The Coronavirus Diaries, 29th April 2020

I didn’t get any further with my tax return today, but I did make progress with the jigsaw. MasterB of course joined in. This is how it and he looked this morning.

MasterB and parrot

I’ve done a bit more tonight. What you probably can’t see in that photograph are the pieces. Here’s one which looks like a dog.

Dog shaped piece

Here it is once I saw where it went. It’s got another piece beside it now, I should take more pictures as I get on.

Dog shaped piece fitted into the puzzle.

Keir Starmer did a stonking good job at PMQs today, though the PM was absent, presumably cuddling his latest child. His eight? His ninth? I don’t know and apparently neither does he. Anyway back to Keir Starmer, and his excellent performance. Well I thought so anyway. He knows his stuff, is polite, never descends into sarcasm, gives credit where it’s due and keeps on with the business of holding the government to account. This si not going down well in some quarters, but it’s the first time in ages have seen government minsters squirm at PMQs. As Starmer is so polite it gives the government little opportunity to go for the veiled and unveiled insults they have favoured for far too long in place of actual debate. empty rhetoric Starmer receives with requests for clarification and forensic questioning. It’s a joy to watch him.

My walk today was solo and centred around things I needed to do, and some shopping. The day was odd. Quite cold at times, so I went out with coat, gloves and scarf, and there were minutes when I was glad to have all of them, other minutes when I was too hot. The rain was due this afternoon, so my washing was on the line shortly after breakfast and inside by lunchtime, all dry. I was due a socially distanced aperatif this evening, and wondered if it might be off due to the weather, but a big umbrella was promised in case it rained. It didn’t. The evening was rather lovely, but after the days of shirt sleeves, it seems strange to be layered again. We discussed plants, books, comfort reading, my birthday.

I received a beautiful bunch of flowers today from my friend Jo in Lisburn. I am so impressed by her organisational skills. The card came yesterday and she told me a month ago there’d be a delivery for me today. The flowers came with advice on how to arrange them. I’m not happy with my efforts, so that photograph will have to wait, but they are still gorgeous despite my lack of skill.

So, my birthday. I think socially distanced champagne with Celia, Charlie and one or two others in Celia’s garden if that’s still okay. And chips. We could have oven chips or buy some from the chippy. The latter brings out different loyalties. Celia favours the Best Kebab, while I patronise the one in Westmoreland Road. Some from each perhaps, though I don’t know if the Westmoreland Road one is open. If we had frozen ones we could go for crinkle cut which somehow always seem more tasty to me. Decisions decisions. I’ll see what the others think.

When this is over I’d like another celebration, perhaps a repeat of last year’s joint birthday lunch with Celia at Nelson’s. And I want a walk with a drink in a pub, to ride on a bus, to take a train, lots of ordinary things I have taken for granted which now are off limits.

But what I want now is an early night.

Stay safe, keep well, and polish those maracas for tomorrow.

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