Day One Hundred and Forty Five - Hot! Hot! Hot!

Supposed to be the hottest day of the year so far and poised to break records. I can believe it. I’ve stayed indoors most of the day out of the sun and in the front of the house where it’s north facing and slightly cooler. Cool is a relative term at the moment. I treated myself to an ice lolly this afternoon. I’d ordered a box in my weekly shop in anticipation of this heatwave. I fear I may have trouble sleeping tonight. Not simply because it’s hot but because the revellers will be out in force in my neighbourhood I’m pretty sure. The new people/person, I’m not sure, is very loud. Sometimes I’m think I’m living in an episode of EastEnders.

I had a nice early walk before it got hot. But I’m a little concerned about my friend. She has a couple of insect bites. I think she must’ve scratched one in the night and broken the skin. And it might be infected. Because it looks swollen and red. And because of her autoimmune problem it could be quite serious. She’s had to phone the doctors for some antibiotics and she’s been told to put ice on it and rest it. So I’m just hoping she’s going to be okay. Otherwise I think it’s a hospital job and she is terrified of picking up the virus if she has to go to hospital. We think we got bitten chatting one morning. I have a couple of bites to my arm but I’ve tried very hard not to scratch them so the skin is not broken. They’re definitely not gnat  bites, they have a different look to them.

I was absolutely disgusted this morning on my walk. Earlier in the week the council had erected a couple of signs asking people not to do group running up and down the steps. I can see why. Even without social distancing and the threat of a killer virus it’s intimidating if you’re going either up or down to be rushed by a group of people running full pelt. I don’t think it’s an unreasonable request at all, the steps are not a running track or part of an athletic stadium. People use them to get to the station primarily go down to the sea.

But someone has done this to both signs. Don’t ask what they’ve done it with. I dread to think.

I hope I’m worrying unnecessarily but I’m awfully fearful that my fridge freezer has broken down. In the normal way I don’t pay a great deal of attention to when the compressor switches on and off but I’m aware of the noise when it’s on. I was putting something in there this afternoon and it was making the noise and then it suddenly stopped. To me it cut out very suddenly. That was,I suppose, about 3 pm this afternoon and it’s not gone back on again since. Everything still seems to be very cold but I’m quite surprised that I haven’t heard it again. Always found it to be one of the noisiest fridge freezers I have ever had. And I put that down to it being a frost free freezer. I’ve had a read through the manual but can’t find anything helpful. Fortunately I am insured so I’ve got all the paperwork out and ready. But I don’t relish the idea of having to have an engineer who might not social distance and will be touching everything. Neither do I relish the idea of losing a freezer full of food. But it seems now to be an awfully long time in this kind of heat for the compressor not to have switched back on.

The news continues to baffle and confuse me. One headline tells us that the virus has levelled out in this country. Another says the R rate is rising. If it’s levelling out how can it be rising? I still have no idea really what’s going on.

My poor friend has had her surgery pushed back five days. I do feel sorry for her. Get yourself all psyched up for it and then to be told, no you’ve got to wait another five days. And the date of the Covid test has changed as well. More prolonged quarantine too. Not just for her but for her partner and her daughter. Another five days now and then of course there will be the seven days quarantine after the surgery.

Auntie Pat is still in bed most of the time and can’t speak on the phone. There is some convoluted system where we can phone the home and then they can try and get the phone answered in her room but it’s often not charged. And in this kind of heat I haven’t the heart to bother them to be honest.

What a year this is turning out to be. And that’s an understatement. I’m now going to go and to see if the fridge might hopefully switch back on again. Wish me luck.