Saturday 31 October:

Moira and I first got together 51 years ago today!
Went to get the newspaper and buy a few provisions first thing… it started raining just after I’d set out!
Decided to cook some meals (macaroni cheese and cauliflow/broccoli cheese) for Iris+Rosa’s return from Devon tomorrow… before settling down to read the paper (all about speculation over a possible national lockdown next week and, of course, Jeremy Corbyn!).
Urban Sketchers took a ‘virtual’ trip to the south of France at lunchtime (Albi) and, as always, it resulted in a very enjoyable couple of hours with some lovely people. I suspect that there’ll be a few more ‘virtual’ trips to faraway places over the course of the next few months.
An afternoon of rugby (three matches outstanding from last season’s Six Nations!)... I watched Italy v England (England won with bonus points) and the second half of Wales v Scotland.
Watched a Magi Hamblin documentary in the evening.
Mr Johnson announced a 4-week national lockdown from next Thursday (but schools and universities to remain open).
Image: unfinished(?) urban sketching drawing from Albi. 

Friday 30 October:

Despite (or because of?) the very gloomy, overcast morning, I went for usual harbourside walk. Very dark… and a completely change from the dawn of two days ago.
Had a very interesting zoom chat with artist Sue Mansfield (about the potential anonymous icon gifts at Saint Stephen’s). Interesting woman – part-time artist, virtually full-time senior nurse.
Alan and I exchanged brief facebook messages yesterday and I got the distinct impression that he and Lesley are struggling with the Covid situation… all the uncertainty and a sense that it might continue for ages yet and, if so, how would they cope? So I decided to write him a letter (well, I ended up sending an email!).
Cat-sat with Ink in the afternoon… he’s been in a very good mood all week – spending lots of time just sitting on my lap and purring loudly!
Evening telly: ‘Michael Palin’s Quest for Artemisia’ (17^th century Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi) and ‘Between The Covers’.
Image: this pre-dawn morning starts with strolling down Leighton Road in the dark (as you do)…

Thursday 29 October:

My heel was incredibly painful during the night, so I decided to give my dawn walk a miss today. Instead, I finished my ‘Fahrenheit 451’ book – really excellent.
Moira and I had morning coffee both still in our pyjamas!!
Did some more sketching in the afternoon (and enjoyed listening to James Taylor via spotify… a very long time since I’d heard some of the music).
Also finished watching an excellent documentary on Count Basie.
Jeremy Corbyn was suspended by the Labour Party today “over his reaction to a highly critical report on anti-Semitism” (BBC)… lots of mixed (+predictable) reactions.

Had our fortnightly Asda delivery (good that we seem to have our 'slot'!).
Watched another episode of ‘Portrait Artist’ before bed and starting my new book (Bev Thomas’s ‘A Good Enough Mother’).
Image: staring out of the window scribble. 

Wednesday 28 October:

Up early for my usual dawn walk (rather beautiful Autumn morning) before poached eggs+toast breakfast… and before our 8am Wednesday ‘Blokes Prayer’. I have to admit that I ended up feeling slightly frustrated by it all. I always try to ensure that others tell us about their concerns/what’s happening in their lives etc… and everyone duly contributed, but I realised, at the end of our session, that no one had actually asked ME how things were in my life etc etc… and it left me feeling somewhat frustrated and a little flat.
Morning coffee with Moira (indoors – it had started to rain!).
Caught up on various minor admin things and thought about a location in Albi (South of France) for urban sketchers on Saturday (narrow streets make google streetviews difficult).
My turn to Ink-sit in the afternoon – and he was in very good purring form (but still didn’t fancy going outside!).
Had a lovely zoom link-up with Pete in the evening – good to chat about the olden days!
Image: This morning at the Marina. 

