Today feels like I haven’t really achieved anything – well apart from the usual things! My energy feels a bit sluggish.
I woke up to my clock radio, at the new time of 8am. Listening to The Chris Evans Breakfast Show – this morning they were talking about a lottery ticket that has not be claimed for, I assume talking about a winner recently?! It’s always hard to work out what is being discussed, when I arrive in the middle and I am just waking up!
I bought a raffle ticket a few weeks ago on the hope that it may help my finances – and realised I hadn’t checked the numbers recently! I’ve just checked them – alas it is not me 🙁
After waking up, I gave Honey her breakfast and then opened Zoom for Chi Gong.
After Chi Gong, I had breakfast and took Honey for a walk in Kate’s Park. I also tried out my new Liquid Chalk pens.
Last week I bought some ‘Liquid Chalk‘ – which I have never heard of before. Generally it is chalk that comes out of a pen. I am working on a secret project (which I will reveal tomorrow) which needed chalk. Last week, I was looking round shops (that were open) and all chalk was sold out! Online all chalk was sold out! So I went for Liquid Chalk.
After trying them out in Kate’s Park – I poured a bottle of water over it to see how easily it wiped off! Seems to be exactly what I am looking for!
Then Honey and I dropped into the Ear Shop (it’s open only Monday & Thursday 10am -midday). Honey was happy to get an Ear. Then bought The National newspaper and headed home.
I was surprised to find I had some post, which was from the Council giving me a council tax reduction, as I am now on Universal Credit – that was a nice surprise!
I had ticked a box when applying for Universal Credit that I wanted to apply to reduce my council tax.
Then I read the newspaper and did the Sudoku.
Colin from Dalmeny Street Park meetings phoned me and we chatted for a while.
He said what is great about this hot weather is you don’t need to decide what you want to wear each day. You just put on shorts and t-shirt. Where as the rest of the year, you have to “layer up”. I completely agree.
I have adopted the practice of putting my hand out of my window, in the morning to sense the temperature, so I can work out how many layers to put on. Even during these days of hot weather, I have taken a pair of socks or a thin jumper “just in case” it gets colder. It shows how we are not used to this hot weather!
After that, I set to recording some more of my blog for the radio.
My friend, Ron who had a heart attack on Saturday night, puts the schedule up on Sunday for the following week. Knowing that he was in hospital, I phoned his wife last night to offer to help. But she said she was doing it instead. She asked where we were up to with my blog on the radio. I wasn’t sure, but worked out that this week it’s Days 29-35.
But I have only recorded up to Day 35. So I now need to start recording more to have 7 more days for next week’s radio.
It takes about 1 hour to record one blog. Reading it out, editing it, adding YouTube videos, etc…which I have to record the sound of – then weaving that in as well. Then exporting it all.
So before I knew it, it was 3.30pm and I hadn’t gone out to do my weekly food shop. So I headed up to Leith Walk, dropping in at the Butchers and onto Sainsburys.
For the first time, I saw a socially distanced queue for the bus! See photo.
I was also surprised to see that Sainsburys had a sign up saying ‘Essential Food Shopping Only’. It feels like lock-down is over, so this sign feels obsolete now! I know we are not out of lock-down, but as everyone is acting like we are out of lock-down, I forgot that we still are!
Life is just life. This new life / routine – is just my life now. It doesn’t feel imposed on or restricted by lock-down – if that makes sense?!
It was another glorious hot day and I realised that I hadn’t done any sunbathing. It’s hard when I am with Honey the Dog.
With the weather forecast looking to change in the next day or so, down to 10 degrees. When I returned from my food shopping. I lay down outside my flat, in the sun and fell asleep!
I slept for about 40 minutes – luckily I didn’t burn. I generally don’t burn in the Scottish sun, just go brown (which annoys a lot of my friends!).
It was now, after 5pm. So I headed up to my flat and took Honey for another walk to Kate’s Park.
We walked through Montgomery Street Park on the way home and it was full of people sunbathing!
It’s interesting, that yesterday, in Holyrood Park, there was no one sunbathing, but in Montgomery Street Park most people were!
Is that because everyone in the park are not working and so are not in groups? Or sunbathing is for the week and picnics/Bar-BQs are for the weekend?
Then back home and I had a Skype call with my friend Ivan who lives in Berlin.
Ivan also described everyone in Berlin are acting as if lock-down is over, even though it is not. All the bars are open – folk are sitting next to each other drinking their beer, hugging and kissing each other!
Readers Corner
No submissions to Readers Corner today.
I have been thinking about Brian’s suggestion, from yesterday Readers Corner, about developing a map, plotting the places I visit and write about, so you can get a better geographical sense of it all. And maybe even look at when I talk about my journey!
I have been wondering how I would do that. Mainly, how it would be viewed for you all.
Ideally, in my imagination, it would be like a big poster, which you could lay out and look at. But that is not practical. But it maybe a nice thing to do for myself.
Another idea, is that I could do a kind of animation type map. So you could watch it on a YouTube video. But I am not sure how that would work and if that would be helpful?
I guess, if I do a poster, I could then take a photo of it. I am not very good at distances – always finding that I run out of room, when I start something. So I thought, I could get a flat map of Edinburgh and then plot the locations on this. Or measure the distances and draw something that fits to scale?
Anyway, I am sure this will evolve as I continue thinking about it – and I will come up with a solution.
Any thoughts would be gratefully received!
Click on any of the photos above, to see them in full-size.
As I come to the end of this blog, it feels like I haven’t really written anything inspiring, just included lots of photos of Honey the Dog!
I know some readers have said, that they like reading what I have been up to. But it does seem a bit mundane! Is it really interesting to read what I have done today?
There wasn’t even anything to include in Readers Corners on news from the rest of you 🙁
Today it is Day 70 – it is 10 weeks ago that the UK went into lock-down! Does it feel 10 weeks for you?
Hope you have all had a good start to your week.
Thanks for Reading.
Jim xx