Today I have spent all day at the canal or on Discovery, so less to report in relation to lockdown and Covid.
After Qi Gong, I set to doing a number of jobs, including filling the water, filling up my washing up liquid, doing my washing and putting my wood away.
We seem to have got into the routine of ordering new wood, coal, etc…once a fortnight. The Coal Man won’t deliver just for one order, so we all co-ordinate our orders, he always delivers on a Thursday sometime between 10am (ish) and 3pm (ish). Today he came about 11.30am, including a new gas cylinder for me.
Discovery has two gas cylinders, one was empty when I moved in and as I hadn’t got a replacement for it, I thought I would, so that when the other runs out I can switch over without being with gas. Helen showed me a couple of days ago, discovering with gas cylinders the tightening and untightening goes in the opposite direction to everything else!
Curious to why that is, I looked it up online:
“Gas fittings are specifically designed for use with gases, such as flammable propane or hazardous phosgene. These types of fittings have a reverse thread; meaning, the threads are cut in the reverse direction from all other fittings so that gas lines cannot be connected to air lines, water lines, or vent lines”.
With the lesson from Helen, today I attached it fine 🙂
Then stacking up the wood in the bow and coal in the shed. I forgot to take any photos – sorry 🙁
Last night, I realised it was at least 2 weeks since I filled the water on Discovery, in fact nearly 3 weeks, so this was the first job, taking 42 minutes, the longest it’s been, so it must have been nearly empty! Rach, the previous owner said it takes 45 minutes to fill up when it’s empty. I must remember to fill it up every fortnight.
Usually I do my washing on a Tuesday evening, this is when the washing machine is usually not being used. But this Tuesday evening it was being used, so I did my washing this morning. Finding a slot can be tricky, as so many people are using the washing machine and tumble drier all the time!
I then had a Zoom Meeting at 11am, after that I put my wood and coal away and then did some paid work.
This afternoon, Honey and I went for a short walk along the canal – she had been outside with me all morning, pottering around on the towpath, so I concluded this was as a good as a walk. Then this afternoon we met up with my friend Monty, and sat outside at my table and chairs and drank a hot chocolate from the Coffee Boat. Again, I forgot to take photos 🙁
Then more work, before winding up for the day.
This evening I spoke with my mum, who said there was a feature on BBC 2 ‘Winterwatch’ (Series 9, Episode 7) about the otters on Arthurs Seat. You may remember me taking some photos of one on Day 194 (October 2020) at the same place. According to the item, there are now 3 otters, who have come to the loch as the roads are closed round Arthurs Seat.
Check out the link – https://www.beyondbeliefmagic.co.uk/day-194-reflections-on-lockdown
It’s as 7.20 on the counter.
Things We No Longer Use
We’ve had a wee break from this, but Jill has made a suggestion today (see Readers Corner) – High Heels.
I must admit I can’t really relate to this, but do others find they are no longer wearing High Heels?
Doing a quick internet search, I found this article by The Guardian, published in July 2020 called ‘All Heel and no sole: has lockdown put an end to the under-desk shoe?’
Explaining that pre-lockdown, women would commute to work in trainers and then change into smart heeled shoes once they got to work. The article says, this is often the only time women would wear heels, at work. John Lewis said (in July 2020) they had an increase in demand for trainers, but a decline in formal work heels.
With people now working more and more at home, will the high heels return post-lockdown?
I guess, for me, the other time you would see people in high heels was on a night out – the familiar sight of women hobbling home at 3am in the morning, with no shoes on, holding their high heeled shoes in their hands. Will this ever return? Certainly, nightclubs can not open in any of Scotland’s Lockdown Levels, not even Level 0, so I can’t see nightclubs opening until at least 2022 if not at all?
What do you think? Will you one day return to wearing high heels?
Readers Corner
Two comments today.
Jill
John left a comment on yesterday’s blog (Day 310) saying:
“I love your blog. I live off Easter road (said before) but it seems folk far further afield are reading. I understand it takes a bit of time but it’s great to read so when you feel it’s a struggle please know it’s appreciated. PS, things no longer used for me is high heels.”.
Thanks for the comment Jill and encouragement that the blog is enjoyed by many! The challenge of daily blogs, on top of lower energy, is starting to get to me, I trust my energy will return in time 🙂
John
John left a comment on yesterday’s blog (Day 310) saying:
“Hi Jim, thought Gosling and Lochrin Belle were owned by Re-Union, and not Scottish Canals.”.
Thanks John, yes my mistake. You are right that these two boats are owned by Re-Union, a social enterprise business. With the Scottish Canals logo on their sign, I guess they are part funded by them, which I guess was my mistake?!
Good to see that the blog is keeping you on your toes 😉
As I come to the end of this blog, my energy has not been so good today. I think it is due to this time of year, I always find January and February the hardest months to get through. I always think, around this time, that even though we have past the shortest day, the days seem to drag! I guess, in November and December we are looking forward to the festive break, now we are looking forward to Spring!
In fact, I bought a SAD Lamp a couple of years ago to get through the darker times, so a good reminder that January and February always leads to a drop in my energy.
Today the weather has been wet all day, raining on and off, with a wetness in the air. This evening, it’s been really dreich (blog cover photo), with the smoke from our boat chimneys it made me imagine what life would have been like on a day like this, when most homes had coal/wood fires, the smoke filling the wet air.
The canal is still frozen at parts, but is slowly thawing out, it’s certainly been a lot warmer today. It looks like the cold weather is returning next week, so might as well enjoy the warmer days while they are here!
Thanks for your continuous reading of this blog!
Stay Safe!
Jim x
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