under another sun

Felt increasingly sub-optimal as the day progressed, and was streaming and shivering with a fever in the evening. Lorraine mostly busy in the garden, planting things like beetroot and kale, and putting foxgloves, and native plants into our wildlife patch. I am bored of feeling ill.  Lorraine read the first draft of Gordon Road, and liked it. Watched a bit of the FA cup quarter finals. Talked to Mum, who got the Mother's Day card I sent to her, and was going to Lidl.  Pat and Maureen were going to come around today, but decided to swerve my lurgy. I put a chicken in the oven and we watched Death In Paradise. Below . It was a beautiful day. The little red chaenomeles flowers in the front garden are gorgeous, as were the magnolia flowers now unfurled.     

Maureen's birthday today. I got up early and began organising some notes towards another interview. Breakfast, with Maureen opening cards and presents. Lorraine had to rush off and be horribly sick, and spent the rest of the day and night in bed, probably with some kind of vomiting bug, or maybe food poisoning. Possibly from her home made kombucha we drank yesterday which was a bit pokey. I think it is a bug, and she was not at all well today.  Spoke to Mum who had been out to a neighbour's party last night. She'd also been to the pub in the afternoon, and chatted with some of her mates there. Love the idea that she had some fun. Rearranged the day, instead of us all going to Betty and James's place for cake and coffee, and having dinner here, Beth came around to collect the food we had bought, including lamb, and she cooked for Pat and Maureen at her place this afternoon. I stayed at home to monitor Lorraine, but instead fell asleep on the bed with her and woke up with...

Still feeling wretched, possibly more wretched than yesterday. Worrying that I will have to biff the work I accepted on Friday, mere hours before I started feeling horrid. Trouble is if I biff it, then Keith will lose money too.  Lorraine home today, thank goodness. So nice to see her, although feeling frustrated after she has spent most of the month looking after people, instead of coming home to a nice welcome, she returns to a miserably hacking sack of offal.  She had cooked a roast for Pat and Maureen, and brought me home a plated dinner. Lovely. Just felt really nice to have her back on the gold sofa, even if I had little energy to speak to her. She found the covid tests too. I took a test which was negative.

Bloody hell. Ambushed by illness. Lungs like painful bagpipes and immediately productive cough -- washed out and rubbish. My first thought was that I had seen Mum and Mas yesterday, and hope I hadn't given them anything. Sprawled wanly on the gold sofa all day and binge watched the TV show Traitors, fast forwarding through the meaningless padding in the middle. Spoke to Mum, hoping that I hadn't given her anything. Lorraine will be here tomorrow, which is one thing to look forward to. But I don't want to give her whatever this is. Chatted with Toby too. Lorraine told me to take out a meal from the freezer. I took out a meal, which turned out to be a block of turkey stock. So I slung some assorted vegetables into it -- and it made a nice meal.

Ill and spent the day in bed with Lorraine. However it was a nice day, and we had the Juliette windows open to let in fresh air. A poor night, exhausting problem-solving dreams and waking up continually with painful coughing, headache, sore throat and sinuses, and generally feeling exhausted. Negative test, but nurse Lorraine assures me I have covid. I was convinced I wouldn't get it, but hey ho. Spent the day in bed, and slept heavily this afternoon. I was looked after by everyone else. And Lorraine and I were brought up some vegan food in the evening that Jade had delivered.  Lorraine feels a little better, however, which is excellent. But the timing of this covid is horrible for her birthday on Friday. I feel really disappointed about that. Texting with Toby today. Sent him these photos which I snapped in bed. The cats delighted with us being so sedentary today.

Insomnia most of the night, by the morning the combination of cold and jab left me feeling like garbage. I 'binned off' my plans for making progress in any direction, and spent the day in a hypochondriac grump on the gold sofa feeling wussy every time I stood up. 

Lorraine has food poising, or perhaps even a norovirus, as she was vomiting on a regular basis from this morning. A temperature of over 101 in the owd munney late this afternoon when I took it. We had been emptying the freezer of frozen stuff and she cooked a chicken dish from some long frozen chicken bits hidden among mammoths and dead sea scrolls etc. which she ate last night. I had to throw the rest away today.  I was working lots today, so did not notice a message on my muted phone. It was only when a poorly Lorraine came into my office that I realised she was ill. Kept my door and ears open after that for any squeaks. Poor thing couldn't even keep down water till the evening. Otherwise a bit of banter from poets about our meeting yesterday, and a day of slogging at the freelance job -- only for the goalposts to move yet again after 6pm -- with something of a re-brief. Luckily it didn't affect me or Keith too badly, as we had ignored the terrible brief and tried to work out...

Another gold sofa day, but a little better. Greatly boosted by a text this morning from Lorraine saying one of the kids at school is reading Magnificent Grace and apparently can't put it down and is already on Chapter 10. Spoke to Mum and things are a bit more settled at home.  I loafed about and was grateful not to be able to recover without having to schlepp to London or attempt to meet some hideous deadline, but still managing to feel a bit galled at this waste of time. Watching a Netflix series called Colony which isn't too bad.  Beth out tonight, and very happy to be with Lorraine at home on the sofa watching Masterchef and going to bed early. Lorraine working at reaching the end of term before she reaches the end of her tether, bless her. Only a week to go. A rainbow glimpsed from my office this morning.

Definitely the cold Lorraine and Beth have had. A long time since I felt so bad with just a cold before. Spent the day on the gold sofa, streaming all day. Santa stuff to be returned, which Beth did in the car bless her. Otherwise listened to podcasts, dozed and watched TV till Lorraine came home, and she cooked for us and, after Masterchef, pushed off to bed.  Lorraine and I restless, so listening to a Plum Tree meditation before we slept.

Lorraine woke up sniffing and coughing, and I snuck down and made breakfast of bacon and egg sandwiches with a side dish of tea and paracetamols. Up ridiculously late, and Lorraine simply transferred onto the gold sofa. I took the opportunity to have a gold sofa day too, and finished Clare Best's The Missing List , which is a fine, if harrowing, memoir of having survived sexual abuse as a child from her father, and then having to be with him in his last, unrepentant, days. Lorraine rallied briefly and magnificently to cook shepherd's pie, and apple pie before returning to the  gold sofa, and then bed. I watched Match of the Day alone, with Chelsea's team of inspiring youngsters back on a winning streak. Then I slipped off to bed. Below, a picture of Brian for no good reason.