I was so pleased to spot this Clematis flower as I'd thought the plant was lost after it had been put in a pot when we had a new front fence a few years ago. It hadn't flowered for a while but this year it has.
Three firsts this week. The first time since lockdown that I have visited a post office, a hairdresser and a cafe.
I needed a haircut and I had to post a birthday present so we decided to venture to the city centre. After I'd walked the circuitous one way route around W H Smith's to the post office counter I didn't have to wait long to send my parcel. It was a good job I went in at that point as when I passed by just under an hour later the queue was around the shop and out into the shopping centre. I'd toyed with going to the hairdresser first but was glad I hadn't. I arived at Supercuts not knowing how the system of booking in and waiting may have changed. Luckily I seemed to be the first there and went straight in. I had to swap my mask for one of theirs and sanitise my hands, I was them covered head to foot with what seemed like a large plastic bag which was ripped off and disposed of as soon as my hair was finished. The hairdressers were cheerful and glad to be back at work even though they couldn't have the radio on just in case they were inspired to sing along to the music. Whilst I was in the centre I noticed that The Body Shop store had closed down. I've been using Body Shop products since the late 1970s and shopping at that shop for over twenty years. As the next nearest shop is quite a few miles away in a designer outlet shopping centre, I may have to rely on online shopping for now. I feel quite disappointed and saddened by this.
The next day we went up to Bridgemere Garden World to buy a few breadmaking items from Lakeland but they didn't have what we had gone for. We decided to try the cafe and see what the procedure was. We had to wait to be taken to a table, once seated we gave our order and filled out the track and trace form. We kept our masks on until we were seated and put them on again before we stood up to leave the table but many people had their masks under their chins or hanging off one ear. Anyway the coffee and tea cake were delicious.
Meanwhile in the garden the Hydrangeas at the front of the house are still looking good even though those at the back have lost their colour.
Good for you on braving a couple of places and like me I am still very wary, though we do live in a small-type town, probably easier to navigate & not in a big city. Your teacakes had my mouth watering, as DH & I both love them & we don't get them out here. The hydrangea is lovely & I accidentally broke a piece of mine early this year, popped it in a pot & tah-dah, I've a new green shoot. The squirrels are cute. Got you email. Take care, stay safe & huggles.
ReplyDeleteThank you Susan, glad you got the e-mail. We do live in a city but not a huge one and it is made up of six towns with green areas in between some of them and all have parks and green spaces, that is why we have our lovely fields here to walk on close by and within half an hour we can be in Derbyshire or Shropshire both lovely counties as well as the nearby Staffordshire Moorlands. Good news about your hydrangea you could take some more cuttings, take care:)
DeleteRosie, we are on opposite sides of the pond, but have much in common!! You are a bit further ahead on pandemic recovery then me, but we both found surprise Clematis blooms...I showed mine on my last blog post :) xx
ReplyDeleteThank you Gracie. We didn't start going out straight away when lock down eased a bit so have only just started to go out and about to anywhere other than the local small supermarket. I will pop over to your blog to see your surprise clematis:)
DeleteWell done Rosie on starting to go out more. My daughter has been to the hairdressers a couple of times - they even have disposable towels! So pleased your clematis recovered. Such a shame about your local Body Shop. I have been shopping far more online recently. I love teacakes! Take care and stay safe.
ReplyDeleteThank you RR, I didn't notice what they did with the towel but it was a very old, small one. I was thrilled to see the Clematis as it was my favourite one of the two we had as I love the colour. I'm sad to see shops that I've used for years struggling and closing down. I don't mind doing on-line ordering but it's far nicer to go into a shop and see what is new although having said that I always buy the same products as I like them. We never have tea cakes at home so it is always a treat to have them out and about:)
DeleteGlad you managed to get out Rosie. I've yet to go to the hairdresser but been to the dentist twice! The dentist wears a specialist mask and a visor and I have to wait at the door and answer questions before they let me in to my appointment. I am then supervised while I sanitize my hands and place my belongings in a tray. I am confident that they are following the correct protocols but worry about who had the dental instruments in their mouth before me! It is sad that the Body Shop closed down. I used to go there a lot when I was a teenager and was quite inspired by their lovely products and refill options! I do most of my shopping online these days as the shops just don't have the products I need. Hope your week is going well. x
ReplyDeleteThank you Simone, your visits to the dentist sound quite a performance to go through although I can see why they would be so careful about the safety procedures. I'm just glad that it is just the local Body Shop shop closed down and not the company as I can still buy the face products I use on-line. We are finding that we have to order on line for strange things like grass mower blades, bird food,loose leaf fruit teas and of course the new oven we had to buy recently which got delivered to the wrong address. Take care:)
DeleteYou must feel so much better for having a haircut, I was having to pin mine up and it looked such a mess after so many months. I'm glad to hear you are out and about and everything is going well. I think it gives you a bit more confidence and you are able to avoid people reasonably well. It's a shame the Body Shop has closed down but great that you can get things online without venturing out. 😊
ReplyDeleteThank you Karen, I've had my hair cut a bit shorter than normal in case I can't go again for a while. It feels good to be able to get out and about again mostly people are doing the right thing but some seem to walk towards you until you have to jump out of their way - usually when they are going opposite to the one way system. I'm glad that the whole Body Shop company is still around and that I can still order on line , but I did like going into the shop:)
DeleteOur weather is warm and sunny, but already nippy in the mornings, autumn is in the air! How nice that you can be up and about again, my hairdresser was one of the things I missed the most, I still miss coffee shops as they are not yet safe around here. We are going back into lockdown on Friday, not fun.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Thank you Amalia. It all seems very strange, in and out of lockdown. We don't go out for coffee etc yet, just local food shops plus opticians and hairdresser also the post office. Take care:)
DeleteIt's a very odd world at the moment isn't it, it's taking some getting used to but we don't have much choice I suppose, this is going to be around for a while yet I think :/
ReplyDeleteI've not seen Squirrels opening conkers before, must be fun to watch! That's a beautiful Clematis, I planted new Clematis plants a couple of years ago but they got eaten before they got going, luckily the Honeysuckle I planted a the same time more than made up for them!
Thank you Pam, don't think it's going away very soon, I expect into next year, all very worrying. Lovely to see squirrels with conkers, judging by all the outer bits around they get into them quite easily:)
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