of the point of view of the Whip's offices. It was funny and interesting but I spent a lot of time trying to remember who was who from the politics of that era. 

The week's ended with the loosening of a lot of the lockdown restrictions - 6 people can now meet up outside so long as they maintain 2m distance. This means we can plan to see one daughter and grandson (before he heads back to nursery) but it's still not feasible to visit the other. Hopefully we'll be able to catch up as a family soon.

Lockdown Week 9 - 19th - 25th May

Well, this was the most up-and-down week so far!


I started the week in a positive mood but Wednesday was gloriously sunny - so much so that I sat outside for lunch, then inside but by the window in the afternoon, and got too much sun. As a result, I spent Thursday feeling 'off' and dizzy, and then that night my sleep was disrupted by rain (very welcome), foxes arguing in the street, and then husband's snoring. Argh. I'd just about got back to my normal self when Dominic Cummings' antics took over the media. Seeing people talking online about how they'd stayed home instead of dashing to the sides of their loved ones who were lonely, ill, even dying, while a government adviser did whatever he liked was heartbreaking. I wasn't ever a government supporter but if they could have dropped further in my opinion they just did. I don't suppose they care much though.

Fortunately there were good things this week too.

On Wednesday, I caught a re-working of Ibsen's A Doll's House, from The Lyric  Theatre, Hammersmith with the setting moved to late 1870s Calcutta. Torvald (now Tom) and Dr Rank being British officials, Nora (Niru) and the other characters being Indians. First performed last year, the film had been made solely for the archives, its production values weren't as good as those of specially recorded plays but maybe it was nearer to the actual experience I'd get in a slightly cheaper seat in a real-life theatre.
And Friday night I saw this week's National Theatre Live's offering A Streetcar Named Desire performed at the Young Vic, and starring Gillian Anderson as Blanche. I thought it was brilliant; my husband complained about the rotating set.

This week also saw the start of HayDigital - a way to bring some of the events scheduled for this year's Hay Festival to us all at home. So far I've dropped in to hear Maggie O'Farrell talk about Shakespeare, plague and grief, the inspirations for her latest novel Hamnet, and I've signed up for more later this week.

Monday brought a good ending to the week (despite political goings-on) with a second Folk on Foot Frontroom Festival. I turned in to see Frank Turner and his wife perform but found a lot of new music to delight me - The Unthanks, Kate Rusby,  Johnny Flynn, Richard Thompson, and Eliza Carthy. An excellent way to spend a Bank Holiday (better than crowding a beach somewhere) and round off the week.

Lockdown - week 6: 28th April - 4th May

Rain! Argh. After so many dry weeks, this week started wet. The garden was getting dry, I was having to water the huge garden pots every day (as well as the seedlings in the greenhouse), and the water butts were empty, so we needed rain.








But it's dull - and of course, after a morning of it, I was looking for things to do, so I made rhubarb muffins and, yes, tackled the ironing pile (it's my default go to when I have too much energy)






It's been another week of exceptional streamed theatre and music ...

Wednesday - Gecko Theatre's dance/mime production Institute. I saw this at Nottingham Playhouse a couple of months ago, back in the days when we could go out to theatres, and think it had more impact on stage.

Thursday -  KT Tunstall performing live from Los Angeles as part of the Albert Hall Home series of shows which should have being taking place right now but cannot.

Over Thursday and Friday, I caught two performances of Frankenstein from National Theatre Live. In the first, Benedict Cumberbatch played the monster, and Jonny Lee Miller played Frankenstein; for Friday night's performance they swapped roles. Both versions were absolutely brilliant. Cumberbatch's portrayal of a 'new born' trying to find out how to work hands and feet, and move about was stunning - and more so, I think, because I wouldn't have imagined him as a very physical actor. Overall though, I preferred Miller's monster - more sympathetic and humane - and Cumberbatch's scientist - arrogant and proud.


Saturday - A Midsummer Night's Dream from The Globe Theatre. I'm not sure if this was part of the current 'lockdown' screening of shows or just something that was already on Youtube. A fun, riotous romp.



As hope is growing that the end of lockdown is in sight, I've heard people talking about their plans for when the virus has passed. I'm not entering down that route. Over the past years, unable to take holidays due to my parents' health, I learned patience, and found it didn't help to plan ahead - in part because the only way out of the situation was their death which obviously I didn't want to hurry - but thinking of where I would like to go made me fidgety, wanting to take the holiday right then, not in however many years time. Hunkering down, finding small pleasures at and around home, made things more bearable. And that's how I'm dealing with the situation now.

