Coronavirus – Northern Ireland #17

Yesterday evening we sat outside in the back garden as a family. It’s rare to get the five of us in the one room at the same time but we listened to some music, played by DJ Fionnuala, before retiring inside when it started to get dark and chilly. Before that, it had been another beautiful, sunny day. I started the morning with a 6.4 mile run which blew away a few cobwebs. Apart from a couple of cyclists I was again alone on the country roads.

The United Kingdom death toll now nears 10,000, including 107 deaths in Northern Ireland. Prime Minister Johnston remains in hospital but is now thankfully out of intensive care and on a general ward. He has been playing sudoku and watching movies, including the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I never saw Boris as a Tolkien fan. The man has taste. Hopefully he will make a full recovery and return to lead the nation through these terrible times.

The lockdown is largely being adhered to, despite the occasional idiot flouting the regulations. The government is to make a further announcement after Easter but it’s almost certain the lockdown will be extended to at least the end of April. I personally have no problem with this if it halts the spread of the virus and saves lives. We are fortunate to have everything we need so it’s a small price to pay in the greater scheme of things.

I’ve finished my latest read, ‘The Secret Place,’ by Tana French so am going to treat myself to some new books today as an early birthday present. Fionnuala and I have now moved on to the second seasons of ‘How To Get Away With Murder’ and ‘Luther.’ Thank goodness for Amazon and Netflix, where would we be without them. Although I do miss watching my favourite teams playing, especially Ulster and Ireland Rugby.

I hope you are all keeping safe, wherever in the world you are. Keep blogging and sharing your experiences as it could be just what someone needs to get through another monotonous day. I’ll be spending the day eating too much chocolate which I’ll attempt to run off tomorrow morning. Try and enjoy your Easter although it will be a very peculiar one. Feel free to comment and reach out to others reading these words.