The Merrie Month of May

May has always been one of my favourite months of the year, not least because my birthday falls in the middle of it. But to me its when the country properly comes alive after winter.

From March onwards things start to change, trees and borders bloom with colour and the weather gets warmer and the nights lighter.

But by May it often feels like the beginning of summer and we can celebrate the joy of being outside without having to wrap up against the cold (not always of course because we do live in England).

This year we are of course much more restricted but having a bout of good weather does ease the isolation and I'm eternally grateful that we do have a garden and are so much more fortunate than those who don't.

Sadly this May I won't be celebrating my birthday with my extended family or by going out for a meal, but I will make sure that I will find some quiet way to celebrate - we do still have a lot to be grateful for.

V E Day Celebrations

It was wonderful to watch the VE celebrations on Friday although it was such a shame that they had to be carried out in isolation.

One of the streets in Chester (above) actually made it to be shown on national TV with their music and re-enactment of the day 75 years ago.

Nothing quite as dramatic happened on the street where I live. In the most part people seem to keep themselves to themselves although we are becoming friendlier on our daily walks and when we all come out on Thursdays to show our appreciation for the NHS and key workers. 

It was wonderful though to watch the celebrations on Friday evening. This could be the last time  that we have a chance to thank the brave men and women who gave up so much to make sure that our country was spared the dictatorship of Hitler. 

They fought to keep this country free and we all owe them such a huge debt. The sacrifices of everyone who went through both world wars should never be forgotten.

And yet now we are fighting a war of our own. A very different kind of war but the song 'We'll Meet Again' bears resonance today. I'm sure we all have loved ones whose we would love to hug and spend some time with. I haven't seen my mum since the middle of March because she lives too far away and contact with my gorgeous grandchildren is sporadic and only through a window.

But I consider myself lucky. I'm living with my family and for the most part we are all getting on well - so much better than I thought we would, being cooped up all together. 

And so we might have our freedom restricted for the moment, but we all know that this time will pass. Those who lived through the two world wars didn't have such security and still they fought on bravely. We have so much to thank them for.

What Strange Times!

First of all I hope all of you are surviving these strange times and managing to keep well and safe with the large part of your sanity intact.

Its incredible how quickly we have all adapted to a completely different way of living in such a short space of time. 

Thankfully I've been able to work from home, which as I'm freelance is a godsend because at least I'm still earning some money. I like being at home so its not that great of a hardship for me although it feels very strange having all the rest of the family here and finding a quiet space in the house is proving to be quite a bit of a challenge.

Its strange how going outside has become such a scary prospect. Its only a few months ago that I didn't think twice about jumping into the car and nipping to the shops for a few odd bits. Now shopping is a once a week event, filled with anxiety and to one shop only. Yesterday I did our food shop and it took me two hours - one hour of which was spent queuing to get into the shop. Not that I'm complaining, if that's what it takes to keep us safe then its a necessary precaution, it just goes to show how quickly we can adapt when we need to.

The photo above is one I took years ago. I've been trawling through my archive of photos taken locally and thought that this might add a bit of brightness to the day.  As lockdown goes on, I think I might post some more - photos taken when we could go out and visit different places.

Without the daily commute, being mum's taxi and always having to be somewhere else, I'm finding that I have some time on my hands. Time to do all those jobs that I never usually get round to - well sort of. I have a long list and am gradually working through it, but what I'm also doing is writing more - or rather editing. I've decided that I want to make the most of this time. I'm a big believer that out of negative must come something positive. And this is going to be my positive.

What about you? What are you doing to while away the hours?