Frost on the ground in the shire

Frost on the ground in the shire. Warm enough in the shed. One or two winters ago we were without central heating and relied on the open fire plus fan heaters. The shed was then the warmest place on the estate.

Have settled dad down in front of the BBC news and now getting my brain in gear for a session on Anne’s Vans. Playing some 70s Rock Anthems. Moved on from The Messiah and other seasonal entertainments.

Dad was meant to be Cardiff bound today but we are waiting on the covid test results. Lead time went up from 3 to 5 days after we had him tested. Ty Llandaff is ready to take him in. This is dad’s 6th week with us. 

I am quite looking forward to the relative peace of a mostly offspring and parent free house. I say mostly. Hannah is currently planning to sit out the London Tier 4 lockdown with us. She came home before it all happened when London was a lowly Tier 2. For her the shed is a much better working environment than her small top floor flat in Canonbury although it is something I have to get used to as she spends much of her day on calls and in meetings. See how it goes. 

We still have plenty of Quality Street, crisps and other such junk. I have had my fill. I look forward to a period of monastic austerity. Mind you had the monks of medieval times known about cheese and onion crisp sandwiches they would have insisted they were part of their regime.

There are jobs I need to do over the remaining week (maybe two, I haven’t decided) of the holidays:

  1. New light fitting for shed
  2. Put in place the fence posts and wire for developing the cooking apple espalier. The materials have been procured

Come to think of it that’s it. I dare say new ones will appear as we steam towards 2021.

Tomorrow a game of golf with the lads is planned. Wednesday I have booked lane swimming. Let’s hope we stay out of Tier 4. 

We need to go into 2021 feeling that there are grounds for optimism. The seeds are there but it is too early to call. Need to see a  wider vaccine rollout and the gradual reopening of society. I don’t consider anything brexshit related as grounds for optimism. I’m just letting the people who got us here get on with it.

My plans for 2021 include:

  1. Attend wedding in Sligo
  2. Travel to Rome to stay at the Cavalieri and watch Wales beat Italy at football
  3. Take in at least one trip to the Isle of Man
  4. England v Pakistan at Sophia gardens – I am a member of Glamorgan CCC
  5. Top off the summer with a highly successful Beyond The Woods Festival

Obvs all this depends on the world returning to a semblance of normality.  We want to look back at 2020 and consign it to the waste bin. It will make it to the history books regardless. We should attempt to gain some learnings or benefit from it. Not totally sure at this point what these might be. The benefit of hindsight is required and we are still at this time too close to the action to be able to take a step back and see.

Sat here in the shed I am fairly well isolated from the goings on in the house. Only issue is I quite fancy a cup of tea for which I would have to reenter the house or at least make some form of communication with those inside. At this time I’m favouring the time to myself rather than the refreshment.

Rewind I have just been called into the house as we are about to open the Christmas presents my sister Sue brought up from Cardiff. She is taking dad back with here one the test results come through. Christmas can come twice you know. In fact it can come as often as you like.

Ciao

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