Friday 24th April.
Our pub has re-opened! Well part of it. A local retailer has opened a fruit and vegetables stall in the skittle alley on Tuesday and Friday mornings, and we combine a dog walk with retail therapy. As well as shopping we
meet other pub regulars, one of whom offers to “lend” us a bag of garden compost, a commodity difficult to purchase since garden centres are closed. I collect it from their drive later, leaving five tomato plants in return. With a bag of fresh produce and two pre-planted hanging baskets to carry, it is a long way up the hill to home. I go to a Narborough pharmacy to collect prescriptions for neighbours. Unlike my last visit, there are 2m spaced lines for those queuing, but the queue is short. Also unlike the last visit the pharmacist is wearing a full face visor in addition to being behind a screen, maybe more practical than a mask when discussing medication. My next visit is to Broughton Surgery to collect a prescription for Chantal, following signs to the rear, where a masked nurse hands me the items through a partially opened window. Final visit of the morning is the usual post-Aldi trip to the Co-op to purchase items forgotten or unavailable at Aldi the precious day. Working this afternoon, when I retrieve a voicemail from a loud and angry lady who has received a letter advising her not to have bonfires. While leaving the message she is clearly having a loud argument with her neighbour, obviously our complainant. She is calmer when I call her, and we have a conversation about the situation. She agrees not to burn the garden waste already accumulated, and tells me, as a single mum in lockdown with 5 kids, our conversation is the longest that she has had for a month. It is perhaps unsurprising that neighbour-relations get strained.
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.
