Winter Hill Walk

Covid 19 30^th March 2020.

Hello everyone. Hope that you are all keeping well and exercising as much as possible. It is important we keep fit and exercising helps your immune system.

Ian decided we needed a more challenging walk today, so he picked the Winter Hill walk. It is slightly chilly with no rain forecast but there are some menacing looking clouds around. We drive down into Marlow and park outside the George and Dragon. There are a few people queued up outside Boots and a some lone cars in the High street, it is quieter than Christmas day morning.

Over the bridge past the Compleat Angler which is obviously closed and there are metal barriers across the entrance. As there is no traffic the water rushing over the weir is the main sound along with some over excited Great Tits calling loudly.

Walking down Quarry road we gaze up the drives of the posh houses and wonder who lives in them. Tom Kerridge is reported to live along this road. A police car races down the road sirens and blue lights flashing. No they are not coming after us but head up the hill towards Winter Hill.

We take a footpath to the left and soon are negotiating a very steep pathway. It is a bit rough underfoot and I am worried about loosing my footing, as I am apt to do. The path narrows and there is a steep slope to the left. Ian says if I am to fall over make sure it is to the right, he is so helpful and caring.

After much puffing from me we emerge form the woods and are out in the open on the top of winter hill. For those of you who don’t know where this is but have been to our house if you look out of our front windows it’s the big hill opposite, the other side of the river. Yes that hill!

We pass the time of day (2 metre distance observed) with a chap and some one on a bike wizzes past shouts our names and a hello. We later find out it was Pauric, he was going very fast and had just climbed a hill so steep, with hairpin bends into the bargain. I am still puffed from the slow hike up the footpath. It’s all-downhill from here so the pace picks up a bit. Chiffchaff call all around us, I have never heard so many as I have this year. There are very few planes; we might have heard 2 the whole time we were out. The A404 has a few cars and lorries on it but still the noise of the traffic is quite noticeable.

Further down a lane we come across the police car and also a police van. They are outside one of the large houses, the car is empty but the engine is still running. No sign of anyone around. We resist the temptation to steal it (only joking) and carry on until we get back to river level and back out onto Quarry road. Nice walk apart from the start and actually I could have managed the additional mile home, must be getting fitter.

The afternoon was taken up with jet washing the garden path and patio. Well that was I doing that. Ian occasionally shouted encouragement from the window or asked if I needed a drink or told me not to get cold or let any muck fly into the pond!  Rather tired, I am wet and mucky, I sink into a chair in the summerhouse he brings me a hot cross bun and a cup of tea. It can’t only be 3.30, I have been at this for hours. Realisation that we have not reset the garden clock gets me moving to tidy up and watch the 5pm daily report.

Everyday I say “I can’t believe this is happening” and I can't. I don’t think I will ever believe it. It will all be like a dream when we look back.

Some key points.

The Pound is at an all time low, biscuit consumption at an all time high.

Easy Jet has grounded all planes, as have British Airways from Gatwick.

75 Million pounds has been put aside to bring British citizens home, some of those stranded in Peru came home yesterday.

The Nightingale hospitals are up and ready to go.

Dyson and Mercedes are making ventilators and breathing apparatus.

Prince Charles is out of isolation and well.

There are 22k positive cases, 180 deaths in a day. They were doubling but now dropping.

Despite this they say we should peak in the next couple of weeks, things are going to get worse before they get better. With Easter on the horizon we think stricter rules about going out might be enforced.

The weather is getting warmer with a predicted 17 degrees for Marlow on Sunday.

Right I had better go and finish of the jet washing.

The deserted A404 in the distance.

Nest box update.

Covid 19 The daily record 29^th March 2020

Sadly the death rate continues to rise but infections although high are dropping. They say that isolation is working. 2 NHS doctors have lost their lives yesterday.

20,000 retired NHS workers have gone back to work.

We are going to be in lockdown until June and social distancing rules will apply until October unless a miracle occurs. They are saying we need to review this  every 3 weeks although the media keep pressing for more exact dates. This makes me cross as who knows what is going to happen. They can only predict and project at this time.

