Oh so easy, after months of stress.

Back in January flights were booked and then for months the situation was viewed with varying levels of anxiety - green, red, amber systems influencing what trips were legal or not.  On top of that PCR tests and vaccination certificates were required, - the information given about what was necessary changing at times and often not clear Then suddenly the Croatians banned wedding receptions and even now rules influence who can attend. .  It has been a topsy turvy year for all concerned.  But then suddenly we were on a flight,  and two hours later and a rather long queue to have our passports stamped (We are now out of the EU)  and we were out into the relaxed atmosphere of a warm evening in Split.  Since then the family have happily pottered locally, swam, had meals together,  and generally chilled.   I often travel alone, so it is very nice to have my niece and nephew here, to share the fun, have Sunday lunch with etc.  And it is nice to meet more of the Croatian family here too.   So all is good 

Split

Split

A busy week

 Monday Yoga and work 

Tuesday guitar and work 

Wednesday art and work. - 

Thursday- tried sewing but even worse at it than I was at school  and work. 

Friday down to Cheshunt for the allotment 

And at the weekends - work.  

Next week I have two meetings on Monday evening - the book group and the Green Party, but will have been to London too for my PCR test so not sure I will be doing anything really that evening.  

I love that there is so much going on in this area and even more is coming on stream as pottery might be back,  so why am I still thinking of moving.  This is exactly what I wanted all these contacts with people and learning so much. I still want to do Tai Chi and swimming too   

Home from home, or home and away.

 I spend a lot of time in my head imagining I am being interviewed,  I have these narratives running around. Probably not unusual. When I stride about in my leggings for example I tell myself I am a youthful older person, which is probably why I was using my nieces scooter when I fell off and sprained my ankle badly,   but when she asks me to run up hill, the voice in my head says run but my legs do not obey, my legs tell me I am not pretend elderly I am elderly.  Young older person statistically yes, but the old lady legs and arms skin also tell me the same story.      Like all things in life it is how one squares that version of oneself with the internal version, it is a constant dialogue.    

Inverness

When I moved from my home to my flat, I imposed a narrative, your son has left home, you are no longer a family you are a single person again,  revive yourself and enjoy this next phase by downsizing. The minute I arrived in my flat, I realised it was a false narrative, and ever since I have not known how to tell myself my own story about where to live. Perhaps where I am living is home, yet I still hanker for home. 

Pitlochry

Yet I also hanker for travel, but this Covid world has made that seem a smaller space dream, and so I embraced this and my old lady narrative, by booking for what I knew would be a holiday mainly occupied by older people by coach up to Scotland and I am pleased to say it went well.  I did tell myself I was one of the younger ones,  but the 80 year old who outwalked me showed that youth is not always fitness.  But that was why it was so wonderful, not having to drag my own case around, not having to get myself from A to B or worry about when the bus or train would come. My only worry was the torrential rain that was forecast which might have seen us all off, but which only materialised thankfully when we were in the coach.  Because of the restrictions imposed in Scotland, some things were off the agenda including a train ride and whiskey distillery visit, but the scenery, history, food, location and company made up for it.    I have now spent so much time in the north of England this year that I begin to feel like a local.   But when I get home, will the south still command my attention?

                                                     

Carousel production Open Air Theatre Regent's Park. 

Moray Firth

Well done. UK team,  brilliant Olympics,  both the winners and the participants, but how lovely that we did so well in this show without an audience, where the Japanese were watching events on their doorstep via TV and yet where excitement was still conveyed.  

Happy as a borboleta!

 At the grand old age of 66 I have finally fulfilled a teenage dream and had my first guitar lesson. 

It was a perfect day, so I walked the back route through the Lee Valley, almost all the way there,  and delighted in the dancing butterflies, taking the route with me.   To my relief, the teacher, did not faint with shock when I arrived, although he rubbished the guitar I have been nursing for years,  and mainly talked - though I did get to play Happy Birthday and attempt some chords - which is fair enough for a first session , which was free.   And three more have been booked!  I will have to borrow his guitar, but suffice it to say I almost skipped home the mile or so and as I danced a little song came to me about the little borboleta floating by.    Rarely have I felt so happy. 

Originally I was on a waiting list as a teenager to have lessons, but then the rumour circulated that the man was not to be trusted, so when my place came up, I turned it down.    In today's climate we are rightly aware of child safety and it is clear that the rumour then was attempting the same thing,  but I have no idea whether there was anything in the rumours so shame on me and I felt too scared to tell me parents about things so they never knew why I did not do the lessons.   Meanwhile my piano teacher gave up on me, and in truth even though I have a piano at home, I can scarcely play more than my 11 year old self could.   And with arthritic shoulders etc perhaps this is a dream that has arrived a bit too late, but I will give it a go, 

I had also planned to have a sewing lesson this week too, but had to work, however, I was crap at sewing at school,  and for a long time have wanted to try again, so I will try and reschedule,  old age a chance to be a teenager again. 

