Tuesday 13 April 2021

More lockdown restriction easings...

On Wednesday, I went for a 5.3 mile walk in the morning. It was the same walk I'll be leading in June and I wanted to get the route fixed in my head. It was a cooler day than Tuesday which was 23.5 degrees in Bedford, but still sunny in the afternoon and pleasant. I didn't even bother with a jacket.

 Top by George, trousers by M&S both charity shopped. Shoes bought in an Irish charity shop and all jewellery was from a charity shop except my Labradorite ring; a birthday present many years ago from my mum and brother.




I drove to Edgeware in the afternoon to pick something up and I spent the rest of the day making dinner and catching up with blogland. 

As our lockdown easing took effect from 29th March I had made plans to visit my cousin Marian in London on Thursday. By the time I arrived at her house at Thursday lunchtime, the sun was out and it was very pleasant sitting in her garden.  I gave her my rhubarb plant as I had no ground space for it and it won't thrive in a pot. We had a lovely lunch and caught up with each other's news; of which there wasn't much thanks to the lockdown. It was wonderful to see her and the family. She's hoping to come with me to Ireland in the summer and stay for longer than the last time; we may still have to quarantine on arrival or maybe, because we will have have had both doses of the vaccine by then we won't. Anyway, that's all in the future and we must live in the present especially now...

I wore this outfit which was all bought from charity shops. The boots were bought online and I thought they'd bring out the deep red in the kimono jacket. Both the trousers (M&S) and the jacket (home made) came from Barnardo's and I bought the paisley top in a charity shop in either St. Neots or Hitchin, I seem to recall.


All jewellery was charity shopped.


I'd been re-reading some Angus Wilson books which I enjoyed immensely and on Wednesday evening started a book by Fred Vargas - who is a woman. I had never read anything by this author before and was sorry I hadn't. A French detective series set in Paris with a very likeable chief character. I shall be scouring the charity shops when they re-open looking for more in this series.

As I was in London on Thursday that meant I had to do the weekly shop on Friday. Everywhere I went (Lidl, Aldi and Sainsbury's) it was very busy but no queues- thank goodness. The farm shops weren't open as it was Good Friday; a bank holiday in the UK but luckily I didn't need anything. I thought I would pick up some kindling on Saturday from Sharnbrook as there was enough to be going on with. It was still quite chilly in the evenings and we were still lighting the fire. It seemed this week we had both summer and winter weather 23 degrees on Tuesday with Friday a grey and chilly 7 degrees. I wore thick tights under this outfit and a half slip under the skirt. I can't see me swapping my wardrobe over until at least the end of April...

 
Everything charity shopped except the boots bought in Sainsbury's sale. Top by M&S; skirt by LC and jacket by River Island; a real bargain at 50p from Barnardo's.



All jewellery charity shopped.

We went to my daughter's for dinner on Friday sitting in the garden. They have a fire pit so it wasn't as cold as it might have been.  We hadn't been there since Christmas Day. It was very nice not to have cook, but both OH and I would be busy with cooking and food preparation on Sunday; as all 3 of my brothers were coming for a barbeque. I hadn't seen two of them since early November and one not since summer last year. 

As it was Easter weekend I bought the grandsons and OH an Easter egg each; I treated myself to one as no one has bought me an Easter egg ever! It was delicious and I ate it over the Easter weekend with great relish.

I bought this black dress about three years ago in a charity shop and the kimono was a 1.00 rail buy from the Bedford Daycare Hospice shop; bought when my sister-in law was staying with me back in October 2020. Tights; charity shopped a very long time ago and boots as before.

Saturday was another cloudy and chilly day at 7 degrees again. I went to Sharnbrook for kindling and logs and picked up the youngest grandson; who was going to stay overnight. He was back to playing basketball on Sunday; as outdoor sports could recommence as part of the easing of lockdown restrictions. 

All jewellery charity shopped.

