Dunkeld: Dreich But Alluring

November 30, 2022 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

After celebrating First Grandchild’s (FG’s) first birthday in Edinburgh, we headed north to Dunkeld, ‘The Gateway to the Highlands’, on the southern edge of the Scottish Highlands and on the River Tay.

*^{The Tay at Dunkeld (From The Bridge)}*

We arrived in time to take stock of the village and to stroll past the partly ruined Dunkeld Cathedral (now serving as a Parish Church) to a riverside walk along the Tay.

We learnt a little of the history of the village – it was almost completely destroyed in 1689 during and after the battle of Dunkeld between the forces of William of Orange and the Jacobites supporting James VII of Scotland (who lost this one) – and started to plan the following full day in it.

*^{Old Entrance To Dunkeld House (Which Was Where The Grass Behind Now Is)}*

As twilight drew in, we retreated to the bar of The Taybank hotel where we were staying. Our room was tasteful and very comfortable but notably low-tech (no TV). The bar wasn’t as cosy as it looked but dinner in the restaurant was outstanding. We retired to bed very satisfied with the previous few days of wedding and birthday celebrations and the comfort of our new surroundings.

Tastefulness At The Taybank Hotel

All that rather fell apart next morning. LSW was ill having clearly picked up whatever bug had been bothering FG the previous weekend. With the rain tipping down outside I stayed in the room offering a few words of sympathy – probably not enough – and devouring both of our breakfasts that had been delivered to our door. Those breakfasts were, like the dinner the previous evening, excellent.

With no sign of LSW’s recovery, I set about finding a local electric car charging point and getting us up to full battery capacity again. The only charger in the village was in use with no sign of the driver. While waiting, I sloshed through the rain down to the Tay. I must have looked a sad sight with my umbrella substituting for a lack of properly waterproof clothing and I’m sure the few locals I met giggled under their breath about daft English tourists. However, I was strangely content in what felt like a truly Scottish landscape in dripping, autumnal Scottish weather. I then read my newspaper in its entirety in our drenched and steamed up car for a while before, and then after, finally getting use of the charge point. Job done (eventually)!

LSWs lunch was Paracetamol and by the evening I was thinking that I might need some too for an increasingly persistent headache and back pain. It turned out later that many attendees at the previous weekend’s wedding had fallen down with a variety of illness symptoms. Stomach upset, sickness, headaches and back pain in a variety of combinations were tell-tale signs that we had got too close to FG. As my symptoms passed I felt even sorrier for FG who had probably had all the symptoms but had not understood why and had been unable to do much about it.

I managed another wet stroll through the gloaming both around the village and a little further along the Tay. I was astonished by the speed of the river and impressed by the moodiness of the light and the woodland alongside the river. The area is famous for the age and size of a number of its trees including larch, pines and beech and the history of many is set out informatively and proudly. I am looking forward to visiting again in better weather (when we are both in good health) so we can sample more of the numerous local walks and take in more of the alluring but vaguely melancholy atmosphere.

On our last morning in Dunkeld I again hoovered up both breakfasts. LSW couldn’t eat a thing but, by now, was well enough to venture out to sample several of the local, independent shops. Lon Store was particularly good. Then we then set off in the almost relentless rain for Dundee to see another part of a very wet Scotland.

In Praise Of A Clear Head

August 24, 2022 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

I have been monitoring the number of my alcohol-free days since 2005. Over a decade ago I was drinking alcohol almost every day, and often drinking a beer alone in my flat after work in London. Now I have a target of 50% drink-free days each month and I have achieved that for the last three years.

When I retired 5 years ago, I realised that although I was starting to achieve the target number of drink-free days, I was way off the target for units of alcohol recommended by doctors. To galvanise myself for change, I set a monthly target for alcohol units consumed too. That target is 100 units of alcohol per month. That is still almost twice the recommended level but 50% less than where I was in my first two years of retirement.

I have achieved this personal target for the last two years but it’s been a struggle, especially this year (for reasons I’m yet to quite fathom). On days when I drink, I find that I average 6-7 units; that’s two thirds of a bottle of wine or three pints of beer (not, I think, an unreasonable amount of pleasure to have on a sunny evening in the garden, at a celebration, or in the pub garden on a lazy Sunday). But multiply that by 14-15 days and I’m closer to the 100 unit target than I would like.

*^{Alcohol Units/Month Consumption Since 2019 (I’m More Consistent Now But Consistently Only Just Below Target (100 Units)!}*

I have been helped in recent years by the advent of decent no, or low, alcohol beer; I like those from BrewDog especially. But now I have a new helper: ‘Clear Head’, a low alcohol beer served on tap at our village pub. It’s quite a refreshing, hoppy and nice tasting pint. Its recent availability on draft means that I can visit the pub more often and feel as though I’m having a proper pub drink (not the soft sugary stuff that I generally avoid, or mineral water that I can get out of the tap at home), while keeping my alcohol unit consumption down.

