Frugal Friday...

 ...the (hopefully!) final lockdown summary!

It’s been a strange old year hasn’t it - for many, a really stressful one on the money front, with job loss or furlough hitting hard. For others, income has remained stable but spending has dropped drastically as there has simply been little to spend on. We have, perhaps somewhat unusually, seen both sides of this - the first lockdown saw MrEH switched to a three day week for a while with accompanying drop in salary, and me furloughed. Although my furlough has continued, thankfully MrEH’s working hours and money went back to usual a few months down the line. (I say thankfully, that was about the money, less so about the hours!)

On a personal level because I’m still putting the same contribution to our joint account each month, my own disposable income has taken a significant drop. It hasn’t been a major problem as yet because as said, there has been little to spend on - in fact I’ve mostly managed to continue to save at least some money each month, but with things now opening up and even some airshows re-starting, money is going to start feeling rather tighter. I’m hopeful that I might be back working before too long though so fingers crossed there. 

In terms of household spending, most of our essential spending categories have either stayed much  the same (gas bill, council tax, service charge & garage rent, water rates, broadband & phone), increased somewhat (electricity - which we use for heating - and food) or dropped substantially - commuting. Discretionary spending - “fun” money, both joint and personal, and the money we set aside for random weekends away - has dropped hugely, not surprisingly. We set aside money each month to pay towards holidays, and also ongoing car costs, and have continued with this as usual, meaning that quite a surplus has build up in the car account now - this will be used as a lump sum to go towards a replacement car for MrEH as his 55 plate Citroen won’t work for our commute come later in the year. 

One of the things I struggled the most with early last year when the pandemic first hit was the increase in food costs - with our usual £175 per month budget increasing by anything up to £100. Two significant factors to this though - one was shopping more regularly because we switched to mainly making shopping trips on foot rather than using the car, and the other was undoubtedly buying beer for home drinking in the supermarket, as well as placing online orders direct with breweries we wanted to support on an occasional basis also. It was inevitable it was going to happen - we’d usually eat out at least once a week, often more if we had a beer festival meeting or a day out with friends, but of course usually that money would be taken from either the “fun” spending budget or from our personal accounts. Similarly with beers - we would usually drink at the rugby club at least once over a weekend, and if not that, then chances are we’ll be off somewhere with friends. 

As a  Household, we fall roundly into the section of the U.K. that has actually managed to stash extra into savings over the period of the pandemic. During those first months when we were on a really reduced income, had we still had a mortgage it would however have been a very different picture - I’ll not be apologising for THAT though because we worked hard and went without things previously to pay it off early - this recent period of time more than any other goes to truly prove the benefit of that decision too. Personally I’ve unsurprisingly not been able to continue with my usual savings - although I have managed to continue to save some amounts here and there. The one area of my savings that does currently look quite healthy is my airshow savings account as I have managed to keep feeding a bit of money here and there to that, and of course it’s seen a lot less ticket purchases, accommodation bookings etc as well. The unusually high monthly surplus from the joint account will gradually start to reduce again now as things ease back towards normality though - but the extra money in savings and the fact that we’ve been able to do things like a rather longer Christmas Hebrides trip, and our recent week away in Cornwall as an “extra” trip is at least some consolation for all the things we’ve had cancelled because of the Covid situation. 

We made a couple of large purchases in the year, but both already had the money set aside for them and have been balance transferred onto 0% cards to keep the money sitting in our accounts for as long as possible - for what THAT’s worth. There are however some early signs that interest rates for savings might be beginning to creep back up slightly - fingers crossed. The refunded money for our cancelled Lundy trip from last year has also been safely stashed away ready to cover the costs when we need to pay out for the rebooked date. 

Hopefully you are also in the category of feeling financially, if not mentally better off after the last year. Maybe you’ve managed to pay off some additional debt, or knock a bit extra off a mortgage, or perhaps like us you’re just feeling an added degree of security from a bit extra in savings. If not, and you are feeling the pinch, then please do remember that help always just a click away at the Money Saving Expert forums, or from the various free debt advice charities. 

Robyn 

Good news!

 

A highlight of our week away was centred on some news from rather a long way away from Cornwall - in fact rather than the extreme south-west of England, this referred to the extreme north west of Scotland. With lockdown easing happening across the UK, many in the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland among others had been bitterly unhappy that while everywhere else was being given at least a rough “roadmap” around what was predicted to happen with travel in their areas, on the subject of travel to Scottish Islands all that was being heard was a deafening silence. t one stage the suggestion was made that the islands could have an earlier relaxation of restrictions around the hospitality industry in exchange for a delayed return to travel - unsurprisingly it was somewhat sarcastically pointed out that there is precious little point in being able to open hotels etc if nobody is allowed to travel to use them... Many island accommodation providers were experiencing existing bookings cancelling in their droves as people, unsure whether they were going to be able to travel, opted for a mainland holiday instead. We were facing similar uncertainty, but fortunately were in the lucky position of being able to book the Cornish trip in part in case our planned Hebrides visit was unable to go ahead - many others aren’t in that position. 

Finally, last week, an announcement was made by the First Minister that on 26th April all travel restrictions would be removed - between Scotland and England AND between mainland Scotland and the Islands - a huge relief not only to us and many others with trips booked, but also to the huge number of islanders who rely on visitors being able to actually visit to keep their heads above water. 

From our perspective, having just returned from one holiday we’re now in the slightly odd position of preparing for another one! It feels rather decadent, but we’re refusing to feel guilty about it - booking the Cornish trip was absolutely the right thing to do, and we had a fabulous time. The last year has been ludicrously tough for almost everyone, and us as much as anyone else, and it definitely feels like the right thing to do to ensure that we grab chances to do stuff now while we can, in part to make up for all the disappointments of so much being cancelled previously. In other “things to look forward to” plans, I have also started getting some more airshows booked - Max and I are teaming up to do another Shuttleworth show, and I have also booked an event at Duxford as well as taking out a years membership there. I’ve got a few more shows in mind to book too, although it does seem unlikely that many of the big seafront shows will go ahead this year. 

Here’s to future plans then - at this rate I’ll need to buy a diary! 

Robyn

Smokin’...😁

Saturday was inevitably always going to be a slightly odd day. With the funeral for the Duke of Edinburgh happening in the mid afternoon, and us both not exactly “wanting” to watch it, but feeling as though it was too historically significant not to, as well as being somehow respectful, we took the decision to get out fairly early to be able to pack as much into the earlier part of the day as possible. 

