Wednesday 10th June 2020

I feel I have to begin on a downbeat not. In that some friends on FB were posting memes that suggested George Floyd was a repeat offender so somehow deserved his death.

I was shocked, and disgusted. Still am.

George was killed by someone he knew, a policeman, kneeling on his neck for 8 minutes 46 seconds until he was dead. No one deserves that. No matter what they might have done, and what he might have done, or not, was yet to proven in a court of law. Now never will.

I am not a racist, as you can probably tell. And I thought none of my friends were. Seems like I was wrong. I have given people a warning, any repeat, and they will be defriended.

I mean I expected something from the RAF group i was a member of, but not actual friends.

Colour is skin deep, hate blackens the heart.

And, to Wednesday, and Jools was spending her first day of furlough. Would we both survive the day, let alone three weeks or more of this? Only time would tell.

The alarm does still wake us at five, but there is no mad scramble to get up, as Jools could go for a walk at any point in the morning, but does get up at half five, and has left the house as I finish my coffee. It was a rest day, so a little off not seeing Jools drive away to work.

What it did mean was, of course, Jools got to see how little work I appear to do during the average working day. But she is able to listen into meetings where I appear quite grown up and use long, fancy words.

There was washing to do, hang out and then iron her work stuff for the last time in at least three weeks.

Time drags.

To say the least.

I was called out into the garden as Jools said she had seen a damselfly, and did I want to take pictures?

I did.

It was another Azure, probably hatched from our pond and on the hunt for either food or a mate.

The postman brought a package from London for me. I had ordered a book form an independent bookshop rather than Amazon, to make sure they survive. Great service.

And so we had an early lunch, Jools brought pasties from ASDA as she had done some wild bird seed shopping.

And into the afternoon.

Which went on for months.

It will take some getting used to for us both, but next week we both have 5 days off, so there will be travelling and photography to do.

I finish at four, and begin to prepare breaded aubergine, while Jools worked in the garden.

I have prepared and cooked a huge plateful of golden delights, more than enough for lunch on Thursday. We eat well and will again in the morning.

We spend the evening playing Uckers, and I am triumphant, but the result is very close indeed, as it is most times now.