17 May

Today - we can eat inside at restaurants, gym classes can recommence and we can even visit each other in our homes. So ... I went to work as normal while Gilda came to visit Jonathon and they went to the Orpington for lunch. Good job they could go inside because the weather wasn't good.

I went to the gym before work (got wet) and then caught my usual train (got wet!). I went south of the river for my lunchtime walk today, taking in Borough Market and The Globe Theatre amongst other places. I didn't get wet until I was crossing London Bridge on the way back to the office and then the heavens opened. It chucked it down on the way home as well so I was well and truly fed up of rain by then.

18 May

Early bodypump sets me up for the day on Tuesdays and I'm ready for work earlier than when I go to the gym. I don't catch an earlier train, I just take a longer route to the station to get some of my steps done.

While I was at work, Jonathon took a tumble in the garden so he's a bit bruised and battered now. He seems OK in himself. His right leg just gave way underneath him apparently.

Teresa came and did the cleaning and Jonathon had a phone chat with Paul, a friend of ours who has Parkinsons and a FaceTime with Alison. No need for him to read out loud to practice talking today.

Today's walk was East End - Aldgate, Whitechapel etc. Saw some brilliant street art and managed to dodge the worst of the weather.

19 May

I decided to do 30 minutes of Pilates and go to Tesco before work rather than go to the gym. I hadn't realised how stiff I'd got so the Pilates probably did me good.

My main job for today was going to Bromley for my second Covid jab. Bromley High Street was a lot busier today than last time I was there. Could be because the weather was much better, perhaps because the shops are open or a combination of both. When I left I was handed three boxes of rapid flow self test and told I should be doing this, as should everyone else. I think I'll test myself each Sunday ready for work and see how it goes.

Jonathon seems a bit better today. Derek, a friend and former colleague, phoned him for a long chat and Alison FaceTimed him so he had plenty of talking practice this morning.

20 May

Had a lie in today and very relieved that I don't seem to have any nasty side effects from my jab yesterday - much better than the first jab!

Did a few loads of washing and got it on the line. By the time Jonathon got up it was just about dry so room for his sheets on the line. Unfortunately a bird took a fancy to one of his sheets so that had to be washed again - the dangers of drying things outside.

Went to the GPO for brunch. Jonathon was very pleased with his walking today - a definite improvement since Monday, last time he went to the high street.

Spencer from Ovensbright came and made out oven, hob and extractor fan sparkly again - he does a really good job.

Managed to get a bit of gardening done without getting too wet. Weeded the veg beds and got the peas moved from the greenhouse into the ground. Also planted the courgettes. It's amazing how small they look at the moment. They need about a square metre per plant to grow.

Only walked as far as Priory Gardens and the Churchyard today. Lovely to see the birds again having not been for a few days. Met up with a few of the other swan watchers so had a nice chat with them.

21 May

Fay's changed her class from Saturday to Friday morning and I definitely prefer an 8 a.m. start so very happy. A quick shower and breakfast then met up with Jo for a walk before collecting fish and chips for dinner (J had battered burger - yuck, but he likes it).

Chauffered Jonathon to his dentist appointment this afternoon. I was intending to go for a walk in Jubilee Park while he was there but it was far too wet so popped to Boots and a local bakery then stayed in the car until it was time to collect him.

I managed to get a bit of grit in my eye on the walk with Jo. It was really windy all day so stuff was blowing around all over the place. As I type I have a patch over my eye - a cotton wool pad soaked in Boots' equivalent of Optrex. It's not too bad if I keep it shut but hurts like crazy if I blink. Hopefully it will sort itself out overnight because I really don't want to go to A&E tomorrow.

22 May

Although we're in the second half of May, it was a typical April day today! Sunshine one minute and rain the next.

Went to the gym after breakfast and did most of my walking on the treadmill - a lot quicker than going for a walk (and drier!).

No walk meant no photos so I walked round the garden with my camera instead.

Tried to drop a repeat prescription request for Joanthon into the doctor's surgery but they've changed the system so the door was locked and I couldn't get to the prescription postbox. Either Jonathon will have to try and get there (or get the NHS app!) otherwise I'll drop it in on Thursday.

