Being Me

Just a quick hello to say, I wonder if any of you UK people spotted this video on the BBC website today. Maybe you already thought, gosh, those kids are so beautiful, they must surely be related to Fran Hill. No? Okay, then. I'll tell you about it. My son and grandchildren made a music video about what it's like to be in lock down and not able to go to school. It's pretty cute and I think it resonated with people. Local radio picked up on it and then they had a call from the Queen BBC England. This first clip is  the BBC item  in which they were interviewed and Phoebe says she misses playing unicorns. Don't we all? This second clip is the full video   on Youtube  and it's very professionally-done, though don't tell my son I told you that. Ssh! Hope it gives you a smile. It's given me one or two! 

It's my birthday soon. It's on Monday. Thanks for asking. Well, I know you didn't, but I sensed you were about to. Oh, you know, wine, chocolates, flowers, perfume. The usual. No, not all of them, unless you're feeling generous. I'm sure that's not true. But there's a first time for everything. Coco Chanel, actually. A small bottle would be lovely. No, I don't mean the shower gel. I know the nice man at the market sells it, but - Well, I'm sorry, but if you want quality, you will  pay over a hundred. That's okay. Just the chocolates, then. No, it isn't my 60th! How could you think that? Well, don't come in so close then. Thanks for the recommendation, but I've used the same face cream for years now and wasn't intending to swap. What am I doing for my birthday? No, nothing much, really, what with the lock down. You don't need to worry about that. I won't forget the daily walk, no. Even if it is

There are many things about lock down to which I will be happy to say goodbye. The supermarket queues, the limits on family visiting, the stepping into the path of oncoming cars to avoid other people's sweat, mucus and breath. But other things about lock down ... they can stay around. For example, on the communication platform Zoom which many of us are learning to use as our modus operandi for socialising, the person hosting the meeting can MUTE people. Just one press of a button, and, silence. Their lips may move, but they move in vain. No one can hear. What if this transferred into real life? Imagine its possibilities at dinner parties with verbose guests, in classrooms with gobby pupils, and at weddings with the bride's father's speech? Think towards next Christmas and all those relations you feel duty bound to host and be nice to. As soon as Auntie Mary starts on about the way you're peeling the sprouts, one TAP and you can peel them any which way you like w

I've been collecting a Corona-photo-diary over the past few weeks. Here are my sensible shoes. I saw them in my wardrobe this morning and thought, 'Who even ARE you?' The only foot coverings I have worn for the last month or so have been socks, trainers for my walks, and skin. And yet, if it had been this time last year, when I was working outside the home as a teacher, those shoes would not have seemed such strangers at all. I am guessing that the sensible shoes of nurses, doctors, supermarket workers, social workers, and anyone else keeping the country going, are very far from strangers to their owners' feet. In fact, rather than strangers, they are no doubt constant companions, the kind which stalk you and follow you around and refuse to be separated. I am grateful to all those wearing sensible shoes. Let that be said. This is a picture of some pages in my diary for next year. It's my daughter's wedding weekend. 22 May 2021. But this