China seems to have gone back to life as normal, it will be interesting to see if they get a second wave. I sincerely hope not.

Donald Trump is projecting 200,000 deaths and says that he will have done a good job if they can contain it at this number. He has backtracked on getting America up and going by Easter and has put it back to the end of April.  Really?

People in the UK still flout the rules and are having parties, a report in the Daily Mail (so it must be true haha) said there was a karaoke party somewhere.

Enough of that.

The very good news is that our nest box has once again been inhabited. Nest building began in January and then stopped, all the nesting material was removed. We saw a bird keep going in a looking around in a bemused manner (don’t ask me how a bird can look bemused) but no activity. We decided that it must have lost its mate. Early on this week we noticed a little bit of moss appearing. It only brings nesting material in during the early morning. It places the material down then proceeds by flapping its wings and pushing its body down and around to make a nest shape. My video is playing up at present but its on my list to sort out. Hopefully we will get some eggs and chicks. This will keep us all amused until the end of May.

Yesterday was cold and blowy we only managed a quick walk around the block. Did some cooking and writing. Then we watched 2 films Evita (not a great fan of musicals myself) but quite enjoyed it then we watched Robert the Bruce.

Not a lot of exercise today.

Sticky short ribs, cabbage, carrots and mash for dinner followed by. Lemon and banana panttone pudding.

Virtual Pub Night

Covid 19 28^th March 20202 The daily record.

Apologies for the late posting but we are feeling a bit jaded this morning. Last night we did a virtual pub night on face time with friends in Cornwall and Weston Super Mare. It was really good; we were online for the best part of 3 hours. So bit of alcohol was consumed. It was very nice to catch up. The “Pub” is called the Stay Inn. Sarah named it very aptly.

Anyway back to reality. Not much happening on the home front. Ian finished off the painting outside. I did some writing, I might do an on line course of creative or descriptive writing see if I can find something.

The wind has got rather strong and 40 mile an hour winds are reported for today. The temperature has also dropped so it’s back on with the trousers and goodbye to the shorts for a week.

Boris has said we are to be in lockdown until June, this will be a massive blow for a lot of people. Expect more panic buying this week. The disgusting thing is those that went mad buying too much fresh food now have to throw it away. They should be throughly ashamed of themselves but I bet they will be the first ones in line when the shops open again.

Ian and I are to limit ourselves to walking from home from now on as we were venturing a mile or 2 from home in the car but we were told last night not to do that. Message received.

Over a thousand people in the UK have died from the virus now. Boris has said that it will be getting worse and has written to every household. He is still in isolation. Prince Charles is in Isolation at Balmoral and the Queen and Prince Philip are at Windsor. Harry and Meghan have moved to L A. Hmm.

The wind should be dropping later on so we might wait until then to get out, need to blow the cobwebs from last night away. Its quite cold.

We are trying to keep in touch with as many folk as we can, in different ways. I am pleased that many of you like reading this. I am also writing up our Caribbean diary so I might intersperse the daily reord with that too.

I have signed up for the NHS volunteers.

Tandoori Chicken and rice for dinner.

Far too much wine.

Great night at the pub. Although the alcohol license for the Marlow branch has been revoked due to irresponsible behaviour. It will be reviewed later in the week but more stringent rules are to be applied. 😀

Another early start.

Covid 19 March 27^th 2020-03-21

For some strange reason I am waking up at 5.50 every morning. This is rather annoying as I am tired and want to sleep. Also its not as though we don’t have enough hours in the day to get our jobs done! I do however love the early spring mornings, watching the sunrise up over Winter Hill and the mist hanging along the river, we have a good vantage point up here on Hillside road.

While we wait for it to warm up a bit and the frost to clear, we do a few household chores, washing vacuuming and mopping floors. A job that feels great when it's finished.

