We had been doing the Guardian crossword regularly but have got out of the habit. Started the prize crossword on Saturday and managed to finish it on Monday morning. I then did the cryptic all by myself before I got up. I've still got it. Weather-wise I think today must be the dullest day ever. Heard they have now opened a vaccination centre at the Mad Stad. Went to BnQ for stuff to repair the raised beds and spotted the vaccination centre signs. Boris announced the plan to move out of lockdown. Hidden away in there it says the rule of 6 or 2 households will be allowed indoors in step 3, no earlier then 17th May.  Shortly afterwards M found out that the UC team has made it to the TV stage. I fixed one of the raised beds but found an issue with another. Had an FLF zoom in the evening to practise setting up stages. After some teething issues all went well. On Tuesday I put on my wellies and went to explore Fobney Meadows. Apart from the usual I thought I saw shovelers, gadwalls, teals and wigeons and this was confirmed to me by a birder. He also said peregrines could quite often be seen on the pylons as well as St Giles church spire. Later saw a greater spotted woodpecker and a buzzard. You can't get through to the Coley side because of the flooding. I went round to that side to see what it was like and spotted the deer Sue had mentioned. I reckon they are roe deer. I also went along to the place on the disused railway line where I'd seen groups of people hanging around but they weren't there this time. M has made plans to visit the boys. Had an FLF zoom in the evening for more testing. All OK after some teething issues. We had Nigel on to talk about the comedy. On Wednesday morning I got up quite earliy and went to St Giles to see if I could see the peregrines and amazingly there they were perched near the top one on the north side and one on the east. They are a pair and the females are larger so I suspect the female is on the east side.

This is taken from the north, you can see them both.

This is taken from the east with better light. Later I cycled out to Hosehill Lake near Theale for a bit of combined cycling and bird watching. Spotted a green woodpecker, tufted ducks, wigeons and fieldfares. Bumped into Kelvin and Graeme on the way out. Spotted a field of strange cows on the way back. Had a zoom with the goolies in the evening. Did a ride out to Stanford Dingley on Thursday. I noticed they had planning applications up to hokd events at the Englefield estate. They must have gone up after Boris's announcement. Getting loads of stuff from listing sites as well. Saw some odd geese in a field, found out they are chinese geese. Bumped into Kelvin on the way back. Had virtual pints with Kelvin and Andy in the evening. Andy thinjs he needs a hip replacement. This was then followed by a zoom call with Kelvin as he is showing The Cure at the FLF. Did a northern loop to the Liddon Brewery on Friday. Amazingly bumped into Kelvin and Andy outside Binfield Heath PO. They had been out walking. That's 3 days in a row I've met Kelvin when ouf cycljng completely by coincidence. Finished off prepfor the FLF. Got all the stages set up except one. Cooked pizzas. M had UC practise followed by an online lecture. Then had a zoom with the J, A, T and S. T and S have finished decorating their study and hope to finish the dining room tomorrow. Saturday was mostly taken up with preparing and executing the FLF. It went really well. I wont go into details as most of it can be found here. Didn't get to bed til 4:30 as a result. I did manage a bird spotting trip to Fobney meadows in the afternoon. Nothing new to report but I may have seen a peregrine on one of the pylons. Had a lazy day on Sunday but it was so nice I did a walk to the Coley water meadows. The gate issue seems to have been sorted

Amazingly saw an Asda add about going back to school on 8th March. And another Elexa one about home schooling.

