Skylight & A Cuppa

My intention of returning to this journal on a daily basis failed after two days as nothing of any import happened yesterday, as on so many days at the moment. I did point out to someone on Facebook that even when shopping online for groceries, one should not wear pyjamas, espcially when ordering from Waitrose. Other than that, no interaction outside of the home.

The image above has no relevance other than I found it when sorting through photos on my computer and liked it. So there it is.

Little Red Library

 

It's unlikely that my sudden resurrection of this journal will survive after so many years of dormancy as I rely on images to spark off and there are precious few opportunities to gather them now that we are forced into another period of seclusion; the word 'lockdown' is totally inappropriate and I will not use it.

There are a few things to note as we make our daily perambulation of the village and this is one of them. The old telephone box has been turned into a free lending library and, to be fair, it's not all chick-lit and thrillers. So far we've picked up a couple of good reads.

The first seclusion tied in with a period of exceptional spring weather and we managed to paint everything in the garden that stood still for long enough. At this time of year it's not really an option although I did mow the lawn just before Christmas. Monica keeps threatening to get me washing the car but I reckon I can hold that off until at least April. It's not going anywhere after all. 

Tall Man & A Horse

Sometimes it's a pleasure to waste your breath and ranting about the decay of the English language is as good an arena for venting as any other.

Recently I've been seeing statements such as 'The Israeli facemask that everybody is talking about' and my first reaction is 'Really?' Everybody? The total population of the world? In all probability this extravagant word could be replaced by 'a very few' or even 'nobody'. 

Another bugbear is the use of 'strictly'. Surely if something is private, it is private - you don't go there. So what additional level of privacy does 'strictly, add, Do you get molested by large dogs or thrashed with a birch cane, rather than welcomed with tea and a cream scone - just more linguistic nonsense.

So everybody (strictly Engish-speaking everybody only), STOP IT!

The image is not relevant to the above whinge; it's a tall man and a bush like a horse.

It's Been A While

Plockton - one of the magical places in the now overrun highlands of Scotland

Pink Pipes

Many cities in the world would benefit if some attractive pink and purple pipes were run through their public spaces and that's exactly what Berlin has done in Potsdamerplatz. Aren't they pretty?

The Call of the Highlands

The pipes are calling. Point the car north and drive till the rain stings and the midges bite. It's been far too long.

A Change in the Weather

What a difference a few hours and a few hundred miles makes.




Thursday morning, 10.30, speeding across the Venetian lagoon on my way to the airport.


Thursday afternoon, 15.00, speeding along the M25 through Surrey.

Now which do I prefer?