Only 2 weeks before the main tennis tour starts up again. It feels like forever since they shut everything down.

Doing a few match previews this week has helped to get used to the new routine that is coming.

I’ve just got back from a great walk with the dogs. The sun’s shining and they haven’t had a run off lead for a while. There is a large dog field just a 5 minute walk away. A few more people seem to have got dogs during the lockdown. Hopefully they won’t be taking them back to the kennels when everything gets back to normal. Some of them have been taking them to the field. The trouble is that they don’t have much idea about dogs yet. Charlie loves to chase other dogs and if they aren’t running he will growl at them to get them on the run. Some of the new dog owners think he is going to attack their new baby. They flap around in panic and sometimes jump in front of Charlie who just looks at them as if to say, “What the hell are you doing?”

This morning there was no one on the field. It’s beautiful down there. Lots of greenery as far as you can see apart from the allotments. There is also a newt pond that Molly likes to jump into. Another guy came onto the field with his dog. It was a friendly labradoodle type. Looked a bit like a sheep. Charlie is part collie. The chase was on! The guy looked mildly concerned but once I explained that Charlie makes a lot of noise but is just trying to initiate a chase he was fine. Charlie did his public relations bit and sat in front of the guy with his tail wagging. Good lad.

After 20 minutes we carried on with the rest of the walk. During the pandemic most people wouldn’t reply even if you just said good morning. Today there was a very different feel. We passed quite a few families out for a walk. Every single person replied. Things are getting back to normal.

The street has been very quiet. That’s how it is during normal times. A small number have lost the plot during the lockdown which has been well documented on here but since the rules have been eased we have our quiet street back.

I’ve got most of my planned jobs out of the way. The final one is to clear out the shed. I was going to pile it up in the back garden and then call a “man with a van” to take it away. As we have the gardens looking better than they have for a good few years Sue doesn’t like that plan. She doesn’t want a pile of rubbish spoiling the look. Not even for a day. Wonderful. So “we” decided that I would just take it to the local tip. A few weeks ago there were queues of 2 to 3 hours to get into the waste site. I’m sure that isn’t the case now. I guess I’ll find out next week.

Sue is working today and tomorrow. I had a few jobs to do so I got them out of the way yesterday. I cut the grass and trimmed the hedge. The tree in the front garden was also starting to grow over the path so that was pruned too. The local cats seem to have stopped shitting on the new gravel. There was loads of crap on there a couple of weeks ago. Maybe the cats thought it was full so moved on to another place.

I have a lazy afternoon planned. I’m going to watch a couple of films and put my feet up.

Enjoy your Sunday. Stay safe.