The word is a very exciting place

 April brought the sombre news that 25,000 people in the United Kingdom had died from Covid-19. 25,000. It was an astonishing number, one that I couldn't really comprehend. That was like everyone the local area dying. I couldn't get my head around the numbers. April brought news that many of us still working were going to be furloughed, as there was too many staff working for the money we were taking as a store, particularly as the online fulfilment service had been switched off, and all clothing areas were closed. So I was told on the Sunday that I was going to be furloughed. I didnt want to be, I wanted to stay working, the thought of being home all the time made me feel uneasy, but it is what it is, and so I finished my shift that night and came home, feeling anxious and a little stressed. I think James sensed this, and got out a new board game that had arrived called Catan. If you've never played it before, its like a strategy city building game where you collect resour...

The pandemic was growing worse day by day, with over 10,000 deaths so far, and the news that new pop up hospitals were being set up to take additional patients if hospitals became overwhelmed. I think this was the news that started to make me feel very uneasy and nervous as to what was going on around us. Work was just as busy as ever, although staffing levels seemed to becoming better and steadier and the level of panic buying seemed to be calming down. Still no toilet paper, although James managed to source some just as I was about to start rationing the bog roll. How have we come to this? On my days off, I continued to walk around our local area, saying hello to the pigeons, and having a closer look at this fountain that sits on the edge of Asylum Green. What a beautiful fountain, we don't build them like this anymore do we. Someone was writing a poem each day and putting it at the entrance to the common which was such a lovely idea. It was nice to stop for a moment and read som...

Hi everyone, just a quick message from me before we start March 2020. I've been ill for a while with some back and spinal issues, I've been in and out of hopsital, and had been signed off work for 5 weeks. I've now returned on reduced hours, and am slowly getting better, although I've been told I need to have an operation. I'll post about it fully when the times comes, but being signed off and laid down all the time, has given me some time to write some posts. I've queued a load of them, and there will be a new post every Wednesday & Sunday for 2025. Think of it as my little treat to you all! I'm doing ok, just waiting for the operation that will hopefully get me back to normal, so until then, you may see me wobbling about the place on crutches!  One of my trusty crutches. My legs are bruised because I still havent quite got the hang of them and keep hitting myself with them!  Halfway through March, things started to get worse. Working in the clothing si...

 That first day home after being away on holiday is horrible. Getting the suitcase unpacked, washing everything, getting uniform ready for work. Bleugh. Its almost like I need another holiday to recover from the first day back at work! I'd popped into town for some bits, and when I was walking home I discovered these three ducks in the park. Bearing in mind there's no pond there, only a small water fountain the students are always tipping washing up liquid in, it seemed an odd place to see them. But they were happily strolling across the park on thier way somewhere. Shame I didnt have any food with me!  We also came back just in time to see my Amaryllis flower, and what a beauty! Three flowers off the one stem, and all in this gorgeous crimson colour. Really brightened up the conservatory, especially as not much else had been starting to flower yet. But then it was early March, so I guess that's normal.  We also had a lovely day down the beach too, it was nice to be somew...

 It was our final day on Malta, and yet again I was asking the question, where did that time go? There's no way our week here could be already coming to an end. There must have been a mistake! I pondered the issues with time vanishimg whilst on holiday, while on the bus to Clapham Junction, the largest collection of cart ruts in Malta, named so because to one explorer, it reminded him of the train tracks in London, just by Clapham Junction. Clapham Junction is one of the busiest train stations in Europe, with over two thousand trains passing through each day, so it's understandable there is a lot of tracks that cross cross each other. And thats the same here for the cart ruts.  It's a mystery quite how and when the cart ruts were made, and in fact very little is known about them. Theories include that they are paths from where carts being used to transport stone overtime have caused the grooves, other's think they are a form of drainage. Whatever they were used for, the...