22 January

Back to normal today with gym first thing. Fay has started running a class at the gym on a Saturday morning so it was good to do that with some of the other Gym Girls. Almost like old times!

Jonathon and I went for a walk this afternoon and I introduced him to Croft Tea Room. I had intended to take a photo of my yummy scone and Jonathon's cappuchino cake but we'd eaten them before I remembered so I only got a photo of the empty butter and jam dishes.

It turns out that Louis (the person who runs the cafe) wants some help with his camera so he and Jonathon are going to set something up for a lesson or two. I can't take him anywhere!

23 January

Usual hectic Sunday morning with gym, body pump and church followed by a walk before dinner. The woods weren't too muddy today but I didn't have time to go very far - at least I'll know for tomorrow's walk.

On the way back from the gym I bumped into Netta and others who were going for a walk. Apparently they have a Sunday walking group so we are thinking of teaming up now and then, but probably not on a Sunday for me.

We had a traditional Sunday roast chicken dinner today - it was tasty and made a nice change.

24 January

It was Luis's last class today before he moves to his new job with the NHS. We'd gathered a decent collection for him and gave him a card as well - he was really chuffed and very surprised.

Terry and Jay arrived to start decorating the hall, stairs, landings, den and kitchen so I dare say the house will be in chaos for a couple of weeks. The colour is a bit darker / stronger than the one we've had for the last few years but so far, so good.

Gilda and Mark came for a walk and then we all joined Jonathon at the Orpington for lunch. 3 of us had the "special" of toad in the hole.

I quite like having Mondays at home!

25 January

Started with an early morning walk but I got up a bit later so I didn't go far.

Work was really busy - catching up for three days. The City was noticeably busier today so good to tell the relaxation of some of the "guidance" / rules has encouraged people to go back into their offices rather than work from home.

Jonathon went into Bromley to show his ID to the Yorkshire Building Society and have a wander around.

We had a girls' night out - seven of us. it's more than 2 years since I'd seen some of the girls so it was great to have a catch up, even if it did feel a bit strange.

26 January

Shreena was back to make us work hard at body pump and I had a Webex meeting in my diary for 9.30 a.m. so it was all a bit of a dash. I finally got to eat breakfast at my desk after the call.

Met Nicola for lunch and we treated ourselves to Loch Fyne because I had a 30% off voucher - it was really tasty.

Had a sort of year end appraisal meeting with Ulrike in the afternoon. It was all very strange but she wanted to make sure I know how much she appreciates the help I'm giving to the team so it was all very flattering.

Managed to sneak out for a walk for half an hour to get some air then back to work - really busy with lots of bits to do.

Missed my normal train so walked over London Bridge and saw HMS Belfast all beautifully lit up - you can't beat London at night.

Terry says we don't need the woodwork in the hall repainting so that will save both time and money. He should be finished next week and then we can get the house back to normal.

In the evening, Marie sent us the lovely news that she and Andy had got engaged.

27 January

A very early start for me todaty because I had to get to King's Cross station for an 8.30 a.m. train. I had to go to Doncaster for the day for work. The Northern Line, Bank branch, is partly closed until May so I went to Charing Cross and walked up to KX from there.I got my breakfast once I got to KX. The ceiling at KX was lit up and looked very pretty.

It was a very useful visit and good to meet everyone in person but it was such a long day - I left home around 6.30 a.m. and got back home about 8 p.m.

Jonathon went to see a Spiderman film at the cinema which he said was much better than the Matrix film he saw the other day.

28 January

Caught up with some shopping and washing before meeting up with Jo for a walk alongside the Thames. We started at London Bridge, went East to cross Tower Bridge and round St. Katharine Docks, back West to cross Southwark Bridge then headed West along South Bank as far as Westminster then home from Victoria Station.

After an hour or two at home, Gilda arrived and we went to see Cluedo at Bromley - it was very funny and we both really enjoyed it.

In between all that, Jonathon and I moved some furniture around to accommodate his new (huge) bookcase.

