A new life

Sunday 7th Mar 2021

We had all been waiting for the big announcement. Something that would take us forward. But after the Prime Minister had spoken, it seemed as if nothing was going to happen. And it did not at first – we are all still obeying the same lockdown rules. But on Monday there is to be a big change. The schools are opening. ‘Step One’ towards a new stage in our lives. It will not be quick; we cannot rush things.

We are all doing our best to keep going, but it is difficult. Four million of us are still shielding and according to my Government email I must await further instructions at the end of March. There will be no coffee or picnics outdoors for me and other shielders, we must move even more slowly.

Our newly planted seeds have been moving slowly too. At first nothing happened but then I read that they needed warmth. We put them in the airing cupboard amongst the curving pipes and the hot cylinder – carefully avoiding the newly washed clothes. It worked, and now we are back to trays of little plants on the dining room table. There are tomatoes, aubergines and peppers to nurture, and nothing will go to waste.

It has been hard in lockdown to make sure that we do not waste things, but recycling is difficult without the charity shops and centres that will take our unwanted goods. I was surprised though, when I drove to a medical appointment, to see two large tyres discarded in the ditch on our lane. Then at the end of the road I saw a settee dumped in the field gateway. It is a problem all over the country and I have read about volunteer groups, litter picking, in various places in Shropshire. But who will take that settee? When we begin our new life out of lockdown, we really do need to have our countryside safe and welcoming. Everything is waking up to spring and I am looking forward to that.

I have just seen my first bumble bee! One warm afternoon she crept out of her winter hiding place and tumbled along to our bulb meadow. There she found some crocuses full of pollen and nectar. She went from flower to flower until she seemed almost drunk with her first meal after winter. She lay on her back for a while, in the centre of a flower, before gaining strength and flying off. She is a fertilized queen, and it will not be long before she finds somewhere safe to lay her eggs.

Nature is probably like us at ‘Step One’, taking things slowly and carefully.

(Taken from my column in the Shropshire Star - Talking Point with Vicky Turrell)

Step one - seeds germinating in our airing cupboard

Here we go again - seedlings on the kitchen table