Photo diary: mid-December to January 2021, project 365

 It's been almost a month since my last blog post was published. You might have been too busy to notice, or maybe you did wonder what's happened. The second half of December passed in a blur. My older boy tested positive on the last day of school. It looked like he had a cold, with a mild cough and temperature, and the school has provided us with a free test. A few days later, to our shock, the notifications started pinging on my phone that he has tested positive, and we all need to go into self-isolation.

At that point, I was going into a panic mode, anxious about my son, that he might need to go to the hospital, which due to the nature of his disability, he would never understand. I couldn't sleep with worry. Thankfully, he had it in a mild form. Then I caught some sort of lurgy, I haven't done the test, so nothing's been confirmed either way. I spent the next couple of weeks mostly in bed, feeling totally flattened. 

I was also very worried about how we're going to manage with the food shopping. We obviously couldn't go out, and getting a delivery slot nowadays is like winning a lottery, especially around Christmas time.

The NHS people kept calling, just to check if we stayed at home. We did. There was no help offered whatsoever, basically you're left to cope on your own. Criticise Russia what you like, but if you are sick, you get a home visit from the GP, and if you test positive, you get free medication.

Our friends rallied around us, doing shopping for us and leaving bags outside. We had Christmas gifts dropped off by the door as well. I am most grateful for their help and kindess at that difficult time.

And before all the virus drama, I was scrolling through Twitter at bedtime, when I spotted an announcement from The Guardian that John Le Carré died. We were very saddened by the news. My husband and I have been big fans for many years, and have known him personally. My husband was a young academic, when he met David for the first time in the 1990s. 

I remember our stay at David and Jane's guest cottage in Cornwall many years ago, when we were newly married. We had the cottage all to ourselves, with the kitchen and wine rack to our full disposal. Late one evening, there was a knock on the door, and David comes in, bringing more wine, just in case we've run out of it. It makes me smile thinking of that. 

David had this amazing talent of being a great listener, he would ask you questions and listen to what you had to say, as if you were the most important person in the world. And he was a wonderful storyteller as well, and a good actor. 

We visited them many times, first with little Sasha, later with Eddie as well, when we stayed in Cornwall. They were incredibly kind and attentive to Sasha. When a world-famous writer cares about your child with a disability, you never forget this kindness.

I was looking through the old photos of our trips to Cornwall, when I came across this snap, taken on our visit to Le Carré's house with my in-laws. This was in 2009. Sasha loved their extensive gardens and roamed free there. Cherished memories.

If you have access to TLS, you might want to read my husband's article Beyond the Cold War.

It's hard to imagine we will never hear David's beautiful voice again.

The last week of school was still full of hope that we might spend Christmas with our bubble. I bought food to please both vegetarians and meat eaters. Little did I know that by the end of the week, all our plans would be cancelled. 

Eddie had a Christmas jumper day at school and wore his festive stormtropper jumper.

A frosty morning in the flood fields...

The teddy bears of Witney had a Christmas-themed window display, but the teddies looked sad, perhaps they were also thinking of better days.

I don't buy chestnuts throughout the year, but at Christmas time do fancy some roast chestnuts. Though the home ones never taste the same as those roasted on big metal trays outdoors, like you see in the streets of Italian towns.

On Christmas day I made an effort of getting out of bed to cook a simple lunch. We had a small ham in marmalade glaze for the boys, and a nut roast for vegetarians, plus plenty of veggies. It was a bit sad, but at least we were together, and slowly gaining strength.

We watched the Queen's speech, and I thought she also looked sad. My brother who watched her speech on Youtube, said she appeared wise and dignified.

I insisted that Eddie should eat at least one sprout. He hates sprouts. I love them, and would happily eat the lot. I always liked them, even as a child. At that time we could only buy them in packs of mixed frozen vegetables from Poland. And I would sneakily take them out of the freezer and eat icy cold. OK, I might have been a weird child.

On Boxing day I cooked a risotto, with a splash of champagne. We opened the bottle the day before, but we really don't drink much. I think we still have half a bottle in the fridge, I bet it's all gone flat now.

Every Christmas I buy a box of Fazer Finlandia jelly fruits from Lakeland. For some stupid reason they're only available at Christmas. They are soooo good, truly the best jelly fruits ever.

You can get them on amazon, but they cost an arm and a leg there.

A few days before new year's eve our town was on the flood alert. The flood fields and the streets nearby were actually flooded, and you could see the sandbags outside the doors in the town centre, nearby the bridge over the Windrush. 

That's the picture my husband has taken for me. I bet the people who live in that house by the river were very worried. 

It has become a tradition for me that I call my brother on new year's eve, when the clock strikes midnight their time. He turns the camera towards the TV, when the Kremlin chimes go Boom! We hold the champagne flutes up and wish each other a happy new year! This is a screenshot from our conversation.

Typically my Mum would be spending the evening/night with my brother and his family, but this year my Mum was on her own. I called her, of course, but she's a Luddite, when it comes to technology, so we cannot see each other.

For four days ClassicFM were running their Ultimate Hall of Fame to mark the 25th chart countdown. I listened to it, on and off, with great pleasure, and was delighted that Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.2 won the 1st place. I tweeted to them, and they RTed my tweet. That made my day.

I was still feeling too weak to venture outside, but my husband did take our boys for a walk, and took a photo of the manger outside St Mary's Church.

I might have not been blogging but I have read several books for the forthcoming book blogs and reviews. The Mystery of Montague House by Emma Davies is a cosy mystery, with a supernatural twist (check out my review on the 14th of January, the day of the publication of the book).

The other day when Eddie and I looked in the garden from the bedroom window, we spotted this tree surgeon, balancing precariously among the branches. It makes me sad to see big trees cut down.

Our snowy morning was a bit of a disappointment. There was not even snow enough to build a snowman. By afternoon it has all melted.

Homeschooling is not much fun, though it's better organised this lockdown in comparison to the first one. Kids have a Zoom meeting with their teacher at 9.20am and 2.30pm, when they can discuss any issues and report on the work done.

During the holidays, as we were stuck at home, Eddie has been reading a lot, and also doing some art projects. This is a competition entry for Pokemon magazine.

If you've managed to read until the very end of this long post, I give you a big virtual hug. Hope I won't disappear for another month.

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