*^{One of the Best Low-Alcohol Beers I’ve Had}*

The net effect has been that Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) and I have visited the local pub more often during this summer, especially during the recent heat waves, but I have still stayed within my alcohol unit target. That’s good because the pub is so central to the community and our visits create opportunities for us to have impromptu meetings with other villagers and we just enjoy hanging out in the relaxed atmosphere there. The only downside is that LSW is probably drinking a bit more alcohol because she usually goes for a can of the relatively strong craft beer rather than the low alcohol variety, but then she drinks slowly and so is well below the recommended unit levels.

Another bonus is that 5% of Bristol Beer Factory’s revenue on sales of Clear Head go to Talk Club which is the valuable charity organisation that helps establish and organise Men’s Mental Fitness chat groups such as that I have been attending in recent weeks in our village. The sessions that I mentioned in my last post have continued to be fulfilling and have had the side effect of making me feel even more a part of the community. The pub landlord, who helps run the sessions, even gives participants a pint of ‘Clear Head’ to accompany us through the meetings; really nice!

*^{On Draft At Our Local Pub But It Comes In Cans Too}*

So, the heat waves are over for another year it seems. The cost of living crisis seems to be drowning out concerns about the climate and related biodiversity crises. However, the recent weeks of intense heat have underlined the need for us all to think about reducing our carbon footprint and adapting to the new climate that is inevitably going to envelop us.

*^{Local Lake Dried Up In The Recent Heat And The Same Lake Two Years Ago (With Cow)}*

LSW has planted most of our flower beds and terraces with relatively drought resistant plants so the garden has looked great throughout the summer with just minimal watering. However, during the greatest heat, we had to have the blinds down all day in our kitchen/diner extension with all its glass. Rather than be able to look out over the garden from the extension, we spent much of the heat wave sheltered in the cool of the old part of the house.

*^{Dry Garden And Sun Through Meadow Grass}*

We are thinking about ways to further adapt to persistent high temperatures in the future at the same time as trying to work out how we can isolate rooms we want to heat in winter so that we reduce overall energy demand and so save money in the face of escalating electricity and gas bills. We won’t be alone in that.

Later this week we are off north to Edinburgh to see First Grandchild and his parents again. The relative cool of Edinburgh may look an increasingly attractive medium/long term location as the south of the UK feels the impact of our changing summers. Short term, though, I’m sticking to home in our village and an occasional pint or two of ‘Clear Head’ on draft.

Mental Fitness

July 21, 2022 / fgrtommo / 3 Comments

As I move into my fifth year of retirement I’m maintaining a pretty stable routine but also trying a couple of new things.

One new thing is signing up to an informal Mens’ Mental Fitness ‘Club’. This is under the umbrella of a charity called Talk Club. The roughly weekly sessions are arranged by the local pub landlord and a couple of his fellow facilitators. They are held in his pub on a day when it is closed and no alcohol is available. I’ve attended three sessions so far and it’s been an interesting, new experience.

Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) would say I’m a pessimist and she is often frustrated by my negativity. But fundamentally, I’m happy and recognise my luck in life. I wouldn’t consider that I have many mental issues yet (I just have political and environmental worries). However, the sessions force each participant to consider their feelings in ways that many men, and certainly me, rarely do.

How do I feel out of 10? Why is that? What am I thankful for? What am I going to do this week to improve the way I feel? Just about the only time I have historically thought about these things is when I am writing posts for this blog. Now I have another reason and outlet.

The mental fitness sessions require answering all these questions and listening to other participants as they relate their feelings about them. It’s such a simple, but different process from anything else I have done that it is surprising and freeing. It certainly feels invigorating – both the relating of one’s own thoughts and the feeling that you are helping others by listening as they relay theirs.

I’m going to keep up my participation whenever I can and am grateful that I live in a village with so cool a pub that it is trying the Talk Club sessions out. I may be more listening than talking at the moment but who knows when challenging issues might arise and that might change.

*^{Horsley Village Church (With Flag). I Love This Village}*

The other main innovation in the last few weeks has been that I have investigated helping out in the local District’s Foodbank (Stroud District Foodbank). I went along to an open event at the local warehouse to see the operation and meet the organisers. It is impressive, expanding and much (and increasingly) needed.

The whole tour of the facility was very interesting. Clients are starting to avoid deliveries of vegetables like potatoes because they can’t afford to cook them so the Foodbank are providing slo-cookers (remember those from the 80s!) because they are energy efficient. The paper bags the food deliveries arrive in are reusable but have detachable name tags so that clients that do reuse them don’t suffer any stigma from using the Foodbank. The Foodbank management have experience and know what they are doing.

My introduction to the Stroud Foodbank satellite ‘drop off centre’ is next week. I don’t know how much I can help but I will try to and then see how things go.

Involvement at the Foodbank may mean dialling back a bit on my local Climate Change Network efforts; I hope not since this week’s record temperatures underline the need to keep awareness of the Climate and Biodiversity Emergencies at centre stage. However, as I described in my last, Retirement: Five Years On post, my days seem strangely full already. Also, the football season is about to start and there are visits to our sons in Belfast, Edinburgh and (hopefully, soon) Bristol to fit in. Not to mention the squeezing in of Mens’ Mental Fitness evenings!

