Diary of random thoughts and observations from the perspective of self-isolation/distancing...
I don’t actually know what lies ahead of us… but it could get pretty awful over the coming days/weeks/months. ‘Old people’, like me, will be first group that the government asks to self-isolate. Obviously, as far as possible, we need to prepare – both practically and mentally. I’ve decided that I need this outlet for my reflections during the course of our days of isolation.
March 2020
Didn’t go for a dawn walk today (despite the good weather)… Decided on a(nother) lazy day instead – beginning with
setting up my usual ‘end of year review’ blog post and then with a google/streetview
sketch of Staithes, North Yorkshire (one of the places featured in M+W’s ‘Christmas
Good Fishing’)… following usual morning coffee with Moira. Read more of my ‘Shepherd’ book before cheeseboard lunch (of
sorts). I did some more (quite quick) sketching in the afternoon re-watching
the ‘Marianne+Leonard’ film… occasionally scribbling ‘freeze-frame’ sketches…
not particularly good, but good to be drawing people at least! Evening telly: ‘Lindisfarne’ (villages on the coast series); Mark
Lawson interview with Diana Rigg; and ‘Christmas Sewing Bee’. Didn’t stay up to see the New Year in (boring old codgers
that we are!)… and I’m actually conscious of feeling a little ‘down’ at the
prospect of the Covid restrictions continuing for several months ahead (which,
with Moira’s current sciatica/hip problems limiting her ability to walk any
distance, feels incredibly restrictive)… and, of course, with all the
uncertainty and with potential health implications for families and friends
etc. Image: dawn window reflections (Clifton façades) from
Cumberland Basin (yesterday’s walk).
Today is our 48th Wedding Anniversary! Beautiful, frosty morning… I went on one of my dawn walks
(‘the long way around the harbour’ via Hotwells), but it was pretty treacherous
at times. I didn’t fall over (although I felt if I could have done so at any
time!)… but I was passed by LOTS of runners who, strangely, didn’t seem to be
having ANY trouble speeding by! Mark Hardy contacted me after seeing my facebook post about
Eric+Anthea – which was good (and we duly exchanged further updating messages). Moira and I had a lovely anniversary morning coffee (without
any cards, presents or treats!), but reflected on how sad it was that we
weren’t able to go out for lunch somewhere. The number of Covid cases is continuing to rise and I suspect
that the government will be introducing some additional, tighter measures later
today (extra Tier4 areas? Even extra Tiers?)… we’ve remained in Tier3 – but for
how long? No Bloke’s Prayer this morning (Christmas break)… and spent
part of the morning dealing with various domestic chores. Finished ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ (enjoyable, again). Watched ‘Singing In The Rain’ on catch-up (great dancing and Rain
sequence… but otherwise slightly painful!). Evening telly: yet more ‘Christmas Only Connect’ and
‘Christmas University Challenge’ (and, somewhat ridiculously, I watched the 'Christmas Gone Fishing' for the third time - AND it still made me smile!). Image: From 30 December 1972 (we didn’t have a ‘proper’
photographer – only Ted!).
Yet another lazy-between-Christmas-and-New-Year day! I decided to forego my early morning walk in favour of a bath
and shampoo… and also to set aside time to write a note to Matthew regarding
Eric+Anthea. Moira went for a short, local walk in the sunshine (but had
to limit the distance once more – but at least enjoyed the best of the weather,
because it was raining by lunchtime). I spent a large part of the remainder of the morning re-reading
Helen Fielding’s ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ after a television documentary about
Fielding herself and her ‘Bridget’ newspaper columns of the 1990s (I decided
that ‘The Shepherd’s Life’ would make an excellent book to start 2021). In the afternoon, we watched the 1996 film ‘Emma’. Evening telly: ‘Christmas Only Connect’ and ‘Christmas University
Challenge’ (not particularly compelling)… we avoided a programme (the start of
a new series!) entitled: “Celebrity: A 21st Century Story” (my worst
nightmare). Image: Eric and Anthea (an image I 'stole' from Eric's facebook profile!).
