Lockdown Diary - Saturday 1st August 2020

All too soon the weekend arrives and, blink and you'll miss it, soon it'll be the working week again.

Lots of tedious stuff to do this morning: food shopping, washing, cutting the grass, trimming bushes and other overgrowing areas.

Son #3 came shopping with me, and he was rewarded by the return of Costa to the precinct, his reward being a bacon roll, mine a bacon roll and a rather less enjoyable flat white made with coconut milk (too sweet, too overpowering a flavour) owing to the non-delivery of their order of lactose-free milk.  If nothing else it was a novelty, though the Costa counter is now more like a high-security bank.

Sons #1 and #2 departed not long after #3 and I returned from the shops - they're off out for a walk with friends around Inkpen and Wash Common, a favourite area for walking of ours in the olden days.  The walk is supposed to be 35km, slightly shorter than the last one they did, but this time they've decided to wear walking boots rather than trainers. I hope that works out better for their feet than last time.

This morning I must get on with washing and stuff in the back garden: I need to cut the grass, trim several bushes that have decided to grow like crazy, and get the strimmer out to tidy some of paved area.  Oh, and I also need to do battle with the bamboo! At least it's not as hot as yesterday!

Wow! When the sun is out it's still damn hot work.  Had to get a hat and copious amounts of water.

By lunchtime the bulk of the gardening was done, though more washing to go - load number four today!  Son #3 is also going out, so after a hasty lunch, I was left to my own devices.

Before the next wash finishes I'm going to get started on reading today's papers, then find time to read a chunk more of 'Machines Like Me'.  

Mid-afternoon the phone rings and it's my elder sister checking up on me and seeing how things are going. Had a long chat, longer than either of us expected, I think, but it's good to talk.

Son #3 returned home late afternoon and I decided that I'd catch up on the last 30 minutes or so of episode 4 of 'Good Omens' ahead of dinner.  No word yet from sons 1 and 2 about their return from walking, not quite sure what that means for dinner yet.

It's getting on for 8 p.m. and they're still walking, so me and number 3 will have dinner on our own as it seems they won't be back until well after 10. 

Scrub 10 p.m., they probably won't be back 'til after midnight as they're going round a friend's house for food after the walk.

Given how hot it's been lately, this is probably an appropriate tune: Ash with 'Burn Baby Burn' from the album 'Free All Angels' (featuring the truly wonderful Charlotte Hatherley on guitar)  

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