Sunday 17^th May

I start my day by perusing the Big Issue with my morning cup of tea. I’ve been buying the Big Issue regularly for a few years, not just to support the homeless, but also because I enjoy the articles, particularly the various reviews. Vendors are now off of the streets, many in temporary accommodation, some in hostels, and some in hotel rooms. Most appreciate the experience of a bed in a private room, but according to some articles that I have read the sudden change from life on the street to isolation in a hotel room comes with its own stress. I have missed my weekly read, and was pleased to see a “Special Shop Edition” in Sainsbury. For the time being the Big Issues is available in some supermarkets and on subscription.

One article is about the companionship that dogs provide, well known in this household. Sometimes it is my regular dog walks that keeps me sane. As the article says, this has been a good time for most well-loved pooches, with their Humans keeping them company all day, but one day all will be back to normal, dogs left alone for part of a working day, and maybe pets will need to be gradually re-introduced to their own social distancing. But, as the article concludes, not just yet. Our pampered pooches are lucky – with our working arrangements they are rarely on their own for long.

Zoom church service this morning, with our customary chat afterwards. Apparently, Burbage Common café, about 15 minutes from here, is open, and customers can order a bacon butty (or cake or toasted sandwich) for service to tables outside. Unfortunately, since social isolation rules about driving or exercise were relaxed, The Common has become very busy, the car park full. Maybe we will postpone the trip for now.

We attempt the weekly Zoom get together with Chantal’s family, but this is the first weekend of relaxed lockdown. The Hands family is walking in Yorkshire, the Tilleys in the New Forest, and Ian is playing tennis. In fact, the only participants are the grown-ups, six of us, who cannot take advantage of the relaxed lockdown to get out and about, because the lockdown jobs in the garden aren’t finished yet. Lockdown has also been relaxed in Canada, and Chantal’s brother Alain has been invited for a postponed skin surgery in Toronto next week, 1000 miles from home. Social distancing is near impossible in an aircraft cabin, and so Alain will be driving, much of the route taking him alongside the Great Lakes. He must have a test for Covid 19 near home before he sets off – he will know the result within an hour.

Friend and neighbour Richard receives his Covid 19 test result by text. Negative. I suspect that this isn’t a surprise – his opportunities for becoming infected have been few, and his wife was confirmed as being negative last week. A positive result would, of course, have been much more interesting for blog purposes.