2022 Out of Lockdown Diary - Page 28

18 December

No church this morning (went tonight instead) so I went for a walk. It was really icy so good practice for balancing! Part of the pond in Priory Gardens was frozen but the larger part wasn't so the birds had a choice.

Finished my steps in the gym so I didn't have to go out again. The drizzle started about 11 a.m. and it was damp or wet for the rest of the day.

Had a Skype call with Mum. Dad's due home on Tuesday and she's got a funeral to go to on Wednesday so plenty to keep her occupied.

We had the big "Carols by Candlelight" service at church which seemed to go pretty well. There were quite a few people in the congregation (but not at the same level as pre-Covid).

The temperature started rising and most of the snow had gone by the time I came back from church.

19 December

Ela's class was the first item on the agenda for today. We were encouraged to wear daft hats / head bands and had lots of fun (but still worked hard!). Jo invited us all round to her flat afterwards for mince pies, tea, coffee and croissants.

Gilda came for our usual Monday walk. It was very wet but we were well equipped! The rain had washed all the snow away - hard to think it was white over yesterday morning and back to green today.

We met Jonathon at Masala Dabbas for lunch (yummy biryani) then Gilda and I caught up with ticket booking for Sadlers Wells and arranging a few more dates in our diaries.

Jonathon went out in the evening to a book launch (Wildlife Photography by David Lloyd).

20 December

Gym and work today so not very exciting.

Carole and Pauline got Dad home OK - hope he and Mum settle down together again quickly.

Spotted this new graffiti on the way to London Bridge - makes the wall look a bit brighter. I don't think the train company are doing very well with their new timetable - neither of my trains were on time today!

21 December

Gym and work again today.

The Christmas trees in both entrances at work (2 in each entrance) are really pretty and brighten the place up no end.

I managed to get out for a short walk at lunch time today but didn't go very far.

22 December

Went to the gym via Tesco to get my paper and decided to get the Christmas Day veg while I was there. Oli was determined to follow me so we had a quite a few minutes of "you can't catch me" before he disappeared into a neighbouring garden and I could sneak off, albeit on a round-about route.

Ela made us work extremely hard. She's on holiday next week so today had to cover Christmas and next week - phew!

Went back to Tesco to get the rest of the Christmas food but only after failing miserably at Pop Master (even harder then normal because it's championship week).

Teresa came to do the cleaning - she said her bout of Covid wasn't too bad but her boyfriend had it worse and is still poorly.

Topped up the bird feeders and that was really the last activity for me today because the dull, grey, damp weather didn't exactly entice me outside.

Jonathon stayed local today - a charity gig in one of the cafes in the High Street - but when he got there the lighting was so bad that he handed over his donation and came home.

23 December

It was very wet this morning (as forecast) so I did all my steps on the cross trainer in the gym - my longest stint on that machine ever so quite pleased with myself. I then went to Aquafit and caught up with Swati which was fun. Jonathon went and tackled Sainsbury's for fruit etc. - glad that was his jon rather than mine!

I texted Jeff (my uncle - mum's youngest brother) to wish him happy birthday and he called me so we had a nice chat. He's getting older but lives near Darren, his son, and family who seem to look after him very well.

Jonathon got a message from EDF with our latest electricity bill. We have been trying to use less power and were pleased to see that our usage has gone down quite well and even more pleased that we're due a refund.

The afternoon was forecast to be dry - they lied! It was dry to start with so I set about doing some tidying up in the garden and I'd got to sweeping up leaves when the rain came. Oli and I got very wet and came inside as fast as we could.

Derek messaged to say that Maureen has tested positive for Covid. There's a lot of it about at the moment so I had a look at the latest graph from Zoe which confirms numbers are going up again.

Needless to say, we stayed in for the rest of the wet day and caught up with some TV watching.

