Month: April 2020

Lambs and Latte

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I have been a bit lax and didn’t write my blog last Friday. It is amazing how you can fill your time doing absolutely nothing. I am still angry with the Government. Just tell us what the plan is. We don’t need an actual date! My frustration comes because I like to be in control and plan things for the future. With no control and no idea what the future will look like you can imagine I am not in the best of moods. Last Wednesday was a really low point and for whatever reason this Wednesday isn’t much better. Maybe I should just stay in bed on Wednesdays.

Last week we went for walks in the evening as the weather was sunny and very warm. The horse chestnut tree is looking very lush.

There are still a few trees covered in blossom but it is turning into confetti now. What is wonderful is the smell of lilac and wisteria.

On Saturday we went for a much longer walk and discovered a number of ruins and follies along the way. These included the church of St John’s at Boughton Green which is meant to be haunted.

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The gatehouse of Holly Lodge is also quite impressive and was once owned by a member of the Jeyes Fluid family.

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Further along the lane is another folly known as The Spectacle.

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This walk gave me an opportunity to see and hear lambs in the field which was a bit of a boost. The bluebells in the wood here were more impressive than the ones I saw the previous week.

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There are a multitude of butterflies around including orange tips, woodland brown, brimstone, peacock and this beautiful holly blue.

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I should have been at the hairdressers last week for my usual cut and colour. It will be interesting to see what I look like in the coming weeks. I have been blonde since my teens apart from a brief spell when Sophie and Jack were little when time and money were in short supply. I have a feeling there will be a lot of grey coming through and an uncontrollable fringe to deal with. I may set a new trend in wonky fringes if I grab the scissors in frustration.

Today was my weekly shopping trip to Waitrose and I am pleased to see that there is now more food on the shelves. Social distancing was well observed which meant I didn’t get too stressed. I went to the local farm shop, Smiths,  who sell tasty pies and cakes and joy of joy there was a coffee cart outside. How I have longed for a latte over the past few weeks. I bought one and came back via Pitsford Water and pulled into the layby and savoured the coffee looking out over the water with the window down listening to the birds.

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The weather has changed and it is a lot cooler and we have had rain. I have spent time reading and this week’s delights were:

Tim Winton’s The Shepherd’s Hut based in Western Australia and which focuses on the relationship between a wayward teenager and an older man who lives in a hut in the desert. Skillful story telling by Winton. Also,

Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls which tells the story of Briseus, a noble woman who becomes Achilles’ battle prize and covers the final months of the Trojan Wars. I would recommend them both.

As always, stay safe and well.

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Ups and downs

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So, another 3 weeks of staying in. If it was winter I am sure we would be really grateful but with the sun shining and some hot days (in Northampton) it is frustrating to be as my Dad would say ‘confined to barracks’. I know it is to save lives but I do worry about the longer term impact on the mental health of the nation being kept at home, separated from family and friends and the lack of social, face to face interaction with work colleagues and routines. The thought of people dying without their family around them and then being deprived of a funeral where family and friends can pay their last respects is morally wrong and sad.  I have days when I am very angry. Usually at the government who I think lie to us most of the time. Refusing to be drawn on an exit plan is worrying. People like to have some certainty in their lives and although we are told there is a light at the end of the tunnel we have no idea when or how we are going to reach it and I suspect neither do they. As my family and friends will know, I don’t like being told what to do. My sister and I spoke about this earlier in the week. Our Dad always said that this was a Rutherford family trait. We didn’t like being told and we didn’t like the person telling us. And he was right. Rant over.

I did my first wheel yoga session and managed to fall off it and bang my shin. My beautiful wooden yoga wheel has changed from an object of great beauty to an instrument of torture. I have decided yoga is a dangerous sport. The latest craze amongst my fellow yogis is to see how long a headstand can be maintained. I am not going there as it will end in disaster. I can’t do the headstand never mind maintain it. If you want to have a laugh watch Gordon, Gino and Fred Road Trip Episode 3 where they are doing goat yoga. I ‘kid’ you not. It is one of the funniest things I have seen on TV for ages.

