The last three weeks of "old normal" Life

Although we didn't know it at the time, we were heading for the great Coronavirus pandemic when life changed for everyone across the globe.  At the time of writing this blog we are still in it, and we do not know what the "new normal" life will be like.  I have decided to do a separate blog for this strange time as it was so different from "Life".  Whether I shall return to "Life" or start another new chapter after it is all over, I do not know yet.

I was back in London for about 3 weeks before my next Devon visit.  I went to the Dentist to get my broken tooth fixed.  They suggested a temporary fix and a consultation with their root canal specialist with a view to clearing out the low level infection that had been present for many years under the tooth and then have a crown.  I had the fix first - £350.  I was very pleased with it.  It turned out that it was just the cosmetic bit of the filling that had broken off, and the filling itself was intact, so it was quick and painless (apart from the price!) to get it fixed.  Then I had a 5 minute chat with the root canal guy - and was charged £150!!! I was fuming.  I was told to go to Harley Street to get a scan (£65) - but I kept putting it off as I was so annoyed, and frankly was quite happy with the temporary fix.

Mike played the organ for Derek Cole's funeral on Shrove Tuesday - he played beautifully.  I sat next to Pam Rental (I played hockey with her at Barnes when I left school!).  She didn't remember me, but she was quite chatty and interesting.  

Mike and I decided to give the reception a miss - he had work to do anyway and went home for pancakes. Mike made the pancakes - delicious as usual and we ate the usual large number!! Had them with runny honey and lemon juice.  We had them again the following Sunday for lunch, only half the quantity but they were equally delicious.

Went all the way over to Rotherhithe in the evening as I had agreed to substitute for Steve at the Southwark Handbells. The tubes were severely delayed and I arrived at 6.50 having left just after 5 pm. The peal attempt of Oxford failed so we rang a QP with Simon inside. I came up with the composition as no one else seemed to know one. Ian called it - and said that's all at the halfway point but I corrected him and we survived it and scored. Meant I got home by 9.30 which was nice and early for a change. 

Gave up alcohol for Lent.  First test was supper with Pru, Caroline and James at Tas on Ash Wednesday!  Survived by drinking non-alcoholic lager.  Nice evening.

Middx stuff was starting to ramp up - sent out 34 new member packs after the N&E ADM and then started chasing up last bits and pieces for the Annual Report.  Spent a lot of time preparing the draft - then sent it to James who had lots of comments! I also did a lot of work on the peals database I am creating for Middlesex peals.

Suki and I went to Carolyn's on 29th Feb to celebrate her birthday (Mike was out ringing QPs all day in Essex). Lorraine and the boys were there when I arrived, and Leanne and Ifty turned up shortly after me. I hated the drive but had a lovely time while I was there. I got a parking space right outside the house - having worried about where I was going to park for most of the drive!  (I think this has something to do with getting older too). Played some games on the wii with Ollie. Aidan liked Suki and was quite chatty too. Carolyn cooked homemade chips with pasta, bolognaise and grated cheese which was delicious.

Went walking with Maryanne and Kath - a circular route to Little Gasden from the Ashridge Estate.  Sunny but with a cold wind. Nice walk but horribly muddy and slippery underfoot for large parts of it, including large deep muddy puddles especially in gateways. Had a tuna sandwich and mug of tea at the estate Cafe - which was not National Trust so couldn't get any loyalty points. Had to sit outside (there is no indoor seating) but the sun was reasonably warm even if the wind was cold so it was ok.  7 Miles.  Route Card

Had coffee with Muffie.  Went over to Staines by tube and train and didn't realise I had to buy a train ticket at Richmond! I was busy telling another passenger how to put his ticket in the exit gate then plonked my Freedom Pass on the reader and nothing happened.  The attendant at the gate said "you can't use that here"! Luckily I didn't get fined - I just had to buy a ticket from him. Muffie met me at the station and we went to her house to admire the new front door - which was magnificent. Went for coffee and then mooched round Hobbycraft and Wilko. Then had to retrace steps to find Muffie's rucksack which she realised she hadn't got - finally locating it in the cafe where it had been put behind the counter waiting to be reunited with its owner. I purchased some jelly babies in grape tree. Pouring with rain by then. The train was pulling in to the station as I got there and the nice man let me through gate while I was still struggling to find my ticket so that I could catch the train.

