Sunday, January 24, 2021

Lots of things to do in lockdown

I find it quite remarkable that nearly three weeks have passed and I've not posted to this blog. It makes me feel really boring. My life must be dreadfully dull.

That's not how I'd describe it, though, but it has - for obvious reasons that I share with millions of others right round the globe - been restricted. Most of my time has been spent in the house, the only respite being when I go shopping or take an exercise walk.

I'm extremely grateful that we have very adequate shops just a ten-minute walk away, and an excellent farm shop a mile away that sells locally-grown meat, fruit and vegetables. However, since we choose to avoid the large Sainsbury's on the outskirts of town where we would normally (remember normal?) fill the car boot with food and drink to last us over a week, we have to visit these local shops several times a week. It's good exercise, though!

Because I spend most of my time in the house, my activities have been... 'small' is the best word I can find. I'm either writing my book (working title Those who can), posting my digitally enhanced photos on a number of Facebook groups,



reading, or watching the telly, punctuated by times on the stepper and doing other exercises. I don't play my guitar much because there are always too many people around; I don't want them to hear the mistakes! The weather's stopping me from gardening. There's decorating I'd like to get done, but the place is far too crowded. I quite happily do the housework, strange as that may seem, though lethargy and indolence do occasionally kick in to cause that to happen rather randomly.

I guess most of you are experiencing the same kind of thing, so I'm sorry if I'm boring you. These aren't complaints, please understand. Simply observations. I am exceedingly grateful that the virus isn't affecting us in far more awful ways. I hope the same is true of you.

Always on the lookout for fun and interesting things to do/play/see/listen to on the interweb, I came across this the other day, and spent half an hour or so looking through the windows of houses in fifteen different countries. Each view is a ten-minute video, but you can move on whenever you want. I've not been through all of them, so I have no idea how many there are. Do try it - it's fascinating!  https://www.window-swap.com Perhaps you'll want to want to add the view from your own window. Enjoy!

This little guy looks even cuter when you see him moving.

We keep in touch with Yelvertoft Marina via Facebook. There are quite a few folk living on their boats throughout the winter, so I get some insight into the weather they're experiencing. A while back, they had the torrential rain that hit the midlands and the north, and the water in the marina rose so much that every boat's moorings had to be slackened. This was done by a small group of men who braved the wind and the rain to attend to every boat in the marina - no small task!

Neil, the marina manager, does a regular check of the balance on each boat's mains electricity meter, and tops it up if it's getting too low. There are many boats, like ours, that have thermostatic heaters to prevent freezing in the cabin. Some have dehumidifiers, too, as we do. It's good to know that Kantara's being kept safe. It's just as well. The weather today looks decidedly chilly!


Meanwhile, the Google forecast on my phone has messaged me to say we should expect snow here in St Albans in... Oh, six minutes! Camera at the ready!

Take care, everyone, and be safe and well.

(this, and the picture at the top of the page,
courtesy of  Photofunia.com)

2 comments:

  1. I think most of our lives have reduced to small these days, Roger. I am still working, but even that seems so much smaller now I don't get to see my students. I like your photos! Which FB groups do you post them to?

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  2. Thanks, Val. I post in The Friendly Narrowboat Forum, the Narrowboat and Canal Lovers Group, and Faceboat. The non-boaty ones are UK bird, wildlife and nature photography, and a local arts group called Isolation Arts Cafe. I recommend them!

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