How's everyone doing ?
I ask that because , after a bit of a straw poll at work, it seems commonplace for everyone to be more emotionally labile now than they were before the lockdown.
Does everyone feel this way?
Well I think they do
Yesterday evening was a case in point
I had just got out of my car at work when a huge wild Billy goat suddenly appeared next to me.
We looked at each other for the longest of times and he remained unmoving and unafraid when I reached into my pocket for my camera in order to photograph him.
I chatted to him and reached out a hand ( which he studiously ignored even though it was literally an inch from his face) but he still held my gaze (something wild creatures are so unable to do ) until it was me that was ready to go
The encounter moved me greatly
The ringing of the Church Beall on Thursday night brought out a plethora of emotional comments on the village what's app and Facebook groups. Many of the villagers who had probably never even stepped inside the Church were moved to tears by the tolling of its bell and I thought then, that significant weight had changed to the more simple of events, that would not have held any emotional importance when not in lockdown.
There is no real getting away from it
We all have been truly affected by the events of the past two months
And we have been affected so much more than we care or choose to admit
Am I right?
Or is this the rambling of a middle aged old drama Queen
Stuck on overtime night shifts
How I envision myself ringing the bell next week!!
The Royal Opera House House is tonight streaming for free their latest ballet Anastasia You can catch it on their Facebook and YouTube channels and kick off for the debut is 7 pm tonight.
I'm working later but I will be sure to watch the production some time next week. The Royal Ballet holds a special place in my heart, and it's been over a year since I last went
Oh to be sipping a gin and tonic in the conservatory bar again
It's been a nice 24 hours
Lockdown can be nice
If you're lucky.
The roses are a gift from my elder sister. Their fragrance is wonderful and already is filling the cottage like a warm hand. She and my brother in law chatted over the garden wall in the sun.
No real news, just checking in .....
Without the tv last night , I caught up with some Sheffield friends
I'll watch the Great British Sewing Bee tonight
I hope Mark and Claire were not booted out
There was a funeral here in the village this morning.
A lady from Bron Haul who had been poorly a long time.
She kept cats which surrounded her bungalow like confetti
One of her floral tributes was black cat.....I liked that.
Village Elder Islwyn had cut open the grave very neatly before the gravedigger arrived and we chatted for a while before I bumped into the vicar by the lytchgate.
I like the new vicar
He is bright and friendly and his smile is genuine
He said he was happy for me to ring the bell on a Thursday night once it is hopefully fixed
His white surplus glowed in the spring sunshine as he stood waiting for the funeral cars to turn up.
Hattie left me a couple of chocolate brownies on the kitchen wall this morning too and I ate them as I planted out animal Helper Pat's bedding plants into containers and baskets.
The concrete square behind the kitchen wall looks softer and greener than it did
I bought and fixed up a new tv, chatted to Blog Rachel on what's app and lit the fire before 6 pm
It's cold out of the sun
And finally! And most wonderfully
Thanks to tim and Ian
Bulldogs are like toddlers
They run against walls without braking
And have no off button!
I love them dearly , but they can drive a girl to total distraction!!!!
Yesterday afternoon the devil caught Winifred in youthfull mode .....
She and Dorothy became quite giddy with themselves after being given a handful of cocktail
sausages each as a treat and both decided to give Albert a run for his money as he ambled rather suavely through the cottage for a sleep after a morning slaughtering baby rabbits on the field .
The resulting chase had bulldogs bouncing off every wall and it was only after a deafening crash when things went incredibly quiet and I ran in with eyes like ping pong balls !!!
The bulldogs had smashed the tv and they both knew they were in trouble
I had ear marked my overtime of this week to play for Winnie's vet bills
And instantly I realised I now had to use it to pay for a new 15 inch tv.
So when I walked in both Dorothy and Winnie ran for the kitchen reading chair where they were banished to for the rest of the evening!!!
And there they stayed, grunting and groaning their apologies
I may forgive them fairly soon
But it won't hurt leaving absolution for a few more hours
Hey Siri what day is it today?
Siri never answered, she's too depressed.
I've cleaned out drawers and cupboards this morning and I've thrown away
A bin bag of out if date cooking stuff, old magazines, tons of old clothes, and six pairs of underpants with holes in the gussets!
Victoria Wood would have cut them down for pan scrubs Every gusset a memory!!!
Animal Helper Pat , has been busy in her greenhouse and a 20£ Donation to Christian Aid has bought me a load of bedding plants for the garden.
They arrived today and filled the top of the kitchen wall ready for watering.
The bulldogs mooched in the garden as I worked
Apart from a few phone calls and later Zoom meets with friends.
It's a slow day.
I've agreed to overtime on Friday, it will pay for Winnie's recent vet bills
Choir tonight..........I needed some healing time, something I knew yesterday when
I messaged Jamie ( and his 1940s RAF moustache) to request we sing Ise Oluwa tonight
Ise Oluwa is an African prayer for water, and it was one of the first songs I learnt in Choir.
Sung slightly quicker than the above example, I remember our choir wrestling somewhat with the harmony on a winter's night in the village hall.
Jamie, in a fit of insight, told us to sing one last time and as we did so, he turned off the lights so we sang in complete darkness.
Without the restraints of looking at each other, and in the stillness and the dark,
I remember the choir rose to the occasion
And with a great deal of tears in a great number of eyes
Damm Covid
Damm you for having us to make rules to keep everyone safe
Damm you for stopping a potentially covid infected family from seeing their loved one
Damm you for forcing what may be a final " goodbye" on a mobile phone
My mobile phone
One I was honoured to hold .