Bank Holiday… and yet every day post-Christmas always feels
like a Sunday! Went for my usual dawn harbourside walk… overcast and very
cold (quite a few oarsmen out on the water). Banksy’s ‘earring lady’ has had her mask repositioned already! Moira and I had our usual morning coffee catch-up (which
obviously included reflecting on Alice and Dave). Another lazy day… I did some sketching (sitting on the sofa)
and also some reading (‘The Shepherd’s Life’). Emailed Jackie and also David about possible zoom catch-ups
over the coming days (had a rather ‘I’ll get back to you in the New Year’
response from Jackie). In the afternoon, I re-watched ‘The Death of Stalin’ on
catch-up.
Had an email from matthew at the end of the afternoon to say that Eric Hardy had died on Boxing Day (aged 94?) and that Anthea had died 6 days earlier. Very sad but somewhat poetic that they died just six days apart. Evening telly: ‘Only Connect’ and ‘Christmas University
Challenge’ (pretty boring). Image: pair of swans on the water this morning.
I went for my usual ‘normal’ harbourside early morning walk
today… on my own, despite the fact that it was Sunday – when Moira and I
normally walk together (Moira was suffering a little with hip pain). We both
skipped streamed church completely today. Finished my Kenneth Grahame book… and started ‘The Shepherd’s
Life’. Both Alice and Dave have tested positive for Covid (and need
to isolate for 10 days)… I know Alice is especially feeling very anxious.
Thinking of them all. Spent a fair amount of the morning reading the Observer (and
generally catching up). Had a very enjoyable lunch of poached
eggs/toast/bubble+squeak. Scribbled out some blog thoughts on ‘Brexit’ (as the UK
prepares to ‘take its leave’!). More Christmas cake after lunch and re-watched ‘The Guernsey
Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’ film (ideal après-Christmas viewing). Evening telly: documentary on ‘Bridget Jones’ Diary’ and ’30 years
of Have I Got News For You’. Image: ‘Her Mask Has Slipped’… (Banksy needs to undertake some
repairs).
Lazy start to the day… catch on diary stuff… Moira and I had a coffee re-cap on our Christmas day and also
planning today. Saturday newspaper… and I made up bubble+squeak ready for the
evening meal. Cheeseboard lunch. Arranged to meet up with Ruth+Stu+Iris+Rosa at the
harbourside in the afternoon (despite the miserable weather)… and lovely to see
them all. Read more ‘Wind in the Willows’ before supper… and also
watched the last 10 minutes or so of Villa’s 3-0 win over Crystal Palace (sixth
in the table with a game in hand and no goals conceded in 4 games!)… AND Bears
won 27-19 away to Harlequins. Evening telly: ‘Repair Shop’ and ‘Celebrity Sewing Bee’. Image: Family at the harbourside.
Well, a simply stunning day weather-wise… clear skies and
bright sunshine (very welcome on a lockdown Christmas Day!). Moira and I enjoyed our traditional champagne and bacon
sandwich breakfast and then opened our presents in the living room. We even managed a walk to the harbourside (somewhat reduced
from our ‘normal’ walk – but great that Moira’s hip was able to cope)… followed
by a long bath and hot chocolate for Moira! Spoke to Alan over the phone… Simple, but very nice, smoked salmon lunch… plus Christmas
cake! We played Scrabble (I won narrowly won!)… the first time
since January 2016, apparently. The remainder of the afternoon was spent reading and
vegetable preparation (for me), while Moira had a ‘lie down’ in readiness for frenetic
food preparation! Actually, everything went very smoothly (with the slight
exception of the turkey taking longer to cook than anticipated) and we ate at
around 6.30pm. Really excellent meal (and a rather lovely ‘black forest gateaux’
style pudding). Inevitably, LOTS of washing up (for me!)… but everything went
very smoothly. I even joined Moira to watch ‘Call the Midwife’!! Reasonably early to bed… it had been a good day. X Image: Christmas meal table!
