Tuesday, February 09, 2021

... and that was 2020

 

Well what a year we have had.  It started in January when my mum was taken ill at my sister’s house.  She’d been staying there for Christmas. She spent a few days in hospital and went back to my sister’s as they thought she was recovering well.  She died on 8th January.  My sister and I both agreed that we were glad she hadn’t died at home all alone, although she has good neighbours who would have acted if she didn’t show signs of being up and about. We had to wait until February for the funeral as the coroner had a backlog – nothing to do with covid yet. 

Our flight to the UK, for the funeral, was delayed by 5 hours because of high winds but we managed to take off eventually. It was windy in the UK too and there were lots of people milling around the airport as flights were on hold or cancelled.  My nephew and his girlfriend were on the record breaking flight from the US – blown over the Atlantic by the strong winds!

Rob was told not to go into work mid-March.  We decided to treat him being home as a rehearsal for retirement.  The rehearsal went very well. We got plenty of jobs done around the house and garden and as the weather was good we sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine.

In May there was a bad storm and the drain couldn’t cope so eventually the steps down to the back door flooded and came into the house.  At 1.30 am I was madly mopping up water while Rob tried to bail the water away in the garden in the pouring rain.  After I’d finished that, I tidied up and slipped on a step inside the house and cracked a rib.  That was quite painful for several weeks.

Rob eventually went back into work for the summer, but for shorter hours and then a four day week as we went into another lock down.  Lockdowns involved filling out a form every time we left the house in case we were stopped by the gendarmes. At the moment he goes into work once a week.  We’re free to go where we want, but being older now we like to know that there is a café open so that we can have a coffee and use the toilets. All cafes and restaurants are closed at the moment, except for take away.  The curfew is from 6 pm to 6 am, which is okay at the moment as the sun sets just after 6, as the days draw out we’re going to miss our evening walks by the river.

We managed to visit Dom and J-M and the girls in September for my birthday.  It was very strange, everywhere in Lille seemed so quiet.  We didn’t go shopping in the town centre like we usually do.  We visited Ikea and it was so quiet – very unusual.

At the end of 2019 there was no way that anyone would have imagined how life would change for everyone.  We’re fortunate as all of our relatives and friends have been safe and sound. I hope  that yours have been too.

6 comments:

voyageoftheeye said...

Hi Anji, sorry about your mother but good to hear that you are all doing fine. I still have my magic device for opening autoroute toll gates but am now wondering whether we shall ever manage a tour through France again. That just makes me realise just how much I miss the time we have spent over there and all the folk we may never see again, cafés unvisited and great food untasted.

Many friends here have had their first vaccination jab but not being so old I have another couple of weeks to wait. Meanwhile we are getting buried in deep snow like we have not seen in an age

Anji said...

voyageoftheeye: At the moment we can't go far. There is so little to see that is open and now that we are older, first stop is "Where are the toilets?". Thank you for not mentioning the "B" word which I'm sure will complicate a lot of travel plans when we will be free to roam again. If you are who I think you are; The other day, I came upon the photos you took of us when you visited La Rochelle. Happy days.

Don said...

Wow, I missed a lot in not getting notices. (Wonder what happened to them?)

Anyway, sorry to hear about your Mother!! May she rest in peace now!

Sounds like a busy time over your way!!

Stay safe and healthy!!

Don

Anji said...

Don; I'm sorry it's taken me so long to reply> I haven't blogged much over the past couple of years. I'm retiring at the beginning of October! It feels very strange to think that I'm old enough. I will continue my postcard business for a few more years as I can work at my own pace. I hope that all is well with you and you are keeping safe. We watched CNN in horror at the beginning of January. I wonder what the future will bring

Xfinite Radio said...

Love your content and enjoyed your blog.

Anji said...

Xfinite Radio; thank you for your comment, glad you enjoyed reading it.