In the words of the Lou Reed song “what a perfect day”…The pair of us had a relaxed start to the weekend by lying in until 08:00 despite the presence of the moggie on the bed in between us for most of the night. He obviously considers this his sickbed and us his 24 hour nursing care!

On flinging open the bedroom blinds it was obvious it was going to be another cracking day weather-wise. When you’re cooped up and restricted weather like this will always be tempting. The pair of us are missing beaches and the sound of the sea but there’s no way in a million years we’d be foolhardy enough to join the lemmings flocking to the seaside as if everything’s normal.

Instead, we stayed locked-down and local – for everyone’s sake. Besides, it’s not like we don’t have some gorgeous places to walk to from home. OK, the River Calder isn’t renowned for its sandy banks and the area’s industrial heritage has left its marks on the river and its surrounds, but this is hardly the inner city.

So, after a leisurely brunch took a stroll and retraced our steps from the other week when we explored the footpaths and fields around Hollas Lane. Being on the opposite side of the valley to where we live gives us a very different perspective. Surprisingly, we encountered far fewer walkers than we did the other week. The two of us speculated upon why. Were they all sunning themselves in their gardens, or stuck in their cars driving to more far-flung destinations now that lockdown is starting to fall apart (by both accident and design)?

Not that it mattered to us. We found a meadow to plonk ourselves down in and soaked up the sun and the quiet for an hour whilst admiring the vibrant woodland around where we live. The fact where we stopped had this view is (of course) entirely co-incidental!

Strolling on we followed the rest of the route down into Copley village where we were surprised to see the car park of the rugby club absolutely rammed with cars. But only a handful of people were in evidence outdoors. Surely, they weren’t all inside the Rugby club, were they? I’ve no idea of the answer to that but the sight certainly made me feel uncomfortable…

Moving on we crossed under the railway, over the canal and across the main road (then another railway) before cutting back into the woods on ‘our’ side of the valley. They were blissfully empty which did surprise me as they’re normally a popular spot for walkers.

Back at home we once again retreated to the front garden which was bathed in evening sunshine. It’s become our little oasis where we can sit and watch the world go by, chat to the neighbours and say hello to passers-by whilst listening to the glorious birdsong from the copse of trees opposite. Whilst Dawn was busy washing the car I pottered around, weeding or dead-heading before the sun set enough that I could start watering. There’s no water supply so I’m kept busy carrying watering cans through from the kitchen but I don’t mind as it’s good exercise. I don’t think either of us have been as appreciative of this space as we are now, especially as the lack of traffic makes it even more pleasant. We’re going to miss the quiet when things return to ‘normal’ – if they ever do. 

Neither of us were on cooking duty tonight as we decided to eat from the freezer. We had plenty of home cooked meals to choose from and plumped for a Vegetable Pulao I’d cooked, plus some of the Chicken Madras that Dawn had made. As it was late by the time we were eating we chose to be decadent and eat in bed whilst the cat kept us company and we settled down to a good bit of escapist TV. We’ve discovered a series on the BBC’s iPlayer called ‘The Honourable Woman and become rather hooked. It’s a political drama centered around the middle-East and starts Maggie Gyllenhaal as a woman called Nessa Stein who runs a charitable foundation. It appeals to me as parts of that world are familiar to me because of my past – although not the shootings, murders and spies!

And so another day ended…

 

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