Monday, August 31, 2020

Published Monday, August 31, 2020 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 30th August

After doing a couple of crosswords I was settling down to sorting out my laptop when I got a text from Ralph as I'd said I'd take the For A Few Dollars More poster in I've got for M's birthday to be framed but it had slipped my mind. I finally got to meet Sarah and he's going in for his op next Wed all being well. The poster looks good. It came all the way from the states. Hope she likes it. Did some recording of a song I'm working on based on a riff I came up with. Went for a swim on Tuesday morning. We have now realised, thanks to Sally, that the swimming sessions are for an hour. You just need to arrive in the 10 minute slots. We're both feeling the benefit of the swims now. Feel much stronger upper bodywise. Tidied and rearranged the music room and M made some labels for the gin. She added lemon peel to hers. My secret ingredient is vanilla. 
Popped into John Lewis for a new filter for the cafetiere as ours is completely clogged which means it sprays hot coffee all over the place and you get lots of sediment in your cup. They're very good at sanitising, checking numbers and distancing and its card payment but then they always give you a paper receipt. M went to the BRO on Wednesday morning and I did a bit of a tidying up in preparation for the weekend. M had done her bit yesterday. Picked up the framed poster from Ralph. It looks good. Went out for a ride early evening with Kelvin and Andy. We met Andy at The Sun at Hill Bottom as he'd been doing his volunteering for BBOWT out that way at Cholsey Marshes. Very popular pub and we decided to eat there. Unfortunately they weren't doing the eat out to help out deal. We all had burgers of varying types. All very over cooked except the salad. Here's a bit of burnt halloumi and some chips.
As it was the first meal I've had out for probably 6 months it was a massive let down. I'd checked their website before we went and there was no mention of covid. They had 1 meter social distancing. There was no obvious track and trace. Andy said he thought he saw some when he arrived but wasn't asked to do anything so didn't. None of the staff were wearing masks. The GOB was good but I wont be going back in a hurry. Andy found a nice route back via some back roads which was fun and we ended up in the nags. I went for a Thornbridge Melba which was billed as an american IPA, I should have guessed but it didn't mention the peaches. Disgusting. Had a pint of Yankee afterwards from the Roosters brewery in Harrogate which was OK. Needed to pop into town on Thursday morning to get some supplies for this evenings curry. Heard from James and Amy. They have crossed the border. Haslams phoned, they have new tennants who want to move in on Tuesday. James and Amy arrived about 3. They sent a WhatsApp that enabled us to track them from just north of the Pack Saddle. We hugged. They had a good journey. I made a curry, we ate about 7. Tom and Sally arrived about 8 30. We hugged again. Had a bit of a late one. Most went to bed about 1 but me and Tom stayed up til about 5. Went for a walk around the Coley meadows late Friday morning via the flat. It was a bit wet and we got bitten but avoided the rain. James, Amy and M had naps in the afternoon. We went swimming at 5. Had homemade lasagne and then the gin tasting. Mine was vanilla, M's citrus, J and A's christmassy and T and S's a bit salty. We had them neat to start with then with tonic etc. Played a couple of games, Anomia to start with which is a bit stressful and I'm not too good at and 6 Nimmt which I'm a bit better at. Me and Tom stayed up til about 3 again. On Saturday we drove over to Clayfield Copse in Caversham and walked over to the Lodden Brewery for a swifty. When we got back T, S, J and A presented us with 4 really nice bottles of champagne for our aniversery. They went out to meet up with Josh and a few others and we went to Peter Scloggins 60th burthday party which was a real fun event. The idea was to make a lantern but we just bought a couple.
They were all hung up in the garden.
We got sparklers after midnight as it was M's birthday and our 40th wedding aniversary. We stayed up til about 3 again. J and A cooked breakfast on Sunday then there was some down time before the festivities began. We started with champagne and presents about 3. T and S got her 2 really nice Le Creuset jugs. J and A some coloured mirrors to hang in the garden and my For A Few Dollars More poster was well received. We then had a bit of a Greek meze finishing with slow roast lamb. Had a couple of games of Diamant. I could have won the last one but twisted one time too many. Lit the fire pit and sat out for a desert glass of champagne followed by sparklers and too much ouzo.
Got to bed about 3 30.  J and A have been very conscientious with regard to social distancing and had not mixed with any one for the last 10 days and were planning to do the same when they got back to Glasgow. I must admit that we haven't been that good and there was very little social distancing at Peter's party but it was outside and all our pub visits have also all been outside. Technically we are in breach of the covid rules for England as there are 3 households here and 2 is the limit. It's 3 in Scotland though.