Meanwhile, Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) and I made another trip to Edinburgh last weekend to see First Grandchild (FG) and his tired but loving parents. We had a lovely time as usual. Eldest Son’s (ES’s) fiancée is a great cook, we always feel very welcome, and we had another chance to meet ES’s future parents-in-law which is always fun. Plus, of course, we saw FG again and were able to assess and enjoy his excitingly rapid development.

It is, of course, a slog to drive to and from Edinburgh – about 9 hours including the charge-up of our electric car. But what a treat the weekend was! We visited North Berwick to the east of Edinburgh where we tried out the well-tested seaside entertainments of fish and chips on the quayside and a walk along the beach. FG had his first fish and chip lunch – the first of many I’m sure – and the fish I had from the Lobster Shack was exceptionally good.

*^{Views Of North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland}*

I revisited the excellent Barbara Hepworth exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, this time with LSW. I again found it was an impressive chronological account of some of her best work. I’m not yet sure what exhibition will replace this or the Joan Eardley exhibition in the sister Modern Art Gallery over the road, but I’m expecting great things for our next or next but one Edinburgh visit.

*^{The Hands, Barbara Hepworth, 1948 (Painted As Part Of A Series Following The Illness Of One OF Her Children)}*

Perhaps the highlight of the trip was when LSW and I were entrusted to take FG out for a trip to the Botanical Gardens. We have done this before but, in the past, FG has napped throughout. This time he was wide awake and expecting some entertainment and there was some concern that he would miss his Mum (something called ‘separation anxiety’ apparently). We delivered FG’s entertainment by showing him waterfalls and rapids in the Rockery Garden and then by sitting near a crowd of Japanese children who were playing around a large picnic. FG evidently loves the idea of running water and the proximity of noisy kids; he was a delight.

We are already planning our next trip to Edinburgh and will also try to squeeze in a summer trip to Belfast. We also have another short trip to London in a couple of weeks, reprising an even shorter one a couple of weeks ago to attend a highly convivial family birthday party. It is those trips that help to sustain my mental fitness. I look forward to being able to weave that into my reasoning for my ‘feelings score’ at my next Talk Club Mens’ Mental Fitness group session.

*^{Impressive Antlers On Deer Finding Shade In Bushey Park Which I Was Able To Visit Prior To One Of LSW’s Niece’s Birthday Party}*

Overstepping The Mark To Normality?

October 29, 2021October 29, 2021 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

Over the last couple of weeks I have done a number of things that have pushed my risk of catching Covid 19. I haven’t caught it – presumably thanks to being double vaccinated – but have felt in jeopardy on a few occasions. With the exception of our planned trips to Scotland (lockdown restrictions permitting) when Eldest Son and his fiancés’ baby arrives and then for Christmas, I plan to reduce my exposure to the pandemic a bit in the next few weeks.

For the first time since the pandemic struck, Long-suffering Wife (LSW) and I went to a large indoor event. We attended two very interesting talks at the Cheltenham Literary Festival along with a few hundred others who were mostly masked and who were, by and large of the age that would have been double vaccinated. Any feeling of risk of contagion was quickly overtaken by my interest in what was being said.

*Feargal Cochrane And Patrick McGuire Discussing Northern Ireland At The Cheltenham Literary Festival*

The first talk was about the Labour Party and whether it has any chance of winning an election any time soon. The conclusion between three Labour party sympathisers seemed to be a resounding ‘no’ but the reasons and the possible deflections to that verdict were well set out in arguments that seemed to spill new thoughts and ideas every few seconds.

The second talk concerned the recent history of Northern Ireland. This is of particular interest because Youngest Son (YS) and his Belfast-born partner are now making their careers and lives in Northern Ireland. Having visited a couple of times, we love the country and want it to succeed. The risks to that success are rooted in history there, recent disinterest in Westminster, and the touch-paper lit by Brexit. It was a fascinating talk and increased my wish that the current difficulties around the new Northern Ireland Protocol agreement with the European Union can be resolved soon and relatively painlessly.

Then, last week, I travelled up to London. I hunkered down in a corner on the train up and then walked across London to our flat. On the way I visited the new Marble Arch Mound. The Mound and the view from it was a lot less impressive than the scaffolding on which it is built but the light show inside was a nice bonus.

*One Of The Lightshow Exhibits (Left) Mirroring The Scaffolding Underpinning The Mound Itself*

The main purpose of my London trip was to visit my dentist there for a check-up and hygienist appointment that had been postponed several times over the last year due to the pandemic. The Covid protocols in the dental surgery made me feel very safe and I got away with just a couple of bloodied gums and some new dental hygiene advice.

I felt less safe on the tube to and from a football match (it wasn’t quite coincidence that my football team – table topping Forest Green Rovers – were playing at Leyton Orient the day after my dental appointment!). Despite guidance that masks should be worn, only a minority did so. Fortunately I only needed to be on the tube for four stops each way.

At the match itself, masks were completely absent but the excitement of the football always swamps any feelings I have of Covid risk during games.

