19 July

Release Day! Freedom Day! Whatever you want to call it, restrictions started to be more relaxed from today.

No mask required at the gym and neither Pret nor Chop'd needed me to wear one but we still have to wear masks in the office and on the train. As it was >30C I could have done without having to wear one on the train but the aircon in the office was lovely!

There were a few more people in the office but not as many as I was expecting. Harvey was in (good because we are working on a deal together) but he is in the green team so shouldn't have been there! The boss let him stay for today but I suspect he'll have to behave himself in future. It was good to catch up with a few colleagues.

It was far too hot to walk round The City at lunchtime so had a nice stroll round the garden this evening.

20 July

The second night with hardly any sleep because of the heat. It's really sticky and horrible with the nights hardly cooling down.

Body Pump via Zoom this morning (as usual) but this might be the last one because Shreena does an early Wednesday morning class at the gym so I'm going to try that next week and see how it goes. If it works, I'll stop paying for Hypervelo and use the gym instead.

The train was noticeably busier this morning (not up to pre-Covid levels). I was very happy to get into the air-conditioned office.

Went for a walk at lunchtime, looking for shade and found some pretty things to photograph.

Teresa did the cleaning but that was the only visitor Jonathon had today.

Massive storm at home while I was trying to get home (trains were awful this evening). It had stopped raining by the time I got home.

21 July

The early morning sun and raindrops from yesterday made a pretty pattern on Jonathon's car. More storms were forecast but didn't arrive.

Decided to get the ironing done before swimming this morning (the only time of day when it's cool enough). Managed my 20 lengths and did a tiny bit of shopping then found myself racing around to get my train. Breakfast at my desk is normal on swimming days!

Met Nicola at Haz at lunchtime and treated her because it was her birthday.

Work was pretty normal until I had to decamp to my "office" for next week. I hope I've remembered everything. I checked my computer worked in the Paris room and it all seems fine so all set for Monday.

Quiet day for Jonathon - no visitors but he had a Facetime with Alison so caught up with her news - seems it's even hotter there than here.

Mark, Jonathon and I had a lovely lunch at D'Angelo, a new restaurant in Orpington. Lovely food and really good service so another one of the list for regular visits.

Spoke to Photobox. They weren't particularly helpful but at least I can start creating the books now (3 copies of the same book) so we made some progress.

Had to do some garden watering this evening - food beds are easy now we've got the pump and hose set up so only the pots to water by hand.

23 July

Gym in the garden to start the day. Judy brought us some very yummy banana and walnut cake that her husband, Nick, had baked for a family party yesterday (it was their son's 21st birthday).

Brunch at the Orpington - we thought we'd support them because they'd had to close (Pingdemic had caused so many members of the team to self-isolate). It seems half of Orpington had had the same idea because it was pretty busy.

Relaxed for most of the rest of the day, enjoying the lovely weather before the rain comes tomorrow. It's been a fair bit cooler today so a lot more manageable. The cooler weather also made walking this evening more pleasant. Miro (Netta's dog) likes to know I'm not far away even if Netta has him with her on his lead.

Finished the first draft of Christine's Photo Book so now have to work out how she can proof read it before I press the button.

24 July

Very wet when I got up so picking the veg was a bit damp. Good job the neighbours don't see me in my nightie and waterproof jacket but no real point in getting anything else wet.

Delighted to see how much the beans had grown. We had some for dinner (very tasty) and will have more for dinner tomorrow. Jonathon took a courgette round to Sheila (neighbour) and Gilda will also be given some to take home. We also had broad beans and courgette from the garden.

We finished the Apache potatoes so it will be the Anyas next.

I went to the gym in the morning. The weather forecast was atrocious - rain all day - but the actual weather was very different. Had I known, I would probably have done less walking on the treadmill and gone for a proper walk later. Instead I read my paper, did my puzzles etc.

Greg, Jonathon's friend, came to take most of the CDs that Jonathon had bought in job lots recently. Jonathon's kept a few for himself but the hall is now almost clear of CDs - happy days!

Had a Skype call with Mum and Dad. They are going to Ralph and Pauline Henley's Diamond Wedding party tomorrow hence the Skype today.

Finished Christine's book and proof read it with Jonathon. Christine and Gordon are both hapy with it but the pricing at check out is all wrong so a phone call to be made on Monday.

25 July

Gym, church and Sainsbury's but not before I'd done my Covid test for work tomorrow.