Tuesday 27 October:

Very grey and drab outside, so decided to skip my dawn walk… and, instead, opted to carry on reading ‘Fahrenheit 521’ in bed.
Morning coffee inside as usual these days.
Wrote a ‘Reflection’ for my vague Covid blog – trying to sum up stuff that had happened over the past month or so (so I can perhaps compare these feelings in say March - hopefully, having come through the winter months relatively unscathed.
Helped Moira cut up a whole load of fabric for her latest quilt project (her hands weren’t big enough to keep the straight edge from shifting as she cut)… it’s a pretty enormous project and I admire her determination and focus!
Read more of my book in the afternoon (and also collected a couple of new books from StorySmith – it’s their 2nd birthday!).
Watched ‘The Water Diviner’ film on telly at the end of the afternoon (while Moira was cat-sitting) and then ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ and ‘Bake Off’.
Today’s daily UK death figure = 367 (highest since May); daily cases = 22,885.
Image: Pink flowers in Ru+Stu’s garden (don’t know what they’re called). 

Monday 26 October:

My first dawn walk since the clocks went back (sunrise 6.50am-ish)… the usual route and, yes, hardly anyone about (which I much prefer)… BUT it was raining (quite hard)!
Anyway, still very enjoyable (even a fisherman out – hiding under his umbrella!).
Back for poached eggs+toast breakfast.
Rather surprisingly (after I delivered the early morning cup of tea to her at 7.35am), Moira was up just after 8am to prepare her breakfast… and make our morning coffee (this is a good hour earlier than usual, at least!)… she complained of feeling hungry and reckoned her body clock hadn’t yet adjusted after the clocks went back yesterday!).
Went to Hugo’s for some fruit+veg+bread (Moira reckoned it would be my one point of proper human contact!).
After a miserable start (weather-wise), it turned into a rather lovely, sunny day.
Ruth, Stu+I+R are at Hope Cove, Devon for half-term so Moira and I are Ink-sitting all week (until Sunday). Today was my turn… and Ink seemed very pleased to see me.
Watched final ‘episode’ of the Michael Palin reflections on his various travel documentaries, than ‘Only Connect’ and ‘University Challenge’.
Image: Marina at dawn on a very wet morning.

Sunday 25 October:

Clocks went back… so dawn was an hour earlier (which somehow felt much better!).
Moira and I went for a 9am harbourside walk on a lovely sunny morning… but, sadly (but understandably), an awful lot of other people had done the same!
Home for coffee and the Sunday paper.
Bacon sandwiches for lunch… somewhat ridiculously, my body clock told me it was lunchtime at 11.15am! I ignored it…
Started watching ‘Long Ships’ film on telly (from 1964) after lunch… but it was SO unbelievably awful that I gave up after 30 minutes! Instead, I watched a Michael Epstein’s excellent 2011 documentary for ‘Imagine’ - entitled ‘Lennon: The New York Years’ - on catch-up… and then later a ‘Count Basie’ documentary.
Image: sketchbook scribbles made while watching the Lennon documentary.

Saturday 24 October:

Went back to bed after breakfast and finished my Wodehouse book (enjoyable). Next book is bookgroup book 'Fahrenheit 521'.
Then had a bath before settling down to read the newspaper over morning coffee.
Spent a little time thinking about a new Blurb book (and downloading some photographs in order to make a tentative start).
Watched ‘The Shining’ via iPlayer catch-up (Nicholson excellent… and creepy).
Six Nations rugby continued from last season… and watched Ireland beat Italy easily.
After supper, we watched a Montalbano episode that we thought we might have missed (but actually, we HAD seen it!).
Image: More Autumn leaves.

Friday 23 October:

Usual early morning walk down by the harbourside… completely still water and sun breaking through the clouds.
Morning coffee with Moira inside(!) followed by me gathering up all the old honeysuckle clippings from the back garden (that had been piled up in a corner and getting very soggy) and trimming some of the bamboo and stray apple branches… and putting everything in garden waste sacks. Then arranged online for them to be collected by the Council (3 November).
Listened to a lovely podcast from O’Hooley+Tidow (FolkonFoot) chatting and singing as they walked through the woods and alongside the canals in Colne Valley, West Yorkshire (where they live).
Can't remember what we did in the evening, apart from watching 'Between The Covers' book programme... but Villa lost 0-3 at home to Leeds!
Image: hint of brightness at the marina.

