This was 2020

 The year 2020.

Well folks the year is nearly at an end, so I thought a bit of a recap was in order. 

January.

Not much going on just trying to get rid of the Christmas excesses and detox in readiness for upcoming holiday.

1st rumblings about serious flu epidemic in China.

February.

Trip to Miami and cruise to Central America visiting Grand Cayman, Cartagena, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico and Cozumel.

Rumblings getting louder and a cruise ship is stuck in Japan with passengers on board with Covid.

March.

Mrs F’s diary starts to record events as pandemic is announced and the world struggles.

My brother has to cut short his trip to South America and makes it back home by the skin of his teeth before everything is locked down worldwide.

March also heralds the start of the walks. Skylarks, March Hares, Bluebells and beautiful Spring days.

On March the 23rd I reported that 335 people had died so far of CV19.

Boris gets Covid.

The Stay Inn is launched.

Panic buying sets in.

Rubbish tips are closed.

Blue Tit nest building starts.

Daily briefings from Downing street.

April.

Clap for carers. (Ian gets mad with non-compliant neighbours and I have to hide my good saucepans)

Waking up very early to do diary.

Streets, roads and airspace deserted.

Feeling afraid, vulnerable and frightened to go shopping. Ian goes AWOL inside supermarkets sending me into a frenzy.

Boris goes into intensive care.

Lambs are in beautiful spring meadows.

Great weather.

Home haircuts.

Blue Tits lay eggs.

The NUFC for sale drama starts.

Shopping only every other week.

 

 

May.

More gardening. Garden looking good.

Blue Tit chicks hatch.

CV testing kit developed.

Lovely sunny walks and lots of them.

Advice is to wear face masks (Not compulsory)

Hedgehogs are benefiting from lack of traffic and population gets a boost.

Marlow gets the bluest sky in the country.

Track and Trace starts.

Stay Inn beer gardens open.

Weather turns very cold and wet and windy.

Blue Tits die because of cold.

Road traffic starts to increase

June.

Lockdown easing starts, a little more freedom but not a lot.

Massive queues outside Primark and Ikea.

Clap for carers ceases.

Dentists reopen.

Marlow introduces one-way pedestrian system which is mostly ignored.

We escape to the Cotswolds for a day out

Neighbours nights in Hillside road kick off.

Glasthomebury birthday weekend.

 

July.

Holiday days start with a day trip to Littlehampton and a long-awaited walk on a beach.

Day out in Arundel.

Portugal holiday cancelled.

Beaches and parks are packed, and warnings ignored.

Trip to Knepp to see Storks that have nested.

Gazebo ordered to enable socialising outside.

Face coverings now compulsory in shops.

Cricket resumes but no one seems to have been to the hairdressers and many wear hairbands.

A very good month socially and weatherwise.

We make plans to spend Christmas in Newcastle with Joyce.

August.

Terrific heat and no rain.

 Joyce manages to get down for a week.

Pubs reopen and virus kicks off again.

Kitchen thermometer reads 31 degrees.

UK officially enters a recession.

Abundance of Blackberries.

Garden looks lovely, firefly lanterns and bunting round the gazebo makes it look very summery.

People have been travelling abroad. 

England introduces quarantine for certain countries 

Football is back on with virtual crowd noise which is just terrible.

Some days of heavy rain and raging winds.

Eat out to Help out introduced.

Neighbours fight over car parking spaces.

My Saab gets a makeover.

Blackberry vodka made.

Visit to Highclere.

Planning ahead in case of another lockdown which is always on the horizon.

SWAT team out on Hillside road with rumours of a shooting.

Pupils from Marlow and other places in the UK went to Zante and many tested positive on their return

Visit to Petworth.

2 visits to Summ Vietnamese restaurant during EOTHO

September.

Covid is on the increase again. 

Rule of 6 introduced.

Pubs and restaurants close at 10pm.

Hands Face Space slogan launched.

Infection rates highest in the Midlands and North of England.

Media claim Christmas is cancelled (Oh how little did they know then)

Stockpiling starts up again with flour and loo roll the main items.

In my September Diary I wrote Stay safe for Santa’s sake, but no one listened to me.

We had a fabulous few days away in Tenby.

Our Couch to 5k starts.

Great morning runs along the beach.

Air traffic slightly increasing.

Fire pit purchased.

First visit of the year to Vanilla pod.

Signs of Autumn appear.

  

October.

Track & Trace enforceable, NHS app is launched.

Wearing of masks in enclosed public places.

Couple of days away in Arundel.

Boris says behave or we will get locked down again.

Donald Trump and FLOTUS have reportedly got Coronavirus.

17-21 yr olds are reportedly the ones spreading the virus as Universities open up.

The nights draw in and the Jigsaws return.

Donald Trump goes mad and claims he is young and fit and immune to the Chinese plague amongst other ridiculous claims.

3 tier system introduced in England and Pubs Shut in areas of Scotland

C25K continues. 

Hotspot lockdowns introduced and Nightingale hospitals put on Standby.

Beautiful Autumnal day walks in Burnham Beeches. Loads of Acorns and Chestnuts litter the ground it is a mast year.

Marlow still in T1 but electronic signs up around Wycombe announcing you are entering a high-risk area.

Logs and coal delivered, and red wine stocked up for winter.

 

November

Downing street briefing saying we are to be locked down from midnight 4th of November.

Pubs shut.

No mixing of households indoors or outdoors.

Non-essential shops to shut.

Furlough extended to March 2021

Weather tuned cold and even a gritter lorry was out.

Ian injures his knee running.

Shelley completes C25K.

Marlow moves into tier 2 but we are in lockdown so irrelevant.

Cases per day in Wycombe are over 1000

Lots of gardening done and spring bulbs planted.

New imac purchased and set up with the invaluable help of Dr Mac

Trump loses USA elections, Bidens wins.

Ian has to give up wearing shorts as its. Now too cold.

Pfizer vaccine breakthrough announced and could be ready before Christmas.

Tragic milestone of 50,000 deaths announced.

December.

Lockdown ends and we are put back into tiers.

Vaccine roll out commences and the 1st person in the world to receive it is in `Scotland.

Our annual jaunt to Aldeburgh postponed until September 2021.

Our Christmas with Joyce is changed to a virtual one.

Ian completes the C25K.

New virus variant found and is spreading like wildfire.

Tier 4 is implemented across the South / East of England & London.

Marlow moves 3 tiers in 3 days.

The non-workers lunch and the walkers get together was carried out in our garden.

Christmas mixing households in T4 is banned and only mixing on Christmas day allowed in other tiers.

Getting ready for Christmas, house gets decorated and the Reindeer and lights are up outside.

Well that makes for some interesting if not totally pleasant reading.

We have in the main had a very good year, made new friends, discovered parts of Marlow never before visited by us. Got fitter and healthier.  We sure made the most of the times we were allowed to. Holiday days were very special and so was rediscovery of a picnic instead of a pub lunch. People were friendlier and more considerate. We as a nation rediscovered the delight in the simple things in life, nature benefitted from the lack of traffic and the skies were oh so blue and not a plane in sight or hearing distance.

Our homes and gardens have never been so tended, painted, planted and the great ingenious ways of using pallets almost became a competition.

Best of all was the weather is was fabulous and made this year bearable. We still have a way to go with this situation, but we have learnt a lot this year and need to continue to stay safe and be kind to each other.

 Thank you for reading, Merry Christmas and every best wish for 2021.

Willow observing 2 minutes silence on V E day.

Its the DOORBELL !!