Again, rain was forecast for the whole day. We had a few showers and plenty of thunder but it was much better than forecast so Caroline, Pebby (dog) and I went for a walk to Priory Gardens, along the River Cray and back through Poverest Park without getting wet.

Had a chat with Christine but nothing of interest to report other than she's got vascular eczema but that now seems to be under control thanks to her GP prescribing a steroid cream.

26 July

Gym then work in my "exile" office. Not a bad view! It's no problem being on my own but the "office" seems to be very warm so I'll have to make sure I drink plenty.

Wandered up to Spitalfields to check the elephants are still there before going for a walk in that area with Jo on Friday.

Gilda came to see Jonathon and they went out to D'Angelo for lunch.

Arty sailed through his MOT so that's another thing off the list.

27 July

Went swimming first thing - not as many people in the pool today so, hopefuly, Tuesdays will be a better bet. The showers are also available for use so that saves a bit of time because I only have to get dried once.

Work wasn't too busy - mainly sorting out mess, as expected. When I got to a suitable break point and thought I'd go for a lunchtime walk I discovered it was pouring down so I didn't get far!

By the time I got home, the sun was shining so I finished my steps in Priory Gardens. The evening light was beautiful and the park was really quiet so a very enjoyable stroll.

28 July

Body pump at the gym this morning. The timing works, even if it is a bit of a rush around.

Work wan't too bad - enough to keep me occupied most of the time. Had lunch with Mark at Cote Brasserie which was nice.

The sky looked very threatening outside my office window after lunch ... and then it poured down. I didn't get wet going to the station but the water was flowing down the roads like a river when I got back to Orpington. And then ... it rained and rained heavily some more.

29 July

The weather forecast was good all day and I had lots to do so decided to get up early and go for a walk. I'd asked my fellow walkers last night if anyone wanted to join me and Caroline came along but Pebby (dog) decided to stay in bed.

We went to Goddington Park and Lilly's Wood then walked along the public footpath to get back to the park and home. The footpath was very overgrown in parts so I was glad I'd put my waterproofs on.

As soon as I got home, we did a trip to the tip to get rid of some garden rubbish then I cleaned up and we went to Primo Caffe in the High Street for brunch. It was OK but I don't think I'll go there again. Jonathon had a very nice panini but my sourdough toast wasn't anything special. I popped to Sainsbury's after brunch so another job done.

Tennis with Carol was next on the agenda. We had a fun time, equally as bad as each other but good exercise running after the ball. Went in Shaun so I could give Carol a lift home and go to Pets at Home to stock up.

Judy popped round in the afternoon. She was badly bitten (insects) last weekend and her face and neck have been a mess so she came to collect some insect repellent that I think is really good. Hopefully, it will help and save her getting bitten in the future.

Having washed all the guest bed linen I finally got to do some gardening - more harvesting than anything else. We've finished the Apache potatoes so now move on to the Apache ones - looking forward to trying them tomorrow. We have loads of courgettes. We've found homes for most of them (Gilda, with green beans and potatoes), Sheila (with green beans) and Michelle (Jonathon's friend in the YMCA charity shop). I've offered Shreena one as well but she's not replied yet. She has been quite tired recently so hopefully she's having a rest today.

We'll be having broad beans, green beans, courgette and potatoes, all from the garden, with sausages tomorrow - yum!

30 July

We did Fay's class on Zoom this morning because it was too wet to do it outside in the garden. I managed to get to Tesco before class so I could relax afterwards with a pot of tea and my paper / crossword.

Went into town with Jo after dinner to see the Sheldrick Trust elephants in Spitalfields. The official name for the exhibition is Love the Last. The elephants will be in that area until November so Jo is intending to take her granddaughter to see them when she has her to stay.

We popped into Spitalfields City Zoo while we were walking around East London - a lovely place with goats, a pig, a sheep and a few donkeys and smaller animals. Brick Lane seemed to feature in our itinerary on a regular basis - there was some lovely graffiti there to admire.

While I was out with Jo, Jonathon decided to try driving. He only went as far as Shreena's (2 streets away) and thought he did quite well so perhaps he can become a bit more independent before too much longer. He is having to be careful not to get over-confident and overdo things at the moment because that could cause a setback (as it did before).

31 July

No photos today because I've not been anywhere exciting.