The Easter weekend was long and boring. A walk in the park and sitting in the garden just didn’t cut it. Four full days of nothingness. It was my birthday on Easter Sunday and it passed by as just another day. Some FaceTime calls from family helped but it would have been good to go out for a meal somewhere to celebrate.

It is not all doom and gloom. The birds in the park are still very happy. I heard some skylarks today when I went to the farm shop. First time this year. My horse chestnut continues to unfurl its summer finery and the candles are beginning to explode.

 

The bluebells are starting to bloom but the nearby park’s offering is poor compared to the ones in Bothal Woods (right hand image taken in 2018).

My walk is around a park called Bradlaugh Fields. It is huge and I alter my route every time. It is 60 hectares of meadowland, hedgerows and trees. Every time I go, I see something different. I found this large, grassed area with clusters of trees which was empty of people. Bliss. Yesterday I heard a woodpecker but couldn’t find it in the trees.

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Sometimes it is the simple things that make me feel happy to be alive. I saw this dandelion clock and was struck by its beauty.

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A speckled wood butterfly alighting on a plant. A man in the neighbouring allotments asked me if the butterfly had smiled when I took the photograph. That made me laugh.

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It is a park that keeps on giving. No words necessary.

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I have read a lot of books – the last week has seen me polishing off The Long Call by Ann Cleeves, Without a Trace by Mari Hannah, Strangers by C L Taylor and Big Sky by Kate Atkinson. All great reads if you are looking for something to keep you occupied.

As for my own writing… You would think having all this time on my hands I would have turned into a frenzied writer locked in my tower rattling off thousands of word a day. It is not happening. I want to literally tear it up and start again with something different. It has been fermenting for so long it has gone off. I am going to change genres and see what happens. Watch this space…at least for the next 10 years.

I hope you are all staying well and safe.

 

 

And so it goes on …

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This Easter weekend many families are unable to be together to enjoy the sunshine. In normal circumstances we would be at the beach, in the hills or enjoying barbecues with loved ones. In our case, probably not a barbecue as it always rained when we tried to have one and our children sat indoors watching through the window as Barry battled against the elements. We have been out for our usual walk around the park. Social distancing is generally being observed and Barry,  in his own usual style, is practising distancing from me. This is nothing new. The first photograph is from today and the second one from our walk in the Wolgan Valley when we were in Australia. I don’t take it personally.

I have not been motivated to practice my yoga for a week, so that is something I need to get back to. I was able to obtain a yoga wheel from the studio I attend and I think that as well as being practical it is an object of great beauty. What do you think? There are an array of yoga classes on offer for a small monthly fee including hatha, vinyasa, power, chakra and meditation as well as HIIT classes which I can’t do because of my decrepit knee. I still prefer the discipline of going to a class but this is a good option and there are lots of on-line classes around if you want to give it a go. I go to Soo Yoga in Northampton so have a look at their Facebook page They often offer on-line dance fitness classes taught by the amazing Kristina Rihanoff and family yoga sessions at weekends.

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Last week, I bemoaned the fact that I hadn’t seen any lambs in the field. On my weekly shopping expedition I came back the ‘long’ way through the rural parts of Northamptonshire. Before anyone gets uppity about unnecessary journeys etc. I didn’t stop on the way back, I didn’t get out of the car and I had a boot full of shopping. What it did give me was a sense that there is still a world out there where new life is bursting forth despite the sadness, despair and uncertainty facing the country and the world. It gave me hope and a reminder that nature gives as well as takes.

I walk most days and I have been watching a horse chestnut tree in a field. Its leaves are beginning to unfold and the candles of blossom waiting to burst forth. I will use this as my seasonal barometer. I am sure people in the park think I am strange. I can be found staring up at trees and into hedges watching birds and listening to their song. I am sure they are enjoying the sunshine, less traffic noise and cleaner air. On Wednesday a pair of jays were sitting on the tree outside the flat.

I have bought a garden chair so I can make the most of the outside space. The ‘oldies’ were getting a bit twitchy when I was sitting on their garden bench.  I probably should have bought two but Barry can sit on the grass as I have a picnic blanket. (He will be delighted). Manfield Grange is looking very grand and the stained glass window is illuminated by the sun today.

