Pandemic Pondering #358

On Mar 16, 2021Mar 16, 2021 By theoldmortuary.designIn Friends and Family, SerendipityLeave a comment

Last Mothers Day pondering of 2021. We had a Mothers Day afternoon Tea in a box today which bought the event to an end in a lovely way.

The actual day started for us with a really early outdoor breakfast, bacon butties and coffee and delivering some bumches of daffodils to friends. We were joined by George the cockerpoo from Nazareth House.

He encouraged giddiness in the dog world.

Luckily he arrived after the bacon butties were finished.

After a breakfast as tasty as this we needed to get some exercise in. 15,000 steps later we also rewarded ourselves with an eclair each, a nod to both our Mothers who had a weakness for choux pastry.

This is what the rest of our very small family got up to.

The smallest person in the family went for an enigmatic stroll.

During our stroll of 15,000 steps we met some other friends. We nattered and shared news and dog cuddles, we also learnt the technique of Split Squats. Life changing!

When we got home a message popped up on our Whatsapp.

A message as unexpected as this was a lovely embelishment to the day, it made our eyes water as much as the split squats!

Pandemic Pondering #357

On Mar 14, 2021Mar 15, 2021 By theoldmortuary.designIn Friends and Family, SerendipityLeave a comment

Post Mothers Day Meandering.

Just like 2020, 2021 was an unusual Mothers Day. In honesty we don’t really have ‘usual’ Mothers Days even in non-pandemic years. Some of us in our blended family hold firm to gathering together while others hold firm to not participating. Then there is the third category of those who have no choice in the matter, those who have passed into another realm and are forced to join us through our anecdotes and memories or possibly just our private thoughts.

The third category are almost the most interesting participants.

They loom, making us a little sad, not all of them are actual Mothers,some are aunts or cousins, some are unborn or uncreated children, some are unrelated and others,dare I say it are men.

‘It takes a village to raise a child’ is an African proverb that recognises that Mothering/ Nurturing is a complex old business achieved by an ensemble of characters involved with a childs growth and development.

Happy Mothers Day, Nurturers, whoever you are. We wouldn’t be who we are without you, all of you.

Pandemic Pondering #356

On Mar 14, 2021Mar 14, 2021 By theoldmortuary.designIn Pandemic ponderings, Serendipity1 Comment

When you leave home in sunshine for a swim and by the time you arrive your car looks like this you know its going to be an interesting afternoon.

The hail did stop but the skies were pretty menacing for our swim.

As this blog is published it will be the second Mothers Day in Britain that has gone unmarked by gatherings because of Pandemic Restrictions. @theoldmortuary will be at the centre of busyness tomorrow. Situated as we are close to two large graveyards. The only mothers who can be safely or legally visited currently are dead ones and only then if their last resting place is local. Last year was markedly busier in the cemetery than usual and I’m sure Mothers Day 2021 will be much the same.

We are really missing family contact. Our nearest and dearest are hundreds or thousands of miles away. Not that we are unique in this matter but it is irksome. Better to be irked than dead of course or grieving for a recent loss.

Two sea swims in 24 hours when it is chilly is exhausting. Our Sunday regime will involve an early rise to avoid people, especially those who are breaking Covid restrictions to meet their mothers! Being irked also brings a side order of grumpiness with rule breakers! Gazing at the sea with coffee in hand and not immersing ourselves in it is the plan. Almost certainly , especially if the weather is good we will regret not getting in. Skinny dipping will be considered and rejected immediately, not seriously but wishfully. Dogs will be walked and another morning in Lockdown will be ticked off.

Pandemic pondering #355

On Mar 12, 2021Mar 13, 2021 By theoldmortuary.designIn Home TownsLeave a comment

If a picture paints a thousand words then this frame says it all about Lockdown 3. Usually this frame on a wall on The Barbican holds topical graffiti. Currently it stands empty…

A friends retro print, though, might be predicting our 2021 travel plans.

Pictures are the theme of this blog, like many blogs serendipity chose the subject. We did manage a sea swim today. We were super cautious and the weather was not kind.

Really cold fingers after our swim produced this curious image. It looks like a photograph produced on a glass plate from the earliest years of photography. Same location as above.

The ‘ bobbers’ also today at the same location.

And finally one last picure, after the swim and the restorative hot drink my warmed fingers found the Silky Water Filter on the camera and the sun came out.

Pandemic Pondering #354

On Mar 11, 2021Mar 12, 2021 By theoldmortuary.designIn Home Towns, SerendipityLeave a comment

Its been a funny old week. Too much domestic admin has tied me to the house and the weather has been too contrary for us to plan any coastal swims.

As soon had we cancelled this afternoons ‘bob’ the sun came out in a blaze of glory.

What you cant see in this photo is a very chilly wind blowing up the river.

The local RNLI have been suggesting all week that sea swimming should be a wisely considered option considering weather and tides on a daily basis.

We also follow a local swimming group for advice on safety.

Link above is to a video taken at our swimming beach at the time we were planning to swim.

Im glad we made the call not to swim today.

The dogs benefitted from a very sunny walk . There is always tomorrow for a swim.

