Sunday 8th November 2020, 18.04hrs
I didn’t mean to wait five days before penning my next blog. The beginning of the week was cold, windy and pretty damp. On Tuesday, the entire world was “left hanging” as the U.S. presidential election was not the decisive victory either side wanted. On Saturday, we were “put out of our global misery” as the Democrats won the votes of a majority of U.S. Citizens. All I dare say is that the next c.8 weeks will be “interesting”.
The Sky Fibre broadband which I had ordered the previous week was activated on Tuesday and although I don’t yet have the promised c.50 meg, at least 34 meg is much more respectable than the 1 or 2 meg I had been struggling with until this week. YouTube and Netflix play without “buffering” although for some reason, music is frequently interrupted by a split-second gap, but not often enough to spoil what you are listening to.
By Friday, the weather had become extremely pleasant and agreeably mild. My sleep patterns were somewhat “out of sync” and that is my excuse for getting little done this week. Therefore on Saturday, I resolved to make use of the continuing fine weather. Very late in the morning, Roger and I drove out towards Brandside from where we would walk through an attractive wooded area for a short distance before coming across the Mines Research complex through which public footpaths traverse. There is much to see, but of course, my interest lay in the track beds of the former Cromford and High Peak Railway. When in use, even by today’s standards, the embankments were evidence of huge civil engineering of the early 19th century. One can imagine the enormous number of workers and a vibrant and noisy industry which at the time, would seem “to go on for ever”. What I never knew until Saturday, was that heards of deer roam the surrounding countryside.
We came home mid-afternoon. It was still nice and the street fireworks display would go ahead as planned. I made lunch for two, poached salmon, vegetables and new potatoes. And in the evening, I went over the road to watch the fireworks, arranged by people at the end of our road. I was impressed by the amount of pyrotechnics, some of which were spectacular. It was a happy day, being rounded off by the result of the U.S. election being announced finally.
Today, Sunday, it remained mild, but the morning mist out-stayed its welcome and as far as I know, is still loitering on the lane, and further afield. Today is Remembrance Sunday, this being marked by neighbours standing in silence outside their front doors at 11am. The chimes of Big Ben, presumably from a TV could be heard in the distance as well as the Last Post. I walked a short distance to one end of the estate but felt little inspired to venture further.
Lockdown started on Thursday. The Crescent contacted me to say that the the hotel would be closing during the 28 days of lockdown, and that my two day break there in November would thus be cancelled. My booked haircut was “fitted in” on Tuesday, instead of next week. This lockdown is far less restrictive than that of March. Nevertheless, it is a bitter blow for many businesses struggling to keep going. With luck, the current restrictions will cause spread of the virus to decrease. While I do remain generally in good spirits, these certainly are surreal times. As another neighbour remarked today, he keeps expecting to wake up from this strange dream. There are lots of things I am missing. Strangely, it’s not cruising right now. (I’m sure it will be next year!) No, I am missing going to Manchester and London as well as live concerts. I am missing merely, just what it was like last year.
But, there are compensations. I am sure that I would not have seen anything like the amount of surrounding countryside had life followed the more familiar patterns not disrupted by this year’s pandemic, although I have been going on walks of one kind or another since emerging from Wythenshawe Hospital in May 2017.
Next week is fairly routine. Mild but wetter weather is forecast. I finished cataloging one of numerous archive files tonight. I think there are over a hundred each containing up to seventy or more items.
Thanks for reading, David midnight 8-9/11/20.
David's Cruise 