DAY 43: Sat 25 April

Time for a big clear out and clean up, part 1.

Woke at 7:30 with a stinking headache and the tinnitus at full blast. Too much sun, at this time of year? I don’t BELIEVE it!

Checked my blood pressure and it’s as near normal as I could hope for, so I must put the headache down to too much sun, take a paracetamol and get on. It is cooler today, and I think I will give horticulture a break – apart from any necessary watering.

Now the patio is looking almost pristine I suppose I need to tidy up the alleyway outside the back door. At this rate I shall begin to become  ‘house-proud’ if the lockdown lasts much longer (something family and friends would say is long overdue). All I can say to them is “Pray for rain”.

Sorted out lots of things as I cleared out the passage way, which also gave me access to  previously inaccessible windows. Suddenly realised it was a nice day fur cleaning windows – not an expression I use very often.

The chickens are intrigued by all this clearing and cleaning, but force of habit meant that they still regard the sparkling patio as a convenient place for their dropping. No way they plan to change old habits.

The morning’s tasks were nicely interrupted by a visit from my son and grandson No 3. They settled on the bench outside the garden and I sat on the steps. They had brought some fresh vegetables and I could respond with some ‘pizza toast’ (cheese on tomato paste on toast) coffee and fruit juice. A lovely sunny interlude. They went off home on the bike with music from a portable (bluetooth?) speaker. How the world had changed from the days when I took my first two kids to school on a bike and we sang songs as we went. 

Which reminds me, I must find time to finish my #BristolDJsUnite playlist for tomorrow night.  No time for lunch as the clear up continues, but when my house guest emerges – having been fasting in bed since dawn – he takes over the external cleaning while I start compiling my play list.

There is no sign of grandsons 1 and 2, at story time. They have gone for a bike ride again, I discover later, so the next crucial chapter of The Master must wait until Sunday. Instead I settle down to my musical task.

Never having put together a 30 disc playlist before, I discover that it is not as quick and easy as I thought it would be. Luckily I already devised a ‘hit list’, but as I will want to say something succinct about each track that requires a bit of research, and of course I have to time each track. They range from a little over 2 minutes to more than 11. It is an enjoyable experience, but interrupted by the arrival of an old friend who has come to sup wine at a distance and chat about gender and cultural issues. 

That too is enjoyable but also interrupted, this time by Iftar. I share it with my house guest, and we chat about religion and hypocrisy. 

Time for the last two episode of TWIN, but I have them on record for later, so I return to my hit list and completing this entry of My Self-Isolation Diary, though it feels like today has been a more social day than usual. There has been much to-ing an fro-ing on the internet and WhatApp about the orange toad-wart’s latest dangerous nonsense. Thank goodness Randy Rainbow has come up with another parody to set the world to to rights.

Mike J

Journalist, trainer, editor; storyteller; amateur historian.

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