First stop was a favourite spot - the Basset Monument at Carn Brea. We tend to park down just outside Carnkie village and walk up - it’s a nice, if uneven walk, and a fairly gentle way to cover the 300ft of climb to the top. It also has truly stunning views almost all the way up, but when you get to the top you can see fully to the sea across Redruth and Camborne, just beautiful! 

 From there, we headed to Ponsanooth, where, in a little unit tucked away behind a rather impressive railway viaduct the Dynamite Valley Brewery can be found. During our week we’d made efforts to track down plenty of good Cornish beer from various different breweries, but the Dynamite Valley Black Charge that we bought a bottle of from the village shop in Coverack stood out as something rather special. It also came with a voucher for a free half pint of beer at the “Beer cafe” at the brewery, which just happened to have its first day reopened since lockdown on Saturday...! 

So we had some beer - just the half pint for me because I was driving, but MrEH sampled one of each of the three beers they were serving. And then, because we needed to eat somewhere, and the offerings from “The Aussie Smoker” on site sounded rather outstanding...

As you can see, they didn’t disappoint, either! That is chicken, cheese, bacon, spinach, and some rather incredible barbecue sauce stuffed into a tasty roll, with truly excellent seasoned fries. Well worth the £10 price tag, and I for one was completely stuffed when I (finally!) managed to finish mine! We also left the brewery having purchased two cases of their beer, which will help to keep us going for a while back at home. 

From there it was back to the house to turn on the TV and be ready for the National minute’s silence at 3pm. It was strange, honouring that while looking out over a beach with children and adults playing happily, although I was pleased to see that it did quieten down noticeably in the run up to the silence. In common with the majority of the country I found the sight of Queen Elizabeth sitting alone in the chapel heartbreaking - it’s impossible for almost any of us to really understand quite how bereft she must have been feeling, with the man she had loved for over 80 years no longer by her side. Sad also that she was unable to receive the comfort that her children in particular must have been quite desperate to give, due to the restrictions still in place around Covid. I’m sure though that she would be the first to say that it is no more than so many others across the country have gone through in the past year. 

Robyn

A room (house!) with a view...

 On Sunday we packed up the car and, early in the evening, left to drive the 300+ miles down to Cornwall where we had, several months previously, booked a stay in the hope that lockdown would be sufficiently eased by now to allow us to take it. Originally booked to start on the 10th, we had to cancel the first two days as the easing to allow stays away from home wasn’t in place until Monday, however the chap we’re letting the house from kindly agreed that we could get in here for just after 00.00hrs on Monday in order to maximise the time we still had while still staying firmly within what the law allows. 

Obviously we arrived in the dark, but on getting up on Monday morning “proper” this was the view that greeted us...

Pretty stunning, eh? It’s SUCH an amazing view it’s actually quite hard to tear yourself away from it - and indeed that was one of the considerations when I booked, that if we did have dodgy weather and wanted to be outside less then at least we’d still have plenty to look at from the house. In fact the weather so far has been superb, and exploring aplenty has happened! 

We’ve been to Cornwall a few times before - I holidayed here as a child with Auntie D & Uncle B, and MrEH and I have camped at a rather glorious site near Camborne several times. I of course also spent a night at Lands End whenI took part in the inaugural LighthouseRun road rally back in 2004 (?) but one of my favourite spots in the county is undoubtedly even further south, at Lizard Point. The ruined boathouse in the picture above, and probability of seeing the lovely Cornish Chough, and the fact that it is the most southerly point on the U.K. mainland (and that it is generally FAR quieter than the better known Lands End with its hotel and “end to end” connections) all combine to make it somewhere that if down here I always try to visit. 

Tuesday saw a trip to Truro which included a walk along a disused railway line overlooking the river, and then a second walk at Goonhilly Downs NNR - a landscape almost Hebridean in type, with gorse, heather and heathland. Very familiar but also very different as it is almost completely flat, and also peppered with remains of old WWII buildings and installations. A really interesting place to explore! 

Right now breakfast beckons, so I’ll leave you with that taster of our first couple of days (and for those wondering, yes we most certainly HAVE made it back into a pub or two already!) and will post again later on or tomorrow with a few more pictures. For now though, I’ll leave you with another shot from the “House with a view” 

Robyn. 

First taste of freedom...!

Monday 29th March saw the much awaited first significant easing of Lockdown in England, with the “Stay Home” rule being dropped, and recreational travel allowed once more. As always, word of mouth reporting and “he said/she said” rhetoric has caused some confusion, with individuals claiming that there is still a rule in place that people must stay local and that this is not due to change until early April. In fact the government website makes it clear that further to Monday there is no further easing of travel restrictions to be made - the only further significant change of this type being the ruling that you can stay away from home with your household from 12th April - something we are planning to make good use of, but more on that another time! 

“The Jurors” artwork - Runnymede

The rule change meant that Wednesday saw me able to head down to Runnymede in Surrey. The Red Arrows were making a flypast over the Air Forces Memorial to commemorate the Centenary of the Royal Australian Air Force and I decided that the National Trust parkland down there would be nice to combine a bit of a walk and an explore of an area I’d not visited in years, with a sighting of my favourite little red jets! The weather sadly wasn’t the best, but I had a thoroughly enjoyable few hours wandering round, looking at artworks and memorials, climbing hills and finally getting a quick look at the jets as they roared overhead. 

Thursday was another trip out - this time my first visit to a Scampton in almost 6 months. Thinking about it, I reckon this is my longest gap between visits since February 2014! The weather, again, didn’t quite play ball, although the third flying slot in the afternoon did finally deliver a snippet of blue sky here and there... 

“Flat heart” - spot the 3 jets! 

...one fully flat and two at least part rolling displays though, and frankly I was just delighted to be out in the open (and it must be said, quite cold!) air, to see Claire for the first time in an age, and actually get some quality time with my camera, too! 

And of course, this view just NEVER gets old! I’m trying to work on some new techniques for shooting the individual jets like this - but it will require a bit more time to really work on I think - hopefully might lead to some different perspectives from the shots I have got previously once I’ve spent some time working through angles and methods though!

It feels so nice just to be back to actively planning things again - after a full year and more of having been reluctant to really plan much because of the near certainty of disappointment when cancellations happen, starting to get some dates in the diary again feels great! 

Robyn 

This week...

Marked a year of morning walks, of no commuting, of both the opportunity to learn so much more about our local area, and also the time to get slightly fed up with being limited, so much of the time, to walking around the same old streets...

