May 8

Today is the 75th anniversary of VE Day, but you wouldn't know it here. I remember my gran telling me how she danced in Trafalgar Square.  In the afternoon, I watch the celebrations in Britain on television with my dad.  Everyone the news presenter speaks to is asked if they can draw a parallel between the War and the coronavirus.  A couple of people make tentative connection, but only one man has the guts to say, 'No.'  I couldn't agree more.  How on earth could 6-7 weeks of staying at home, watching Netflix and awaiting home deliveries of food, in any way be compared to nearly six years of war and thousands dead, injured or displaced?

My sister sends us photos of her and her family having a picnic outside to mark VE Day.  I envy her the long evening and the fact that her village in England has a lovely sense of community.  I don't know our neighbours very well at all.  One one side, we have the people whose dog bit Ellie and another house in which live two teenage boys who rev motorbikes loudly and sometimes go screaming off down the road on them.  On the other side, we have an aid agency and at the back we have the people who chuck rubbish into the garden.  I don't think I would recognise any of them if I met them on the street.

In the evening, we watch Foyle's War.  We've watched the whole series before, but not for a few years.  I think it's a fantastic series as it brings in so many different aspects of the War, especially on the homefront.