Blogs from Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 2

Another week has slid by . Another deadline passed . The exchange on the house did not happen . The completion won't either . We are still in lockdown. A dim and dismal place to be . The weather has turned cold . A chill air greets me on my morning walk . The sun is not making any appearance and the grass is covered with a silver covering. It was the first frost last night of the Autumn . What would I prefer ? I asked myself this question as I set out on my walk . Cold with a hint of frost , frozen grass or rain . Endless rain and mist . I opted for the first choice . Frost anytime . Would frost kill Coronavirus ? I suppose at the back of ... read more

When I woke up in late March and heard about lockdown and Covid I never for one minute imagined that I would be here in November still writing about the same old thing . It it felt like groundhog day months ago I have little idea how to describe this the 1st day of a new month . I feel like Janus the god that January is named after looking backward to the start of all of this and looking forward to it ending . Sadly looking back feels a pointless exercise . 2020 has been a washout . Cancelled holidays . Home working . Motorhome sales going through the roof and no places to stay . Looking forward - Bonfire Night is on the horizon. That night or few days before and after the night ... read more

Covid has given us a whole range of new words. Furlough - that has been brought into usage again and entered our language . Firebreaks - Wales has gone into one for the next two weeks . As I set off on my morning work I contemplate on what the week will bring . With each step I try to kick the leaves that fall on the ground . All wet and soggy . The air feels thick with dew and mist . It is not raining but it feels wet . Dank . I came across that word when I was about 11 years old. It was Christmas and I had received an Enid Blyton book. The Island of Adventure - the first of many that I would read. I received one every Christmas and ... read more

100 not out . A century in cricket . The batsman counting up to 100 hoping he will survive the bowling and reach a ton. The bowler hoping to bowl the batsman out before he reaches that milestone . For some wierd reason my brain had calculated that we had reached 100 days since Boris locked down . As I walked this morning I thought about that 100 and it seemed wrong but I was not sure why. I thought cricket . I thought about all those reaching 100 recieving a telegram from the Queen . Does she still use telegrams ? No probably a card handwritten . Happy 100th from Madge . Her hand aching from signing all those cards . Madge as Dame Edna Everidge called her would be sending a lot of cards ... read more

Our last day. Due to covid we had to be out of the cottage earlier than usual but that was ok. We packed up & headed to the south Peaks for a stoll along Dovedale (last visit when I was a child). This is a lovely, easy stoll along the river - it would usually be easier but the high water levels had flooded some of the path & the stepping stones were completely impassable! We strolled along to Reynard's Cave and I decided to brave the muddy climb up to the cave itself - slightly anticlimactic to be honest! Then we said farewell to the Peak District & headed south stopping near Birmingham to have lunch at the Litchfield Tea Company & pick up some essentials from my dad. Here I discovered Rooibos Earl Grey ... read more