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
Bloke’s Prayer, so no early morning walk. All fine (Robin told us about his Friday walk from home to
Portishead, then Clevedon, and then back home!). Drafted out a second Durham sketch in preparation for
Sunday’s urban sketching. Moira and I had our usual morning coffee, but then decided to
take a thermos down to Bathurst Basin for another mug of coffee (the sun was
shining!)… which we did… and it was very nice and good that M was able to walk
there and back without too much difficulty. In the afternoon, I watched a documentary on Jack Charlton on
telly (impressive, quite inspiring… and sad). Ru worked in her studio in the afternoon and Iris popped in
briefly after school (so the two of them could try and sort out some fabric, I
think, for her Duke of Edinburgh involvement)(Ru very frustrated with Iris who
seems to have been chivvied every step of the way on something that she, Iris,
wanted to do… it’s not cheap – it’s already cost Ru £200!). Was devastated to learn that Nikki Ingram had died… she was
rushed into hospital with a dissection of the aorta at the beginning of
February (and they also found a large aneurism)… she was due to have an
operation on 3 March. I last messaged her on 9 March to find out she was… but
never had a reply (and feared the worst). Online funeral on Friday. Another evening zoom – this time with Jennie. Image: Two go down to Bathurst Basin.
No early morning walk today as I was meeting Ana mid-morning
at the harbourside. We’d particularly arranged to get together today because the
forecast was for ‘sunshine’ all day – and so it proved! It was lovely to catch
up… zoom meet-ups are fine, but nothing like the real thing! I was supposed to have a telephone appointment with my ‘lung’
consultant at 1.20pm… but he ended up ringing me at 11.15am instead! His
opening question was “when did you last have a lung test?”… to which I replied:
“last Thursday… and if you haven’t seen the result yet, then this phonecall is
a complete waste of time!”. Magically, he managed to find them… everything
seemed fine (pulse rate ‘raised’ in the walking test – but I didn’t find this
surprising as I’d previously been told to walk as far as I could in 6
minutes!). Anyway, he wants me to take a CT scan (on the basis that my last one
was in 2017) and to see me face-to-face… so an appointment within the next 6
months. I also had a dental appointment in the afternoon – which was
fine (tooth extracted and extended ‘plate’ provided)… all done pretty
efficiently. Read more of my excellent ‘Pastoral’ book. Evening telly: Monastery documentary. Image: Ana and me on the sunny harbourside.
Woke up very early and ended up finishing my ‘Wintering’ book
and scribbled a brief review over breakfast. Back to my usual dawn harbourside walk (I had originally
intended to walk up through Leigh Woods, but the weather was a little dull so I
didn’t). Walked down Leighton Road for the first time for a few days and it was
nice to see that they’ve put out the bunting again (acknowledging a year of
lockdown?). Moira and I had usual morning coffee – I expressed my concern
and worry about Iris (especially her going for walks on her own – but, as Moira
pointed out, it’s important that women CAN get out and walk on their own). Mithi called round and picked up three picture frames. I went to the post office (took Easter parcel for Alice+co)…
annoyingly, the old motor cyclist in front of me wasn’t wearing a mask (aargh!). Spent a fair amount of the afternoon reading my ‘English
Pastoral’ book and setting up a Durham sketch prior to Sunday’s urban
sketching. Today marks the next stage in Covid ‘roadmap’ – people can do
outdoor sport and meet up outside with maximum of 6 people/two households. Had another zoom session with Alan in the evening (testing
out if our subscription works!) Image: Leighton Road bunting is back!
Another rather lazy day… I always find waking up on the
morning after the clocks went forward (with dawn suddenly becoming an hour
later) a little depressing – especially after my year of dawn walking… but,
obviously, it’s good to have the lighter evenings. Fetched the newspaper and then Moira and I went for a
briefish walk (M still struggling with her sciatica etc). Streamed church on Palm Sunday was set around a video walk
between HTH and Saint Stephen’s… in lieu of our usual actual walk. Lots of
technical issues, but a good idea nevertheless (although I’m afraid I find
Frances’s ‘manner’ somewhat irritating)(sorry!). Stu popped round briefly… they’re concerned about Iris (no
eating much, moody, spending too much time on her phone, not communicating…
and, today, just deciding to go on a walk on her own). It’s a really difficult
age and, in this pandemic year, difficult to know how to cope (for her and
everyone else). I spent most of the afternoon reading my ‘Wintering’ book. Evening telly: ‘Midsomer Murders’ (frequently infuriating!). Image: balls that continue to accumulate on the flat roofs of
Holy Cross school!
