One week in to lockdown

Last Monday evening, the effective lockdown of British society was announced and it was welcomed. A week later and people seem to be getting used to it with far fewer people out and about now and transport figures illustrating the extent to which we appear to have listened to and acted on the message to stay at home. Rail and bus use have all but disappeared with key workers making use of the transport system while the rest of us remain in our homes.

However, despite the restrictions, the days are passing reasonably well, and it is worth repeating how fortunate we are in having access to a number of distractions so many others will not, for a wide variety of reasons.

Having taken Maisy out this morning, I was able to get out for a 3.5 mile run off road taking me past Martins Farm and down into Horton Lane where turned right and climbed the incline past the solar panel field and down Devil's Hill, past the golf course and home.

Alison and I next ventured out to Morrisons to shop for ourselves, Bridie and Joy. We have managed the whole week without shopping which is very different from what has been true for months but it did mean we had to get quite a few bits and pieces. There was a short queue outside the store but it moved quickly and I was given a paper towel loaded with disinfectant to wipe down the handle of the shopping trolley as I got to the front of the queue before being allowed to enter. Shoppers were being sensible in keeping a safe distance but there were only a couple of face masks in evidence.

Missing items on the shelves included rice and pasta, cooking oil and baked beans. Most other things were in good supply, especially fruit and veg.

After lunch Maria and I got on with home schooling which was focused exclusively on English and Humanities/RE, both extended pieces which needed to be handed in today or tomorrow. Maria got them both done - a short story in English which had a murder mystery theme, and a project for the other which saw her invent her own religion on an island of her choosing, fictional, so she used map skills to create the island with a key, flag, history and religious symbols etc.

All four of us did the Joe Wicks workout which was great. We loved it and it was brilliant in bringing us together for the 30 minutes. Alison and I took Maisy out again after tea and have prepared Evie and Amelia's room for decorating tomorrow.

One other lovely thing at the moment is the What's App group for the whole family which has seen the sharing of lots of photos from long ago to embarrass everyone and give us a laugh whilst providing reassurance to one another.

Lockdown continued

Isn't it strange how quickly we become used to the most extraordinary circumstances? We've been in lockdown for a few days now and clealy this is having an enormous impact on how society functions with some examples of the worst of human behaviour e.g. NHS staff being robbed of their passes on lanyards to allow the criminals to pose as staff entitled to free food and other 'perks', and more examples of people and communities coming together. We are seeing that in Woodlands with a Facebook group giving us the opportunity to check on one another and to pass information on such as where to get eggs.

The strange thing is that we have quickly adapted to the new routines with the big proviso that we are missing contact with the wider family even allowing for face time and similar. I've already walked the dog this morning and been for a 5km run round Remedy Oak golf course and am ready for the first lesson of the day with Maria. She's working from 9 - 12 each weekday and I am enjoying it immensely. Lots of interesting work which seems to be engaging her.

The afternoon has seen us in the garden or in the attic. I've done the skirting boards up there now and started the varnishing of the new staircase. We'll be painting the walls and ceiling today and finishing the stairs which means we'll be able to get Glen up there tomorrow perhaps.

That's exciting, as are developments in the garden where seeds are germinating and the birds are very active, collecting nesting material and exploring potetial nest sites.

It is fair to say that I am constantly reminded of how fortunate we are in having such a lot of space in the house and a good size garden, company and the health to be able to get out and about each day. With the sunshine we are having htis week, it really does feel like we are the lucky ones. It is also good to be aware of how quickly that can all change and I can imagine how distressing it will be should the virus affect any of us, especially the more elderly members of the family.

Time for school. Have a good day everyone.

Lockdown update

Last night saw the most extraordinary curtailment of everyday freedoms announced with the full backing of the large majority of people, something completely unthinkable at any time prior to this March. It is fair to say that there are many who hold the view the lockdown has come too late and continues to be too little in the face of the crisis which faces us.

The first day under the new guidelines comes during a period of settled and fine weather, a mixed blessing which has brought too many people outdoors at exactly the wrong time but such a relief after months of wet and windy weather, full of floods and weekend storms.

Having walked the dog, Maria and I got down to a morning of school work. She enjoyed her studies I think and spent the best part of three hours in focused effort using resources provided online by her teachers.

The attic is now virtually finished after the plasterers arrived despite the lockdown, much to our relief. They have been a good bunch in terms of being approachable and personable. We have the carpet arriving tomorrow which is extremely fortunate.

