Proceeding With Caution

 Before I go any further, I need to tell you about the email we just received from the ward clerk of the Oxford Second Ward.  He would like us to speak in "church" on Sunday.  We each only will speak less than 10 minutes so it should be a piece of cake!  

SK is mumbling about it.  It is because it is an entirely different thing to stand at a podium in church and read a prepared talk to the congregation - and to sit at your desk at home, in a white shirt, tie and jacket - and the ever popular pajama bottoms (just kidding - kind of) and read with any kind of naturalness.  He hasn't done that before.  I have done it a few times and so the thought of it isn't quite as unnerving for me.  Both SK and I tend to almost shout at the computer because we haven't yet realized how powerful the microphone is.

When I gave the art presentation to the mission, I sat here at the desk speaking and advancing slides.  SK sat in the living room watching from there.  Part way through, he leaned his head in the door and whispered somewhat loudly, "Go slower! so that the slides catch up!"  

I slowed down and didn't think much of it until a week later, Dave said one of his favorite parts was when he heard Stan whisper.  He repeated the very words SK had said.  Whoops!  Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!  We need to remember that.  

At any rate, we have a few things scheduled this week, and we had hoped to watch some of RootsTech.  I think this assignment may have us watching more in the future rather than live.

The sun has been beautiful today.  We took a drive to a town about an hour away to deliver some things to our zone leaders.  I must have taken twenty or thirty pictures from the car.  It is so green here!  We had snow on the ground the beginning of the month, and the trees are still mostly bare, but the verdant fields and grass everywhere are gorgeous.  In one area we drove past, I saw the shoots along side the sidewalk promising bright tulips before long.  That made me so happy!











Road signs that say Wales and London never cease to amaze me.



On our Tuesday evening zoom mission call, Deb announced that the missionaries can now use public transportation - as needed - but as little as possible.  That is progress.

The new guidelines - in a nutshell are:

All schools and colleges will open on March 8

You can meet one other person (from another household) outside and have coffee on a park bench (or hot chocolate I am sure)

One designated person can visit another person in a care center

Stay Home. (still)  Leave only for exercise, essential shopping or medical visits

29 March

  • People will be allowed to meet outside, either with one other household or within the "rule of six", including in private gardens
  • The stay at home rule will end, but the government will urge people to stay local as much as possible
  • Outdoor sport facilities will reopen, including golf courses and tennis and basketball courts
  • Formally organised outdoor sports can also restart
  • Parents and children groups can return but are capped at 15 and must be outdoors. Indoor groups can take place for vulnerable children and where parents need the groups to go to work
  • Weddings attended by up to six people can take place in any circumstances   

    Stage two

    No earlier than 12 April:

    • All shops allowed to open
    • Restaurants and pub gardens will be allowed to serve customers sitting outdoors, including alcohol
    • Gyms and spas can reopen for individuals and households
    • Hairdressers, beauty salons and other "close contact services" can reopen
    • UK domestic holidays away from home permitted, with self-contained accommodation able to reopen for use by members of the same household
    • Children allowed to attend indoor play activities, with up to 15 parents or guardians allowed to join them
    • Zoos, theme parks and drive-in cinemas can reopen
    • Libraries and community centres can reopen
    • Weddings attended by up to 15 people can take place

      Stage three

      No earlier than 17 May:

      • People can meet in groups of up to 30 outdoors
      • Six people or two households can meet indoors
      • Pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues can seat customers indoors
      • Up to 30 people can meet to celebrate weddings or other life events, like christenings
      • Remaining outdoor entertainment, such as outdoor theatres and cinemas can open
      • Indoor entertainment such as museums, theatres, cinemas and children's play areas can open
      • Performances and large events will be subject to limits though. For indoor events they can be at half capacity or 1,000 people, and outdoors they can be at half capacity or 4,000 people - whichever is lower. For large venues (at least 40,000 capacity) up to 10,000 will be allowed to attend
      • Hotels, hostels and B&Bs can reopen
      • International leisure travel will resume no earlier than 17 May
      • Adult indoor group sports and exercise classes can start up again

      • Stage four

        No earlier than 21 June:

        • All legal limits on social contact will be removed
        • No legal limits on the number of people who can attend weddings, funerals and other life events. From April, the government will run pilots for events such as large weddings, festivals and work conferences. This will help to determine how measures such as enhanced testing might allow large groups to attend without social distancing
  • Nightclubs will be allowed to reopen
That is the next fourth months of our lives, and the last four months of Dave and Deb's mission.  And it will fly by.  I hope they have been able to keep some sort of record of these three years.  I don't know how they possibly could have.  When I spoke with Dave the other night, he said he had 200 emails to answer - from missionaries, parents of missionaries, leaders of wards and stakes in the mission, and who knows what else.

Erin pointed out that a couple of the new mission presidents who have recently been called are in their 30's.  I don't see how anyone could possibly do a better job than Dave and Deb have done, but it might have been a lot easier on them if they were 20 years younger!





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melissa said…
Unprecedented times!!
February 24, 2021 at 6:09 AM
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