Thursday 22 October:

Again, with these dark mornings, I delayed my harbourside walk until after Moira and I had had coffee.
By the time I set out, it was probably getting on for 10am and there were noticeably more people about (which I really didn’t like).
Dealt with various minor admin bits and pieces (suggesting a zoom get together with Pete; emailing Lee etc regarding the potential anonymous artwork gift for church; setting up next 'virtual' Urban Sketching event; etc).
Read more of my book after lunch and then watched ‘In The Heat Of The Night’ on catch-up (I’d seen it before, but ages ago)… excellent.
Watched another instalment of ‘Portrait Artist of the Year 2020’ and also ‘The Billion Dollar Art Hunt’ documentary in the evening.
Image: feeding the birds (pigeons!)… arghh!

Wednesday 21 October:

Bloke’s Prayer via zoom this morning, so decided to delay my harbourside walk until after our get-together. It proved to be a very wet walk (fortunately I had all my waterproofs on!)… and, perhaps because of the weather, it was largely people-free.
I read some more of my Wodehouse book in the afternoon – although I struggled to keep my eyes open!
Caught up with some telly at the end of the afternoon (‘Only Connect’ and Michael Palin’s look-back on his travel documentaries).
Had an excellent catch-up zoom chat with John Tremlett in the evening – re-living some of our college memories and comparing ailments (he came off far worse – knee operations, lymphoma and atrial fibriliation!).
Image: Autumn colour on a very dull, wet day…

Tuesday 20 October:

It turns out that there were 241 covid-related deaths in the UK yesterday – the highest number since 9 June. Hugely depressing.
My heel has been causing problems of late so I decided to give my dawn walk a miss this morning. It’s not stopping me from walking, but it does restrict how much walking I can do/far I can walk. All a little frustrating.
The latest Drawing Group theme is ‘Fairy Tales’, so I spent part of the morning looking through some Arthur Rackham old illustrations from the first 20 years or so of the 20^th century) – very beautiful (and LOTS of them).
Read more of my Wodehouse book after lunch and then went over to Ruth+Stu’s after school (it’s their 19^th wedding anniversary) to take some macaroni batches for Iris+Rosa. Only stayed briefly (for a cup of tea), but lovely to see them and catch up.
Watched another of the Michael Palin ‘looking back’ documentaries in the early evening – very impressive… and quite poignant.
Resonate restarted in the evening. Subject: ‘Race and our Churches’. Fascinating (and challenging).
Image: my (vastly inferior) version of one of Arthur Rackham’s illustrations. 

Monday 19 October:

Really don’t like the dark mornings… sunrise was at 7.40pm today, so it makes little sense to go walking in the dark until 7.30pm or so – so all a little frustrating!
Anyway, I did go for my regular harbour walk… dull, but dry – couple of rowers were out.
Moira and I had coffee inside (Ruth was on a first aid course).
Finished my second sketch from Columbia.
Read a little after lunch and then caught up various ‘admin’ bits and pieces.
Wales has gone into ‘lockdown’ today… still lots of arguments/disagreement about England’s ‘tier’ strategy.
Had a ‘zoom’ meeting with Adrian (he’s training for ministry and has a set up a group of us to discuss various matters over the coming months). Interesting.
Image: High Tide, ‘MetroBridge’… no punting allowed!