Something of a lazy Saturday… fetched the newspaper first
thing (plus some odds+ends). Then morning coffee+newspapers with Moira. Started reading ‘Wintering’ (effectively a book about ‘coping’
– which seems appropriate for lockdown!). Bacon bagels for lunch. Watched the film ‘The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind’ in the
afternoon (quite good). Tried to get rid of more stuff outside the front of the house
– but not successful (have previously got of rid of 9 picture frames). Stu came to collect all his book-keeping files (Moira’s
retiring!). Evening telly: ‘Pilgrimage’. Image: View across the harbour from a couple of days ago (love the trees
in blossom).
Blustery dawn walk to the harbourside. Met Dave and Sarah
briefly (who’d just erected a ‘Back The Climate And Ecological Emergency Bill’
banner on Vauxhall Bridge). Rained quite hard not longer after I’d returned
home… but then brightened into a fine, sunny - albeit windy - day. I posted a blogpost entitled ‘so what now?’… reflecting on
how much I’d been focussing on the first anniversary of lockdown. I finished my Rovelli book during the course of the morning,
so wrote a brief review first thing. Moira went down to Hugo’s to fetch some fruit+veg supplies…
and Ru popped into her studio very briefly. I spent some of the morning doing a rapid wax/tjanting tool
and watercolour sketch of some tulips that were about to finally ‘give up the
ghost’. Evening telly: penultimate ‘Art Club’ episode and the second half of the France v Scotland game (which Scotland narrowly won). Image: dead tulips.
I went on my usual dawn harbourside walk (and I set out just
after dawn)… dramatic sun over the Cut etc but, by the time. I was walking
along Wapping Wharf the drizzle had started. Actually, it had cleared up by mid-morning and turned into
quite a bright, sunny day. Moira and I had our usual morning coffee (discussing my
reservations at the prospect of travelling on a bus for the first time in over
a year later this after). Moira went on another morning walk (three days in a row… and,
happily, a little further each time). Put out more picture frames on the street and managed to ‘dispose’
of anotherfive picture frames (still
something 20-25 to go!). My latest Blurb book arrived! In the afternoon, I had my 6-minute walking and breathing
tests at Southmead Hospital (which both seemed to go well… and the hospital was
very well organised from a Covid-safe viewpoint). My main concern was the bus
journey (not having been on a bus in over a year). Actually, I didn’t enjoy the
experience: the bus company was very organised (designated seats etc) and the
vast majority of people wore face masks, BUT perhaps as many as ten people (all
20-somethings, I’m afraid) – all sitting upstairs (as I was, because there were
fewer people on the upper deck) - either removed their masks altogether or simply
pulled them down over their chins. One young woman spent the entire journey
mask-less nattering (at high volume) on her phone. I was SO tempted to
challenge these people… but didn’t (I decided it was best to keep ‘well away
from them’). I found the whole experience pretty depressing. I was also pretty sickened by seeing at least three groups
(the numbers varied between 8-12) of men sitting/standing in very close proximity
with each other… ok, it was in the ‘open air’, so it could have been worse (but…). Read a reasonable amount of my Rovelli book. I was home by 6pm and greeted with a fish finger and chips
supper! Evening telly: ‘Repair Shop’. Image: Lockdown Blurb Books 1+2.
