Saturday December 19th.
Well it happened we are now in tier 3 here are the rules. Ah no there are too many of them to put down, but basically you can go shopping on your own and a walk with a member of your household and that’s it. Until 23rd December when all bets are off to party and mix with nearly anyone you like, and then in January, we will all be in a total lockdown or in hospital if there is a spare bed! Its best not to think about it too much as its quite depressing to dwell on and the New year is quite a daunting prospect. I am projecting my thoughts to March when all the spring flowers are going to appear, and the baby lambs will be leaping around in the sunny meadows. Ah that’s better.
We were going to have a Christmas drinks do (allowed 6 socially distanced in the garden) with our walking friends on the 20th However, as it would fall into tier 3 we had to arrange a spur of the moment do, raid the crisp cupboard, take Ian’s sacred sausage rolls out of the freezer, erect the gazebo and light the fire, all in an hour. We all had a really good time, the fire pit kept us lovely and warm and the Champagne lifted all our spirits.
Saturday 19th December although we are in tier 3 and Sarah & Jon have dropped to T2 we have arranged to meet up and exchange presents, at a distance of course. Destination is the Blunsdon house hotel car park, haven’t been there for years it used to be a birthday treat to be taken there for dinner when we were young. We had a quick chat from our vehicles exchanged presents and drove off, well that’s what had to happen and strictly speaking Ian & I shouldn’t have been there.
We had a detour drive home as there was a problem on the M4 so we went via Highworth and Lambourn, nothing to hurry home for so we might as well make the pretty journey home. I pointed out various landmarks to Ian, my grans house and other family abodes, my primary school and Jon’s senior school. A good trip down memory lane it was so lovely driving over the Berkshire downs and when we are allowed will make a day out of it.
That was all so nice and to see Sarah & Jon face to face….. and then the trouble hit.
Boris had called an emergency cabinet meeting and at a briefing from Downing Street we were informed that we (Bucks) along with many others are in a new tier, Tier 4. Basically, lockdown again.
There is a new variant of the virus which is ravaging the South East and spreading like the proverbial wildfire. The rise in the rate of infection is alarming, it is changing rapidly and there is huge concern as they believe it is 70% more transmittable. So, from midnight, Bucks, Berks, London, Surrey, Essex and parts of Kent all in T4.
Also, major changes to Christmas rules.
T1-T3 only allowed to gather on Christmas day and T4 no gatherings from outside your own household, no overnight stays allowed in any tier and no one to travel outside T4.
On our Marlow facebook page people who were planning parties or family dinners are now offering spare food (can’t cancel the order) for free. One local pub has offered their 10ft Christmas tree as it is no longer required
Sunday 20th Dec
It is a warm and sunny day, and time to take the party gazebo down, however it is still wet. We mop the wet off and try to dry it by lighting the fire pit, no joy. We then lowered it and tried to dry the inside of it, herein lies the problem. The inside is waterproof coated, and condensation keeps forming on it. Resolved the issue by wiping it down and then drying it off with the hairdryer, well that took care of a few hours. We then decided to go for a walk and went the Munday Dean route, up the pig track and back down the hill through Munces Wood. With the very recent restrictions it brought back memories of all the walks we did in the Spring. Season wise we have really come full circle, just this last bit of winter to endure.
Masses of Sunday afternoon walkers were about, normally we don’t meet anyone along the way, but we always avoided going out at weekends.
Chaos reigns on the roads as Europe seems to be cutting us off, with French ports shut and countries banning us to travel there.
A mass exodus from London continues with trains packed to the rafters. So, people in the highest infection area (of the new rapid spreading variant) are now unleashed throughout the rest of the country.
Government statistics show 67,401 people have died of coronavirus, up 326 in the previous 24 hours, while the total number of confirmed cases is now 2,040,147, up 35,928, and hospital admissions since the start of the pandemic are now 249,471, up 2,034
Sorry to end on a bum note but that’s how things are at the present but……
Only 4 sleeps to Santa
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