Sunday 18 October:

A full-on day. Dawn(ish) harbourside walk to check on the high tide… pretty high but not gushing all over the roads.
Then back home for ‘brunch’ of bacon sandwiches and cake(!) with Hannah, Fee, Ursula (+Moira!) – which was very lovely.
Then ‘virtual’ Urban Sketching in Columbia (as you do!) at lunchtime – which was also very enjoyable.
Read Sunday paper… then watched an archaeology documentary before roast beef supper, before watching another Montalbano episode.
And then, to top it all off, Villa beat Leicester 1-0 away from home (with a last minute goal)… to go second in the league (four games, four wins – the last time they did that was NINETY years ago!).
Image: 'Virtual' Urban Sketching at Cartagena, Columbia.

Saturday 17 October:

No walking today – apart from collecting the newspaper.
So morning was spent catching up on ‘in-depth’ news over morning coffee.
Rich Artus has finally come back to me with a quote for the basement door (there was 8 week delivery on composite door, so we’ve gone for a grey uPVC instead), £795 fitted. Hopefully, it’ll be fitted within 3-4 weeks.
With all the depressing political ‘news’ here in the UK and in the USA, it was VERY good to learn that Jacinda Ardern won the New Zealand general election in a landslide.
Evening telly consisted of a ‘Play for Today’ documentary and ‘Michael Palin’s Travels of a Lifetime’.
Image: Hannah’s being ‘doing’ her Hocktober fest again and I’ve been enjoying her daily images… this one from today.

Friday 16 October:

Fairly overcast morning (although, very briefly, just before sunrise, there was an impressive ‘the sky’s on fire’ glimpse from the bathroom window – see image). Went for an walk (just after dawn) to the Avon lockgates/Cumberland Basin – to coincide with the high tide (pretty high, but not flooding roads etc)… and then sat down opposite the Nova Scotia pub to sketch for a while… and then walked home via the harbour to Gaol Ferry Bridge.
In the afternoon, watched the film ‘A United Nation’ on catch-up (impressive – a film I’d originally intended to watch at the Watershed).
Evening telly consisted of ‘Between The Covers’ (book programme) and ‘Van Der Valk’.
Image: ‘The Sky’s on Fire’ (from the bathroom window, just before sunrise).

Thursday 15 October:

Went for my usual dawn walk… uneventful, but very aware of the changing season (Autumnal colours, temperature, the sun rising in very different place compared to start of lockdown etc) – which is perhaps even more noticeable when you walk the same route very regularly.
Something of a non-day… because I was determined to finish my ‘Frog’ book!  I realised I was getting quite depressed not to have finished it! Anyway, I did it!! Next book: PG Wodehouse ‘Hot Water’.
Enjoyable evening telly: ‘Portrait Artist 2020’ and ‘Repair Shop’.
Image: Sunrise Wapping Wharf. 

Wednesday 14 October:

Didn’t go for a dawn walk, due to zoomed Bloke’s Prayer at 8am (I could have done it, but would have had to cut it fine). So, leisurely poached egg+toast breakfast followed by an hour of chat and reflection (Robin, Dave, Ed, Dru and Nick).
Laurence Irvine (Urban Lighthouse) came round just before lunch to have a look around the house and talk about pointers if we decided to sell (say next Spring?). Useful chat… described our house as “charming and full of character” (I think… and valued it at around £450K).
It had been a beautifully sunny morning, so Moira and I decided to go for a walk Frayne Road/Metrobus Bridge/harbourside/Leighton Road… which was lovely (sat on a bench beside the harbour and wished we’d taken a flask with us!)… all very Autumnal.
I spoke to Barry Willetts via zoom in the evening (part of my ‘winter project’!) – very good to catch up. He was in very good form.
Image: Autumn Colours. 

