Feest Isolation Days – 30 May
In case you hadn’t noticed, the editor made his every twentyfiveish or so day appearance yesterday! While he signed on and off as Mr. Grumpy, I think he was just stating what so many of us felt and continue to feel. This household has never been apolitical. Thankfully our shared values and principles mean that we usually agree on the political landscape we find ourselves in.
Thursday at the Press Briefing, Boris silenced his Scientific and Medical Advisors and that was not pleasant to watch. Chris Whitty did say (when he could) that he was delighted that he was not involved in politics. Now there is a political statement if ever I heard one! Well done Professor.
The walk we intended to do yesterday was around the Rock of Ages at Burrington Coombe. This is where the world-famous hymn was written in the 1700’s by The Reverend Augustus Montague Toplady. He sheltered in a storm in a cleft in the rock and inspiration struck. Most of us have probably sung or at least heard this man’s words at some point as it’s one of the most popular hymns ever. I find it very dark, but then it was written in a cave.
Unfortunately, we were not to see the source of the Reverend’s inspiration. There were so many other people that had chosen Burrington for their days outing, we moved along. The car park was packed with people and an open ice cream van was serving cones! The public toilets were closed with a sign saying “sorry for the inconvenience” – love the British sense of humour. There are many more cars on the roads than there were in the previous few weeks and hundreds more people out and about. The concern now must be that there will be more incidents of infection throughout the country as people are starting to move about.
In our quest for a walk that would be largely solitary, we drove down a few country lanes and with the help of the ordinance survey phone maps, Terry found a place that fit the bill. We ambled through lovely fields with cavorting lambs and overhanging trees that gave us some welcome shade.
In the first field we watched a farmer driving round in the most extraordinary device, cutting his hay in something that had octopus like arms and lifted and moved up and down like a whirling dervish. In days gone by it would have taken dozens of men to do the work of his machine.
We passed two families splashing around an old fashioned watering hole in the river next to a stone bridge made from three huge slabs of rock. The first family was a father and son with their two dogs, on our return trip we watched a mother and her two little children as she taught her littlest to swim. It felt timeless. Returning past the field that the farmer had cut two hours or so before, we were amazed to see neatly made hay bundles and a pristine field. Five miles walking in that strong sun was demanding. Home and tea were most welcome. We will head to Burrington Coombe again, but perhaps on a day which is not so beautiful and the large crowds stay away.
Home isn’t such a bad place to be! The summer weather is marvellous and it doesn’t get dark until well after nine in the evening. Just as well as we are not planning on going too far yet, and when we do, we will do our best to stay many more than six feet away from others! Let’s hope the next wave is not such a big one. Happy days!
With love
Kathy x
