Hello from England where things are gradually coming alive again…….it is very much like emerging from a long sleep similarly to Snow White except there is no Prince to be seen. Hearing children’s laughter coming from the school is a sound I love, people talking, shopping, swimming, having tea in the garden with friends…….all these things are what normality is all about and yet there is something not at all normal about the situation. The children laughing in the playground is somewhat depleted and they stand apart, shops are restricting the number of people entering as lines if people wait patiently outside, there are large gaps between people on the beach, this one I love as I am a space hugger on the beach, claiming my space with a large blanket or beach towel hoping to stop people from being so close you can hear them snoring as they sleep in the sun, kicking sand on you as they emerge from the sea and flop down shaking their towel as they do so creating a mini sand storm!

Tea in the garden no longer starts with a hug, no squashing up on chairs or the grass close to each other to make room for everyone. Now we choose our group wisely, not wanting to offend, we are careful about our cups, our plates – no sharing or giving someone else a bite of our sandwich for them to taste.

Trips are back but not the old normal …. we went out on Monday to a favorite garden. We are very fond of gardens here in England and the Royal Horticultural Society has many beautiful open gardens around the country, usually in the grounds of a stately home or palace. One of our favorites is Hyde Hall, beautiful gardens landscaped across Hugh swaths of land. The house itself is not open and walkways are signed in such a way to avoid coming to close to others , one way walks, queuing for tea , food and toiletries…..all taking much longer than usual because of the distancing. BUT it is NOT normal as we know it, but it is better than nothing and hopefully, life will at some time revert to what we all know as normal.

It is mandatory here to wear masks on public transport in enclosed places such as shops and banks. To this end we have been making face masks, Hospital scrubs are still being made but not in the vast quantities that were required at the beginning. Last Monday we saw the first Monday Mask Giveaway…. it was excellent, we had our mask tree outside the Hub so people could see type of masks on offer and then come in to the building to collect them. Obviously we had to restrict the numbers coming in but it was fine. All masks had been sprayed with anti bacterial to get rid of any germs before they were put in bags. I know I have said this many times before about community being amazing in the face of adversity and this bears testament to that. The machinists making masks do so without question and will go on until they are not needed. …. like scrubs we will keep a reserve for people we have left out or who need replacements.

Little Free Libraries are still being erected and a new one arrived last week when my yoga teacher expressed interest in having one in her front garden. It always creates a bit of interest when a new one is places., I still get a buzz from that. I have to say that the libraries have been very busy during this period of lockdown as the public libraries have been closed and people have more time to actually sit down and read!!! Always a silver lining. ….. she is holding a bag of bunting which is now gifted out with every library to be used on high days, holidays and special occasions!!

A quilt is being made at this moment by Carolyn, the co-ordinator of the sewing group, which will be exquisite. It is made of 4×4 square which have been sewn by all the people who have been involved in and contributed to the scrubs project. They are all beautiful, I see something I have not seen before every time I look at it and marvel at the skill of these people. I will show you next week when hopefully, it will be completed.

I am so intrigued by the living walls that are becoming so popular now I love the idea and they look so superb in almost any setting. My nephew has just set up a company making them, I’m fascinated by the idea…… do you have many in Lake Worth? I cannot recall seeing any.

I belong to a sketchbook circle where everyone involved around the country share sketchbooks with each other. You are put into a group of three and every month you send your sketchbook to another person in the triangle and they send theirs to you. So I am A and send mine to B or send theirs to C who sends theirs to me, at the end of the month the process is reversed. It’s interesting and intriguing to watch other people react to your work in other mediums. Next week I will share some examples with you, it is certainly something artists in Lake Worth Beach * could start it’s huge fun too. I will collect pictures and more information for next week on this topic ….. I hope the week ahead is kind to you and you enjoy it, stay safe, healthy and happy . . . . .

* editors note we do have one and Chris is invited .