Such excitement this week as Lockdown protocols were eased slightly and we were able to visit the family in Kimbolton. A big treat and our first proper excursion into the wilds of Cambridgeshire.
Zac and Julie have a large home in Stonely with a garden, adjacent to Kimbolton, where two of the grandchildren, Tyger and Fin, were at school. Poor Tyger has had his year wrecked by the pandemic and had, in March, to be rescued from Thailand as lockdowns were imposed round the world. He and his friend, Chip, literally got the last plane to the UK out of Bangkok having only been in the country at the start of their backpack travels for about three days. I guess this is a story repeated many times all over the world but it doesn’t alter the sadness at seeing plans shattered. I feel so sorry for our youth : Tyger goes to Imperial College at the end of summer but not like students before him; the possibility of making friends, of sharing things, of proper tutorials and lectures in the company of colleagues – these have all been compromised.
It was a great day; the sun shone and the roasting lamb on the Weber went down a treat with some rather nice wines. Everyone can cook in that family. A miracle! And such a help too.Like many homes everywhere lockdown must be a claustrophobic experience.
With four strapping men, Julie has her work cut out and its great they can all help.
Jabe is locked down from Loughborough University; Fin is still at Kimbolton School for a year or two longer. We just stayed the day; no overnighting allowed yet and drove back to Mistley in the early evening.
Then on Tuesday the next event – our first visitors – as Friends Helen (Bourne) and Robert (Finlayson) drove down for lunch on Midsummer Day with the sun burning down and unheard of temperatures bleaching brown our Green. So out with the hoses later to revive all our new planting efforts!
Our Friend Sarah across The Green is selling The Old Custom House, a double fronted Georgian construction and her home for the past twenty years. It was this gem that Helen came to view; also Swan House overlooking Swan Basin in the village centre diagonally opposite the Thorn Hotel & Post Office. It has a view down past the little dock, over the estuary towards Harwich.
Such excitement. A change in routine. A planned luncheon. It made me nervous suddenly, its so long since those epicurean grey cells have been exercised. What to do? What to give them? Epic decision making in these times of Lockdown.
It all went well. Apart from appalling traffic coming out of London that is. It’s a long way to come for the day, a 165 mile round trip but they felt it was worth it and everyone enjoyed the visit – distancing notwithstanding.
So another week has slid by: Zooms of Bridge, of international family visits, tea parties in gardens (and sometimes not) and the usual Boxset and Bio sessions! Lots of navel gazing.
We are alarmed though at the poor interpretation here of the easier rules. There is deliberate flouting though not on the Bournemouth Beach scale I am happy to say. All our medical friends say there will be another large spike later this summer.
Well, we shall see…………..
Stay safe all.
XXXXXX CUZES – loved reading the news – all our experiences (or non) are so similar but never articulated like you do so well. We, too, like Tony, have been diving into a huge lovely lake in Fairford which has not yet become like Bournemouth beach. Now we are having to abide by the Airbnb enhanced cleaning protocol (50 pages long with an exam at the end) in preparation for holiday makers flocking to the Cotswolds and meanwhile eating drinking and dealing with the weirdness of not behaving in quite a human way. Zooming tomorrow with the Jakartans and the Queningtonians. Much love to you both and lets zoom again soon from the Chedworthians
Yes. Lets Zoom!
Lovely post Potter dear. So glad you could visit the family. I’m sure your guests enjoyed the luncheon you prepared. Dying for Tony’s next novel to hit the shelves. We also had travel drama as Katie was visiting her brother and his wife in Ulster, Pennsylvania when SAA cancelled her return flight. What was to have been a 2.5 week trip became 2.5months away, with a lot of anxiety thrown in including nearly missing the repatriation flight from Dulles in Washington and 5.5 hours on the tar.ac at OR Tambo whilst the hotel for 14 days of isolation was pinned down. Finally she could travel overnight by bus to CT to be reunited with her family and Thomas who had 8 weeks of lock down on his own. Anyway all’s well now. We must have a call soon 😘😎
Fantastic Web Site Peter! Thanks for sharing.
xoxoxLisa
Ah ha . . the comment block is working!
How wonderful to be out and about again!
As you no doubt know our restrictions have been relaxed with positive Covid numbers increasing by the thousands. No galavanting for us yet
Roses lime juice 😍 Lucky you to have some of that… the perfect thirst quencher in hot weather 😘
Cheers Pedro, and good to see you and Tony are getting your lives back (whilst following the new, and rather complex rules). Here in Italy life has returned to a degree of normality – restaurants and bars busy, though not in the tourist centre of Rome where my friend’s once-thriving restaurant remains closed and might well continue so till September – there are simply not enough tourist bums-on-seats to half-fill the many thousands of eateries which are such a mainstay of the local economy. Thousands might never re-open.
At our little school in Bracciano, on the other hand, we’ve lost a quarter of our year’s income through lockdown so far. The big worry is what will happen in September when state schools are set to reopen, with social distancing. It’s the same old dilemma for us – with 4 rather than 8 in the class it becomes a real challenge to cover the costs. But I’m an optimist , and hope we’ll be able to stay afloat until a vaccine comes to the rescue, possibly in early 2021. Am I being totally unrealistic?
On a different note, young Emily passed her ‘maturità’ with excellent grades this week, and Uni now beckons – guess what, we’ll be empty-nesters after the summer!
One less worry?!
What a lovely verbal and visual catch-up! A perfect way of keeping in touch. Lots of virtual hugs to you both.
Thank you Clive!