I have the garden to potter in, a wide variety of entertainment streamed to my TV (in between the special performances listed I'm catching up on several seasons' worth of Elementary and New Girl), social media where I can chat to anyone and everyone, and, although it's not the same as seeing them, I video chat with my family several times a week. My husband is spending most days trying to get the allotment back into order after the past few years of neglect, so I have a lot of time free from interruptions when I can pick up habits and hobbies I've dropped. Yes, a lot of time is spent in the garden, sometimes doing as little as watching the breeze blow through my bonsai trees, but I have several unfinished sewing projects lying around, and in these peaceful afternoons I've started working on them again. I feel I might even find the headspace to settle to something more artistically creative.

I can survive as I am for a while yet, but thinking about what I might do 'after' is likely to unsettle me. I'll keep my focus on the small everyday things, and not think too far ahead.

Lockdown - week 5: 21st - 27th April

Part of me can't quite believe this lockdown has been going on for five weeks. The time seems to have passed in a daze. I've said it before but the day of the week, and the date of the month are losing meaning; the only real marker being the succession of flowers in the garden. The continuing warm weather still makes me feel that this is a holiday of sorts, which contributes to the aimless drifting of days.

With this in mind, I decided that I'd try to make something a little different for one dinner of the week. This week I tried making my own tapas - tortilla, patatas bravas, pan con tomate, chorizo in red wine and honey, and a cheese and meat board (or plate). It wasn't a total success as the tortilla got a little over-cooked, but as a whole it worked, and it's something that I'd eat out but not normally attempt at home. I even made gin tonico with my birthday Skye gin and  elderflower spritzer, garnished with lemon balm and thyme. I'm now wondering what to attempt for future weeks - possibly something that might pass as pub-grub with an 'all you can eat' salad bar, or 'extras' such as pickles and naan bread with curry.






I'm going to need to plan ahead for this when shopping but I'm now finding that although it may still be tricky to get a supermarket delivery (slots are sensibly being saved for the most vulnerable) it's comparatively easy to click and collect. This feels a safer, less exposed option than actual in-store shopping so Friday saw us heading off to top up supplies. Unfortunately the treats - chocolates and crisps - went a little rapidly, and we were soon down to 'proper' food.

I have a tendency to binge-eat like this at the best of times and lockdown has made that worse. At the end of Week 4, I looked at the scales and realised how easily and quickly I'm putting weight on, and decided I should do something to change my habits. I can't quite say I've been dieting, but I have started to watch how much I'm eating, and at least this week I haven't put more weight on (which counts as a result)

I've discovered online jigsaws - and yes, without a bit of caution, I could become hooked. As the pieces lock together they make an extremely satisfying 'click', so there's no change of putting a wrong piece in, and the monotonous sections such as sky are completed much easier than with a physical jigsaw.

I've finished a hat to go with my new rainbow scarf, finished a couple of weeks ago. Actually it's the second hat I've made, as the first was strange. I tried to use the scarf pattern but it looked like something a flower fairy might wear, so I unraveled the yarn, and knitted it up as a plain hat.



It's been another busy 'out and about' week, with livestreamed gigs and theatre.
Thursday - gig round at Frank Turner's, raising money for independent music venues, followed by Bruce Springsteen's segment from the Jersey4Jersey benefit.
Friday - Twelfth Night from National Theatre Live - brilliant and funny interpretation, and Tamsin Greig's Malvolia was wonderful. I followed it with Friday Night Dinner just to see her in something totally different.
Saturday - Bustival livestream festival, organised by Vans for Bands who are raising funds to supply their tour buses as rest and accommodation facilities for doctors and nurses. You can find more details on their FB page and a link to the crowdfunder here. I didn't attempt to catch all of the acts, just Mark Evans (with a Young Rebel set), Frank Turner (again), Will Varley, and Skinny Lister (with month old baby)
Monday - Sean McGowan livestream gig, followed by a trip to the theatre, this time for a RSC production of Macbeth starring Christopher Eccleston and Niamh Cusack




It's not been all fun though as recent news has reported that 'disruptive social distancing' is likely to the end of the year, and anyone over 60 ought to be considered high risk. For now things are manageable but I'm beginning to wonder what my situation might be in a few months, and whether I'll be able to see my daughters, especially if they're no longer working from home but mixing with other people in an office. Worrying, of course, won't make any difference so I'm trying to still take
each day/week one at a time; potter in the garden, sit in the sun, and try to enjoy this weird time.

Lockdown - Week 4: 14th- 20th April

Week four of the lockdown was another glorious time weather-wise, and I'm starting to behave  as if this were just some odd sort of holiday. Yes, there's still housework to do, but that's less important when there's no one else to see how clean and tidy - or not - the house is. There's still gardening, but the mad dash to sow vegetables that always comes at the end of March has passed, and things are quieter. Nothing seems to have much urgency to it, and the sun's been shining most of the time, so there's a great temptation to just sit and watch the flowers open - and that's what I've done for much of the week.








