How time flys - can hardly believe it is a week since my last entry.
We continue to order our groceries online for home delivery and apart from the odd thing that for some inexplicable reason is out of stock, it seems to be working okay. More and more businesses are getting on to online ordering and local delivery - yesterday I placed an order with Veggie Boys, a local fruit & produce market, and also Harbour Fish, for some fresh blue cod and sole. I always get fish from this business so I have no hesitation in ordering their produce sight unseen.
On Monday 20 April the Government announced that we would experience one more week at Alert Level 4 and at midnight on Monday 27 April will drop to Alert Level 3. This enables more businesses to open up, including cafes that can maintain contactless payment and delivery - no customers to be sitting around inside - we still have to maintain the 2m social distancing. There won’t be much change for Ian and I in our bubble, as over 70’s are encouraged to stay isolated right down to Level 2! It will be some time before our committee meetings and group activities return to normal and cinemas and theatres still won’t be able to open up. I think at Level 1 there can be gatherings of no more than 100 but at Level 3 it is still no more than 10 at weddings or funerals with no catering.
On Saturday night we continued our idea of making an effort for a meal and we encouraged a few friends to join us (in their own homes) for an International Themed Food & Dress-up night. At first our friends were a bit sceptical about how it would work but we just took photos of the food and the dress-up and sent them around. Ian and I took the easy way out and had an Indian meal. I dressed up in what could loosely be described as female Indian attire, and Ian was able to wear the genuine Indian pyjama type outfit which Katherine brought back from India about 15 years ago!
Sue&IanIndianIan
June & Paul went all out and had a delicious 3 course French meal - Paul dressed in his bowtie and beret, and June with her red ‘witches-britches’ and garter for the can-can (or, as she said, the ‘can-can’t’. Gail & Ross took to Hawaii with beach chairs and umbrella on the lounge floor, Hawaian shirt for Ross and swimsuit for Gail (I bet they turned the heating up really high!), cocktails and fish pie! We were very impressed with the effort everyone went to.
This week the weather has been great and no-so-great - this morning dawned fine and relatively mild with rain expected later in the day but sadly the rain has arrived earlier than expected so we won’t be able to attend to the sections of garden we were each working on yesterday. Oh well, tomorrow is another day, as they say, and there are still lots of inside things to be done. I was talking to someone when I was out in the front garden yesterday (a woman my age) and she is getting bored now and has nothing left to do! I don’t think I will ever be able to say that - haven’t had to resort to watching day time TV, or even just relaxing with a book.
Gail has decided on this Saturday night’s theme and it is to be a wedding! She and Ross are going to be the bride & groom (traditional by the sound of it); Ian has been asked to be the minister but he also wants to be a guest, so there’s going to be a big of juggling for the photographs we have to send. I have decided our wedding catering will be a continuous delivery of hors d’oeuvres, with bubbly and a selection of wines & beers (promise we won’t drink everything! We will be the perfect guests, and just take what we need).
This morning Katherine came up with the children with some flour, eggs and brown sugar for me and as I was pre-warned I had hot sausage rolls for them. We put them down at the letterbox and retreated to the front door while we chatted and they had their food. Made Katherine a coffee in a takeaway cup! They are all doing well and the children are doing some amazing things instead of structured school lessons. Katherine has a great programme of learning going for them which includes exercise breaks. Schools are reopening next week but only children of essential workers or people who must now go back to work are encouraged to attend so that social distancing can be maintained. Katherine was telling us this morning that the children are to be 5m apart in the classroom (!) and still maintain the 2m social distancing in the playground. A tricky one to regulate once they all get excited about being back together.