Over the past three weeks I have been contemplating on life. Haven’t we all. We are defined by what we do and this normally relates to our work and professional life. When that is taken away then what do we become? I seem to have morphed into some sort of Stepford Wife carrying out household duties like cleaning,  cooking meals and generally ‘looking after’ Barry. Most of you will know that this is definitely not me who normally sticks two fingers up to any kind of domestic drudgery but when you can’t go anywhere then it is difficult not to do these tasks. Barry is working long hours in difficult circumstances so I do make allowances but how long I can sustain this perfection is open to debate. I am thinking about reinventing myself when all this is over.

It is my birthday on Sunday and I will be having a birthday cake (bought by me at Waitrose) and enjoying a lovely lunch cooked by my darling husband.He doesn’ know that yet.  It will be strange not being with my family but as long as they are safe and well I am happy. I will be 60 next year and had started a ’60 things to do before I am 60′ list. Many of the things on the list are seasonal and involve visiting places in the UK  (all shut) and travel to some different places abroad. I have renamed it ’61 things to do before I am 61′ instead, as there is no chance I will get through the list. I am hopeful that this will end and the world will reopen for business.

Have a good weekend and stay at home and be safe.

 

Highs and Lows

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Another week over and life is starting to fall into a routine. Actually getting out of bed in the morning is a challenge. Not sure how I will manage early starts when all this is over as my body clock seems to have found a new rhythm which means breakfast is happening nearer to lunchtime. I do put my clothes on so that is something. I hope it doesn’t get too warm before the lockdown ends as I have no summer clothes in Northampton.

The daily (ish) walks are becoming a challenge. There are three parks within walking distance, none of them pretty but they offer space, birds and trees. I found a different route around one park yesterday and the way the trees joined together overhead looked like a tunnel. I think we are all in a tunnel at the minute and not sure where the light is at the end – but it will come.

I found a clump of cowslips and they looked so pretty in the sunlight but it made me so homesick. My parents lived at Cowslip Hill and the sight of the flowers brought back all sorts of memories. The woods around their home were indicators of the months and seasons. Snowdrops in January/February, Primroses, Cowslips and Violets in March/April, Bluebells and Wild Garlic in May, Dog Roses over the summer and then blackberries, wild raspberries, conkers and falling leaves in the Autumn. I played in the woods all the time, climbing trees and walking for miles. I collected frog spawn from the café sand pits and then got chastised from my mother for all the frogs in the garden. The sand pits are now a housing estate so not sure where all the frogs and newts went.

There are lots of hints and tips on Facebook on how to stay positive through the coming weeks which is good but I also think it is fine if you feel sad or a little down. These are strange times with feelings of anxiety and lack of control over the events unfolding across the world. IT IS OK TO CRY. I love Katherine Jenkins and she performs a live concert every Saturday at 6pm on Facebook. This week she sang ‘Somewhere’ from West Side Story and I cried, and cried and cried. I didn’t beat myself up for doing so, I accepted that this will happen from time to time. I am with my husband but away from the rest of my family and that is hard. I miss my cat, Luna, as I spend most days when I am at home talking to her as there is no one else around. Now I end up talking to myself. I miss seeing the lambs playing in the fields. I haven’t seen one this year and it has always been a time of great optimism when I see the first one.

One tip that I thought was a great idea is when you think ‘I wish I could…’ , write it on a piece of paper and put it in jar. When we can go out again you can pick one of the ‘wishes’ out of the jar and do it. I wish I could go out for a walk in Sywell Park or have a latte in an independent coffee shop. I wish I could hug my children and cuddle my cat. Try it.

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My highlight every week is going to Waitrose. I hate shopping but the fact that I can go in my car to a place where there are people is a real positive. There isn’t a great deal of food on the shelves but it doesn’t really matter. We make do with what is there.

The on-line yoga sessions are going well including Barre Pilates. The picture froze but I continued on with the sound not knowing what I was doing but improvising as the class progressed. Maybe I invented some new ballet positions. My legs are very stiff. There is a current challenge to see who can stand on their head longest. I haven’t attempted it yet but who knows, maybe one day I will give it a go. Watch this space.

I hope that everyone is well and keeping safe.