where art collides philosoperontap

Eight days in, twenty or so to go. A lot of lockdown left. Wales have already come out of theirs having gone in earlier and for a shorter period. I dunno.

Was awake at 05.15 this morning and eventually got up at 05.45. No point in lying in bed when you have had enough kip. Fitbit has me as having had 5 hrs 46 minutes sleep with a score of only 71 (Fair). I wouldn’t have said this was particularly good but I’m fully awake so hey…

When I get up this early the tea is always delivered at 06.30. I guess I could make myself some toast but am not hungry yet. Body clock I guess. Might make two pots of tea! Couple of cop cars racing by outside, sirens blaring. That’ll get everyone up:) What crime makes them rush to a scene at this time of day. RTA possibly I guess. Now that the wail of the siren has faded into the distance I can hear birds in our front garden. Blackbirds live there and I have seen starlings in the guttering above.

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Been a busy day. At 4.30 I’ve downed tools and am pumping out some ABBA. Popped to Fosters for a gammon joint and some breakfast gubbins and also came away with a pork pie for tomorrow’s lunch. Then nipped to Waitrose for a few more bits including some duck a l’orange patė a portion of which was consumed on a slice of my homemade sourdough toast at lunchtime. Not had paté since last Christmas.

Anne has gone out running and I need to gear my brain up to make dinner. We are having pan fried sea bass with spuds and green beans.

Last night I watched a John Wayne movie: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. A classic western which they wouldn’t be able to make today as the “Indians” were very much portrayed as the baddies and the US Cavalry the goodies. History has revealed that it was the other way around 🙂 I’m running out of things to watch. Few TV programmes or films are of interest. I’ve ordered a batch of books but they are notionally birthday and Christmas presents. Most of them aren’t exactly light reading. More background stuff for an interest I have in social history in Carmarthenshire. Based around my family tree research in case you are wondering.

Gentle start to the day. Cooked a sausage and some bacon for breakfast that needed using up. Now sat in the orangery (no orange tree anymore but the name endures for now) with a cup of tea and communications with the outside world. The radio is on in the kitchen and I can hear Anne doing stuff. Sounds of crockery, the tap being turned on momentarily. 

Outside, the traffic noise. Who are these people in their cars during lockdown. Different to the last one. During the last lockdown we rarely ventured into a supermarket. It was mostly click and collect. People feel less constrained this time around.

I need to get up and get dressed but it is comfortable sat here rocking gently.

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Good chat with Joe this morning. He is doing some work for Anne’s Vans. Looking at new website design.

Now sat on a 2 hour ITSPA council conference call. On mute. Kind of thinking when might it be appropriate to crack open a beer.

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Work is done for the day. Now listening to Miles Davis ‘Round About Midnight whilst swigging a tonic and gin. Feeling in a very philosophical mood. Grasping life with both hands. Today I bought some compost and a padlock for the back garden gate to the allotments. I did some Anne’s Vans stuff (you know that), discussed Beyond The Woods and chatted with the procurement manager of a customer in South Africa whilst he was shopping in his local supermarket, all masked up. Booked and paid for the additional half day of the Land Rover Experience in Melton Mowbray on my birthday in December and dropped by Coops to discuss campervan stuff. Then chatted with dad who is currently still in hospital in Cardiff but has joined the escape committee to plan his getaway. Tunneling is not an option. He has to do it in full view of everyone through the front doors.

A chicken stir fry beckons…

I’m on a conference call but I don’t have much to say so have the mic on mute and am doing stuff. Watching the great reindeer migration on the telly. It too is on mute although I doubt there is much to hear anyway. The occasional Sami drover’s call maybe plus some dulcet voice over as appropriate. Fine looking beasts ploughing through snowdrifts. Very slow going. It’s one of those long movies you have in the background. This one is two hours long. V relaxing.

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It is now past 4 o’clock. Tas been a hectic day. I’m feeling disinclined to do any more work but will see how it goes. Cup of tea on the desk in front of me. Tonight we have chilli con carne for tea. Anne is fixed on watching bakeoff tonight. This is something in which I have zero interest and it has been suggested that I might spend some time in the shed. Only real problem is that I spend all day in the shed and whilst it is a great facility it is sometimes nice to have a change. Can’t even have anyone round at the mo what with the lockdown n’all.

