Day 36 Tuesday 28th April

I have decided it was time to change the header image, so I have a new picture of the Covid-19 virus for you all.

Tuesday so it was back to work, It was almost like a normal day. I got up when the alarm went off, showered, made my breakfast, came upstairs to log on, and found that the computer system wasn’t working properly. This time it was the server, rather than my laptop that was playing up. The server has always (for the past twenty-five years — it is the same one we have always had) been a temperamental beast. I think with this lockdown and the need to be two metres apart at all times, it is getting lonely. This latest temper tantrum is a cry for help. Twenty-five-year-olds should really be over having tantrums, but hey. At least it doesn’t stop me reporting, just uploading the reports to the server.

It was also wet, cold, and generally miserable. A very normal day. It did mean that there was no need for a trip to the allotment today. We would only have gone up to water the plants, but the rain did that for us.

Football

On the way to and from work I listened to the Nine Years Podcast discussing what to do about the season. Should it just be declared null and void? Or should it be officially ended and winners and losers be declared, on either the current positions, or an average points per game basis? Should we try to find a way to play the remaining fixtures behind closed doors if necessary? The solution for the Premier League may need to be different to the solution for the EFL.

According to @AndyhHolt, the Accrington Stanley chairman, playing behind closed doors will not work for League One clubs,

There is also an additional problem for League One, what ever happens. We started the season one team short because of what happened with Bury. We need to find a solution for that.

It is unclear as to when we will have football with fans in attendance again. My guess is August at the earliest. I think the best solution is just to pretend that this season never happened, and start again with the 2020-2021 season. I know that it is unfair to a lot of teams, but what ever is done will be unfair to someone. Also come August there may not be as many teams to consider. Without revenue, I fear that as many as fifteen EFL clubs may have gone the way of Bury.

Day 34 Sunday 26th April

Following a late breakfast it was time for a trip to the allotment. Beds needed to be opened up. Plants needed to be planted. Tea needed to be made and drunk. We set off just after twelve with our lunch and the plants. It was too early to have lunch, we had only just finished breakfast, so we decided to do some work. All went according to plan except that the runner beans turned out to be French beans. Not that I was complaining too much, I prefer French beans to runner beans. We also have peppers, chilli peppers, sweetcorn, courgettes, squash, butternut I think, but we will find out in due course.

In addition to all that, we have one lonely little cantaloupe melon plant. I read the care instructions, and concluded;
a) the weather will have to be absolutely perfect;
b) even if the weather is perfect it is a very difficult plant to grow in our climate.
It really should be in a greenhouse. We have it under a poly-tunnel that Diane bought in Poundland. If we get any fruit off it, I will claim that it was all down to my brilliant gardening skills. Otherwise, it was Diane’s idea.

Supper was the leftover Bolognese from Friday with some kidney beans and extra chilli added to make chilli con carne.

Day 35 Monday 27th April

The plaster has dried in the bedroom, so we have to think about getting it back to being a bedroom again. I mentioned a couple of days ago our local DIY mega-store has reopened. Word obviously has got out. On Saturday, when I headed over to my house, the cars were queued half-way up the A3 slip road.

We needed some paint, obviously, but we thought it would be a good opportunity to resite the electrical sockets. Diane’s cousin-in-law (is that an actual relationship) is a semi-retired electrician, and he said he would do it for us if we got the parts. Diane decided to get up early to beat the queue. She left about eight and arrived back about eight-thirty without paint. The queue was as bad as it was on Saturday.

We managed to get the electrical parts we needed at another shop, but probably paid about twice the price. We then went grocery shopping at Aldi.

The Dons Local Action Group (run by AFC Wimbledon fans) are co-ordinating collection and distribution of food parcels, and other help, to vulnerable people in the local area. They had a collection point set up in the car park at Aldi, so we bought a bit extra to give to them.

After lunch, I decided to brave the queue at B&Q. It wasn’t too bad. I managed to get the paint, a paint roller, carrot seeds and lettuce seeds and be back home in less than an hour.

Mini rant about our now back at work Prime Minister

I am glad that Mr Johnson survived his encounter with Covid-19. I am not so glad that he is our Prime Minister. There is something about the faux sub-Churchillian persona and rhetoric that really gets my goat. Even now after almost dying of the disease, I really don’t think that he gets it. At least he has resisted, for now, the siren calls from his billionaire backers, and the stupider element of his own MPs to abandon the current lockdown.