29 January

Fay's class this morning - Jo, Judy and I are like naughty school children at the back of the class in that we do our own thing if what Fay is asking us to do is too hard. She doesn't mind and even brought Jo a chair today!

I led a walk for the Knoll Group Walkers - there were only 5 humans plus Miro the dog. Caroline was supposed to come but she's been waiting for nearly two years for an NHS appointment for a small procedure on her eye and they offered her a cancellation today. It was a lovely day and we had a good walk.

Managed to get out into the garden this afternoon - the first time in ages. Jonathon cut the grass and I did quite a bit of tidying up, filling up two large garden sacks of weeds, prunings etc.

Got a text from Carole when I got back inside to let us know that Dad has tested positive for Covid (again). He seems OK but has a silly cough. Both Mum and Carole have tested negative this afternoon so hope they stay that way. We have no idea where he's caught it from because he hasn't really been anywhere other than to have his ears done. Hopefully he'll manage to stave off the symptoms as he is tripled jabbed and has had Covid before.

30 January

Woke up this morning to find I'd been pinged on the Covid app. I test on Sundays before church anyway so did that and it was negative. I don't need to self isolate but have been asked to test every day for a week so that's another job to do every morning. On the positive side, I had no trouble ordering another pack of lateral flow tests (7 in a pack) so at least I'll have the kit to do it with.

Decided to go for a walk in the open air rather than on the treadmill or cross trainer before body pump. It was lovely to see the sun coming up over frosty ground in the park. Body pump on a Sunday after Fay's class on a Saturday is tough - my legs feel like lead today. Probably doing a couple of hours in the garden yesterday didn't help!

Church included the first baptism we've had since lockdown in March 2020. Matthew is almost two and was pretty well behaved albeit a bit "active". He seems to be a nice little boy. I came back from church to find Jonathon had done some more furniture moving - we are gradually sorting where things need to be to accommodate his big bookcase - almost there now!

Went for a walk alongside the River Cray to finish my steps then came back and got dinner ready (chilli that I'd already cooked early this morning so just needed to be heated through).

Jonathon popped down to Boots to collect his repeat prescription (blood pressure tablets). The system worked this time. He ordered via the app and Boots messaged him to say it was ready. Perhaps some of the recent supply issues are being sorted out.

Had a Skype call with Mum and Dad. Dad didn't seem too bad - just as if he has a bit of a cold and tickly cough. Mum is still testing negative at the moment and Carole will keep an eye on her.

Had a long chat with Christine putting the world to rights!

The sunset was lovely.

31 January

Ela led Luis's class this morning. We all enjoyed it so much we've booked again for next week.

Work was manic, trying to catch up from last week's visit to Doncaster and with all the emails that had come flooding in over the weekend. I think I was just about up straight before I left the office. It was busy in the office because we've opened up again so there were colleagues all around me (but not too close!). We even had a new starter today. The City was busy in general with lots of other people around, especially on the way back to the station to come home.

Gilda came to see Jonathon and was here quite a while, even staying to eat up half the leftover chilli from yesterday to save Jonathon having it two days this week!

Terry is getting on pretty well with the decorating - he should be finished this week (hopefully) and we can get the house back to normal.

Angela messaged to say that Grace has got Covid and is quite poorly. Hope she's better soon.

Got a letter from the Office of the Public Guardian confirming I can act as Attorney for Dad should the need arise. Just need confirmation re the changes to Mum's POAs now.

1 February

Oli decided that a walk before work wa a great idea and came quite a long way with me before losing interest.

Work was busy again so the day flew past.

It was pretty mild and sunny at dinner time so I managed to get out for a walk but only about half as far as yesterday and no photos.

Terry did a bit more decorating - he should be finished by the end of this week.

Teresa came but she couldn't do much because Terry was in the way so she's banked her hours for another time.

Jonathon went to see a film called "Liquorice Pizza" - apparently it was a "coming of age" film (whatever that means) and pretty good.