Decided not to take my early morning walk today because Moira
and I had planned to take a Christmas Eve walk a little later. Sadly, in the
event, Moira’s hip was playing up and so we ended up drastically reducing our
walk and limiting it to a walk ‘round the block’. Felt very sad for her. Ruth(+Stu) popped round very briefly to collect various
things from Ruth’s studio (and also pick up their presents and family meal).
They’ve decided NOT to have Stu’s dad round for Christmas lunch at their house…
instead, they’re driving to Wells with picnic that they can eat in his garden
(which sounds sensible… and nice). Completed a harbour/boat sketch before breakfast (I was conscious
that my library of sketches was somewhat depleted… so I think I’ve now compiled
enough to see me through to the New Year!). I rang Dave Shorey to see how he was getting on… and it seems
that he’s been pretty busy dealing with the admin aftermath. But he seemed in a
reasonable ‘place’ considering… and his neighbours have been very supportive. I
suggested that Alan and I might join him in a zoom chat sometime between
Christmas and the New Year. Read more of my Sophie Ward book in the afternoon. Thankfully, the UK and EU FINALLY sorted out a ‘deal’… great
relief (still hate Brexit, but a deal definitely beats a ‘no-deal’!). Had Christmas Eve supper at the dining table (we ate the ‘family
meal’ that Moira had prepared for everyone). As I raised my glass of red to
toast the family, Moira responded by knocking over a full glass of tonic water
ALL the table and ME! Not a good start to the Christmas festivities! Evening telly: I watched ‘Paddington 2’ again and, together,
we watched ‘Christmas University Challenge’ (despite the infuriating
introductions!)... and also the Comic relief Christmas pantomime (which was very funny). Image: Christmas Eve candles (we renewed some of the old
ones!).
No early morning walk due to Bloke’s Prayer. Great that Jonny
was able to join us from Denmark! But no Ed. Some people’s Christmas plans
obviously disrupted by Covid restrictions. We’d originally arranged with Hannah that Moira and I would
(plus Ruth) would meet her at noon by the harbourside for flasked coffee… it
seemed that Ursa and Fee weren’t able to join us (for some reason?). But, in
the event, due to the rain, Hannah cried off and so H+F+U would come round to
number40 late this afternoon to share Christmas greetings and exchange presents
(as/if necessary) instead… Sadly, another change of plan in the end – it was
just Felix able to make delivery/collection. All a little disappointing in the
end. I went down to Hugo’s just before lunch to collect our food
order… and they were clearly overwhelmed – long queues outside etc. Lovely,
lovely people but totally disorganised (took me an hour… and, even then, there
were lots of errors/omissions with the order). But, hey ho, it’s Christmas!
Apparently, there were also 2 hour queues outside Rare Butchers this morning! Had a lovely zoom call with the Buckleys mid-afternoon (Mikey only joined us briefly)… they
all seem in good form and looking forward to the Christmas celebrations (AND
their oven/hob has been fixed!). Did some sketching in the afternoon between zooming and
Felix. Evening telly: ‘The Last Igloo’ (excellent documentary) and ‘Christmas
University Challenging’ (laborious!). Image: zooming with the Buckleys!
Went for my usual harbourside dawn walk… dry, but pretty
grey… and, again, virtually no one about. Morning coffee with Moira – discussing chores that need to be
done, people to contact etc. So, for me, the morning was largely spent cleaning the
bathroom and vacuuming. Also exchanged texts with Alice and agreed that we’d
have our family zoom get together tomorrow afternoon. Also spoke to Hannah:
she’s asked if we can have our ‘meet up’ tomorrow morning instead of Christmas
Day (they’re getting together with neighbours it seems)… sounds as if it’ll be
little more than a doorstep exchange of presents/food… but, hey, at least we’re
able to meet up. Oh, and we also had our Asda Christmas delivery! Had an extra couple of rounds of toast at lunchtime and ended
up with stomach ache! Fingers crossed it’s not a repeat of a few weeks ago! Read more of my Sophie Ward book and also did some sketching
(indoor!). Had a zoom get-together with Gareth+Alan+Iona and Merry-Carol
and Gerry at the end of the afternoon… and it was very good to catch up again. Evening telly (pretty rubbish): a bit of ‘The Good Life’;
Christmas University Challenge and an hour-long Nigella Christmas special
(which I backed out after 20 minutes). Image: photographs out of the front bedroom window a couple
of days ago: Saturn+Jupiter ‘Great Conjunction’ (almost!).
