Getting out of town again - a short walk at Shipley

It's been eleven weeks since I've walked anywhere other than around the local housing estate, and I'm getting concerned that I'm not taking enough exercise. There are playing fields and a wood within easy distance of home, but they've been crowded throughout lockdown and anyway I wanted to see proper open fields and countryside. 

Shipley Country Park seemed like a good place to head to - it's generally not busy, especially late in the afternoon of a dull day, and the walk follows a private road with lots of space for passing other folks, rather than the narrow footpaths that have proved a problem in our local wood.

It turned out that a lot of people had perhaps thought the same things, as the car park was busier than I've ever seen it, but there was space enough for everyone and keeping a good distance away from anyone was easy.

I was right about my lack of fitness. The road heads uphill from the car park, not steeply but generally enough to leave me out of breath before it flattens out. This time I had to stop a LOT on the way up!  My legs and lungs have totally got out of the walking habit.

Because of this, I thought it best to cut the walk shorter than usual - up the hill, then a stroll through the beech trees of Horsepool Hill and back down to the car. Even that didn't quite go to plan. The woodland paths were a little slippery, and cautiously making my way downhill I managed to twist a knee, so now I'm intermittently hobbling.

It was good to get out though - to see miles across fields, to walk under trees, and to spot wildflowers growing -especially as this month I'm following the Wildlife Trusts' 30 Days Wild challenge.  As soon as my knee recovers then I'll be off out somewhere again. Life is maybe gradually returning to normal, and I'm more enthusiastic about walking in the countryside than heading to the shops.

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.

30 Days Wild 2020 - week one

The Wildlife Trusts are again running their #30DaysWild initiative to encourage us all to observe and connect with nature and wildness around us. Corona virus lockdown makes things harder this year, but I'm determined to join in, even if it's only from my garden. I can still watch bees around the flowers, spot insects crawling through the grass, take a quiet few minutes forest-bathing under the trees, or just watch the rain pounding on the windows - because typically, after weeks of glorious sunshine, this week has marked the return to more 'normal' weather.
As a sort of warm-up, I persuaded my husband to take part in #nomowMay and leave the lawns alone for a while. As a result I now have a huge patch of daisies instead of plain green grass. Even though some of the high grasses have been cut, these flowers are staying for now. Maybe I'll make daisy chains as one of my wild activities.




I started this week with a different sort of art - making stars from tree and shrub clippings. Something to revisit around Halloween maybe.

A lot of my activities have been rather random - watching a robin hopping about the lawn while I sat in the shade, standing under the shelter of trees and listening to the rain drip and birds sing, and on a walk to the postbox I found honeysuckle flowering high up in a neighbour's tree. Standing under my own trees on a very windy day was more like forest surfing than bathing,




I spotted a goldfinch singing at the top of another's neighbour's leylandii. They don't often come into my garden but I've seen a couple of them around frequently through spring, and I'm hoping they may be nesting nearby. On Friday I nipped outside just before midnight to see the full strawberry moon,

 and Saturday was a round of torrential rain/blue sky and sun, repeated all day.









Sunday was a calmer day, and late afternoon I decided to go out - the first time since lockdown began - for a walk at Shipley Country Park. Spotting wild flowers, and walking under tall, old trees was a wonderfully refreshing change after so long.

Lockdown - week 10: 26th May - 1st June

Another week staying in, keeping clear of everyone, with days slipping into each other. It's been hot and sunny but I've resisted the temptation to go dashing off to the seaside - to be honest the thought of all the other folks heading there is off-putting.

Instead I've sat in the garden, watched the birds splashing in their bath, planted out the last of the beans and tomatoes, and watched things grow.  

I've made time to finish a skirt project which has been sitting around for years, and took a short walk to pick elderflowers for fizz.

This week I've made an effort to cut back on my jigsaw obsession. The number of pieces in an online jigsaw is limited - 300 pieces - and I know they take a little less than an hour. Trying to cut that time turns a restful pursuit into a race, and stops it having any resemblance to mindfulness.

I've spent a lot of time watching live events from Hay Festival via Crowdcast (so many I've given them a whole post  of their own).

I caught this week's National Theatre Live; This House - the story of the beleaguered Labour Government of the mid70s, shown of the point of view of the Whip's offices. It was funny and interesting but I spent a lot of time trying to remember who was who from the politics of that era. 

The week's ended with the loosening of a lot of the lockdown restrictions - 6 people can now meet up outside so long as they maintain 2m distance. This means we can plan to see one daughter and grandson (before he heads back to nursery) but it's still not feasible to visit the other. Hopefully we'll be able to catch up as a family soon.

A week at Hay Festival Digital

I'd been hoping that this year, after a long break, I could visit Hay Festival again. I've been several times before; generally stopping off for a day on the way to or from a half-term holiday in Pembrokeshire, and had vaguely being thinking about going this year, staying in the tent, taking a bit more time to explore the town and surrounding countryside as well as catch some book events.

All year round this small English/Welsh border town is home to dozens of bookshops, but for a week or two at the end of May it plays host to a huge literary gathering. It's what I call a 'proper' book festival - lots of variously-sized tents/marquees for events, shops, food and drink, all gathered in one area. There's no need to buy a ticket - entry to this tented village is free, so you can wonder in and browse the stalls, grab a deckchair and try to spot the celebrities, but obviously going along to hear your favourite author talk about their latest book is the real draw. There's something for everyone from (almost) the smallest toddler to their great great grandma, from comedy to serious thought provoking discussions on the world's and humankind's problems; there are artists and musicians; and everywhere you'll find books. 