Boots on and we set off for a walk only a short one today as we have jobs that we want to get done before the weather turns cold in a couple of days. Along Hillside and up Oak Tree Road to Seymour Plain.  I am a bit puffed today, feeling tired and aching from the workout I did yesterday so glad when we reach the flat road. Past the houses we turn onto a footpath that leads into the woods, Chiffchaffs are calling, which makes me think that the migration must be well underway. Sadly we can’t get out to the places we normally go to find the birds. Looking at the map I think we are in Hunts wood, Ian calls it Marlow woods, after living here for 32 years you think we would know. When we first moved into Hillside road we used get Tawny Owls in our garden and hear Owls calls and night. We don’t get either of those now; they must have lived in these woods. I wondered why they don’t anymore but notice there is little vegetation on the ground so perhaps not enough food, mice, shrews etc. Passing through the woods we cut left and cross onto Seymour Court Lane there are some very pretty cottages here a nice and peaceful place to live. Taking the footpath through the fields down towards Munday Dean Lane we get a good view of Marlow, which is shrouded in a hazy mist this morning. It is sunny and warm we don’t need coats just a light fleece. Cutting through Seymour Park and up round the back of Barnhill gardens we limbo under some barbed wire and come out back onto Oak Tree Road and home. A short but nice walk and all in the countryside from our doorstep.

Back home we learn that Boris has contracted Covid 19 and is in isolation. People are claiming now that he did not implement measures soon enough, the Media have nothing better to do than to look for faults or create them if they can. Are things not bad enough already?

Painting the trellis and a bit of wall is now the order of the day. Well it is for Ian. We shift the BBQ and a few plant pots and soon he is hard at it. It looks an easy task but is quite fiddly and time consuming. I dismantle and scrub the BBQ it is now ready for warmer days. A light lunch of Tom Yam and noodle soup, Ian gets back to it and I have a snooze in the summerhouse, only for a few minutes. I love a catnap in the sun.

I catch up with my brother and check on his family, our niece is in London and works for Hackney Council in air quality control. It looks like she is going to be a front line worker now. Not sure what this entails just yet but it’s a bit worrying. She is fit strong and young so hopefully will be fine.

I am doing the covid 19 daily reporting. Kings college London has produced an app where you report on how you are feeling each day so they can track new symptoms of the disease. They say that 1 in 10 of the users of the app has the virus.

The virus is rampant in the USA and has topped 100,00 case now. A friend of mine who lives in Pittsburgh says people are not staying at home and taking little notice of social distancing. Over 9 thousand people have died in Italy and Spain has reported over 700 deaths in 1 day. UK is the same with over 700 deaths.

 The rate increases everyday. They cannot predict when the peak will come. Italy still has not peaked.

There are public health announcements being broadcast daily on the TV and radio. 

Distancing procedures have been set up inside and outside supermarkets.

So stay indoors, stay safe.

Bucks county council has suspended all parking charges. 

Home cooked fish and chips for dinner. Mmmmm chips, a treat for us.

14634 steps and 6 miles in total today.

Lots of contact from friends old and new its great to keep in touch.

Early morning in the garden

A day for gardening

Covid 19 The daily record. Thursday 26^th March.

Not a lot to report today as had a day doing a big garden task.

First thing though we had to go to Glade Pharmacy to collect a prescription. (no one ill). It was a bit daunting to say the least. We were unsure how many people would be queuing as I read at one stage 40 people were queued up outside, however there was a queue of 2. Ian was straight in and out I stayed in the safety of the car.

The roads are very quiet and only a few people out exercising.

Decided to do another Joe Wicks class. This time though Legs Bums And Tums. He had recorded it in the US Virgin Isles and the backdrop was a beautiful blue sea and matching sky.  I have decided that Joe grunts and puffs more than me, however he is much faster at getting up off the floor, as he is half way through the next exercise before I have got back on my feet and regained my balance. Ha Ha.

Ian finished off the pond shade, I dug out an old edge to a flowerbed that had got weedy and messy. I was a long hard job and sifted a load of stones out of the soil. The stones have been distributed about and the soil I will keep as I have no compost and not likely to get any, anytime soon. Having said that I have no plants to put in my pots.

 A cup of tea in the sun later and I was nearly nodding off, so decided to come in doors and write this up.

It has been a lovely day weather-wise and we are pleased to be active and getting the garden up scratch.