*Celebrating Shared Spoils After A Tight Game (Nice Orient Mascots!)*

The visit to London was a lovely break. I visited an unusual and stimulating exhibition by Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama at the White Cube gallery in Bermondsey. His art there incorporated old maps (which I love), ideas about colonialism and the story of his renovation of a bat infested grain silo complex. The White Cube is a wonderful space and it’s free to visit.

*Variety Of Ibrahim Mahama’s Work At The White Cube Gallery, Bermondsey*

*Ibrahim Mahama’s ‘Capital Corpses’ – 100 Rusty Sewing Machines That Bash Away On Vintage Desks (Its Quite a Noise!)*

I also got to see Middle Son (MS) and his partner at the football match but also for dinner and lunch. It was great to catch up with what they are up to. Dinner at Bottega Prelibato was excellent and felt pretty safe.

However, it was during that dinner that I decided that I would forgo another planned London trip the following week during which I was scheduled to see the band Tourist with MS. The idea of being in a cavernous, enclosed space with several bouncing and singing, young and partially vaccinated people felt like an overstepping of the Covid risks. MS and his partner were able to use the tickets and I’m left with regret but well-being.

Other safe events were a visit by YS and his mate on their way to a holiday in Wales and a simultaneous visit by a couple who have been decades-long friends from London. All had gone beyond the call of duty by having recent lateral flow tests – something I need to get in the habit of doing – before visiting us. It was an extremely convivial weekend full of chats, walks, good food and a local art exhibition by a West Country chap called Stuart Voaden. His day was made too by the fact that our friends purchased some of his work. We all had fun.

*Stuart Voaden’s Exhibition At The Three Stories, Nailsworth*

What felt less safe – although it was fun too – was a visit to the local pub last week. For a few weeks now, since the weather got colder, I have been drinking inside rather than in the pub garden. Even during the busy recent Quiz Night the environment felt relatively Covid-free. However, the ‘Jam Night’ last week was a night of full blown sing songs and, as I left after a few noisy beers, I wondered if that had been my peak risk of infection during the last few weeks. I’m going to go to the pub on quieter nights for a while.

Everyone has a different feel for the balance of risk in relation to Covid. I know that I’m lucky that I can choose how much risk I take. The last few weeks have been interesting in helping me determine what is and what is not ok for me in advance of my booster jab and, one hopes, a final decline in Covid cases.

Postscript: Just one more shout out for our Café-au-Lait dahlias which have given me so much pleasure as cut blooms over the last few months. They will continue for a little while yet until they are blasted by the first frost.

Also, I am pleased that my limited range of vegetable harvest has been decent again this year. I can’t grow a lot of things since I struggle to protect them from mammals both large (deer, badgers) and small (voles, mice). However, some basic fencing and conservative plant choices have meant we have plenty of squash, chard, beetroot, onions and potatoes stored in the old stables as we enter winter.

*Home Grown Veg! The Crown Prince Squash (Top Right And 1 of 5) Is A Whopping Stone In Weight*

Another Chapter On The Roller-Coaster

June 25, 2020 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

Late Evening Sun In The Garden And Meadow

Life can seem like a roller-coaster with its ups and downs. Also, it often seems comprised of episodes or chapters, as in a book, where the start and end of each section is triggered by a significant event. Maybe I am mixing metaphors but I have thought of both roller-coasters and multi-chapter books as retired life has progressed this week.

A year ago, our family life was upturned by Middle Son (MS) being run down on a pedestrian crossing by a police fugitive in a car. He has made a good recovery (though I bet he will be stopped at every X-Ray machine at airports). Finally too, just this week, the police arrested the culprit. MS’s accident was a deep low on the roller-coaster but, although the court case and insurance claim is still to come, he and we have moved onwards and upwards. It was great to see him looking happy this last weekend when he, Eldest Son (ES), and ES’s lovely girlfriend visited us for the day to celebrate Long-Suffering Wife’s (LSW’s) birthday.

Birthday Banners And Delicious Homemade Birthday Food

We had a highly convivial day marking LSW’s (big-with-a-nought-on-it) birthday with all our sons. There was even some probably ill-advised hugging! The sun shone, there was great food and, mid-afternoon, LSW had a visit from the family of her younger brother and her mother. We observed social distancing outdoors with them but the atmosphere of sociability and exuberance pushed away the disappointment of having had to cancel LSW’s our original plan birthday holiday plan due to the Covid-19 crisis. It felt liberating just to have a lot of people in our garden again; a lovely slice of (almost) normality…..

Of course, a birthday can mark the start of a new chapter of life. This one did so, especially, because Covid-19 lockdown has eased enough that Youngest Son (YS) was able to leave us, a couple of days after the birthday celebrations, for a new start in Northern Ireland. That has left a hole in our days that will take a while to re-seal with other interactions and activities.

Watching Youngest Son From Our Bedroom Departing In The Wee Early Hours

Watching Youngest Son From Our Bedroom Departing In The Wee Hours Of The Morning

YS had been with us for three months and his can-do enthusiasm and almost constant positivity (so different from me) will be sorely missed. As parents, it was a privilege to have him at such close quarters for so long. I suspect our first post-lockdown trip will be to Belfast to see how he is settling in there and we are looking forward to that hugely. Not only will we see him again then, but a trip away from home will be a welcome break from our re-trenched lockdown routine, and a chance to see a part of Britain I have not seen before. Four years ago – almost to the day – we were waving YS off to what turned out to be three years in Australia; Northern Ireland is not so far!

