What a gorgeous day today !

[idun]

As I said I get skin problems and fortunately do not have them at the moment. IF I did I would have open wounds, and would most definitely be wearing gloves when I was out.

When returning home, I would probably wash the gloves whilst wearing them and then sort things out and then wash them again. I would do as I currently do and wash door handles etc. And then chuck'em and wash my hands.

Maybe I was simply brought up to not waste things, and using endless gloves, well, feels wrong if they can be used more than once.  

[mint]

I am going back to the original title of the thread.

Today is one of those golden days when you are just glad to be alive.  The sun shines, the breeze is sweet and gentle, the changes of nature are all around us.  It is the sort of day that encourages irrational hope. 

It's 28° on our veranda so a bit too warm for comfort.  I have just taken a walk around the garden (apologies for the gardenless) and smelt the roses, noted that the cowslips are just about over the top but the irises are blooming in all their showiness.

Wishing everyone continued good health and bon courage for more confinement.  I am told that emailing people, the French now sign off with bon confinement!

[Meek Megan]

WHO and Public Health England do not recommend the use of gloves or masks other than in a clinical setting. They do not help. Good hygiene and keeping your distance helps (and long may it continue).

I see people driving along in their car wearing a mask. Why?

It is all part of the mad panic that has infected the World alongside a virus.

Remember Bugarach in 2012? That was more about Armageddon and spaceships but actually the same mentality was in play.

[Gardengirl]

Perfect for me here in Berkshire, todaym 22C, sunshine all day and a clear blue sky.

I’ve spent most of the day out here sitting reading under the apple trees, with birdsong all around, mainly great tits and chaffinches - and a few noisy magpies!

We had a late, lazy lunch out here and I’m planning on staying put for the rest of the day and early evening.

At this time of year we’re normally down in the Gard, and my thoughts usually fly to:

Oh, to be in England

Now that April's there,

And whoever wakes in England

Sees, some morning, unaware,

That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf

Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,

While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough

In England - now!

- Home thoughts from abroad, Robert Browning

[idun]

In the sunshine it was warm, but we did get some hazy cloud, but boy oh boy, when I went for my Boris Walk, the wind was bitter, not so bad on my way home as it was on my back and sunny on my front.

[mint]

Hi GG, I am delighted that you are enjoying yourself and I like that poem a lot.  You are making me feel nostalgic!

Id, I thought the cold wind had gone.  Our cold wind went a few days ago and we now have winds that are warm, even in the shade.

Problem with this lockdown is I am losing sense of the days and weeks and I have to look at my diary everyday to know what I am supposed to be doing.  But, of course, there is nothing in the diary safe recordings of my weight daily and my blood pressure about fortnightly.

On my daily walks, I barely see anyone to say bonjour to and that is only when I am still within the village.  Once I leave the village behind, I am literally on my own.  My only companion is the cuckoo who has been there for about 3 weeks and he seems to be stalking me!  Or perhaps it's me who is stalking him as I know where he hangs out and I walk right by his tree[:)]

[Gardengirl]

A bit of nostalgia now and again is OK, Mint. I love that poem; maybe the second verse next month!

I’ve kept thinking it was Sunday today, decided to put an alarm on for 19.55 in case I still thought it was Sunday and forgot to go out to clap. As it happened, I didn’t need the alarm.

A few more come out each week, although we can’t see everyone who’s out, but can hear them - somebody seemed to have some bongo drums this evening.

[mint]

GG, you'll have to get yourself one of those rattles that you spin round and round in your hand and that they take to football matches[:)]

Don't be outdone by bongo drums......!

[Gardengirl]

I’ll have to get on to Amazon!

? ? ?

[woolybanana]

Well, another brilliant day, Good Friday too. All I can hear is birdsong as the lovers of noisy machines have not started yet.

Now, will it be the dahlias or the lawn or the veggie patch or...., well you know. Definitely time for the umbrella on the terrace.

[idun]

Husband made a wooden clapper when this started and every week, it's the third now, has adjusted it. It will be perfect by the time this is all over the way he is going. I am still going out with a pan and wooden spoon.

Nice evening yesterday but here 'up north' we had that very cold wind.

[Gardengirl]

I took a pan and spoon out the first week, Idun, and found I only had half a spoon when I went back inside - it was dark then, so I hadn’t noticed.

I now take a pan and a smooth piece of wood. A wooden clapper is a very good idea!

It’s lovely again here in Berkshire, sunny with a clear blue sky; I’m sitting under the shade of the apple trees again, too hot on the terrace. I did a little gardening early, before the sun came round and will laze for most of the rest of the day.