This week was also the one where I realised I really did have to listen to my body and take a step back on the fitness stuff, particularly strength workouts. Last weekend everything ached - not unusual, but usually something that has retreated again after a couple of light activity days over the weekend. I got up on Monday after a rotten nights sleep -  I woke in the night and struggled to get comfortable. My knees hurt, my back ached. After a minor internal battle I decided that it was not going to be a good day to do a strength workout - “I’ll do this weeks’s on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, instead...” Tuesday morning dawned - better, but still not great. Time to re-evaluate. I do get periods of time like this anyway - it comes with the perimenopausal territory. The knees aren’t helped by not being able to run either, and each time I think that interlude is drawing to a close, my foot starts hurting again and tells me otherwise. Frustrating. 

I’ve stepped back entirely from my usual strength stuff this week, just done one lower intensity style one this morning.Walks have also generally been a bit shorter. Yoga, stretching and foam rolling are all ongoing - that stuff is all good. It’s taken much of the week but I am now finally starting to feel as though I’m getting back to normal. 

 This week has also seen the first day this year where it was *just* warm enough to sit outside for my breakfast. We got the balcony deck tiles and furniture out of the garage again a couple of weeks ago, but it’s not been warm enough any day until now to make full use of it. My hour sitting in the sunshine yesterday morning was an absolute joy, though! 

Robyn 

One year on...

23rd March 2020 - Blue skies and new growth...

This time last year I was at work, in the office, in East London, as I would usually have been 4 days per week for the previous few years. Things were definitely a little strange though - from the note on the door asking for people to respect distancing if they needed to come in, to the fact that the pub across the road was closed in the middle of the day, to the fact that buses passing by were distinctly emptier than would be usual, and to the fact that ALL that was being talked about was Coronovirus, Covid-19 as it was beginning to  be known. 

I commuted in to London that morning in the car as usual, but alone, rather than with MrEH - he was working from home as the underground was by then being seen as simply too high-risk unless people actually had to use it. It was a strange commute too - very little traffic on the motorway, I travelled in in pretty much record time, and looking back my Fitbit records tell me that I had time for a 40 minute walk before heading to the office for my 9am start! Already many people had switched to home working, or at the least commuting earlier or later than the standard "rush hour" times. 

It was announced during the day that the regular Government news briefing with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Sir Patrick Vallance and Chris Whitty - those last two having already gone from unheard of by most to household names in the space of the previous week or so - would be held later than the previous 5pm times - it was obvious that it was going to be a significant one. Speculation around it varied between those claiming it was going to be "you're not allowed to leave home at all" through to "we'll be allowed to go to work but that will be all" and just about everything in between - but I think most people realised that some form of lockdown was coming, it was just a case of when...

I'd been bringing files home to work on if it became necessary for a while - for the benefit of those who know the environment I work in, I should explain that these were old files ready for destruction, not current client files! At 5pm on that Monday I filled the car boot with the latest batch, said "see you tomorrow" to D, and drove home. Again - a super-quiet commute, it felt more like a Sunday morning than a Monday rush-hour! 

I suspect most of the UK population were sitting in front of TV's or radios at 8pm that evening, and honestly, by that stage, the announcement of Lockdown from the beginning of the following day came as no surprise. "If you can work from home, you must" didn't seem quite clear - although I had *some* work I could do at home, realistically it wasn't enough that I could fill my usual working day doing it. The partners can deal with most things remotely - phone calls are diverted and our phone system means that they can each have their own calls directed straight to their usual telephone wherever they plug it in. I usually answer the "switchboard" calls, but they automatically divert from the switchboard phone if it's not answered inside 3 rings anyway, to account for lunchbreaks, and Fridays. Some of the online form filling was easy enough to do remotely on the laptop, but other things really needed access to current files, which obviously I couldn’t have other than in the office. Was I covered by "can work from home" in real terms? D and I texted back and forth, unsure at first. Then it was announced that a list of businesses which were deemed as allowed to be open would be published, and expanded on with more details over the following 24 hours - a look at the list confirmed that indeed our business type did not feature, and that was that, we agreed that working from home commenced for us from the Tuesday morning. 

I remember sitting there that evening feeling entirely terrified at the idea of not being allowed to go out. It felt like being imprisoned every bit as much as if someone had come along and put bars over the windows and doors. In "normal" times I get at least a short walk before work, even if only a slightly longer loop than the straight-line path from car to office. I walk at least a mile, usually a bit more, each lunchtime. after work I would either walk or run locally to the office, or walk to the gym, while waiting for MrEH to come and meet me for our journey home. At weekends we would be out and about all over the place. In short, it was a rare day when I would leave the house to get out in the fresh air only once, or not at all. I need activity, fresh air and movement for my mental health - I have known this for years now, so the thought of having that restricted was extremely difficult to get my head around. In some ways one consolation was that there were plenty of others feeling the same, that did feel supportive and "we're all in this together" even in the face of others either making it clear they planned to ignore the new rules, or lecturing those struggling with the concept of what impact the rules would have on them personally with "well we have to protect people"..!

Robyn.

One year on...

 Friday 20th March 2020. By now things were escalating fast. Schools had mostly switched to remote learning for as many pupils as possible - and the gym I use, attached to a school, had been closed for several days - had it not been I don’t think I would have felt comfortable using it, by that stage. Our office was open but along with many others in the area we had a notice on the door asking people to phone for assistance if possible, and if not, to come in but keep distance from D and myself, inside. The other partner in the firm, R, had already switched to working remotely and it now seemed inevitable that some form of official “work from home” instruction would be issued before too long. D and I were preparing for this - there is a limited amount of my work that I can do remotely but I was working frantically to gather together as much as I could, indeed, working on a Friday when usually I would be off. MrEH who has no choice but to travel into central London on the Underground to his office had already begun WFH - telling his employers the day before that he wasn’t willing to take that risk any more, they agreed. Over the four days of the week that he did travel in the morning trains had got progressively less busy, but the evening commutes still features full to bursting carriages, prompting his decision. 

By now the Government had started holding daily televised press briefings at 5pm - these began on 16th March and at the time were by far the best way of getting an accurate picture of how things were unfolding. Frustratingly though - and this frustration continued throughout the year - on almost every occasion things were leaked in advance. On this Friday, the hot-take during the day was that pubs, bars and restaurants were to be told that they were to close from 9pm that day, with no date set when they might be allowed to reopen. MrEH exchanged notes with a few rugby club pals and it was agreed that we’d meet at the club that evening, to help them with drinking the stock they had in, and also to get what was feeling as though it might be our last chance for a while for some socialising... 

