Weekly update – inc the short shorts

Perhaps if I were an introvert, this Lockdown would be a golden time.  Instead I am neither introverted or extroverted, just an average bloke somewhere in between.  Here’s a very quick roundup of some highs and lows of things at the moment:

The highs

• My friend Paul sent me the above photo.  We had shared a flat with each other as students and Paul had hired the little van to move out once the course had finished.  Rachel thought my shorts were “a bit short”.  I’ll defend them by saying they are impoverished student-like shorts and besides, those were the carefree 1980s.  It’s funny to think we are becoming more conservative as a nation, perhaps that’s not always a bad thing.  Short shorts are always okay in my view.  I think I had a bit more hair in those days!
• We have continued to enjoy gardening and we are fortunate in having reasonable sized gardens at the front and back of our house.  Hannah has also enjoyed gardening.  Some shrubs, ferns and herbs have been moved in order to group things together.  Often I play safe for fear of evicting the wrong plant, or even mistaking it for a weed
• The days are getting longer and warmer, the clouds are often lovely, the hedgerows are full of mayflower and blossom.  My favourite time of year and as ever I feel full of optimism.
• I am fitter than I have been for a year or two.  I have enjoyed my hilly 7 mile run a few times now, taking just over an hour.  Although I’m slower than before and I huff and puff more while plodding up those hills, it feels so damn good!
• I had a nice bike ride yesterday.  Either Rachel or myself will visit my frail mother-in-law everyday and I decided to cycle the 6 miles there.  As it was such a glorious day, I decided to take a detour going back home, making 20 miles in total.  I rejoiced in the quiet roads, longing for them to remain as quiet.  Mind you, I felt so tired afterwards.
• I call my mother every day to chat and hopefully encourage her.  Although she has some nice neighbours and my aunt lives nearby, she is understandably feeling constrained by the Coronavirus Lockdown
• My newest website is functioning but loads to do.  I have played with different themes (templates) and tweaked the structure a bit.  Now I need to start posting photographs and the stories behind them.  As I’m always open minded, it will be interesting to see where it goes.
• We are healthy here and we are managing well.
• We have managed to save on our normal expenditure.  Much less petrol, no gym membership, eating out etc.

The lows

• We haven’t made much progress in decluttering the loft.  So far stuff seems to have come down into the house and has become stuck.  This is where Rachel and I have different approaches and I remind myself of my promise in being patient!  Rachel regularly surprises me by saying “Remember this piece of junk you threw out?  I just sold it on eBay for £20” which puts me in my place!
• I miss seeing friends and family in person.
• I miss having an occasional coffee or a meal while we are out somewhere.
• The turbulent markets have cost us money.  One fund has collapsed completely and therefore that money is lost.  Other funds will hopefully recover.  We should be okay financially but the thought of creeping out of retirement to earn some money has crossed my mind.
• I haven’t done ANY art during Lockdown
• Still haven’t made up my mind about replacing my 2012 MacBook yet.  I hate being indecisive!
• Having heard Boris Johnson’s fine words on TV this evening, I am doubtful the Government really do have a complete grip on the virus.  They were far too lax at the start and reacted far too slowly.  We are an island.  It could have been much better.  I would prefer the Prime Minister and his close colleagues to demonstrate some solidarity with the population through not drawing their salaries while we are in this disaster.
• This time next week I should be in California and heading to the Yosemite National Park.  While I have converted my Virgin Atlantic ticket to an open ticket, I have no idea when it will be safe for me to travel, or what the cost of insurance will be.