A somewhat strange day… I’d finished my ‘Lemon’ book so wrote up a quick review over
breakfast. Usual Wednesday Bloke’s Prayer session (spent some time
discussing the ‘stop the bill’ protesters… especially there were some
protesters+police out last night on the street right next to Robin’s apartment). Spent much of the morning trying to sort out old picture
frames (well, at least the ones stored in the back bedroom)… trying to work out
how we were going to get rid of them etc. Ended up lining them up along the
hall wall (I wonder how long they’ll be there?!). Also sketched yet another tulip drawing! Read more of my Carlo Rovelli book (a collection of articles about
science, philosophy and much more). He’s a fascinating man but I struggle to
follow an awful lot of what he’s saying (he makes me feel far from
intelligent!). Put some ‘stuff’ out at the front of the house - and managed to get rid of two picture
frames and two children’s puzzles. I chatted to the builders working up the road about the possibility of someone doing a small amount of re-plastering in the studio... hopefully 'Reg' will pop round on Friday to assess things. Joined a church zoom session with Adrian and others (part of
his ‘Local Learning’ training)… I wasn’t particularly looking forward to it,
but it proved interesting. Image: Picture frames etc in the hall…
Went for my usual harbourside walk (I had considered a longer
circuit, but the weather was grey and dull)… water in the harbour was very
still/mirror-like. Morning coffee with Moira as usual, but Ru arrived during
coffee to do some work in her studio before going walking – and she managed to
persuade Moira to go with her (to Greville Smythe park)… and it transpired that
this worked out really well (certainly Moira was boosted by it). I drafted a blog post reflecting on “so, what now?” after
coming through a year of lockdowns. Nothing particularly edifying, just trying
to record my current feelings. Watched a video presentation of a “Song for Bristol”
(featuring ‘This Is The Kit’) after lunch. Spent much of the afternoon reading my ‘Lemon’ book. Evening telly: watched ‘Lockdown Live: What Next?’ (because
it seemed to echo my blogpost questions and our recent discussions – but,
frankly, it was predictably disappointing)… and also started to watch ‘Sylvia’
(2003) film about Sylvia Plath (but gave up half way through) England lost the first of 1day international to India. Image: Mirror-like harbour water.
Regular harbourside walk… bright start weather-wise but
cloudy by the time I got to the marina. Reflected on the violent protests (by a
small minority) in Bristol last night… and came across a group 7 beer-drinking,
‘young people’ (4 blokes, 3girls) on Wapping Wharf (at about 7.15am!). Three of
the lads had climbed up to the top of the arm on the steam crane. I wondered,
rightly or wrongly, if they’d be involved in last night’s protests. Bristol
Mayor condemned the violence saying it was self-defeating because they’d into
the hands of the government (he also, later on telly, apparently he said: “Experience
would suggest that there are a group of people running around the country
looking for any opportunity to enter into physical conflict with the police or
representatives of what they see as the establishment, whether it’s the bill,
whether it’s some other protest, they’ll take the opportunity. Let’s do the
debate around a bill, justice, and not attach it to these people who’ve gone out
and tried to smash up my city”). On my way back home, I spotted my first balloon of
the year – which turned out to be manned by a single, hanging pilot (ie. no
basket)… wondered how/where he was going to land – given that, without a
basket, his fuel capacity must be restricted? Moira enjoyed our usual morning coffee… M feeling
pretty low and flat (and, in her words, ‘old’)… feeling that perhaps this
pandemic will never ‘end’ and that we’ll always be living with uncertainty. I’d apparently had a ‘missed call’ from Zabiullah a
couple of days ago… so I returned his call this morning (10.45am). Think I woke
him up… I’d wondered if he was going to ask me to provide some form of letter
in support of his asylum appeal, but now suspect he may have accidently
miss-dialled my number! He sounded very vague and it was a pretty awkward
conversation. He’s obviously found things difficult over the past year
(especially with no college – due to no internet), but was grateful the mosque
was open again. Read more of my ‘Lemon’ book later and started an
initial draft for the next USk session (to Durham). Received an email from CharlotteN saying she was
struggling with her internet (and therefore also the zoom link for USK)… so,
after chatting to Moira, I’ve taken up a year’s subscription so we can host
future sessions. ‘Attended’ Mark Loudon’s funeral just after lunch
(video link to the service at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral). Quite moving –
especially the eloquent tributes from family members which were read out. Ru popped in, on her walk back from Paper Plane(!),
to sort out some art things for posting… so Moira, Ru and I ended up sitting
out in front of the house over a cup of tea (with passers-by smiling at us as
they passed). Evening telly: the usual ‘Connect’ and ‘Challenge’. Image: First hot-air balloon of the year…
Fetched the newspaper then Moira and I went a short walk (M’s
knee is still playing up) before streamed church. Read the paper but also responded to Laura’s request for me
to comment on her talk at church this morning (which I decided to do while it
was still fresh in my memory – although I ended up saying that I was struggling
faith-wise and found some of the ‘God’s voice’ and enthusiastic references somewhat
difficult). Spent the first part of the afternoon on an urban sketching ‘trip’
to Singapore (as ever, lovely to ‘meet up’ with everyone). Pork casserole for supper, followed by ‘Midsomer Murders’ on
telly (difficult after ‘Throw Down’ finished!). Bristol Bears won 28-21 at Northampton (2 converted tries in last 5 minutes!), but Villa lost 0-2 at home to Spurs. Image: one of my Singapore sketches.
