Dear Marmite
I have been away from Singapore for a year and a day! I walked out of Dairy Farm Condo and got on a 170 bus. In the normal run of things this is not a very big deal as thousands of people do this trip every day. For me it was for the very last time I set off across The Causeway. Melanie walked to the bus stop with me and I feel almost more emotional about that moment now than I did then. I miss Singapore!
A lot has happened to both me and the world over the last year. For starters I couldn't have imagined how the world would be turned upside down by something so small. Over one and a half million peolpe have died from Covid - with 53,000 deaths in the UK alone as of today. Many more millions are facing, unemployment, homelessness and penury.
I have been to over 10 countries in the interim which is surprising considering how many borders are now closed. At least the memories of my travels have kept me going through the darker moments of lockdown. One that stands out is the fantastic hair cut I had in Paris. It was the best ever. Now my hair looks so awful, I wear a hat. At one point in the first lockdown I had it shaved off. That option is so tempting despite the chilly weather!
Over the last year I have also had a surprise house guest for a major part of it. All that came about out of the blue from an email with a desperate cry for help. And so to the rescue... or so I thought. Yet only today my friend, Nasser, joked that he had been told by his lawyer that he is entitled to £20,000 from the Home Office for every month he was wrongfuly imprisoned. If I had left him there, he could have been so much better off now! Mind you, with our current Home Office I won't hold my breadth regarding any payout.
In retrospect, I should perhaps consider my long term guest a replacement for you, Marmite. He like you is fairly well house trained, likes my cooking and is mostly willing to come along for some exercise. However, I stopped short of tickling him behind the ears and he will he never supplant you in my affections - you, Marms are and always will be the perfect gentleman.
I have come round to the idea that I am missing work. I feel I need something to occupy my waking moments. I have a few years before I can collect my pension but I am regularly reminded I am a vulnerable person. I have been offered a flu jab - not COVID - and I am on a register for vulnerable people with my energy supplier should any blackout happen. As a bona fide old dear I am in a place where all the bases seem to be covered! I just can't remember where I parked my zimmer frame though!
As you know Marms, early morning swims are my thing at the moment and since the Not-Lockdown 2 has finished I am back to regular dips. I set off in the dark and watch the sky brighten up over the deep end of the pool as I swim my lengths. I have to say it is a great way to start the day seeing the world wake up.
I am also starting to get ready for Christmas. The tree is up. I have made the alcoholic mincemeat! I am also making some Christmas sweets. Under the constraints of being in tier 2 - make of this label what you will - as it means different things to different people - I am pushing the boat out and doing Christmas with as much cheer as possible. I look back on 2016 as being the benchmark for memorable ones. That had a certain je ne sais quoi but I can't put my finger on it. Spoons were involved!
I am also joining in a Wolverton Art initiative where you turn a window of your home into a picture frame. Each month is a theme. January starts with the theme of HOME. I hope you like my first attempt at this and accept it as being heavy with irony.
I hope you are looking forward to your birthday,
Hugs
XXX
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