At the club, people were being respectful of distancing - there weren’t the usual hugs and handshakes being exchanged which felt a little odd, but I think everyone realised it was necessary by then. It felt strange not knowing when we’d be back there again but at that point I think it was fair to say that nobody really expected it would be more than a few months at the most, time to get the “pesky virus” under control and then back to normal, surely? As 9pm approached Di, behind the bar, called last orders - which definitely felt significant! 

Robyn.

One year on...

 We’re now into that odd territory of “this time last year...” - past the point when we’re looking back at things being normal, that had to all intents ceased by early March - and now into the area where things had begun to close down. Most schools had already begun to discuss a possible switch to remote learning, shops and offices in the area I work in had begun to take precautions after it became apparent that the virus was starting to take hold. Pubs and bars had mostly switched to asking customers to use contactless payments rather than cash, and it was rapidly becoming apparent that they would in turn be instructed to close sooner rather than later. 

Greathead Shield - Moorgate Station.

On 1st March last year we did a Hidden London visit to Moorgate in the morning, followed by another of our “underground-overground” walks - from Liverpool Street to Leyton, ending up with the traditional pint in a handy pub. Lunch was grabbed en-route from Brick Lane market - which was busy, and I can’t recall feeling particularly uneasy about being in the crowds at that stage. There was never any suggestion that the  Moorgate tour would be cancelled either, although I do have a feeling that may have been the last weekend that the tours went ahead.  From that weekend things really did start to ramp up though - CAMRA announced soon after that all meetings and social events would either be cancelled or would take place “virtually”, and the likelihood of other social plans being cancelled had also started being discussed. Premier league football had announced that it was suspending its season, and the Rugby 6-nations was abandoned part way through the tournament with the remaining games to be played “in due course” - they were eventually completed in October.

This day a year ago was notable for two reasons - firstly it was the day that NHS England announced it was cancelling all non urgent operations to free up beds for tackling the virus. Hindsight now suggests that as much as anything else it was the staff that they wanted to free up, as by that time they were likely aware that the beds that would be required would not be standard hospital beds, but rather ICU and high dependency ones. The second was that it was the last time I went to the gym! I remember it being really quiet, and also making a point of washing my hands thoroughly on arrival and before leaving, but not feeling particularly wary or uncomfortable about being there - possibly because it WAS so quiet. 

I think even at this stage last year it was impossible to truly envisage what was ahead, and certainly I don’t believe any of us could have imagined that we’d still be dealing with it a full 12 months on! 

Robyn 

This month...

 The month started in the Hebrides - the last day of our trip before the ferry back to the mainland the next day. 

Our original plan had been to travel back by ferry across to Skye, stay in Falkirk overnight taking the chance to visit The Kelpies - which I have never managed to see - then home the following day, however, before we’d even arrived in the islands at the start of the trip that plan had to change due to new travel restrictions being introduced from Boxing Day. 

After a long drive here me we returned to our first taste of the delights of covid tier 4, not far off lockdown but with schools being planned to open as usual after the Christmas break, and with no restrictions on leaving home for exercise. Within a few days though it was all change again as we were plunged back into full national lockdown for the third time. 

My main aims for the month were around movement and fitness - I decided to join in with Alice Liveing’s January challenge - a programme of workouts designed to build strength, as well as looking to get as many miles as possible under my belt for my first distance challenge of the year - the “Walk the Thames” challenge at 214 miles. To balance the strength and the walking I also decided to also do the Yoga With Adriene 30 day challenge - titled “Breath”. 

I always knew with Alice’s challenge I probably wasn’t going to be able to keep up with her pace of workouts - 4 strength sessions a week is really too much for me, my muscles just don’t recover that fast! I did  manage 11 sessions though and certainly felt the difference from the beginning to the end of the month. I’ll be continuing to work through the remaining workouts to finish the challenge next month. The yoga was a real challenge for me - I’ve tried Adriene’s practises before and struggled - partly as I always felt that her explanations of the poses and transitions weren’t that easy to follow, and partly because she was just a bit too “yoga” for me - and yes, there is certainly still a quite high degree of “woo” to deal with!  Having done a bit more yoga now though I found the cues far easier to follow, and by half way through the month I was really starting to enjoy a lot of it. I’ve noticed a lot of difference in things like my strength in holding some poses, and also my balance too, as well as in my flexibility. I’ve done 23 days and will do the remaining ones from the challenge over the next week. I managed to walk almost every day - mostly in the mornings on weekdays doing anywhere between 5 and 7 miles. By the time some additional walks to the shops were included, I clocked up 178.5 miles which I’m pretty pleased with - it means I should have my challenge wrapped up inside the next week.

Another month of lockdown has certainly been challenging - but at the very end of the month a small light at the end of the tunnel (literally!) appeared in the shape of the scaffolders turning up to remove the scaffolding we’ve been surrounded with since November. As always it comes down far faster than it went up - by the end of Wednesday we had daylight flooding back in to the kitchen, bathroom and spare room (aka MrEH’s office) and by mid afternoon on Friday the front room and bedroom were also flooded with light once more. The sheer delight of being able to look out and see the sky again is indescribable! 

So here we head into February - it will be more of the same really I think, with the addition of starting my second week of jury service tomorrow as well - and it sounds like this week we might actually spend rather more time at the court. 

Robyn

This week...

 

The power of blogging proves its worth once again - what you see above is the front cover of the photo book I’ve put together with loads of memories from a 6 year period using photos from my phone. I started it within minutes of my blog post the other day, and have sent it to print today. In true frugal fashion I also found a 50% off code too which allowed me to make a decent sized book at a really quite sensible price. 

Also this week, lots more walking, 4 more of Alice Liveing’s challenge workouts, and yoga each day. I’m getting more used to the Yoga with Adriene stuff now, and have actually enjoyed some of this week’s practises, but I’m not convinced I’ll ever make a committed yogi! The Alice workouts this week have been tough but not unbearably so - and thank goodness I have been far less stiff after these than the first one last week! I’ve now covered just over 83 miles of tracked walking this month which I’m pretty pleased with - it means I’m firmly on track for breaking the back of my 214 miles virtual Thames Path challenge before even getting to February. I’m also about to sign up for another of the RAF Museum challenges too - this one is on a rather longer timescale than any of theirs I have done before as it runs through until May, and also has several different distance options. Allowing that I will be combining walking and running anyway, I’ve decided to sign up for the longest - 500km, and I’m also planning some fundraising alongside it. 

