Looking after things

Here it comes again. ‘Please book your free spring NHS COVID-19 vaccination’. It was apparently recommended because of my age. I could book an appointment or find a local drop-in centre if I pressed a link. I did this, but the nearest places offered were about ten miles away. I waited another week and there it was – the local Fire Station offering jabs. My original short sleeved t-shirt especially for blood tests and vaccinations (it is my age) has grown decidedly worn and grubby. I have bought a new one with hedgehogs printed on and it doubles as a pyjama top.

Quite a few of my friends are not bothering with the COVID jab these days. They say that they had all the injections and then got COVID anyway. Some are saying that it is not worth it because the risks are small.

I talked to the nurse about this and I noticed that there was no rush and no queue. She said that the jab only last six months and that it changes as the virus mutates. She also said that the jabs cost a lot and the NHS would not be spending that sort of money if it was not financially worth it.

I went home feeling smug but felt quite ill from side effects the next day. I went to bed with my hedgehog pyjama top and two paracetamol tablets. I snuggled down and listened to a radio article on Shropshire’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS). One piece of advice for individuals is to leave some parts of our garden messy and leave a wild area. This is difficult in our new garden as it is all new smooth turf. There is nothing messy about the gardens on this road.

But then one night we saw a hedgehog. It was running in the garden shuffling about for food. We bought a hedgehog house on impulse and we will be filling it with dried leaves in the autumn. We are letting the turf grow in one area of the lawn and hoping to fill it with wildflowers.

Mr T is also growing some vegetables at the back. Not only are they cheaper than in the shop but we think locally grown is fresher, in fact this is another recommendation of LNRS ‘eat locally and seasonally’.

You will have seen videos of people stealing food from shops and the store worker came up to us at the checkout. We were buying a chicken (organic) and he told us it was electronically tagged. It would apparently be deactivated when we scanned it and paid. Even so I was a bit nervous leaving the store in case we set the alarm off.