I was so excited about Sunday. It was a lovely sunny day but chilly. I went out for a quick urban walk of 3.85 miles quite early.  We did the housework in the morning; then I made salads, coleslaw and potato salad and got things ready for a BBQ. OH had also made a curry the day before. I picked up my two brothers from Kettering and Julian arrived from London. It was so good to see them all. We ate and drank plenty sitting in the garden until it got too cold then I took two of the brothers home. Neither of them drive but Julian does. As per usual I forgot to take photos, so I can't show you the outfit I wore of an animal print matching top and skirt that I bought at the start of the current lockdown; from the 'Re-Fashion' site.

On Easter Monday it decided to snow! It snowed steadily for about 30 minutes; a constant, light fall of snow which didn't settle, luckily. I had planned to go for a walk with my daughter and we walked 5 miles together in the morning. In the afternoon OH and I went to visit the garden nursery where we bought plants from in the first lockdown back in March 2020. We used to ring and place an order; OH would go and pick the order up at the gates. This time we were able to wander around in the greenhouses and along rows and rows of plants. Heaven! I bought three Anemones and a Nepeta plant and a half price ceramic plant pot. We then went to OH's happy place; B&M's garden centre (!) where we bought two reduced Lupins and three Senetti plants; which were planted in the new plant pot as soon as we got home. I had also ordered some Sweet Peas from an online garden plant company and they should arrive by mid May at the latest ready for planting. We both enjoyed the scent so much last summer and being able to cut bunches of sweet peas for the house.


This is how the garden is looking at the moment. Not much colour as not a lot has bloomed. I live in the middle of a town and only have limited space to grow things...

This is the front garden space - a few feet behind the front wall.


This is what the newly painted front of the house looks like. Palest grey masonry; muted olive woodwork; front door and gate painted in black. I put window film on our front windows for more privacy as we live on a busy street. I had the windows cleaned by a window cleaner my next door neighbour knows. It's very hard to find window cleaners these days who are prepared to climb ladders and do domestic properties. 


One day, I will replace the glass in the front door which is original to the house built in 1906; with stained glass. I have bought some doorstep paint and will get around to repainting the steps at some point soon.
 

And the back of the house. By painting the back wall it seems to have opened up the space more.

It was back to the food bank on Tuesday. We had a surprise visitor. The High Sheriff of Bedfordshire paid us a visit and presented us with a plaque from the local community - how nice.


Trousers by New Look bought from 'Vinted; jumper by Divided; charity shopped. Faux polo underneath bought online as were the boots.


All jewellery charity shopped except the earrings which were donated by my daughter.


I wore a coatigan and gloves over this at the foodbank; it was 5 degrees outside and about the same inside. There were several photos taken of us beside the Food Bank van. I went into town when I got back and ran some errands; then it was home to clean out the fire, do some washing and make dinner. I also caught up with blogs and blogland.


During the lockdown I have tried to stick to my normal routine. On Wednesdays, I nearly always go for a walk. In normal times I'd walk with my walking group, but on my own mostly in lockdown. I walked 8 miles in sunny but very cold 6 degrees. I wished I'd worn a cardigan on top of this outfit for extra warmth. Everything charity shopped. Boots by Vanilla Moon; jeans by Next and tunic by Wallis.


All jewellery charity shopped.


When I do go back to leading walks with the Ramblers I now have 3 new routes that I can lead which should take me up until the autumn at least. Then I'll need to find some more...

 I stayed and had a cup of tea at my daughter's house; and some rice crispy cakes my grandson had made.  I had parked my car on the estate she lives on as it's a place I start a lot of my walks from. And it's very convenient for a post walk cuppa!


I didn't get to sit down on Thursday until it was time to eat my dinner at around 6.30pm! I did the shopping in the morning; unpacked it and put it away.  I also bought quite a few bedding plants; Busy Lizzies; Geraniums; Sweet Peas, Osteospermums and some trailing Begonias for the hanging baskets. Then I went into Barnardo's from 12.30 to 4.30 pm to help get it ready for opening. There was plenty to do and we were all looking forward to the opening; but also slightly dreading all the donations we were bound to get. Where were we going to put them all?