2 February

Body pump as usual on a Wednesday then off to work. Shreena surprised me after class with the news that she's been offered a job, back in the City. She's a "quant" by profession so it will be great for her to get back to what she really does rather than keep fit training but I'll really miss her at the gym.

The sunrise was really pretty (again) and work was really busy (again). I seem to spend half the day on video calls and the other half catching up! Only 3 more weeks then I get a month off. At least I got out for lunch and met Mark. We had a nice discount voucher for Loch Fyne and Mark enjoyed a huge portion of mussels (I had salmon).

Jonathon went to watch / listen to Lisa Canny at her London gig. It's the first time he's gone out with his camera (and without me) since he was seriously poorly so a really big step forward towards getting back to normal.

3 February

A catching up day with washing, having my hair cut, shopping etc. etc. Terry and Jay finished the decorating so we could start getting the house back together. I think Oli had the right idea - he snuggled down on my quilt (that was supposed to be airing) and had a lovely, long sleep.

Jonathon decided that he would like to go watch Cluedo because Gilda and I had enjoyed it so off we went, via Studio Gusto for dinner. They'd made a few tweaks to Cluedo so it was even funnier.

4 February

Oli woke me up early but I decided not to get up and go to the gym but went back to bed instead.

I managed to get to Tesco before I went out with Jo for our Friday walk. The weather was very wet and cold and we had to miss walking round the field because it was far too muddy. We got drenched but that gave us a good excuse to call in to Croft Tea Room for coffee and cake (and to bring Jonathon some coffee and walnut cake home).

I had a lovely hot bath when I got home and then the sun came out so I did a quick walk through the High Street to finish off my steps.

5 February

I did a detour to the supermarket this morning then it was time to go to church to rehearse the music for a wedding next Saturday. It will be the first wedding in St. John's URC for ages. With Anne (the bride) being a musician and member of the Music Group, she has asked for us to "perform" and gave John and Lesley strict instructions as to how she wants the songs to be sung etc.

Emily and Rosie came over in the afternoon and we went to Poverest Park to play. I think Rosie tested out every piece of equipment - her favourite seemed to be the zip wire. Emily worked hard pushing her back to the start but,after a couple of times, the compromise was that Roise would get herself to the start and Emily would take the "seat". When we got home, Rosie ran around our garden while the grown ups had a well-earned cuppa. Emily messaged to say Rosie had fallen asleep in the car on the way home - mission accomplished!

6 February

I've still got a bit of a cold but testing negative (8 days in a row of testing ) so I think I should be OK. Angela is now positive and feeling dreadful but at least John, Jessica and Grace are all getting better.

Dad's had his second day negative test today so he can now leave the premises!

No church today because it's Holy Communion so I spent a couple of hours at the gym. I decided to walk on the treadmill instead of in the rain but, by the time I came out of the gym, the rain had stopped. The wind, however, was a different matter - it could easily have blown me over. I'm sure there'll be some damage done around here, just hope it's not at our house. Thank goodness we had Terry and his boys make sure the roof was secure a little while ago.

Jonathon, having got the missing part for his saw, got all the apple logs cut up and put in the bottom greenhouse to dry out. He brought some of the logs that have been in there for a while into the wood shed because they are now ready for the fire.

Had a Skype with Mum and Dad. Dad seemed to be walking a bit better and they see to be troddling along reasonably well.

Just as I went out for a short walk to finish my steps, the sun lit up the fluffy clouds beautifully. It only lasted a few seconds so I was really lucky to see it.

Had the usual catch up with Christine - she's really not enjoying the wet and windy weather.

7 February

Ela's class to start the day - good fun!

Work was manic - I seemed to spend the whole day on Webex calls. The team I'm working with at the moment certainly likes to chat things through!

Gilda came over to have lunch with Jonathon at The GPO. I went for a walk at lunchtime to enjoy the sunshine.

In the evening, Gilda and I went to The Churchill Theatre in Bromley to see Hairspray. It was wonderful.

8 February

Early morning walk - it was nowhere near as dark as it was last week so Spring is definitely on the way.

