It's almost six months since we first went into lockdown and a new lockdown looks imminent as cases are rising by around 3000 per day and hospital admissions are increasing. Whether the government will do the right thing for the economy or for people's lives remains to be seen. Currently councils are putting their own areas into lockdown if cases rise too much. Caerphilly went into lockdown last week, the first Welsh local lockdown. There are numerous lockdowns over England, including where my friend lives in Hackney. As of Monday gatherings of over 6 people will become illegal (excluding workplaces, schools, unis, funerals, weddings etc etc). I think they just want to be able to clamp down on house parties really.
I've had a couple of weekends away and finally got to see my family for the first time since Christmas so that was nice.
I met Karen and Pete for three nights in an airbnb at Rockaway Park just south of Bristol. It was EXACTLY what I needed. The place has a real Glastonbury festival vibe to it. We had a chilled night in catching up on the Friday. Then up early on the Saturday for a guided walking tour of Bristol, which was really fun and informative. Then some delicious vegan dirty fries from St. Nicholas Market. Back at Rockaway Park the owner Mark gave us a guided tour and we took some photos. It used to be a scrap yard but it is now home to a number of artist studios, rehearsal rooms, wedding venue and he's in the middle of creating a permaculture garden. It felt like being in Shangri-La.
Our accommodation had a gorgeous wooden terrace so we sat out on that and had a boozy afternoon.
Then I introduced Karen and Pete to The Mind (the card game that Nat and I played on a Moroccan roof terrace with two German guys) and they LOVED it.
On the Sunday we had booked in for a vegan lunch at Rockaway of Seitan bourguignon. It was tasty but was freezing cold. We all ate it though. Then, we had a wonderful surprise as Vic who runs the recycling crew bar at Glastonbury suddenly appeared. I think she was more shocked to see us as she goes there regularly and didn't ever expect to see 'the northern faction!' as she put it. So it was air hugs and a socially distant boozy afternoon (it was BYOB) listening to Cara Means Friend - the first live music since lockdown. It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon, with a little beer buzz, live music, friends and a wonderful chilled vibe. It was THE BEST day of the pandemic so far. I even got to have a go on the wooden letterpress to print my own poster as a memento.
Then last weekend I went up to Much Wenlock in Shropshire to see my folks. They were staying in their caravan up there so I booked into an B&B two miles down the road. We had a lovely few days mooching around and even managed a 7 mile walk. That's the longest Dad has done on years and the longest I have done since my hip op. The B&B was lovely and Much Wenlock is full of stunning old buildings, this was directly opposite by B&B and is dated 1682.
It was strange seeing all the shops with the 'masks must be worn' signs on but good to see everyone complying. Finally Wales has caught up and masks become mandatory in all indoor spaces as of Monday September 14th.
Sad news on the radio this mornings, Toots Hibbert of Toots & The Maytals has died from Covid 19. We should have been seeing him this very weekend at the postponed Bearded Theory Festival. I was really looking forward to seeing him. Ronald Bell from Kool & The Gang also died suddenly this week (no cause given so far). Sad times.
The forecast for the next few months is pretty bleak 'pandemic wise' to be honest. I'm not booking any other weekends away for the rest of the year and am so grateful that I managed to sneak in these trips to see my family in the tiny window of opportunity. I may even have to spend Christmas alone this year. Who knows!
Fortunately I am perfectly happy with my own company and have a million things to do to keep me occupied. I've even been asked to design two real life logos, so I'm going to have to crack on with those this morning. The sun is shining, RadMac are on the radio and I've got Monday off work (and it's going to be 25 degrees!!). So it's not all bad.