#avonbeach

She had tea in bed, then we went for a walk along Christchurch River. It was beautiful, very quiet with lots of boats bobbing. She loves boats.

By the time we drove back home, she’d forgotten she’d even been, so I showed her the photos I took and she sort of remembered a little bit.

In the evening we surprised her with a trip to Mudeford and dinner at the beach. Even though there was really long, socially distanced queue, it had to be fish and chips from The Noisy Lobster washed down with a chilled Brancott sauvignon blanc.

It felt amazing to finally be on the sand and beside the sea, instead of just looking at it from above. There were no crowds and everyone who was there was being respectful and following the distancing guidelines.

To begin with, she was in moaning mode – it was too chilly, the food wait was too long, the seagulls were too noisy – blah. Action was required. While husband waited in line, I wrapped a fleece blanket round her and plonked a glass of wine in her hand and suddenly she was happy as Larry! When he finally came back with the food, she was in her element. We sang Happy Birthday and she joined in, thinking it was for one of us, bless her.

The fish was soooooooo worth the wait. There’s something wonderful about eating piping-hot, battered cod and chips by the sea. And about seeing your 87 year-old MIL relishing the celebration, despite having no idea it’s actually for her!

The girls made her a chocolate birthday cake so we lit that and sang Happy Birthday again. She was happy, but bewildered. Again.

❤️

TODAY is the start of the official COVID-19 guideline to a wear face-covering in shops, including takeaways, pubs and restaurants. Well done you hopeless Tory government for putting this in place – weeks after you really needed to.

A bit like putting a plaster on a beheading.