Popped into Boots on the way home to get the bits and bobs I couldn't get at Petts Wood yesterday.

That was about it for today other than to report that my eye is quite a lot better today.

24 May

Today started with a lovely blue sky but by the time I got to The City for work it was dark and cloudy with rain. Heavy showers all day but I managed to miss most of them.

Started with the gym then work. Went to check out restaurants close to Tower Gateway but quite a few of them in The Minories seem to be closed down. Nicola and I are going to Thai Square on Wednesday which is one of the few still open.

Gilda came to see Jonathon and spent a lot of time talking computers, back up and so on - glad I missed that!

Had to do a Covid test when I got home as part of the Zoe scientific programme. I really hate the tests and just hope I did it well enough to get a result. It's really hard trying to push the little stick thing to the back of your throat because you just gag. I'll get it posted tomorrow and see what happens.

25 May

New system for online BodyPump today but it worked well and felt just the same because Shreena was still our teacher.

Went a very long way round to the station so I could post my Covid test in the "Priority Postbox" in the High Street. When I got to the station my train was cancelled but it's not like I'm really busy at work so it didn't matter that I was a few minutes later arriving. I asked Chris for something else to do today and now have another deal to play with so I shouldn't get quite as bored.

Saw Mark at lunchtime. We went to Cote Brasserie in Hay's Galleria and it was incredibly busy and very noisy. The food was lovely and it was really nice to be back there.

Teresa came and did the cleaning and Jonathon had a nice long chat with Alison so he's practiced talking today. He also practiced his writing by writing "I must be a good boy in class" lots of times!

26 May

Didn't take photos today. Started with Pilates then off to the station for work. My train was cancelled as was the next one but they then put an extra one on that had a first stop of London Bridge so I probably got work only a tiny bit laterthan normal despite all the hanging about at the station.

Had a good (and quite busy) day at work. The days go so much faster if I have lots to do.

Met Nicola for lunch and we went to Thai Square. She's very cross about the lack of treatment the NHS are providing because they are too busy focusing on treating Covid patients but, other than that, she seemed not too bad.

Later ... email from Nicola to say her mum has been rushed into Cardiac care with heart problems. Her mum's GP had refused to see her face to face 3 weeks ago and decided she sounded fine on the phone. Having insisted on an appointment it seems her heart was racing far too fast hence the urgency. Nicola, as expected, is very worried.

I had a session of Swan Watch this afternoon (3 p.m. to 4 p.m.). Saw Susan (fellow swan watcher) and Pat and Barbara (both gym friends) on the way into the park. Carol (church and tennis) joined me for most of the hour and the time went really quickly.

There was no sign on the male swan (Romeo) but plenty of other birds around, including some very young goslings. The female swan (Juliet) was on the nest so well hidden away. Apparently one of her eggs has hatched but it's not being made public just yet.

Walked alongside the Cray to Waterstones to get Paul's birthday present and a Father's Day card for Dad before coming home and, after a little bit of a sit down, planted the French beans and did some other bits of gardening. I'm not looking to trying to cut the grass next week. No mow May is fine but the weather we've had this month has encouraged it to grow like Topsy!

Jonathon was very busy dealing with photos that Christine sent us. They arrived this morning and there are loads of them. He managed to get to the top of the house and bring the scanner down then scan in the first envelope full (23 photos), tidying them up as he went. Only another few envelopes to go!

Very sad news from Priory Gardens tonight - the cygnet has been found dead. At the moment, the team don't know what happened but there are cameras up so they might reveal whether it was predated or there was another problem. So sad.

29 May

Jonathon's second jab today so I whizzed to Sainsbury's to get my paper and a couple of bits before walking down to town with him. He went early with the intention of seeing Greg in the market first but there was no queue when we got to the Medical Centre so I asked a medic if Jonathon could go straight in and the medic agreed. Excellent service and far better organised than when he had his first jab. He's all done now.

While he was doing that (and seeing Greg) I went to the gym.

