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Post by Dawnstar on Jan 29, 2021 23:17:42 GMT
I think you are built up more streets Dawnstar so not as easy, especially if roads busy so you can't stand in them. It's probably better in this lockdown for me as the weather is often foul so only the keen are out not the oh it's a nice day walkers. We haven't walked round our village since last summer when we went out at the crack of dawn when it was quiet. Not enough daylight to do that now! Until the lockdown we were driving to a farm road joining two neighbouring villages, as that was the quietest place we could find. It really is safe to go for a walk. Particularly if it’s raining! Where I live is very popular for walks as we have the seafront, I’ve been waking along it regularly since March when it’s busy with families and dog walkers, and still managed to avoid catching the ‘rona. It’s enclosed spaces and prolonged contact that are dangerous. This article was informative for me. www.bbc.com/news/explainers-55680305But of course it is an entirely personal decision as to an assessment of the risks. Conscious that I am going into Covid discussion when there is a separate thread for that. I am lucky to have National Trust membership. They limit numbers with a booking system (often places are booked up) and walks at their properties have been a godsend for me. I know you're supposed to not be able to catch anything out doors but I still worry. Not everyone bothers to distance and while we cover our faces with scarves/masks when we pass other people, no-one else does when they pass us. Also, if you can smell cigarette smoke & suchlike at far further away than 2m, and through a mask, surely that shows that virus particles are also able to spread much further than 2m. We tried our 2 nearest National Trust properties. Neither of them were what I'd call quiet. (Admittedly the only thing I'd probably call quiet would be no-one else at all!) In fact one of them was much busier than it was for years pre-covid lockdowns.
Anyway, my mother's trying to persuade me to start walking again so I'll probably have to soon. Dreading it.
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Post by sfsusan on Jan 30, 2021 0:29:16 GMT
I know you're supposed to not be able to catch anything out doors but I still worry. I think it's that the risk of catching the virus outside is much less than inside. I haven't read that there's "no risk" to outdoor contact (especially with the newer mutations being easier to catch). However, the contact still has to be close and/or prolonged, so passing by someone (unless they cough/sneeze on you) shouldn't be a problem. I still wear a mask, even though the risk is low. Might as well make it as low as possible. www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-comments-about-outdoor-transmission-of-sars-cov-2-and-use-of-facemasks-outdoors |
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Post by alece10 on Jan 30, 2021 10:06:18 GMT
Seeing as a couple of people have asked about my stray cat Bob, thought I would share the story.
Unfortunately I don't know how to post a pic on here otherwise I would.
Anyway the gardens where I live back onto some allotments which literally seem to be a breeding ground for stray cats. Many of them used to come into my garden and at one point I was feeding 6 of them every day. A lovely local cat charity which specialises in stray and feral cats, over time, managed to get them, have them neutered and found homes for some of them. A couple who were just not suited to rehoming were put back and they live happily with local residents feeding them.
Anyway last year a lovely ginger cat started appearing in my garden, very shy and impossible to approach. He seemed to be friends with a cat who lives a few doors down. As we approached the winter I was a bit concerned for him and via our local Facebook group I asked if anyone had suggestions for me to make a little house for him. Someone who was connected to the cat charity kindly lent me a plastic container that has been converted and insulated for cats to sleep in. I've set it up under the "lean to" from the flat above so its all nice and protected from wind and rain, filled it with straw and has blankets and cushions on top. After the few days the cat started to sleep in it, and when the days are nice lies on top of the blankets. Still cant get anywhere near him but i'm hoping, in time, I will be able to.
I also checked that the cat did not belong to anyone and I wasn't stealing him and found that he has a small nick in his ear which indicates that he has been taken by a rescue centre and neutered.
And the reason he is called Bob? It's because he looks just like the legend that was Bob The Cat.
So there your are.