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Monday, August 24, 2020

Published Monday, August 24, 2020 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 23rd August

At some point last week Andy had asked the question "What is Reading's shortest named river?". This turned out to be Smallmead Ditch but he didn't know where it was. On Sunday I had done some research and found that it flows into Foundry Brook by the A33 roundabout near the Mad Stad.
I then googled Foudry Brook to see if there was any mention of Smallmead Ditch being a tributory. There wasn't but as you can see in the link there was quite a lot of info including a fine schematic showing crossings etc. This gave me the idea of doing a ride to follow the river via the crossing points. Kelvin, Andy and Graham were up for it so we set off about 11 on Monday morning. It basically goes south through Silchester and rises near Baughurst. It was quite an interesting ride. We stopped for lunch at St Mary's church near Mortimer station where we go blackberry picking. The stream there is Foudry Brook.
We found this ford just outside Silchester
Shortly after that we missed a turning and ended up Bramley which was a bit out of our way. At this point we decided to head back so we didn't get to the source. We came vack via Burghfield and stopped off at the Cunning Man for a pint. Did about 31 miles in all. M had been to the dentist in Oxford. He hadn't been able to use what he normally uses to clean and polish her teeth because of the Covid rules so had to resort to old method of scraping. A bit of a lazy day on Tuesday. Found this river map site. Its got a lot of detail but I'm not sure what to do with it. Also tried this National Library of Scotland map site that Graham had mentioned. This was all on my phone so thought I'd try it on my laptop. It wouldn't boot up, which has happened before so pressed down the power button for a while which normally fixes it. This time it didn't though just came up with initiating automatic repair over and over again and couldn't switch it off. In the end I had to resort to phoning tech support. The guy was quite helpful but needed my serial number which I didn't have. There's a QR code on the laptop and you can use it to get into your acount with warrantee details and stuff but no serial number. He also had details of a previous call but the same there. It all seems very odd. I remember having trouble finding it when I first registered. Eventually I found it in a csv file in an old email. For future reference its R90VCESY. Anyway it was looking bad. The support guy was suggesting a factory reset which would lose data. He suggested taking it somewhere like Currys to get if backed up or arranging a site visit but they might not back it up. Anyway eventually it just started booting up. I did all sorts of checks after but no problems found. A close call. M did posh fish and chips for tea. We'd started watching the first Line of Duty on Sunday as hadn't seen before, so watched a few more episodes. Wednesday morning is when we currently do our house cleaning. This all started when I was asked to prepare  propsal for an in house towel strategy This was passed by the management committee with very few changes on 25th March just after lockdown started. As we were changing towels we thought we may as well clean the rest of the house. It is known as towel strangling day. Did some guitar playing in the afternoon and relearnt Sweet Black Angel, the Corey Harris version. Cooked a veg curry. Watched the end of Line Of Duty and started watching a French thing called Bureau that aeemwd quite promising. On Thursday did a ride out to Warren Row again with Andy as M wanted pictures of the tin church with out anyone in them for her Coley book.
Stopped off at
Them cyclists cafe for a coffee.
A very popular spot for an out of the way place. They have a novel way of bike parking.
Came back via Aston and Henley. Stopped off for beer and sandwiches at Sonning lock. About 30 miles in all. Went swimming with M at 5. Not a good time to go as it seems the Rivermead shuts for the afternoon and does not reopen until 5 so had to queue. The good news was M was first in an empty pool. Laptop wouldn't boot up again in the evening. Thought I'd just let the battery run down. Tried to boot up again but same issue.
On Friday I had to go to the dentist for some filling maintenance. Had to wait outside in the rain until they were ready. Seems  bit OTT. The dentist and here assistant both wore full PPE including some sort of respirator mask which meant I couldn't really understand what she was saying. I've had some discomfort chewing and she found a crack in a tooth which was then filled. Went for a Mansfield Rd walk after organised by Roger. This involved my first post lockdown bus trip which was to Sonning Common. It looks like M's participation last week has changed the dynamic as Carolyn came this week with Paul and John. We came across this spring early on.
A lot of it was on or near places I've cycled along but never walked. If looks very different when on foot. Very picturesque.
We had lunch at the Bottle and Glass. They were only doing pizzas which I thought might be a bit much for my teeth so I asked if I could ear my sarnies which they were OK with. The pizzas looked good but slightly over done. Roger got us a bit lost on the way back and we ended up near the Lodden Brewery so had to stop for a pint. Decided to walk back along the river via Sonning. It ended up being 11.5 miles by my reckoning. A bit further than expected.
My laptop problem has now got worse. I let the battery run down and now I can't even switch it on. I also have a problem with my phone as its nearly fully and I cant seem to move stuff to the SD card. Made some gin on Saturday afternoon. We met Mandy for drinks in the outdoor but of the Oakford. Picked up an SD card on the way, they only had Doombar on real ale front so ended drinking Neck Oil and probably had one too many. Its only 4.3 though.
On Sunday tried the new SD card in my phone but still couldn't transfer stuff to it. In the end I downloaded a file manager and that allowed me to do it. No idea why it cant be done with the standard software. I then bottled the gin. Its quite dark in colour in spite of a lot of filterring.
Then we went for a walk to the Bel and the Dragon. Made some focaccia and a lamb casserole. Watched TV.
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Monday, August 17, 2020