Pandemic Pondering #353

On Mar 11, 2021Mar 11, 2021 By theoldmortuary.designIn Home TownsLeave a comment

This morning Britain wakes up to the news that human remains have been found in the case of a missing London woman. She has been missing for a week. During that week there has been press activity discussing womens safety. A headline that I noted was that in a survey all the young women questioned reported some anxiety caused by previous unwanted or threatening behaviour by men. Obviously the survey only questioned young women but all women almost certainly have a back catalogue of incidents that are etched into their memories.

If it were possible I could meet with a group of friends over coffee this morning and we could share our various experiences. I’m sure I would be surprised by some of the things my friends have experienced, it would also not all have occured while we were young. I know that all of us build modifications into our life, even if it is subconscious or habitual with the threat of rogue male behaviour in mind.

This morning we are reminded once again that the world is not and has never been a place of equal risk for men and women.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/mar/10/women-tell-men-how-to-make-them-feel-safe-after-sarah-everard-disappearance?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1615450253

Pandemic Pondering #352

On Mar 10, 2021Mar 10, 2021 By theoldmortuary.designIn Events, Home Towns, SerendipityLeave a comment

Doubly confined to the house for a couple of days has limited my horizons somewhat. I’ve had to wait in for various Domestic Admin tasks to be fulfilled
The irony is that the past two days have been gloriously bright and dry and now there is a hideous storm. Today may not be any more exciting.

Time at home gave me the chance to watch the Oprah Winfrey interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Shining an uncomfortable light on racism it was a skilfully directed conversation in the hands of Oprah. The fallout may take some time to reveal itself within the public domain.

Beyond that the day was just filled with routine chores , short dog walks and a lot of reading.

One of my dog walks provided the grim photograph of the day.

A very short walk from home takes me to a nature reserve.

The lane to this view passes through a small collection of houses and then two large graveyards. It is a walker and dog walkers paradise. I probably walk the lane at least twice a day, the dogs like to snuffle. Yesterdays snuffle revealed a stretch of disgusting littering. Someone has either emptied their car of cigarette butts or a group of individuals think a tiny stretch of this lane is their personal ash tray.

This stinking pile of cigarette detritus took me less than five minutes to sweep up. Words fail me!

Pandemic Pondering #351

On Mar 8, 2021Mar 9, 2021 By theoldmortuary.designIn SerendipityLeave a comment

Another great ‘ Bobbing’ session and time to share another vegetable carving story.

A different bobber did something saintly last week and was rewarded with a carved parsnip digit hidden in the wall near our swimming beach. The carrot finger of the previous week had been nearly nibbled away by local wildlife.

But two days after delivery to the reliquary the Parsnip thumb is looking remarkably fresh.

Obviously in normal times this would all seem a little mad, and of course it is. But in a pandemic lockdown a little vegetable humour can go a long way. Cold water swimming is not only good for the swimmers . It also gives the walkers nearby something to enjoy watching and talking about. Every time we go out for a swim we also get to talk to complete strangers , some who also swim and others who think we are as Mad as March Hares for doing so. It is an absolute bonus to stand in the sunshine, in this third lockdown and talk about whatever comes to mind with whoever is around, all at a safe distance of course.

Pandemic Pondering #350

On Mar 7, 2021Mar 8, 2021 By theoldmortuary.designIn SerendipityLeave a comment

What do you do in a lockdown during the tail end of a British winter when the sun is out but the temperature is -2?

A sunrise Mediterranean breakfast on a deserted beach, obviously!!

Meanwhile the plants not in the sunshine reflected true life.

But the fantasy still beckons.

Spanokopita, Pain au Chocolate and Coffee were transported to the beach for authenticity.

Where we found relics , just as we would on beaches far away.

But the huge bonus of being on a beach much closer to home was sharing it with fluffs.

And for once we didn’t have to submerge ourselves in sea that is nothing like the Mediterranean.

Pandemic Pondering #349

On Mar 7, 2021 By theoldmortuary.designIn Home TownsLeave a comment

Saturday had a plan! We were heading into the city to have eye tests. Unlike this squirrel we were not heading into London on the next bus, instead our city destination was Plymouth. I say this only as an excuse to use a cute animal picture.

There is a bit of history to our recent eye tests . Each time there has been a lockdown we have recieved computer generated instructions to book an eye test. We’ve followed the instructions to make appointments on-line and then just prior to our appointment weve been contacted by a slightly officiously puzzled human who demands to know why we have booked appointments. The answer “Because you asked us to” is not the correct one as appointments are only for emergencies. We are always cancelled due to our flimsy reasons for booking. Glasses so slack they slip off our faces when wearing masks.

Once again this week we got the reminder message. We booked appointments and unusually nobody cancelled them. So today we went into the city centre for the first time since early December, when we shopped for the Christmas that never was.

We didnt have to avoid too many people.

As it turns out neither of us had changed prescriptions so there was no need to go through the awkward experience of trying on new glasses when you cant quite easily see what you look like because you have poor eyesite. The idea of doing it in a mask just seemed madness so we were glad not to have to do it. Slackness was tightened, always a good thing!

First Starbucks coffee in a year. Not entirely sure what the point of that was!

Giddy with excitement we drove off to West Hoe to catch some sunshine. The sunshine was lovely but even better we caught Antony Gormleys Look II sculpture with no fishermen making the background untidy. Urban art is better appreciated without urbanites getting back to nature too closely.

All in all a good day.

We also have a gleaming car which was the morning project, lucky for you we had eye tests I might have had to try and make cleaning a car interesting!

Have a splendid Sunday.

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