We might get out for a walk tomorrow depending if I am crippled from my Joe Wick classes or not.

I am in charge of dinner to night Prawn Satay salad. I expect Ian might be having a quick sandwich or a little sandwich later on as salad wont be enough for him.

Stay safe. Stay at Home. KEEP YOUR DISTANCE. 6ft apart or you could be 6FT down.

March Hares in mad world.

Coronavirus the Daily record. Wednesday 25th March 2020

In the UK as of 9am on 25 March 2020, a total of 97,019 people have been tested, of which 87,490 were confirmed negative and 9,529 were confirmed positive. 463 patients in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) have died.

World Stats

Since 31 December 2019 and as of 25 March 2020, 416 916 cases of COVID-19 (in accordance with the applied case definitions and testing strategies in the affected countries) have been reported, including 18 565 deaths

India, China, France, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, and the UK have implemented the world's largest and most restrictive mass quarantines.

After updating my diary, I decided that some gym type exercise was required so I got a Joe Wicks video on you tube. Although I am quite good at jumping around in the pool when doing aqua aerobics it seems it is impossible for me to have both feet off the ground at the same time, well only if I fall over. I do manage to improvise with some of his movements but the jumping like a kangaroo over a log was too much of an ask. Ian was laughing his socks off and asked why was Russell Brand doing exercise videos. I had never seen Joe Wicks before but he does look a bit and certainly sounds like Russell Brand. Anyway I did get through the half hour and felt quite righteous afterwards. Note to self check out the green goddess fitness videos it might be more me!

After a well-earned breakfast of boiled eggs and toast, we dust off the Saab again and head out towards Hambleden. You feel its wrong to be out driving but  a, we will get a better walk and b, less people in the countryside away from towns.

The village makes a pretty picture as we drive over the little humpy bridge, the stream is full of crystal clear water and running fast.

Over the road and up a steep hill through the woods, passing 2 dog walkers on the way. We exchange a few greetings and acknowledge how lucky we are to be able to do this and think about the people that live in London and have to travel to work on the tube or bus.

We stop to listen to the birds and pick up a Woodpecker hammering away close by, didn’t see it though.

As we emerge from the woods on to the metalled track the beauty of the landscape is laid before like a painting. Red Kites and Buzzards fly around quite low down, several of the Kites land on the ground, which is something we don’t see happen in Marlow. They just usually land in a tree or soar overhead.

Up on the side of the hill is something brown in the grass. It must be a Hare I think, Ian thinks it’s a Rabbit but as there is only one it must be a Hare. It jumps to its feet and stands still a while. Long ears upright listening for us, strong long legs poised to run, and off it goes.

Passing through the fir tree area we stop to listen for Goldcrest or Firecrest no luck, but more Woodpecker drumming is heard. Cock Pheasants are making their spring call a loud “cock cock” it is continuous. Perhaps he has the Coronavirus cough.

We are constantly on the look out for Deer but are not lucky today. We used to do this walk years ago when we first moved to Marlow. It was a Sunday morning staple with Jeremy and Sarah and always followed by a visit to the Prince Albert. We then venture down memory lane and recall the good times we had together as we stroll along.

Coming back into Hambleden we decide to go and look at some sheep in the field by the stream. The little lambs run around bleating away and a young boy is practising his sheep dog training. It is a lovely sight and even better sound, baa baa baa, bounce bounce bounce.

Back into Marlow, bite to eat and we do a few jobs in the garden. Nextdoor are having home schooling outside,

woodworking classes. Which involves measuring and sawing. It is nice to hear ordinary chatter going on and the kids enjoying themselves.

Today is Jeremy and Nics 16th Wedding anniversary so we face time them and raise a glass of Sparkly something to virtually celebrate. A few more calls are made to check up people and then its time for dinner.

7 miles on fit bit today and over 17k steps

Tom Yam soup and chicken and veg stir-fry for dinner. Very tasty.

Oiled the garden slate and started to make a sunshade for the pond.

Have answered quite a few of Jon’s latest quiz questions.

Today we saw Hare, Pheasant, Butterflies, Red Kites and Buzzards. Heard Woodpeckers both Greater Spotted and Green.