Everything charity shopped; dress by Gallery and bought in a Co. Longford charity shop; polo top underneath from John Lewis and boots both from Barnardos. Tights by Snag; bought online. I think they have discontinued this orange colour; I waited nearly three months for this colour to arrive and it seems to be no longer on their website.


All jewellery charity shopped. 
It was warmer on Thursday at 12 degrees but pretty cloudy for most of the day. OH came home with Aquilegia plants and French Marigolds; that'll keep him busy over the weekend planting up all the latest purchases! I'd also ordered some garden plant labels which arrived. We buy plants and after they've bloomed and die back we then can't remember what they are. Their labels often blow away if they have any to start with. Currently, I'm not sure what has happened to the Stocks I bought last year from the nursery and spent quite a bit of money on. I labelled all the plants I could  with the new labels, so this doesn't happen again. I have a horrible feeling the Stocks were dug up and thrown away as dead plants; I hope I'm wrong.

I was able to get up at my leisure on Friday. I needed to pick more coal from the Sharnbrook farm shop. My plan was to go for a walk from Milton Ernest which isn't too far from the farm shop, but it began to rain on the way back and in fact rained off and on for the rest of the day. Instead, I took my car to be washed at the attended automatic car wash. The car was filthy and covered in bird poo which had dried on - even I was ashamed to look at it any longer! I find those automatic car washes frankly terrifying and only go to them as a last resort. I'm convinced the steel bar is going to come crashing through the windscreen and crush me to death... I also need to hoover the inside of the car which will mean a trip to Sainsbury's garage at some point over the weekend to use their facilities. We can't park outside our house  and do it as we live on a street with double yellow lines.  I spent the afternoon pottering around and finally settled down to read my latest book 'A Spell in Winter' by Helen Dunmore. Updated to say I'm on a Helen Dunmore reading spree at the moment; I had at least 6 books of hers on the bookshelves and to date have read 4 of them so far.


Saturday was another day of rain showers. We are off to Cornwall next week and I've been praying the weather will have improved by then. The forecast was looking fine for that week so keep your fingers crossed for us. We're going to stay in a rented cottage at Praa Sands which is halfway between Penzance and Helston, I believe. What I'm wearing here is very appropriate as it's a Seasalt of Cornwall dress; called the 'Mill Pool' dress! I wore this denim waistcoat for added warmth and opaques from M&S. Everything found in a charity shop except the boots which my daughter gave me. She was going to have a sort out of her wardrobe when I was there on Wednesday; more boots might be coming my way!


All jewellery charity shopped.

Although all our non-essential shops will be open on 12th April as part of our easing of lockdown restrictions; I had been trawling Vinted in the week. I bought a few summer items; a couple of skirts and a couple of summer jackets...two of the items arrived at the parcel shop on Saturday afternoon. I went into to town to collect them. It was horribly cold out.

Sunday was brighter but still cold. I went for 9 mile walk along the river to Cardington and back along the opposite side of the river. It was lovely to see the river being used again for rowing and kayaking.


On Monday I returned to my 'normal' weekly routine. My first proper shift at Barnardo's since before Christmas. We weren't as busy as we thought and we had quite a lot of donations but we weren't overwhelmed. I met our new manager and spent the morning hanging and tagging donations and getting them out on the shop rails.


Lace jacket by Roman; bought from Vinted, top no label; trousers by F&F; boots by Vanilla Moon. All charity shopped.



All jewellery charity shopped.
When I got back from the charity shop I had a few errands to run in town including getting my eyebrows done! I last had them done just before Christmas and I haven't touched them since. I never pluck them but get them waxed and tinted; usually once a month. I collected a prescription, went to the bank and the cash point and picked up bread and milk. Town was the busiest I'd seen it in a long time. I hung out the washing when I got home and made a soup from yesterday's left over chicken. Then I caught up with blogland after cleaning out and lighting the fire.

