Two days after Edwin had taken Ann to the dentist and me to A&E (see Edwin's Emergency-Journeys), he was pinged by the Covid app and has to remain quarantined for ten days. The message said only the day he was in contact with an infected person, not where it happened, so naturally he wondered if it had occurred when he was out with us. Then Andre also got pinged, so they figured it must have been when they were together somewhere, but apart from the driving lesson (Edwin teaching Andre), they didn't go anywhere much together on Monday. However, an article in the paper this week warned that some false pings can occur through partition walls, so they now wonder if they got it through the thin wall of their apartment block.
Fortunately, they have each had their first vaccination and both remain well. Ann sent for a Covid test set, so we have also tested ourselves and remain negative, but nearly half-a-million people are currently off work because of these pings, and many children are missing out yet again on their education, including our granddaughter in the village because someone in the school tested positive. Some people are now deleting the app because of this, and I have not added it to my phone as I don't want false pings to stop me going out. Ann has taken the opposite view and has now downloaded the app to see if she gets pinged at all.
It is summer, my favourite part of the year. Autumn brings early frosts and the hint of decay; winter sees me shivering under heavy jerseys and a blanket, with the long hours of darkness bringing tiredness and lethargy, while Spring, for all its promise of new life, is often heavy rain with the earth sodden and late frosts. But summer gives light with long days, so often filled with glorious sunshine and warmth. A time to sit in the garden to read or watch the swallows, or take walks with firm ground under ones feet rather than squelchy mud, when age brings the possibility of slipping and a bad fall.
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| Cutting metal for the crane |
When we built the patio and added the pebbled zen garden, I promised Ann I'd to try to construct a Japanese crane to complement the area. Yesterday, I began to make good on my promise. I have a large sheet of mild steel, salvaged from the back of the dishwasher when we had to replace it. I have drawn the shapes on it for body and wings, and am in process of cutting out the pieces. I am using a reciprocating saw with a metal cutting blade, and wear protective goggles, gloves and ear plugs, but it is tiring and the noise of sawing through steel is horrendous, so I can only do it for short periods. As the new creature emerges, I will post progress on this blog.
We watched a biopic on Alex Ferguson recently. I was impressed with has wonderful managerial style, with his intellectual analysis for coming to decisions. One particularly difficult choice was when he pondered whether to drop his regular goalie to bring in a new man. He was filled with uncertainty, but in the end said, "when there is doubt, there is no doubt" and took the decision. Manchester United went on to win the game and the tournament and never looked back, although the old goalie never spoke to him again. One must not dwell on 'what might have beens', but it is a maxim I wish I had had at several critical times in my life, and will now carry forward.
