Derbyshire 158 - Chesterfield - yes another one and yes it is raining again

---

Week 15 - the start of another week . I think it is week 15. Days 107 and 108 are upon us. I read my quote off the calendar this morning and it was one I had read before . A walk of a thousand miles starts with one step . I guess when you produce a calendar every year eventually you run out of new things to write . It is a good one though and I really did not mind reading it again. My walk starts and ends at the back door at the moment . I have walked nearly four times the route of Hadrians Wall . I must be heading a long way across France in my imaginary walk. I suppose my back door is as good a place to start as any place . The camino route is planned out at just over 500 miles long and if I were walking the full length I would still have a long way to go. I might have got as far as Skegness and walked back , headed off again and be partway back a second time round. I need some imagination I have been locked in for such a long time. I wonder how I will cope when we get to Autumn and Winter if we are still locked down.

I headed off to the allotments just me and my thoughts . The start of yet another week where nothing was opened . It is possible to visit National Trust properties but I need to ring up first and book a parking spot . Cannot be bothered I thought. The allotments were empty . Not one person there. I am sure they must come down and harvest their produce . The gardens which were full of purple Allium in the spring now were filled with the spectacular seedheads, Photographs did no justice to them.

Weather - it was not a bad day as I walked around the Stubbing Pond. The walkers as always were out . On their own. Two together . Man and woman with dog. Then the runners . Would we all be fitter by the end of lockdown? The story out is that obesity is a major factor when looking at Covid . The government want to use this virus as an opportunity to look at changing the nations eating habits . Too many Maccy D's I thought as I walked along . 13,000 new staff for our department . VAT cut to try to help the economy. 22 deaths from Covid . A Monday is always a slow day.

In the words of the song by Supertramp - its raining again . It is July and it has done nothing but rain off and almost every day . "Lovely day for a walk today " said my friend walking his dog . He sort of feels a friend . I know where he lives . He waves to me. He stops to talk to me . I don't know his name . I agreed ." Yes it is lovely " was my reply. As he walked away from me he shouted back "Well we don't need a raincoat today do we?" No indeed we don't. It stayed warm and dry for my walk. It stayed warm and dry until lunchtime . Then the rain came. Light at first but then heavy through both afternoons. Good for the garden . Won't need to go and water the potatoes or the carrots . They could look after themselves. But rather than not need a raincoat now we needed one. It is day 108 .

The walk - Down the same old roads. We pondered a trip out but never made it . The barbers are open. To book an appointment we needed to go on line and set up an account . Pick a time slot and book it. We were surprised to get an appointment. It was relatively easy but odd compared to what we were used to . The hairdresser called . She had booked me a haircut . After 21 weeks the shaggy look might be on it's way out. It was a lovely feeling to realise I was on the verge of getting a hair cut .

I wondered if things were slowly returning to normal . Pubs are opening. Pubs are closing again as someone declares that they have been tested positive for Covid 19.

The chiropodist rang up. I can have an appointment . As I walked she talked to me over the phone . "Have you had a temperature ?" I assured her that I had not had anything abnormal. "Can you make sure you bring a mask?" "Knock on my window at 12.30.and I will let you in" I felt a sense of relief . My poor aching feet needed a touch of pampering. .

So getting home I settled down to catch up on the news . Stamp duty scrapped for the next six months . That should kickstart the housing market . Millions given for green schemes . £10 for each and every person going out for a meal. VAT dropped to 5% on the leisure industry . Campsites and theme parks . A whole raft of schemes to try to get the economy on track again. It remains to be seen how it will all pan out .

---