It is now time for tea so I shall close for the day. Stay safe.

Day 33 Saturday 25th April

We have now been in lock-down for over a month. What things do I like about it? What things do I hate about it? What things am I missing most?

I’ll start with the things that I am enjoying.

I am enjoying spending time with Diane. Before the start of the lock-down we realized that if we were going to follow the guidelines, while both living in our own houses, we wouldn’t be able to see each other until the lock-down was over. However, if we moved in together then we became one household, so there are no problems seeing each other.

Diane’s allotment has been a great place to escape to, and, may yet provide us with food to survive the apocalypse.

The lack of traffic has made getting to and from work a doddle.

Work itself seems easier to get completed, customers appear to be more co-operative.

Life in general appears to be more easy paced.

What about the things I don’t like?

First up is queuing to get into a supermarket. I am British, I like a queue as much as the next person. Queueing is one of the things that made this country what it is, but standing two meters apart, in a queue that snakes all the way round the car park is getting to me. It is probably just as well that it has hardly rained since this lock-down started.

I am a bit worried by some things that I see posted on social media. They make me think that a significant minority of people would have loved living in East Germany under the Stasi.

I don’t like constantly having to wash / disinfect my hands, but I will do it. I have used more hand cream in the past month than I have in my entire life up to now.

What am I missing?

Football is one obvious thing. It isn’t as central to my life as it was a few years ago, after Grace died. I still miss my ninety minutes of escapism though. I should have been at Shrewsbury today. It is one of the away games that I usually go to.

I miss being able to get out in the Big Green Bus. We were going up to Scotland to look at wedding venues at the beginning of April, that obviously didn’t happen. Our trip to Spain and France next month will also be cancelled. On top of that it is the ability to disappear off for the day that I miss.

I miss being able to go out to the pub, or a restaurant, but I think that the thing I miss most of all is being able to go into a coffee shop between jobs, to check my emails, do my reports, or just to sit, have a coffee and watch the world go by.

Other things that happened today.

Duster went off me today. My sister phoned in the morning and I went through to the study to pick up my phone, which had been charging. Duster has taken to sleeping on one of the chairs, (Duster sleeps almost anywhere but in his basket). I answered the call and sat down to talk to her, and landed on top of our pussy-cat. He was not best pleased and let me know about it. A few extra Dreamies before bed got me back in favour.

Social media has its plus points. A friend, who does a lot of work with refugees, posted on Facebook today looking for computers to enable refugee children to continue with their schoolwork during lock-down. It didn’t matter how old they were as long as they worked they said. Grace’s laptop and iPad have been sitting at my house gathering dust for the last four years. They both fitted the bill. I haven’t known what to do with them, but didn’t want to throw them away either. But I couldn’t find a use for them. I am sure that Grace would have been very pleased that they are helping some refugee kids with their education.

Day 32 Friday 24th April

It’s Friday, so no (paid) work today. Where the morning went, I don’t know, but it was midday before I knew it. Then that is what days off are for. As I said yesterday, today was to be a day off from all things bedroomy and decorating. The door to the bedroom remained firmly closed, to allow the new plaster to dry. Instead, we went on a bike ride followed by a picnic lunch at the allotment. A bit of light weeding and/or watering might be permitted. But only if we were in the mood for it.

We packed some Quiché and salad into the ‘T’ bag and set off for the allotment via the long way. There is a good off-road cycle route from New Malden to Raynes Park which goes past the Allotment gates, so we rode into New Malden to pick it up. We were a bit later in arriving at the allotment than we had planned. This was due to running into (not literally) some friends, and having a chat, at acceptable physical separation distances. You may have noticed that I do not like the term “social distancing”, and try my best not to use it if possible.

We decided to have lunch before we did anything else. I put the kettle on while Diane laid out the food. The photo on the right shows the remains of the meal.

After we had finished I decided to earth up the potatoes, while Diane did some weeding and watering. The Hawthorn bush behind the allotment has burst into rather spectacular flower since we were last up there three days ago.

After we had finished at the allotment we rode to Raynes Park to get some milk and other bits and pieces of shopping, then rode home to make dinner.

Tonight was the first time this year that we have eaten in the garden. It was almost like going out for dinner. I thought the spaghetti bolognese was very good, (even though I made it my self).