Feest Isolation Days –24 February 2021
What a day! Not only did we get the first convincing information about when Lockdown is likely to end, but we had a few more firsts. We have booked a holiday! Along with the rest of the country it would seem. The holiday home we went to last year and hoped to visit again, is now booked for May! The editor doesn’t even know this yet, but I also have a saved booking for the other place we weren’t able to visit last year in Cornwall. Both are self catering cottages and we will love being in them, of that I have no doubt. With a bit of luck, we hope that friends will be able to visit for a night or two when we head to Exmoor. Can you imagine how thrilling these latest developments are?
We are travellers. When we were working, for more than twelve years we had a weekend away abroad once a month. Our time usually centred around work, but was often extended to enjoy the cultural attributes of wherever we were. We have visited most major European cities. We have been fortunate and I’m constantly amazed by what we have done. I don’t take anything for granted and remember at the time of all this travel being deeply grateful and I still am!
Yesterday we had a few other firsts. On our Bristol walk we went a different route and visited places we hadn’t been to before. There is a lane in Bristol called Pitch and Pay, a strange name for an area, an apartment complex and a road. There was a helpful plaque on the wall that explained the name. During the plague of the 1500’s “A wooden stile at the end of the lane leading from Stoke Bishop to the Downs was the line of segregation between the plague-infested city and the countryside. The villagers brought produce to the stile and pitched it over to the townsfolk who threw back their coins in payment.” Half of the population of Bristol, some 2,600 people died during this time.
We also visited the church of St. Mary Magdalene in Stoke Bishop. The doors were open! Sanitizer was everywhere and the high vaulted ceilings meant air circulation would ensure safety from the virus. We masked up and went in. A choir I have been in rehearsed in this church in the past. so it wasn’t new to me. Yet the feeling of stepping into the vast place was awesome. Built in the 1860’s, the church is light and serene.
I have missed visiting churches! There were lovely little stations set up around where people would normally sit where you could have a moment of reflection and also do something. One station provided stones, and suggested you place one under a small cross, another offered a tree to hang a hand written message on the “leaf” provided and another provided round smooth crystals that you picked up and placed in a small bowl of water. All of these suggested the sort of things you might consider as you carried out the tasks. They required nothing more than a moment and were powerful and beautifully constructed. Even with no one in the church, it felt communal and inspired.
Our final first (at least for this year)when we returned home was a real treat! We kept our coats on and sat in the garden in the sun and ate our lunch! Like basking cats, we sat in our comfortable chairs and drifted for a few moments and enjoyed the sounds of the birds, the warm sun and the love that we both share. Not a first.
Enjoy! Stay safe. It isn’t over yet but we are getting there!
With love,
Kathy x