Forgot to say yesterday we saw a Muntjac deer in Flackwell.

Lots of funny videos are doing the rounds, it keeps us all amused and makes us laugh.

A Skylark walk.

Conronavirus a daily record. March 24th 2020

Another beautiful sunny day dawns it is day 1 of lockdown. Ian & I wear our shorts although it is rather chilly 1^st thing. We then take the saab – roof down – and drive to Flackwell heath. We have the most amazing walk. Very few people around and everyone is keeping their distance. It is quite strange as we veer away from each other and apologise for doing so.

In the most I think people are adhering to the rules, however there were some cases of people sun bathing in parks and having to be sent home by the police also some BBQ parties were broken up. In supermarkets people are still going mad and not adhering to the 2 metre rule. Mainly the problem is in London and big cities where people have to get to work. The tubes and buses are rammed perhaps there are not enough running now. They have reduced the number of them in London at least.

Anyway back to the walk. Ian has done this walk many times but it’s a first for me. We look down across from Flackwell towards Marlow. The fields here have either been sown for a fallow year as there are furrows of grass and clover, or they are left like this for the wild life. The air is full of the song of the Skylark accompanied by the mewing of an occasional Buzzard. It is so peaceful.

A runner speeds past us at full pelt down the steep hill, his legs seem to be rather out of control and I think the angle of the hill is his propulsion rather than muscle power. Bit like a child when they run down a hill and cant stop.

Down the hill we go across Sheepridge lane down through Little Marlow cemetery, so pretty with the Daffodils out. Back across the road and up through Pigeon farm, tackle a short but steep hill then we are back in the town and cut through the back alleys to the car.

Once home we have coffee in the garden, sort out the bird box. A blue tit was investigating it again this morning but no nest-building happening. I wonder if it has lost its mate. Anyway a bright green thing is dangling in front of the camera and needs attention. I would not normally interfere with it but as there is no nest building going on I think its ok. 2 seconds was all it took to remove a piece of moss from the camera lens.

We also sort out the netting on the pond, the fish seem to be doing well, fingers crossed they will survive this year. I have put some weed in the pond in some gravel pots and we are hoping it will provide a place for some eggs to hatch and might get some baby fish.

Bucks council have suspended green bin collection, which is a massive blow not to just me but the majority of people as the garden is going to be the main source of activity in the next few weeks/ months. There was a fear that the blue bin was also being suspended. Now that would have caused severe problems, as I am sure the nations wine, beer consumption has increased dramatically. Not us of course, no no not us, absolutely not. Well perhaps a teeny bit.

We catch up with friends on face time; thank goodness we have this wonderful technology now. Its great to catch up and keep in touch.

Dinner tonight is not very exciting Pork chop, new potatoes, courgettes and Broccoli. However it was very tasty.

Over 4 miles walked today.

A bit of gardening, but some other jobs outside completed. Planted some seeds and Lilly bulbs.

An early night as both very tired.

It is 6.15 am on the 25^th as I write this the sun is just climbing up over Winterhill. Lone joggers pass by, getting their 1 form of exercise in before the world wakes up. Their breath is visible as they puff on past and I notice there is a frost on the cars over the road. I am still wearing my shorts today though.

Ian is grumbling why am I up? Better go and make some tea.

Bye for now.

Coronavirus the daily record

Monday 23^rd March 2020

At 8.30 this evening there was a ministerial broadcast and Boris has put us on social restrictions. We have to stay at home, this is the main message. However we can do minimal shopping, go out for 1 form of exercise per day. No social contact only with people you live with. You can go out for medical reasons or to collect prescriptions.

The 1^st case of Coronavirus was reported 31^st Dec 2019 in Wuhan, my  how things have spread since then.

Government is trying to suppress s huge loss of life, I believe there are 335 UK deaths to date..

The restrictions (not being called lockdown yet) will be in place for 3 weeks. Enforced by police and could be fined for flouting them. All shops apart from food shops, pharmacies and newsagents are to shut. There were several heavy duty security guards in ASDA today. Quite menacing.