Tuesday 13 October:

Usual harbourside walk (set out a little later – so generally a little brighter/lighter, but also lots more people about)…
Ruth was already in her studio when I got home… so we all had coffee together (which very nice). I seemed to waste most of the morning do a variety of silly things (eg. trying to find sketching locations in Columbia – this weekend’s ‘virtual’ USk trip - and making lists).
Lunch for the three of us around the table – which was very enjoyable.
Sketched at the kitchen table in the afternoon, looking out of the window.
So, after the government’s ‘three tier’ Covid announcement of yesterday, we now learn that the government’s had ignored advice from ‘Sage’, three weeks ago, urging the government to act (and implement a second national ‘lockdown’)… and they didn’t. This from today’s Guardian: “On 21 September the scientific advisory body Sage produced a paper with a simple message: do something now or else lose control over the virus. That ‘something’ would have to be sufficient to reduce infections to a level where the virus could be controlled without shutting businesses and curtailing livelihoods. At a minimum, that would mean restricting social mixing, closing pubs, offering university classes online and working from home”.
Today’s deaths: 143 (highest daily deaths since June)… bringing total deaths to 43,018 (and daily cases over the past week or so have been 15,000-23,000).
Caught up with ‘Only Connect’ from last night’s telly… and then later watched ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ and ‘Bake Off’.
Image: sketch through the kitchen window (Tier 1!).

Monday 12 October:

Went for my usual dawn walk around the harbourside on a pretty dull, cloudy start to the day and then back for breakfast. It was raining by 9am.
Ruth popped in for coffee – in between various medical appointments and art delivery/collections.
Spent some of the morning preparing a Drawing Group sketch (based on a ‘Halloween’ theme)… not my favourite theme, so it was really a question of ‘getting it done’!
Read more of my ‘Frog’ book… just over half way through (can’t wait to finish it!).
Government announced new three-tier Covid rules for England (an alert system: medium, high and very high… but no immediate prospect of any national ‘lockdown’)(I’m pretty sure Bristol is on ‘medium’)… and apparently no self-isolating for vulnerable oldies (at least not in our area) as I’d feared.
Tidied the house, vacuumed and cleaned the bathroom.
Spoke to both Iris and Rosa on the phone at the end of the afternoon, which was lovely.
Another zoom get together with Alan in the evening – very good to catch up and exchange stories (and zoom allowed us to talk for some 90 minutes!).
Image: zoom brothers. 

Sunday 11 October:

Unusually on a Sunday, I went on a dawn walk on my own this morning (in reverse, so that the paper shop would be open as I exited the harbour!)... beautiful sunny morning.
 Moira went to church at Saint Stephen’s, but I’ve taken a decision to give ‘live’ church a miss for the foreseeable future. I tuned into the streamed service just to hear the ‘Talk’ (Catherine+Liz).
Set up zoom chats with Alan and Barry; posted another ‘virtual’ Urban Sketching event (Columbia); and cancelled a possible meet-up with Charlotte+Alice due to likely rain.
Scribbled out the basis of a possible blog post… but now not sure whether I’ll post it or not!
Watched an old John Wayne film on the telly in the afternoon (Rio Bravo, 1959)… I know!
Read a bit more of my book.
Roast chicken supper… lovely.
Watched final round highlights of PGA championship golf from Wentworth, followed by the start of another series of ‘Inspector Montalbano’!
Image: Harbour colours: SS Great Britain and house facades.

Saturday 10 October:

Morning newspaper and coffee with Moira… roughed in a quick watercolour pen/water layout of my proposed sketch for the lunchtime’s urban sketching session.
Weather was fortunately dry (and reasonably mild)… but a little disappointing that only six attended in total (we’d arranged two potential groups of six). But it was good to get out – and especially it’s likely to be last ‘live’ USk session before next Spring.
Collected the latest bookgroup book from StorySmiths (Fahrenheit 451).
Bristol lost to Wasps in the play-off semi-finals.
Finished my sketch (filled in windows and added more tree colour).
Evening telly: ‘African Renaissance’ and an old Francesco documentary on Venice.
Early to bed to read (still struggling with ‘Frog’!).
Image: College Green sketch.