The freezers are definitely looking emptier - although there will be a bit of an influx of additions tomorrow as it is farmers market Saturday. Although due to lockdown the market is not operating in the usual way this month, the regular stall holders are working on a click & collect basis, and we’ve placed orders with three that we like to buy from - 2 lamb breasts and a couple of packs of liver from Highbury Farm Lamb, bacon and sausages from Great Garnetts, and sliced haslet and some of Catherine’s rather wonderful beef and horseradish sausage rolls from Foxholes. All three local small businesses that do excellent produce. Tomorrow will also be meal planning day, and so will orchestrate the use of lots more of currently frozen items through next week. I’ve not made bread this week as we plan to breakfast on the bread items that we already have in the freezer - bagels and the leftovers from previous weeks bread - those always get frozen for future use, they toast perfectly using the frozen setting in our toaster! 

So all in all things are running along quite smoothly - lockdown this time is definitely feeling less stressful than the first one, I suspect due to a combination of the time of year (it’s less appealing to want to spend lots of time outside when the weather is cold, damp and grey) and also that I’m more aware of the challenges it creates this time and so am dealing with them before they really cause problems. A little self care definitely goes a long way!

Robyn

This week....

 

The week started of course with our trip back from the Hebrides - a 17 hour door to door epic from cottage to ferry to home. Would have been better without the liberal applications of ice that the roads in both South Uist and the Highlands had gained, but ran reasonably smoothly. 

Obviously the big news of the week is being back in Lockdown. Not in any way a surprise, but still a big blow to deal with at the start of the week. In some ways it’s almost a relief - numbers are completely out of control here. It now actually feels as though the majority of people round here are taking things seriously - which is a relief as that was definitely not the case when we went away! 

I’ve managed a fair amount of walking - my monthly total so far stands at 41 miles which is decent for 8 days in. I’m still hoping to be able to add some running but right now that’s looking less than hopeful. I’ve also started the Alice Liveing challenge as planned - with a lower body workout on Tuesday and upper body on Wednesday. As of now my muscles are still screaming and there was no chance of me doing any more this week! Next week will hopefully be better! I’m also 4 days in to the Yoga With Adriene challenge - It really is all a bit “woo” for my tastes, but I’m hanging in there! 

I’ve probably made the most progress this week in remembering to treat myself kindly. I’ve spent some time journaling - talking through on paper a situation that has been ongoing for a few years, and that I am now able to draw to a conclusion. It’s something that has proved that I was right to trust my instincts - something which I often doubt. I’ve let go of the idea that I need to be being productive and busy all the time - that’s simply not a practical aim after 10 months of this, and setting stupidly high expectations and then being disappointed when I didn’t (couldn’t) meet them was contributing to the mounting stress and anxiety I was feeling before Christmas. 

Tomorrow we’ll be putting together our meal plan for next week - aiming to make a good impact on the freezer levels. Food this week has been mostly to plan aside from a pasta bake taking the place of Bolognese last night - it served to use up lots of the cheap veg we got at the weekend and was entirely delicious! 

So far, so good! Let’s see what the next week brings!

Robyn

You’re not alone...

 

Just after dawn - Lochboisdale, South Uist. 

It’s odd, but lockdown this time initially felt somehow easier to cope with than the first time round. Maybe because we’ve done it all before, we know how it all works? Perhaps because the time of year makes it easier - shorter days, less daylight, colder and more likelihood of rainy days. It felt brutal being told we could only go out once a day for exercise in the spring, and yes, it turns out that rule has made a reappearance this time too, probably because with the “you can meet with one other person from outside of your household” aspect they want to prevent people from going out half a dozen times during a day for exercise with 6 different people. At this time of year though when being cosy indoors feels like more of an attraction? Somehow not *quite* so difficult. 

Undoubtedly though there are still challenges. Oddly enough when you’re told that you can only go out once a day for exercise it makes it far more likely that you start to feel cooped up and claustrophobic. We’ll be doing our morning walks as usual most days, sometimes I may add a run on to the end of those once MrEH has started working, and there will inevitably be odd errands to do on other days in the week too, where possible I’ll probably try to save up those for days when I need to get out a second time as I feel more comfortable making a second trip out for an allowed reason rather than simply going for a second bout of exercise - although if that is needed for mental health reasons, and allowing that I won’t be meeting anyone else or using my car, I will do that free of guilt. The scaffolding means that natural light indoors is incredibly limited and we have to have lights on for much of the day - at the best of times I struggle through the winter with the shorter days, unsurprisingly the scaffold is definitely not helping with that! Through November and December I dealt with it effectively by just going out for multiple walks most days. I was also able to run regularly through most of that time, which has a huge positive effect on me. By the time we went away though I was really starting to struggle - the combination of a period of time not running because of injury, combined with limited time outside due to quarantining ahead of the Hebrides trip - the two week reset was pretty much essential and hugely beneficial. I came back feeling I could cope with the unknown that was Tier 4 life, and now lockdown too. 

If you’re struggling then do know that you’re not alone, and there are so many resources out there that can help - the most straightforward of which is simply talking to someone. If you have nobody close to you that you feel is right to chat to about how you’re feeling, there are telephone options such as The Samaritans - but the key thing is to tackle things before they get worse. Know your triggers, and be aware if they rear their heads. Social media can be one for me - most usually Twitter. When the negativity on there gets too much I either stop looking altogether for a few days or simply retreat into notifications. Facebook has an incredibly useful “mute for 30 days” feature which can tackle those who you feel uncomfortable about  (or it’s “politically awkward”) unfriending. Remember on Instagram you can delete comments, and restrict other accounts in how they interact with you too. Twitter too has both mute and block functions too - using both liberally can make a huge difference in the feel of your timeline! Know your coping mechanisms too - and use them. This WILL end - the vaccine is the light at the end of the tunnel, but rather like the longer, warmer days of spring, it’s still just a little way away from making the vital difference. 

Robyn 

Missions underway...

 

Completely unrelated Highland sunset...

2021 missions have started off with intent. 25 miles walking done so far this month - I’ll be aiming to increase that daily average a bit yet but that’s a decent enough start. I’ve also done a strength workout and a yoga session today (albeit the yoga overran on the timings I was expecting which meant poor MrEH got his lunch break delayed by 10 minutes - oops!) My rough plan is to make tomorrow another workout/yoga day, with a similar amount of walking to today, then Thursday will be increased walking but no strength work - I suspect I might be aching by then! I’ll still be planning to fit some yoga or mobility work in though. Friday will be back to strength work again. Weekends will mostly feature walking and some stretching but no actual workouts - on the days MrEH isn’t working I’d rather focus on spending quality time with him. 