Published Monday, August 17, 2020 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 16th August

We had booked a swimming session at the Rivermead on Monday morning. You can only book 10 minute slots at £3 a slot. Its all done online. We turned up ready to swim, had to take our shoes off outside the pool and leave belongings by the side. The pool was just divided into 2 lanes, a fast one an another one. We went for the latter. There were only 2 others in our lane. We probably swam for about 15 mins. We could have showered and changed but decided just to come straight back as it was baking hot. It was really good but surprisingly tiring on the upper body. We've booked another slot for Thursday at 9 10. I'm conscious of the fact that I haven't done much for the last few days mainly because of the heat so decided to change things this week. I recorded a vocal and guitar riff for Born Under A Bad Sign that Ian had kicked off then went for a ride down the Kennet. There was an amazing amount of activity going on. People swimming in Fobney lock. About 30 people on Milkmaid's Bridge, some jumping off, some just watching the fun, some swimming. It was mainly kids but there were a couple older chaps who I assume were with their kids. One was holding a lad on the top rail so he could safely jump from higher up. There were a few more kids lazying around by Southcote lock but not swimming. Further on there was a chap sat on a chair and I assumed he was fishing but he was just reading a book. I went as far as the Cunning Man and then cut back. By contrast Prospect Park was quite empty and looking parched.
There were a few people up at the top near the car park under the trees though. Nothing like the numbers when we tried to go for a picnic a few weeks ago. M cooked a really nice sort of Thai curry with left over chicken and bits from the garden
 Had an unexpected zoom call in the evening with the Kellys as it had been Peter's birthday last Friday. We went into town on Tuesday morning as M needed a new battery for her watch and to post the Vachel book back. I also took the opportunity to take my watch into John Lewis again and this time the repairers were back so it was accepted. M made a very tasty salade Nicoise for lunch. Its baking hot again. Did sone lead guitar for Born Under A Bad Sign and cooked some fish for tea. Afterwards I went for a ride for a bit of a change and I thought it might cool be down. Went along the Thames path to Purley and then along the track by the railway to Pangbourne. A lot more trains then previous times. Quite afew people out using the river. Loads by the toll bridge. Some swimming, picnicing, having BBQs or just chilling. Came back via Hardwick Stud and Mapledurham. Lots of people in Queens Meadow  kids and family groups. A lot of asian families. I then went through Kings Meadow, cut though Tesco's and went though the newish tunnel under the railway. That brings you out in a new estate of flats. Took the bridge over the Kennet by the Jolly Angler. That was very busy but the Fishermans Cottage is still.closed. Very busy in the Oracle again because of the meal deal I guess. When I got back M had gone out as the house was unbearably hot. A first I think. She'd tried the Castle Tap but it was closed so she'd gone to Zero Degrees. A popped down and joined her for a pint. We were inside but the floor to ceiling windows were open so it was like being out. Hand sanitiser on the way in. Wait to be seated. Table service. Staff wearing masks. No one took my contact details though but I sat next to M and maybe they took hers. We just had one and went back.