Friday 9 October:

As I was going to be walking a fair distance later, I decided to give my dawn walk a miss... and generally caught up with ‘news’ over breakfast (actually, the ‘news’ is all pretty depressing: Trump being Trump; UK government trying to make things up as they go along - whether it be Brexit, Covid or whatever - and always appearing to be failing). ‘The Times’ newspaper contends that the government will be re-introducing self-isolation rules, for vulnerable oldies like me, sometime next week. Moira and I have felt this was an inevitable outcome as we enter winter with ever-increasing daily Covid cases – so we’re already mentally ‘geared’ towards such eventualities.
Morning coffee with Moira (inside)…
Strange weather… bright+sunny one moment, then raining, then bright+sunny, then more rain.
I had a meeting in town with Glenn Mower (who wants to commission+donate two icons – yet to be created – for use in Saint Stephen’s. Interesting meeting. So, as I was in town, I also went to Ryman’s (for ink cartridges - £85 for a full set!!) and Cass Art (for pencils+rubbers). Saw Shaun on the bridge on my way home… although he’s still working at Wild Beer, his hours are somewhat uncertain and he seemed to be struggling somewhat (but then Shaun ALWAYS has a story to tell!). He walked with me to the cash machine so I could give him some cash (£20)… he was very grateful.

'Celebrity Portrait Artist' evening telly.
Image: Autumn leaves.

Thursday 8 October:

A very wet morning but I still went ‘dawn walking’ to the harbourside… suitably dressed with full waterproofs. Actually, I really do love walking in the rain if I’ve got on the appropriate gear. Morning coffee with Moira (indoors!)… and she was feeling fine again, health-wise, which was obviously very good news.
Decided to do some ‘virtual’ sketching… ‘visited’ Tenby with the original intention of drawing some of its harbour-side buildings – but ended up sketching stalls advertising boat trips and mackerel fishing!
Went down to Hugo’s to stock up with some more fruit and veg (we get through the fruit SO quickly!).
Read some more of my ‘Frog’ book in the afternoon and later took a phonecall from Richard (updating me on his latest telephone conversation with Bob!) – I feel as if Richard and I are the intermediaries in all this and simply acting as messengers! Anyway, I put together a quick email summary and sent it off to the other members of the Re-Ordering Group.
Watched ‘Van Der Valk’ on evening telly.
Image: Wet harbourside, Redcliffe.

Wednesday 7 October:

No dawn walk because I was due to meet up for Bloke’s Prayer at the Society Café (the forecast was good, so sitting outside would be fine) but, just before I set off, Moira came downstairs and said she’d had a temperature during the night – and so we decided on taking the cautious approach and I made my apologies. In fact, Moira felt fine (well almost) within a few hours – but, living in the shadow of Covid, none of us can take the risk.
I’d also been due to meet up with Charlotte+Alice (in the church garden), but they ended up having to attend meetings so we had to cancel.
Also had a telephone call from Mike Levine – he was suggesting that, as the weather looked good, we met up at lunchtime… I had to make my apologies (due to Moira’s temperature).
Had a zoom meeting after lunch with Richard, Bob and Frances to discuss the church garden (there’s a City Action Group who are keen to improve such areas in the old city)… and I duly sent an email to other Re-Ordering Group members with an update (plus my general thoughts on ‘where do we go from here?’).
A little more reading in the afternoon and then a StorySmith bookgroup zoom gathering in the early evening (to discuss ‘Wise Children’)… another really good discussion.
Evening telly: ‘Repair Shop’.
Image: lots of blue skies (need to take advantage whenever we can!).

