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Still in lockdown.  Still sane – just. And still safe – I hope.  Weekly visits to the supermarket, nice and early wearing mask and gloves, which I throw away when I come out. Then I disinfect everything when I get it home, with a diluted Clorox spray, and either have a shower or sanitise my hands. That must be enough, surely?

When I get very keen I can be spotted out there in my pinny, spraying Clorox solution on the doorhandles. Did we ever think it would come to this?  Now that it has, though, we must all be very careful, without being obsessive. Actually, being obsessive is possibly what it will take to stay healthy.

I miss my sons, who are old enough to be on the other side of the world, although we keep in touch (thank Heaven for What’s App, Facebook Messenger, Facetime and the rest).

One is jolly and enjoying being with his girlfriend and going to buy his vegetables at Borough market in London, near their flat.

The other is less jolly as his girlfriend is staying with her mother (who is ancient! 60 – SIXTY – years old! Imagine!) and he feels he cannot visit them, just in case.  The other day, walking back from the supermarket, he had his collar felt by the police and was told off for walking too slowly! The time on his receipt had not been altered to fit the time change, and it said that he had taken an hour longer than he had, so they stopped him and were pretty brisk. It didn’t feel good, he said.

Things to do

I have been watching a lot of shows which are being aired on You Tube from the UK.  Flowers for Mrs Morris (hurry, it might be coming to an end) from Chichester Festival Theatre, which always puts on great stuff. One Man Two Guvnors, from the National Theatre – so so. Better in real life, and they have dumbed down the best scene. Also Jane Eyre from the NT, which was interesting. I enjoyed it for nearly two hours and then realised I found it a little boring. Rochester isn’t glamorous enough – it’s essentially a Barbara Cartland, better written, but also unremittingly gloomy for the first half, and not exactly a laugh a moment for the second. Charlotte Bronte is excellent on the melodrama, but also on how Jane feels, which sets it apart from the rubbish. She was of course knocked into touch by her madder sister Emily. Wuthering Heights is the peak of every girl’s romantic pitch (I  loved it and wept with the best of ‘em), but on rereading it recently, I found it overblown and rather annoying.

There’s a lot on, thank goodness, and plenty of opera and ballet too. No opera for me. I decided some years ago that I had tried as hard as I could to like it, and actually only like the good songs, and not the bits in between, so I’m not putting myself through that any more. You may wish to, in which case, check out the New York Met and also the British Royal Opera House, and I’m sure they aren’t alone. Everyone’s doing their best. Starting this Friday - Andrew Lloyd Webber offers one musical for free on YouTube. Starting with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat There are the Sofa Singers which you can sign up for, for free, and sing merrily along on Zoom. And a virtual pub quiz. I’m having a go at this on Friday with Borneo quizzers. Will tell you how we get on.