Peter’s London Lockdown

Well, here I am again. Here you are again too, if you live in Ontario, anyway. Betty and I are pretty lucky, I am mobile enough that I can go out and pick up anything we need from the mall which is located in our backyard. We have been using the lockdown to develop our relationship and have had a great time doing so.

Betty has had her first vaccination and she will get the second one in July. I have been endeavouring to book my own vaccination, but so far have been banging my head against the wall trying to make an appointment. I live in hope, however. 

Luckily, we have been through lockdown conditions before here at Chez Montreuil, so we approach the situation with confidence, as we have learned various “coping strategies” from our previous experience. You might find these useful.

The mall which we patronize is a single level building, with 5 entrances into the mall itself, not including at least one entrance directly into a store, the pharmacy. There are security personnel at several of these entrances doing prescreening by asking the potential entrants COVID questions. Having worked face to face with the public myself, I understand and appreciate that they have a job to do, so I answer them politely and treat them with respect. I find it interesting that one of these entrances is locked, the one closest to the public washroom. ( As one ages, they tend to give priority to different things in their immediate surroundings.) Oh, you can still access the washroom, but the journey is much longer and fraught with peril. Believe me, when my bladder is demanding attention, it wants it immediately, and time doesn’t stand still  :). 

We have a chain grocery store in the mall, which sells beer and gives Air miles, so I am “in hog heaven “, albeit Betty gets rather suspicious when I hop from one foot to the other and ask if she needs a can of tuna from the grocery store. I have the feeling that I have actually been found out.

Now of course, only certain cashiers can handle alcohol purchases,  and yes, Loyal Reader, Mrs Montreuil’s little boy has, on rare occasions, lined up in the wrong line. Most embarrassing 😦 . 

Although there are specific hours for the “elderly and infirm” to shop as a priority, one of the many advantages of being retired is that I GET UP WHEN I WANT TO. I have found that I haven’t had to wait for very long to have my purchases rung in, and laden with food, Air Miles and beer, I am able to continue with the rest of my day. 

Of course, one day, I was in line and the “old blister” a) in line in front of me rather generously told another shopper that they could go in front of her, ( and, of course, by extrapolation, me and the three people who were behind me.) I pointed out that while that was mighty neighbourly of her, I did not recall her being elected president of the line. The interloper took their rightful place at the end of the line whilst the folks behind me gave me grateful looks over their masks.

We have been patronizing a local restaurant in the mall whether dining in or picking up something to eat. At this time, in particular, I think that it is crucial that we all support our neighbours, so we concentrate on purchasing from locally owned businesses as our first priority, followed  in order by franchise operations. Only as a last resort do we buy from a Big Box multinational. While they may want your money, they certainly don’t need it as much as the local business owners do. Again, we can all do our part to help everyone else through this trying time.

Betty and I have been watching a lot of television during this time, and recently we watched a movie on my poor, neglected DVD player. I have a extensive collection of DVDs, many of which are not in Betty’s immediate field of interest, so most of them brood on the shelf, sulking like Achilles in his tent before the walls of Troy. Betty bought a movie and sat down with me to watch it. It was called “The Help”, and I found it to be a very good movie. I reccomend it if you have not seen it.

Again, there is a lot of great indie music coming out all the time, Google and YouTube are most definitely your friends. I try to put music up on my timeline as well. I used to do something which I called “Indie Sessions”, a series of songs from local bands. Events of the last couple of years have pushed me away from that particular initiative, but I feel that it will soon be returning to my timeline, as my spirits are improving immeasurably. Again, I have to thank all of you, my friends.

So on that note, keep the faith, spread your love, your concern and let others know that you care about them. If we care for each other, if we take the time to let others know that they matter, if we focus on what’s important, then we will be able to get through this trying time. 

See you soon 

a) A pejorative term that my grandmother used for any older person of her acquaintance who was “a stick in the mud “. That term still makes me laugh, and I can still hear her saying it.

=PJM=

A confirmed Cat person, Peter dabbled with being a water boy, a paper boy and an altar boy before finally settling on a career with the Canadian federal government.  Once, in his youth, he ate a Dutch  oven full of mashed potatoes to win a 5 cent bet with his beloved sister Mary’s boyfriend. (Of course he was much younger and a nickel went a lot farther!) He has retired to palatial “Chez Montreuil”, which he shares with his little buddy CoCo the Fashionable. He is blessed to have the beautiful Betty in his life. He is not only a plastic aircraft modeller, but a proud “rivet counter”. Military aviation and live music are among other interests of his, and he tries to get out to as many shows as he can. He will be here for your enlightenment whenever the stars align. Profile photo courtesy of Pat Blythe, caricature courtesy of Peter Mossman.

Bob Segarini, Don’t Believe A Word I Say, Elizabeth Stevenson, The Help, Achilles, COVID, Peter Montreuil,