Although we are in week 3 of our Lockdown, life these days is very different but far from boring. I’ll highlight a few things, including the above programme we saw on Channel 4. I know that family!
We know the Hall family through the kayaking club in Leighton Buzzard. In fact I had interviewed Simon for an old blog post about strokes occurring in middle age people (click here). It was Simon who I knew best at the time and I do remember chatting a few times with his wife Elizabeth. Turns out Elizabeth developed Tourettes at the age of 40 and she was the focus of the TV documentary.
Tourettes is a condition affecting the brain and causes “ticks” which are sudden, uncontrolled movements, often jerks. It also causes the person to come out with involuntary extreme language, such as calling her youngest daughter a little s**t and other people c**ts. You get the drift.
I really admire the way they’ve handled the condition as their son, Robert, actually had the condition as a young lad and now appears to have it largely under control. They deal with Elizabeth’s condition by acceptance and humour. Having seen the programme, I can see that’s probably the only way. It is a real testimony to them as a family, and Simon and Elizabeth as a couple; for their love, closeness and family commitment.
If you get the chance to see the documentary on Channel 4, it’s a good watch –https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-mum-who-got-tourettes but the link is probably only active for a few weeks.
Our garden
Our garden hasn’t looked as neat and tidy as this since, well I have no idea. Hannah has jet washed everything. We have been weeding, cutting the grass (front and back), pruned and filled up the wheelie bin to the point it was almost impossible to move. Then the blummin Council suspended the green bin collection and this gave Rachel the perfect excuse for a bonfire.
Rachel likes bonfires. Many-a-time she has yearned for a good bonfire and on occasions we’ve had one, though I always feel a tad apprehensive. These days I fear the apprehension is probably based on the close proximity of the shed and decking, rather than any arsonist leanings held by Rachel.
So the bonfire happened. It then gently smouldered all night and I was so relieved in the morning and looked out to see everything still intact. I was convinced I’d been dreaming about fire engines and hoses being run through to the back garden.
With the garden surviving intact, Rachel and Hannah set about adding a subtle string of solar powered fairy lights across the pergoda. Not just one, but then a few more. And then the exterior Christmas lights. Lots of them. In all fairness, it does look nice, though I’m not sure the neighbours think it is very tasteful!
Food
We seem to be managing quite well with the Lockdown. Only once have we been into a supermarket and that was just for a handful of things. So actually things are working well.
Our strategy is staying away from big shops, supermarkets etc:
- use the village shop for milk and some fruit
- use a quiet out-of-town frozen food place for most veg, fish, veggie dishes, puddings etc
- make our way through the large stocks of frozen food we already have
- be on guard for substituted ingredients such as using Weetabix instead of wholemeal bread flour
- our cars still have plenty of petrol in them – last filled up a month ago!
Very spontaneously Rachel ordered two veggie boxes from the local market in town. They cost £14 each and that included home delivery. We thought that was pretty good and it has enabled us to pass some on to a few elderly folk living nearby.
Running, health
I run on alternate days. Mostly just a 25 minute run along the Busway, although earlier this week I did feel the urge to go further. I embarked on my favourite hilly run. It is about 7.3 miles and has a couple of really steep, sharp hills. A few years ago I loved the challenge of running up these hills, I knew I could do it well. These days I need to walk the last part of these hills.
I did enjoy that run, though it was hard and each mile was at least a minute slower than a few years back.
I have now finished another course of antibiotics for what was probably some kind of kidney infection. My urine has remained clear and there’s no sign of anything untoward on the dipstick tests. However, I still feel a little uncomfortable in the kidney area and I am going through another period of continuous fatigue. Because of the Coronavirus, routine hospital appointments understandably suspended, my regular check up in May is unlikely to happen, or the scan beforehand.
The week ahead…. hopefully some paperwork to catch up on, some decluttering and some decisions on a computer.