No walking today, apart from fetching the newspaper (and
buying some bottles of Guinness!). Morning coffee over the papers with Moira, followed by some
more of ‘Italian Lemons’ book and a streetview sketch from Catania, Sicily (linked to my lemon book). The rest of the day was effectively taken up watching three
games of rugby on the telly. Scotland overran Italy; England lost badly to
Ireland; but a brilliant France v Wales game saw France win in the final minute. England also lost the final game of the T20 series against
India. Watched a pilgrimage programme (7 ‘celebrities’ walking Belgrave
to Constantinople – but actually getting lifts for much of the way!).
Interesting to hear the views expressed by all the individuals concerned. Image: Possible ‘Banksy’ image has recently appeared in
Bristol (but no confirmation from the artist himself!).
Something of a strange, frustrating day… I didn’t go walking first thing because I had another dental
appointment booked (tooth extraction)… but at 9.30am the dentists rang me to a)
tell me they had a problem with their electricity (or lack of it) and would
have to cancel my appointment and b) apologies that they would be able to give
me a replacement appointment until 30 March because my dentist was on ‘holiday’
next week! Hey ho! Spent most of the rest of daytime hours producing a very
strange sketch for our current Drawing Theme (‘A March Wind’) and reading more
of my ‘Lemon Book’. Had another zoom chat with Bob and Christine in the early
evening, followed by another ‘episode’ of Grayson’s Art Club. Image: my strange windy sketch!
Today is the first anniversary of when Moira and I first went
into lockdown/self-isolation. So much has happened in the past year (and also,
perhaps, so little has happened!). My early morning walk felt particularly poignant – I sat on
the bench at the marina and pondered things (by the time I arrived there it was
pretty dull and overcast – which was a shame… so no photographs!). There were a
couple of fishermen out early. When I got back home, I uploaded my book draft on to the
Blurb website (after making some minor adjustments)(fortunately, there’d been a
35% discount offer in my emails a couple of days ago!)… and pretty amazing to
see that within 4 minutes of uploading things, the technology was such that it
was already actually being printed out at Blurb’s Dutch office! Posted a digital
version on to my facebook page (complete with page-turning!). Moira and I had our usual chat over morning coffee. Moira was
saying she’d been feeling somewhat ‘low’ over the past few days (triggered
perhaps by the frustrations of her new phone/finalising Stu’s
accounts/frustrations of her new laptop); I was feeling a little the same –
mainly down to the fact that I’d been focussing so hard on completing our ‘year
of lockdown’ and now had a sense of ‘so what now?’. I spent part of the morning doing a google/streetview sketch
of Palermo, Sicily (prompted by some references to Sicily in my ‘Lemon book’! We received our regular fortnightly Asda delivery at
lunchtime (although, frustrating that bread hadn’t be available – which seems
very hard to understand!). Watched ‘Amelie’ for the nth time in the afternoon (I never
tire of this film… and always notice new things it seems). At 6pm, we ‘tuned in’ to a special “Bristol Remembers” –
reflecting on the ways that Covid has affected us all over the past 12 months.
