Today’s been the worst day (weather-wise) that we’ve seen since lockdown began. It was awful. When I opened the bedroom blinds this morning much of the valley was invisible as it was hidden behind impenetrable murk whilst the rain never seemed to let up for most of the morning.

There was no point in going out – not that there’s really anywhere to go to – so after breakfast with Dawn I retreated into my office, thankful that I had comfortable surroundings to work from and having plenty to keep me occupied and gainfully employed. Let’s face it, the commute from the bedroom to my office (via the kitchen for coffee) isn’t exactly onerous – even if I do miss the variety of travel. Even so, I have the bird-feeder outside the window as a distraction and a regular stream of visitors to keep me distracted. The Tits and Finches have got used to me being here most of the time now and aren’t fazed at all – even when I have the window open.

It’s typical of the way things work that, whilst the weather had turned crappy and I was stuck inside, the batch of pictures in line for scanning were of palm-fringed beaches in Sri Lanka. Talk about rubbing it in! So, whilst the rain dripped from the stonework outside I was transported back to lovely Mirissa,a beach town on the islands West Coast and also the fabulous old fort at Galle, a sleepy little place that was originally built by the Portuguese in 1588 before being rebuilt by the Dutch from 1649 until the British took over in 1796. It’s a wonderful place to explore and was featured in one of my pictures of the day earlier. When all this is over and travel restrictions are eventually eased I’d really like to get back to Asia. It’s a part of the world I’m really missing. One day…

As is usual on a Friday we held the weekly ‘Big 6’ pub quiz via ‘Zoom’, which was great fun and had the added attraction of an extra quiz hosted by Holly – a teacher and former barmaid at the 6 who’s affectionately known as the ‘Ginmeister’ due to her knowledge of that particular spirit and its mixers. The quiz is a great precursor to the start of the weekend and an opportunity to catch up with friends – some of whom we’ve not seen in  the flesh for months. Now, as ‘lockdown’ is relaxing (or falling apart, depending on your views) we’ll hopefully be catching up – at an appropriate distance – with people again.

OK, it’s now time for the…

Picture of the day.

In April 1998 I was a few months into an 18 month round-the-world adventure. Having spent time in India Lynn and I had moved on to Nepal, where we’d joined up with two Dutch friends who ran treks from Kathmandu to visit the village of Barpak in Gorkha district, where they ran a small charity. From Barpak we trekked towards the high Himalayas where we camped with the intention of enjoying some fantastic views of the snow peaks. Initially, the weather was cloudy and wet, so we really didn’t see much when we reached the place where we were going to stay. But the next morning, the skies cleared and this was the view from our tent.

Sadly, I’ve lost the notes which recorded the name of this particular peak, but wow – what a view – and what an experience – although I’m not sure my knees have ever been the same since! It’s not the climbing, it’s the coming down that does the damage…

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