With lockdown and the ongoing restrictions, so many businesses had to change the way they work.  Many small businesses rely on footfall from people out and about and office workers grabbing their lunchtime takeaway or having meetings in the local coffee shops.  I am always keen to hear of businesses that have adapted and I have shared a few on my blog this year.  Strawberry Grove is a local cafe and coffee shop that started in Lane End and then opened up two more branches in Maidenhead, Berkshire and Marlow in Buckinghamshire.  A few weeks ago Strawberry Grove got in touch to ask if I'd like to try them out and share a review on my blog.

They kindly delivered to me a hamper of fresh produce and invited me to sample lunch at their Maidenhead coffee shop.  They explained to me that when lockdown started they had to adapt, forced to close, they needed to still make an income to cover their costs.  They decided to convert Maidenhead into a farm shop, for local people to visit to buy fresh produce but to also deliver in the area (please see here for their delivery postcodes). 

Should I be missing my children more and struggling with my empty nest?  Or is it okay to feel a little bit pleased that I have more space, more time and am loving getting my house and wardrobe organised?  I have been a stay at home mum / working at home for 23 years and I loved every minute of it (well mostly).  But I was also ready for a rest!  I don't think I realised just how tired I had got and how much I missed 'me'.   In today's post I am sharing details of my new walk in wardrobe (or dressing room), some pretty new underwear for the autumn and a super cotton white shirt!

We have a beautiful cottage in the woods but it isn't a mansion and being a period cottage it does lack storage space.  We have three bedrooms, two bathrooms plus a spare room in an annexe, we are also really fortunate to have the log cabin.  But my dream, since our trip to Florida years ago, was to have a big walk in wardrobe.  Okay so I am not going to quite get the equivalent of the big American homes but I can compromise.  I am not going to be one of those mum's who keeps the kids bedrooms exactly as they were for them to visit.  Oh no, space is too precious for that, and my son owns a flat ten minutes away so he hardly needs a bedroom here does he?  And he can still stay over for Christmas if he wants to.  I have therefore utilised his bedroom and made it into my dressing room and it will also be a spare room.

There are currently around 850,000 people with dementia in the UK, this is projected to rise to 1.6 million by 2040.  Two thirds of the cost of dementia is paid by people with dementia and their families.  Unpaid carers supporting someone with dementia save the UK economy £13.9 billion a year.  There is no cure for Alzheimer's disease or any other type of dementia (source the Alzheimer's Society).

​The long goodbye ....

Dementia is something that has come to challenge me and my family, now and in the past.  There are very few families untouched by this cruel disease and yet there is no cure and it is very difficult to access help, carers feel alone and forgotten.  Care is horrifically expensive and many don't even know how they can get help.

Dementia has many causes (and sometimes there is confusion over the term dementia and Alzheimer's), Alzheimer's is a disease that causes dementia.  Other causes of dementia include vascular dementia, lewy body dementia and Parkinson's disease for example.  However, Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia.  The Alzheimer's Society explain it here.

September is World Alzheimer's Month with World Alzheimer's Day being today, Monday 21st September 2020.

​And I wanted to do my part to raise awareness.  Especially now.  The situation for visiting loved ones in care homes due to the Covid-19 restrictions is horrifying and really unacceptable.   The suffering for those living alone with dementia and the way lockdown exacerbated decline for dementia has been dreadfully sad.  So many forgotten victims of Covid-19.

Hi, how are you all?  I know I popped up last week with my 'new year goals' but I am hoping that this week is my proper return to routine.  Is there really such a thing post-lockdown?  I cannot believe what has happened in 2020 ... it still feels surreal and well you couldn't make it up could you?  I have gone from mild acceptance in the early days back in March to feeling totally lost and confused and frustrated with the conflicting decisions and the inconsistency.  I really worry about the long term implications that I suspect could be far worse than the number of Covid deaths, whilst these are all terribly sad, any loss of life is, but we are ignoring the implications for mental health, for disadvantaged children, for victims of domestic abuse, for those with dementia, the lack of healthcare and testing for cancer, heart disease and the like, the rise in the number of suicides, I could go on and on.  We have virtually shut down our travel industry.  We were asked to 'eat out to help out' at the same time as the Government announcing that we had to tackle obesity.  I appreciate that any Government put in this position would have struggled but I am feeling more than a bit let down I will be honest.

From a personal perspective, my plans for 2020 changed rather rapidly!   I had been expecting an empty nest from early spring.  My son was in the process of buying his first home and then it got delayed.  My daughter was at uni but had to come home.  So a lot later than expected, some sort of normal is back this weekend.  My son has finally been able to move and my daughter heads back to Bath on Sunday.  I appreciate I had it easier than most though, although there were times when things did get pretty bad!