Chris (my colleague) was in the office (he lives in Ulster so I don't get to see him very often). It was really good to work together in person. even if one of my respected colleagues is telling me to watch my back with him!

Jonathon went up to town in the evening to take photos of various musicians at a gig.

9 February

Missed body pump this morning because I needed to get to the office for an early Webex and also needed to pop to Tesco for some fruit etc.

Work was frustrating as we were waiting for input from other people that didn't come as fast as we would have liked it so I had to leave Chris with a list of things to do tomorrow / Friday when I'm not in the office.

Managed to get out for a walk at lunchtime but had a good walk to the theatre in the evening because Jo and I went to see Lion King - it was just as brilliant as I remembered. The theatre (Lyceum) was really strict - first a bag check, then our Covid passes were checked and finally our tickets. After all that we were allowed to go inside.

Jonathon was out and about with his camera again in the evening - it almost feels like we're getting back to normal!

10 February

Thursday is a catch up day. First I caught up with sleep and had a bit of a lie in.

Main job of the day was restocking the freezer having cleaned it out last week. It cost us a fortune but at least we now have lots of food ready to use over the next few months. We also topped up a lot of other bulky or heavy stuff.

In the afternoon, I combined a walk with running a few errands including a trip to M&S to get a few ready meals for Jonathon to eat when I'm at work. It seemed a bit strange seeing the River Cray in the sunshine - the last few times I've walked by it has been in the dark before work.

The sunset was amazing (for a couple of minutes) then we caught up with TV watching.

11 February

Jo and I went into London with Coco - her daughter and family are skiing so Jo is dog sitting. We had a good walk, setting off from Charing Cross, taking in Covent Garden, the Mall, Buckingham Palace, St. James's Park, Lambeth Bridge and the Southbank.

No sooner had I go home from that than it was time to get ready to go out in the evening. Jonathon and I went into London to enjoy a concert with Aoife Scott as support to the amazing Sharon Shannon and her two backing guitarists.

We even snuck into The German Gymnasium for their delicious apfel strudel on the way back to St. Pancras station.

13 February

After the last two busy days, today was a lot quieter. Usual Sunday morning of body pump and church. Brownies led the service with Jennifer today and it was lovely to see Amelie in the congrgation (with her Dad, Mike). I didn't know she'd become a Rainbow (6 months apparently) and she'll soon be moving up to Brownies because she'll be 7 in April. She had Coco the monkey with her because she was the star pupil at school last week so she gets to have Coco over the weekend. It's half term so the weekend is actually a week and a weekend. She has to take Coco out and about with her and keep a diary of what he gets up to.

Just as I was getting ready to go for a walk after dinner the rain started so I didn't do my target steps today. As I did twice the target on Friday I'm still well ahead of the game!

I'm having a really frustrating time trying to book a table for 11 of us for Friday prior to the theatre and a table for 7 of us midway through our walk on Saturday. Restaurants have had a tricky time through the pandemic but I think we're fighting against half term holiday London visitors (Friday) and 6 Nations Rugby (Saturday). Friday - everywhere seems to be fully booked with one restaurant seemingly ignoring a reservation enquiry. Not sure that the scary headlines in the media about lack of disposable income is reflected in this experience! Thankfully, the pub for Saturday has confirmed and have an area in the pub where can sit with the dogs.

Having said that, if everyone's electricity bill is being increased by the same percentage as ours has just gone up, there will definitely be less "spare" money to be spent. Thankfully, this winter hasn't been as cold as it might be (so far at least) so perhaps EDF (electricity supplier) is just being extra "vigilant". Hopefully, they'll owe us a refund in the summer.

No Skype today because Mum and Dad are at Carole's.

Had the usual long chat with Christine. Her pickup is back in the garage (less than a year old) and they seem to be struggling to work out what's wrong with it. I suggested that they should be giving her a replacement but there aren't any in the UK - supply problems / Brexit etc. - so she's having to rely on them getting this one fixed. In the meantime, she's using one of their pickups which makes her delivery rounds a lot harder because it's not fitted out like hers.