Heard from Tom and Sally, as you can see it was 29 degrees at 2 in the morning. A differnent story in Glasgow though.
Still ridiculously hot. This was me after half and hour playing guitar in the music room.
Started raining about 5 just as I was going out for a bike ride. The rain here didn't come tomuch but elsewhere it was quite heavyso very localised. Me and Andy cycled out to the Black Horse.
Its been mentioned before. A pub in the woods just outside Checkendon. The best bogs.
They let us eat our sarnies there as they're not big on food apart from pickled eggs. We bombed back to meet M and Kelvin in the Castle Tap. As you can see its mostly down hill.
It was noticeably warmer as we headed into Reading. M had just arrived when we got there and Kelvin turned up a bit later with Doug. They had been for a curry to the Standard. There was also a group of people playing folky stuff who were quite good. They do the sea shanty evenings according to the landlady. Went for another swim on Thursday morning at 9 10. Came back and had breakfast and then set off on a Mansfield Rd walk I had organised to Shiplake with M, Roger, Kelvin and Paul Webb. We just took the straight forword route along the Kennet and the Thames via Sonning. It had rained and was dull to start with but then it brightened up. Thankfully a lot of the walk was in the shade. 
We had a couple of pints and a bite to eat at the Baskerville Arms. Sat out side. One way system, sanitisers, table service, contact details via a QR code. The station is just round the corner so got the 14 31. We all had our masks on.
You need to change at Twyford as its just a branch line to Henley. This is where the excitement really started as the train we were due to catch was a TFL crossrail one and I'd never been on one before.
Thought this was a very informative dispay.
As you can see they're just like tube trains and Reading is now on the tube map. No bogs though.
I reckon it was an 8 mile walk and another mile back from the station. Spotted this sign I'd never seen before.
We both had a bath when we got back. I made a veggie pasta dish and we settled down to watch some telly. There was heavy rain in the night and thunder and lightning but quite localised as we didn't hear it. Anyway that was then end of the hot spell. Went over to Bren and Lynda's on Friday afternoon. We drove over and took Kelvin's gazebo. He cycled. Really good afternoon and evening. We started off with a game called corn hole. You though bean bags onto an angled board with a whole in. One point for getting a bag on the board 3 for getting down the hole. Good fun.
It drizzled a bit so we did put up the gazebo which was remarkably easy. Stayed till about 11. Still warm enough to sit out in shorts and a T shirt. It was long sleeved though.
Got an Uber back which seemed quite safe. All wearing masks. A double first, first taxi since lockdown and first Uber in Reading. I cycled over to pick up the car on Saturday and picked up some croissants we had with plum jam M had made. Yummy. Went to Ralph and Sue's in the evening for an indian takeaway. Ralph had been planning to cook but had to go into work fir some emergency picture framing. He's doing a lot of film posters for a client. We started off in the garden but moved inside. We ended doing some quizzes using their Google assist thingy. The music ones were quite good. We walked overbut got a cab back. This one had a screen between us and the driver. Paid by cash though. It had been quite a busy week socially so didn't do much on Sunday. I took down most of the buddleia bush and tidied up a bit behind the shed. M cooked really nice steaks for tea then we settled down to some telly.