My plans came to nothing though, with Hay and similar events having to be cancelled due to corona virus. Fortunately Hay's organisers decided to try this as an opportunity, rather than a disaster, and made the decision to go digital. It's been nothing like the size and scope the actual event would have been, but every day has been filled with interesting talks and discussions. 

I've listened to Maggie O'Farrell talking about Shakespeare, plague and grief with relation to her latest novel Hamnet; watched Jackie Morris, illustrator of The Lost Words, paint and gild a picture of a hare from her studio in Pembrokeshire; increased my knowledge of Chinese history and culture with Michael Wood; revisited the Tudor world with Hilary Mantel, this time from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell and the politics of Henry VIII's court; discovered The Art of Rest with Claudia Hammond; and taken a trip to a taverna on the Greek island of Hydra for music, poetry and to hear about Polly Samson's novel based round the lives of a writers' colony there in the early 60s.

It's been a busy sort of time. I've definitely seen more than if I'd actually been to Hay, though I didn't get to wander down by the river or up in the surrounding mountains.

Lockdown Week 9 - 19th - 25th May

Well, this was the most up-and-down week so far!


I started the week in a positive mood but Wednesday was gloriously sunny - so much so that I sat outside for lunch, then inside but by the window in the afternoon, and got too much sun. As a result, I spent Thursday feeling 'off' and dizzy, and then that night my sleep was disrupted by rain (very welcome), foxes arguing in the street, and then husband's snoring. Argh. I'd just about got back to my normal self when Dominic Cummings' antics took over the media. Seeing people talking online about how they'd stayed home instead of dashing to the sides of their loved ones who were lonely, ill, even dying, while a government adviser did whatever he liked was heartbreaking. I wasn't ever a government supporter but if they could have dropped further in my opinion they just did. I don't suppose they care much though.

Fortunately there were good things this week too.

On Wednesday, I caught a re-working of Ibsen's A Doll's House, from The Lyric  Theatre, Hammersmith with the setting moved to late 1870s Calcutta. Torvald (now Tom) and Dr Rank being British officials, Nora (Niru) and the other characters being Indians. First performed last year, the film had been made solely for the archives, its production values weren't as good as those of specially recorded plays but maybe it was nearer to the actual experience I'd get in a slightly cheaper seat in a real-life theatre.
And Friday night I saw this week's National Theatre Live's offering A Streetcar Named Desire performed at the Young Vic, and starring Gillian Anderson as Blanche. I thought it was brilliant; my husband complained about the rotating set.

This week also saw the start of HayDigital - a way to bring some of the events scheduled for this year's Hay Festival to us all at home. So far I've dropped in to hear Maggie O'Farrell talk about Shakespeare, plague and grief, the inspirations for her latest novel Hamnet, and I've signed up for more later this week.

Monday brought a good ending to the week (despite political goings-on) with a second Folk on Foot Frontroom Festival. I turned in to see Frank Turner and his wife perform but found a lot of new music to delight me - The Unthanks, Kate Rusby,  Johnny Flynn, Richard Thompson, and Eliza Carthy. An excellent way to spend a Bank Holiday (better than crowding a beach somewhere) and round off the week.

Lockdown - Week 8: 12th - 18th May

This week started badly. I didn't thing I'd put much hope in Boris's much talked about announcement at the end of last week, but the let-down I felt afterwards showed that I obviously had been expecting something more. The restrictions on visiting family are particularly mean - we could drive as far as we like, so theoretically to Manchester to see our younger daughter, but then we would have to see her separately, and despite the fact that we've all been staying home we couldn't go into her house. Frustrating and disappointing doesn't cover it.

This mood doesn't seem to have cleared all week. I've got stuck in a rut of idling away the days, achieving little apart from the necessary bits of life, from housework to gardening, and I couldn't settle to my normal 'evenings out' of streamed drama and music; everything just seemed too irrelevant and cheery.

Unlike seemingly the rest of the country, I didn't dash off out on Wednesday, or over the weekend.
Lots of places have reported crowds visiting and I'd rather stay clear of them for now. I did have a sort of outing on Tuesday - to pick up my supermarket click and collect order. The hedgerows were white with mayblossom and horse chestnut flowers, and it was nice to see somewhere other than my garden.

 By weekend though I was realising that I needed to do more than sit around all day. On Saturday I went for a brief walk up to the park and found buttercups and frothy cows parsley (I think). There were definitely less people around than on my previous sorties there, so maybe I'll risk walking there more regularly.

In the garden I've now set up another wigwam for Kentucky Wonder Wax beans. They're yellow-podded, so, all being well, will look stunning next to the purple mangetout peas on the left.

There doesn't seem to be a safe way of the current situation, so I'm trying to regain my former calmness and positive mood, from making time to relax in the garden (rather than just slump in apathy) to focusing on what I'm eating.

Late in the afternoon on Sunday I sat quietly for a while listening to a blackbird sing in the apple tree, and watching as a robin flew to a nesting box on the wall behind me. That evening I made my straight-from-the freezer dinner more interesting with a multi-coloured salad, followed by home-made raspberry sauce (fruit again from the freezer) over ice cream and Greek yogurt.















On Monday I cooked coq au vin with pork chops instead of chicken, so 'cotelettes de porc au vin'. Red wine with pork is unusual but it worked well. These are little things but they've improved my mood, and I'm starting week 9 feeling more upbeat.


I'm taking advantage of events having to move online, so signed up for  Hay Digital Festival which is streaming this week, and I intend to catch part of the folk on Foot festival also taking place this coming weekend. I've been a few times to Hay, and my favourite memory is off sitting in a Tiffany Murray/David Mitchell event while Frank Turner's music drifted over from another tent. Maybe I'll combine the two festivals, and try to recreate that feeling.