I spent most of the afternoon in the front garden giving it a general tidy up, getting rid of bulb debris etc. I don't take photos of the front garden that often so made an effort to take some today.

Jonathon did another batch of photos for Christine - he's done two envelopes worth now.

I finished off my steps with a quick walk down to Priory Gardens, finally caught up with reading my paper and settled down.

30 May

Started today with gym then Body Pump. Different teacher today because Shreena's away (visiting her new niece) - Vicky is a good teacher so a good class. I upset somebody becasuse I asked her to get out of my square. The hall is marked out in squares for social distancing and we all have to stay in our allotted squares. She complained that her square was too crowded (with her kit and rucksack!) so rather than rearrange her stuff she changed squares in a huff. Her problem!

Church was good - really good songs for us to sing today. Jennifer (minister) is on holiday so Jenny (ley preacher) took the service. I popped to Tesco to get bread and my paper and we had dinner outside. Oli has found a new use for the umbrella cover!

Did some gardening before family Zoom. Marie, Andy and family were still at Carole's following a family BBQ so it was good to see them briefly as well. Surprisingly we won the quiz but it was extremely close with the lowest score of 19 and the highest at 21.5.

Managed a bit more gardening before calling Christine for a long chat. I've sent her the words that we've got done so far and Jonathon is working his way through the photos. We'll get there eventually but there's a long way to go.

31 May

Bank Holiday Monday and a lovely sunny day. Started with a trip to the gym and managed 20km on the bike in under an hour so pretty pleased with myself.

Gilda came late morning and we went for a lovely walk through Goddington Park and Lilly's Wood before meeting up with Jonathon for lunch at Masala Dabbas in the High Street. Very yummy.

Gilda had a few techy questions so I left them to talk about those while I did some washing, weeding and general tidying up in the garden.

Pop Master was on a lot today - 8 rounds, 2 semi-finals and a final. The most we got in any of the rounds was 30 points - a record for us. Most of the others were very low scores so it was definitely a one-off. We've saved the semis and final until tomorrow because we wre Pop Master'd out.

1 June

Today's main job was the grass. No Mow May finished yesterday so I gave it a very light cut to get rid of the extremely long bits then a gentle cut to make it look presentable without scalping it. So far, so good. The edging took forever (as it always does) but it looks a lot tidier now and it was a lovely day to be on my knees grovelling around in the grass and flower beds.

Before all that I did Body Pump and we both went to the tip. Jonathon arranged a visit from the chimney sweep and the carpet cleaner man - we need an interim clean to ensure no mouse debris to worry about - so they are coming later this month. He also spoke to Betty's to get vouchers for Dad's Father's Day present - they have a limit on what you can spend on their website now. I finally managed to file the claim for Jonathon's Denplan reimbursement so lots of bits done.

Teresa came a bit earlier today so, rather than get under her feet, we had our main meal after she'd gone. I went for my walk after that - not too far, only as far as Priory Gardens. It took a while because I met a few folk to talk to along the way.

2 June

Work today and I was the only person in the office so I got loads done with no interruptions.

I started with a pilates session to try and de-stiff myself and wandered over Tower Bridge on the way to the office to get some steps done.

The highlight of today was Gilda and I went to the theatre. We had booked tickets for "The Show Must Go On" months ago. We were supposed to go see it in December, that got postponed to March and then postponed again because of lockdown.. Finally we got to see it and it was fabulous. The show was basically a charity event to advertise the musicals in the West End so one song per show, all sung by different people. It was so good to be back in live theatre. We really enjoyed ourselves.

3 June

A very busy day! I started with swimming - managed 26 lengths today in my 45 minutes so very pleased with that. Home and straight to the tip to get rid of another 5 bags of garden rubbish.

Mark arrived as I was putting sun screen on and we met Jonathon at the Orpington for brunch then Mark and I went off for a walk while Jonathon chatted to Jess in the YMCA shop and wandered home.