Did some bits of admin then went to the gym for a while, calling in at Sainsbury's on the way home. Dropped some raffle prizes to Sue for the Priory Gardens Wildlife Foundation stall at the music festival in PG next weekend before joining Jonathon for lunch at the Orpington. We had 4 lunch vouchers to use before the end of August. 2 used today, 2 to be used in the next few weeks.

Managed to get some gardening done - Jonathon helped for a while which was good bending and balance practice - before the thunder and rain started. Took Jonathon to Gillingham and Sidcup to collect yet more CDs and finished off the gardening.

Christine let me know that her photo books have arrived so that's that job done!

1 August

Hard to believe that it's already August.

I came downstairs to find the remains of a collared dove courtesy of Oli so clearing that up was my first job. What a mess!

Did my Covid Test next (negative) then went to the gym and Bodypump.

No church today so went for a walk with Caroline and Pebby before celebrating Yorkshire Day at the GPO with roast beef and Yorkshire puddings.

Managed to squeeze some gardening in before speaking with Mum and Dad. Mum couldn't get Skype to work so phoned instead. Carole says she'll have a look at it tomorrow when she's there. More gardening after the call. First tomato was ready and yet more beans to be picked. Jo mentioned on Friday that she likes courgettes etc. and her diet is mainly vegetarian so the beans and courgettes were donated to her (dropped them round this evening).

Had a long chat with Christine. There are a couple of typos in the photo books but she and Gordon both proof read them so I'm not sure there's anything else I could have done as they know the details better than us.

Finally got to sit down and read my paper around 8 pm!

2 August

Work today but gym first. This month's challenge from Fay is really hard. She said she was upping the challenge and she wasn't kidding.

It was good to see Emily in the office and I was pleased that our recent phone chat had the right result for her.

Met Dave Wood and one of his colleagues from FRP for lunch at Loch Fyne and had posh fish and chips - very nice. It was good to catch up because I've not seen them since early last year.

Gilda came to see Jonathon and had a scanning lesson. Jonathon will do a trial scanning run for one of her Keep Fit Association programmes so she can make sure it's what her committee colleagues want before scanning any more in.

3 August

Last night I cancelled my swimming booking for this morning just in case the pool wasn't "mended" (the boiler was broken yesterday). Good job I did because the pool was still closed this morning. The engineers have had the whole of lockdown to get the boiler sorted out but it seems it's no better!

Lorraine was pounding away on the treadmill next to mine so we had a good chat while we worked out - makes the time go faster.

I walk past these lovely Cosmos on the way to and from the gym.

Work was the same as normal.

Met Nicola for lunch - she was on good form.

Did my Tuesday Covid test when I got home. It was negative so I'm OK to go to work tomorrow. I'm not sure who else in the office is doing the tests twice weekly but I've been specifically asked to (rather than encouraged to) because I span both bubbles.

4 August

The sky was amazing this morning.

Went to Body Pump then work. Got quite a bit done even though Emily and I chat as we beaver away.

Met Mark for lunch at Thai Square (yummy). I seem to have eaten a lot this week so might have to cut back for a few days!

Had a load of bird food delivered so did some weight lifting when I got home as I put it all in the garage.

5 August

Park Gym after a trip to Tesco and a load of washing. Luis seems to make us do more running every week.

Went to the park in Shaun so I had time to get ready for the walk with Fay and the others and could hear a "tick, tick" noise so checked his tyres when I got home only to find a wood screw in the rear driver's side tyre so he's off to the garage tomorrow to get it fixed one way or another.

The views were spectacular (South Downs) and we found a nice spot for our picnic lunch. We even saw a funny sign or two along the way.

Towards the end, Irene's hip was hurting so Fay found us a short-cut that got rid of the final "up and down" hill and probably reduced the hike by about a mile. By the time we'd finished it was raining quite hard so I was glad that there wasn't quite as far to walk.

I got home to find Jonathon had cut the grass. Quite a hard job for him to do - the straight bits are OK but turning at the ends is tricky.

We went to The Cricketers for tea (and got wet again) before settling in for the night.

6 August

No Fay class (I was the only person attending so we cancelled) so went to the gym and worked through the weights machine.

Took Shaun in to get his tyre sorted out. The garage could mend it using a puncture kit so a very cheap and successful. Apparently the wood screw was only small but air was already starting to leak out.

