5 July 2020

Lockdown week 17.

But, of course, we are no longer in lockdown. Hurray! We’re now to be encouraged to go out, drink lots at the pub, eat lots at the restaurants, and spend, spend, spend! Drink and Eat for Britain – now that’s a slogan I could get behind. Shame that they’ve had to reintroduce a lockdown in Leicester as the number of cases has spiked and other cities seem also to be on the brink. This could end up being a relatively short-lived reprieve due to our being led by a relatively short-sighted government.

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5 July 2020 – Amusements

The company my brother worked for had a phone system that rerouted after-hours calls. If any calls came in on a certain line while he was working late, Dave knew it would be a wrong number. It got to the point where as soon as the phone rang, Dave would pick up and say, “Psychic Hotline. I’m sorry, but you’ve dialled the wrong number.”

The caller would often reply with something like, “But I didn’t even ask to speak to anyone yet. How did you know I dialled the wrong…. Oh!” (Click.) Continue reading “5 July 2020 – Amusements”

28 June 2020 – Amusements

“What’s your father’s occupation?” asked the school secretary on the first day of the new academic year.

“He’s a magician, ma’am” said Little Johnny.

“How interesting. What’s his favourite trick?”

“He saws people in half.”

“Wow! Now, next question. Any brothers or sisters?”

“One half brother and two half-sisters.” Continue reading “28 June 2020 – Amusements”

21 June 2020

Lockdown week 15. A week much like all the others, you will be surprised to hear. A fairly overcast and breezy week with some rain and some sunshine – what are the chances of that? It rained all day Thursday and much of Friday which was excellent. And, it was exactly the sort of rain the garden needed – persistent and consistent without the torrential deluge which has been a characteristic of recent weeks.

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14 June 2020

Lockdown week 14. Same old, same old . . .

This week we have been mainly enjoying cloudy, overcast, blustery and showery days. We’re not yet regretting our request for rain – the water butts are full but the garden could still do with more. But, I think we could do without the torrential downpours – on Saturday last week we had an astonishing deluge with hailstones the size of baseballs. OK, I exaggerate a bit but they were still the size of marbles.

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7 June 2020

Lockdown Week 13. Hard to believe it’s now more than three months since we started isolating ourselves (two or three weeks before the UK government belatedly came round to the idea). Of course, as I’ve said before, I’ve been practising for self-isolation all my life and I’ve found, to my delight, that I’m quite good at it. Penny, on the other hand, longs for some decent company and intellectual discussions – sadly, she’s stuck with me.

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7 June 2020 – Amusements

I was nervous the night my husband and I brought our three young sons to an upscale restaurant for the first time. My husband ordered a bottle of wine with the meal. When the waitress brought it, our children became quiet as she began the ritual uncorking.

She poured a small amount for me to taste, and then our six- year-old piped up, “Mom usually drinks a lot more than that!” Continue reading “7 June 2020 – Amusements”