And Then There Were Two

The latest news from the government is that it is likely that they will take us down to COVID-19 Level 3 next week, and that this will last for a further two weeks. In terms of practical differences for us, this doesn’t really change anything. We don’t have anyone that we need or want to include in our bubble in terms of extended family or carers, we’re not getting married or dying (we hope!), don’t have children, aren’t going to be swimming, surfing or mountain biking any time soon. So it’s a further two weeks of socially isolating, hoping the weather stays good enough for going outside for walks, and lots of Netflix.

Jonny and Sarah have been with us for almost a month now, but have managed to find flights for a reasonable (i.e. not extortionate, as they were a couple of weeks ago) price with Qatar Airways, so this morning at 9:30 we drove them to Wellington Airport, there to meet with Macbeth board a plane to Auckland, and thence Doha and London. It’s going to be weird not having them here! They have been very good house guests, helping out with cooking and cleaning, and also providing us with useful players, particularly for bridge. They have rented a house on Airbnb for two weeks to self-isolate when they land, then go to Sarah’s parents in Yorkshire for a month before they can return to their own home – which is still currently rented out, as they weren’t planning to be back in the UK until June.

There was no queue at New World as we returned – an eventuality I had anticipated – so I was ready, list in hand, to go and do some shopping. They had some things which were missing last week (oranges, frozen peas), so I restocked, but no large bottle of OJ. There’s always something weird that they’ve not got, but the basics are all there.

So that’s us on our own now…but we’ll see people online. Andrew (Jonny’s brother) is organising a weekly quiz for the family, so we’ll be participating in that. And of course we have our own quiz night on Tuesdays, which is replacing our usual pub quiz.