Ups and downs — An Elegant Sufficiency

We don’t often do “down” here, or rather, if we do, we seldom admit it to one another. We’re both of the Pollyanna persuasion, are fortunate to have a lot to feel thankful for and life is generally comfortable.

We’ve had a pretty nice week here and even the mundane supermarket shopping trip was brightened by the beautiful blue sky and autumn colours in the car park. I’ve been enjoying a vase of gorgeous irises on my windowsill too, given to me by a sweet friend last week.

We continue to enjoy a bit of culture in the afternoons we’re at home, either with a spot of opera, a film or a thought provoking presentation. We’ve resisted the lure of Homes Under the Hammer! Last week, we watched an all time favourite La Fille du Regiment with Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez with remarkable sets and outstanding performances from everyone.

Yesterday we met friends and had a terrific lunch at the Severn and Wye Smokery where fish was the order of the day (of course).

I caught a great view of Mars the other morning as I went swimming - don’t worry, I stopped the car to take the photo!

And I closed the last page of an enjoyable book.

So, where did the “down” come in?

Well, the number of CV cases continues to increase and though we are both well, it’s getting a bit old now. Yes, we’ve come to terms with cancelled travel arrangements and have been generally happy here at home, never really giving serious consideration to going off anywhere at all. Until this coming week, that is, when we’d planned to have a couple of nights away to celebrate my birthday. One night, we’ll spend at a “restaurant with rooms”, the other was to meet up with Amy and Edward and have dinner with them, staying overnight in London before coming home the next morning. No riotous party planned. No large crowds or risky events. Just a couple of simple arrangements with my nearest and dearest.

And then last night, the implications of the raised level of restrictions in London and the Midlands slowly dawned on us. Though we’d be ok at the restaurant with rooms we’d booked for the two of us, having dinner with Amy and Edward in London was not going to happen, because we’re two different households. For a while we thought we could be a bubble. We are all ok, we’ve been together recently and we don’t have concerns about sharing a table with them. Except we all grew up in law-abiding households. We all agree that rules are rules and if we are to get to grips with this virus, it needs us all to stick together and obey the restrictions for the common good. Both my Hero and I woke up feeling miserable about all of this and there was a gloomy mood in the house this morning for sure.

We’re doing our best to “move on”. I’ve organised a couple of lovely boxes to be delivered on Friday and we’ll enjoy a fine dinner to celebrate - at a table in Gloucestershire and one in Islington. We might manage a Zoom conversation somewhere along the way and we’ll definitely make the best of the circumstances. Edward and Amy might even go along and enjoy the table we booked on Thursday night themselves as well - why not? We will all find some joy in there somewhere, of course.