Winter solstice. Went for my usual harbourside dawn walk (very murky/drizzly)…
and very few people about. Morning coffee with Moira – trying to plan various
Christmas-related things (need to confirm when we’re ‘meeting up’ with R+S and
H+F over the holiday period; need to confirm when we’re zooming with A+D; when
we’ll eat on Christmas Day; need to plan our ‘day’ and plug in particular
things etc). We usually arrange to meet up with Iris+Rosa during school
holidays for chips at the Watershed. In the light of the Covid restrictions, we
decided to make some chips at home; keep them warm in foil-pouches; then meet
up (with I+R+Ruth) on Gaol Ferry Steps; and then consume them! It proved to be
good fun… basic, but fun – despite the rain (and so good to see them again
after what seems like ages). Finished my rather ordinary sketch of Broad Street Oxford
during the course of the afternoon – and also found time to read more of my
Sophie Ward book. Frustrated that rain/overcast sky meant that the Saturn/Jupiter 'Great Conjunction' (the first since 1603) wasn't visible tonight. Fortunately, I'd been watching their juxtaposition over recent days. Had an early evening zoom ‘meeting’ with Alan and Barry
later… very good to catch up and reminisce about our Christmases from days gone
by. Think we’ll re-connect again via zoom early in the New Year. Image: Rosa+Iris+Ruth+Moira chip-eating on Gaol Ferry Steps.
Fetched the newspaper first thing and then Moira and I went
for what was to be our regular Sunday morning walk… but, in fact, we only got
as far as Raleigh Road before having to turn back (Moira’s hip was painful). Tuned into Streamed church (Lee/Laura/Alan). Went to Wilko’s to buy a replacement lightbulb for the anglepoise
and later to Storysmith to collect my book (‘Wind in the Willows’!). Sketched a little via google streetview (Oxford Broad Street)
and read a little. Afternoon and evening telly: watched the excellent ‘Eagle
Huntress’ (which I’d previously seen at the Watershed 4 years ago) and last
episode of ‘Dark Materials’. Took some more (poor) photographs of Jupiter+Saturn (tomorrow
is the day they virtually coincide – ‘great conjunction’ - the last time this
happened was nearly 400 years ago (1623). Villa beat Albion 3-0 at the Hawthorns… Albion down to 10 men after 36 minutes. Bears beat Connacht 27-18 away from home in the Cup. Image: some (old) BS3 posters on a Dean Street wall.
A strange, sad, slightly unreal morning. I went to
collect the Saturday Guardian as usual, but at 9.30am received a phonecall from
David Shorey to say that Sally had died earlier this morning (at around 5am). I
knew from a previous email that she hadn’t been very well earlier in the year
(breast cancer; then what effectively was a stroke; followed by depression and
difficulties with walking), but David explained that she had subsequently collapsed 6 weeks ago, had
been in hospital since, had had Covid, but that her death was due to a rare
brain disease associated with PV. What made everything so much worse was the
fact that David wasn’t allowed to visit her (until 2-3 days ago when doctors
realised it was an ‘end of life’ situation). Terribly sad. I didn’t have a good
relationship with her, but I do feel especially sorry for David… and what the
future might hold for him (with no children or close relatives and a
potentially lonely existence in his autumn years). After reading the newspaper, I spent much of the morning writing up a
blogpost based on my various ‘reflections’ compiled since the start of the
pandemic. Interesting to look back on one’s reactions and emotions over the
months. Spoke to Alice by telephone (which was nice)… and Moira and I discussed
the need to arrange suitable ‘meeting up’ plans with Ru+Stu and with Han+Fee
(and zoom call with the Buckleys). In this afternoon’s press conference, the PM announced further changes
in Covid guidelines (with Tier4 for London and SE)… and also significant
changes to the Christmas holidays: three households acceptable together, but
for Christmas Day ONLY (not 5 days as originally announced). Evening telly: watched a rather wonderful interview with John Le Carré (by
Mark Lawson). Image: “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”… (thinking about all the
people who’re going to have to change their plans for Christmas).