I was sad to read on Monday that my favourite bookshop in London is moving to Bath in May this year. No more popping into Persephone Books in Lamb's Conduit street when I'm in London and treating myself to a book or two. Still, they do have mail order and I'll have to make a trip to Bath one day to see the new shop...


Tuesday was a glorious Spring day. It was warm in the sun and the sun shone all day. I was at the foodbank in the morning doing the usual. I walked back from the foodbank; then I went for my first swim since before Christmas; it was wonderful! I managed 35 laps in the time I had. I've slowed down a bit as I could manage 40 laps in 55 minutes but I'm sure I'll be back up to speed with another couple of swims. I also realised when I got out of the pool that I could have worn my Fitbit in the water; as it's waterproof up to a depth of 50 feet. Never mind, next time!


Dress bought from Vinted, top underneath and tights charity shopped. Boots bought online.


All jewellery charity shopped.

After my swim I walked into town to collect another two Vinted parcels; a Laura Ashley striped coat and a summer skirt. I hung out a load of washing when I got home and it actually dried on the line. I love the smell of line dried clothes. 

I've begun to pack for Cornwall and am praying the weather gods will be kind to us. I'll have lots to tell you in my next post. Until then, stay as lovely as you are!


Thursday 1 April 2021

Easing out of Lockdown

Hello! Posting later than usual but here we are...

 I forgot to put in my previous post that on Friday the evening of the 13th March; my brother Julian sent us an invite to an online concert he was giving from his studio. It only lasted about 45 minutes and was thoroughly enjoyable. He sang the song he wrote about his arrival in the world and my mum; which always makes me cry to this day. Anyway, it was a lovely way to spend the evening although not as good as in person but it won't be long now...

Back now to the Tuesday before last at the food bank we no longer had to wear our masks in the warehouse. Everyone had had their vaccinations. If we need to go into the office we wear them or in the picking area, but in  my part of the warehouse where the doors are always wide open to let the vans in and out there is no longer the need. What a relief. I did the usual; put toiletries away; and filled the shelves with cereals and tea bags in date order. I managed to finish everything which is always a good feeling knowing you have completed a task. I hate having to leave things unfinished.


This was what I wore. Everything charity shopped except the boots bought online retail. Trousers by Dunnes Stores; my Pepperberry top and this labelless jacket. It wasn't cold in the warehouse and in fact it was quite a mild day so I didn't need a coat over all my clothes.


You don't often see me in my glasses although they're usually the first thing I put on once I'm back in the house. I've needed glasses since the age of 9 but refused to wear them. I used to throw them in the Grand Union Canal or flush them down the loo then pretend I had lost them! Then aged 26 I realised I needed glasses badly and wore them regularly, but only for close work and reading. About 10 years ago I was told I should wear my glasses all the time but I still don't wear them out and about; or for daytime driving. I see perfectly fine without them. As soon as I find I need to wear them out I will.


The house painting continued. It entailed having the front door open all the time which made the house chilly and I couldn't get warm. I made soup on Tuesday afternoon and went into town for bread. I caught up with blogs and comments and read my book. I seemed to have been reading it forever and wanted to read something different.


 My Mother's Day bouquet and the little Fittonia plant seem to blooming well; I think I may have to move the plant into the bathroom as it's too close to a radiator on the hall table...

When I looked at the weather forecast for Wednesday it seemed to better for walking in the morning so I set off soon after 10am. I wanted to try and recce a different walk; I aimed to walk from Ravensden to Wilden; following a bridleway I've often wondered where it led. Now I know! I got lost as I always do, but I had brought the OS map with me; I had to back track several times. I walked 6.7 miles in total, mostly in cloudy, drizzly weather. Towards the end of the walk the sun came out and stayed out for most of the afternoon. The weather forecast was the wrong way round! I made a South African dish; 'Cabbage Beedie' for dinner and finally finished my book. In the evening we also finished watching 'Deutschland 89'. What a terrific series it was and how very informative about that particular era in Germany. I almost began to love 1980s fashion, thanks to this series!