After a drink in the garden, Mark set off for home and I went to join Carol for swan watch duty. No trouble in the park within our hour so happy about that. Popped into the development consultation presentation for the revamp of Orpington Town Centre. Looks pretty good to me but not too sure about the 25 storey tower even though it's a very pretty design.

Finally I got to have a cup of tea when I got home. When it had cooled down a bit I watered the pots and veg (don't trust the forecast that's promising me rain tomorrow) and settled down for the evening.

4 June

Work today after doing the video from Fay's class last week because I wasn't able to join her class today.

There were two of us in the office today so it was pretty quiet.

The highlight of today was a concert at King's Place. Unfortunately Jonathon was not well enough to go but Gilda stepped in and we both really enjoyed listening to Cara Dillon (singer and whistle player), her husband, Sam (pianist and guitarist) and musician, Toby Shaer.

5 June

Gym first, a quick visit to Sainsbury's and then I met up with Caroline to test out a route because the editor of the Knoll Residents' Association Newsletter asked me to write one for the next edition.

The walk took in Priory Gardens and I was pleased to see the swans, Romeo and Juliet, so close to the path so I could get decent photos of them.

Shreena and Amelie came in the afternoon and Amelie and I worked through a list of jobs (feeding fish, topping up bird feeders, cleaning a few pots and the bird baths and watering the tomatoes) while Shreena and Jonathon had a good chat.

6 June

Usual busy Sunday! Gym and Body Pump - Shreena made us work really hard today, perhaps her revenge for me tiring Amelie out yesterday afternoon.

Quick shower and hair wash, get dinner ready and out to church. 7 singers today but not quite as many people in the congregation (about 40 instead of the permitted 50) so we got to sit in the pews for the service (still sang on the rostrum).

Went to Sainsbury's only to find they had no milk because their chiller cabinets weren't working. Got most of the rest of stuff on the list then popped to Tesco after dinner to get the milk and last few items. I did enough steps for today with all that so I just took a few photos of the flowers in the front garden.

Had a Skype call with Mum and Dad. Dad's completely deaf at the moment so has got two different kinds of drops for each ear and he has to go back next Saturday (when they get back from Scarborough) to get his left ear syringed again if the wax is soft enough. To say he's not happy is an understatement!

Did the ironing then had a chat with Christine after I'd watered and fed the veg beds. Jonathon has now scanned all her photos and they are with Christine for checking the labelling and deciding if there are any that she definitely doesn't want in the album / book.

7 June

Gym and work was the order of today and I also met Mark for lunch so that broke the day up nicely.

Gilda came to see Jonathon for a catch up. Will, the window cleaner, also came today so Jonathon had a busy morning.

Christine isn't happy. There was a nasty thunderstorm followed by a hail storm and it's destroyed her little bedding plants. Not sure if she's going to buy replacements or just write this year off as a bad job.

Did a "rapid flow" Covid test at home. It was negative (as expected). I'm hoping to get into the habit of doing one a week now I'm back in London.

8 June

Body pump then work today. Wandered over Tower Bridge on the way into work because I caught an earlier train. Had a wander around atlunch time then walked to Sadlers Wells in the evening to see Northern Ballet's Les Liaisons Dangereuse. It was lovely!

Jonathon had a busy day. He made lots of phone calls - Terry: we have to put a list of jobs together and he'll squeeze us in to his busy schedule; Humax: the broken box will be replaced with a new one on Thursday; the wood store people: the doors were delivered yesterday afternoon. To celebrate his success, he went to see Jess in the YMCA shop and treat himself to coffee and a bun in The Orpington.

9 June

No gym this morning because I decided to do a load of washing, have a bath and cut my nails etc. before pootling off to work.

Met Nicola for lunch - we went to Haz which was very nice.

Did quite a bit of watering of plants etc. because it's so hot and dry at the moment. Disappointed to see the blackfly have already started attacking my broad beans so topped them out a bit to try and help but will need to spray them with Fairy liquid tomorrow.

Once the jobs were done we sat outside until dark and read our books to make the most of the nice weather.

10 June

Another busy day (my work days are far less busy!).

