Thursday 30 April:

Eight years ago today, I set off for Iona for two months’ volunteering with the Community.

Having checked the weather forecast last night, I decided to try to fit in a dawn walk up to the suspension bridge before the rain came. I left the house at 5.45am (which almost exactly coincided with sunrise) and walked along North Street/ Frayne Road and then beside the Cut and up through Leigh Woods/Burwalls Road to the bridge. The woods were quite magical – absolutely full of birdsong and the powerful aroma of wild garlic – with the early morning sunlight breaking through the trees. I was incredibly fortunate with my timing and arrived at the suspension bridge with the strong morning sunlight breaking through very threatening dark skies… I managed to take a few photographs (see image) before the rain started. I meandered back home down through the woods, alongside the Cut and then via Clift House Road/Walter Street/Upton Road (by which time, the rain had largely stopped falling). Back home by 7.15am for poached egg+coffee breakfast.

A lovely start to the day.

Read until lunchtime (apart from Moira and I stopping for coffee+catch-up chat).

Wondering about the possibility of producing another Blurb book (as a sort of ‘coronavirus’ project)… need to get my head around the idea, but something related to my dawn walks perhaps?

Also, thanks to Moira, rediscovered metal watercolour ‘box’ (at the bottom of the wardrobe). I’m pretty sure they used to belong to Don Williamson at Brox (I think I’ve had them for something like the past 30 years and not used them! I vow to make amends.

Finished my Bryson book (excellent)… some pretty sobering comments made in the penultimate chapter about the US spending far more on health than any other nation, but ranking well below countries such as Chile, Costa Rica and Algeria… and essentially saying that the American lifestyle (over-sized food portions, inactivity and stress) is to blame.

Applauded the NHS, Care Workers etc at 8pm as usual.

Early night (got up too early after a night of minimal sleep!).