Thursday 23rd April
The daily tally of Covid-19 hospital deaths is reducing. THere is talk of a plan about a plan for eventual easing of lockdown. There is also talk about there being no normality for the foreseeable future. Working at home will continue. It is the nature of my job that we get caught in neighbour disputes, hence under normal circumstances we take action only after witnessing the problem. In these abnormal times we send warnings based only on hearsay. Unsurprisingly I receive messages from alleged perpetrators, who are not only angry, but also want to complain about their neighbours. Exacerbating neighbour disputes during lockdown is not good. I take a break from working at home to walk the dogs. We meet erstwhile barmaid Karen with her dogs. From being busy childminding granddaughters during the day and working in the pub on some evenings, she is now at a loose end, with granddaughters isolated and the pub closed. This afternoon we Facetime our Vancouver friend Monica, getting her out of bed for birthday greetings. Lockdown in Canada seems more relaxed, with no limit to time exercising out of the home. Social distancing rules are as in the UK, but shops have no queues. Monica may soon be back at work, and a facemask has been suggested. She is not sure about this. She is a speech therapist. I shop at Aldi this evening, and find no queue, and the store not too busy. At the checkout the lady before me is a fast-packer, and I have no chance to organise my items for packing before the belt whisks them away. The goods are already piling up at the other end as I arrive with my now-empty trolley, and packing into bags quickly without crushing vulnerable items is stressful. I pay with my 
phone-app, but it is rejected. My bank has chosen this transaction to randomly require a card and PIN. My card is in the car, and I have to sprint to retrieve it while a queue forms behind my waiting trolley. The lady behind me is forgiving. I’m not sure about those behind her. I arrive home just in time to join neighbours noisily thanking the NHS at 8pm.
Technically we live in Oaktree House, but sadly the tree had to go.
We now have a thriving Oakstump at the front of the house.