I got a 5 mile run in this afternoon and am looking forward to riding to the allotment tomorrow.

The virus has claimed many more lives in the UK today and the rate of infection is speeding up across the world with tens of thousands being diagnosed each day now, 67 days having been required to reach the first 100000 and barely 48 hours to jump from 300000 to 400000. The human cost is beginning to become more obvious and that is even after the stringent measures in place in a fifth of countries across the globe.

Kings Lane Ride

Another cold but sunny day with the blue skies inviting us all out at a time when we really ought to be staying at home. It would be fair to say that the message from the address this evening was ineffective in that the advice remains advice and there appears ample evidence that the public is ignoring it to a large degree, much the same as with the food panic and stockpiling.

I started with a dog walk round the goat farm and had a 5 and a bit mile run round Woodlands including going along Kings Lane which is currently closed to traffic for a period of four weeks. That meant I also took the mountain bike up there too going on to a bridleway I didn't know of and getting a beautiful view of Horton Tower across the fields.

It was lovely to see some yellowhammers as I was riding and there were two butterflies about, one of which I rode alongside for a few seconds which was lovely.

Saturday itself

A sunny day and time spent in the garden, running 4 and a bit miles, riding 6 and a bit miles and checking the news on a regular basis.

The photos are of the ride round Woodlands and Sutton Holms and down Kings Lane.

When Saturday Comes

The headline title would normally be associated with football and the excitement of live sport. I could watch a game at 12.30, 3.00 and 5.30 with another from Europe at 7.30 or 8.00. Now I would find that excessive and would not actually spend the day watching 4 games but suddenly Saturday comes and in some ways, it doesn't differ from other days of the week and that is after just a short time with the postponement of sporting fixtures. I think it is just 10 days since Arsenal and Man City was called off. So Saturday now means something else for a little while, may be a bit longer than that.

I managed a 4.5 mile run yesterday in Wimborne and also a lovely bike ride with Glen and Maria later in the day, once I'd got back from digging the allotment.

The work on the attic is going well and the stairs are in.

There continues to be uncertainty around the arrangements at schools with a longer list of key workers published than perhaps anticipated. However, it is also the case that not all the children of key workers are required to attend to school, it is there for those families for whom alternative arrangements are difficult, especially as calling on grandparents is considered, rightly, as a poor option given their status as vulnerable groups.

The same is true of the economic package which appears to leave huge problems for the self-employed in particular. On the other hand, it is difficult to be too critical as plans emerge at speed and not everything can be resolved at once. In fairness, the package announced is one which would have been completely unimaginable in the past and gives some support to the claim by the govt that it is prepared to do what it takes to get the public through this. This time it feels as if we are in it together to a far greater degree.

However, there is a feeling that this is catch up and a public enquiry, which I am sure will be called once things have settled, will focus on the complacency shown early on while China suffered leading to tardy actions which were planned on the hoof when provision for the future could have been made earlier. Easy to say with hindsight but there were clearly many voices warning we were going too easy and too slowly in reacting to the emerging evidence.

Social distancing

It's the third day of staying away from others for the differing branches of the family. From my point of view I was happy to start the day with a drizzly dog walk listening to Rob Newman's series on the radio about extinctions, in this case the pigs foot mussel.

When I got back I turned back out again to get my run done, just over 3 miles around Remedy Oak golf club. It was then a case of checking with Joy and Bridie if they needed anything while I was out, as I was off on my bike to go and put Joy's bins out for colelction tomorrow. I'd meant it to be sharing stuff we have here but Joy misunderstood, she is 86, and asked for just a couple of items from Morrisons i.e. custard tarts, on a 2 for 1 offer giving her 4 for just £1.00 and a jar of marmalade.

It was busy in the store with queues at the tills and a good deal of space on shelves as they were stripped of basics. I just got myself a jar of marmalade and a pack of brazil nuts, as we are pretty well stocked up for now and there isn't any need to panic despite seeing others doing so and feeling drawn into it. to a certain extent.

I also rode to Bridie's and dropped off some potatoes and had a quick chat. Joseph is happy to be home from school but Bridie is concerned about what this all means for her university course. There are just so many unknowns.

It is a relief not to be in school any longer and have to deal with the fraught situation which I know will be causing a good deal of concern. Further details from Gavin Williamson will be released today and tomorrow to add some clarification but I can't see any but a fraction of the practicalities being addressed. I'm not casting blame here, it is an extraordinary moment in our lives and despite contingency planning, the realities have taken everyone by surprise, especially the rapidity of the spread. It is easy to say more should have been done months ago when China was struggling but you have to get the country behind you and I'm not sure people were ready and you just need look at some behaviours even now to get a sense of the problems of jumping too soon.