Until we are able to make such a trip we are more than making do outdoors with the enjoyment of our garden and the seemingly endless variety of local walks.

A Selection Of Garden Flowers

The garden is full of flowers, the meadow is gradually revealing increasing plant diversity in response to our benign management, and both garden and meadow are full of bees, butterflies and other insects.

Marbled White Butterfly - Stationary Just Long Enough For A Photo

Marbled White Butterfly – Stationary In Our Field Just Long Enough For A Blurry Photo

My life chapters may be moving at a more sedate pace than YS’s but my roller coaster is nicely located for a contented retiree 🙂

Another Day In Paradise?

June 11, 2020 / fgrtommo / 2 Comments

It feels churlish to complain about the coronavirus lockdown when I know that I have the multiple benefits of living in spacious house and garden in a beautiful part of the world, in sunny weather, with huge amounts of discretionary time and no immediate money worries. I hadn’t imagined that retirement would be like this but it is certainly more relaxed and peaceful than I had expected. So, on we go with another day in Paradise?

Local Paradise

Maybe, but I’m getting increasingly bored and frustrated by the lockdown.

The lockdown rules seem to be constantly changing in ways I don’t really understand and which lead to apparent inconsistencies. Of course, I can only read a small proportion of the increasingly diverse scientific advice. I can only partially understand the economic and wider physical and mental health implications of social distancing. However, I look at other countries in Europe that are similar to ours and feel they are coping better; their lockdowns appear less strict and executed to a more logical, progressive and strategic plan.

I suppose my current frustration is accentuated by the knowledge that we had planned to be walking from Minehead in Somerset, along the north Devon coast to Padstow in Cornwall right now. I recall how Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) and I felt so proud of ourselves when we finished booking all 14 of the Air BnB’s along the route. We were so pleased that we had booked a house that was perfect for a week-long celebration of LSW’s (big) birthday with our sons, their girlfriends and some old friends at the end of our fortnight of walking.

Route Of Our Planned Walk – South West Coastal Path From Minehead To Padstow (The Yellow Line)

That has all been cancelled progressively over the last few weeks as the lockdown rules on overnight stays have tightened and it has become clear that pubs and restaurants won’t be substantially open for a few weeks yet. The silver lining to this has been that LSW strained her back recently and the holiday cancellation has given her a chance to recover properly – she would have been sorely challenged by daily walks we planned – and also that the weather has suddenly turned mediocre.

Instagram Post By The Economist: One Of The Many Indicators That Persuaded Us That A Cornish Holiday Right Now Is Inappropriate

We will just have to shift the whole three week plan to next summer, and then hope that the weather is sublime and that we are still fit enough to do the walk. It will, though, have to be slotted in among all the other trips around the UK that we are envisaging ambitiously for when freedom is returned!

One foretaste of the renewed possibilities once the lockdown is ended was that Youngest Son and I did manage to get up to see my parents in Nottingham last week. This was my first visit since mid-February. I look forward to the rules changing so that I can once again sit with Mum for a while in the residential home and can stay overnight with my Dad. However, it was very good, and rather emotional, to see them both even though the visit was only relatively brief (and, fortunately, in the sun).

It was good too to be able to help my Dad complete the netting of his fruit and vegetable plot. He had just lost a batch of mangetout to the dreaded pigeons and I know how distressing losing crops to animals and birds can be. Now most of his crops, like mine I hope, are protected.

My Vegetable Patch And Raised Beds – Protected From Most of the Local Wildlife

I will try to repeat the visit Dad again next month (and, no doubt, compare gardening experience and produce) regardless of whether lockdown restrictions have been relaxed further.

There is certainly a lot to look forward to once this damnable virus is past.

Smiling Garden Flowers And Buzzing Bees – Gloriously Oblivious To Coronavirus!

Pushing The Lockdown Boundary

May 27, 2020June 11, 2020 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

CroAt a time when the Governments special adviser, Dominic Cummings, is dominating the news with his transgressions beyond the coronavirus lockdown boundaries, we too are pushing the lockdown envelope – albeit in much less obvious, controversial or dramatic fashion. Our story is considerably less convoluted; we want to see our closest relatives and friends face to face.

Over the Bank Holiday weekend, Youngest Son (YS) offered to drive to London and back to collect Eldest Son (ES) and his girlfriend. This enabled them to stay for a couple of days at our house and spend extended time out of their little flat in which they have been rather cooped up. We eschewed hugging and touching but it was lovely to have them with us for a while and to catch up on their plans together. Their visit was a welcome break from our normal routine. It was an excuse to show off the garden and the local countryside and to eat slightly more luxuriously than usual. It also provided an extra couple of players for our rounds of Monopoly Deal (now all but cemented into our daily cycle of lockdown-life).