I took my bike out a few times - mainly to cycle to Barnes - and even got into a higher than usual gear once!  

Enjoyed the 6xNations Rugby on the TV.

I had a nice outing with Lorraine to Westfield - we went to the new bit by bus (all part of the adventure).  We had a lovely vegan lunch. We ended up looking at laptops, first in PC World and then in John Lewis.  It was Lorraine who suggested it and I was really helping her with the specifications, but I looked idly for myself as well as I had come to the conclusion that I would need to buy one sometime soon in order to upgrade to Windows 10!  I saw a few I liked - and one I fell in love with despite the fact that it was an HP (I always said I'd never buy an HP).  I went home and thought about it for a couple of days and then went back and bought it.  This turned out to be a very good move - as once everyone was told to work at home all the laptops were snapped up by companies providing them for their homeworkers.  Maryanne ordered a new Lenovo ThinkPad a couple of days before this - and then got an email saying it had gone out of stock.  When it came back in stock it was considerably more expensive.  I was delighted with my purchase - and fell more in love with it once I had set it up and began to enjoy its speed and new features. It only weighs 1.2 kg - really lightweight. . It was so easy to set up and everything is so slick and smooth. I particularly liked the touch screen, which was surprising as I haven't bothered with one before. The speakers are amazing. too - bang & olufsen. I was easily able to bypass any irritating HP bundles of software.

People started panic buying and clearing the shelves in Supermarkets - mainly of pasta and toilet rolls!

Went to Cantanti Camerati concert with Monica at St Anne's, Kew.  Monica picked me up at 6.15 - and we arrived at St Anne's Kew at 6.30! So we sat in the car chatting for 40 mins before going in to the concert. Not unpleasant but still a bit dirgy and highbrow. Best bit was the Tallis If Ye Love Me and the encore - Ave Verum (the nicest version). Monica dropped me home so I was in by 10 - Mike was somewhat later!

I went off to Devon early the next day - straight after 8 am service.  By this time in the coronavirus timeline we were not having wine at the Eucharist, and there were hand sanitisers at the entrance.  Had some breakfast and got off to Devon at 9.30 - arriving at  1 pm. Sorted out the post and opened my amazon parcels -accessories for new laptop. A lovely pink case and matching smaller wallet, plus some USB C converters and a spare power cord. Tried to have a snooze but it didn't work so put a jacket potato on and took Suki for a walk to the post box with Jayne's parcels. It was good to get some fresh air. Rang a peal of Lessness with Tim, Andrew and Glint in the evening, We started at 5 and rang for 25 mins then stopped because miscalled. So started again and were successful - quite a good peal too. I had 2 dodgy moments which was annoying as I'm still aiming to ring with no trips at all like I did on tower bells - but I'm getting there. Glint asked if my dog was the same one that chewed his inhaler years ago 🤣🤣🤣.  

Monday was a beautiful day. I had a lovely walk on the moor - carried Suki to the bottom of the quarry and then she walked back to the car. Rang QP of Superlative at Tim's, then went to Morrisons and finally got some toilet rolls. No pasta or soap or long life milk though. Put Abel and WinRk on the new laptop. Went ringing at Bovey - 7 of us. The last ringing for some time due to lock down announced today and all church services cancelled, and tower bell ringing suspended. Went to Tesco and got milk. Everything was being cancelled. Mike telephoned - we decided to isolate in Devon rather than London so as to be able to ring handbells with Peter and Tim. I cancelled the lunch I had planned with Jay on Thursday - and emailed Mike with a list of things to bring with him.

He came down a couple of days later and so began a new, extraordinary and strange time where the lives of everyone in the world changed.  So different did "Life!" become that I have created a separate blog to continue from this point.

Lock Down in Devon