24 November

I dropped some jars and glass dishes round to Alix , checked Jo's flat and had a wander around Priory Gardens rather than go straight to the gym. It was good to see the birds foraging naturally, even in the small pond now it's starting to fill up again.

No class today with it being Christmas Eve and Fay not being 100% so just went on the treadmill instead.

It's starting to feel like Christmas at home now. Jonathon's been wearing his new jumper and we've fished out the angel chimes (the ting, ting drives Oli crazy so we don't have them on for long).

I got the turkey out of the freezer yesterday and prepped all the veg for Christmas dinner this afternoon. I sorted the table out and did the timetable for the cooking so we're all set for tomorrow.

Steve, Chairman of our local Resident's Association, lit up his house as the last of the advent calendar "windows". There's been a different house for every day of December. He and Anne-Marie had put on mulled wine, homemade fudge (yummy) and fireworks. This year's advent calendar is now complete.

25 December

Christmas Day!

I got up early and went for a walk before breakfast and church. Unsurprisingly, there weren't many people around, just a few dog walkers and me.

Church was reasonably well attended and the service went well. Hard to believe it was Jennifer's last Christmas service with us (she's due to retire in 2023).

Dinner went well. On our menu this year we had turkey, roast potatoes, honey roast carrots, leeks in cheese sauce, sprouts and gravy. All very tasty.

I finished my steps with a local walk once my dinner had settled and we'd done the tidying up. The foxes were more than happy to eat the bits of turkey we didn't want (but they weren't allowed the bones - too brittle).

I phoned Christine for a catch up. As usual, she was pleased to have got Christmas behind her but has another busy week coming up.

We relaxed in the evening, watching "Carols from Kings" on the TV - lovely service.

26 December

Got up and went out for an 11 km walk because I knew I wouldn't have time later. It was a beautifull, sunny morning and there weren't many other people around so perfect for walking.

Mark came over and we went to Chapter One for Boxing Day dinner. First class as always and Jonathon was pleased to see roast beef on the menu.

Had a Skype call with Mum and Dad. They'd had a lovely day with Carole and co yesterday and Graeme and Anna had visited them this morning.

Went for a short prowl round the local streets after Skype and before settling in for the evening.

27 December

The gym opened at 8 a.m. today so off I went but only after a short delay. I was just putting my coat on and suddenly White Legs went flying down the garden. I've never seen a fox move so fast. The reason was a huge labrador dog who'd come into our garden to chase her. I managed to get the dog out of the garden but I had no idea where it went (or where its human was) so hope it was OK.

I cooked turkey and apple curry for lunch and used up the last of the leek, carrots and turkey. The fridge is now a ot emptier and all I have to do is decide what to cook for New Year.

Had a sort through one of my wardrobes and fished out some clothes for Jonathon to take to the YMCA charity shop. I need to go through my other wardrobes and drawers at some point as well.

Had a chat with Pauline - no real news but she's had a good Christmas.

28 December

It was rainy all day so Gilda and I didn't go for our walk. I did my steps in the gym instead.

The other night I was trying to finish a knee rug but Oli had other ideas. I finished it last night and popped it in his bed.

Needless to say, he found the box that we use to take stuff up to Christine and he much preferred that. I've told Christine that I'll transport him up north next time we go.

Of course, his favourite place of all time is on Jonathon's knee.

Gilda still came over for lunch at The Cricketers and a catch up. She'd had a good time with her sister and family over Christmas.

Jonathon had bought a copy of "Fisherman's Friends 2" so we watched that while his drill was on charge so we could make the bird table we'd bought as our Christmas present to ourselves.

29 December

I went back to Pilates for the first time in ages this morning and really enjoyed it despite finding it quite hard.

When I got back Jonathon was putting the bird table together, Teresa was doing the cleaning and Will was cleaning the windows - a hive of activity. The bird table assembly would have been easier had the makers lined up the screw holes where they needed to be but it's done now and looks good in the garden.

