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.

One of the many reasons I love boats!

Traffic jams!!

Grace and I drove up to Durham on Friday. "Said the Maiden" were playing a gig there at the fantastic Gala Theatre, so we booked in to a lovely old inn not far outside the city, planning to be there for two nights.

Setting out from Yelvertoft and Crick to join the M1 north at Junction 18, we met some roadworks that blocked our way, with diversion signs. Frowning because the diversion was headed south, we duly followed.

Fifty (yes, 50) minutes later we arrived at Junction 18, less than a minute away from where we'd started! That was not a good way to start our 200-mile journey! And to add insult to our not inconsequential injury, the traffic up the M1 and A1 was dreadful, and we were on the road for another five hours.

It was well worth it, however. The Three Horseshoes Inn was perfect for our needs. Our room overlooked miles of countryside, the food and the service were faultless.

More importantly, the Maidens' gig was great, with a very enthusiastic, delighted audience enjoying a superb performance.

The next day, we went into the city to do some sight-seeing. It's a charming old city with loads of character, loads of students and more loads of tourists.

The cathedral is beautiful, and we spent most of our time in or close to that. Annoyingly, though, it was not permissible to take photos in the cathedral, and paid-for permits weren't even available.

Unfortunately, the castle that houses the University was closed to the public.

On our way back to the inn, we drove out to the coast - Hartlepool - just to see how bleak and beautiful it was.

Very!

We left for home on Sunday morning, taking a detour (deliberate this time!) out over the North Pennines - rugged moorland, fabulous contours and colours, almost deserted. Getting out of the car was hazardous, however, because of the biting cold, strong-gusting wind!

We finally pointed the car towards Yelvertoft, and guess what...

Traffic jams!