A bit of a shock...

Day 80

The weather forecast for today was set to be dry and sunny, and I was determined to get out into the garden and cut the grass. Tomorrow is supposed to be cold and rainy, so I seized the chance!

It didn't take long to cut the lawn, and then I made a start on the border behind the garage. This corner gets neglected a bit so I cut out a new border and hoed the soil. Keith came out to help and went to investigate what we think are rat runs on the opposite side of the garden. There was a hole by the fence, and a load of soil had been displaced, so we put that on the border I had just created because the soil was quite stony there.

We have an old wheelbarrow behind the garage that we rarely use so I asked Keith to drill holes in the bottom. I could then fill it with compost and use it as a container for summer bedding plants! However, Keith was in a grump as he couldn't find his metal drill bits, and said that they were somewhere behind all the stuff we'd inherited from Mum and Dad's house...

It was lovely to potter about in the garden, and I raked over some bare patches in the lawn in preparation for putting down grass seed next week (when the temperatures rise a bit) and adding new compost to a couple of established plants in pots. The far corner of the garden is a problem as it has never looked good, and I thought of putting down some gravel and standing the wheelbarrow on it when it's full of flowers. However, this is a sensitive spot as it's where our beloved furry bear, Archie, is buried.

Although we'd managed to do a lot, we were glad when it started pouring with rain and we had to go back indoors! We prepared the veg for dinner and had lunch, and just after I'd eaten I took a call from my manager, Sara, about our return to work.

I had expected to be back in the office from the 12th of April when gyms re-open, so I was slightly shocked when she said we would be back in from the 6th of April! In a different universe, we would have been in France on that day! She said I would be doing three days a week, 10am until 4pm but that until she managed to train up two new members of staff, we would have to take it in turns to do a Saturday. Not brilliant news, to be honest.

In the first lockdown I couldn't wait to get back to work, but this time I am more wary. We faced huge problems last time with endless calls about freezing memberships, online bookings and swimming lesson queries, so I have to confess I am dreading it. I really can't complain though as I will have been off thirteen weeks, and sooner or later I would have had to face the return to work.

Sophie was not happy as she had booked her birthday week off, and was hoping we'd be able to go somewhere like Oxford for a day out. Subsequently, she cancelled her leave, which was a shame. I will be working Monday, Tuesday and Friday so at least I will have two full days off, but this could change.

I arranged to see my three work colleagues next week for a coffee in Abington Park so we could have a good natter before we go back. I have a feeling we'll have a lot to catch up on, especially as one of them had Covid!

Dinner tonight was much better - Keith cooked sausages with lots of vegetables and giant Yorkshire puddings. Delicious!