Blogs from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 5

100 days who would have thought it ? Not me for sure . 100 days - almost one third of the year gone . 100 days drifted away in a mist of uncertainty, anxiety and frustration . Wind back to the middle of March and I didnt see it coming . Or perhaps I did but I did not expect my life to be put on hold . Nor did I think I would always use the word normal in inverted commas. What is normal? I dont know any more . I locked my desk , I put my cup in my locker , I said bye to colleagues and with a cheery "Have a good weekend - see you next week " I left the building . I have not been back . I was ... read more

"It all depends on you . You can go on sleeping forever or you can wake up right this moment ". - Osho I suppose every morning you have that choice . Look out of the window - check the weather out - check the view out . At that point depending how you feel you make your mind up. Stay in bed a bit longer and hope for better weather - a better view or get up and face the day . Todays view out of the bedroom window was the same old view . The same view I have woken up to for the last 98 days . 98 days of self isolating , keeping in , keeping safe . The same old view I have had for 6 and a half years . ... read more

Dear Covid 19 daily diary. I did not write in you yesterday . I don't know why. Perhaps it was because my walk was.............well the same old walk . Or perhaps it was because it was so hot . I sat out in the sun with a glass of Aperol Spritz without the Prosecco . Reminder to self - shopping need to buy wine . I closed my eyes as i drank it and thought of the Italian Lakes and less than fizzy Aperol in my glass . Not quite the same experience . It was a lovely day and the sun rose early . It was too hot to stay in bed . Too hot to walk but walk I did . I saw no-one for a while . Perhaps they felt like me . ... read more

Day 92 - Sunday . Overnight an a knife attack has occured in Reading . Three dead . A Lybyan national has been arrested . It sounds like a terrorist attack and mental health issues have been bandied about . The knifeman has recently been released from prison following a minor offence . Only just released it sounds as if he went amok in the park last night . Can the world get any worse ? The rain fell relentlessly overnight . It did save us from watering the vegetable plot . It took care of itself . The water butt had filled by this morning . The sun had broken through by 8 am . It was time to venture forth and see what Sunday was going to bring to me . Fathers Day . ... read more

Day 89 - Imprisoned , trapped , prevented from going for a walk today. Gaoled . Incarcerated. All those words applied today. I have felt trapped before but somehow this morning it felt ten one hundred times worse . I knew before I even got up I was going nowhere . I could hear the rain already. Under the bedclothes it just sounded like a gentle patter . Reality was something very very different . A leaden sky that looked heavy with rain . Would a pregnant filled to the belly with rain sound a better metaphor for what I could see? I knew my walk was in jeopardy before I even got one foot out of bed. Over a long lingering breakfast - porridge for the driver . Nothing for me but a long stretched ... read more