Tuesday 6 October:

Strange start to the day. I woke up very early and eventually went downstairs just before 4am… checked out emails, read newspapers and news and had coffee+breakfast, before returning to bed at 6am to read. I’d anticipated reading for 30 minutes, but ended up falling asleep (twice!) before eventually rising just after 7.30am! Decided to go for an ‘early morning walk’ anyway (weather: dry and bright)… normal harbour route and got back home at 8.20am.
Trump duly returned to the White House after 3 days in hospital, posed mask-less (next to photographers) and announced (this from The Guardian): “Don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it. You’re gonna beat it. We have the best medical equipment. We have the best medicines, all developed recently.” The president, much criticised for his defiance of public health guidelines, added: “Nobody that’s a leader would not do what I did. And I know there’s a risk, there’s a danger, but that’s OK. And now I’m better and maybe I’m immune – I don’t know! But don’t let it dominate your lives. Get out there. Be careful.” Critics were stunned by the president’s audacity. Neera Tanden, the president of the Center for American Progress think tank, told the MSNBC network: “I could not imagine a greater act of selfishness by a human being, let alone the president of the United States, who is supposed to protect us. He’s doing the opposite, he’s endangering people around him.”
Ruth popped in briefly (and we had coffee together); she’s still feeling the after-effects of her dental treatment, so has decided to take a day at home (working!).
Bit of an ’Autumn clean’ day: I weeded the front steps; cleaned the kitchen floor; tidied the kitchen; cut down the overhanging vine in the back garden; and vacuumed downstairs.
Read in the afternoon and also watched “A Hard Day’s Night” film (1964)!
Watched ‘Bake Off’ on evening telly.
Image: Kingston Road Rainbow from this morning’s walk.

Monday 5 October:

Usual dawn walk, except that I decided to start at ‘Metrobus Bridge’ (I thought that, after all the rain over the past few days, that there might be some flooded areas or an exceptional high tide… but no). Dull and overcast first thing and it all felt positively Autumnal (I wore gloves and a woolly hat!).
Ruth came round to work in the studio but, after a frustrating morning trying to get an x-ray appointment and suffering the after-effects of dental treatment, decided she needed to go home to rest. Her current work pattern (with her three part-time jobs) means she works 14 out of 16 days… which then repeats itself.
Arrangements were made for Richard, Bob, Frances and me to zoom chat on Wednesday regarding the possible involvement of Vicky Welchman in connection with Saint Stephen’s… and I spent some time drafting an email (for sending off in a few days’ time?) to Re-Ordering Group members (with my thoughts and various questions I think we need to be asking ourselves).
Read more of my ‘Under The Frog’ book (but struggling to get into it).
Trump is currently in hospital having tested positive for coronavirus (and in quarantine for 14 days), but decided it would be nice to take a trip (accompanied by a couple of people from special branch) around the block in his limousine to wave to his supporters (and the odd cameraman)! As a result, he’s been heavily criticised by medics, media et al.
And here in the UK, the government continues to struggle in its attempts to control coronavirus… “More than 50,000 potentially infectious people may have been missed by contact tracers and not told to self-isolate because of the data blunder that meant nearly 16,000 coronavirus cases went unreported in England” (so much for the “world-beating” system!).
Have set up a zoom chat with cousin Barry for next week (my project to get in touch with people over lockdown – inspired by Mortimer+Whitehouse!).
Emailed BABEs blokes… and just happened to mention Villa’s win over Liverpool.
‘Only Connect’ and ‘University Challenge’ evening telly. 
Image: not many Autumn leaves left…

Sunday 4 October:

Was up in the middle of the night (and still the rain was raining hard!) with a really painful right heel/foot… took some paracetamol and wrote some email notes before returning to bed around 3.30am.
Neither of us went to church today and I’d originally thought we might walk to Leigh Woods and have coffee on one the benches there… but, with the heavy rain, this was never going to happen. I did quite fancy putting on all our wet weather gear and do our usual harbourside circuit walk, but Moira wasn’t keen (and preferred to see if the weather improved later in the day)… but, in the end, I DID go for a harbourside walk (on my own) in the pouring rain. I really quite enjoy walking in the rain – as long as I’m suitably dressed. There were still brave rowers out on the water… and also quite a few runners (today, it should have been the London Marathon – so maybe a few of them might have been among those running it ‘virtually’?).
As a change to our normal routine, we decided to have our roast lamb dinner at lunchtime (just like the old days!)… and I even had a glass of port as an aperitif! Very lovely lunch!
Watched ‘Top Hat’ (1935) film in the afternoon… wonderful dancing, ham acting!
Scones for tea… just like the old traditional Sunday afternoons!!
Bristol Bears beat London away 7-36 and secured a place in the play-offs… amazingly Villa beat champions Liverpool 7-2... SEVEN-2(!) at home (can’t quite believe it!).
Watched a strange, imagined Agatha Christie ‘adventure’… frustrated by the number of adverts!
Image: a lovely day for ducks… and swans and rowers.

