Reflecting on my week #142

We were lucky with the weather for our day trip to Whitstable. After a day at home, on top of many months mostly at home, it was good to escape and have a relatively normal day out. We hadn’t been to our favourite Kent coastal town this year, nor for a few years probably, but it was good to see that many of our favourites were still there, some had gone, but some new ones had taken their place. The town was probably at more normal levels, after experiencing many day-trippers during the summer, and who as we spoke to some shopkeepers weren’t what I’d call covid-compliant, or happy to respect the rules. Thankfully none of those were evident on our visit, which coincided with the first day of the NHS Covid-19 app, which we downloaded and made use of in a couple of places with no trouble at all. I’m not going to comment on the app, and the flaws that are being reported on, or how long it’s taken to arrive, because I don’t think I’ve really got anything new to add.

The weather was a mix of blue, cloudy skies and grey clouds looming. We were fortunate that we managed to eat our fish and chips al-fresco in one of the more blue-skied moments, and that was a tactical decision. I love to house-spot on the coastal path, and try to avoid being caught snapping people’s houses. Even though the terrace below is colourful the greyness seems to suit this photo, later in the week I’ll share a more colourful post.

We did our best to shop in the local shops, eating fish and chips and tea and cake later on. We left with some cheese from the cheese shop, and rather bizarrely a large duck from the butchers for under a tenner. Not everyone goes to Whitstable and buys duck, oysters or fish are probably more usual.

Our luck with the weather ran out though, and of course after carrying our waterproofs around all day, our luck run out while they were in the car. There was nothing else for it, but a mad dash back to the car, launching ourselves into the dry as quickly as we could.

There has been a distinctly autumnal feel to the mornings hasn’t there? Normally we’re not one for having the heating on at a whim, we’ve both come from the “put another jumper on” school of thought. But when we woke on Friday and the radiators were warm, it was very welcome. We’ve come close to relenting though this weekend, but we’ve stuck to the layered approach. The closest we came to breaking was Saturday night after an afternoon outside at the Greenwich Comedy Festival.

This year it was wholly outside and tickets were sold in twos, with each two having a metre box to socially distance within. We were a good way away from the stage, and it must have been tough for the comedians, as the atmosphere was pretty much non-existent. I was hoping that it’d stay dry, but no such luck. During Nina Conti’s set we, along with most of the audience were scrabbling for waterproofs and umbrellas. She had a couple of people up on the stage, and I bet they couldn’t believe their luck at getting under cover.

The show was hosted by Stephen K Amos and Reginald D Hunter had a set as well, but for us the main attraction was Henning Wehn. The show had been shortened, and it felt like Henning’s set had been shortened most, that could be because I’m not a huge fan of Reginald D Hunter (we’ve seen him before and my opinion hasn’t really changed). The arrangements though were totally covid-compliant, even if some of the attendees kept forgetting.

It finished by 5 and our plan was to get some food early (for us) and head home. Though with the new 10pm curfew we thought our best plan would be to avoid Greenwich town centre and the people leaving the afternoon session, along with those arriving for the evening session potentially overlapping with many aiming to eat in restaurants with already reduced capacities. So we headed over to Canary Wharf on the DLR, as we’d spotted that there’s now a Five Guys in one of the shopping centres. It could well have been there a while to be fair, and it’s one of the foods I’ve been keen to eat during lockdown.

We got there fine, the DLR was busier than we expected, but everyone was wearing face coverings and keeping as distanced as they could. In the shopping centre, there were signs up to say that face coverings must be worn. However this was far from the norm, and far from being enforced. There were groups of, mainly young girls, patrolling the centre. We saw two groups of girls, and numerous young couples ignoring the advice, with either no masks or masks under their chins, and it was easy to see why we’re unable to control numbers. The complete disregard for the requirements, and for those around them was quite shocking, let alone respecting the staff working in the restaurants.

While my burger - cheeseburger with jalapeños, my order every time - was great, we didn’t hang around for longer than we needed to and headed back south of the river, walking home from Greenwich. I think it’ll be a while before we head back there, and we won’t be going again on a weekend that’s for sure. Maybe during the week those visiting will be more compliant, who knows. I’ve had my Five Guys fill though, so hopefully that will see me through for a while.

Like many people we’re keeping an eye on what’s happening, and how the R number is managed. We have a week booked in October, and after not being able to go to the Lake District in June, we’re hoping that this time away won’t be scuppered either. We know we may need to change our plans, as we’re hoping to see and stay with family the weekend before, but we’re hopeful that we’ll still be able too. But as we’ve seen so many times already this year, there’s no guarantees, and there won’t be unless we all act responsibly. But that’s another soapbox, I’m not getting onto in this post.

Stay safe this week, and stay warm - it’s October on Thursday, and my heating just might be going on.

Reflecting on my week #141

Well, we did manage a paella as I hoped, though we’ve not managed as many barbecues in the last week as we’d hoped. What we hadn’t accounted for was how early it’s dark now. And how quickly it’s chilling down, that’s definitely more than a hint of autumn, but it’s not all bad.