Our plans for meeting up with I+R had to be cancelled –
because Iris had a paediatric appointment at the hospital (the previous one had
been cancelled when she’d been self-isolating and so she had take the offer of
a new appointment at short notice). So, I went for my usual dawn walk… on a pretty miserable, wet
day (it didn’t improve through the day). Moira and I sang 'happy birthday to Ursa' (she's 9 today!). Morning coffee with Moira as usual… looking ahead to the
coming days up to Christmas. Looked at more Blurb pages… it’s a time-consuming process,
but little and often seems the best way to proceed. In the afternoon, Moira and I watched ‘Tamara Drewe’ film
from 2010. It was all very light and amusing, but I found it somewhat
irritating… Moira enjoyed it though. The postman delivered my ‘Roy Bailey Remembered’ CD… and so I
started listening to it during the course of the afternoon. Rather lovely. Evening telly: 'Portrait Artist' (final celebrity challenge). Image: From the ‘Roy Bailey Remembered’ CD.
We’re considering ‘getting together’ with Iris+Rosa (possibly
tomorrow as term finishes tonight) for some ‘outdoor food’. With continuing
Covid restrictions on food outlets, the original intention (collecting chips
from Salt+Malt on the harbourside) isn’t possible. So, we’ve made a tentative
arrangement (subject to R+I’s social diaries and the weather) for us to take
pizza and maybe chips down to the harbourside anyway… so I got supplies in from
Tesco very first thing this morning. Beautiful morning – which meant that today’s usual ‘dawn
walk’ was VERY different from yesterday’s miserable wet excursion. Moira cooked a simple ‘family meal’ for distributing to
Ru+Stu and Han+Fee et al (to be consumed ‘sometime over Christmas’ as a gesture
of ‘togetherness’ – even if we can’t meet over the dining table). I started trying to sort out potential images for my ‘March
2021 Blurb book’ (if I leave it until March, there’ll be SO much work to do
that it might put me off altogether). Read some of my Sophie Ward book in the afternoon.
Moira ALMOST set fire to the house... she left a pan of wax on the hob (fumes everywhere!). The government announced today that Bristol has moved from
Tier3 to Tier2 (food outlets will be able to serve stuff/pubs can open until
11pm from Saturday onwards, I think… amongst other measures). Evening telly: ‘Portrait Artist’ (final)… then early bed with
book. Image: Symbolic 'family meal' in progress…
No dawn walk due to Bloke’s Prayer zooming. It seems clear
that everyone else in our group will be getting together with their families
over the Christmas period… and, although I have huge reservations about what
such actions might mean nationally, I accept that people will make their own
choices (presumably based on the government’s current confirmation that it
won’t be backing down from its original 4-day rule relaxation period). A horrible day – quite heavy rain all morning and only
brightening up towards the end of the afternoon. Went for my usual harbour walk before lunch (duly dressed in
full waterproof gear!). Spent some of the morning wrapping Christmas presents. Finished my Bradbury book in the afternoon (very enjoyable). Evening telly: ‘Repair Shop’ (repeat)... followed by early bed to read my next book ('Love and Other Thought Experiments' by Sophie Ward). Image: today’s very wet marina view…
My usual harbourside dawn walk… and, like yesterday, a
gradually brightening morning (although the sun only appeared at the very end
of my walk). I packed the Buckley Christmas box ready for posting, then
had morning coffee with Moira. Still thinking about preparing for the post office when I had
a text from Hannah (she was due to meet up with a client to make an ‘art
delivery’ and wondered if I had time for a rapid coffee at Whapping Wharf – she
was running a little early). So, I put together a quick thermos flask of coffee
and ‘trotted off’ down to the water… very good to catch up (and the sun was
shining!). I returned home to discover that Moira had gone down to the