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Monday, August 10, 2020

Published Monday, August 10, 2020 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 9th August

Lazy day on Monday. Did some more setting up of the new telly. Popped to B n Q for an aeriel wire connector so I could try the Freeview side of things. Unfortunately I discovered that the wire down from the roof has snapped. In the evening did some recording on Rocky Mountain Way. Went out for a ride on Tuesday morning, to Sonning and Playgatch and back through Caversham. The screws to fut the telly to the wall bracket arrived so I put it up.
The guitar wall hanger arrived but even aftet extensive research we hadn't realised some sitting at the table could bang there head against it so I ordered another one. The swatches for the new guitar chair arrived so it has been ordered. Could take 13 weeks though. What a day. Worked on Ian's Unsteady Rollin Man. Had to pop out to buy tea, nearly forgot to put my mask on. I had a dental appointment on Wednesday morning fir a check up. It was a bit of a kerfuffle. I had filled in all the forms online and it mentioned somethjng about checking it but I didn't do that at the time. When I got there there were 2 confused people outside. They couldn't get and said you needed to check in online. The door was licked, no one was answering if to rang the bell or phoned. They let someone out and I asked to be checked. I waited outside for another 10 mins or so which was OK as it was a nice morning. They let me in and I had my hands sanitised and tenperature taken. In the consulting room they said to keep my mask on until the examination started. They didn't seem to know why I'd come. I had a couple of chipped fillings need sorting and I gave some discomfort when chewing that needed sorting. This required another appointment. The dentist explained that check ups are now every 30 mins as opposed to 15 to keep the numbers down. Fillings are.now done on filling days. This is because of the fine cloud of particles produced. The room then has to be cleaned before the next patient  can be admitted so theh use 2 rooms. Drill in obe whilst the other is being cleaned. This also cuts down on capacity.
Stuart came round with some french beans as they have a glut on their allotment. Went for a ride with Andy and Kelvin. The original plan was to go to the West Berks Brewery and eat there but they were fully booked. There's a scheme for Mon, Tues, Weds in August where you get 50% off meals up to £10. They were fully booked though so we headed for the Maltsters just outside Henley. The restaurants in the Oracle were very busy so the scheme must have made a difference. Took sarnies and a bottle as well. We sat out the front of thr Maltsters. It had just unexpectedly been raining. They only had Hobgoblin and Camden Pale on so went for the Hobgoblin as its real beer. It was a bit off though. Is this what we have been missing? Not sure what their track and trace rules were as Andy did the ordering. Didn't need to book but had to wait to be seen to. There was a rainbow though its a bit faded in the shot.
Didn't stay for another but thought we'd try and find a nice spot for the sarnies. Ended up on a big straw bail in a field.
We then headed back to the nags in Reading which had just reopened. Its outdoor service only in what used to be their car park. QR code to scan in and provide your details and another for the beer list but they also had it on a laminate. Had a couple of excellent pints of Jaipur. A good ride, specially on the last leg which was mainly down hill with Kelvin forcing the pace. About 27 miles. I did swollow an insect though and then got stung on the mouth by another.
An exciting morning on Thursday. The second guitar hanger arrived and this time meets all requirements. The bit that it hangs on even comes out so even less risk of a dinner guest hitting their head against it.
Then in the post the table cloths arrived for the Three Brothers tabepna.
Went out for first Thursday drinks to the Fox and Hounds with JR, Russ and Dave K. It was the furst time JR had been out since the first Thursday in March. Not sure if I mentioned but after that both Dave and JR think they had Covid. They aren't sure though as they weren't tested. M had Fiona over. Both mention the latest PPE scandal and the involvement of Liz Truss's advisor. It was incedibly hot on Friday so didn't do much except the crossword in the morning. Worked on Losing My Region a bit in the afternoon as a possible future project as I've asked James to bring his mandolin when they come at the end of the month. It features a nylon string guitar so I dug the old one that I bought in Spain about 30 years ago out if the loft. James did point out that they have reintroduced lockdown in Aberdeen and if it spreads there's a chance they might not be able to come. Had a very pleasant couple of hours down the Castle Tap early evening with M, Kelvin, Steve and Lindsey. They had just cycled back from Frimley where they had been staying in a hotel for a few days. Lindsey got stung by a wasp. Went back and had a fine mousaka M had made and watched telly. It was really hot again on Saturday so didn't do much during the day. Ralph and Sue came over in the evening and we shared an indian takeaway from Zyka, a place they use. Pretty good, the first one we've had since it all kicked off. Drove over to Clayfield Copse on Sunday afternoon and walked to the Loddon Brewery for a pint in their extended outdoor seating area.
Its a very niceview on the way there and back even though I may have posted a similar photo before.
We also saw some goats.
A good start to the afternoon. Did a roast chicken for tea and watched telly.