14 February

Ela made us work hard at this gym this morning but it was good fun.

The rest of the day was spent sitting on a train or sitting at my desk. I'm always busy on Mondays, catching up with stuff that's come in between Thursday and Sunday and today was no exception.

Gilda came to see Jonathon and they did some work with her computer.

Boulevard Brasserie came back to me and confirmed our table for Friday evening so e're all all organised now.

Had a Skype call with Mum and Dad. They'd had a lovely day with Carole and Gareth yesterday but didn't have any other news.

15 February

Had a nice walk before work and enjoyed a spectacular sunrise - I love watching the sun come up.

Work was busy and the day flew by.

Teresa came to do the weekly cleaning.

Jonathon went to the pictures in the evening.

16 February

Body pump with Vicky today becasue Shreena is on holiday. It was good to have a change.

Work was busy again - so much better when I have plenty to do. There's a new statue in More London - sportswomen - I'll have to go have a better look one day - might even build it into the walk on Saturday with the fym group.

Great news from Priory Garden swan watching group - the Egyptian Geese have got 10 goslings this year. They managed to bring 7/7 up last year so hopefully they'll be able to rear all 10 this year. They are experienced parents so fingers crossed.

Met Jonathon at Piano Smithfield for a concert - James Sayer and Thomas Atlas and his band. Really good fun. It's a great venue and easy to get home from. I even had a bit of a dance towards the end of the concert while Jonathon wandered around with his camera.

17 February

Thursdays = sleep in day. Couldn't stay in bed too long becasue I had things to do before going into London to meet up with Derek and Maureen for lunch at the German Gymnasium. The high winds of last night had managed to screw up the trains so it took us an age to get there but we had a very nice lunch and catch up once there. The portions were huge so I was glad we'd popped in last Friday for strudel because I was too full for pudding today. Saw a very strange sign at the Thameslink station in St. Pancras.

Teresa came to start the spring cleaning. I think Oli wanted to help by sitting in the shower - perhaps he thought he should be cleaned!

Went for a walk late afternoon to walk some of the food off and joined a webinar a green retrofit for houses. Good to learn that we've done pretty much everything we can based on today's technology. We just need the storage batteries to come down in price and up in efficiency as that's the one thing we're lacking.

18 February

The best laid plans today fell apart thanks to Storm Eunice.

Jo, Coco and I were supposed to be going for a walk at 10.30 a.m. but we were right in the middle of the storm and we would have been blown away so we cancelled that.

11 of us were supposed to be going to Boulevard Brasserie for dinner followed by Saturday Night Fever at the Peacock Theatre but Southeastern shut the train lines because of damage to the rails etc. so we couldn't get there (or home!) so that had to be cancelled as well.

The storm eased off a bit about quarter to four so Jo, Coco and I finally got out for a local walk. It was still quite windy but nowhere near the 75+ mph winds from earlier. It certainly blew the cobwebs away. The wind really spooks Oli (as it does most animals) so he stayed inside for as long as possible. I'm sure he was crossing his legs by the evening.

With the theatre cancelled, Jonathon and I caught up with television watching in the evening.

19 February

The day started off sunny and the blossom was starting to come out so it felt quite spring-like, albeit chilly. I popped to the train station to check the trains were running after storm Eunice (all looked OK) then went to Fay's class (hard as usual).

Seven of us (plus two dogs) went for a walk in London. We'd not got very far before the rain started and it got colder. We persevered round St. Katharine Docks and along the Thames until we reached the Doggett Coat and Badge for dinner. I'm sure we were all very grateful for somewhere warm that served good food! Rather than do the second half of the walk, we jumped on a train at Blackfriars (next door to the pub) and came home to get dry and warm.

20 February

Usual mad rush with Body Pump and then church. There were quite a few singers for Music Group today so I joined Parallel Church for the relevant part and had a good discussion on building relationships.

Managed to get a walk in before the rain came but only went as far as Priory Gardens and the surrounding area. Lovely to see the Egyptian Geese goslings - they seem to be growing quite nicely.