I’d rigged up a string of solar lights across the garden in a very small attempt to get some light out there. Of course it doesn’t give anywhere near enough light, but they do look pretty. It’s across the garden, and has quickly become affectionately known as the washing line.

MOH spotted some battery garden lights, which can be connected to make longer strings. And so a master plan has been formed. Armed with a length of solar lights, a measure and today’s equivalent of the back of a fag packet, the plan was hatched.

The plan is to add three further strings of lights across the conservatory, the patio and further down the garden to transform our garden into a twinkling wonderland, although not so much of the twinkling. MOH is tasked with making the purchase tomorrow, and now all we need is some lanterns to supplement these. If I’m lucky i’ll have sourced these by next spring!

I took some time Wednesday afternoon away from my laptop, and away from work. Not quite as soon as I wanted, but some time nonetheless. I was dithering about what to do, and where to go, as I was waiting for the doctor to call, and with impeccable timing, he called. My blood pressure average for the past week wasn’t so different from the reading when I visited the surgery, in fact he asked me if I’d been taking the tablets. I had, and now I have more, so hopefully we’ll see a difference. And all because of a routine medication check, which has been a few years overdue, as it turned out.

I said last week about how the littlest #notmycat has an unhealthy interest in the squirrels, it seems her attention has been turned. Not for the first time this week we’ve spotted her making full use of the small shed’s roof. Yesterday instead of darting off, she tolerated my attempts to get closer. Not quite up to a tickle like her brother Sid (aka Killer) but comfortable enough to settle down.

We spent most of Sunday gardening, which is the first time for a while. But it looks much better for it, and I even found a lone sweet pea.

Gorgeous, I wish there were more!

I’ve only got a couple of days at work this week, but looking at the weather forecast I’m not sure that our planned trip to the south coast will happen. But then again if Boris has an announcement anything like the predictions we might choose not to go anyway.

Who knows, I think we’ll just have to wait and see. That’s much the story of 2020 though, isn’t it?

Reflecting on my week #139

The big weeks at work seem to be continuing at the moment. Last week there were disappointments with people who were leaving and promised things before they went, that didn’t deliver but also plus points when an article was submitted after a very short brief, that absolutely hit the mark. There was a weekend of being on call, and actually being called, which thankfully is rare. But this weekend’s call saw a media interview being set up at short notice on the Bank Holiday, a little out of my comfort zone but we got there.

We went into the weekend with few plans, but spent some time mooching around Greenwich on Saturday picking up some food shopping, some lunch from the market and some conkers from Greenwich Park on our way home. It’s been many years since we’ve been conker hunting, and it was quite good fun. MOH quickly slipped back a good few years, and was looking for the best “cheese cutter” which made us laugh, but also because we’re collecting these to scare our spiders, not for some major championship.

Though if it comes to the championship, I’ve got a trick or two up my sleeve. Let’s just say conkers soaked in vinegar and baked…

I’m sure we’ll spend the next few weeks positioning them carefully to deter the spiders which seem so comfy in our conservatory though. It’s not the spiders that bother me so much, but their webs. This year they are huge, and they will be evicted. We’re trying conkers, and I’ve also some Peppermint Oil on order after asking for suggestions over on Instagram, so we’ll see how these go - and how quickly the spiders go too.

Actually it’s been a good week for advice over on Instagram. I pondered what to do with our increasing supply of empty and pretty gin bottles, wondering if filling them with LED lights would be a viable option. And, yes you agree and you’ve also told me about the lights you can buy that have the battery and/or switch in the cork, so I’ll be doing some internet searching for those. I think though it might not be that long before our garden could become the south’s equivalent of the Blackpool Illuminations if I’m not careful…

There was other news for MOH this week too. The consultation period for his role has ended and his company confirmed his redundancy. He’s fine about the outcome, but the delivery was less, shall we say, humane and a little galling. However, it’s also vindication of why the outcome is a good thing. He says he’s not surprised as such, but the timing was sooner than he’d anticipated, but it is what it is. There’s provision for training in the package and of course his actual work is lessening, which is no bad thing, as you’ll remember how the stress contributed to his health earlier in the year. We know that there are many people in worse situations than ours, and so while it’s not great news - redundancy never is - it’s not the worst news either. As he’s already been “bored” by lockdown the challenge will, I’m sure, be more of a mental one, but definitely one to make the most of, and I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that he’s very keen for me to go back to the office. Me, not so much, but that’s a whole other blog post, maybe for another time.

We had another trip out to a National Trust property on the Bank Holiday Monday, taking MIL to Standen, which is less than fifteen minutes from where she lives. It was only our second time there - we went in 2015 for the Tulip Festival - and it was a nice surprise to learn that the ground floor of the house was open. So of course we headed there first, joining the short socially distanced queue. It’s funny though, looking back at my post from our first visit, I’ve taken many of the same photos. I clearly know the stuff I like, and I’m drawn to it on five yearly intervals!

For a Bank Holiday, the weather was good. A little on the chilly side, but it seems that autumn is already knocking on summer’s door and making itself known. In some ways I don’t want it here yet, but in other ways it’s ok, I mean, I think autumn’s food is the best, so I’m looking forward to that part at least, the chillier mornings and putting away my flip flops, less so!