Thursday's outfit. Everything bought from a charity shop except the dark burgundy boots which were donated by my daughter. Trousers by Papaya; top by Anthology.  Faux polo neck - one of a set of inserts bought from eBay. I ordered these ages ago and had completely forgotten about them until they arrived on Tuesday. My pack of three contained a royal blue, black and brown. Very useful and they keep my neck warm. I wore the blue one on Wednesday under a red jumper but forgot to take photos.


All jewellery charity shopped.


Yes, I've had my hair cut. I went to my hairdresser's house and sat in the garden wearing my mask while she cut my hair, wearing a mask. It was lucky it didn't rain and lucky I don't have a hairstyle that requires blow drying! After that I went to two different farm shops and three supermarkets to do the weekly shopping. It's a good job I'm retired and have the time. When I worked I just wanted to go to one place and get the lot done in one shot. The farm shop/garden centre where I went on Saturday has loose, reasonably priced vegetables. The one in Sharnbrook where I buy coal, logs and kindling, only sells ready made up packs of vegetables and fruits and they are expensive. I bought almost all the vegetables I needed  
at Pells; plus a rhubarb plant. I love rhubarb. The potatoes I bought had earth on them as did the cabbage. When did you last see earth on vegetables in a supermarket?


Friday was a miserable cold day with a blanket of grey cloud everywhere. I decided to go for a long walk as it was just as cold indoors because of the painting and having the door open all day. I walked a new to me route; I was sensible and wore my gaiters; took my map and ruck sack and still got hopelessly lost. At one point I had to climb down into a ditch and up the other side to get onto the road. Then when I wasn't too far away from where I had parked my car; I decided to follow a path which I thought would be a shortcut - hah! It added at least 2 miles to the walk. There were curses and swear words at that point. I walked 9.2 miles in total and was extremely tired by the end. On several occasions I had to cross ploughed fields. Have you ever walked across a wet, ploughed field? It's like walking with concrete shoes on as the mud sticks to your boots and just gets bigger and bigger and heavier and heavier. Despite the mud and the boggy ground I did enjoy the walk; it was good to try new footpaths and walk a completely new route.


Everything charity shopped except the boots. Top by Indulgence; shirt underneath by Tu and red jeans by Laura Ashley,


All jewellery charity shopped except the earrings; present from ex mum-in-law.


Waking up to a much warmer day on Saturday I decided to have a chill out day. I finished my book whilst eating my breakfast. After feeding the birds; I showered and dressed drove to 'Home Bargains' to pick up some bird food supplies. I saw a blackbird this morning perched on our glass recycling container. She had a piece of twig/grass/straw in her beak and was dipping it in the rainwater which collects on the recycling container. She then jumped down behind it. I  wondered was she was softening the twig/straw/grass for nest building and if so was the nest in my garden? You may remember we has a nesting blackbird before who laid two clutches but only one lot fledged. I always leave mealworms out beside the glass recycling container and a female blackbird is always the first one to appear and start eating them. I have no way of knowing whether it's the same one but I do hope so!


All items charity shopped. Jeans by Next. Top; no label, polo neck with added sparkle by Tu. Boots also charity shopped and all from Barnardo's.


Sorry about the smalls drying in the other photo; here's one without...


Earrings from eBay and other jewellery charity shopped. Two more pairs of earrings arrived from eBay on Saturday.

Have you ever heard of or tasted mangold wurzel? When I was out walking on Wednesday I walked past a mangold wurzel field. There were loads lying about so I picked one up and put it in my rucksack. Stealing, I know but would the farmer miss one mangold wurzel? I knew they were grown for animal feed but I wasn't sure if they were edible for humans. Professor Google informed me they were related to beets and they could be cooked or shredded into salads. I peeled and sliced the mangold wurzel up when I got home; tasted it raw and then boiled some with water and a bit of salt. I'd prefer it shredded in a salad but I doubt I'll ever bother again. Still one has to be open to new experiences...


