Looking back at lock-down.
Looking back at lock-down, several thoughts and emotions come to mind. Firstly, sadness for all those families who have lost a loved one to Covid 19. And then the realisation of how important we are to each other, both within our families and the community groups that we belong to.
One such group for me is The Tamar Concert Choir of which I have been a member now for seven years. Fellow choristers form strong bonds, and some have become quite close friends. One lovely man in my choir, Ray, is a Prostate Cancer survivor for over 10 years. Even though he is 80, he made the effort to come and visit me after I had my Prostatectomy in January 2019. He lent me some DVD’s, but more importantly he knew exactly how I was feeling straight after my surgery. I really miss my Thursday nights at choir practice and wonder how long it will be before we can safely sing again together?
Thinking of my family, my wife Sheila and I normally think we are lucky if we see our eldest son Tom two or three times a year. He is a freelance TV Producer who lives in London and works mostly abroad. Luckily, he came down to Plymouth just before lock-down. Sixteen weeks later he is still here! He has turned our dining room into his office and, luckily, been able to continue to work for both ITV and Channel 4. Tom is quite a creative person. The big surprise on my birthday was that he transformed our front room into a pub for the evening! There was a pub quiz followed by a karaoke night, great fun! My wife and I have loved having him around, but, having seen him work from our home, we now realise how hard he has to work in such a competitive industry.
My younger son James and his partner Sam have really given us a lock-down present. They recently told us that they will be expecting a baby on January 5th, 2021. Our first Grandchild, how exciting! But, how brave of them to go ahead and start a family in these unprecedented times? They are coming down from Bristol to stay with us this weekend. Sheila and I are celebrating our 40th (Ruby) wedding anniversary, so all our family will be together. How important it is that we all have something positive to look forward to? Two weeks ago, I had the results of my fifth PSA test since my Prostatectomy – once again ‘all clear’ and undetectable. Thanks to our wonderful NHS, I will hopefully have quite a few years to watch that grandchild grow. Best wishes to all,
Martin Mills July 2020
