The start of another working week in lockdown, although the days are hardly that clearly defined now as the routine doesn’t vary that much for me. It’s more marked for Dawn as she’s freed from her desk and telephone to concentrate on personal and home matters.

We started the day early at 05:50 so Dawn could do her HIT training before beginning work. I don’t mind getting up at that time either as it gives me chance to have a coffee, plan the day and edit and upload any last slides from the previous days scanning. After meeting up for breakfast we managed to meditate together, then we were both straight into work. My mission for the day was to catch with slide scanning as the pace has slowed in recent days due to the holidays and other work. I also had a batch of pictures to get off to a magazine so I had to ignore the fabulous weather outside and concentrate my attention on a lightbox, slides and computer screen. The time flew in more ways than one as the slides transported me back to November – December 1989, when the world looked very different in all sorts of ways. I’ll show you what I mean later in the blog.

The day flew, but it was a productive one. I managed to get a lot of work done and around 60-70 slides scanned, edited and mounted, which is quite a volume of work as it’s such a tedious process. We did manage to get out later to enjoy the brilliant sunshine which was the ideal time as the day had really warmed up. The past few mornings have been distinctly chilly because of the clear evening skies the day before. I don’t know if the lockdown and consequent lack of traffic pollution has contributed to this phenomenon but the air certainly seems clearer and sweeter. We certainly notice the lack of traffic noise from the main road at the bottom of the valley and infrequence of cars using our road. It’s something that I’ll miss when normality’s restored.

There was no time for a walk to the other side of the valley today so our usual circuit up through the woods, along the promenade and around the park and back again had to suffice, but at least I managed my 12.5k steps as we were later than normal we were treated to a gorgeous sunset on our way home.

The rest of the evening was pretty relaxed. I caught up on some world news, which is showing some signs of optimism as various countries begin to look at easing their lockdowns. How long before we do is anyone’s guess as it’s impossible to get an accurate picture of what’s happening with coronavirus in the UK. We’re not carrying out the levels of testing that would allow us to accurately map infections and the number of deaths is hopelessly unreliable as the figures aren’t collated accurately or consistently. The official figures given out daily have no credibility at all. Personally, I’m preparing myself for the idea that the lockdown will remain in force for another month, but who knows?

The pair of us took a break from reality later in the evening and indulged in some escapist TV by watching a couple of episodes of “Unforgotten” on Netflix. It’s a ITV police series written by Chris Lang that stars Nicola Walker (‘Spooks’ & ‘Last Tango in Halifax’) and Sanjeev Bhaskar. It’s very well written, directed, filmed, acted and also – thoughtful.