THIS is a cup of tea?

Or a CoVid test for giants? On the train, coming back from Cheltenham. I'd had quite a tricky day with Dave, but I managed to avoid drinking the sachet of 70% alcohol...

When I met Dave at Cheltenham station, he asked 'where to next?'
Our destination was the Cobalt Unit, to get one of their excellent wildlife photography calendars for a friend. Cobalt makes health scanners, but has a fundraising department, hence the calendars. www.cobalthealth.co.uk

Then we loaded up Dave's car and went to the tip to drop off some rubbish, having first tried out the microwave oven he bought yesterday. It was waaayyyy too complicated. I'd sent him a link referring to a particular model at Argos, but he hadn't opened it and had bought another model. Once the tipping was done, we went back to Argos, where were able to exchange the ovens, and Dave got a £25 refund. Job done. We bought a few more kitchen items (Dave had a somewhat traumatic move recently, in which his most important items were not moved with him). We took the microwave back to Dave's flat. It seems, at least for now, easier to use than the more fancy model. There are only two dials, and Dave can read them both. I heated up some popadums in it because I was starving.

Then I heated up soup in the microwave, and a pizza in the oven, just to show Dave how easy it is to use the electric oven really. We had lunch. A man came to repair something in Dave's bathroom. A pair of desert boots was delivered.

We then ordered some microwaveable meals from Parsley Box, the same company my mother uses, for Dave to try for himself. I am really trying to encourage Dave to eat at home more often, because he recently caught CoVid for the second time, after eating out in many different restaurants. The problem is, loneliness is also a killer.

After that, it was time to go and buy some heel grips, waste paper bins and an iron in a hardware store, Bloodworth's. Dave chose the burgundy-coloured iron. Finally, I asked Dave to take me back to the station. It had been a long five and a half hours of shopping and 'cooking'. I miss our shopping days. I don't think we've had any of those since before the pandemic. We've agreed to have one before Christmas, but I think I'll plan one for myself beforehand, because Dave's pace has slowed dramatically since those halcyon days.