Very impressive… and quite moving. Evening telly: Watched the last half of an old Poirot, then
went to bed early to read. Image: Impressive, sombre sky over the cut this morning…
No walk due to Bloke’s Prayer. Some good stuff about today’s
BP, but a couple of people are keen to get more ‘blokes’ to join us – and,
although I understand the sentiment, I really don’t want our numbers to grow. I
enjoy the intimacy/’anamcara’ sense… but who knows? I also ‘discovered’ a rather lovely ‘One Second Every day’
video by Hannah John – which covers the past 12 months… I suspect it’ll become
a wonderful reminder of ‘Covid Year’ at some time in the future. Usual morning coffee with Moira – reflecting on the fact that
it’s exactly a year ago today that we last had Iris+Rosa here after school for
tea/supper (and posted a reflective blog on ‘onedaylikethis’). Checked out some possible Singapore sketching location in
advance of Sunday’s USk get-together. At Ru’s suggestion, I watched ‘Britt-Marie Was Here’ 2019
Swedish film (about a 63 year-old woman who becomes a village football coach)…
very enjoyable and heart-warming. Read a little more of my ‘Italian Lemons’ book. Early evening telly: xxx Later on, we had another Bloke’s Prayer gathering – this time
to discuss Dru’s time on Mount Athos and Dave’s time in Albania. Image: my positive reflections of a year of pandemic.
Met up with Dave at the harbourside first thing this morning
for a take-away coffee and a chat beside the water. It was Dave’s idea
(following my comments last week about feeling something of a fraud at Bloke’s
Prayer from time to time) and was rather lovely. Then had another coffee (and chat) with Moira when I got home… Spent much of the rest of the morning putting together some
words in connection with Mark Louden’s ‘In Memory’ facebook page (in advance of
his funeral next Monday) and generally catching up with various news stuff and more
reading (and thorough tooth-cleaning!). My main event of the day involved a trip to the dentist
(immediately after lunch)! The main concerns involved a cracked plate and a
broken front tooth. In the event, it all went quite smoothly (I DO like my
dentist, Dr Horsman!)… plate to be temporarily repaired; x-ray taken of my
front tooth (needs to be removed)… another appointment made for Friday at
11.40am! Evening telly: watched the final episode of ‘Bloodlands’!
I later joined the ‘Resonate’ session in the evening (one of the Trinity students is a ‘rap artist’)... light-hearted but not my cup of tea. Image: Anemones.
Went for my usual harbourside dawn walk (in fact, the first
harbour walk since last Tuesday!)… bright start to the day, sun rising over (or
beside, at least) the marina. While walking along Wapping Wharf (between SS
Great Britain and Gaol Ferry Steps), I became suddenly aware that there was
absolutely no one else visible on the harbourside – no runners, no walkers, no
cyclists etc – and, apart from the low hum of the traffic on Cumberland
Road/Coronation Road, there was complete silence… something I hadn’t previously
experienced on my dawn walks. Someone had painted graffiti on a harbour wall in protest of
the recent death of Sarah Everard (*reclaim these streets*) and, presumably, at
the crass handling of the vigil in Clapham over the weekend by the Metropolitan
Police. I spent part of the morning drafting out a blog post to mark
our 12 months of lockdown. At our morning coffee, Moira and I had discussed our
intentions to ‘sort out the house’ (ie. cleaning and clearing out redundant
bits+pieces)… I made a start and spent an hour or so in the kitchen (but just
‘scraped the surface’!). Read a little more of my ‘Lemons in Italy’ book in the
afternoon. Evening saw another ‘cousin zoom session’ – this time Janet,
Lyn, Jackie, Barry and Alan. We were limited to 40 minutes, but it went quite well
(quite difficult to get everyone to contribute a little and not to dominate the
conversation, but hey!). Evening telly: watched the end of ‘Only Connect’ and ‘Challenge’. Image: Sarah Everard graffiti.
Fetched the newspaper first thing as Moira didn’t yet feel up
to our usual harbourside Sunday walk. We ended up doing our shortened local
walk skirting Dame Emily park before a quick morning coffee and newspaper read. I tuned in to streamed church (interesting talk by Jeanette),
but somewhat guilty also tuned in to Sky Arts ‘live’ ‘Portrait Artist of the
Week’ (South African dancer Oti Mabuse), so sketched at the same time! Good response from my urban sketching friends to the Grayson
submission. Ru+Rosa popped round with a Mother’s day card and so we were
able to have a brief natter on the doorstep… which was lovely. Watched the Scotland v Ireland rugby in the afternoon
(Ireland narrowly winning). Roast pork supper… which was lovely. Evening telly: ‘The Plank’ (Eric Sykes’s wonderful 1967 film)
and the last episode of ‘Pottery Throwdown’ (feel very sad that it’s
finished!). Image: An ‘Amazing Mum’ on Mother’s Day (with Hannah’s book).
