The weather’s started to pick up again here in the Calder valley, although it hasn’t reached the balmy heights of a week ago. I’ve swapped my singlet for a fleece and waterproof as the winds are really knocking the temperatures down.

Today was meant to be the ‘great escape’ when more of the lockdown rules were relaxed, but to be honest, we noticed very little difference here. Yes, there was a small increase in traffic on the road outside the house as a few more folk returned to work, but it was negligible. There was certainly no mad rush – for whatever reason. I’m savouring the quietness whilst it lasts…

Much of our day fell into the routine of us both working from our respective offices. It may be predictable but it makes us no less busy – anything but as there’s no breaks or distractions. I spent much of my day scanning yet another batch of old railway slides in a process that I could pretty much do in my sleep now. It’s production line stuff until you get the scans in Photoshop which is when you have chance weigh up the best editing options. Old slide film can be very dark or very contrasty and no matter how much you try to keep dust and blemishes off the pictures whilst you’re scanning there’s often something that sneaks through and needs correcting, which adds time to the process.

Scans done I ended the afternoon with a pleasant hour or so in the garden, soaking up the sunshine and planting out the trailing lobelia that I’d acquired from a supermarket as I’d no idea when I bought it that Garden centres would be allowed to reopen so soon. Our garden may be small, but it’s an oasis that I love sitting out in and tending the plants is a therapeutic break from the cares and constraints of the modern world. Plants grow regardless of human concerns.

Once Dawn had knocked off for the day the pair of us took our daily constitutional on the usual circuit through Scarr Woods which are looking gloriously green and vibrant now. They also play host to a variety of birdlife although often they can be heard but not seen – apart from the Robins and Magpies as neither are exactly what you’d call shy birds. I must admit to being surprised at how quiet Savile Park was. I’d expected to see more people out enjoying the new freedoms. Perhaps it was the lateness of the hour (it was after 7pm when we were strolling around) and the chill wind, or maybe folks are thinking the same as us – this is all a bit premature?

Back at home in the warm home I spent another hour in the office catching up on blogging. I’ve been falling further and further behind recently so I was determined to make an effort to catch up. Hopefully my readers will think it was worth the effort! It’s not that I have nothing to write about, exactly the opposite – even if I’m concentrating on the lockdown right now. It’s the fact time seems to be all askew. We’re meant to have more time on our hands right now, but I’ll be damned if I know where it’s going…

*I know this blog’s a few days, late as it’s not appeared until Wednesday – I’m trying frantically to catch up, honest! *

The pair of us threw the rule book out of the window this morning and decided to indulge in the nearest thing to a ‘duvet day’ we’ve had through the entire lockdown! Both of us slept through until 08:30. Even when we woke up and made a drink we went straight back to bed to browse social media and gauge the reaction to the PM’s awful interview last night. Did it seem as bad to others as it did to us? The answer came through as a pretty clear yes. Cabinet Ministers and Tory backbenchers were getting savaged on national TV with both Dominic Raab and Andrew Bridgen having car-crash interviews. Let’s face it, if they didn’t understand what the new advice was – what chance did anyone else stand? Other commentators were just as unkind. Both of us felt uneasy about the Governments new strategy. Having been around the political block a few times I was even more scathing of it than Dawn as I saw it as an attempt by the Government to absolve themselves of responsibility by passing the buck to ordinary people. Now, if you contracted Covid it would be your fault for not being ‘alert’ enough. Needless to say, social media soon went into overdrive to parody the new slogan and design. This one pretty much sums up my take on the new advice.

Dawn and I had a long discussion about what we thought we should be doing and the pair of us agreed that we’d be sticking to the old advice for now – along with the Scots and the Welsh! We’ve a responsibility not just to ourselves but also Dawn’s parents, who we shop for. Relaxing lockdown now when the Governments so unprepared is only going to lead to another spike in the infection rate, and we don’t want to be part of that. I hope we’re wrong, but we’ll find out the truth in the next couple of weeks…

We finally got our arses in gear not long after midday when we moved down into the living room where Dawn had her massage bed set up in order to give me a Reiki session. Dee’s recently trained in Reiki, which she’s really taken to. My treatment lasted for an hour, which really surprised me as it seemed like no time at all, but then it’s a lovely experience.

Suitably refreshed, relaxed and appreciative I scooted into my office for a short spell of slide scanning in order to make some progress before the two of us took our daily constitutional, although it wasn’t far enough for me to get my normal level of exercise as we had to be home in time for the Platt family Zoom call.  Needless to say, Johnson’s (recorded) speech to the nation was discussed and critiqued before we moved on to lighter matters. The internet’s (and Zoom) has proved its worth in keeping us all together, but it will never be a substitute for the real thing – human contact.

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