After a few days of this though, rain arrived on Saturday, and I roamed the house looking for something to occupy myself with. I ended up tackling the ironing pile, and then making rhubarb muffins.


I've started to sort through and use up the weird odds and ends in the freezer, which resulted in some odd dinners - an intended pork goulash had to quickly change into moussaka when I discovered the de-frosted cubes of meat were actually lamb, and I've discovered that a small piece of kipper goes a long way flavour-wise in risotto.








Thanks to all the on-line streaming of shows, I've had a couple of 'nights out' - Treasure Island from National Theatre Live, The Phantom of the Opera, one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's productions on The Shows Must Go On YouTube channel , and Romeo and Juliet from The Globe Theatre. I'm really looking forward to these each week. I've had doubts in the past about 'filmed theatre' but I've really enjoyed these broadcasts from The Globe and National Theatre Live and after the first few minutes forgotten that I wasn't actually in the theatre. The Phantom didn't appeal to me as much, but musicals aren't really my 'thing'.



I've even been out in real life this week, to see the bluebells in our local wood. Even at seven on a Sunday evening some of the paths felt uncomfortably crowded, so there was a constant battle between enjoying being out and wanting to get home.

Having the lockdown extended for three more weeks came as no surprise, but by weekend rumours had started to spread that the corona virus exit strategy may involve advising the elderly and vulnerable to stay self-isolated for a year or 18 months! Now, I'm not in that group, and neither is my husband, although he does have health issues, but all along we've followed the health advice for it on the 'better safe than sorry' principle. If going forward into summer and autumn this were the advice what would we do? Tricky question, but one we'll need to think about over the coming weeks

Lockdown - Week 3: 7th - 13th April

Well, to be honest, this third week feels like it was almost indistinguishable from the second. Days and weeks are certainly starting to blur into each other, despite my best effort to recreate normal life.


I went 'out' to the theatre twice - first to The Globe to see Hamlet; a very interesting, compelling 'gender blind' production with various male characters played by women (including Michelle Terry as Hamlet himself), and Ophelia played by a man (Shubham Saraf). It's hard to make such a well-known script come over as new and fresh but this production did - and James Garnon almost made me feel sorry for Claudius. I wish I'd been able to see it live.
 A couple of nights later was a National Theatre Live recording of Jane Eyre, a co-production with Bristol Old Vic, starring Madeleine Worrall as the diminutive, feisty heroine, Felix Hayes as brooding Mr Rochester, and directed by Sally Cookson. I'm not generally a fan of books turned into plays, but this worked brilliantly - not trying to cram every bit of dialogue from the original in, but aiming more for mood and character development. Oh, and I loved Pilot the dog - the actor playing him almost stole the show.

In between these two, I went to an Isolate Live gig to see one of my long-live favorite singer/songwriters Sean McGowan performing live from his 'gaff' (well, his mum's front room), and on Easter Monday I went to a festival - not out in a tent in the back garden as I know some people did, but a sensible Front Room Festival organised by Folk On Foot presenter Matthew Bannister, featuring a mix of familiar and new (to me at least) folk singers. As at any festival I dropped in and out of the music tent, and I have to admit I left before the end but really enjoyed watching Beth Porter from the Bookshop Band, Nancy Kerr and James Fagan, Kris Drever, Rachel Newton playing the harp, and Jackie Morris paintings otters.

Apart from these 'evenings out' day to day life doesn't feel like it's changed that much. I finished knitting a scarf made with some fabulous rainbow yarn brought back from a trip to Riga by my youngest daughter.




I went out for a short walk one evening to see the sunset - but this time I encountered cyclists riding too close to the pavement, so there's another worry for when I'm out and about.










The weather has returned to glorious sunshine, and most of my days are spent pottering about the garden doing something or other.


Sowing seeds, watering tiny plants, tucking them up under bubblewrap at night, all with the intent of producing home-grown vegetables, makes me feel I'm clawing back a certain level of control over my life. I feel fresh fruit and veg may be hard to come by as spring progresses, and I'm targeting my sowing at producing crops as soon as possible. I already have rocket and mizuna for salad, and rhubarb for desserts; there'll be more to follow.



Obviously I haven't seen my family but we're keeping in touch with an almost daily video chat, often involving a lot of running around from my grandson, and a quieter pictionary style online game at weekends. There still seems to be as much traffic as ever out on the nearby main through-estate road, so at times it's hard to believe in the virus and that the world has changed.

