Place Notes

Lockdown Friday / 27th March 2020

So, we're now officially in Covid-19 lockdown.  We're only supposed the leave the house for essential errands - and for one fix of exercise a day.

It is strange how rapidly one starts to adjust to the new normal.  For most of the week I've been getting up at the usual time, then going out for a long-ish walk with camera in hand before settling down at my home desk with a large pot of coffee to do the usual email and meeting related work activities (using a variety of different online meeting tools).

If I was looking for positives - the main one has been having a proper lunch break each day rather than grabbing something at my desk.  It has also helped that the Oxford weather has been good all week, so the morning walk hasn't felt like an ordeal.

Over the last few days, I've found it more relaxing to stick to the Headington streets rather than the lanes that would be my usual choice for a local walk.  The lanes are fine if you have them to yourself - but if you meet someone there is really no chance to being able to stick to the 2 metre separation 'rule'. Mind you some folks seem to have a pretty strange idea of what 2 metres might look like - am tempted to wander around brandishing a walking pole to enforce my view of what 2 metres looks like.  Last week I was threatening a lot of pictures from the C S Lewis Nature Reserve -  this week I'm taking the view that it's out-of-bounds because the paths are just too narrow.

To add some variety to the local walks, I've been finding different routes each day - and I've been trying to find a photographic theme for the walk each morning - today I was looking for blossom.




The other innovation this week has been starting to get groceries delivered to the house rather than facing the supermarket crowds (not that I've been doing that, I'm still grounded).

Over the last year I've got coffee quite regularly from a coffee roaster in Witney, since things have gone strange they've branched out into groceries - and do a local delivery which includes Headington.  Highly recommended if you're in the area - UE Coffee Roasters.  Their delivery this morning included lots of peppers (which rapidly became a pepperonata) and some lovely sourdough bread.



The other highlight of an otherwise housebound day was the chance to watch the bird activity around the garden - a coffee break down the garden provided magpies, starlings, blue tits, lots of house sparrows, robin plus blackbird, joined a bit later by long-tailed tits and jackdaw.












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