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Tuesday 9 June 2020

Lockdown Week 11 - June 2nd - 8th

Time definitely seems to move differently under lockdown, and this has been another week when I seem to have busy all the time but don't really have anything to show for it.
It's also been another up and down week.



With the relaxation of lockdown rules my eldest daughter was able to come and visit, bringing her toddler for a more-or-less socially distanced afternoon in the garden. Neither of them has been out and about during these past few weeks so we judged it okay to meet up now before my grandson heads back to nursery.
My younger daughter lives further away, in an almost-city-centre flat rather than a house-with-garden in the suburbs, and has seen more people, walking to shops or in the park, than the rest of the family, so reluctantly we decided it wasn't really practical or safe to visit for her birthday at the end of the week. Instead we bought presents online, trying to avoid the big guys wherever possible and use small businesses, and joined in via video messaging to see her open her them. Better safe than sorry is still my motto for getting through this period. 


After so many weeks of hardly interrupted sunshine, the weather has turned unpleasant with wind and rain, forcing me to stay indoors, but I've still managed to join in with the Wildlife Trusts' 30 Days Wild, the garden is coming on well with summer flowers opening and fruit ripening, and we've actually started the wallpapering project planned back in March!

I found I've lost some of my enthusiasm for live-streamed gigs. At first I really enjoyed these - they help raise funds for musicians who can't work, and keep me in contact with the music scene - but of late I haven't bothered to watch. Maybe I just saw too many? Certainly I'd never go out to actual gigs as frequently as I've watched them online, so they've stopped becoming an occasional treat. It's going to be a long while before I feel comfortable enough to go to a crowded gig venue so I really ought to make the most of what's available at the moment.

Luckily, live, or at least recorded live, streamed theatre hasn't lost any of its appeal. Friday night is now designated 'theatre night', and this week I watched Tom Hiddleston in the title role of Coriolanus, a National Theatre Live/Donmar Warehouse collaboration. The whole production was brilliant, and Hiddleston amazing
Sunday was time for Romeo and Juliet from the RSC, as part of the BBC's Arts in Quarantine series. We've seen R+J recently from the Globe, back in week 4 of lockdown, and it's always fascinating to see two companies take the same script and interpret it differently. I preferred the RSC version, with Bally Gill and Karen Fishwick in the title roles; my husband said the Globe's version was best.

During these lockdown weeks I haven't ventured out much at all - an occasional walk to the nearby playing fields has been enough - but on Sunday we drove to Shipley Country Park for a proper walk with different views. It was busier than I would expect for a normal overcast day, even at weekend, but the paths are wide and it was easy to avoid people. Getting away from housing and people was great, and I'm wondering where else nearby I could do this regularly.

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