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Post by Forrest on Jan 31, 2021 15:58:39 GMT
What are meant to be doing at the weekend apart from as @forrest says walks, music, tv, books, cooking, zoom etc? There is a reoccuring group of people I know through work who say things like must go, going to fit a kitchen at the mother in laws etc and I think ?! Maybe the kitchen has collapsed over night and without the re fit the mother in law will not be able to eat? Am not convinced. Then i message someone and explain and they message back rude emojis about people breaking rules and I feel a bit better. I have just joined a zoom bookgroup with a load of people I don't know from my bed in my pjs (I'm hoping they couldn't tell). I try and resist those kind of crisis @forrest as I come to the conclusion that it's nothing, non home owner, single, no kids, job going no where, terrified of change. So I eat chocolate and watch tv till late in the morning to put off facing the next day. I plan to sleep on my day off thanks and go on a walk and slop and slide through more mud. I'm late replying to this, sorry, but: I am pretty much the same as you on most 'crisis parameters'. Well, I don't want kids, so I guess that, at least, doesn't contribute to my existential dread (having seen 'Yerma' yesterday, I consider myself somewhat lucky in that regard, given that I'm the same age as the character at the peak of her crisis), but I am also single (with no reason to believe that will change anytime soon). I've got a job that I do really like, but it doesn't promise much in terms of career progression, the pay is meagre and it's uncertain what will happen to it after mid-this year. I am obviously unlikely to buy a home any time soon, which admittedly scares me, especially since my family is far away so I have no one to help me out if things do go wrong in any way. I live with flatmates, which makes me feel like I've somehow failed a lot of the time (where I'm from, you don't live with flatmates after your 20s), but also isn't really an arrangement that makes me happy because I'm an introvert and I like my space. I'm admittedly not terrified of change, but I'm too insecure to expose myself to it. On top of everything, I've made some big decisions (I got out of a long-term relationship, and then left a really good job) in the short time before I came to London to chase both a lifelong dream of living here and a brand new crush - theatre (I moved partially so I could go to the theatre *a lot*) - and then London went into lockdown and the theatre industry became dormant overnight, so I do occasionally wonder if I should have done things differently and whether it was all a bit crazy, although nobody could have really foreseen the pandemic. It all also means that I don't really know a lot of people here, because there was no time to properly make friends, so sometimes life feels a little lonely. Most of the time I just feel a little bit stuck in the 'middle of nowhere', life-wise: at the moment there is no 'forward' to look forward to, and no 'back' to return to either, and it's hard not to question myself and my choices. But it is what it is, and I hope things will get better. Sorry, that ended up being one long rant. What I do know is that chocolate does not help longer-term, although admittedly it's an excellent quick-fix for when really needed. :) Dawnstar, I hope you start enjoying the walks again. As someone already pointed out, they're not too risky in terms of the likelihood that you might catch the virus, and they do wonders for mental health. And I say that having just come home from a long walk myself: there are admittedly very few things that as successfully brighten my mood as a walk along the Islington canal (in the good company of Gleb Kolyadin and Olly Steele today). |
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Post by hannechalk on Jan 31, 2021 17:04:37 GMT
Lately I have been neglecting myself and my flat.
For the past couple of weeks I've tidied one room, then the following week added another to tidy whilst going over the one I had already cleaned as well.
Woke up early this morning, and just got cracking, and now added two more rooms all done and thoroughly cleaned. Feeling a bit proud of myself.
My aim is once I've done them all, to do one area each weekday, so come Saturday all I have to do is go round with the duster and vacuum cleaner, and I can actually enjoy my weekends guilt-free.
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Post by lynette on Jan 31, 2021 17:23:01 GMT
Lately I have been neglecting myself and my flat. For the past couple of weeks I've tidied one room, then the following week added another to tidy whilst going over the one I had already cleaned as well. Woke up early this morning, and just got cracking, and now added two more rooms all done and thoroughly cleaned. Feeling a bit proud of myself. My aim is once I've done them all, to do one area each weekday, so come Saturday all I have to do is go round with the duster and vacuum cleaner, and I can actually enjoy my weekends guilt-free. Bravo. First lock down I went thru all the cupboards, cleaned out drawers.. this time not so much but I did tidy the cupboard with the cleaning products in it. |
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Post by TallPaul on Feb 1, 2021 16:26:21 GMT
Just as I was sitting down for tea yesterday, the button dropped off my third best slacks, the ones I wear around the house, so along with learning what an ope is, that has been one of today's jobs. Why is the eye on a needle so blinkin' tiny?
Maybe one is connected to the other, but I also finished the last of my Christmas spice yesterday. With no sweet treats for distraction, I fear it's going to be a really long night!
