Where I have been?
Back in December 2019, when I posted my last post on this blog, I did not think I would be hanging up my rod for so long. News items were starting to talk about Covid 19, a far off disease, causing a bit of a stir out in far-flung lands. Little did any of us know what 2020 had in store for us.
If you have read my previous posts of the time, you will have know that we had moved out of London in June 2019. Thank goodness we did.
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| A fisherman's taking a picture of a large aubergine |
We had lived in the same house for a few weeks short of forty years. Our new house had an annexe, which we had intended to decorate and move my mum into. The new house is much smaller than our London house was, and we did not have a workshop as we had before. This meant the annexe was used to store a lot of 'stuff' until we rebuilt the workshop.
Two months after we moved in, My Mum had an accident in her kitchen and hurt herself quiet badly. It became immediately obvious that she could not stay in the house alone so we moved her in with us, that day.
Over the course of the next week, we cleared all the stuff from the annexe into a hastily built shed and proceeded to spend the next few weeks decorating the annex around her. We had to wait for ages for furniture and carpets as we were trying to navigate the lockdowns.
This had set us back by months. The house was jammed packed, there was no room in the hastily built shed. As for the fishing gear, it was all packed up and in the way. It stood in the corner of the upstairs landing, awaiting the next trip.
Then on the 23rd of march at 20:30 hours, 2020 Boris Johnson announced, what they called a Stay-at-home order. There were many things we were no allowed to do. One of them was fishing!
However, the next day Michael Gove (Then, the Cabinet Office Minister) announced that allotments could be counted as exercise. I think we all 'forgot' about the time limit, though. This was a saving grace for us. We now had something to do. For the next couple of years we put all our efforts into sorting out the allotment' while we were restricted as to what we could do. The fishing gear was relegated to the loft, and all my efforts were put into the allotment. Although the photographic techniques used to 'maximise' the size of the catch, can also be employed when photographing prize vegetables!
During this time, my Mum became more and more reliant on us. One thing at a time, we have ended up doing more and more for my Mum. Sue and I do almost everything for her now. However, recently she has been going to an AgeUK for most of the day, once a week. This enables us to have a day off from cooking (and eating) what Mum likes. Also, for the past year or so, My brother looks after her every other Saturday. Talking about the other bloke, he has lost interest in fishing almost completely. He has also moved from the place he had on the river.
We have got into a routine now, and although I am not going to have the freedom to go fishing at the drop of the hat, I think I am going to get back to the bank at some point, soon. But first, I need to sort out the fishing gear. It has been sitting in the loft for the past few years. I am thinking I will have to re-learn a lot of stuff. I might have to read my own blog from the beginning. I knew it would come in handy one day.
Ralph.
