08.24hrs Saturday 18th July – 6 days, including today to getting my HAIRCUT.
The problem with waiting so long to write an account of, for example, and in this case, the last five or six days, is that nowadays, I tend to forget what, if anything, happened, even recently. I recall disappointing weather with bits of rain here and there, and I recall a distinct disinclination to “take to the hills”. I do remember a minor road accident near where I live, which thankfully was of very little consequence. And, joy of joys, I came across a treasured collectors’ item which had been mislaid for almost two years. And, there lesson there, “make haste with that house clearing!” So, no exploring disused railways and scenic forests this week!
On Monday, I thoroughly enjoyed an ill-advised supper of sausage chips and mushy peas, smothered in ketchup! “This is heaven”, I thought to myself, then realising, “carry on this way and you will be there sooner than you think!” No more chips then, for three months.
It’s no wonder people are “addicted” to their ‘phones, these days, regarded as devices. Pay a “small monthly fee” and your device can act as your personal computer, cinema, record player, newspaper and allow you to actually see with whom you are calling on what started out as a portable telephone. Punch in “YouTube”, and you can listen to any piece of music, or watch any video of your choice. Put the headphones on and the sound quality is that of the most cumbersome sound systems of the 1980s. No need now for loudspeakers the size of Roman pillars to clog up your room. All this, of course, has been available for decades. So, I have been enjoying (on my device) the music of Schutz, Johnny Cash, Steeleye Span, Rapalje, Vaughan Williams, and much more. I have seen colour footage of Winston Churchill’s funeral train, and learned a great deal about the Cromford and High Peak Railway, the remains of which I walk along, wishing the whole thing was still in use. But then, I would have to trade in all the things I enjoy now. But, I can be thankful that, back in the day, and even now, there were, and are, historians and photographers who have recorded and published in minute detail everything anybody might wish to learn about this remote and long since abandoned railway, much of it now a cycle route, away from today’s traffic.
So perhaps, last week wasn’t entirely wasted. Covid-19 is still with us, but from what I gather, daily deaths have fallen into double figures. That’s still the equivalent of a major railway disaster every day, but without the outcry such an event would create. Nevertheless, our revered leaders are trying to steer the country towards normality at, I fear, with unrealistic haste. But at least I can get my haircut next Thursday!
Thanks for reading, David, 09.21 hrs 18th July. 2020
David's Cruise 