Lazy morning. Morning coffee over Saturday newspaper (no walk). Finished my ‘Hamnet’ book (excellent). Finished (thanks to Sara) the urban sketchers’ application to
“Grayson’s Art Club”. Hannah+Felix+Ursa came round and had a cup of tea on the
doorstep… lovely to see them. The rest of the afternoon was taken up watching rugby over a
couple of glasses of Guinness (Italy v Wales and England v France). Very good
game at Twickenham – England won 23-20 (with a converted try 5 minutes from
time!). Last night: Villa drew away to Newcastle and Bears beat
Wasps! Evening telly: a documentary on Rome. Image: cardboard packaging for one of Moira’s gin bottle
pressies.
No early morning walk today, of course, because it’s Moira’s
birthday! Really wild night weather-wise… heavy rain until dawn – but
then the sun came out and it ended up being a rather lovely day. I think Moira had a rather lovely day too… she’d received
LOTS of packages (hand-delivered or postman or courier) and birthday cards. The
bed was quite a crowded place first thing at ‘opening time’. We enjoyed a birthday morning coffee together before Moira
disappeared for a long, hot bath and I trundled along to Hugo’s again to buy
provisions for tonight’s supper (I ended up deciding to cook something – from
the Anna Jones’ recipe book that Hannah had given her for her birthday). My teeth/plate had been giving lots of trouble recently (some
of the crowns had ‘slipped’ exposing the pegs etc… and one of the front
crowns/pegs felt very weak – and meant I could hardly bite/chew anything) and
so I managed to book a dental appointment for next Tuesday (with some
trepidation… and the prospect of likely expense!). Read some more of my book in the afternoon. We had a birthday zoom chat with Ru+Iris+Rosa after school –
which was good (Iris very pleased to be back at school; Rosa just pleased it
was the weekend!). The birthday supper I cooked (‘saag aloo shepherd’s pie’)
worked reasonably well… but I certainly felt out of practice with trying to
cook unfamiliar recipes (need more practice!). Evening telly: another ‘Art Club’ (so good!). Image: Saag Aloo Shepherd’s Pie (courtesy of Anna Jones).
A slightly strange day (another one!)… no early morning walk
because I’d agreed to accompany Moira to the Eye Hospital (she was still
uncertain/struggling with her knees/hips). So, something of lazy start for me – and even some reading in
bed after I’d finished my breakfast! Usual morning coffee with Moira… which coincided with receipt
of various packages from the postman. Set out for town at 12 noon (Moira’s appointment = 1.15pm,
but needing to appreciate that, due to Covid, there were no waiting areas
available inside the hospital… so timing was quite important. In fact, we’d
taken some lunch with us and enjoyed the rather strange experience of eating
our lunches sitting on a bench in Royal Fort Gardens… in and out of rain showers!
Anyway, Moira’s appointment seemed to go reasonably well (I continued to walk
around RFG while she was ‘being seen’)… and we made in home in one piece. I tried unsuccessfully to book a take-out meal at Souk
Kitchen for tomorrow… so will probably end up cooking something myself). More ‘Hamnet’ reading in the remainder of the afternoon. Evening telly: ‘Repair Shop’ followed the commissioned ‘Landscape
Artist’ painting. Image: Wet flowers growing at RCG.
Pretty uneventful day… felt somewhat flat. Pretty grim weather: drizzle for most of the day and it looks
as if we’re expecting storms over the next couple of days. No early morning walk due to Bloke’s Prayer (everyone in
attendance)… I rather got lost in making sense of some of the conversation. Put together another Spotify playlist (‘music I’d forgotten I
had’ male vocalists) based on my Windows Media Player songs. Exchanged some ‘feedback’ words with Alan after last night
(both had similar thoughts). Read some more of my ‘Hamnet’ book. Watched the rest of ‘In The Loop’ film (based on ‘In The
Thick Of It’)… I’d previously given up watching after 15 minutes initially. Evening telly: ‘McDonald+Dodds’. Image: pre-dawn sky from the bathroom window (from
yesterday).