Whilst I have been very happy, all over England and now Europe flooding on a virtually unprecedented scale seems to illustrate again how serious the climate catastrophe is, yet sadly the Green Party seems to be going through the types of problems normally associated with the bigger parties.  Both leaders have stood down recently over various issues including trans rights. 

Italy V England.

 Amazingly we are still in with a chance of winning the European Football Championship,  it has brought joy across the nation. Tomorrow night millions of us will be watching football with a knot in our stomachs.    I still remember a school project I did when England won the world cup,  I can see the kids coming home now with their England flags and they are clearly doing something similar.    After a year or more with the pandemic it is bringing joy.  However, it is not uncontroversial.  The thousands watching the games - people are worried that is spreading the virus and whether it is or not the virus is spreading again.  But we are told the vaccine will keep us safe. It is hard to know.   

Meanwhile I am trying to enjoy the summer and actually prefer to do things before we fully open up and things are absolutely packed, so I have been to an exhibition and a social distanced concert with violinist Nicola Benedetti, up in London, both of which were fabulous and seen several friends, and I am paying for all this fun, by feeling ugh.    The exhibition was a follow on to a huge community art project that included a march to Whitehall a couple of years ago to celebrate women getting the vote.   It was housed in a placed called the London Scottish, so these wonderful works celebrating women's power,  were exhibited against a background of soldering and war. 

Whilst in London,  and after the exhibition, the friend I was with, who also has M.E,  was suddenly so ill she had to just go home and recover.  I know I sometimes get like this and I hate it when I feel like that, sometimes I just try and find somewhere to sleep and rest, luckily although it was horrid for my friend, we were a relatively short taxi ride back to her place and safety, but whilst it was at its worse it really was horrid.    The condition is mostly manageable thank goodness, but it still sometimes comes back to bite one.  It has taken me a week to recover and my friend is still recovering. It is the backdrop to our lives so thank goodness for Wimbledon and the likes of Raheem Stirling for making it a memorable summer.   Good luck tomorrow.  

England V Germany.

 2 - 0 The jinx is broken

Rightly or wrongly sport is back.  Having not missed sport when the pandemic started, suddenly it is really wonderful to have a crowd, to be watching the tennis and to actually be winning in the football.  

The number of people with the virus is going up rapidly but who is winning vaccines or virus.  I still do not know I just know I seem to want to go out, to see people, to be active etc. 

I have finally got down to our sister allotment and loved their approach to permaculture and the presence of real coffee, so definitely hope to go down again. I have finally done a walk I meant to do a long time ago and I am gradually catching up with people.  This weekend I will go to a concert - two in fact, so things seem to be progressing. So a great relief.  For a while I was seriously down, but reading, the weather and friends seem to be helping to lift things.  Still do not know if one can go to the wedding but still hopeful. 

Hancock, has truly cocked up his own career, after a dreadful start, the vaccine role out had saved him, so he decided to have a secret affair and snog his aide surprisingly passionately   I do not know how it is that I cannot manage to just get up and go to work, whilst the people running the country through the worse situation is at least a decade and perhaps since the war, manage to have babies, get married, have affairs and finally agree perhaps they have been a touch hypocritical and fall on their swords . Great soap if it was not our lives they are playing with . 

It is in theory summer, but it is raining and the days are getting shorter, the plants on my allotment, apart from the weeds, are not doing well, but luckily on my car park that thinks it is a garden there are lots of beans and indoors the tomatoes are producing a bumper crop of tiny delicious fruits/vegetables. 

Worrying news from China, but here in the UK life is semi normal

 One of my Chinese students was suddenly back in a lockdown situation and surge testing is going on in her area.  People all have a code to say whether they can go out and about and her husband's code has changed from green to amber, so he has had to be tested.   The problem is that this is the Indian variant that is in the area and very few people have been vaccinated in the area.  Up until scientists have said that the Chinese have managed to suppress the virus, but others have also predicted that the south of the country is still vulnerable because so many people live near animal production units.    If the virus spreads, what will this mean for China or in the long run the rest of us.  Oh dear.    

Because I have been vaccinated and have access to lateral flow testing on a regular basis,  I have almost been functioning as normal. I can visit friends and family indoors and I have been going out and about.  Luckily most places one goes to take hygiene very seriously - the B and B for example in Poole wanted my details before I could go there and yesterday in London only 6 people at a time were allowed to visit Turner's House and even then we could not be in the same room at the same time, but these restrictions aside,  it is easy to feel at ease really.    But this news, could have implications for us all. In China if people are told do not go out,  they do not go out,  however, the virus got back in somehow! 

When Turner moved into the house in Twickenham it was in the countryside, and he could see up to Richmond Hill and down to Marble Hill House. Now it is surrounded by housing.  However, it was such a lovely day and the park was open afterwards for an open air repast, the virus.    And whilst it is not sure that the country will re-open up by June 21st it is within touching distance, however, this news may change everything again.