The old bird table was dismantled as best we could. Some was simply too rotten to do anything with but the "burn-able" bits were sawn into the right sized pieces and will be used on our fires.

While getting my pruning saw out of the shed, I noticed I had an old one as well so I offered that to Liz (neighbour who looks after some allotments for a local Mental Health charity). She would like it so I'll drop it round sometime.

Today's film was "Wonder" - a lovely film about a young boy (and his family) who was born with a facial disfigurement and how he settled into school.

30 December

Today was wet and miserable but as I spent most of the morning at the gym it didn't matter too much. I joined my first ever yoga class and didn't disgrace myself too much but it definitely confirmed how un-supple I am!

Before the gym I went to get my paper and a pizza for Jonathon's lunch. Sainsbury's didn't have the pizzas he likes so I trogged to Tesco in the rain to get one. He said it was very nice!

I had fish and peas from Crispy Cod for my dinner. I dropped the spare pruning saw at Liz's on the way to collect it.

Today's film was supposed to be "Four Christmases" but it was rubbish so we watched "About Time" instead which was daft but less stupid than the other one.

31 December

Today's challenge was Body Balance - I found it even harder than yesterday's yoga but Vicky took care of me to make sure I wasn't doing too much wrong.

Despite the very wet weather, the dogwoods in our front garden look lovely - they are really putting on a good show this year. However, I can't see any aconites so not sure what's happened this year - they were in full flower in December last year.

I dropped a few jars etc. round to Alix then went for a walk, fully clad in waterproof gear. I was toasty warm by the time I got home (it was mild as well as wet).

Today's film was "The Intern". I'd seen it before but still worth seeing a second time.

1 January 2023

And so another year begins - let's hope it's a good one.

I went for a walk (River Cray and Priory Gardens) first thing. I saw four other people out and about, two of them with dogs; two people in the Co-op (where I got my paper) and came across six younger people who looked like they were on their way home from their New Year celebrations. They must have had ore energy than me.

We headed off to London for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition at the Natural History Museum. We used to go every year on New Year's Day but, for obvious reasons, weren't able to go in 2021 or 2022. It was good to be back and enjoy the excellent photos.

The trains were running and on time so all good but we didn't stay in town for lunch just in case there were problems later on.

Had the usual Skype call with Mum and Dad. They seemed OK but didn't have any real news.

Tried to call Christine but there seemed to be a problem with my mobile so she called me back. She and Gordon had been out for a drive but had avoided Scarbrough because of the publicity re the visiting walrus. She said Whitby was really busy even when they got there early this morning.

2 January

Gym today included cross trainer, treadmill and pilates so a good workout all round.

I popped into Jo's and put milk and OJ into her fridge - she's due home tomorrow.

Jonathon and I went through all our drinking glasses this afternoon, threw out the ones that were water-marked, donated two sets to The Knoll communal glasses store and put away the rest with the new tumblers (high ball glasses) that we'd bought from Tesco.

I took down the Christmas cards and most of the decorations. The tree and the carousel will be taken down later in the week as I'm not ready for them to go yet.

The cloud formation and sunset were spectacular this evening.

3 January

The sky was lovely when I got back from the gym but the "red sky in the morning" warning certainly came true with rain most of the day.

The RMT union (train drivers) were on strike but there was still a limited service so I managed to get to and from work on a train (much quicker than reverting to the DLR and buses even though we stopped at every station en route). They closed the service down around 6 p.m. so it gave me a good excuse to leave work early.

4 January

Gym and work again today.

The RMT union were still on strike so the train service was limited but I got to the City and back OK. The train coming home was standing room only so very different to yesterday. I'm glad I don't have to go to work tomorrow because the ASLEF union are on strike and there'll be no trains at all.

I had time to go for a short walk alongside The Thames at lunchtime and ended up withmore than 20k steps for the day.

I took the decorations off the Christmas tree when I got home so Jonathon can put it away before the Twelfth Night. The house looks quite bare with no decorations up but I'm sure we'll soon get used to it.