post office to send off the Buckley parcel… which made me feel somewhat guilty! Received an email from Si Smith turning down my suggestion of
a zoom meeting (he has a hatred of video conferencing… which I absolutely
understand). His email was a lovely update on what they’re all up to… and so I
wrote a similar response. Evening telly: watched an old Malcolm Muggeridge interview
with John Le Carré (who died yesterday). Image: Harbourside: Hannah, rainbow and old geezer…
Usual harbourside dawn walk on a brightening morning… Moira and Ruth had already had coffee by the time I returned,
so I spent some time trawling through ‘drawing’ images and putting together
another ‘lockdown drawings B’ folder (the original version ‘disappeared’… and,
whatever I do, I haven’t been able to track down the old file… very
frustrating!). Went into town mid-morning to buy two small canvasses and
some acrylic paints for Rosa… hardly anyone about, almost ghostly. But, after that, I rather enjoyed myself hunkering down and
watching ‘The Godfather’ and then the Mortimer+Whitehouse ‘Gone Christmas
Fishing’ special! Yet more telly in the evening: ‘Only Connect’, ‘Nigella’ and ‘University
Challenge’. Image: one of the Advent window decorations around the corner
in Milford Street.
Moira
didn’t feel up to a walk this morning (her hip has been quite painful recently
and she was mindful that she needed to walk to North Street later to get her
hair cut) and so I ventured out on my own. It was a full waterproofs day –
rained for the entire walk (my usual harbourside circuit). Had
coffee over the Sunday paper. Urban
Sketchers ‘met up’ in Siena, Tuscany from 1pm (there were probably 10-12 of us)…
good fun and some lovely sketches. An African location next time perhaps? Watched ‘Whisky
Galore’ 2016 film on catch-up in the afternoon. A sort of
roast supper (chicken – but we’d forgotten to include a roast joint on the
recent Asda order!), including sprouts and roast potatoes! Evening
telly: ‘Dark Materials’ (the penultimate episode)... Image:
one of my Siena sketches.
No walk
today… just the usual trip to Tesco for the newspaper. Lazy
morning reading the paper, sketching our ‘cardboard’ nativity scene on the
dining room mantelpiece! Bacon
sandwich for lunch. Lots of
decent films scheduled over the coming week (according to the Guardian’s telly
guide)… watched the excellent ‘Brooklyn’ (again) after lunch. Villa
beat Wolves (away from home) with a last-minute penalty, but Bears lost in the
cup. Enjoyed
another Bristol Old Vic theatre evening later (‘Swallows and Amazons’ – which
we’d previously seen at the Old Vic)… another good evening (and very good value
– except that there were no sub-titles). Image:
our mantelpiece nativity!
Usual
dawn walk (in reverse) on another pretty overcast morning… but I noticed the
complete absence of any wind and, as a result, the harbour was mirror-like. Usual
morning coffee routine with Moira… always an important part of our day. Spent the
rest of the morning dealing with ‘domestic stuff’, including: sorting out the
freezer, so we could get some more bread in(!); sorting out an address list for
our emailed Christmas card/letter/photo; clearing away Christmas decoration
boxes; wrapping Moira’s present; archived some of my photo folders to the
hard-drive… In the
afternoon, I added some watercolour to the quick ‘sketch through the bedroom
window’ I did yesterday (experimentally and not particularly successfully). I also
started to send off our email Christmas cards etc. Read some
more of my ‘Dandelion Wine’ book. Evening
zoom get-together with my “Bloke’s Books” friends… a mixed session (the
majority felt the book was pretty disappointing/awful), with people obviously
trying not to criticise Robin too vehemently! Actually, it proved to be a
useful and balanced discussion finished reading it(!) – despite the fact that
Robin+Nick hadn’t quite (Jeff+Robin very positive 8-10/10; Nick quite positive
7/10?; but the rest of us very much less so – 5 or 6/10… and Dru 3/10!).