Not Socially Distanced (But Pretty Safe) Monopoly Deal

Not Strictly Socially Distanced (But Pretty Safe) Monopoly Deal

Long Suffering Wife’s (LSW’s) mother also visited us one afternoon (lockdown rule compliant) and a couple of other friends come over for a drink (non-compliant) last week. We have also continued a regular social distanced Sunday lunch drink in our garden with a couple of neighbours (marginally compliant). All these little events help pass the lockdown days in relaxed conversation in the continuingly gorgeous weather.

Peonies At Peak In The Garden

Gradually the lockdown is going to be relaxed. In some ways I don’t want the peace and quiet of the lockdown to end. But I know that the lockdown is hard for so many and, in any case, I’d love to be able to visit my Mum and stay with my Dad. I want to see the return of live music venues, sport, cafes and restaurants. I want to have a party! Instead of running an online village quiz (which fortunately was successful and fun) I want to participate in the village quiz in the village pub!

YS – a videographer by trade as Wilson Archer Films – has kept himself busy while staying with us with self-training, a week of work in London for London Flower School, helping with deliveries for the local community shop and (usually) thrashing LSW and I at Monopoly Deal. He has also been developing a video of our house and garden. This is to add to his portfolio as a real estate video producer and to help LSW, potentially, market the house as a location shoot in a no-Covid-19 future.

The Videographer At Work

This is all well and good, and LSW and I have loved having him and his chirpy energy around, but YS is desperate for lockdown relaxation so he can stop living with his parents, see his girlfriend again and set up a new chapter of his life with her in Belfast. Everyone wants to get back to something closer to normality.

Flowers From London Flower School Left Over After YS’s Shoot, Gracing Our Dining Table

Meanwhile, the days have largely continued to circle around the walk into town for the daily shopping, a walk in the brilliantly green woods or across fields carpeted with wild flowers, a bit of gardening, three meals a day and TV in the evenings (LSW and I really liked Normal People).

Underrated Cow Parsley On The Way To Forest Green

In the marvellous Spring weather all of this has felt like an illicit pleasure – knowing that key workers and many others are having a tough time, even as the lockdown rules slowly fall away.

Inquisitive Cows In the Field On the Hill Behind Our House – A Change From Endless Pictures Of Lambs!

Life Drifting Along

May 9, 2020June 11, 2020 / fgrtommo / 2 Comments

The Westernmost Part Of Our Hamlet

This picture of our hamlet in Gloucestershire is a picture of sunny tranquillity. That is, until you realise this is taken by a tree feller, who for two days, seared the air with the noise of his chainsaw!

Despite that aural intrusion, the last couple of weeks of lockdown has been peaceful and, frankly, have felt like a very pleasant, seamless drift from one day to the next. The only things that keep me aware of what day it is are the maintenance of our routine of sourdough bread at the weekends and the date labels on my Guardian newspaper subscription vouchers. I do wonder when and how the lockdown will end but, in the meantime, no complaints here yet.

Blue, Vapour Trail Free Skies Above Quintisential English Countryside

Blue, Vapour Trail Free Skies Above Quintessential English Countryside (And One Of The First Wind Turbines In The Country)

What might become boredom has been fended off by the recognition that there is always an endless number of jobs to do in the garden (and the good weather in which to do them) and some work to promote our village climate action group. On the latter I have been interested in following up the themes that arose at out village meeting just before the lockdown that related to strengthening community cohesion, neighbourliness, sharing and mutual support.

Of course, a number of community based initiatives related to the virus outbreak are already underway in the village independent from our climate action group. One group are making protective headgear for front line medical staff using 3-D printers. Another, including Long-Suffering Wife (LSW), is sewing up gowns for nurses. Our climate action group wants to build on that community spirit while focusing on things that reduce carbon emissions.

The WhatsApp Group that LSW set up in early April for sharing of services and things in our hamlet has been very successful. Similar groups are already up and running in other hamlets around the parish. Together with the village Facebook presence, they have served as useful support mechanisms during the lockdown. A new group that our village climate action group established that is specifically focused on sharing seeds, seedlings, plants and surplus crops has also thrived. Social media technology is really helping with social cohesion although we are also using old fashioned means of notice boards and local magazines to ‘spread the word’ to those who don’t use it.

Sourdogh Starter, Kombucha Scoby, Carpet Cleaner And Rhubarb – Just A Fraction Of The Things Swapped And Shared By LSW’s WhatsApp Group

It is almost distasteful to imagine that there are positives arising from the coronavirus outbreak. So many have died, so many are worried about their jobs and incomes, and so many are suffering from just being cooped up in their flats and houses.

However it is also possible to recognise that the lockdown introduced to dampen the Covid-19 infection rate has had some beneficial impact on community spirit, carbon emissions and air quality. We are spending more time communicating with our neighbours (albeit while socially distancing) and we are working, entertaining ourselves and shopping more locally, and are therefore driving and flying less.

One Of The Innovations That Has Sprung Up In Our Hamlet - One Of Three A Joke-A-Day Boards

One Of The Innovations That Has Sprung Up In Our Hamlet – One Of Three ‘Joke-Of-The-Day’ Boards

Given that the ongoing climate emergency is going to eventually come back to be the headline risk to humanity, the question becomes: how do we sustain the effects of the lockdown that have had a positive impact on carbon emission levels and community resilience against the climate emergency, beyond the lockdown?