Saturday 3 October:

No dawn walk – as is now the Saturday tradition. I went our early to get a newspaper and also some eggs (+nectarines) from Hugo’s. It’s a pretty small shop and, with all its boxes of loose fruit and veg, it’s sometimes quite tricky to manoeuvre around other shoppers… so with Covid-safety guidelines in place, it’s been quite nice that they only allow two customers in the shop at a time. This also has its downsides too, of course… today, I was fourth in the queue and the first two shoppers seemed to take ‘some time’ in putting together their diverse collection of goodies. But, hey, they say that patience is a virtue!
The newspapers and media are all reporting about Trump’s positive coronavirus test and speculating on what effect this might have on the forthcoming election (in 31 days’ time, I think).
I was due to be meeting up at College Green today for some ‘live’ drawing with some urban sketching friends but, given the grim weather forecast, it’s been decided to ‘keep things virtual’ instead. In the event, not many ‘turned up’ (perhaps 8?)… but it was good fun (and it DID rain, so it was a sensible decision to keep it ‘virtual’).
Afternoon/evening telly: ‘The Cruel Sea’ and a bit of an old ‘Midsomer Murders’.
Image: Park Street facades (from this afternoon’s urban sketching meet-up).

Friday 2 October:

Something of a depressing start to the day… I didn’t go dawn walking because Moira and I had booked a Co-Wheels car and were intending to drive to Berrow beach (despite the awful heavy rain)(originally, we’d booked to go to Dyrham Park but thought it might have been too muddy!). We got our lunches and waterproofs all sorted and went to collect the car (in Osborne Road), only to find that it was an automatic. I’d never driven an automatic in my life and decided that I just didn't feel safe to drive an unfamiliar vehicle – especially on the motorway and in heavy rain. So sadly, we decided to give it a miss and returned home (I felt embarrassed and pretty awful). Fortunately, Co-Wheels were happy to refund our money… but it was all very disappointing (and, in these strange days, neither of us felt comfortable about ‘popping out for lunch’ anywhere as a substitute ‘treat’).
I spent some time first thing trying to re-write/edit my re-ordering notes for Lee… and also added my concerns about there was the enthusiasm/desire/energy within the church community to pursue things?
Decided to watch a film on iPlayer in the afternoon (Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy, 2011)… enjoyed it, even if I couldn’t understand what was happening half the time! Scribbled a quick sketch of some lilies on their last legs.
‘Repair Shop’ and Mary Beard in the evening, before early bed and my new book (‘Under The Frog’).
Image: Lilies!

Thursday 1 October:

Usual dawn walk… perhaps a little earlier than usual (or maybe it was just very cloudy and overcast?), then back home to read before morning coffee with Moira.
Spent most of the morning preparing a draft re-ordering report and covering email to Lee… which I subsequently modified after a lengthy telephone conversation with Richard T. In the end, Lee emailed me back… and I clearly need to make some modifications to the report (ie. reduce it in length!)… easier said than done.
Spent part of the afternoon preparing a preliminary ‘virtual’ sketch in advance of Saturday’s online gathering… but also Iris popped in to collect a package (a pink cowboy hat!) and sit in the garden chatting (over a juice drink). Lovely to see her… and she seems to be coping really well.
Watched ‘Celebrity Portrait Artist’ in the evening.
Villa lost at home in the EFL Cup to Stoke.
Image: Early morning light reflections at Broken Dock.