It was my daughter Gaia's first birthday back in March. It was the day before the full lockdown started in Ireland (March 26th, with the lockdown starting on the 27th) but we were already socially distancing, so it was a subdued affair. Granny and Grandad were able to come, but as you can see, they kept well back from the birthday girl and the rest of us. We had fun regardless, and decided to mark the occasion with a Covid-19 themed cake, and wrapped it up with a Covid-19 themed pinata -- it was good to whack the virus into touch, even if only symbolically!

Hopefully we'll have returned to a more normal way of living this time next year, and can have family and friends round to help us celebrate -- but, hey, if not, as long as we're all safe and well, we'll settle for that too.

Stay safe people.