Well, we haven’t posted for a while so time for the last few words of the year. 2020 has been a little unpredictable and certainly not ideal for the first year of retirement. Our plans, to spend the winter skiing and the summer sailing to the Mediterranean, have been turned on their head. We had an amazing start to the ski season with three months of fantastic snow and fabulous sunshine before the Achilles rupture and Covid lockdown in March. Once we were liberated in July, we couldn’t sail so spent the summer in the Alps where we had some previously unplanned and brilliant cycle trips. Then, as plans for skiing were scuppered by rising Covid rates, we found ourselves unexpectedly spending winter on the boat in Falmouth!
The very stormy weather in Cornwall over the last few months has not been the best mood enhancer. Nor has another lockdown in November. Things became even more difficult when my mum’s Alzheimers disease worsened significantly. Despite frequent and extended visits to care for her, she has now gone to live in residential care. This was made more traumatic by the fact that we could not even go inside to help her unpack, and are still not allowed to visit due to necessary precautions in the light of the recent rise in Covid cases. Happily mum has settled into her new home and is loving the companionship.
After caring for mum we returned to Falmouth feeling drained but looking forward to a few pre-Christmas weeks of relatively normality. We joined a gym with plans to work out and swim each day, booked some lovely restaurants and made birthday plans for a stay in Padstow enjoying some delicious seafood. Uh! Oh! Should have realised that 2020 is not a year for making plans! We both came down with Covid and spent my birthday and Christmas in quarantine on the boat 🙁
We are now recovered although Jonathan’s sense of smell and taste has been badly distorted. Most foods taste bland at best whilst wine smells vile. We’ve had a very abstemious festive season and won’t be popping the Champagne corks tonight! The sea continues to lift the spirits though – even the storms have conjured wonderful skies. This morning the decks were covered with ice as I slithered off for my walk to Gylly beach. But the low winter sun on, for once, calm waters is spectacular. Sadly the restaurants, bars and cafes have again been forced to close, but everyone was out enjoying the view, the rock pools and the water.
We’re not sure we should try to make any plans for the New Year. We hope to return to France soon, but that will be dependent on getting a negative Covid test, and we could remain positive for several weeks or even months. If we make it to France and the ski lifts are still not open then we hope to do lots of ski touring. Fingers crossed that things will get better and we’ll all be able to meet in the Alps in the Spring. Happy 2021 to everyone – let’s hope it’s a great year for us all.