Tamworth

Izzy was flown out of South Sudan by the organisation she works for just as the lockdown was beginning so she and her parter, Will, ended up staying for a few weeks with my first wife before taking a up a cheap rent for a couple of months in central London.

That rent returns to its normal, eye-watering levels next month, so Izzy and Will are going travelling around France in a camper van, which means that Izzy won't be able to come to Abi's birthday party next week. Izzy was keen to see everyone before she left, though, so she made a plan for a brief UK tour, today, taking in both sets of grandparents (Kingston and Oxford) and meeting me and Abi in Tamworth. Dan had a rehearsal booked but Charlie said she'd drive down and join us. 

Except that Dan's rehearsal was put back a week and he said he'd like to come along, too, but he had an online lesson at twelve-fifteen, I needed to get to the Apple Store in Manchester for one o'clock, and we were supposed to meet Izzy at three-thirty. It was beginning to feel like old times!

I have to say that I was pretty pleased with the solution: the Minx took Dan down to Chorley so that he could do the online lesson from her house while Abi and I headed into Manchester, and then we all met up near the new house (fingers crossed!) in Salford at a quarter to two before Abi, Dan, and I set off for Tamworth. 

And it worked! We all met up in the car park at Tamworth Castle just after half three and had an enjoyable couple of hours chatting in the grounds. Mercifully the rain held off - it was tipping down both on the way there and back - and we found a nice spot where we could all sit in our households whilst feeling we were all together. 

It was weird not being able to give Izzy a hug but Hannah - who is rigorous about the lockdown rules - was with us in spirit if not in person and we limited ourselves to an elbow bump as we said goodbye. Mission accomplished!

****
-11.2 kgs
Reading: 'Circe' by Madeline Miller