Day Eighteen

Feest Isolation Days – 1 April 2020

All I can say is that we are finally through March and into April!  Maybe this month will be a better month for the world.  We are getting a bit fed up at Chez Feest and are thinking of doing things slightly differently.

Possibly a fishing trip will feature.  What the heck?!  All these people who are not listening to the advice when we are is silly. I might join Terry even if I don’t fish.  I could just sit in the car and read and watch as he catches some trout. 

Really, why should we stay stuck in the house when everyone else round these parts seems to be stepping out?  I read that the joggers are taking over the parks and not paying any attention at all to the walkers.  Fishing is an isolation sport surely? We won’t run into anybody or cough on them.  And we’ve been self isolating for eighteen days now!

Idiots we are not, and so we figured out that we need to have pen and paper in the car with us so we can write notes to any policeman that may stop us. We can leave our windows up, stay safe and write them a note saying we are going for food.  Well fish is food isn’t it?

Look, some of you may sense a change in our tone, and that’s because we really are going stir crazy. It didn’t take long…just eighteen days!  I thought we’d make it longer than that but I’m not so sure any longer. Terry has been playing with his fishing line just this morning and it has been, quite honestly, a bit worrying to see. 

Frequently we have people walking by our house and yesterday I had a note through the door asking why there was fishing going on in our garden. They didn’t say who they were and when I cleaned and disinfected the note I seemed to have rubbed out their name, but whoever it was wanted to know if we had fish in our garden!

Of course, we have always been the kind of people who follow the rules and I must admit we are surprising ourselves with our desire to throw caution to the wind and to get out there and fish.

Often, it happens around this time we’re told.  When people have been confined throughout most of March, they begin to reassess, especially if they’re over seventy.  They may no longer draw on the resilience that they acquired over their lifetime and wish to throw that caution as I say into the wind…or in this case into the fishing lake.

Lucky for us, after thinking these thoughts and getting the fishing gear ready to load into the car, we went back outside in the garden, sat on the swing and came to our senses.  Who wants a criminal charge at this stage of our lives?  We hope you understand.  We changed our mind. But we really thought you might just like to hear that sometimes, yes, even the Feests can be foolish.   We thought we’d give it to the afternoon and see what we thought by then. Are we just morning fools?  Hmmmm.

Check that date again at the top of these words.  We’re not going anywhere but out on that swing with our cups of tea.  Enjoy your day and don’t forget to smile. If you read down the left hand side of this missive you will also notice another great big  (non fishy) clue – our bold beginnings tell a tale! Enjoy.

I wrote the above and then discovered that April Fools in France is all about fish! Some French folk began sending out invitations for New Years Eve parties for the first of April. Should you be foolish enough to attend one you were called an April Fish.  Apparently an April Fish is a recently spawned fish, an inexperienced youngster vulnerable to trickery and for a fisherman…easily caught.

These days in France, April first is “Poisson d’Avril” April Fish! French kids tape a paper fish on the back of their friends. If and when the fish is discovered, the prankster yells, “Poisson d’Avril!” April Fish! Who knew!!

The family below are unmistakeably British, and they are just fun to watch!  No tricks…enjoy…

Meanwhile in Clifton………..

With love,

Kathy x