5 January

I did Ela's Tabata class then kept myself busy at the gym until it was time for Anna's Pilates class and that pretty much was the morning gone. Jonathon had spent the morning taking bags of garden rubbish to the tip and having a Facetime call with Alison.

Lunch was frustrating. I'd gone to Tesco before the gym to get wraps for us both but they didn't have the one sort that Jonathon can eat (mayonnaise free) so decided I'd get some cold meats and tarka daal from Sainsbury's instead. There was no tarka daal to be found when I got there so we had option three - cold meat and veg. It was OK but not what I'd originally intended.

Michael, fellow swan watcher, had asked me to go for a walk so we headed off to Petts Wood (National Trust) and followed the marked path around there. I think I tired him out because he jumped on a bus when we came out of the wood rather than walking home. I don't think it would have saved me any time to join him on the bus so I was glad I'd walked.

Teresa was at home when I got back, finishing off this week's cleaning. Oli was asleep in one of his favourite places at the moment (on the ironing pile) so some of the hankies will need to be re-washed!

6 January

I was surprised to find Oli in the bath this morning - he certainly chooses some strange places to settle down. He moved from there to on top of the radiator in the dining room then, eventually, back to his current favourite place - one of the beds in the front bedroom.

I went to the gym for yoga and was pleased to see Jo was there so we muddled through together.

I noticed a couple of aconites had flowered when I got home - they are about a month later than last year but at least they're coming out now.

Jonathon and I cleaned out the under-stairs cupboard when I got back (having taken down one of the security lights that had stopped working). The cupboard is nice and tidy and I got takers for stuff we don't use within 6 minutes of putting it on the Knoll Sharing WhatsApp group.

We learnt on Facebook that the St. George Hotel is closing for refurbishment at the end of the month. We are booked in for a few days in March (for Marie and Andy's wedding). I called the hotel and they confirmed the news but couldn't help with our booking so we'll need to call the central reservation team tomorrow and work out what to do.

We should have been at Sadlers Wells for Matthew Bourne's "Sleeping Beauty" tonight but the RMT union strike / no trains meant we stayed home and watched TV instead.

7 January

No classes so just did a bit of gentle cardio as today's exercise. I did "weights" by delivering the surplus cleaning stuff.

We phoned the Inn Collection about our March stay and they've transferred our booking to The Dean Court Hotel in York and given us a discount so not a bad outcome.

Jonathon and I went to The Orpington for brunch. We had vouchers from Christmas so used one of those which made the prices a bit more reasonable. It was good to be back there for brunch after quite a long time and the food and drink was just as good as we remembered.

I met Caroline and Pebby and we went for a walk to Priory Gardens and alongside the River Cray. The weather was better than forecast until close to the end when we got drenched.

8 January

No church for me today because it was a communion service. Communion is usually the first Sunday of the month but January is always the second Sunday.

It wasn't raining when I went to the gym and not raining much when I came back from yoga so I had gardening pencilled in for this afternoon. It was not to be - the rain started and got heavier and heavier. Poor Jonathon got caught in it when he popped to Sainsbury's and the YMCA but soon dried off.

Funnily enough we didn't get the security camera put back up - electrics, slippery ladders and pouring rain don't mix too well!

Jo was very pleased with herself - she's managed to put her Ikea sofa together all by herself and it was ready in time for Coco's visit this evening. Saw Shreena at the gym as well. She's cut back her hours a bit to address her work/life balance and seems to be getting on better.

Today's inside jobs were sorting out the cupboard near the back door (where the ironing board etc. lives) and ironing. Both done and, amazingly, there wasn't much to be thrown out or upcycled in that cupboard.

Had the usual Skype call with Mum and Dad with added bonus of Carole being there as well. Dad's getting more frail and has got a nasty cough which isn't helping.