Had a walk with Jo and Coco, her daughter's dog that she's dog sitting while Jenny is on holiday in France. We dropped the money off for the church flowers on Sunday and ventured into Darrick and Newstead Woods / Tubbenden Meadows. Coco had a lovely time running about in the long grass, trees and muddy puddles!

Jonathon had arranged to meet someone in Selfridge's Food Hall to collect yet more CDs - about 300 apparently. There was no way he was going to cope with going up to town on trains and buses and then reversing the journey with that much weight so I went with him. The man was late getting to us so that's 4.5 hours of my life I won't get back. At least I got a nice scone and cuppa while we waited.

7 August

Decided to go to the big Sainsbury's in the car to stock up the freezer today so did that after a load of washing and breakfast and before going to the gym. That meant I was officially late to the gym but, at the moment, it's still really quiet so nobody minds providing you turn up at some point during your booked slot. You can even stay after the end of the time slot if it's not busy which makes it nice and flexible.

It was Priory Live Festival today. Such a shame that the weather was so changeable with some really heavy showers. I didn't buy a ticket but did have a wander down to the park to see what was what when the weather faired up a bit. I couldn't get to the Priory Gardens Wildlife Foundation stall but the birds didn't seem at all bothered by the music. It didn't seem that loud to me although some people in local streets were complaining (hard to see why).

Managed to get some gardening done - first lot of raspberries are ready (and tasty) and lots of weeding done. It seems the foxes have made little cribs for themselves in the bed underneath the big tree. Hope they don't intend to stay there over Winter because it won't give them enough shelter.

8 August

Usual Sunday morning - half an hour on the gym bike then Body Pump class followed by church.

The flowers looked lovely so I was very pleased. We had almost finished singing the final hymn outside before it started raining. Hope they managed to dry the hymn books off successfully.

Teresa's on holiday this week so I cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms while Jonathon went to get my paper and some Cornflakes (there were none at Sainsbury's the day before).

Skype worked fine so had a good chat with Mum and Dad then went out for a walk.

The only person who joined me today was Swati. On the way to meet her I spotted a lovely Jersey Tiger Moth. I didn't even know we had them in this area so it was a lovely surprise.

I'd planned to go to Crofton Woods but Swati only had strappy sandals on (at least they were flat) and the woods were muddy after all the rain we've had so we stuck to the tarmac paths instead.

Christine asked me to order another copy of the Photobook for her sister, Sylvia. Other than that she had no news.

9 August

Work after gym today. I popped into Sainsbury's for milk on the way back from the gym but there wasn't any to be had. Lots of firms appear to be having distribution problems at the moment. It's as bad as in the first lockdown with empty shelves. At least people don't seem to be panic buying at the moment.

It was wet enough to wear my waterproofs on the way in but faired up by dinner time so I had a nice walk round St. Katharine's Dock. I got all my work done by about 4.30 p.m. (nobody to talk to on green weeks) so left a bit early and got wet coming home!

Gilda came to visit Jonathon and they went to the GPO for lunch.

10 August

Gym and work today - seems all too familiar. At least this morning was bright and sunny.

Had a Webex meeting so "met" with some of my colleagues in Germany that I hadn't seen for well over a year which was fun.

Had lunch with Mark who had no real news other than one of his friends had been scammed (something to do with shares) and lost £4,000. I walked back to work over Tower Bridge - there were loads of tourists today.

It was a lovely evening so I sat in the garden until the sun disappeared.

Covid test was negative.

11 August

Body pump first today followed by work (usual Wednesday).

Work was pretty quiet and I got everything done that needed to be done by early afternoon but thought it was too early to leave at that time so spun out the hours until it got to a decent time to leave.

Had a good walk around at lunchtime, walking down to and over Southwark Bridge then back over the river on the "wobbly" bridge (aka the Millennium Bridge) and back to the office.

It was another lovely evening so spent some time outside when I got home from work.

Angela let me know that Jessica had passed her degree but apparently Jess isn't too happy with her marks. I haven't been given any further details.

12 August

Managed to get a couple of loads of washing done before going to Goddington Park for park gym. Jo brought Coco (dog) with her rather than leave her at home and Jenny brought her son, James, so a great combination and boy and dog kept each other company very well.

I managed to get a bit of gardening done before we went to the Orpington for lunch. We've now used our last vouchers up so payment in full for future lunches / brunches.

Jonathon was supposed to be getting his eyes tested at Vision Express this afternoon but they phoned to cancel about 2 hours before the appointment because there was no available optometrist. We called in at Boots Opticians to make an appointment rather than got to VE (this is the second time they've messed him about). The earliest appointment Boots could give him is 12 October so that's now in the diary.

