Day 47

I licked a chocolate bathbomb. It did NOT taste as good as it smells. The sad thing is, I have done this before, about 12 years ago. What’s the definition of madness again?

Perhaps the isolation is starting to affect us….

The last time I watched this much TV was when I was recuperating after an operation. Mind you, it’s not so much daytime telly at the moment – thank God – I cannot BEAR Loose Women. We tend to take some exercise, have dinner and then fill our evenings with Ed Stafford (Marooned; Naked & Alone – basically teaching us survival skills just in case), Escape to the Chateau (for when we can afford our own castle) and a mix of Gogglebox (I absolutely LOVE this programme and Darren secretly does too), War of the Worlds (modern remake set in London and Paris) or whatever film we haven’t yet seen. I also secretly watch Desperate Housewives when Darren isn’t around #guiltypleasure.

In addition, I am addicted to Candy Crush and probably don’t blink for minutes at a time. PLUS it makes me want to eat sweets.

I wonder if this is because we haven’t been for a walk or cycle for 3 days, so my mind isn’t in “health mode”. Currently on the snack menu is Orange Clubs, Wagon Wheels (jam), Twirls, mini Terrys Chocolate Orange segments and Malteser biscuits (new). I have been really good at just eating three meals a day, occasionally snacking on a hot chocolate and custard cream or a crumpet. But I have had the serious munchies for the past few days.

*****

On Saturday we drive to Poole to pick up my parents’ prescriptions. The queue into Asda is about 12 deep, but I manage to go straight through to the pharmacy. I have not really experienced supermarkets and I am more than anxious about trying to figure out the rules, so of course I bumble about in the wrong direction and another customer looks at me sternly and shows me where to go. It is embarrassingly obvious that I should follow the arrows. This only gets worse when I attempt to find my way to the baking aisle for eggs. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get there without breaching the rules – it’s like Pacman – so I give up and leave the store, where there are now at least 30 people queuing up to get their shopping.

Dropping off the medication to my parents feels very weird. I cannot hug them and I daren’t go into their house. I am pleased that they look well and I hope it lifts their spirits a bit to see us. We come home with far more than we left with: baked beans, grated cheese, more Twirls (yes!), pineapple chunks and a multitude of other tins and dried goods, as well as handsoap (it’s like gold dust in these parts) and hand sanitiser. And on the way home we accidentally stop by the village shop and purchase the last 2 steak pasties from behind the counter. I have mine cold with a large glass of rose wine.

And then I nap.

*****

When we are not visiting Charlotte in Cornwall we might go to the cinema or meet friends for dinner, but usually we are just knackered and catching up on chores and sleep from the previous weekend. Things are different at the moment – most of our days are spent “hanging out” – so it feels like we should do something a bit more exciting this evening.

“Let’s go and hit a golf ball around” Darren suggests, so and we grab a club and mooch over to one of the fields. There is no one around and it is blissfully still, the sun hanging low in the sky. We stop on the bridge to see if there are any fish, and although the water is clear, we cannot see movement in the river. I am a novice golfer, so my practice is basically trying to hit the ball and aim in the right direction. Darren, however, is self-taught and a great player. Fortunately for me, he is also very patient and he helps me to stand correctly and critiques my swing in a positive way.

Walking back, we vow to spend more time like this – making the most of our surroundings – rather than slobbing about.

*****

The next morning we manage to crawl from the bed to the sofa and scoff down bacon and egg sandwiches whilst watching all four episodes of Gordon, Gino & Fred. The sun is beaming down from the clear, blue sky, so we sit in the courtyard and do some planting. Darren has rescued a variety of seed packets from an old box, so we are unsure if they will even grow, but we are willing to take our chances. We sow seeds in plant pots, a poppadum packet and the butter pack from the recycling bin. There are carrots, parsley, thyme, radishes, beetroot and corn salad (which neither of us have ever heard of) and by the time we are finished, the sun is going down and we aren’t exactly sure what seeds are in which pots. But hey, we look at it like a game of Russian Roulette (minus the bullet) and think we will be able to figure it out in the long run.

So basically, we are living The Good Life, just on a smaller scale.

Darren spends the rest of the afternoon making a fire in the courtyard and I feel inspired to bake my first ever bread pudding, wholemeal pancakes (with chocolate chips) and then organise a beef Massaman curry in the slow cooker. Unfortunately I snack on all of this whilst I cook, as well as some gummy bears and the leftover chocolate chips. And jammy bread. And pancake mix.