Went for my usual harbourside walk… just as the sun was
rising. Beautiful morning (despite the cold) and very aware that the sun’s dawn
location in the sky had shifted a fair amount over the past fortnight or so.
Good to be able to walk in the early morning daylight without having to ease my
way through the crowds at the school gate! Usual morning coffee with Moira… talked about the possibility
of ordering food from Souk Kitchen for Moira’s birthday (unsure if you can only
order on the day etc?). Collected our next bookgroup book from Storysmith. Spent some of the afternoon reading my ‘Hamnet’ book. Evening telly: episode 3 of ’Bloodlands’. Enjoyed a 2-hour zoom session with Keith, David and Alan in
the evening (which worked well – despite my initial reservations). Image: Pink lilies sketch.
Took a long dawn walk today… up through Leigh Woods (next to
Rownham Hill) to the suspension bridge, then along North Road and back down to
the Avon towpath and then home. Surprising lack of colour in the woods off
North Road (predominantly brown/grey), apart from the groundcover leaves and
mosses. Quite a grey start to the day… but brightening up by mid-morning. Local
primary school was re-opening after lockdown as I passed – lots of excited
children (and parents!)… made me feel somewhat anxious. Morning coffee with Moira… no real conversation (I felt in a
pretty ‘flat’ mood, for some reason, which lasted throughout the day). I finished my ‘Running’ book (to my great relief – definitely
NOT my kind of book) and scribbled a quick review for my blog. I checked the
‘other’ reviews in various journals etc and was somewhat depressed to see it
had been highly praised and well-received (perhaps by running ‘nerds’?). I did a quick sketch (just a line drawing)of the beautiful
red/pink lilies, but lost patience and didn’t do them justice. I started to watch ‘In The Loop’ film via telly (film version
of ‘In The Thick Of It’), but gave up after 15 minutes. Started reading ‘Hamnet’ (Maggie O’Farrell). Evening telly: Janina Raminez ‘Lost World’ documentary and
then the usual Monday evening stuff ‘Connect’ and ‘Challenge’. Image: Verandah on North Road (with 360deg views).
45 years ago today we became parents for the first time! Fetched and read the newspaper first thing… then morning
coffee, followed by streamed church (which was good – led by Phil and Lee
giving the talk). Read more of my ‘Running’ book. Early lunch followed by Urban Sketching in Norwich (which was
very enjoyable – although I wasn’t altogether happy with my choice of
locations). Walked over to Ru’s to hand over birthday presents and drink
pink gins on the doorstep with her/them. Roast beef dinner! Evening telly: ‘Pottery Throw Down’ semi-final. Image: one of my Norwich sketches.
Morning spent fetching and reading the newspaper… and
watching the cricket (which genuinely painful… with England 150+ runs behind on
first innings and then being all out 135 and losing by an innings and 25
runs!). Watched ‘The Ipcress File’ on telly in the afternoon (which
was good, I thought) and then read some more of ‘Running’ book. Other sport: Villa drew 0-0 at home to Wolves and Bears beat
Worcester 23-24 with a last gasp try! Evening telly: Mary Beard’s excellent ‘Roman Empire’ documentary and ‘Bloodlands’
(with a shocking ending… and still two episodes to go!). Image: Pansies on our front window cill (been in bloom since
October?).
