The situation in the UK at the moment puts me in mind of Dad’s Army. For those that might not know, this was a sitcom about the British militia called the Home Guard during the second world war, and was broadcast from the late 1960’s to the late 1970’s. One character (they were, mostly, all old men) would run around telling everyone not to panic, but in doing so, was panicking himself, whilst another would declare loudly: we’re doomed. I usually shop on a Sunday; the store is quieter, and it’s the only day of the week where I can almost guarantee that I’ll be able to park outside my house rather than lug groceries from goodness knows how many streets away. With all the dire news stories, ever-increasing numbers infected, and some deaths too, I decided I’d better shop early, so went Friday instead. The shop was mostly well-stocked though the shelves had been almost wiped out of pasta. I didn’t need any, but the empty shelves were glaring, and an old woman was standing agape at the empty shelves. I managed to get 2 bottles of hand wash and there was some choice there though not a great many to be had, but very little soap bars. My son prefers liquid soap; however, I like a soap bar. I can’t use any old soap and the brand I wanted was out of stock, so no more soap for me. I’ll simply use shower gel in the bath.

I always keep a well-stocked house, especially in wintertime, and even more so with the Brexit indecision but I confess I can’t understand people panic buying. Don’t they have pasta at home anyway, or toilet rolls? In a previous shop I’d bought a bag, one regular bag, of pasta, then stood behind a couple with a 5kg bag of pasta, and the biggest bag of grated cheese I’ve ever seen. Guess what they’ll be eating for weeks to come! I bought a chicken, and some veggies, plus a bottle of wine, and it was a big shop, but nothing was a ‘panic’ purchase; only one pack of (9) toilet rolls lol. The only thing I have overstocked is dog kibble. My dog is old and has always had a sensitive gut so he can’t be changing brand. I have about 7kg of food here and ordered another bag that should be delivered tomorrow so he’ll be okay if things turn nasty here. On that note, I think I shall take a leaf out of a friend’s book and maybe stop reading the news for a while; so much doom and gloom, conspiracy theories too, and a government that appears to have their collective heads in the sand.

I returned home to find someone had moved my bin, however my space was still free. They’d either decided not to park there after all or had concluded their business quickly. Either way I was grateful; some of the shopping was heavy and I’m a wuss.

In other news I saw the neurologist Monday, he did some tests, and announced he didn’t need to see me again. My symptoms haven’t deteriorated, and he’s convinced that I don’t have Parkinson’s – I never thought I did, though to be told officially is nice, I guess. He’s going to prescribe something to help with some symptoms though the possible side-effects don’t sound good; I’ll read the leaflet and then decide if I want to risk it. I’m to continue taking vitamin D as my levels are extremely low; I don’t sit outside since moving here; too noisy, too smelly from traffic. Oh, and I’m not to rest on my elbow – do you know how hard that is? I subconsciously lean, always on my left elbow, and it seems I have a compressed ulnar nerve in my left arm which is slowing down nerve impulses – I think, that’s my understanding anyway. It’s causing the pins and needles, and loss of sensation too which is why I drop things. It won’t ever get better, bummer, though if it gets too bad it can be operated on. Meantime, I have to keep a watch that I’m not leaning on the chair arm, or the table, or the dog... lol

We have lots of rain, again, and there’s ‘bits’ in it; I can hear it hitting the windows, it’s very cold, and I wouldn’t be too surprised if it snows.

Take care out there, keep washing hands, and stay away from people as best you can. Hoping you are all managing to keep the store cupboards stocked enough.

Have a good weekend.