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Later watched The Band Wagon with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. Good movie fair play.

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Waiting for my book deliveries: “Welsh Woollen Industry”, “Welsh Crafts: Dre-Fach Felindre and the Woollen Industry” and “The flannel makers: A brief history of the Welsh woollen industry” all by Geraint Jenkins. Also “A Glorious Work in the World: Welsh Methodism and the International Evangelical Revival, 1735-1750 (Studies in Welsh History)” by David Jones.

Sat in the front room and note that the birds in the back garden are tweeting very loudly this morning. It was the same last night. Do they know something? The hedge is looking as autumnal as it can. Must take a pic or two en route to the shed.

Busy day ahead. Mondays are always busy. They can be quite tedious and the lockdown combined with a typically autumnal drizzle doesn’t help.

I got up at 6.30 this morning to make the tea. The house is currently empty except for Anne and I. It did feel somewhat as if we were rattling around in it. We are lucky to have the space. It doesn’t feel full even when all the bedrooms are occupied.

A pot of tea has appeared. I didn’t just appear as if by magic but on this occasion I have chosen not to offer any insight into the “magical” process or sleight of hand by which it arrived on the coffee table in front of me.

Spent half an hour on the phone to HMRC trying to sort something out for Beyond The Woods. The first ten minutes as spent navigating through the automated tree including answering a load of questions. When I finally got through the person was very helpful and we sorted it out.

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Anne blew the leaves away from the base of the shed today. I don’t deserve her. I don’t want leaves accumulating at the bottom of the wooden shed sides innit. Need plenty of air circulation there.

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Walked to Tesco for a few bits for lunch. Have to say it was quite busy and no real discipline about social distancing. Not sure I’ll be rushing back there – it feels a lot more sensible/safer in Waitrose and in the small shops in the bail.

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Today there has been an announcement that Pfizer has come up with a Coronavirus vaccine that is 90% effective. First good bit of news on this front.

Day 4 in the locked down Davies household. All is quiet. We have breakfasted and are sat quietly in the kitchen with a coffee, doing our own thing. There is gentle rain outside. The general mood is relaxed.

Today we intend to walk from Skellingthorpe to Doddington Hall and back. There is a path. Two “treats” are dangled: a visit to the farm shop at Doddington Hall and the drive through Daisy Made ice cream back in Skelly. The farm shop is where I discovered the Sauce Shop sriracha sauce – v good fair play. We don’t really need anything but will have a shufty.

In the meantime Classic FM streams its chilled out Sunday offering and the kettle is back on.

Today is Remembrance Sunday. The noise generated by the US Presidential Elections has been deafening but yesterday’s result seems appropriate timing for the din to die down and for the world to quietly reflect on the purpose of this day. Although the current covid19 pandemic is causing chaos across the world it is really quite minor compared with the recent wars that our ancestors had to live through and die in. I was born 16 years after the end of WW2 so its aftermath, which had a long tail, is still quite vivid in the minds of my generation.

Quite appropriately “Hymn to the Fallen” is now streaming.

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Just back from the walk. 4.4 miles. I’m not v fit so was knackered by the end but it did me good. Anne and I are planning one every other weekend. I’d like to think we will build up to longer walks, Have now put the hot water on to have a soak in the bath before watching the pool take on Man City. The dinner is more or less ready to stick in the oven.

Good start to the day with full English including Joe’s homemade hash browns and my homemade sourdough bread. Won’t need lunch.  Might pop down to Fosters for some more gammon as we used the last of the previous joint yesterday. This has been the discovery of lockdown – being able to carve some ham off the joint to make a sandwich or salad. Also much cheaper than buying it already cooked in the shops.

The breakfast means an easy start to the day. The jobslist is however mounting and I may attempt to cross some of the tasks off the list this weekend. Not yet though 🙂

Our first weekend for a while without an offspring at home. We like having the kids back but we really like having the place to ourselves again. It’s taken 28 years! That 28 years is a long window on the life of our family. Amazing really. Amazing that we are still friends and that we enjoy each other’s company.