Ian did go out for his walk, luckily only 4 people turned up and they did abide by the 2 metre rule. I was glad when he came home early. In the meantime I had cleaned the house again. I think I might be developing OCD, but the house is lovely and clean.

It looks as though recycling collections are to be stopped across the South East, this is bad news. Us gardeners rely on our green bins and we are not allowed to go up to the tip either. Hmm the blue bin is going to be mighty heavy very quickly.

Ian’s other major worry is that I have offered to cut his hair for him! Watch this space.

Coronavirus the daily record

Sunday 22^nd March 2020

This is my record of events that are happening (or how I perceive them)and also how Ian & I are coping with them it is not intended to be me telling people what they should or should not do.

Boris has just inferred that a lock down is imminent. Mainly due to people not adhering to social distancing.  Hoards of people have taken to the coast congregating on beaches and in parks and open spaces.  People are still not getting it, are they not listening to the news seeing what is happening in the rest of the world or is it just a gung-ho attitude.

Also a 1.5 million people have been identified as being especially vulnerable and are told they must stay at home for the next 12 weeks. Special measures are being put in place to care for them and feed them. They will need a lot of volunteers to carry this out not sure how that is going to work, as we all need to keep our distance.

Today we had a fantastic walk, well within the social distancing guidelines and as we ventured out into the countryside there were very few people we came across. They were all probably down in Higginson Park – enough said.

I have also read that a lot of people have fled London and gone to Southwold where they are sitting along the pier, as you can imagine this does not impress the locals. There are also reports of the Lake District and Snowdonia being inundated.

Ian and I are at loggerheads, as he wants to go out with his walking group tomorrow. I don’t think he should go if there is more than 7-10 of them. He thinks it is totally acceptable as long as they keep to the 2-metre distance.  I have come here to write my diary so we don’t fight about it. However if he gives me the disease and I die I will never forgive him!  (Ha Ha) Hopefully there will only be a few of them. I will have to get a decontamination chamber set up in the garage for his return. I have some bleach and a very hard scrubbing brush, that will teach him.

I hope we don’t get stopped from going out as it is going to keep us sane and stop us from killing each other. Also we are very aware that we need to keep fit.

Many more weeds were evicted from the garden this afternoon and we managed another hour or so in the summerhouse with the doors open catching a few rays. Ian looks like he has caught the sun on his face. Topped up the vitamin D any rate.

I was thinking how lucky we are that we had the work done on the house last year, so we have a lovely kitchen to enjoy cooking in. We have also decided that we are going to try out new recipes to keep us busy. This could also cause more in fighting. A – who is doing the cooking? B-the other one overseeing and tutting or even worse stirring or shaking the pan.

Ian is cooking Persian Lamb wraps tonight. I had better get down and stir something or tut loudly at the mess.

Well looks like my morning tomorrow is sorted setting up the decontamination unit and disinfectant trough.

Distance covered today over 5 miles.

2 hours of gardening

No snoozing.

Here are some pictures from todays outing.

 

Bovingdon Green

Munday Dean

After gardening thirst quencher.

Coronavirus The daily record.

Saturday 21^st March 2020.

I am woken up by Willow jumping on the bed and staring into my face. Err whats the time? 6am 6? What the hell? Having been awake a fair amount in the night with varying stages of panic, fear and not being able to stop my mind from racing I am really quite tired. Ian is downstairs making tea he obviously was struggling to sleep too.

We ring around a few people and go to a local shop for a few bits for an older gentleman who couldn’t get what he needed at 7am from a local supermarket. People still panic buying and pushing and shoving, it’s completely shameful.

Well with last evenings news that all pubs, restaurants, cafes and bars are to shut indefinitely the UK has finally lost it. Despite Boris pleading with people to stay in doors many went out to the pub for the last hurrah. Spreading this killer disease has huge consequences but some still appear to not hear the message and are in packed pubs and clubs.

We have a good walk; dropping off the food en route and circle back round to the house. The roads are eerily quiet although lots of people are gardening. The magnolias are stunning in full bloom and make a beautiful sight against a blue sky. It is cold and windy but bracing and clean air.

