Day Sixty-Nine - The A-Word, Kodaline and George Ezra

Sometimes when I'm walking along in the mornings with my headphones on, and I'm singing along to some tune or other I feel like I'm Joe from the A word!  I often wonder whether my weirdness puts me somewhere on the spectrum. It would explain a lot, I think. This morning I was listening to Kodaline. The first album. But it's tinged with sadness. My friend's son was in a relationship with a girl when their first album came out. And it played the soundtrack to their summer. The summer before she dumped him. He was heartbroken. I don't think anyone has ever dumped him before! But we had tickets for a Kodaline concert later that year and he still came with us. Even though he'd broken up with her.  There was a point during one of the songs and the line went 'So if you love me, why'd you leave me?' And the tears were just rolling down his face as they sang. Broke my heart. I thought I had to change the mood. So then I listened to George Ezra's Staying at Tamara's. Nice and bouncy, upbeat, happy. My brother bought me this album. He'd come down to stay and it was a belated birthday present. We bought it in an actual record shop, the one where I used to work. We came straight home and played it. I remember he was a bit critical of some of the lyrics and the way that contemporary artists repeat lines. He reckoned it was to get festival audiences to join in. I can still remember that afternoon. It was a Saturday. It was sunny. And the music was jolly. Until you get to the last couple of tracks. 'Only a Human' and The Beautiful Dream'. And so there were tears streaming down my face as I walked home. Because I really miss my brother and I don't know when I'll see him again.

You might be wondering what the A word is? It's a TV series about a couple and their autistic son. And the child who plays the autistic boy, Joe, is absolutely amazing. Joe listens to music on his headphones and he's learned all the lyrics and sings along when he's walking. Like many autistic people he has an exceptional ability and his is to remember the lyrics. I'm finding it very hard to watch TV at the moment. Partly that's to do with the summer. My brother and I were discussing this. He feels the same as I do that it never seems right to have the TV on unless it's dark! I know a lot of people would laugh at that because they watch TV at all times of the day. But I only tend to watch it in the evenings.  Then I go to bed much earlier now because I get up so much earlier which leaves very little time to watch TV.But the A word is one programme I will watch without fail.

There is a massive hoohah brewing at the moment. Dominic Cummings, a Downing Street advisor,  made a 260 mile journey during lockdown. He left London to travel to his family's home in Durham. His wife had suspected coronavirus and there was a high likelihood that he would himself become unwell too. (He did I think?) He thought it was essential to make sure his child could be properly cared for. Sounds reasonable doesn't it? Sounds caring doesn't it? But it breaks all the lockdown rules that the rest of the population have been given. If you have the virus self isolate. Don't leave the home. There are people who have been in the same position but they didn't travel hundreds of miles to take their child somewhere else. They followed the guidance they had been given. People are baying for his blood. They want him to resign. But the government are all behind him and saying it's quite reasonable. Now, whatever the rights and wrongs are, whatever anybody actually thinks, there are going to be a vast numbers of people who will not continue to respect the lockdown. Human nature. Simple as that. There'll be plenty of 'cummings' and goings. If he can do it then so can we. I'm just waiting. It's Bank Holiday weekend too. Heaven help us. 

I've had a productive day. I've washed some curtains, cleaned some windows, scrubbed the kitchen floor and made some soup. There is a strong chance I won't be able to move very far tomorrow but hey, at the moment I'm feeling pretty virtuous.

I haven't heard from any of my family so far today so I don't know what my nephew's condition is. I had an update on Auntie Pat last night but it was the same information as  before. The only additional piece of information was that she'd had a conversation through the window with her friend Jane. And the fact that she was able to do that pleases me.