The area I am thinking about most at the moment is whether we can find ways of sustaining at least the majority of the extra revenue that has resulted from many more people in the using our Community Shop during the virus outbreak. Revenues and footfall have more than doubled and so the shop is thriving relative to normal operation. The shop has long been a great community asset but it is now even more of a hub around which neighbourliness, gossip and information can circulate. It would be great to sustain some of those economics and the stronger social feel after the lockdown is eased, not least because local shopping will reduce carbon emissions in line with the objectives of our climate action group.

Meanwhile, Zoom meetings are keeping LSW and I in touch with our sons in London and various friends – possibly more than usual in fact. The ‘Clap for Carers’ session on Thursday evenings is becoming an ever more sophisticated event in our hamlet with a trumpet player now accompanying the saxophonist that started the musical dimension. These events are ripples on a steady drift through a largely unchanging stream of locked down days.

Carpets Of Wild Garlic Amid Beech Trees

How fortunate it is for me that the weather is so warm and sunny and I have the means to enjoy it. The local woods have been full of bluebells and now are strewn with carpets of wild garlic. The trees and hedgerows have that brilliant green foliage that Spring brings. The skies are blue and populated with attractive clouds rather than the vapour trails of aeroplanes. The birds seem louder and happier this year and the lambs more numerous. My phone is full of pictures of sweet little lambs; how many does one need?

Stay safe!

So Much To Do, So Much Time?

April 25, 2020September 29, 2022 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

Gorgeous Spring weather is here but the lockdown to prevent the rapid spread of Covid-19 continues. So many in the UK and worldwide are horribly constrained by the lockdown and I am fortunate that I can continue to enjoy this wonderful Spring.

Longhorn Cow Enjoying The Same Views As Me

There are arguments raging as to whether the UK lockdown was aggressive or early enough, about how long it should last and how it should be relaxed over time. Given the evident lack of testing and tracing capability, and the paucity of vital protective equipment available to health care workers, it seems to me that the lockdown should have been implemented much earlier.

I wonder why our Prime Minister was openly glad-handing others so long after the infectiousness of the virus was clear, and why did the Cheltenham race festival with its 100,000 racegoers take place in mid-March? Given that a pandemic was an obvious risk, why did we not have more equipment in our stockpiles in anticipation?

Now we have ‘let the cat out of the bag’, as it were, it looks like getting it back under control is going to take an extended period of social and business restrictions. That is already creating huge economic and social problems. Loneliness, anxiety, depression are all bound to increase. Worries about domestic violence, money, entertaining and educating kids, and many other unplanned problems are mounting for many. It is hard to imagine what life in the UK might be like in a year or so if the lockdown cannot be relaxed significantly by then.

New Life, Blissfully Unaware of Covid-19

Meanwhile, I continue to be one of the lucky ones. I haven’t contracted the virus and don’t know anyone personally who has suffered badly from it – yet. I don’t have to work or travel any more. I live in the country and so can still get out and about without needing to worry about social distancing while outdoors. Indeed, the countryside is splendidly empty of people, vibrant with wildlife and looks lovely in the fullness of what has been terrifically consistent Spring sunshine.

Peak Blossom In The Field Next To Ours

I am maintaining my 15,000 steps a day average by finding ever more extravagant detours into the surrounding rural wilderness on my way to the newsagent in town. This walking, in combination with a steady reduction in alcohol intake over the last three months (in line with my New Year resolutions) has got my weight down close to my target. That, plus plenty of gardening, is improving my overall health and readiness to take on Covid-19 if and when it hits me.

Rural Wilderness On The Long Way to Town

My days are surprisingly full. There is so much music to listen to and so many box-set series TV to watch (I’m loving Trigonometry and Devs on the BBC at the moment). There are so many books on my ‘To Be Read’ shelf still (I’m half way through Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan and enjoying that). I play games on my mobile; I am keeping my empire in Forge of Empires going and gradually improving my battle technique in Clash of Clans.

Yet these are all just fill-in activities around the main, constant structure of almost every locked down day (Sunday is still a slight exception). Tea in bed is followed by leisurely breakfast. Then there is the round-about walk into town for the newspaper followed by digestion of its main stories. Then I make a salad lunch which is followed by the first game of Monopoly Deal of the day with Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) and Youngest Son (YS).

Monopoly Deal; A Cut Down Monopoly Game With Just Cards. More Fun Than It Sounds!

Most afternoons I work in the garden – there are simply more jobs in the garden than I can fit into the time and my reserves of energy – or I spend an hour or two writing this or moving forward the village Neighbourhood Plan and Climate Action Network group.

I stop to follow the daily government briefing on Covid-19 at 5pm. It’s repetitive but worth listening to, I think, for the subtle attempts to re-write history and the almost obsessional denial of any mistakes. Those denials are even with hindsight and in the knowledge that no-one could get the response to the pandemic entirely right. Indeed, there may be no ‘right answers’ and certainly none we can discern yet. YS still can’t get over how much I chunter on to the radio with my moaning about politicians.