First job this morning was to clear the two rooms that the carpets were going to be cleaned by All Gleaming Clean (Tom) and a load of washing.

Once done, time to get my hair cut (gone short for Summer) and then swimming (24 lengths so OK).

Jonathon's new Humax arrived so that's a tick in the box for them. He's got to set it up yet but couldn't get to the TV much today because of the furniture displacement. A job for tomorrow.

As soon Tom had gone, it was time to go to the Cricketers for lunch. Having watched the refurbishment through lockdown it seemed to be a good idea to try it out. Gina and Ernie had had the same idea so they were there as well. It was pretty good for pub food so we'll no doubt go again some day.

Sombody had commented on how lovely the roses in the park were so I went to have a look and they are very pretty but when we have roses like this at home it's hard to get excited about other people's!

We set the pump up to water the food beds - no rain forecast for quite a while - and, happily that worked fine. It often takes a while to get going when it's not been used for a while but no problem today.

I put the house back together on the lovely clean carpets. They look so much better.

I asked Jonathon to put Arty, the Audi, on trickle charge today, which he did when he got back from The Cricketers. I've now driven him for the first time! We went as far as the M25 roundabout (but didn't go onto the M25), went all the way round and back up the A21 to Chapter One then down past Orpington Station and home. He's easy to drive even though he's so enormous but I still wouldn't want to try and park him.

It should make comfier riding for Jonathon when we visit his various medical establishments but both cars definitely need a clean so another job for tomorrow.

11 June

Tesco first then Fay's class. I woke up yesterday with a very stiff neck. It's a bit better today but I didn't risk weights in Fay's class. I'm sure just the movement will do me some good!

Had a lovely walk with Jo - we ventured up to Petts Wood, crossed the double railway lines into Jubilee Park and skirted Crofton Woods on the way back. Really pleased to see there's a new foal in the fields attached to the riding stables.

Went down to the Sorting Office to collect a parcel for Jonathon. Went to the Post Office to post a parcel for Alison in Ireland (some camera thingy), Dad's Father's Day present and card and Foxy's birthday stuff. Bought a few more cards for birthdays later this month and in July and popped into Superdrug to put our tablet blister packs into the collection box for Marie Curie.

Cleaned both cars (Jonathon washed them off with the hose) so they look a lot better now. Was going to have another drive in Arty but Jonathon remembered we'd bought tickets for a stream play - A Cold Supper Behind Harrods - starring David Jason, Stephanie Cole and Anton Lesser so left the drive until after we'd watched that.

12 June

The only thing in my diary today was my slot at the gym! Picked up a bit of shopping on the way home then sat in the lovely warm weather and did my crossword while I had a pot of tea.

Jonathon went to see Greg in the market, Jess at the YMCA and popped into the Orpington for a coffee.

Our pyracantha is blooming and buzzing - loads of bees are enjoying it.

Sorted out one of the strawberry beds and got lots of yummy strawberries so we enjoyed those with ice cream. I'll tackle the second bed tomorrow.

Finally went for my walk when it had cooled down a bit.

13 June

Usual Sunday morning rush made worse by having to catch and release a mouse from under the sofa and getting to church early (10.10 instead of 10.25). Got it all done and then went to Tesco for a few bits before making dinner and relaxing. It is 27C here with full sun so definitely staying in the shade and strawberry bed number 2 had to wait until it had cooled down a bit (got them done eventually).

Had the usual Skype call with Mum and Dad. Dad can hear now so it was a lot easier than last week.

Caught up with Christine. The hail storm that destroyed her bedding plants didn't do too much damage to Gordon's farm crops which was a relief.

14 June

Gym and work today. It was really hot so didn't venture far at lunchtime. I thought / hoped it would be cooler by the river but it wasn't! The train journey home was very sticky.

Gilda came to see Jonathon and they went down to the Orpington GPO for lunch after Tom S had been and Scotch Guarded the carpets that he cleaned the other day.

The Governement announced that the planned release of Lockdown on Monday 21st June had been delayed to Monday 19th July because of the Delta variant. This should give them time to get another few million people vaccinated.