The Young Ones

This morning Luke and Meriel met with two of their friends for a walk, and later, when Gavin and I went to the common for a walk with Xena, we bumped into them during the walk, when I took this photo. I liked the way they were reflected in this large puddle.

Back home we had roasted cauliflower soup for lunch ( it was popular when I made it last week so I made it again) with salad, bread and pate. This afternoon has been spent catching up with the the Prime Minister's announcement regarding the latest Covid restrictions, which has been very disappointing for many, coming close on the heels of new restrictions announced only two days ago. 

London and the South East - which includes us in Surrey - has gone into a newly formed higher tier, Tier 4, which is essentially a total lockdown once again. This is due to the rising cases from a new variant of the virus which is proving to be 70% more transmissible than the original virus. In Tier four areas, all non-essential retail will have to close, along with hairdressers, nail bars, indoor gyms and leisure facilities. This will be reviewed again on 30 December. The government's relaxation of rules for the 5 day Christmas period have been cancelled, those in Tier 4 cannot meet anyone outside their household and those in the other tiers are only allowed to meet for the day on Christmas Day. All very depressing and upsetting but Boris said it will be a different scenario by Easter when many millions will be vaccinated, so there is at least a glimmer of hope on the horizon.
These restrictions come into effect from tomorrow. Adam arrived home today now that his term's research is on hold for the holidays. The restricted Christmas plans don't affect us as we usually only spend it with the five of us together, never having had any family near us. Gavin is relieved as it looks like two balls can still play golf!

There will be many sad and disappointed people tonight, but hopefully this new lockdown will help to stop the spread of the newly mutated virus. I am sure many will make a big effort to comply with the 'stay at home' order, but there will be others who will disregard it too, and having different tiers means it is too easy to travel from a high tier to a low tier to go out to a restaurant or pub there, which of course is not allowed. Please be sensible everyone!