If it is my turn to cook then I’ll spend an inordinate amount of time preparing for that. I’m finding that while recipes are invariably right about cooking times, they underestimate preparation time (by me, anyway) by 300%.

Finally we will eat and then play another game of Monopoly Deal before retiring to the TV room. The day is crowned with another railing against politicians on the television evening news and then its reading in bed and sleep.

Special events rarely disturb this pattern. LSW and YS have deemed Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays as ‘drinking days’. On these we often lap up the privilege we have of a garden to retreat to, by taking a bottle of wine up to the fading warmth of the setting sun at the top of our field.

Evening Wine In Our Field

The Thursday ‘Clap for Carers’ has become an increasingly important interlude and is now accompanied by a neighbour playing ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ proficiently and commendably on saxophone. Also a new virtual, monthly village quiz has kicked off; I’m scheduled to arrange the May occurrence so preparation for that will fill a rainy day or two.

There seems to be so much to do. I do hope we find a way to end the lockdown soon but it has helped me fit all these local activities in.

Lockdown Life In The Country

April 11, 2020June 11, 2020 / fgrtommo / 1 Comment

The lockdown continues to affect me much less than most people and I count my blessings for that – and for avoiding infection so far. I’m retired and live in the country with plenty of space, leisure time and a nice garden to sit or work in. I know many are far less fortunate – and doubly so because the weather has been so lovely since the lockdown kicked off.

Nonetheless, the difference for me between this Easter and last year’s Easter is a stark indicator of how much the world has changed. Last Easter, Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) and I hosted a treasure hunt and lunch for 19 of our family. Two of our sons brought their girlfriends to stay with us and, throughout Easter Sunday, the extended family intermingled in the garden over drinks and food. There is none of that this year. The only similarity is that the weather is hot and sunny, the new lambs are in the next door field again and all the other reliable signs of Spring are in evidence.

The First Ducklings I Have Seen This Year And Spring Lambs In The Neighbouring Field

Easter weekend is, this year, just like any other day in lockdown. There is now so little difference between one day and another. Planning and execution of holidays, trips to London and visits to my parents in Nottingham has stopped. Now planning is merely about deciding which circuitous and deserted route to take into the local shops, who is going to cook the evening meal and with what, and what trivial task will be undertaken today.

A View On One Of My Favourite Circuitous Walks To The Shops

Most of my usual routines have persisted; I’m a creature of habit after all! For example, I still have fruit/yogurt/granola breakfast midweek but bread and jam at the weekends. The consistency of our salad lunches (except Sundays when we have roast chicken) has remained unperturbed by the Coronavirus. I still insist on listening to the radio news headlines twice a day (at 1pm and 5pm) despite their increasing repetition and depressing content. I still walk into town every morning to collect my newspaper. LSW and I still attempt the Guardian Quick Crossword together every late afternoon over tea.

But now, some new markers for the progression of the day and week have emerged. For instance, primarily at Youngest Son’s (YS’s) prompting, we play a game of Monopoly Deal after every lunch and dinner. Primarily at LSW’s prompting, we participate in the regular Thursday evening ‘Clap for Care Workers’ event in our lane alongside her ‘Hearts For Horsley’ banner – now, one of almost 100 in the vicinity.

Hearts Around Horsley Banners/Flags Including LSW’s And A Lego Version

Life has slowed down. It is just less full without the trips away from our home and my attendance at football games. Football ceasing at Forest Green Rovers during the lockdown has, I estimate, given me a day a week back now that there is no game to prepare for, travel to, watch, write up on the forums afterwards and generally worry about.

Now I spend more time sitting down to read my book or the newspaper in the afternoons which risks, and often leads to, snoozing. Amid the tendency to inactivity, my to-do lists have become more important again as I try to ensure that at least one thing worthwhile is completed each day. LSW, YS and I have collectively tried to structure our days and weeks to make sure we stay focused on achieving something even when there is so little pressing to do.

Wood Anemones Among First Bluebells And Massed Cherry Blossom

Another example of imposing a new structure to our time is that we have started to stick more rigidly to a schedule of drinking alcohol on just Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. This new rhythm feels more feasible now we are not going to dinner parties, social events or holiday destinations any more. It is certainly helping me achieve my New Year resolutions for alcohol-free days and reduced overall alcohol intake. The loss of the pre-Coronavirus/pre-Pub closure routines of the monthly Pub Quiz and beer while the Sunday roast is cooking has, alone, reduced my alcohol intake by about 10%.

As with the other (few) positive impacts of the virus outbreak – on increased local shopping and home cooking, decreased carbon emissions and improved air quality for example – it will be interesting to see if I revert to bad habits and previous levels of alcohol once the lockdown has passed. I’m confident I can avoid that.

Meanwhile, we all need to enjoy Spring as much as we can while, predominantly, staying at home and away from people outside our household (‘to protect the NHS and save lives’, including our own). Easy for me to say while in my relatively comfortable position, but I hope everyone reading this adheres to the current health guidelines and avoids the virus too.

My Thank You To Our Bin Men In A Time Of Crisis

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