First hug in a long, long time

We have been looking forward to this evening for a long time. We celebrated the lifting of pandemic restrictions with Paddy and Caitin indoors at their 'new' flat. Normally we should have visited them here several times since they moved in last November, but this has not been possible. Instead, when seeing them at their end of town, we have met in Figgate Park. (Fortunately at our house we have managed lots of back garden and yarden get-togethers - see, for example, arrangements for our Christmas Eve dinner).

With lots of catching up to do, we made the most of this evening with games of Carcassonne and Catan, and a delicious supper of scallops, mushroom bourgignon, dauphinoise potatoes, and lemon tart. My blip shows our first hug in 14 months.

Earlier in the day I watched the stone masons as they made a start on the work in our yard, met Véronique at the National Portrait Gallery for coffee/tea, brewed two batches of soup (beetroot and celery, spiced parsnip), and walked to Portobello.

The taxi driver who brought us home tonight made us laugh when he called us 'young people'. He was explaining that his advanced age (55) made it difficult to learn new things. (Admittedly it was dark and we were wearing masks - but we couldn't resist pointing out to him that we are both in our late 50s.)

Exercise today: walking (19,093 steps).