Spoke to Christine. She'd been told off by the local police for leaving her vehicle unattended while delivering milk. She wasn't impressed because she often acts as their eyes and ears, being out so early. Now she'll need to remember to switch it off when she's walking up and down people's drives etc. She's also got a bad cough - seems to be a lot of it about.

9 January

I went to Ela's class first thing which was more Tabata than Circuits but still good fun. I couldn't get a space on the Pilates class so did a couple of shorter sessions online instead.

Gilda came and we went for a walk round Goddington Park and Lilly's Wood before meeting Jonathon at A Mano for lunch.

I had my hair cut in the afternoon. It's now very short!

We had some very sad news from Hillie - her Dad had a fall last week and banged his head. He died as a result so a great shock to everyone.

Jonathon went to Toulouse Lautrec in the evening - Oli and I stayed home.

10 January

Gym and work today so not very exciting! It was even too wet to go for a walk at lunchtime.

Jonathon went to the dentist for a big filling so he had to drink his coffee through a straw in the evening. He cancelled his photo shoot because the anaesthetic hadn't worn off!

It was dark and gloomy all day and still drizzling when I came home from work. It's interesting the way my iPhone adjusts the colours in the evening, especially when there's a streetlight in the local vicinity.

11 January

The sunrise was amazing this morning. By the time the sun woke up I'd been to the gym and was on my way to work.

Jonathon took Oli to see the heart vet. Oli is fine - the vet thinks the suspected heart murmur must have been the cat equivalent of white coat syndrome. They'll keep an eye on him at his regular check ups.

There are some hazel twigs in the arrangement as well and I've agreed that I'll try and grow them on for Christine when I don't need them in the vase any more.

I was going to finish my steps by walking to the station with Jonathon when he went out to his gig but it was pouring down so I stayed at home. I didn't have a huge number of steps to do but it would have meant walking round and round and round the house! Having pondered for a while I had a look through Jonathon's CDs in the front room and chose one to dance to. Mission accomplished!

13 January

Luis ran his first official Tai Chi class today and it was well attended. Feedback was positive so hopefully it will continue. I've already booked for next week.

Yoga was led by Sally, who is now back from her break. It was different to the class that Maria ran last week but they were both equally enjoyable.

Teresa came and did the cleaning today instead of yesterday because she'd had a burst pipe and a flooded kitchen that had to be sorted out yesterday.

Jo and I went for a walk this afternoon. We went via Goddington to Chelsfield, taking in St. Martin of Tours church and the lovely snowdrops in the churchyard. From there we were to Chelsfield Lakes. Jo took some brown sourdough bread for the Koi fish that are there (don't know if they've been dumped or left with permission but there are two very white, large fish now out of the earlier five).

We just about got home before dark and a little while before Jonathon went out for the evening.

14 January

Fay still isn't very well so Lorraine ran her class today. It was the first one of the season and, as expected, didn't quite go to plan but she coped pretty well with machinery malfunction! It was supposed to be Circuits but we ended up with a general Keep Fit session - it was exhausting with lots of running around and jumping about. Good to do something different I suppose!

It poured down all morning and Marcia opted not to go for our planned walk this afternoon but Michael said he'd like to go and he walked part of the way with me then jumped on a bus and went off to Bromley. The rain had stopped by the time I set off so it wasn't bad but everywhere was really wet and muddy.

January's challenge on my fitness app is to walk 12.4 km for 14 days this month. I easilt did that today (I think I'm up to 8/14 now).

I swept up a load of leaves in the drive when I got home and Oli, somehow, managed to get himself fastened in the garage. I'd seen him scoot across the road to Chris and Hilary's but hadn't noticed him come back even though he would have had to come right past me. He was very chatty when I opened the garage door "just to check".

Jonathon went for two sessions at Toulouse Lautrec today so we didn't see much of each other.

15 January

Usual Sunday morning with gym then church. The flowers at church were particularly lovely today - really bright. It was the first Parade service for 2023 so there were quite a few of the Uniformed Organisations children / young adults there.

