A day that was dominated by death and sadness. The news of the UK death toll going over 10,000 and the deaths of the famous and not so famous: Stirling Moss and Tim Brooke-Taylor, and a local legend in Reigate.
It was the latter I found the most upsetting. We called him Gangsta Grandad. He was a charming fellow in his mid-70s named Derek Primmer who was seen almost daily walking around town dressed like a teenage skateboarder/hip hop rapper. I would see him most mornings on my walk to Redhill station and he always looked amazing and always had a smile and a bright hello. As recently as last month I saw him and noticed that he was no longer as sprightly and was walking with a cane. Now he’s gone and our town won’t be the same without him walking along the street or sitting having a cup of tea in the cafe in the local shopping mall. RIP Derek.
Not much else to report. Another day spent sitting in the garden. I watched a jackdaw building a nest on top of our next-door neighbour’s chimney. It would fly into a small tree in another garden, snap off a length of twig and fly back up to the chimney. So we will have something besides the blue tits to watch this spring.
Oh, and happy Easter.