The mission to start eating our way through the freezers will take a bit of time to gain momentum as this week’s food was already planned before we came up with that one, but I have decided to also expand that to include using up other odds and ends as well - tonight’s stir-fry used the last spoonful out of a jar of Spicy Malaysian Relish. The meal plan will in itself also attack the freezers - liver and onions one night, spaghetti Bologna’s another, a fry up on Friday night (partly to use up the last of the Stornoway black pudding bought while we were away) very likely some fruit purée will come out to add to a rice pudding or perhaps turn into a crumble one day over the weekend... I like this kind of meal planning - it forces me to stop and think, and to be more inventive. Ironically enough if it facilitates the purchase of a whole lamb then that will do exactly the same as I come up with ideas to use the various different cuts, not to mention the various bits of offal. I enjoy these sorts of challenges as regular readers will know! Later this week I’ll start planning what we’ll be eating next week - and that is when the impact will really start being made. 

We’ve now had confirmed that we’re going to be in Lockdown until at least mid February, and realistically probably the beginning of March. The only thing I have in my diary in all that time is that I have been called for Jury Service again - which I’m actually rather looking forward to. I was called before in 2007 - served and really enjoyed my two weeks and then got called back for a further week which I served at the Coroners Court - which was incredibly traumatic. I’d be very reluctant to do that again although my understanding is that having done it once, they are very much open to you asking politely not to be sent there again. I’m currently summonsed to report to the Crown Court as before anyway - although I suspect the experience may be rather different this time round. 

Robyn 

Here we go again...

 

Loch Eynort - South Uist

...back into lockdown. #Lockdown3 in fact - so we know how it works. Same rules as before - stay at home unless you need to go out for a short list of acceptable reasons. Exercise is not limited this time thank goodness unlike the first time round - seems they learned their lesson from that! In this area it will be little different to the tier 4 restrictions we have been under (although in our case personally only for 2 days since we got back from the Islands). Our local schools were remaining closed anyway because of our severely high case numbers locally, they will now stay closed for longer though. 

So - MrEH is back to the spare room tomorrow (I’ve not banished him, it’s just where the computer is!) and I’m back to trying to fill 7 or so hours a day. I’m going to try to be better this time about pressuring myself to be productive all the time, and feeling guilty when I perceive I’ve not achieved that. We still currently have our home surrounded in scaffolding, and right now the lack of natural light indoors is more than enough to deal with, without beating myself up around what I “should” be doing. I also need to continue to limit my running thanks to the foot problem I mentioned before, which is frustrating. So - instead, I’m going to focus on fitness and strength. And on getting the miles covered for my distance challenge too - I’m nearly 20 miles in already so that’s going reasonably. Alice Liveing is doing another series of strength workouts, as is Lucy Mountain on the NOBS group, and I think I’m going to take a look at the Yoga with Adriene 30 days challenge too - I have struggled with her stuff in the past but I’m more used to following the cues for the various moves now, so we’ll see how that goes. That also fits in well with my ongoing aim at doing plenty of flexibility work. 

I’ve also got photos to work through (including some from while we were away) and might even try to get out and about with the camera for some wildlife / local stuff too. I want to do some journaling, and some blogging too - but above all the focus is going to be on self-care stuff, not on guilt and feeling like I need to be in a constant treadmill of getting things done. 

Let’s see how this goes, shall we?! 

Robyn 

2020 Won...

 (Oh yes - didn’t it just!) I loved this take on the new year number when a friend mentioned it last week - the play on words just seemed so apt! 

The symbol of 2020 seen on the first day of 2021!

So here we are at the start of another year,  a traditional time for looking both back and forwards at the same time, although I think a lot of people would agree that just shutting the door on 2020 would be what most folk would prefer to do. I’m a bit undecided on that - it was a pretty crap year in so many respects - being unable to do the things, and spend time with the people that most of us choose to usually. Having our everyday freedoms restricted for the good of everyone as a whole - and the frustration of watching others kick against those restrictions because they feel that their rights trump everyone else’s. Having events cancelled, seeing so many people struggling with disappointment after disappointment- and indeed feeling that struggle ourselves. If we’re honest though - I bet most of us have learned a lot from the last 9 months or so. From my perspective I have enjoyed the time I’ve gained - just small things initially like not having to do battle with the traffic on the M11 daily. The difference in MrEH too - while the drop in income caused by my furlough and his three day week early in the original Lockdown was problematic on one level, those two days each week were something we treasured and tried to make good use of. Also the opportunity to explore our local area far more than we ever had done before - we’ve walked round almost every area of the town now and a I have even resurrected my documentary “Recording Harlow” blog as a result. Feeling a greater sense of community too - although sadly a lot of that didn’t seem to last long beyond the end of the lockdown.

Some things have also surprised me too - how well I coped with the restrictions of the first lockdown, and being unable to leave the house for exercise more than once each day for example. Having to make the choice between a walk with MrEH and a head-clearing soo run was often really difficult but I managed it pretty much throughout. Also quite how much this definite introvert has missed socialising. With friends scattered across the country, and so much of our socialising involving beer festivals, pubs, and the rugby club, plus for me airshows of course, we had our options to socialise completely ripped away - and that continues now. Zoom took the place of meeting the gang at beer festivals, and socially distanced chats with rugby club pals whilst walking locally became the go-to places to catch up on the news. I didn’t miss things like the enforced jollity of New Year’s Eve - but I did miss spending time with the people I love. 

So now we look to the new year - hopefully brighter times on the horizon, but with a few tough months ahead before that. We already know that many events will be cancelled for this year as well - Yeovilton have already said that they don’t expect to run an Airshow, and many beer festivals are either deferring events until later in the year, or admitting defeat for this year entirely. As usual I’m not making resolutions - but I am giving some thought to things I want to look at, and work on. One thing got resolved early on - a person who several years ago I made a conscious new year decision to step away from due to their toxicity and repeated two-faced behaviour - not only did I not like that behaviour, but I also didn’t like the person I became when I was around them, getting roped into an unpleasant cycle of constant bitching about people behind their backs while being pleasant to their faces. I’d been beginning to wonder if I was being a little harsh, and whether I should reconsider - however, no - they have recently proved all over again that my decision was entirely correct and that they are not someone I want or need in my life. This time the break will be pretty final and very conclusive. This person is someone who I did once consider to be a good friend but I can now recognise that the “friendship” wasn’t a healthy one at all - and on that basis the removal of it can only be a good thing. The moral of this one is that someone who constantly needs to tell others how ‘Nice’ they are is very likely anything but...!

