Diary of Covid-19 confinement, day twenty-eight

Fresh greens after the rain

Day twenty-eight

Perfect rain

The sky darkened ominously as we enjoyed an online apéro catch-up with friends last night, and by the time we went to bed we could hear the rain falling outside. Expecting today to be damp and grey, it was a pleasant surprise to hear the birds chattering in the gutter before I opened the bedroom shutters, and for the sun to be out before we made our morning coffee. We don’t mind rain like this; the sort that falls overnight, without strong winds or storms, so causing no damage, and is gone by morning, leaving our garden refreshed and water butts topped up. Patches of the lawn had already begun to brown, so this should be enough to boost the green once more.

An abundance of soaps

Squeaky clean

I made the decision in January to move from shower gel bought in plastic bottles to old fashioned bars of soap and to mark this momentous decision, I treated myself to an Aleppo soap, made from olive oil and gentle enough for even the most sensitive skin. On one of my recent cupboard clear outs I unearthed a haul of hotel miniature soaps, that while they may lack the quality of the Aleppo soap, certainly make up for it in quantity. Now they are easy to hand and awaiting their turn in the shower, I doubt I will need to add soap to the shopping list for the rest of the year. I am deeming this to be a lockdown economy win.

Unlocked in lockdown

I am beginning to realise that lockdown seems to have unlocked parts of my head that I had been struggling with for a while. Not only have I now managed twenty-eight consecutive daily blog posts, I also arrived at our online writing group this afternoon, with completed homework. I’m not sure who was more surprised by this, me or the others in the group. What I do know is that it seems that the more I write, the more there is to write about and share, even if some days become a random mix of thoughts and events.

On the beach, Cannes 13th April 2010

April holiday memory

Today I am taking a last look back at our 2010 Mini Cooper road trip and visiting Cannes, where we stopped for an afternoon. We parked a little way along the coast, where the parking was free, and enjoyed a sunny sit down on the beach before strolling into town. We stopped to admire the colours of the boats in the old port, before hitting the Croisette, soaking up the atmosphere, people watching and enjoying the views. As we still had a few more kilometres to drive along the coast to our overnight stop at Beaulieu-sur-Mer, we didn’t have time on this trip to explore the islands just off the coast. Looking back now, I’m not sure where the ten years have gone and although we have had many great adventures in France since, we have never made it back to Cannes.

Lockdown library 

My reading selection for today comes from Carol Drinkwater, author of memoir and fiction books, who has an olive farm in the hills about Cannes. Her memoirs are based on life at the olive farm and many of her novels are also set in this area and are superb reads.