When I got up on Sunday it was bright and the sun was out. The weekend had definitely warmed up from in the week and I hoped it would continue. I had to go to Iceland to pick up a couple of things; on the way back I decided to walk along the river to the marina and then home. I walked 5.4 miles; there were lots of people about. The river is a popular place for people to walk and picnic and generally hang out. I met another walking friend and we had a socially distanced catch up.


Except for the boots (Sainsbury's sale) everything I'm wearing is from a charity shop; jeans as Saturday's outfit; top by Oasis and blazer by Next which I've had for a good few years. I did put it in the charity shop pile once but rescued it and I'm glad I did.

Ring from Sainsbury's but all other jewellery and the belt was charity shopped.

It was the Spring Equinox on Sunday and I watched to see when the sun set. At 6pm it was still light but when I remembered to look again around 30 minutes later it was dark! Still it means we'll have longer days as it will get dark later and I'm all for that. We watched 'Line of Duty' on Sunday evening which will be our regular Sunday evening viewing for the next 7 weeks.
 
Monday started out bright and sunny but after I'd dropped the grandson to school, the clouds arrived and stayed all day; making it both gloomy and cold. I had plenty to do indoors but I did go into town to the bank and to the post office to post some books off to my son. I also spent a chilly half hour outside holding the ladder while the masonry in the gable was painted. Monday was also a year to the day we began our first lockdown across the UK.  I would have never thought one year on we would still be in a lockdown! Only one more week to go before things begin to ease. We watched 'Unforgotten' in the evening - the penultimate episode. I have to make a correction; I stated in a previous post the theme tune to this series was by Agnes Obel; and it was through hearing it I investigated Agnes Obel's music further. In fact, Agnes Obel's song 'Riverside' was the theme tune to a TV programme called 'Next of Kin'.


I wore this outfit to the food bank on Tuesday. Everything charity shopped except the boots from Sainsbury's. Thermal tights, skirt by Next; poloneck by John Lewis and the cardigan's label had been cut out; it is 100% wool and very warm. We observed a 2 minute silence at 12 noon to remember all those who died with Covid 19; may they all rest in peace.



All jewellery charity shopped except the earrings from eBay.

Tuesday was bright with sunny spells and it was much warmer at 11.5 degrees and pleasantly warm in the sun. I wanted to go for a walk when I got back from the food bank but I was pretty tired after a full on morning and I've learned to listen to my body. I did walk into to town for a few errands. The painting of the front of the house was finally finished. I bought online a new letterbox and some new door numbers to put on the freshly painted front. Just two windows at the back left to paint and I also decided I wanted the back wall painted in the same pale grey as the masonry at the front. By the time I post this I hope it will all be finished.


I was very pleased to hear the clunk of a parcel landing on the mat on Wednesday morning. I knew it was my new letterbox plate -  but imagine my disappointment when I opened the outer packaging to find that the fleur de lys on one end of the letter box had snapped off. The letter box plate was made of cast iron and it may have snapped when the postman lobbed it through the gaping hole that was our letterbox - or it may have happened in transit. It was very carefully wrapped, but what a disappointment. 


I wore this swapping brown boots my walking boots when I went out for a 6.5 mile walk along the river to Great Denham and Biddenham. Everything charity shopped; dress by Zara; red top by Primarni and  brown boots all bought at Barnardos.

All jewellery charity shopped.



On the way back from my walk I deviated from the usual route and spied two new blue plaques on a road called Spenser Road. There must be 30 blue plaques now in and around Bedford that I'm aware of. I must re walk my blue plaque walk one day and do a recount. The Stannards were a Bedfordshire family of watercolour painters. I looked their work up online; Theresa's work I didn't like very much; being very chocolate boxy. I did, however, like the work of Henry John Stannard; especially his boat yard scenes.

