17th June 2020

In the UK, as of 5 pm on Tuesday, 184 people have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the official total to 42,153.

If you’re considering travelling to Cambodia, be prepared to pay a $3,000 deposit upon arrival at the airport. Cambodian officials have stated that this mandatory deposit is refundable, with deductions made for COVID-19 testing, quarantine, and medical expenses.

Every visitor must cover the cost of transport to a testing centre, the test itself, a one-night stay in a hotel while awaiting results, and three meals, amounting to $165. However, if even one passenger on a flight tests positive, all travellers from that plane must quarantine for 14 days and undergo a second test, raising the cost to $1,276.

For anyone who tests positive, expenses triple. And, in the unfortunate event that a visitor dies from COVID-19 while in Cambodia, $1,500 will be deducted from the deposit to cover cremation costs.

Not exactly a move to boost tourism, but sadly, a necessary measure for a country with limited resources to manage the pandemic effectively.

Another day of sunshine and showers, with a thunderstorm in the afternoon. While I was out on my morning cycle, Sue took a stroll around Harborough town centre. She noted that although quite a few retail shops were open, they didn’t seem particularly busy. Interestingly, none of the many charity shops had reopened.

This is likely because they rely on aged volunteer staff, many of whom may be reluctant to put themselves at risk.

Despondently, I spent a couple of hours pruning and training the grapevines. A hard frost in May had set them back significantly, damaging their fruit-bearing shoots. The poor things had to start again, and despite the recent rain, they’ve yet to catch up. I fear there won’t be enough of a summer to properly ripen what is already shaping up to be a meagre crop.

On a more cheerful note, everything else, apart from the frostbitten potatoes, seems to be thriving.

After a week of trying, I finally managed to photograph our elusive pheasant family today.

18th June 2020

As of 5 pm on Wednesday, 135 people had died in hospitals, care homes, and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the official death toll to 42,288. Tragically, a 13-day-old baby has become one of the youngest to die with the virus in the UK. The child had no underlying health conditions. In contrast, Dame Vera Lynn has passed away at the remarkable age of 103.

Today was one of those long, wet, and miserable days that seemed to sap the soul. I got thoroughly soaked on my morning ride and, apart from a run to the recycling centre in Sue’s car to offload the hedge trimmings, I spent the rest of the day moping around the house, unable to concentrate on anything for long. While the rain trickled down the windows, Sue was far more productive, making significant progress on her tapestry. Meanwhile, Millie, the cat, discovered the hutch I built last year (for when we look after Jamie’s rabbit) and decided it made the perfect refuge, settling in for the entire day.

19th June 2020

The death toll from confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK rose by 173 to 42,461, health officials reported on Friday. The UK’s chief medical officers have agreed to downgrade the threat level to Level Three as cases continue to decline. Meanwhile, a microbiologist has suggested that people working in refrigerated environments in food factories could be at higher risk of contracting the virus, following the closure of three meat factories in England and Wales due to infections. Additionally, Britain’s statistics office reported that the death rate from COVID-19 in England and Wales is higher among people identifying as Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, or Sikh than among Christians or those with no stated religion.

A drizzly morning gave way to a dry and windy afternoon. Between 9:45 and 10:00 am, I had planned to take another load of hedge trimmings to the recycling site. However, after packing the car with as much ‘green stuff’ as possible, I discovered the battery was flat! The last time I had used my Fiesta was on Sunday, and annoyingly, I had forgotten to switch off the Tom-Tom. (I suppose it’s a sign of getting old, when your brain’s operating system still runs on Windows 3.1, there’s less room for such trivia.)

Plan B was to transfer everything to Sue’s car, but that was parked outside Foster’s Factory Shop, waiting for Sue to fill it with cut-price goodies. With no other choice, I connected the battery charger, unloaded the car, cancelled my appointment via the app, and set off on my morning cycle instead.

This, too, did not go without issue. I had opted for a long route to fully soothe my frustration over the earlier mishap. In the middle of the usually quiet village of Oxendon, I was astonished to come across an albino pheasant, standing nonchalantly in the middle of the road, entirely unbothered as I passed by, mouth agape, breaking the 2m social distancing rule in the process. I should have taken it as an omen. Shortly afterwards, I was forced to curtail the rest of my intended route.

Turning down a lane that led through Waterloo Lakes, I was met with signs stating that fishing was not permitted. Almost immediately afterwards, several people, keeping their distance, shouted, “You can’t go that way.” At that moment, I spotted a barrier blocking my intended entry onto the next section of my route. Then came the apologetic plea: “New COVID-19 restrictions, mate, sorry!”

Those magic words elicited a quick “No problem” from me, and I turned back up the lane. I now suspected there was a COVID-19 case in one of the fishing lodges or caravans parked around the ponds. Having cycled this route every week for the past twelve years, I didn’t need telling twice that something was amiss. I headed straight home, changed, and washed my hands thoroughly; no point in taking any risks.

After plundering Foster’s for their bargains, I was delighted to return home and find that Sue had managed to acquire nine tins of my current favourite soup flavours. Yes, the day was starting to look up, I thought.

As the afternoon remained dry, I decided to ride my luck and trim more of the hedge, as well as rebook an appointment at the Recycling Site for tomorrow. Fingers crossed the battery stays charged overnight.

Meanwhile, in Newbold Verdon, Sarah went to inspect the allotment she had taken over. With all the recent rain, it has certainly become overgrown and is in desperate need of a good strimming. Luckily, I’ve just acquired the kit for the job! Sue and I are planning a visit early next week to see Alice and take Mia for a walk, so I’ll be adding the allotment to the ‘to-do’ list.