Zoom Again

My patient died peacefully just a half hour before I finished my shift .
I said goodbye to his partner just as I was leaving the building and hugged him before getting into my car for home
You can't employ social distancing in a hospice...you just can't

I got home, collected the dogs from Trendy Carol , and set up the iPad just in time to meet up with the family on Zoom.
We had arranged to catch up with drinks
My nephew Chris, his partner Rebecca and daughter Evie, my sister Janet and hubby Ned, my sister in Law Jayne, sister Ann and brother in law Tim and great niece Ellie down in London had a bunfight  of a meet. Lots of shouting, lots of " We can't hear you!!!!" And lots of looking around flats and houses and artwork with lots of " ohhhhhss and arrrhhhhs!" 

It was a touch of base that was oh so needed, a grounding meet , a funny catch up.
Nothing sparkling, everything normal
And I am so lucky to have a dear family
After today's shift , and a review of life in Britain in general,
It is a family I am not about to take for granted
Hey ho x

Support Your Local Hospice

I'm going into work later.
Sickness has visited our part of North Wales like it has done everywhere,
I'm only surprised that they didn't need me in earlier.
I'm happy to do it, I really am.

Working for a charity in these uncertain times is worrying.
The lockdown simply means that money is not coming into the hospice's accounts
And that public money pays for the nurses' wages.
Nurses that continue to ensure quality end of life care is given during this crisis
Could well lose their jobs when it is all over!
Go figure!

The velvet voiced Linda who has organised the Village warden system has done a sterling job with now two wardens allocated to each street in the village and its environs. A whatsapp group now connects every warden to her in HQ and with each other and every few minutes this morning my phone has beeped urgently  with people co ordinating pharmacy runs and food deliveries .
We even have a village warden social app group, where most of the volunteers are sharing videos such as this one

Right time to try and control my unruly mop of greying hair
Work calls

Be safe my friends

A Yellow Living Room

Part 1

Part 2

Thank You

You can just see my grandfather clock against my yellow walls

I've not long finished rearranging furniture and paintings in my yellow living room.
I remembered the " Applause the NHS " initiative at the last minute and went outside into the cold and the dark with the girls to see if anything would happen.
My village has not even a dozen streets, but the applause started subtly echoing around the houses and cottages and dark lanes politely and hesitant at first. and I joined in as I stood near London road with tears in my eyes as voices and calls of " Thank You John!"  Came sweetly out of the darkness.

Yellow

The days have a pace of their own and in the fine spring weather the villagers daily constitutionals seem to take them past the cottage and out into the countryside
Mrs Trellis, Doctor Tom, Pippa, Jane with her over friendly Great Dane Hudson, Animal Helper Pat, Meirion, Ian the unofficial village Mayor, Trendy Carol  etc etc etc
I see them all potter past as I bore myself silly with painting the living room a gentle vanilla yellow.
Sometimes I'd go out to say hello, my hair splattered as much as my least favourite Walking Dead T shirt ( the one with Negan on it)
I'm not listening to the radio, but tend to play classic movies on TCM as way of an accompaniment

Can each of you leave a message to tell me how you are.....I'm going a bit stir crazy

Winnie

Trendy Carol ( wearing some urban Chic today) called round and at a 2 metre distance took the girls to her house while I was painting
She sent a photo of Winnie after the old lass had run amok with an old tennis ball
She may be fading but my best girl can still surprise with bursts of excitement and fun.
And Tonight she is curled up with her gin trap mouth lying heavily on my feet.tired and happy
She's such an valiant old broad
With a smile like a large split watermelon

United

I received a somewhat cryptic message yesterday stating simply that " Your men are ready!" 
I knew what it meant.
After a quick trip for provisions ( I must say that the village Warden group is doing a fine job btw) I stopped by the back of my now closed pottery class and picked up my figures which had been fired for me.
They all lay in a box, looking up at me like a collection of baby birds and I was delighted that all had survived the firing process in the kiln.

My group was somewhat pompously called " United" when I made them but given the situation that we are all finding ourselves in at the moment, this little collection of eclectic figures have some resonance with me today.

All of us are looking forward with some concern.
We are seeking solice together, even though a lot us are isolated
And many of us using technology to make that happen

I'm painting my living room a gentle yellow today.
When done my hopeful group will sit in the window
Admiring the view

Choir

Nearly half of the choir turned up on Zoom at 6.30pm
and as the video shows the whole affair was a bit like hearding cats.
Poor Jamie and his .1940s RAF moustache, he had a big job on his hands

As it turned out it was the exact tonic that I think we all needed.
In an hour and a half we sang just three songs
But we laughed and laughed and giggled the experience away as unfamiliar hands cocked up video streams and Gill from Dyserth chomped her way a rather large chocolate wagon wheel.
Bemused husbands sat next to their spouses, and dogs and cats jumped up in front of the camera, and cups of tea appeared next to piles of choirsheets in Welsh country kitchens that have seen limited humour and laughter over this past long week.

Our final song was You Raise Me Up , and as we sang , we all swayed dramatically from side to side, free of the confines of the real choir room in the village hall and it felt, powerful and emotional and good.

I hope that through this fucking corona virus disaster, we all will reconnect with what's so important in life

Our.....simple......smiling.......caring.......humanity