28th March 2020

The death toll in the UK has reached a frightening 1,019. However, to put it into perspective, over the past 24 hours, another 832 people have died in Spain. NHS England’s medical director, Professor Stephen Powis, has said that if the UK manages to keep the death toll below 20,000, “We will have done very well.” There is still a long way to go.

Fortunately, we are not led by an unprincipled, egocentric megalomaniac like Donald Trump. He appears to have no hesitation in sacrificing the lives of his citizens in pursuit of his own personal gratification and agenda. When Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called President Trump last Sunday, he delivered a blunt warning: “If you reopen the nation’s economy too early, against the advice of public health experts, you will own the deaths from the novel coronavirus that follow.” Sadly, Trump does not have a track record of listening to advice. The question remains: after the pandemic, will the world measure its economies against the dollar, the rouble, or the yuan? Those of us who are still here will see.

This morning, over my ‘wake-up’ mug of coffee, I read a short story attached to an email from Ken Hayes, sent to me yesterday. He is a published author of children’s stories, centred on some delightful creatures called The Dorps. I knew the story would be well written, but I could never have guessed its subject. Intriguingly, Sue and I are part of the plot, and much of the action is quite true, though there is an unexpected twist at the end. The story was titled; The Journey Took an Unexpected Turn.

At the beginning of the week, I downloaded the COVID Symptom Tracker App, developed by Guy’s & St Thomas’ and King’s College, following a suggestion from Ruth on the family Messenger group. Each morning, I input some brief details. It is my small contribution to the fight against COVID-19.

From the photos of the incident on Facebook, paramedics can be seen wearing full virus protection gear. Their crucial job has become even more hazardous.

On a brief visit, Jamie fired up the quad bike stored in our garage and gave Joey a very noisy ride up and down the drive. Before leaving, the three of them had a kickabout on the lawn.

I don’t usually ride my bike on a Saturday; that day is reserved for watching rugby. However, this morning I cycled to my allotment, picked around 20 leeks, did a bit of weeding, and dug over a small section of soil. I counted that as my daily outdoor exercise. The day was bitterly cold, so I spent the rest of it finding jobs to do inside the house.

In the afternoon, I watched the 2012 Premiership Final between Tigers and Harlequins on BT Sport. Tigers lost, but it was an excellent game. Even though I knew the score, my selective amnesia kicked in, and I kept hoping, right up to the final whistle, that this time we would win.

In the evening, we staged another ‘cinema night’ and watched The Two Popes on Netflix. I enjoyed it enormously, though Sue barely managed to stay awake, muttering throughout that too much had been covered up in real life and glossed over by the scriptwriters.

29/03/20

A much brighter start to the day, or is it just because the clocks went forward an hour last night, making it seem that way? Thinking you’ve had an extra hour in bed, even when you haven’t, must be uplifting to the spirit, surely?

So far, 750,000 people have volunteered to help the NHS and their communities through this pandemic. Humanity shines through in these dark times, and they deserve recognition and support from us all.

An email from my stepbrother, David, highlighted another problem caused by COVID-19. He and his wife, Genya, spend most of the summer months at their property in Bulgaria. He usually drives there through Europe, but with borders now closed, that’s impossible. If he isn’t in the property by the end of the year, he risks losing his right to Bulgarian residency. Hopefully, things will return to normal long before that. Thankfully, they also have a home in Yorkshire.

A rather chilly day kept Sue and me indoors for most of it. I had decided to open the cheese-making kit Jamie had bought me for Christmas, but it required a shopping trip into town for 4 litres of full-fat milk.

First stop: the Co-op—no milk.
Next: B&M—just two litres left, luckily both full-fat.
Finally: Tesco—plenty of full-fat milk but little else. Success!

Just in case of a cheesy disaster, I bought a block of cheddar, always good to have a plan B. I was surprised I didn’t have to queue, especially at Tesco. A fully masked assistant at the entrance informed me that I was limited to three items of the same kind, but as I only needed two bottles of milk, I wasn’t worried about being strip-searched!

Back home, while Sue started on Sunday lunch, I cut up a load of dry wood, ready for the cold weather forecast for the coming week. That would have to count as my exercise for the day, far too cold and windy for cycling.

Cheese-making began in earnest after lunch. The supplied recipe was straightforward, and apart from the hassle of sourcing milk, a large pan, and a colander, the kit contained everything I needed to make my first mozzarella. The quantities and timings had to be exact, but with Google Home’s help, in just over an hour, I had plenty of little mozzarella balls.

We had some for tea—delicious! And all I can say, with a smile, is: Blessed are the cheesemakers!