Wednesday 27th May
Many Moons ago Chantal ordered a set of hair clippers via Amazon. Hairdressers have been closed since mid-March, and many people realised that although they may be on lockdown, their hair wasn’t, and it would continue to grow. Consequently, Do-It-Yourself would eventually be the only option for a short-back-and-sides. This occurred to many at about the same time, and demand for clippers outstripped supply. Our set finally arrived today. I will have to pluck up courage to let my wife loose on my bounteous locks. This is better done sooner than later, if the resulting enthusiastic and sophisticated styling is to recover by the end of lockdown.
Another day spent working at home from the end of the garden. A young lady has spent the weeks since lockdown entertaining her elderly neighbours with loud music of a dubious nature. Despite a letter requesting that she be more considerate, she has expanded her entertainment business, turning up the volume and opening her windows to entertains neighbours on the other side of her road, as well as those at the rear of the property. For the time being, while working at home, it is difficult to operate a call out service, and without witnessing the nuisance we have been unable to begin enforcement action. With Magistrates Courts offering a limited service, neighbours cannot take action themselves. Unsurprisingly there are a lot of frustrated and cross people getting in touch with us. Today the local Housing Officer was in the area and witnessed the noise, although it was soon turned off when the would-be DJ spotted him. The Housing Officer has provided me with a statement, and a formal warning has been sent. The young lady has “form” from a few years ago, and knows that she risks us entering with a Magistrates warrant to remove her sound system. Hopefully she doesn’t realise that this may not be easy in these socially distanced times. Such action may be postponed, but it won’t be cancelled, especially since her style of entertaining the masses lends itself perfectly to being witnessed from a passing car, no house-calls necessary.
It is Zoom pub night. Because of a family Zoom yesterday, our visit to the pub is postponed from yesterday to this evening. Some of the regulars meet on Zoom with their own families on a Wednesday, and so the “pub” is not as busy as usual, but we do have a friend popping in for the first time. He lives in a particularly rural spot, and generally can’t join us on a Tuesday because that is when his offspring have their Scout meeting. His broadband can only support one Zoom meeting at a time. He has promised his son that they will install a “trail camera” in woodland close to his home, and so only joins us for the first round, before the Zoom time limit requires a pause to refill glasses while a second e-mailed link is sent. Before he leaves us to install the trail camera, the first-time-regular continues to join in on his phone, striding along a woodland track with son and dogs. This is the closest that we have all been to a proper dog walk down to the pub since mid-March. We miss it.
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.