First two missions for the year then - I have a virtual distance challenge to get working on - it’s 217 miles, the length of the Thames Path, and can be covered running or walking over the first 7 weeks of the year. I was initially planning on trying to run quite a lot of it but the foot injury I’ve been struggling with probably now makes it more likely that in fact only a small proportion will be run. I’m intending to try to do with a few distance/movement challenges this year as I love the incentive to lace up and get out there. The second is a small silly one - to tackle the contents of the freezers in order to make the space to order a whole lamb again - we loved this when we did it before and this seems a good opportunity with more time for cooking and being inventive with recipes to do it again. First though, space needs to be created, so operation freezer-clear is on! 

Do you have plans or challenges to tackle for the year ahead ? Are you blogging about them if so? Pop a link to your blog in the comments so others can be inspired by your focus! 

Robyn 

Christmas...just!

 So, we’re here...

Benbecula, Western Isles. Our usual cosy cottage by the sea. We’ve been planning this trip - our usual Christmas visit, for months. Original plan, having essentially quarantined ourselves for 10 days beforehand to avoid the risk of bringing Covid to the islands was to leave home last Sunday to drive to Carlisle, then continue on on Monday to get the ferry across before seeing our “Christmas covid bubble” two days later on the 23rd - but when it comes to travelling up here, things are often subject to change. In this case it was a dodgy looking weather forecast for Monday that got us a bit twitchy - we didn’t want to lose a day, but there *was* a possibility we could get across earlier and ahead of the weather if needed, so we set off on Saturday instead...

Saturday evening all hell broke loose - “Boris is giving a briefing” we heard. Then “the Christmas Covid relaxation is being cancelled” and “London and the south east going to Tier 4” meaning lockdown again and no travel...we checked out the news reports on the BBC, definitely just London & SE, phew, keep driving... We drove up one services at a time stopping for the toilets, to change drivers, to grab an hours sleep here and there and then to pour more coffee for MrEH and tea for me from our trusty flasks. Sunday early hours, just south of Carlisle “but the Scottish border is being closed!” we were told...MrEH checked that one out pretty fast, although there had been nothing on the matrix boards on the motorway. As far as he could see that was due to come in on the 26th - phew again! (We also had confirmed at that point that Harlow was now Tier 4 also - seemingly the BBC jumped the gun by initially reporting that East of England was not included in that change.) We checked ferry options - the forecast for ours looked better, and the captain of the boat, a friend, confirmed that he was duly expecting to sail as planned. (“As planned” already being subject to diversion via Barra as the Barra ferry had gone tech and was undergoing repairs) We looked at each other - exhausted from the overnight drive and only a short distance from our previously planned overnight stay which would have a bed and a hot shower and the decision was made - kill a few hours until we could access the hotel, get some sleep and then revert to “plan A” in the morning. 

Monday morning - more rumours of the border being closed including “a friend of a friend”  who had actually been turned away. We set off - still no suggestion of any closure - we passed through the border with not so much as a sniff of a Police car and started to relax a little, and we rolled into Oban a few hours later with just the small matter of a 7 hour ferry crossing between us and getting over here! 

Slowly the full picture fell into place through Monday - once we were on the ferry Byron confirmed what MrEH had read on the way - that the travel ban between Scotland and England in fact began today (Boxing day) - ironically we are technically not supposed to leave here now! When we return home it will be to effectively a full lockdown again, and our journey home is needing to change a little as well - with a change of ferry route and a drive straight for home when we reach the mainland, rather than the previously planned overnight stop. 

In the meantime, we’ll make the most of being where we’d planned, with the person we had planned to spend Christmas with - far from the case for so many folk. Personally I think the late notice for the cancellation of the “Christmas covid bubble” rules is a disgrace - for the government to have spent the previous several weeks saying it was “definitely” going to happen, only to scrap it after so many people had already bought food for their planned gatherings, in unforgivable. It should have been cancelled at LEAST a week sooner, without question. Similarly- telling people that in some cases they could continue with the plans to see friends or family but “only on the 25th” - what about those who rely on public transport, and all those keyworkers who just a few months ago we were standing on doorsteps clapping? Very much “middle class white man logic” I’m afraid - rules made from the perspective of those who never have to work Christmas Day, and always have a car to travel anywhere they want. It’s truly time that it was understood that this is not the situation for everyone, and this year of all years, we should be considering everyone, not just the privileged ones. 

I hope you too for Christmas what was needed - whether like us that is a time of calm, and recharging of batteries, or whether something a little more lively and full-on. 

Robyn 

After dark...

 A couple of weeks since I got it, and I am still utterly blown away with the quality of the camera on the new phone - especially it’s night time capability. The shot above was taken last night as we walked to do our shopping. The super-bright moon was shedding so much light I was interested to see how the camera would cope with the combination of that and the surrounding streetlights - as you can see the answer was “astonishingly well!” Most impressive to me was that it even managed to capture some of the brighter stars - and this handheld, with no tripod. It uses a form of long exposure, combined with extremely sophisticated image stabilisation and noise reduction systems, and delivers quite incredible results. 

It’s no slouch at close ups either - even on a challenging subject like these white flowers seen in the museum walled garden at the weekend, where it could so easily have lost the highlights or given the whole  thing a grey-ish cast. I said in a previous post that some of the justification for spending the money I did on the phone rather than the less expensive lower-spec version was that it also these days replaced a compact camera for me, and the results I’m getting from it certainly bear that out. Money well spent! 

In other news, England now moves out of our second lockdown and back into a Tier system - although with stronger restrictions than the previous tiers. Aside from a few tiny areas, almost the entire country falls into either Tier 2 or 3 - we are back into 2 here, although since fear we’ll be headed for Tier 3 before too long as our numbers here are rising at a frightening rate. It feels locally as though a lot of people were SO upset by Essex’s decision to force a move to a tier 2 back in October that it just became the last straw for them and they gave up following the guidelines entirely as a knee-jerk reaction.  Not the right thing to do, but allowing that when the earlier tier 2 decision was taken, we were among the lowest case numbers in the country I can understand the frustration. We can only now hope that in fact lockdown was observed rather better than it seemed to be, and that we start seeing the numbers heading the right way sooner rather than later. For us personally there will be little difference from the lockdown to Tier 2 - the rugby club has decided that edge to the restrictions being imposed, it can’t afford to re-open the bar, and very few of our local pubs serve meals so they won’t be re-opening either.