Crucially, people have agreed that the next book group date (10 February) needs
to be a fixed date AND that people need to have read the book! Image: Staring
out of the bedroom window (again).
Usual
early morning harbourside walk… pink skies as the sun rose. Walked down
Leighton Road and then looked back up the hill to see pink sky… and similarly
at the marina (with my fisherman friend). Rather lovely. Morning
coffee with Moira and then Asda delivery before lunch. Recently, we’ve been
either over-ordering or forgetting to order stuff (no Sunday roast, but LOTS of
sliced bread and butter!!). Sketched
briefly after lunch (staring out of the front bedroom window)… and then, as
tradition dictates, watched “It’s A Wonderful Life”! I’d
signed up for an evening zoom link with the Guardian’s Marina Hyde and John
Crace… and it was excellent (and amusing). Two of the people who’ve made 2020
tolerable. Image:
Leighton Road at sunrise.
No early
morning (or, in the end, any) walk today… 8am Bloke’s Prayer currently
coincides with sunrise, which is a shame. But a good prayer session – even if
it only lasted 45 minutes (which seemed a little strange). Morning
coffee at home with Moira… general catch-up/Christmas present round-up etc. Did a
simple line drawing of a Siena façade (in advance of Sunday’s urban sketching
get-together). Went to
Hugo’s for fruit and veg (a little frustrated by the fact that it took four
attempts to accept my bank card!). Read more
of my ‘Dandelion Wine’ book in the afternoon. I also
watched (thanks to Ed) Bristol University’s “Life sciences in a post-truth
world: A COVID-19 case study” via YouTube. Excellent and very informative. Had a
zoom ‘meeting’ with Adrian Howkins and friends (Sarum College Local Learning
Group)… could have done without it, but quite interesting nevertheless. Image:
this morning’s crescent moon from the front doorstep.
Early
morning walk just after sunrise (8am ish) to Bathurst Basin/The Ostrich/near St
Mary Redcliffe/M-Shed/Gaol Ferry Bridge and home. Initially very grey and
overcast but, albeit briefly, followed by beautiful orange skies. Ru was
already in the studio when I left (she worked there all morning). Moira and
I had morning coffee as usual and left a coffe+mince pie on the stairs for Ru. Collected
my next Bloke’s Books book (‘The Crossway’ by Guy Stagg) from Storysmith and
also bought envelopes and sellotape dispenser(!) from Wyatt+Ackerman. Completed
Christmas card/letter/grandchildren photo card (with Moira’s approval)… and Ru
posted off copies to Alan+Lesley (probably our only ‘actual’ Christmas card
etc). Started
trawling google maps for possible urban sketching locations in Siena (for this
coming Sunday). Watched
‘The Belles of St Trinian’s film on catch-up in the afternoon (as you do!). A couple of small concerns: first, the radiators were cold (late afternoon) and second, the kitchen sink wouldn't drain (thanks to candle wax?)... hopefully, now sorted. Had a
zoom catch-up chat with John Tom in the evening (seemed like an awful long time
since we last properly spoke… possibly 3 years?). Image:
orange sky behind St Mary Redcliffe on my morning walk around the harbour.
Went for
my usual harbourside walk first thing (around 8am)… still pretty drab and
overcast – although the sky did briefly ‘pink over’ very briefly as I
approached SS Great Britain. Wrote up
some brief thoughts to email to Ru in connection with her forthcoming
exhibition. Got my
hair cut (so I look neat and tidy for all those Christmas parties we’ll be
attending, obviously!!). Finalised
our Christmas card etc… for what it’s worth. We
retrieved all the Christmas decorations from the back bedroom wardrobe… and
Moira (more or less single-handed) did the business… even though only one set
of tree lights actually works! I made
some more mince pies (and I must admit I was quite impressed by the quality of
the pastry!). Evening
telly: ‘Only Connect’ and ‘University Challenge’ (plus ‘Nigella’ in between). Early to
bed to read. Image:
Christmas Tree.