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Post by Forrest on Feb 1, 2021 19:58:22 GMT
TallPaul, you're just the man I am looking for then: you can join me for a sweet treats-free February! I promise it will be... I want to say fun, but I'd probably be lying. But I could use an accountability buddy. You in?* Someone wished me a good February today, and I thought it was kind of adorable. I also hope it really will be a good one. My day also miraculously brightened up with the news that the Almeida will be doing a live-stream: finally something from them, and something that I actually really want to see! :) (I miss the Almeida, but Nine Lessons and Carols just wasn't for me...) *Don't worry, I'm joking! Not about going sweets-free, I am doing it. But you don't have to join me. Just don't taunt me too much with various sweets on the thread, and everything will be fine. :)
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Post by TallPaul on Feb 2, 2021 12:19:34 GMT
I'm afraid I've already cracked, Forrest. This was me earlier today, making an essential journey to stock up on confectionery. I knew that school trip to the French Alps would come in handy one day. 24 hours on a Coopers of Killamarsh coach, but it was finally worth it! 🙂 |
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Post by dippy on Feb 3, 2021 2:03:01 GMT
We haven't walked round our village since last summer when we went out at the crack of dawn when it was quiet. Not enough daylight to do that now! Until the lockdown we were driving to a farm road joining two neighbouring villages, as that was the quietest place we could find. I feel like I remember your mum not being keen on night time wanderings, but have you considered going for a walk in the dark? My sister has taken up doing the second dog walk in the night, sometimes I go with her if I've not been with my mum on the morning walk. It's wonderful, not a single person to be seen and often it's so bright out because of the moon that we don't even use the torch. We've got fluorescent jackets for the tiny bit of road and then it's onto footpaths but it's so peaceful and nice. |
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Post by Dawnstar on Feb 3, 2021 12:59:26 GMT
I feel like I remember your mum not being keen on night time wanderings, but have you considered going for a walk in the dark? My sister has taken up doing the second dog walk in the night, sometimes I go with her if I've not been with my mum on the morning walk. It's wonderful, not a single person to be seen and often it's so bright out because of the moon that we don't even use the torch. We've got fluorescent jackets for the tiny bit of road and then it's onto footpaths but it's so peaceful and nice. Yes, my mother doesn't want to go out in the dark & won't let me go out on my own in the dark either. Walking when it's just getting light is also a lot less appealing at this time of year than it is in the summer because it's so much colder! |
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Post by dippy on Feb 4, 2021 0:03:40 GMT
Yes, my mother doesn't want to go out in the dark & won't let me go out on my own in the dark either. Walking when it's just getting light is also a lot less appealing at this time of year than it is in the summer because it's so much colder! Shame, it's wonderful, a clear night near full moon is amazing, if only she could be persuaded, it's not like it even has to be very late at this time of year. I don't like the idea of a dawn walk at this time of year, can understand why it's not appealing. |
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Post by Someone in a tree on Feb 4, 2021 8:09:52 GMT
As someone who a does a bit of hiking, walking at night is not for me. Even with a head torch and other bits of gear and I'm still angsty that I'm going to fall down a hole. And that hole ain't Wonderland.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2021 10:58:55 GMT
I love walking at night, or in the early morning when I can be bothered to step out into a wall of bitter cold. As someone with a collection of flashlights I like getting a chance to use them.
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Post by alece10 on Feb 4, 2021 11:22:09 GMT
I love walking at night, or in the early morning when I can be bothered to step out into a wall of bitter cold. As someone with a collection of flashlights I like getting a chance to use them. You wouldn't want to walk around in East London at night, you wouldn't come back alive. |
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Post by vdcni on Feb 4, 2021 12:52:41 GMT
I'm in the midst of buying a house/moving at the moment which is even less fun in lockdown than usual!
And now I've noticed I'm moving to a safe Tory seat so that's my vote wasted from now on!
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Post by Dawnstar on Feb 4, 2021 13:46:14 GMT
Shame, it's wonderful, a clear night near full moon is amazing, if only she could be persuaded, it's not like it even has to be very late at this time of year. I don't like the idea of a dawn walk at this time of year, can understand why it's not appealing. As someone who a does a bit of hiking, walking at night is not for me. Even with a head torch and other bits of gear and I'm still angsty that I'm going to fall down a hole. And that hole ain't Wonderland. That's basically why my mother doesn't want us to go out walking in the dark. She has tripped & fallen over several times - including once when we were heading to the station to go on holiday which reulted in injuries severe enough that we had to postpone going away til the next day, when she'd been to the doctor & dentist. So, especially at the moment, she doesn't want to risk tripping over in the dark & getting injured again. |
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Post by dippy on Feb 4, 2021 22:52:45 GMT
That's basically why my mother doesn't want us to go out walking in the dark. She has tripped & fallen over several times - including once when we were heading to the station to go on holiday which reulted in injuries severe enough that we had to postpone going away til the next day, when she'd been to the doctor & dentist. So, especially at the moment, she doesn't want to risk tripping over in the dark & getting injured again. Well there's definitely some logic to that!! |
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Post by Dawnstar on Feb 5, 2021 19:15:27 GMT
We ventured out (in daylight!) today & were extremely fortunate that in nearly an hour of walking we were only passed by one jogger. Just as we got in the car to leave two dog walkers appeared in rapid succession, so our timing was inadvertantly perfect!
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Post by peggs on Feb 5, 2021 20:34:41 GMT
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Post by Dawnstar on Feb 5, 2021 22:17:12 GMT
peggs Thanks. I don't think we'll be repeating it for the next few days though. The weather forecast is very conducive to staying at home!
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Post by peggs on Feb 5, 2021 22:45:09 GMT
Yeah rain and cold Dawnstar so I guess then ice, I'm certainly glad I don't have to drive to go to work when the weather is bad. |
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Post by Dawnstar on Feb 5, 2021 22:53:43 GMT
We're supposed to have rain tomorrow then snow Sunday & Monday, with a maximum temperature of zero degrees. Deeply unappealing. I already have more than enough chilblains!
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Post by kathryn on Feb 9, 2021 22:05:53 GMT
I just cried laughing at the cat lawyer clip.
It gets funnier the more I watch it.
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Post by peggs on Feb 10, 2021 18:16:31 GMT
I just cried laughing at the cat lawyer clip. It gets funnier the more I watch it. I surprised myself at the deep laughter that it generated last night. |
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