Personally I found the second lockdown far easier to cope with than the first - partly because we’ve done it all before, partly because of the time of year - with shorter days and colder temperatures it feels less of a bind to be asked to stay at home, and partly because there were less restrictions this time round on, for example, going outside for exercise. I’m still struggling with the lack of routine that being furloughed gives - although I’m trying to bring a bit more structure back to my days now as a conscious effort to tackle that. It’s still, with the best will in the world, tough to fill 7 hours of the day though. Running three times a week and some extra walks are at least netting me some extra daylight - and that is much needed with the scaffolding meaning that once inside, the lights are on pretty much all day! 

Robyn 

Not doing “shoulds”...

The most beautiful sky on our walk this morning - one of my favourite routes as well, out along the lane, a diversion to get MrEH’s paper, then along the bridleway to the Common and it’s fabulous views, before heading back towards home. I’m still gritting my teeth and resisting running, but assuming it’s dry I’ll be back to that on Monday and there are three runs in the plan for next week. 

This week has - as planned - been all about strength workouts and stretching. A couple of stability sessions on the balance cushion, a weights session, and one of Alice Liveing’s workouts from her 28 day challenge that she is running on Instagram. Bless her - she taught live workouts almost daily through lockdown 1, and is planning the same for this month as well. I’m not going to be doing all 28 days, but will dip in and out and pick some of the workouts that will suits me as the month goes on. As with last time, there is a huge amount of pressure being created around “shoulds” during lockdown - using the time to build fitness,  complete DIY jobs, practise mindfulness....and so it goes on. For me, the only real difference is that e Erne is in the same boat, and I won’t be going to Scampton, or to catch up with friends etc, but of course with the weather getting colder I would have been doing less of that in any event! Doing strenuous exercise on a daily basis, with no room for recovery, wouldn’t suit me any other time, so I won’t be doing it now just because we are back into lockdown either! (To clarify, this is in no way a swipe at Alice - her workouts are carefully crafted to work different body areas on consecutive days, so are designed to allow for recovery). 

We do have a few small DIY jobs to be going on with, the front room curtain rail is threatening to fall down, and one of the fibreoptic light strips in the kitchen is flickering and needs re-fixing. There might be a few other odd jobs as well. We’re also planning a return to local walking - our local OS map will be out again, and our plan for the weekends at the moment anyway is to do a shorter walk one of the days and a longer walk the other. 

Do remember - you don’t have to feel that you must be making use of every second during lockdown. This is a stressful time for everyone, and this time round might be hitting you harder than before combined with the colder weather and lack of daylight. For me, it’s actually feeling easier than before - in part because we don’t have so much planned stuff being cancelled this time round - unsurprisingly we’d mostly not bothered planning much for the next little while! If that’s not the case for you though, remember the value of just curling up on the sofa with a good book, or a film, or whatever suits you if that is what you need to do. You do you - and don’t be made to feel guilty because of other people’s “shoulds”! 

Robyn 

Here we go again...

 

Today England starts its second period of full lockdown in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Numbers of cases have been rising across the country and with people starting to look towards wanting to be able to spend time with families over Christmas, it was felt by Government that the sacrifice of a months lockdown now might enable an easing of restrictions over the festive season. We will see if this proves to be the case - currently we are being told that once the lockdown finishes on December 2nd we will all be returning to our previous "tiers" which for a good many across the country means no mixing of households indoors, and for a good many more means no mixing even in private gardens or other outdoor spaces. For us here, in Tier 2, this will write off any chance of seeing family over the Christmas period - much as I would love to be able to spend time with my parents, and MrEH with his, our respective parents are all in either their later 70's or 80's, with varying levels of health issues, and a Christmas spent outdoors in very probably low temperatures and possible inclement weather is not something that would be practical for them.

Elsewhere in the world the Americans have been given a chance to redeem themselves for their ludicrous choice of president 4 years ago, and from reports it would appear that record numbers of them turned out to try to do just that. Currently votes are still being counted (I believe because of the higher than usual numbers of postal and ahead-of-time voting where people wanted to avoid the risk of attending polling stations on election day itself, this process is taking longer than usual). Meanwhile Trump is - as was inevitable - bouncing wildly from overconfidence (he made a formal address on election night claiming victory!) to toddler-tantrums, threatening legal action to any state where it looks like a majority might have voted against him. Terrifyingly in some states which are looking like going in Joe Biden's favour but counting is not yet complete, he is trying to get the counting stopped (it's reckoned that a higher proportion of the ahead/postal votes are likely to be for Biden). Even more terrifyingly, rather than stopping to think, and asking how the hell THAT would fit with democracy, some of his supporters are taking to the streets in support of his viewpoint. I'd like to say that you can't imagine a situation where that sort of anti-democratic behaviour would happen here in the UK, but to my shame after those who tried to overturn the will of the majority (and regardless of which side you sit on, that is what it was) on the question of leaving the EU, it would appear that the gradual Americanisation of many in the UK continues apace, as depressing as that thought is to many of us.

Anyway - Lockdown 2.0 as it is being called by many has a few key differences from the previous one. Schools and colleges remain open this time - it's been decided that the continuation of education must take precedence, and I have to confess that I can very much see that point. Losing substantial amounts of school time - particularly as a teenager beginning to work towards exams, is incredibly difficult to come back from, as anyone who was at school during the teachers strikes in the 1980's will acknowledge. The big issue with the schools and universities is the sheer number of children who having been brought up by the media and in a few cases, their parents, to believe that their rights are surpreme, are now deciding that even when outside their places of learning the regulations around social distancing etc are something that they are unwilling to adhere to. It's not all of them by any means, but it is in enough numbers to ensure problems when out and about generally at the times that schools are arriving and leaving for the day. Also different this time are the rules around exercise - the "one form of exercise per day" ruling of the first lockdown has now, thank goodness, made a reappearance. This time the benefits of being outside in the open air for movement are being recognised - something which is key at this point in the year too.

For me, I plan to continue working through old photos - any aviation fans reading may recognise the shot at the top of this post as one from 2014 - and the "stripes" Typhoon that the RAF Typhoon Display Team used for some of that season. I'm finding a surprising amount of shots to play with - mostly those that didn't get processed at all at the time, probably due to lack of hours in the day, but also some that I had processed previously and now feel I could make a better job of. Just looking back at some of the old memories is great in itself too - and more particularly allowing that it may well, from the look of things, be a fair few months before I get to socialise with  my aviation pals again. I suspect there will also be more baking, by some fluke of fate we purchased a jigsaw, some DVD's and some books from a charity shop on Saturday, and some more longer walks might be happening as well. As the days shorten, the temptation is more to curl up indoors anyway, so rightly or wrongly this month of restrictions don't feel quite so stressful as the first time round. 

Robyn