Feest Isolation Days – 9 April 2020
The weather was glorious yesterday afternoon and T-Shirts and summer clothes were the order of the day. How hard it must be for those people who can’t get into a garden or have kids who want to run around a park or play on swings that are no longer there for them. We were very fortunate because we missed the wet and wild winter as we spent the majority of British winter-time in New Zealand. For those who haven’t had sun and warmth for so long, it must be difficult to stick to the rules. It’s even hard for those of us who have had summer!
Our lovely friend Deric left us a present on our doorstep yesterday. I missed a trick, I should have photographed them! Two magnificent artichokes. We ate them for dinner last night and marvelled at the ingenuity of the people who first discovered the edible bits. Artichokes are the flowers of thistles and have been in gardens since 8 BC and where mentioned by Homer. If you haven’t ever eaten one, it’s a treat. You peel off each leaf and eat the very base which has a tiny bit of goodness. As you tear off the outer bits and get closer and closer to the heart at its centre, you are also designing an artwork. Getting to the meaty bit of the vegetable needs a sharp knife and determination. At this stage you must not be greedy. As you seek the heart, you need to bypass the hairy bit that covers it and slice lower than you may like. The subtle flavour is delicious, especially with a tiny bit of dressing. We never enjoyed an artichoke as much! A cup of home-made broccoli soup with some salad completed our meal. Food as art, as well as sustenance, thank you Deric!
Watching the daily press briefing has become part of our daily routine. Is it just me or are the journalists just not very bright? They don’t seem to know how to ask insightful questions, they keep going around a continuous loop. We both shout answers to their questions at the television as the top team have already answered them earlier, if the journalists only had listened. Perhaps we really are getting old! Rishi the young Chancellor was sounding very much like a Socialist today and a human being. Wouldn’t it be great if Tories were still like this when the pandemic is behind us?
I miss my walks and swimming a great deal at the moment. I’m working on some other writing and normally when I get stuck I swim. Or walk. Not today! Yoga first thing in the morning is great but stationary biking is not the same as striding out or doing my usual forty minutes or so of the crawl. I suspect as we head into our twenty-sixth day I am getting a bit weary. Like everyone else in the country I suspect.
I just have to remember that there are no screaming kids desperate to head outside, and I’m not on the upper floor of a tower block. Bound to have a few wobbles though I suppose. Life in lockdown in the sun and warmth, even with a beautiful garden is still life in lockdown.
Time to see what’s new outside from the back bedroom window, and listen to the friends who can visit us!
With love,
Kathy x