I never expected three weeks to be the end of lockdown, and I've braced myself to follow the twelve week isolation period recommended to 'shielded' vulnerable people; I've no need to be as restricted as them but 'better safe than sorry' is my motto for now.

Lockdown - week 2

Week 2 started cold, dull and lethargic. Partly the weather's fault, partly the clock going forward last weekend. I've no need to be anywhere at 9 or 10 in the morning so instead of adapting to the new setting I just amble along on the old one, getting up an hour late, going to sleep an hour later.


With the weather returning to 'normal' there was less temptation to be outside pottering round the greenhouse and garden. With cold overnight temperatures forecast, the conveyor belt system whereby seedlings start inside, go to the greenhouse, and eventually to the garden or allotment was stalled waiting for more warmth. Over the last weekend the sun returned, and since then I've been busy outside doing something or other every day - I've planted out some mizuna and cabbages, and the tulips have started to flower. Everything looks better when the sun shines.

After my walk to the wood last week, I've decided to stcik to the garden and not go out. It feels too risky. When the weather's nice I have plenty to occupy and exercise me here, or I can just sit in the sun. I'd rather do that than dodge the rest of the neighbourhood out for a walk.




I have managed to go out virtually though - a couple more Isolate Live shows, S T Manville and Frank Turner one evening, and Thom Worth and Tankus the Henge (the latter direct from beside a canal boat, which must be a quite fun place to be stuck for lockdown) - and for my birthday John Allen (left) livestreaming music from his home in Germany, followed by an evening trip to the (virtual) theatre.






I've noticed I'm becoming more lenient with myself over things I'd resolved to do, or not. Now does not seem to be the time to worry about eating too much - and when a neighbour brought chocolates for my birthday I ate them all in hardly any time at all. My birthday cake got eaten in one evening. Another (on another day) got eaten straight away too. It might, if you were being kind, be possible to blame sunshine and all the garden-digging for making me hungry, but I seem to have no willpower when it comes to eating 'treats'. I need to kick this habit before it becomes ingrained, and I put on a ton of weight during lockdown.
I've also broken my 'no new clothes' resolution. I saw some colourful trousers in a sale, and, yep, I bought them (arguing that they were a birthday present). They're bright and flowery, and were very cheap, but ... but ... but ... I feel like I'm acting too much on impulse, and not considering things enough. Is this some weird side-effect of lockdown and isolation?

Happy Lockdown Birthday

It was my birthday over the weekend, and, despite the lockdown and family not being able to visit, I was determined to make the best of it.




I actually started a couple of days early. A neighbour brought round some flowers and chocolates - leaving them on the doorstep and retreating to the end of the drive while they were picked up. Treating the chocolate box cautiously, I pulled off the plastic film-wrap, and then sat down and just ate them all (I don't normally eat much chocolate but seem to be craving it all the time at the moment)

For my birthday itself, I'd made plans ... but first I watched a video of grandson singing Happy Birthday (almost), chatted with my daughters, opened parcels (brought by delivery men) and a card, made by my eldest daughter and grandson, transferred electronically and printed down by my husband.




I'd already decided breakfast would be something other than the usual cereals - so, croissants (from the freezer) with jam, and coconut cream












I then took a long relaxing bath with some of the soap rose petals I'd received - aren't they beautiful? Almost too lovely to use.








But thought this present should wait till later in the day :)








It was already getting quite late for lunch even by our standards. Again, I decided it should be something a little different - a proper lunch-out sort-of meal with a mass of side salad - and accompanied by live music from German artist John Allen (via his Facebook page watched on the tv)

My evening plans included dinner (cooked by my husband, though he hadn't realised before) and a night at the theatre. Okay, more live streaming, but my youngest daughter suggested I put makeup and jewellery on make a proper night out of it. So, here I am looking a little greyer than usual because it hasn't seemed worth dying my hair when I'm seeing no one.

I made the effort to have a properly set table, and wine to accompany the food, a pasta dish similar to amatriciana, with bacon, tomatoes and mushrooms in a spicy sauce (it was only after serving it that OH realised he'd forgotten the mushrooms!)

Then we were off to the living room/theatre. The National Theatre regularly stream plays to cinemas, now they're streaming to our living rooms via their YouTube channel. Each play will be available for a week, and this first one is One Man, Two Guvnors, starring James Corden. It's an almost-slapstick, farcical kind of comedy, and not really my kind of theatre, but pretending I'd gone out was fun.

Part of my daughter's cunning plan was to have a (very) small amount of ice cream in the interval, as you might at the theatre,  but I settled for a quick, queue-free, dash to the bar to sample my present from her - Isle of Skye gin :)


Doing something different made the day feel special and memorable, and all in all it was much more enjoyable than I'd expected.