However, there will be a need to hold the govenrment to account and they seem to have been a little slow in understanding the scale of the issue and to have been keener to forge their own path rather than follow what was happening elsewhere. They can also be criticised for being too timid in their response, however big a departure from previous norms it has been. Thus the budget planned for one thing and was quickly seen to be inadequate, no matter how much the chancellor may claim that they always planned to do more when appropriate. I don't believe they were expecting such a rapid shift in requirements and expectations.

Now I'm off to the local farm shop for some potatoes.

There is only one topic of conversation, one word on everyone's minds; coronavirus. We are all home now, Joe and Kate with Evie and Amelia at their home, Bridie and Joseph in theirs and Maria, Alison and I with Glen in Woodlands. The most immediate news is that the deaths attributable to the virus has risen to 104 from 72 over the last 24 hours as we enter the steep upward trajectory of the predicted curve.

Everything feels calm despite the 'lockdown' although I'm not sure it would feel the same if I was trying to get shopping, given the shelves are bare of a number of essentials. I can't really call it a lockdown proper given that schools are open and other work continues. We will see what decision is made later as Wales and Scotland have announced school closures from Friday.

I ran to Joy's and back, 5.53 miles, to cut the grass in front and back gardens, keeping away from Joy. She is 86 and well into the most at risk group.

Work on the attic continues and up to date photos follow.

It looks like a nice space up there and further work has been going on today. As a result has been sleeping in Joseph's room but last night he went in to the motorhome and found that much better.

Loft video

I thought it would be good to capture a sense of the loft conversion and took a couple of videos for posterity. Hopefully the link works ok.

Loft conversion

I walked the dog and had my 5km run early this morning in order to be ready to greet the builders who are working on out loft conversion. It has proved to be a big day with lots of mess and dust as they knock through walls and open up for the new stairs.

The photos give you some idea of what has been going on but there is also a calming one from this morning's walk to provide some balance.

Busy Saturday

I was out and about early to walk the dog before cycling down to Moors Valley parkrun before the return journey home. I managed to bring back a couple of strangers from the walk with Maisy as an Ocado delivery van had a puncture and the two guys were having to wait for 90 minutes for a replacement vehicle to arrive so they could continue delivering whilst the other person then waited to get the puncture sorted.I thought it would be nice to invite them in for a coffee which they seemed pleased about even if a slightly less tedious way of waiting it out.

Nice ride to Moors Valley but the return was hard work. It's much more uphill and I came back via the lanes and golf course, all of which were wet and muddy. It was bumpy, slow and meant the wheels were slipping as the tyres struggled for grip. Just 10 miles in total but it felt longer!

In between I managed 225 out of just under 600 runners at parkrun, although two minutes slower than my PB. However, I was well under 9 minute mile pace which I was pleased with after the ride and given I did deliberately take it quite easy. Not an idle boast, I was conscious of not over doing it and it paid off with nice balance between a reasonable time and not feeling shattered.

After lunch, I took Maria to dance from 3.00 - 7.00 and decided to go to the allotment. It turned out to be a good decision giving me time to rake over plots already dug over and to fill in the bean trench, as well as to do some more digging, clearing the chard and spinach from last year and to move the tool store and compost bin. Very productive.

The other photos are of colour in the garden on 14th March. Spring is on the way.

Crane Valley Golf Course run

I had to go to Verwood this morning and decided to run across the golf course having avoided it of late given the wet conditions. It was completely waterlogged last time I attempted it and the course was closed to golfers due to the saturated conditions.

I managed 3.5 miles including the canter across the various fairways which were still tricky, quite slippery and wet but far less so than previously. However, Does Hatches is still a torrent of water and not too inviting to any intrepid swimmers who fancy ignoring the warning signs, something that happens quite frequently in the summer.

Loft conversion

Started the work on the attic today. This is what it looked like after day 1 spent removing the old wall boards and flooring and made a start with the joists. Bigger space is now available.

Ruddlemoor Farm bike ride

A drier day and a great opportunity to get out and about despite the muddy lanes and tracks. I did a 4 mile run to Slough Lane and back through the mud, very slow comparatively but the furthest I've run since being ill. After working on my book and finally finishing reading it, having finished writing it last May and leaving it for a bit of distance time, I got on the bike and had a lovely ride round Woodlands.

