Normality? Testing times. The power of caffeine.,

Getting back to something like normal, I got up this morning snd cycled to the market in Uppermill. It’s much the same as ever. So now we have supplies of the oat biscuits we can offer to my brother-in-law as they are gluten-free. Also some Coxes orange pippin apples, excellent olives and sundried tomatoes, as well as some interesting cheese.

It was a cold ride but not as cold as Monday, when we had quite a heavy frost, but I was glad to have my extra warm cycling gloves. 

After breakfast (I always have breakfast with Phil when I return from Uppermill) we spotted a bit of sunshine and decided to go for a walk while it was there. It didn’t last long but we had a good walk anyway.With some fine views, as ever.

On the way to Dobcross there’s a wall which fell (or was knocked) down a good two years ago. It just remained with a council barrier around it and a “Footpath Closed” sign. About 5 or 6 weeks ago they finally started to fix it but it was still only half done when we went to Portugal. Today we walked past it without noticing it was all finished and had to go back to take a photo. 

We returned home in time to do our Covid test ready for posting. I can’t say poking a swab to the back of your throat is pleasant. Not an experience I want to repeat in the near future. Perhaps the hardest part was putting together the boxes to post the tests off in. First folding left them looking as though the contents could slide out. We won the box battle however and I made coffee to drink before we go to post the things and keep our fingers crossed for a negative result!

I read recently that drinking coffee or tea may be linked with a lower risk of stroke and dementia. They’ve been doing studies on this. “Researchers found that people who drank two to three cups of coffee or three to five cups of tea a day, or a combination of four to six cups of coffee and tea, had the lowest risk of stroke or dementia.

Those who drank two to three cups of coffee and two to three cups of tea daily had a 32% lower risk of stroke. These people had a 28% lower risk of dementia compared with those who did not drink tea or coffee.”

It’s nice to find that something you like is good for you. We need some reports on wine and chocolate now!

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!