No walk today because the main job for this afternoon was trying to replace the security light that Jonathon had taken down to fix. Despite his best efforts, needing three hands while balancing on a ladder was deemed to be too tricky so it's on the list for Terry's next visit.

Having looked at the rosehips while I was holding the ladder, I decided it was time for a tidy up so, after we'd put the ladder away, I got out the loppers and did all three roses at the front. I didn't dare close the garage door when I'd finished in case Oli was hiding! When we were sure he was in, Jonathon scooted outside and shut it.

Had the usual Skype call with Mum and Dad. Their diary over the next couple of weeks seems to be full of medical appointments of one kind or another.

Had the weekly chat with Christine - she's her usual busy self but no real news.

17 January

Gym and work - usual for a Tuesday. It was -6C when I went to the gym this morning - really frosty and sparkly. The view from the office window when I got to work was spectacular.

I went for a wander by the River Thames at lunchtime then visited a new exhibition "Evanescent" outside the Leadenhall Building (AKA the Cheesegrater). It was a collection of big bubbles, all lit up prettily with gentle music playing. The idea was to walk around and relax. It was lovely.

Jonathon went to do a photo shoot - I warned him to set off early because the trains were all to pot - perhaps the wrong kind of ice / frost etc. so everything had backed up during the day.

18 January

Gym and work again today. The sunrise was amazing and it was a lovely day all day, but very chilly.

Work was even more boring than usual until about 10 to 5 when it got busy!

Met Mark for dinner after work - we went to Haz. He'd been at a tribunal all day (his resident's association is taking their building management team to task over various contracts etc. He was quite frustrated by the whole process.

Jonathon was scheduled to go to Sutton but cancelled and stayed home to keep warm instead (they weren't expecting him so it didn't matter).

19 January

It was chaos here today! Oli wasn't happy at all.

The sunrise was beautiful and set us up for a lovely, crispy winter's day but that was the only calm thing all day. I hadn't even got dressed (and Jonathon was still in bed) when Blu-Lite arrived to start the electrical survey of the house. It will be a two day job and today was all about trying to work out what the different circuit boards linked to both in the house and outside. Apparently it is a mish mash but when they've finished their investigations they'll provide a report and we can then decide what to do to sort it out.

In the meantime, I trotted off to the gym for Tabata, treadmill and Pliates and Loretta came to start work on Jonathon's feet. He's ordered the different creams she suggest he try to help his heels and the general dryness.

Teresa came in the afternoon and did the cleaning around the electrics team as best she could.

Gilda came over and we sent to see "Steel Magnolias" at Bromley. It was a really good production and even more interesting for us having been to the Q&A session on Monday.

Jonathon went off to Piano Smithfield for a gig but only did the sound check then came home because the venue would have got too busy for him to get around with his cameras.

20 January

Went to Tai Chi early this morning then home for breakfast before going back to the gym for Yoga. When I got home from Tai Chi, Blu-Lite were already here and doing the inside survey. They were here most of the day but have now finished apart from having an on-site visit with Jon Keeling to discuss the ASHP installation / wiring. Blu-Lite have told us that there's nothing dangerous but a few things that need updating (and the AHSP wiring sorting out). Jonathon's written to JK to see when he'll be available - hopefully it won't be too long.

After a quick whistle stop tour at home for dinner, I literally ran for the train to go to the dentist, via a walk in South Norwood Country Park. The park looked lovely in the wintery sunshine but it was a bit muddy underfoot. All was clear at the dentist so I don't need to go back until July (phew!)

I popped to see John and Margaret as I was nearby. They had their financial adviser there so I didn't go in. John is recovering slowly from his bout of sepsis in the summer but has been really poorly and has only just started being able to walk around the house with his walker so it seems they are struggling a bit.

