Crocus

Another beautifully bright and sunny day but oh it is so cold, freezing the ground and any water lying around. There is still some snow in our garden. This morning I had a zoom coffee morning with friends - we usually get together for breakfast maybe once or twice a year but because of lockdown we have not met since early October last year. It was lovely to catch up on everyone's news. Xena went out with P the dog walker while I had my zoom meeting and I was pleased not to be out in the cold today. Later I wandered around the garden when I took this photo of a crocus, they have just started coming up.

Gavin found out from British airways that although they have cancelled our flight to South Africa they have put on another flight so we are booked on that one - however while South Africa is on the 'red list' we cannot travel there. For those out of the UK, countries on the 'red list' require British nationals to isolate in a hotel on arrival back in the UK (at a cost of £1750 per person) for 10 days on returning from a country on the red list - so those rules will not encourage travel to those countries. It is necessary to try and stop the spread of the SA variant.

Tommy is working hard on his university course - last night he stayed up to 3.30am trying to finish the first part of a project whereby he has to program a robot to do certain tasks (he is studying engineering). I really hope the students can get back to university for the final term to enjoy some semblance of university life, it has been so crap for them. Somehow I doubt it.