Skip to main content

Lockdown #2

Ugh, and so it starts again - lockdown #2. After promising us that it would not happen and that it would be devastating for the country, the scientists won the argument and BoJo has given in. What this pandemic has shown us if nothing else is that there are an awful lot of every anxious people out there who would prefer to lock themselves away and hide from potential danger whatever the cost, rather than undertake a personal risk assessment and decide for themselves whether its safe to go out. At least this time the schools remain open and we can but hope that continues to be the case. 

This time we are at least a little more prepared, even if the weather is dire and it feels all a bit apocalyptic out there with Storm Aiden (or whatever this one is called) raging. I've stocked up on some new jigsaws (last time they sold out pretty quickly) and we have some new games. The most recent one is called Genius Squares and its gone down so well with the family I've had to buy a second version as each set only has 2 playing boards. You roll dice, set up the board and its the first one to fit the pieces in and complete the pattern. It's fast and furious and to start with the adults were definitely the winners but Izzy has been practising and she is now the queen of the squares!

Half term passed uneventfully - a mix of wiping up puppy puddles, work and a (very) little bit of time out for me. Izzy pottered around at home, seeing friends and perfectly her game playing skills, while Abi went to Angie's to earn her keep as chief yard slave (or Assistant Yard Supervisor to give her the formal title!) She had an absolute ball and came back tired, smelly and satisfied. We have no idea how much she earns per hour, but given her age its fantastic responsibility and any recompense she receives is (apart from being slightly illegal I suspect), very much appreciated. 

Izzy spent Wednesday with Glenn at an enduro (motorbike) training camp. She had 6 hours of tuition with a group of other kids of varying ages and experience and loved it. She is really enjoying being out on the bikes with him and is growing in confidence and competence each time she goes. Glenn did ring me the other day to say "It's a good job you can't see her - you'd be having kittens!"

In Betty news, she is also growing in confidence. Our tiny little quiet baby has grown very quickly - she must be double the size she was when she arrived - and with every day she gets cuter. She loves being outside, regardless of the weather, and takes every opportunity to get out there. I've taken her on a few (very) little walks - we've made it to the end of the road - which she sort of enjoys albeit spends more time looking around than moving. We met a cat yesterday - that was scary!

So we will hunker down again and wait out the next phase of Corona - lets hope the muppets stay indoors so we can all get out again soon. 

Carnage of a 2 hours conference call!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome Albert James!

So this week has been full of new things - Jess and Chris have welcomed Albert James Wilkinson Rayner to the family, a tad early but all doing well apparently (and so cute!!), I started my new job, Abi has her new shed and Dad got sorted on a phone that wasn't invented before the kids were born!! I always knew this week was going to be full on and it certainly has been. The first thing I had to do was try and sort out my diary which had been filled from dawn to dusk by my predecessor with meetings. I decided to set out as I mean to go on and immediately took out those that started before 9am. While I can get into  the office for 8am , it's a pain and requires me to be on the 6:30am train which is just a bit much every day (stating the obvious). I then made it clear that we don't need to be joined at the hip for the next 4 weeks which is a sensitive process - even though he is retiring it's hard to let go and he is understandably keen that the team are looked after. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Diary management!

This part of the summer is definitely typified by me trying to remember who is supposed to be where and when. Abi likes to be off doing something with someone while Izzy is happier to know she's close to home and so for the last week they've gone their separate ways. Abi has been down in Somerset making the most of Ben and Laurie being about. From what I can tell she's having a lovely time. Apart from the covert phone call one evening to tell me she was 'starving'  (Mum was cooking for the hordes and so it had been delayed), I've barely heard from her. The few calls I have had have very quickly ended in "can I go now" like I'm making her speak to me! Today she switches from Mum and Dads to a night or two with Kerrie - not sure who is more excited! Izzy didn't want to be away for that long so she opted not to go. She's very conscious that Abi and Laurie are joined at the hip when together and Ben has his own things he wants to do so she ...
Post a Comment
Read more

All about Izzy

This weekend has mainly been about Izzy, mostly because Abi has been off riding again and so we've hardly seen her. This has its pros and cons - on the one hand Izzy gets lots of attention and the choice of what to do. On the other she misses Abi and when big sister arrives home we have the inevitable few hours of resettling which seems to involve tears as a matter of course. I did have a moment of despair this evening when I looked across to the table just before Sunday dinner - normally a happy time - to see both of them, heads on arms, holding back tears. Luckily a bit of food and a game of 20 questions to share what everybody had enjoyed about their weekend and we kind of managed to get back on track by dessert. When asked what she wanted to do, Izzy immediately shouted "Jo Jo" so my task was to sort out a visit with Jo, the boys and Ellie. No matter how much time passes they still love to see each other and the first task is always the same. Edward and Izzy have t...
Post a Comment
Read more