I went back to the tram to start the journey home but managed to catch a tram to Elmers End instead of Beckenham Junction (old habits die hard!) so got a bus from Elmers End to Beckenham and caught a train from there. While waiting for the bus, a man from South Africa called John started telling me all about his trips to Sweden to track down his ancestors, assisted by visions and angels. Very strange! Thankfully he got off the bus before me.

Jonathon, Oli and I stayed in this evening and enjoyed having the house to ourselves, free of electricians!

Jonathon went to Brixton to do a photo shoot but there were too many photographers and not enough lighting so he stayed for a little while then came home again.

I moved the garden rubbish sacks ready for James and Co to come on Tuesday to prune the pyracantha. Needless to say, no job is straightforward and it took a while to move the sacks and the pallets they were standing on and tidy up the area.

Skype - no real news but Mum and Dad both seemed relatively OK.

Christine had sad news today. She'd had Poppy (her Collie dog) put to sleep this morning. Poppy has been fading for a while and was really poorly this morning so they had her put out of her misery.

23 January

Best laid plans ...

Gym was fine but then the day didn't follow plan at all!

Gilda messaged to say she'd got a blocked drain so was waiting for Thames Water and Mark's train was cancelled so he went home. I ended up walking on my own but it was a lovely, very frosty morning so I wrapped up well. Had the treat of seeing (and getting a photo of) the local egret.

The river was flowing well and it was good to see the waterfall with plenty of water going over it.

Jonathon and I had lunch at Aksular then we decided to go to the Apple shop in Bromley today rather than wait until Thursday. (I'd had a message to say we could go anytime before Saturday). We handed my phone over and had to prowl round Bromley for 1.5 hours before going back to collect it. The new battery had been fitted but, apparently, my phone is too old for them to provide a new screen protector (it's all of 3 years old).

Jonathon didn't hear back from his potential photo artist for tonight so we stayed home and watched TV.

24 January

Gym then work.

James Hardy and Co came to trim off the pyracanthas so they now look a lot tidier. They checked the pyracantha bush that didn't look too healthy and confirmed it was OK. They also checked for bird activity before they cut back so all good.

Gilda and I went to Sadlers Wells in the evening for a one act, one hour performance. Beautiful dancing but the background music wasn't great.

Jonathon went to Toulouse Lautrec but there was no audience so he left and, coincidentally, caught the same train home as me.

25 January

No gym today (too tired from being out last night) so I did an online Pilates class at home before work. I had my annual appraisal with Ulrike. It went well so I should get a bonus (of sorts) in May.

It was cold and foggy all day but I managed to get out for a walk at dinner time to get some air.

The highlight of my day was a reunion with some of the WestImmo gang. Eight out of twelve turned up and it was like we'd never been apart. It was a really great evening.

26 January

I had a busy morning at the gym. I had my quarterly health assessment - most of the measurements are heading in the right direction but I apparently need to do more weights work so back to BodyPump I suppose.

Tabata was full on but fun then Pilates where Anna had decided to "challenge" us a bit. Between the two classes I popped to Sainsbury's to get my paper and some juice and found a cosy corner to sit in for a while (I didn't have time to get home and back).

Mark came and we all went to Xi'an for lunch then Mark and I went for a walk round Priory Gardens and along the Cray before he went back to the train station for home.

Jonathon went out with his cameras in the evening and I spent a few hours catching up with various admin tasks.

27 January

Luis tested positive for Covid so no Tai Chi this morning, instead Sally ran a standing Yoga class. My balance is not great so it was hard work! I'd already booked in for Sally's normal class so I did two loads of Yoga today - I should be getting better at it but I'm not convinced.

Shreena's struggling with child care at the moment (Mike's in hospital) so I was on school run duty. Amelie has changed school and now goes to Bromley High so a car drive. The school is right next to Jubilee Country Park and Thornet Wood so I had a good (very muddy) walk round before meeting Amelie and driving her home.

Jonathon went off to do a photo shoot in the evening and I continued to catch up on admin etc.