Hello old friends.

 It's been a while, I do apologise for not keeping up with this but as with all things in life, it seems to slip through your fingers when you least expect it, I could sit here and spew on about how hard life can be and how unfair it is but you don't want to read that, and I don't particularly want to write about it.

I'm sat here at half past midnight of a Friday evening during a world wide pandemic munching on a chicken and mushroom slice and contemplating what to say to you all now I'm finally typing away, Honestly it makes me remember back to a year ago when I was working for a retail company, gearing up for Christmas in the hustle and bustle of people, No social distancing then!

I remember days and evenings spent being pushed back and forth by customers, over crowded trains and buses, the world we used to know, a world I feel we took for granted, and like many recent events, it has changed our world forever, so many of my friends I haven't seen in months, family that are further than ever, while I write this, I think of my great-aunt Riek, Who lived over in the Netherlands, with a fair amount of my family, Home, On my Oma's side (Grandmother).

A few weeks ago I received a call from my mother, explaining that she had contracted the virus that has so easily slowed our world to a halt, and that she had succumbed to it, she wasn't a young woman, but I had hoped to travel over to see her at least one last time before she passed, to say goodbye at least, I didn't get the chance with my Great-Uncle Wim at the end of last year, and it will be a pain in my heart that I was unable to travel.

It all brought back a flood of memories, My Great-Uncle Tiny(pronounced Teeny) visiting for my fathers funeral, my Second cousin coming to see us various times and always smiling, visiting the Dutch family in Eindhoven with My Uncle and my Grandmother, not understanding a word they said to me and yet knowing full well I was still being included and that they cared.

I think what I'm trying to say is, no matter who someone is in your life, if you are close to them or not, make the effort, even if it's a quick "Hi" or a check up to make sure someone is looking after themselves, Do it, because you never know what tomorrow will bring, Especially with the world how it is now, everyone feels isolated and some days are harder than ever for people suffering from hidden illnesses.

We all know someone who is distant, quiet and alone, please check on them, let them know they are loved, and that they count.

Sorry for the heavy post guys, but we need to be united now more than ever, We can all be Light in the darkness.

also.... Wear a mask!

Yours as always.

Alex x