Blowing in the wind in The View from the Terrace

The buildings on the main road we overlook were originally residential. Now most have been converted to shops and businesses, some with flats above. The pavements were wide and most of the shops have been extended at the front leaving the flats with a little area where they can go out. Louise has made a little garden out of her area. The man across the road goes out to his for a smoke because he doesn’t have a garden at the back. I have even seen people down the road string fairy lights and have parties out there. Almost opposite us there are 3 businesses that haven’t been extended and the area in front of them, with buildings on 3 sides, traps the wind and little whirlwinds develop blowing bits of paper around. It can be mesmerising to watch. It reminds me of that scene from American Beauty.

We went to Sainsbury’s again yesterday. It is much stricter now; only so many people are allowed into the store at one time. You have to queue outside to wait your turn keeping 2 meters apart. There were more things on the shelves but no baked beans. Louise eats a lot of baked beans so we had to go to Lidl afterwards to see if they had any. They had a few but she was only allowed 4 cans which is about half a week’s supply for her. She said that because of these restrictions she will have to shop more often, which is the opposite of government recommendations. It didn’t occur to me until afterwards that I should have shopped separately and bought 4 more. I suppose I will have to stop eating them, I saw an old tin of spaghetti left over from David in the cupboard, I will have to hunt around and see what else I can find.

I heard the prime minister has the virus now, he only has mild symptoms and is still running the country via video link. We were told a few days ago that Prince Charles has it too, also with mild symptoms. I hope the Queen doesn’t get it as she is 92, although she is so tough she would probably survive.

This whole situation has me thinking about Hubby’s grandmother Mary. She died of Spanish flu in the 1919 pandemic. My mother-in-law was only 5 when she died and she had a baby sister who was only 18 months. M I L told me a beautiful story about how Mary used to take the children for walks and sometimes they would walk through the cemetery. This was during the first world war and one day she found the grave of a German soldier, presumably a prisoner of war. Afterwards she used to take flowers to put on it because he was ‘some mother’s son’ and his own mother couldn’t do it. What a lovely person she must have been. It’s sad that she died so young but lovely that her story lives on. The 1919 pandemic must have been even harder in the days before anti biotics or intensive care and coming right after a world war. It must have felt like the end of the world; but they got through, and so will we.