As it was Thursday it was time to do the weekly food and supplies shop. I went to the Sharnbrook farm shop for coal and kindling and then to Pells; the other farm shop for fruit and veg. I had a quick look at plants while I was there but resisted temptation. The back of the house was being painted and I couldn't get to the plant pots even if I wanted to... I also went to Lidl and Aldi and popped around the corner to my Sainsbury's Local for OH's sausages and bacon. It rained on off from midday onwards so I didn't bother going for out for a walk. I'll make up for it over the next few days. The few rain free days we'd had would have dried the ground out a bit, but with Thursday's quite heavy showers I can't be sure and won't know till I venture across a field again.





Skirt by New Look; replacement present from OH who sliced the original one when chopping logs in the garden! Cashmere jumper by F&F; German label shirt underneath, both charity shopped. I wore animal print boots but you can't see them as my skirt covered them. All jewellery was charity shopped. I think I'm cursed with these skirts; this one got masonry paint on it. I washed it but the paint was still there...

I had a pottering about sort of day on Friday. It rained a lot which put me off walking but it got quite nice around 3.30pm. By that time I'd done a wash; cleaned out the fire and relaid it; put a box of finished books out on the front wall for people to take; reorganised my baking shelf and made a macaroni cheese for dinner and a boiled fruit cake. I continued reading Angus Wilson's 'Late Call'. I have several of his books on my shelves and am reading my way through them. There are quite a few gaps on my book shelves so when I return to rummaging I won't feel guilty buying more books!


I wore this for pottering about; jeans by M&Co, top by Per Una, long sleeved top underneath by Lily & Me; cardigan has no label. All charity shopped. Boots by Primarni. All jewellery charity shopped. Apart from highlighter, blusher and lipstick I didn't bother with any other make-up. Today the schools broke up for the Easter Holidays. Middle grandson had been having mock GCSE exams all week and was looking forward to some downtime.

I went walking on both Saturday and Sunday, walking 6.4 miles on Saturday and 5.5 miles on Sunday with my daughter. I wore jeans and jumpers for walking so didn't bother taking photographs.  I spotted my first cowslips on Saturday's walk.


Monday 29th March was the day when we could at last start to met others outside; sticking to the rule of 6 or two households. No longer was the message 'stay home' but 'stay local'. Outdoor sports could resume. We have had two households all the way through the lockdown; we had been in a bubble with my daughter's household, as I child mind the youngest grandson. However, Monday's changes meant I'd be able to meet up with my brothers and my cousin very soon. Yay! Plans have been made and agreed...

Also on Monday, I went back to Barnardo's but to the Kempston shop. The manager at the Great Denham branch was moving to the Kempston shop, which has to be at least four times larger; it sells furniture so that should give you an idea of the difference in size. I spent the time assembling clothes rails and filling them with clothes that were hung on hangers and tagged. I wasn't able to buy anything as the tills weren't operational - just as well; I could have brought quite a few things home with me! .

 The weather started out cool and windy but developed into warm, sunny and windy. It was interesting to see so many more people out and about; whether that was the weather (!) or the easing of the lockdown rules, I couldn't say, I wore this outfit and didn't bother with a jacket. Everything charity shopped. African print trousers; homemade, top by Next and cardigan is a Canadian label. Boots also charity shopped.





All jewellery charity shopped.

Watched the final episode of 'Unforgotten' on Monday evening - tears were shed. 

Back at the foodbank on Tuesday and did the usual. The weather was glorious; it felt like summer had arrived! The new letter box plate arrived or rather I went to the sorting office to collect it, as an attempted delivery was made whilst I was at the charity shop on Monday. Unfortunately, the letter box in the door needed to be made larger to accommodate the new letter box plate and that won't happen until the weekend. I'll show you photos in my next post by which time we'll have entered yet another phase of our easing out of lockdown...






A weekend visitor and an exhibition

 Hello!  I'll soon be off to Ireland  so let me tell you what I've been up to over the last two weeks.  I'll start with a whinge...