Lockdown day 23 - Easter togetherish...

I've started to feel that my long walks along the local towing-path and footpaths may not be entirely in the spirit of the social distancing rules, which sometimes use words that suggest not going very far, though such reminders are far from consistent. Still, I want to do what's best for everyone, so my walks are now confined entirely to the marina. It's a big site, so I can cover several miles if I don't mind the scenery not changing very much. At the very least, I can stride down to the gate and back, touching the gate as if to claim the full distance before about-turning. This involves a hill - okay, a bit of an incline - and a decent pace raises my heartbeat quite satisfactorily.

Grace and I did that walk yesterday morning. The air was thick with birdsong; so many different birds, and all so insistent.  The warm weather was pushing towards hot. Trees are in flower, the sky was clean and the air sweet. It was great to be out.

We joined Dagnall Street for the on-line Easter service, shorter than "normal", but very uplifting and challenging, and much of the rest of the morning I spent at my pontoon-end seat, reading, writing, listening to music, and often simply thinking, contemplating, and enjoying the quietude.

Grace prepared a superb traditional Easter dinner; the lamb we'd bought from the farm was top class. On this day last year we had Easter lunch with the kids at The Three Horseshoes in Winkwell. We were cruising, and they drove out to meet us there. This year, they ate together, we ate together, and we all met up later on Skype, and that made the day for us.

Karolina's with us, but she's behind the camera.