Despite the unpromising weather forecast (but, hey, only
cloudy – NOT rain!), I decided to defer my daily weekday walk until the
afternoon… partly so that I could watch some cricket and partly because I
fancied getting outside to sketch again (when it would apparently be 5 degrees
warmer than the morning!). The first part of this cunning plan didn’t really work out
well… despite a reasonable start by the England bowlers, India finished the day
89 runs ahead with 3 wickets left (Bess was hugely disappointing – no
consistency in line or length etc). Moira and I enjoyed our usual morning coffee – although a
little later than usual (after Moira had breakfasted, bathed and collected
stuff from Boots on North Street). I ended up walking to Pooles Wharf to sketch immediately
after lunch… wearing LOTS of layers, woolly hat, scarf and fingerless glove on
my drawing hand and, fortunately, reasonably sheltered from the wind etc. Evening telly: ‘Art Club’ (which I really do love). Image: Nameless boats at Pooles Wharf
Had originally planned a dawn walk through Leigh Wood/along
the Avon, but it was so grey and dull that I thought better of it… and ended up
just doing my ‘usual’ harbourside circuit. I’d watched a little cricket on the telly very first thing
(and, once again, it was all a bit disastrous as far as England were concerned
- 30-3 when I first tuned in… and ending up all out 205). Noticed a mass of seagulls behaving rather strangely – and then
saw the reason why (it was a drone!). I tried to take some rapid pics but,
sadly, they all came out blurred! Collected a book from StorySmith and some fruit+veg from
Hugo’s… before taking in the Asda delivery just after lunch. Ru worked in the studio from 11am to past 4pm. Went to post office in afternoon to drop off Jeremy’s
pre-paid parcel… it transpired that I was 17th in the queue(!) and
there was just a single cashier operating. Needless to say, it took an AWFUL
long time to get served (if ONLY my package had been small enough to have
posted in the postbox!!). Hey ho! Spoke to Iris by phone towards the end of the afternoon – and
she seemed fine… she’s very much looking forward to returning to school (her
year go back next Wednesday for Covid testing), but has enjoyed meeting up with
individual friends for occasional walks. I also managed to chat to Rosa a
little later (again, she sounded in good form – but was ‘dreading’ going back
to school… we chatted about this and, hopefully, she’s now feeling a little
more positive). Evening telly: ‘McDonald+Dodds’ (crime-solvers!). Image: new beginnings for someone?
Bloke’s Prayer, so no early morning walking (or ANY
walking!). Pretty uneventful day (apart from the Budget – which I didn’t
really ‘follow’). Checked out some possible urban sketching drawing locations
for this coming Sunday… and made some preliminary ‘marks’ (but not brilliant). Read more of my ‘Running’ book in the afternoon… interesting
background/story, but I’m absolutely hating the writing style. Evening Storysmith bookgroup zoom session (discussing Kiley
Reid’s book). Very good to see father Dan there – probably just giving him an
excuse to get out of some household duties! Interesting discussion – most
people enjoyed the book (just a couple of us who had some reservations). Evening telly: ‘Landscape artist’ final. Image: Robert Wyatt stencil by Stewy (at the top of our
road).
Went for my usual harbourside walk first thing… cold and grey.
Just like yesterday, the day brightened up after lunch and there was bright
sunshine. Moira and I enjoyed our usual coffee+chat morning session. The Drawing Group theme for the next fortnight is ‘Spring
Flowers’ and so I decided to sketch our small irises in the garden (too cold to
sketch insitu, I’m afraid – so I cheated!). Nice to receive an email from Dan about tomorrow’s bookgroup
AND that they were now proud parents of son Kip (born on 26 February). Spent a little time putting together a playlist – using old
‘Windows Media Player’ stuff that I’d recently being playing (and had
previously forgotten about)… rather nice to be reminded of lots of lovely old
stuff! In the afternoon, I re-watched ‘This Beautiful Fantastic’
film (from 2016) on catch-up… and very much enjoyed it (again). In the evening, I had another zoom catch-up with Alan – it
was lovely that it was just the two of us. More ‘Running’ reading at bedtime! Image: Garden Irises.
A somewhat different Monday morning… As the weather forecast for the afternoon looked reasonably
bright, I decided on taking the first opportunity of the year for some en plain
sketching! So I ended up pottering about all morning… morning coffee/catch up
with Moira; re-reading my Blurb book text; preparing for Wednesday’s bookgroup
and suchlike. After lunch, I went down to the pharmacy and collected my
prescription medications and then sat down in Bathurst Basin sketching yet more
boats! I was well wrapped up (several layers!) but, in fact, it was actually
quite pleasant in the sunshine. Moira chatted to Alice (she seemed fine) and was informed
that, from now on, Mikey has indicated that he wishes to be known as “Mike”!
That’s quite something for him to decide on after a ‘lifetime’ of being known
as Mikey. Usual Monday evening telly: ‘Only Connect’ and ‘University
Challenge’. Image: First en plein sketch of the year!