Usual Sunday
harbour walk with Moira at 9.30am (lovely sunny/slightly misty morning), before
streamed church (good talk from Maria, but I’m afraid I tend to ‘opt out’
before the end of the service these days!). Read the
Sunday paper… and also put together a ‘grandchildren’ Christmas card – based on
the very few pics I’ve taken of them this year (and relying on Alice’s pic of
Mikey, Dan+Jemima – because we haven’t seen them at all this year!). Did some ‘wax
scribbles’ that might be used as the basis of a Christmas card… we’ll see. I’ve been
thinking of possible items for inclusion in Ru’s forthcoming “(nearly) LOST and
(not quite) FOUND” exhibition in January… Evening
telly: ‘Dark Materials’. Early to
bed to read my Ray Bradbury ‘Dandelion Wine’ book. Image:
draft Christmas card?
No
walking this morning… apart from fetching the newspaper. So,
another lazy day spent reading the paper and then finishing my ‘Rebecca’ book
(which I really enjoyed) and scribbled a quick review. ‘The
Railway Children’ was on the telly (again!)… 50 years since ‘birth’… and so, of
course, I felt I HAD to watch it. I really do wonder how many times I must have
watched it… 30? 40? 50 times?? A LOT! Watched
another Bristol Old Vic streamed production in the evening (“Christmas Carol” –
last year’s version, not the one Felix played Scrooge). Just like when Felix
played Scrooge, the actor playing the ‘lead’ was excellent… but I thought the ‘musical
score’ and general production and script was pretty average. Disappointing. Received
another letter from “my mate Matt” (Health Secretary) giving me Covid advice –
albeit several days after the advice had come into force. But, hey, he now says
I can go to school or work! Image: another
letter from “Matt”.
Went
harbour walking first thing (currently, I end to set out about 8am – more or
less sunrise), although there haven’t been many decent bright mornings of late.
I’ve started to do the my harbourside walk in the reverse direction (ending up
walking up Leighton Road) in order to avoid schoolchildren and parents
(although it does mean dodging people on their way to work across gaol ferry
Bridge etc). Uneventful (apart from watching two cormorants argue over a fish!)
and pretty overcast. Morning
coffee with Moira when I got home. Tony (Hadland) sent me a first draft of his "1971 Minibus Tour" blog (about our marathon trip to Greece and around Europe). Lazy day…
I sketched some bookshelves (badly) and I read a fair amount of my ‘Rebecca’
book. Evening
telly: ‘Grayson Perry’s art club exhibition’. Image:
Cormorant taking off.
The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine will be made available across
the UK next week (although it could take weeks/months before everyone has
access to it). I read in bed (‘Rebecca’) immediately after breakfast and then
went for my daily walk after Moira and I had had morning coffee. Light,
continuous rain and grey skies. We’ve decided to give our daughters £100 each (as a sort of
Christmas bonus?)… essentially acknowledging that things have been tough for
all of them financially, whereas (because we’ve doing less!) we haven’t been
spending as much as usual – and hence had some spare cash to spare (albeit only
a small amount).
Set up another 'virtual' urban sketching trip (to Siena). Sketched briefly after lunch before watching ‘Nativity’ film on
telly. Evening telly: ‘Portrait Artist’. Image: Stewy’s sheep (Cooperage Lane).
First day after Lockdown #2…
Bristol is now in Tier 3 – which, as far as we are concerned, is effectively is
the same as Lockdown #2. Bloke’s Prayer ‘attended’ by
everyone and everyone seemed to be coping ok (Jeff always struggles with zoom;
Nick’s always travelling on a bus which makes things tricky; Robin is due to
return to Bristol tomorrow after several weeks in the Canary Islands. No dawn walk (or walk of any kind)
today… just bumbled around doing bits and pieces. Did some sketching in the morning
(related to the Drawing Group ‘Parks’ theme). Finished my Bryson book in the
afternoon (excellent) and then made some mince pies (with rather mixed success…
but they tasted good!). Evening telly: ‘Repair Shop’. Image: mince pies.