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Didn’t get to Fosters. Instead fixed the ceiling in the porch where a piece of board had been removed to install the video doorbell. Also made a start on the planter I’m building for the front of the shed. Using up the last few cedar boards since I bought too many for a job in the summer. Now waiting for the glue to dry in the tongue and grooves. Good excuse to take a break. No point in getting all the jobs done at once.

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Bread and jam for lunch then off out to Pennels Garden Centre. 

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In Pennels we bought a chicken for tomorrow’s dinner, some streaky bacon, a reduced white loaf for the stuffing and a jar of Jenny’s Strawberry Jam. I should point out that when I say the loaf was reduced it was the cost that was reduced. The loaf was the same size the baker had intended. Small, 350g fwiw. I weighed it 🙂 Didn’t buy anything you might expect to purchase at a garden centre mind you.

It felt as if half the shop floor was given over to Christmas stuff. Made me realise that Christmas isn’t all that far away. Ordinarily I’d be starting to focus on trefbash which this year was to have been on 10th December. Also it has been cancelled in line with practically everything else. Perhaps we shall have a virtual trefbash.

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Breaking news: Biden in, Trump out. Phew!

Sat in the library waiting for the oven timer to beep. I have a loaf in there and am optimistic of the result. Breadmaking is a three day process. Day 1 is starter feeding, day 2 dough making and folding followed by overnight proving in the fridge and day 3 is baking. I don’t get up early enough to have the bread ready for breakfast although I guess I could. Trouble is it involves preheating the oven for around 45 mins so that together with 40 mins baking plus cooling means I’d need to get going almost three hours before wanting to eat it.

Today is a Friday. Le weekend. Not sure there is much of a weekend feel to it. I have a conf call at 10am then it’s mostly admin. Will probs knock off early.

In other news, booked my Land Rover off road experience for my birthday – 9th December. Same as Donny Osmond innit. Coops is coming with me.

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The US presidential elections have been in full swing. Fortunately Joe Biden looks increasingly like winning with the Donald throwing his toys out of the pram. It is going to be a big good riddance. Most of the world, Russia apart, will breathe a sigh of relief.

Lockdown 2 day 1

Feels very different to the first time around. The kids aren’t with us. Joe went back to London this afternoon leaving just the two of us. I’m a pretty upbeat individual but it must be said that it is difficult to be motivated right now.

I don’t miss a lot of my old life. The jetlag, exotic bars and restaurants, long journey times and downtime in airport lounges. I do miss standing at the bar and my networking dinners in London. I am a people person.

The time between lockdowns was quite busy. Got the occasional game of golf in with the boys. A few trips to the pub, albeit table service, lots of swimming, and a busy time with work. All good. The kids gradually returned to whence they came in March. We all needed some space. All good.

Now I’m sat at my desk in the shed listening to trefset. This is a playlist I put together with the intention of playing it myself on the geetar at the private pre-festival party for Beyond The Woods 2020. Didn’t happen of course. There’s always next year to look forward to. I sense next year’ festival will be massive. Everyone will be wanting a release. I feel that we all want to be able to flap our wings and fly around a bit.

We are lucky. We have a big house with a nice garden and plenty of room to move around. It is the people stuck in high rise blocks of flats we have to feel sorry for. Our kids are confined to barracks in London and Birmingham.

Today is 5th November. Bonfire night. Lots of sounds of fireworks going on around us. Nothing in number 118 though. We moved on from that when the kids left.

The rain has moved on and the sky is blue. I can hear the cathedral bell tolling eleven. The wind must be coming from the West. Today all the kids will be home. We are all thinking of the Ward family. Their son Matthew recently died in tragic circumstances and the whole community is shocked. Although only thirty people are allowed in the church there will be a bigger cohort of mourners in the tent in the Morning Star beer garden and no doubt an overspill in another establishment or two. The service is being live streamed in the Star.

Ordinarily if the person has lived to a ripe old age I enjoy a good wake. It’s a good time to bring out fond stories and memories of the life that has passed.  On this occasion when the deceased is 21 it is a little different. It is even more important to remember Matthew for all the good times spent with him and his family and also to give more attention to your own loved ones. It is moments like this that make you realise the importance of family and friends. Really that is what life is all about. Your community and environment. That should be your focus.