Did lots more gardening when we got home from the High Street and I was well supervised by Oli. I got a good haul of potatoes, green beans, broad beans and raspberries today so looking forward to all of those (and sharing the green beans becasue there are far too many for us).

I'm clearly forgiven for upsetting him yesterday by touching his tail (he hates it). His tail was full of sticky buds that had to removed - he cried and cried and made me feel very guilty. thankfully he doesn't bear a grudge.

I think I tired him out because, towards the end of the afternoon / evening, he curled up on the table and then my chair (the only one with cushions on outside) and went fast asleep.

13 August

Tesco then Fay's class in our garden. The WiFi Jonathon had set up worked a treat. Despite having insect repellent on I managed to get bitten quite badly on one of my legs - just at the top of my sock - so perhaps I missed that small area.

Had a nice walk with Jo and Coco. Coco goes back to Jo's daughter and family on Sunday - she's really going to miss her. Jo had told me that Coco didn't play with a ball but she fished one out of the River Cray and we spent quite a while playing Fetch so that's another dog skill learnt. I'm glad I didn't have to clean her after the walk - she was one soggy dog!

14 August

No gym today - decided to give myself the day off. Plenty of errands to run and admin to do, all of which got done before lunchtime so I could sit outside and enjoy the weather with my paper before going for a long walk with Caroline and Pebby. It's lovely that we have so many nice areas to walk without getting the car out or jumping on public transport.

It's not as bad as lockdown in the supermarkets but seems to be more often that I have to go to both Tesco and Sainsbury's to get everything on my list. Today, Tesco didn't have packs of 2 chicken breasts or any individual bread rolls - first world problems but still annoying.

One of today's jobs was getting my hair cut. It is even shorter than normal - it will grow in time I'm sure.

15 August

Not quite the usual Sunday this morning because I gave gym a miss. My leg is getting better from the bites on Friday (less swollen and "tight") so I managed Body Pump.

There were only a few at church today because one of the congregation families had a wedding and various other members had also been invited. We co-opted a couple of people who were there to help with the singing so there were still 7 of us and we made plenty of noise.

Did a quick run to Sainsbury's before dinner then enjoyed the nice, sunny weather with my paper before talking to Mum and Dad on Skype.

Went to M&S for my walk to get some meals for one for Jonathon, walking alongside the River Cray and back via Priory Gardens.

Had a chat with Christine. They are beavering away with the harvesting when the weather allows so she's very busy.

16 August

Had to go to work early today so no gym but got a positive result in Credit Committee so I was happy with that.

Went for a long walk at lunchtime (didn't have much else to do) and admired lots of different kinds of architecture in The City and around Smithfield.

Jonathon managed to go for a decent walk without using his sticks today so he was very pleased about that.

17 August

Managed to get to the gym this morning and was reasonably occupied at work (because I went looking for stuff to do)

One of my Facebook friends challenged me to take photos of signage at lunchtime so I did! The grasshopper in Lombard is one of the stranger ones but there were plenty of old signs to photo without venturing as far as Borough Market / Southwark where there would be plenty more so perhaps I'll venture down there another day.

Teresa is back from her holiday in Margate so the house is nice and clean again. Jonathon managed to do some washing and put it on the airer so plenty of bending and reaching.

Walked via the Tower to get to work and was delighted to see how well the flower areas in the neatly mown grass are doing.

Suggested to my boss (Chris) that he doesn't really need me 3 days a week as there isn't enough to do but he's convinced there will be so has asked me to bear with it a bit longer. The extension of my contract to the end of the year is sitting with HR so Chris is chasing them.

Met Nicola for lunch. She is driving up to Northumberland next week so I won't see her until mid September.

19 August

Park gym with Luis today was in a different part of Goddington Park. We used the swings, slides and even the basketball court - it was great fun!

Mark came over and the three of us went to the GPO for brunch before Mark and I went for a lovely walk. The forecast wasn't great but the actual weather was sunny and warm - far better that way around. We sat outside in the garden for a while when we got back then he went home with a tub of freshly picked raspberries.

I did some gardening in the veg garden. The broad beans are now finished so I picked the last few (and ate them raw) and pulled out the plants. There are still a few long green beans and courgettes but the growth rate seems to be slowing down now.