Arthur (hybrid Canada Goose and Greylag Goose) was showing off by having a good stretch and Ronnie (or is it Reggie - I can't tell them apart) was having a really good preen to make sure he was as handsome as possible.

Had the usual Skype call with Mum and Dad who seem to be on good form.

21 February

No work today because I'm working on Thursday instead. Ela's class was really hard but I felt better for doing it.

Gilda came over and we went for a walk. It was very dull, grey and windy but at least it didn't rain. We met Jonathon at Aksular for lunch and got a bit damp coming home. No gardening this afternoon because of the weather. I really must get some done soon.

Tried to pay Dad's care bill but Yorkshire Bank (or Virgin Money as they now are) have changed the rules so had to speak to the care firm to let them know the money would be in two tranches. It's like working with a bank from the dark ages - Grrr!

22 February

Usual early morning walk for Tuesday and even got to walk through the park on the way home. Saw the goslings - still ten of them.

Work was busy so the time flew by.

Walked alongside the Thames to Blackfriars to go to Bromley in the evening where I met up with Gilda to watch "Waitress". Definitely not one to see again but we've ticked the box.

23 February

Didn't go to Body Pump this morning as I was very late home from the theatre last night so knew I'd be too tired. Went for a walk before work which helped me wake up. Lots of flowers / blossom starting to come out so it's starting to feel like Spring.

Met Nicola for lunch. She's had a tough time recently with lots of medical appointments in advance of her medical negligence court case.

Gilda and Jonathon went to the "Collect" exhibition at Somerset House. John (friend) had given us a couple of free tickets and I was at work so Gilda went instead. I'm not sure they were too impressed.

24 February

A quick trip to the gym for pounding on the treadmill before work today. I got wet going to and coming home from the gym but at least I had waterproof over-trousers on and it isn't far.

I got even wetter going to work! Thankfully my top half was dry but from knees down I was drenched. My trousers dried out fairly quickly but it felt like my boots were wet until early afternoon - yuck! There's no need to wear masks anywhere except in our office from today so that was one less thing to think about.

Met Mark for lunch (Zizzi). He's very excited because he's booked a skiing holiday to California.

Jonathon and I went to the Knoll Residents' Association meeting at the Cricketers in the evening. The police were there (local PC and Sergeant, Inspector from Bromley and Area Superintendent). They had been invited to talk to us about vehicle crime. Last October there was a spike in car crime in our area. Although it's quietened down a lot since then, people were still concerned about it. It was a very interesting discussion and we were glad we went but we didn't hang around afterwards to chat!

25 February

After a quick trip to Tesco, breakfast and a pot of green tea I met up with Jo and we went off to Wapping for a walk that I'd found on the internet. It was a beautiful day and a lovely walk with plenty to see as we went towards Shadwell and Limehouse. We saw the Prospect of Whitby (the oldest London pub and one of Jo's old haunts apparently) and went down the Pelican Stairs at the side of it. The tide was out so we had a little walk on the beach and saw our first butterfly of the year.

Nicola joined us at La Figa, Italian restaurant, for lunch. By happy coincidence, the restaurant was just opposite her flat. From there we made our way to Docklands and came home from Canary Wharf.

Jonathon was expecting Hayes Doors to come and fix the garage door but the repair man called in sick so our back garage door still doesn't work. It's been rescheduled for Tuesday so fingers crossed.

26 February

Our Wedding Anniversary.

Went on the treadmill before Fay's class then started working in the front garden before dinner.

Treated Jonathon to bangers and mash for dinner - one of his favourites. The weather was so nice that we were able to eat outside.

I did a load more work in the front garden in the afternoon and was pleased to get it lookng neat and tidy by the time I'd finished.

Had a quick wander round the garden and was pleased to see the rhubarb is coming on nicely. I was closely supervised by Oli from time to time - when he wasn't dozing in the sun or taunting the fish.

Went out for a quick walk round Poverest Park to get the rest of my steps done in the evening.