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Monday, August 03, 2020

Published Monday, August 03, 2020 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 2nd August.

A bit of a lazy day on Monday. Chap came round to pick up the drum kit. Also put my mum's old TV on Freecycle and that went as well. We went to BnQ in the afternoon for some fuchia and a bag of compost. No queue and everyone wearing masks. I did spot a young kad without a mask but children under 11 dont have to wear them. Bit of a queue to pay though.
Went out for a ride on Tuesday morning. Thought I'd do a bit of a circular route out to Hurst and decided to go via Sonning but the path by the Thames was closed. 
Did just under 20 miles in the end. Made myself beautiful and had some brunch. M had ordered some large food tins to plant stuff in outside the backdoor. That's what the fuchia were for. They needed drainage holes so I did some drilling. Also put new hinges on the log box.
Its the fuchia

Had a play on the strat and experimented 
playing high up the neck as in Shooting Star. This led to my first ever tapping composition. Had a zoom with James and Amy in the evening. They're both on holiday doing jobs. They're coming to visit on 27th August. Back to lazy on Wednesday. M had a long call with the Old Firestation. It's an arts centre in Oxford. She's a trustee. Added backing vocals to Shooting Star so its more or less finished. Started on Pete's Rocky Mountain Way.
New fridge arrived on Thursday and we have a separare board for fridge magnets.
Went for a ride out east with Andy in ghe evening. We had our sarnies and a bottle of beer on White Waltham cricket pitch.
Then headed for the Dew Drop Inn. The pub in the woods that's never in the same place twice.
They had a one way system, sanitisers and you needed to provide your name and phone number. Service was at the bar then just find your own table. Plenty of space outside. We cycled back through Warren Row where there is a tin church. M has written about these in the new Coley book.
The pub that used to be there us now a cyclists cafe. We went back via Sonning thinking we might have a pint at the Bull but it looked a bit crowded as did the Jolly Anglers back in Reading. The Fisherman's Cottage doesn't seem to be open so we went to the Bel and the Dragon. Quite pleasant sitting outside. They've set up a sort of hut to manage everything from. We were shown to a table and it was waitress service. One set of contact details needed. The only problem was the London Pride was a bit off. I reckon I did about 32 miles. John Lewis opened on Thursday so I popped in on Friday to see if I could get my watch repaired. Unfortunately the repairers aren't doing them at the moment but the good news is its guaranteed for 2 years. I also went to look at chairs and I've finally found one to replace the guitar playing chairs in the kitchen. Just need to choose a fabric now. James and Amy phoned for some decorating advice. They are torn between lining paper and skimming. We advised to go for lining paper. Rob and Ange came round for drinks on the garden in the evening. The weather looked a bit iffy for a while but it was fine in the end.. Lovely day on Saturday but had a bit of a lie in. But the signs on the wall.
The new telly also arrived but couldn't put on the wall due to a lack of screws. Its good though. Made pizzas but just in the regular oven. Lindsey organised this months walk which was similar to the one we had done a couple weeks starting from the Beansheaf Community centre in Calcot.
We were split into 3 groups according to preferred social distancing rules. I was with M, Hilary, Jane and Dave. It's a good walk and so close to the town. Came across this odd double bridge where the Holybrook goes under Burghfield Rd.
Sat in the garden after, had a drink and did the crossword together. M cooked a tagine for tea. Phoned James and Amy as it's her birthday. They had been out with friends in the park. Watched the Tintin movie.            
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