It was good to get on the road after a few miles to escape the mud and puddles and to stop to admire the views. The photos show Ruddlemoor Farm which is set up as holiday homes according to the website I checked later. It has had a lot of work in recent times and looks good. That makes more sense, as I can see what the investment was for.

There were some swans by the ponds too which is lovely to see. They are the first I've seen in Woodlands.

Dog walking

A comparatively lazy day with just a 5km run and couple of dog walks in amongst reading and football.

Moors Valley and the motorhome

We were up and about early this morning as Maria does ballroom dancing on a Saturday and we were collecting Evie and Amelia for their sleepover.

Having dropped Maria off we went to fetch the girls and had a play in the garden and enough time for a short bike/scooter ride. We went back to Kinson and had a play in the park and good long walk to the sports centre before returning home with everyone, ready for an afternoon at Moors Valley for our first proper trip in the motorhome.

It isn't far for us but we wanted the girls to be able to have a picnic inside after playing in the park and it was lovely to be able to switch the heating on when we got back. We had wraps and scones for tea and spent a few hours in the park.

There is a new play feature but it costs £20.00 per person, although an adult gets to go on free with a child under the age of 6. It does look an amazing piece of kit but a bit too steep for us for now. Instead we were on the zip wire and up and down ladders in the park. There was also time to check out the rangers area with harvest mice and grass snake alongside typical fish of the local rivers.

Blashford Lakes

There was a frost last night which meant my bike ride was a chilly one this morning. I managed 7 miles on the mountain bike and stopped to take this photo of the two donkeys that live in a field near the crossroads in Woodlands.

I drove over to Blashford later in the morning and parked near the enormous puddle of water that requires you to wear wellies to get to the bird hide. It was empty in the hide itself and not much busier on the water where I saw a couple of Egyptian Geese and plenty of tufted ducks. It was busier at the Ivy Hide North where teal, wigeon, shoveller and pochard were all evident. A couple of cormorants were also sunning themselves in the distance.

I took myself to the woodland hide next and got great views of great spotted woodpecker, jay, goldfinch, great tits, blue tits, greenfinch, chaffinch, dunnock, blackbird and robin, as well as siskin and nuthatch. A squirrel was helping itself to bits of feed which had fallen to the floor.

Wet Wednesday

Another day of rain but still had plenty of time outside. I got a 5km run in after the dog walk and before we went off to CMS to watch Joseph in a netball tournament. Although Yr 3 he was invited to play in the B team to make up the numbers and he acquited himself well despite the miserably cold and damp conditions.

I met up with John Murphy for the first time in years and found he was interested in life in Hebrides and we might explore that a little further yet.

The afternoon continued wet so I focused on the book and submitted the first 30 or so pages to a literary agent firm alongside a synopsis.I am feeling a little more keen on doing something with it after visiting Mark Wheeller who is the first person outside myself and Alison who has read it. The really good thing is that he found the ending moving!

We will see where we go next with it.

Productive day

I started the day with a dog walk in the frosty early morning and then took myself off for a 5km run followed by a slightly longer ride on the mountain bike.

Got the correct fuse for Alison's car which meant I could fix her cigarette lighter which is useful for working the sat nav and for charging various items e.g. phone. Quite straightforward actually. I was also able to resolve the issue with rear indicator on the motorhome and that works fine, along with getting a spare key cut as the vehicle just had the one key when we got it. Nice that it was provided free of charge.

Another dog walk followed by sorting out lots of niggly little jobs that needed doing like giving Maisy a proper bath and then time in the kitchen cooking humus for the week, a vegetable chilli and the lunch medley which lasts for a few days consisting of butternut squash, courgette, carrot, kidney beans and chickpeas, as well as herbs, garlic and cumin. Finally, got a little salad going too.

Maria is at dance this evening which follows a day of Indian activities at school including traditional dance pictured below.

Monday morning March sunshine

The morning was chilly but full of sunshine which made for a nice mountain bike ride of just over 10km. Good to get out on the bike as running seems to have tightened my calves and left me with aching thigh muscles for now.

The front garden robins were about this morning as I added some food to the table. Very confiding.

Running in the sunshine on St David's Day

A cold morning but the sun was out and so welcome after record rainfall during Feb. The av amount of rain over the country was 202mm compared to a previous best (worst) of 193mm. It has certainly felt that way with storms and dismal skies almost every day.

I thought I'd get some pictures of the snowdrops and daffodils while I could. There are plenty of both around Woodlands at the moment.