 We see a neighbour who is walking to the brewery and Ian tags along. Under strict instructions to keep a good distance and not to linger. Yes I know he always listens to my advice where the brewery is concerned, however there are no beer tastings or drinking on site so he is home fairly quickly. They were expecting the brewery to be busy but there was no one there, too busy down the supermarket stripping the shelves I guess.

We do a bit of gardening but due to the lack of sleep last night we are soon basking in the sunshine in the shelter of the summerhouse and trying to snooze, but the strimmer and mower brigade are out along the street, so that’s put an end to that.

Ian is cooking Turkish stuffed Aubergines for dinner while I am writing this and Willow is once again social distancing snuggled up in his little bed.

It was only a week ago that we went out for dinner with some friends, we thought it might be the last hurrah but the stark reality of the events of this week are overwhelming at times.

Ian and I are wondering how soon advertisements will change on the TV, how and what will we be lured into buying or doing. I have hardly any spam emails these days. See there is always a silver lining.

Oh and Jon Scott thanks for the quiz – Hmm not sure we a re going to be the winners on this one its very tough especially without the aid of the Internet. We haven’t cheated.Yet!

Some pictures from our walk. Tomorrow the sun will rise, the birds will sing and the flowers will bloom.

Clematis Armandii along Seymour Park road.

Magnificent Magnolia Wycombe Road.

Coronavirus The daily record 2020

March 20^th Friday.

In an effort to record some of the things that are happening at the moment I have revived my diary. It also keeps me from getting bored and hopefully might amuse a few of you.

Well here we are in a situation that we have only ever seen at the cinema or on TV. Its still hard to believe that it is really happening and that its here for the long haul. Things in Marlow are definitely changing but there are the few selfish and irresponsible ones that don’t think. Well actually only think about themselves and are putting other lives at risk.  I know of several situations where people are blatantly ignoring advice, as they don’t think it will happen to them or they haven’t got it. Well hold onto your hats folks there’s a storm coming.

Rant over.

Mr. F and I are trying our best to stay as fit and healthy as we can. We are social distancing from humans and also attempting reasonably to distance from the Gin, Wine, Beer and Biscuits. Yeah right I hear you say. Actually I can hear the wine cooler being stocked up as I write this.

We actually have no crisps or nibbles in the house in an attempt to keep control of our figures, which if abstaining from the Gin Wine etc fails might cause some looting of the larder for other alcohol-induced nibble craving suppressants. This might also cause infighting as to who gets the last cream cracker.

This morning we have been on a walk round Marlow’s beautiful countryside. Just walking up from the house we are in Marlow woods and then out in a beautiful valley. The views are spectacular so green and peaceful, the sun is shining intermittently and despite a keen easterly wind we divest ourselves of jackets and breathe in the cold clean air.

We come across a mother with 3 children. 1^st day of no school and they are on Forest Friday. Its amazing how resourceful and what clever ideas people come up with. The kids were highly delighted as Ian pointed out the Llamas in a nearby field. Our designated minutes of talking to others were up so we move on. Ian is struggling to abide by the 2-metre distance rule and is told to back off by an older lady further on. He is such a sociable chap. She only wanted to know where the road we were on went to.

Once down the hill back into the town we stop at a local hostelry no not for the aforementioned alcohol but a wee and a coffee. There is only 1 other in the pub we take all precautions hand washing, holding your breath, crossing fingers and not looking anyone directly in the eye etc and sit outside all on our lonesome. Still it is very pleasant and a nice break from the doom and gloom. Going back inside there are more customers and we make a hasty exit and douse ourselves in sanitiser and continue with the walk.

Along the river we go, its getting a bit chilly and I who suggested the extension is now wishing I had not. Mr. 3-4 walks a week is fine and striding out. The last mile home was a bit painful to say the least but I managed it and enjoyed it. 6 miles in all were completed

Delighted to say further expeditions into the wilds of Marlow are planned for tomorrow.

Keep safe and keep your distance folks.

Quote of the day.

Allegedly a Mr Trump said "People who have never died before are dying"

Willow is self isolating.