The news from Ukraine is getting worse by the day. Russia invaded (having said they wouldn't) and the West, including the UK, don't know how to react. There's no telling how it'll turn out but it's a very worrying.

Jonathon and I went to Chapter One for our anniversary dinner. Very tasty but we came away very full! We sat at our favourite table (number 25). The car park was overflowing so a 4x4 was very pleased to see us coming to move the Audi to create a space for him.

Had Skype call with Mum and Dad. They seemed to be fine - quite bright and chatty.

Had a chat with Christine - no real news.

Carole phoned just after 7 p.m. to say Mum had had a fall and been taken into A&E. Carole thinks they'll keep her in until they can get her blood pressure under control and find out what's causing her chest pains. After lots of tests, Mum was allowed to go home (about 2 a.m.)

28 February

The headlines in The Times this morning were not what anyone wants to see. Whether he'll carry on invading Ukraine and destroying their country remains to be seen. Not much tangible action seen from other countries around the world other than financial sanctions and Putin doesn't seem to care.

Went into London early and did my walk today along the Thames, over the Wobbly Bridge and then back via the Tower and round St. Katharine Docks before work. It was my last day in the office for a month but I still had to present to credit committee (thankfully the deal was approved).

It felt really strange being in the office without a mask on after so long having to wear one. I dare say we'll get used to our "freedom" again before long. We are even allowed to sit in the kitchen area to eat our lunch again now rather than having to eat it at our desks.

Gilda didn't come to see Jonathon today because she had another meeting in her diary so he had a quiet day.

The trains are gradually being upgraded on our line and I had a lovely new train for my ride home this evening.

1 March

I've got a month off work - my next day in the office will be Tuesday 5th of April.

I didn't get up until 8 a.m. this morning so time flew past. I whizzed to Tesco to get some bits and pieces, including some things for a collection for Ukraine. One of Jo's neighbours is from Ukraine and she and a few others are gathering things together to send to Ukraine in trucks. The first one is due to leave Orpington this evening with the next at the weekend. Mid-afternoon, I heard that there would be at least 3 trucks going on Saturday and that the people collecting have been pleasantly overwhelmed by the amount of donations.

Gilda and I booked the next batch of tickets for Sadlers Wells. I ordered some bird food and phoned Mum - she's feeling a bit better today and reported back this afternoon after a visit to her GP that her blood pressure is acceptable so no tablets required.

2 March

Body pump and then an hour or so in the gym. Didn't fancy a wet walk today so did most of my steps on the treadmill.

Fished out a load of stuff to send to Ukraine - who even knew we had 4 sleeping bags? They've all gone now along with a few other bits. The parish church has had to stop accepting donations now because the trucks are already full. Perhaps they'll do another run later if they can work out the logistics.

Seems I spoke too soon about the garage door. When I tried to open it, it decided to shut itself so I was a bit nervous about going into the garage in case I either got fastened in or the door shut on me! Hayes Garage Doors are due again tomorrow.

Went to Smithfield Piano Bar for a concert in the evening -Stevie Wonder songs. We have to walk through Smithfield market itself to get there and it's good to see it's been spruced up. The Bank (Some Kinda Wonderful Show) were really good - excellent instumentalists and an amazing singer.

3 March

A quick trip to Tesco and then off I went to Lewisham to meet Mark for a walk.

I left Jonathon dealing with Terry and Jay (annual pond service), Teresa (spring cleaning) and Hayes Garage Doors (to fix their latest error - apparently they'd mixed up the brown and black wires). I think the garage door really does work now!

We walked from Lewisham to Blackheath. The roads were quite busy but the heath was pretty quiet.

From Blackheath we went to Greenwich Park. There are lots of beautiful, old trees in Greenwich. There were also lots of dog walkers and other people but there is acres of space so we didn't feel crowded.

Having had a good walk around, we had lunch in the cafe at the Maritime Museum followed by a quick stroll through the museum and home.

Jonathon went out in the evening to do some more photography of the same band as last night. They seemed to be very pleased with the photos from last night!