adore amy

all work and no play…

I’m (finally) back! And what a relief it is, even if it has meant needing to get out of bed before midday.

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks and lovely to see some friendly faces unadorned by masks – as somebody who takes lipreading for granted every time I’m called upon to function anywhere with more background noise than someone reading a newspaper, the last few weeks have been something of a challenge (and since it’s one I don’t have a hope of winning, a pad and pen has been added to my essential going out kit alongside the handgel, lip balm and emergency spork – you never know your luck).

The sunshine has allowed me to make the most of the low-key return and sticking to a handful of bookings means that once the cleaning is out of the way I’ve been taking my time to enjoy the weather and get some exercise, as well as a couple of (carefully planned – not much water) packed lunches with a book on the grass over by Tower Bridge prior to an exciting walk back by way of Waitrose and a few Pokémon battles around Fenchurch Street. I have also spent a couple of afternoons poking around the back streets looking for Sculpture in the City, culminating in a quiet half hour on the (currently deserted) steps of St Paul’s with the Evening Standard. Very pleasant indeed.

I have also been making a few lists of local places to spend some money as soon as I have any spare, not least my hairdresser and myriad local cafés, but also the spa up the road; a proper massage is almost as close to the top of my list as a Big Mac and a sauna isn’t far behind it. Researching also took me back for the first time in ages to Patty and Bun, whose peanut butter choc ices and rosemary salted fat chips were at least in part responsible for my grudging first sign up to WeightWatchers back in the day (although not the subsequent ones which were due to circumstances entirely of my own making, or at least the scones, cakes and bread were) and I will be on my way over asap; while shopping isn’t an interest of mine, having been out and seen the sea of shiny new carrier bags I doubt my presence will be missed, and it was heartwarming to witness a bit of rampant consumerism for the first time in months.

As things gradually drift back to normal and the countdown to the reopening of hairdressers and cinemas continues I will be getting back – one step at a time – to my previous daily and weekly routines, starting with the coming weekend when King’s Cross station is predictably and reassuringly closed again for the East Coast engineering works; this means I will be in London for the duration thanks to all the trains being cancelled and so into next week – yay! It also means some rare availability on a Saturday (for possibly the last time in a few weeks) followed by Deliveroo, a rental film from Google Play and maybe a go on one of the Santander bikes from round the corner.

Sunday remains off limits as ever, but I’ll do my best to accommodate more visitors provided everybody is well spaced out – the steady trickle of local folk returning to work is getting steadier by the day, and a shortcut through to a Pokémon raid at the Gherkin around 5.30pm yesterday revealed a surprisingly average number of folk standing around the fringes of Leadenhall Market having a post-work beer, at least it surprised me to the extent that the sight of multiple people standing in groups was more unsettling than the tumbleweed streets of a couple of months ago, and I practically sprinted the last bit.

Availability is still limited given the extra-careful cleaning and laundry, but everything is ticking over fine and Song Of The Week is another all time favourite for the summer weather. Roll on July!

Well, the final hours of my free 30 day Prime trial are ticking away, and the box sets won’t watch themselves. The phone is back on as usual, so any enquiries – get in touch!

More soon…

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