Lockdown from Bridport - Part 3 - Day 20

Yesterday I inadvertently killed somebody off. I had just opened up a bottle of red wine when the local priest phoned me up. 'Is everything alright'? I enquired feeling somewhat flustered as I'm not in the habit of receiving calls from members of the church. 'Not really' he said sounding quite serious and concerned. I did wonder what on earth had happened until he pointed out that the person in question was very much alive and well. I was furious with 'The Undertaker' who checks the copy before it goes out to the general public. 'Why didn't you pick up the faux pas'? I demand. 'I can't be expected to know everyone who's died' he says, 'or rather not died in this instance'. He openly laughed in my face because he found my panic and embarrassment amusing. After another glass of wine I saw the funny side too.

This morning I go to my Mothers and take her two blue hyacinths which I hope will bring her a great deal of pleasure as they grow. They are my favourite at this time of year, I just adore the scent they emit when in full flower. I make a note to get myself some too. She hands me a wooden saucepan stand and tells me it is made from bog oak that comes from trees that fell thousands of years ago. It was crafted by my Father when he was a steward at Parnham House which was then occupied by John Makepeace the British Furniture designer. Sadly a few years ago this magnificent sixteenth-century Grade 1 listed  Manor was burnt down in an arson attack. 

The shop is within walking distance so I pop in and put a striking blue cape in the window. I make 'The Undertaker' wrestle with a pair of dungarees on a dummy. They are bright yellow and covered in psychedelic daisies. I wonder who might purchase them?

I'm reluctantly dragged out for a walk. Today does not have the same appeal as yesterday. We must be the only place not to have any snow but the afternoons sky is an ominous dark grey. Because I tend to bump into people I know on my walks, I did think to myself  that I must make the effort to look less like a walking advertisement for Mountain Warehouse and. at least, attempt to appear more stylish. Yesterday on the beach for example a woman cut a real dash in a leopard print swing coat and dark glasses whilst I had a sensible fleece on. Today I wore black jeans, pearls, a pomegranate coloured wool pullover and a vintage Laura Ashley silk scarf. I popped on a Harry Hall hacking jacket and my cashmere fingerless mittens. Having made this effort, of course, I saw no-one at all! By the second steep hill I complained I had walked too far and that in my opinion it was going to rain, which it did. The sudden speed at which I headed home surprised 'The Undertaker' I think.

I am exceptionally lucky, I don't mind staying home. However for millions of others it isn't so easy. There are those who I admire greatly, the ones who live in high rise flats with no escape in sight and yet still manage to hold things together.  Then there are those for whom I have no admiration whatsoever. The ones who cannot sit still, who insist on travelling, who seem to imagine that rules don't apply to them. We all know who they are, don't we? When this is all over I recommend that all front line workers get to book their holidays first and that anybody that has travelled in the last six months goes to the back of the queue. Even as I type it I give a hollow laugh...