On 18th July I was pinged by the NHS Covid App, meaning that I had to self-isolate for seven days. The App identifies a contact with someone who later tested positive for Covid. However, I have no idea where that happened, and certainly did not come from any friends I met during the week. I took a lateral flow test, which was negative.
Last week the UK was experiencing a heatwave with temperatures in the low 30c. Having had to cancel my plans for Wednesday, at least I could spend time in the garden. The mornings and evenings were best times for being outside. During the height of the day, there was nowhere to escape to; not one room in the house was cool, and at night sleeping was difficult. With no rain, watering the garden was high on the list of jobs for the evening. Housework had to be done early in the morning, or not at all!
The photos I am sharing this week reflect my life during the last seven days Thankfully, there were some distractions in the garden and the moon was looking beautiful.
Today I am able to leave the house again!
Afternoon in the gardenEarly evening moon
Some home grown radishes
With time on my hands, I made a little beach scene to sit by the pond, decorated with finds from the bankside of the River Thames, some fairy garden items, and a few shells.Homemade vegan pizza – my son made the herb base and I put my own topping togetherThe Hay MoonSunsetBee on a teaselVegan buns filled with homemade blackberry jelly. These are absolutely divine!The Hay moon – not quite full moon
Jimmy C street art at Blackfriars Bridge, London. Jimmy C is an Australian artist inspired by coloured dots used in Aborginal art (thanks to Look Up London for these extra facts)
NaBloPoMo stands for National Blog Post Month. The aim is to write daily blog posts. I have taken part in this before with other blogs I write. This year I’m taking the challenge on here.
After the news last night, that England is going back into lockdown on Thursday 5th November until 2nd December, we all need positive images in our lives. It will still be possible to meet one other person not in your household outside, but with cafes, bars, restaurants and leisure facilities closed there is little to do except walk. Luckily, that is something I enjoy doing.
My usual posts will appear here, but in between I shall be posting other things – maybe just a photo or two. Who knows?
So here is the first one. It was full moon last night, the second one in the month, called a Blue Moon.
This has been a slow week. Not being able to get to places is starting to take its toll. The weather has also changed, though the garden really does need the rain. This afternoon we had a short thunderstorm and a decent amount of rain at last.
Our Farmer’s Market was up and running today for the first time since lockdown, but unfortunately the fruit and veg stall wasn’t there. There were only perhaps six or seven stalls. I do hope the other stalls come back soon.
While other shops are starting to reopen, the only ones I’m interested in are book shops. The decent one is bus ride away. What I long for is the re-opening of museums and galleries. To say that boredom is setting in is an understatement. To try and keep sane I have been dabbling in art and experimenting with different forms. I’m a hopeless watercolour painter, but I do like using pen, ink and charcoal. I’m mixing things up to see how they work. Felt tip pens and crayons are also quite good fun.
Pen and ink wash
Ink and pen
I’ve also spend time trying to capture the moon in its phases as it reached its fullness yesterday (5th June). But we had two nights of cloudy skies and I wasn’t able to see the moon. Then last night I got up to use the bathroom and through the window I saw the moon. Well, I had to capture it even though it was 3am and it meant standing in the back garden in my dressing gown. For a couple of shots I leaned out of the bathroom window. Success!
Going through my some old files on a memory stick I came across a day trip we did as family back in 2003 to Bekonscot Model Village in Beckonsfield in the county of Buckinghamshire. I’ve always had a thing about model villages, and I’ve been to this one twice. Its high time to make a third visit when lockdown is over and we can travel again.
Bekonscot Model Village first opened in 1929 and was the brain child of Roland Callingham, a London accountant. The model railway was initially indoors, but Mrs Callingham said either it goes or she does! The model railway moved outside and the rest is history. In the past the model village was kept up to date with modern cars etc., but in the ’90’s it reverted to the the 1930’s and has remained so.
There is no social distancing here as crowds gather to watch the local football team play, hay is gathered in and railway engines chunters along over bridges and into tunnels, while a wedding takes place in the church, Morris dancers entertain and boats bob on the water. This is a brilliant place to take children and it’s nostalgic for adults. At present it is closed (like everything else) but the website gives instructions for getting there and Beconsfield Station is a short walk away. There is also a photo gallery on the site and lots more information.
This last week seemed much like any other week with a lot of time spent outside reading in the sunshine. I went for a walk with one of my sons and we came back via the shops only to find Tesco Express was closed due to electrical problems. All the other shops had long queues so we used our local Off Licence just to buy the essentials like bread, milk and eggs and some orange juice. Thankfully the small Tesco store opened again yesterday and we managed to buy some fruit and veg.
Jogging is going well. I’ve increased the time I run to when I walk, but I still find time to take photos. There is a small garden just inside the gate I use at the park and I’m watching that change as the daffs and tulips are finishing and new flowers are taking their place. I also baked a Marmalade and Ginger cake which is so moist and light and tasty that it is hard to stick to one slice. That and the left over chocolate from Easter is one of the reasons I run!
My London+ 