Due to an unusual set of circumstances, our daughter and her two children, ages 3 and almost 5, are staying with us. They have been living overseas, came to stay with us for a while and now find themselves caught up in the coronavirus precautions and in lockdown with us. We have gone from only seeing our grandchildren twice a year to having them in the same house 24/7. We often said we wished we could see more of them but didn’t quite have this in mind!

However, we are thoroughly enjoying the time together and they certainly keep us occupied. When it comes to self-isolation we feel grateful that we live in a quiet area, close to the countryside, have an enclosed secure garden and on our daily walk we see like-minded people, keen to observe the 2 metre rule and exchange pleasantries in a good humoured fashion we Brits are so good at.

It has become a nostalgic time for us, especially doing things with our grandchildren that we did with Rachel, and our son Adrian, almost 40 years ago. We have played in the garden, provided a sandpit and rediscovered footpaths close to home that we haven’t been on for quite a while. On one such walk, Rachel asked if I could photograph the children from behind, just like ‘Walking with a friend’.

Mum had shown me the verse, probably found in ‘The Friendship Book’ or something similar 30 something years ago. It’s a bit twee, but at the time I was learning calligraphy, so I wrote it out and mounted alongside it a photograph of Rachel and her friend Claire. It was displayed on mum’s living room wall from that time onwards. Rachel could even remember the verse and I had no hesitation in taking the requested photograph. Who knows, it may be around 30 plus years from now!