Tuesday 31st March 2020

…and I only just had breakfast. Engagements are beginning to pile up… we’re to have a virtual dinner party on Saturday apparently…. bicycle outings are spoken of … You remember Emma – as in Jane Austen’s Emma – somebody said to her, ‘What a social whirl you live in!’ She replied: ‘What do you mean? A ball was spoken of which never took place…’

In those days, in the early 19th century, people didn’t do much. You couldn’t go more than a few miles. You were limited to those nearby. The odd card party… but then viruses didn’t get about.

I said to Royston yesterday: ‘This confinement is how Royalty live.’ He was having none of it. He said the Duchess of Cambridge had been seen in Waterstones the week before last… yes, with a car waiting outside, probably a detective lurking. She couldn’t exactly pop out.

No, I insist: we’re brought closer to Royalty in this limitation. Thrown back on our antiques and grounds such as they are. If we go out we might be recognised by the Police and overwhelmed – rather like when Lilibet and Margaret tried to take the Underground at Tottenham Court Road after a visit to the YMCA and Crawfie had to get the detective to fetch a car…

Royston and I spent hours yesterday wondering what the true relationship between Harry and Meghan is… we’re sure it’s incredibly psychological.  And there’s more than meets the eye.

After that Harry Rollo called (not Harry Sussex), so it was nearly 8pm before I could carry out the daily call to the Gay Mother, who has got her broad beans and potatoes planted. Harry said, ‘Do you remember restaurants? Where you could go in, sit down and order food?’ He is sure that future generations will be astonished to hear of such a thing. His performances will be found on shelves in years to come, he says, and considered examples of the pre-Corona era. Now he is concentrating on tiny socially distanced manifestations of Art. ‘If I’d had my own way, from youth I would have lain on a chaise-longue conceiving such tiny performances. I’d never have done anything else. Never gone anywhere…’ He could have lived all his life in a viral situation, perfectly happily.

With all this social life, how am I ever to get that trolley tortoise-shelled – if it is to be tortoise-shelled?  First of all 4 more coats of Gesso, each one sanded. Kelm Driver did a lot of the preliminary Gesso-ing, in the days before, and before mineral wealth was axed… Before that, I’m trying to finish the silicone filling in the lower bathroom. Then just touching up paintwork with an artist’s brush. After that I move on to the dining room woodwork… that’ll be months of labour.

Will I ever get to the trolley? And the headboard… and the little table… all needing paint finishes.

The days drift by, as they do in later life. Virginia Woolf said, ‘You look up and it’s tea-time.’ I really must get on…. Yesterday I didn’t do my exercises in my exercise room – which is one of the disused bedrooms on the 1st floor.

By the way, I’ve news of that duvet cover with the stain. It’ll have to wait. I tried Nitromors…

The Trolley and Headboard: have Been Docked here for 4 years at Least: Will they ever Acquire their Paint Finishes? Oh, and I Forgot: the Gilded Brackets – I’ve got 3 sets to Put Up!

My Egg Florentine Last Night: Was quite Pleased with my Poaching. It’s Disappointing that Service is so Quickly Over: Five Courses last Night over in 25 Mins: Humous and bread, Egg Florentine, Cheese and Celery, Plums aux Star Anise, Choc. You see that Silver Needs Cleaning