Played around with the FLF and then went for my jab. Drove to Bagingstoke and picked up signs for the vaccine centre. It wasn't where I expected but assumed there would only be one. Parked up and was soon called from the car only to find I wasn't registered there and there was another centre. Followed Google Maps to the other one. This was a different story with a long slow moving queue outside. I was told it would be an hour and fifteen minutes before I was done. You need to wear a mask not unexpectedly. We were told the queue was because of an IT issue earlier. No one seemed to mind, everyone accepted the situation. Staff were also very helpful, e.g. a woman behind me had a walking stick so they got her a wheelchair. They also told us when asked it woukd be AstraZeneca. When we got just outside the centre we were asked a few questions about symptons and stuff then asked for the time we were due and name. It didn't matter that I was now significantly late for my 3 45 slot. One chap was with his wife and asked if she could have a jab as well but thus was not allowed as she didn't have an appointment, she was still allowed in though and there were other couples that both seemed to have appointments. Inside there was a reception stage where you were asked for your booking ref and if you had any symptoms. They also fave you a leaflet about the vaccine. Then there was an assessment stage. Here they wanted your time of arrival and name again. They asked stuff about allergic reactions and mentioned side effects etc. No photos allowed inside. Then you got your jab which was painless. You also got a card with the batch number on. This is to be produced when you go for the second jab. They are both booked together so mine is the same time on 3rd May.

We've decided we have enough material to go ahead with the February Lockdown Festival so I've let all the contributors know and emailed potential festival goers. The initial response has been good. Also tried looking for a place to stay next Christmas. Most places are asking fir non-refundable deposits now. There's been a lot of snow around the country but not here. M cooked a fine chicken and mushroom pie for tea. I started recording a new song and everything was going fine until my laptop refused to recognise the zoom mic anymore. I think its a dodgy usb connector in the mic so may need to replace. Watched Signs using the projector and a screen we have just bought. Pretty good experience. Went for a walk in the cold on Wednesday. Did the loop round to Southcote Lock but came back along the disused railway line to knob end. This could be one reason why Fobney Meadow floods every year.We sat in on a zoom talk about old roads that looked interesting but they were just trying get volunteers to work on a project. They mentioned using Slack which sent shivers down my spine. Watched Reading vs Brentford in the evening we were doing OK went 1 0 up and were looking the better side but they equalised a bit later. In the second half they started to pile on the pressure and we held out tothe 86th minute then lost 3 1. Brentford are a good side. I thought they'd get promoted last year I'm sure they will this. 21 games unbeaten. Then had a goolie zoom.

Went out for my first bike ride for over two weeks largely due to the decorating. Just went on the road bike to Shinfield to give it a road test after getting the rear mech fixed. All OK on that front. Some flooding near the Mad Stad though.On the way back I thought I'd see if you can get into woods around where the Berks CC offices used to be. Found a footpath that took me though and brought me out in Whitley Wood. The area is called Nores Hill on the map. Not been there before.I then cycled back through Whitley along Northumberland Ave. There's an amazing amount of stuff along that road. Several schools including the Mad Academy, health centres, community centres, South Reading  Leisure Centre, a library and quite a few shops. It used to regarded as a rough part of town, not so sure now. On Tuesday I went for a ride with Kelvin. The first ride with someone else since this lockdown began. Started off doing the ride where my chain snapped. Got up the hill OK this time. Lots of flooding at Pangbourne.
Wednesday's main activity was hanging the pictures in the front room. Its a job I hate. You have pristine walls and then have to drill holes in them and with our walls you've no idea whats going to happen. For the smaller lighter pictures I just used nails and picture hooks. Still a dicey business. Worked out OK though. The phono amp arrived and got it working with the bluetooth transmitter. Had a goolie zoom in the evening. It turns out Greg also likes jam with marmite. On Thursday set up the record player in the front room. Just need some bluetooth speakers now. Chap came to fix the gas fire in the kitchen. Nice bloke, very helpful. Managed to sort out the remote that we hadn't used for years, even gave us some paint for the fire in the front room. Didn't wear a mask though. Had a gigs and ale call in the evening. Its official Kevin is now a welder.
Went to the hygienist on Friday morning. Same routine as last time. Had to check in on line and wait outside until called. This time I had to put mycoat in a box though instead of hanging it up. It chucked it down early afternoon. Went to Screwfix click and collect for a cable tidy. Went for a walk to see what birds I could see in the flooded Coley water meadows. Not many and it was too flooded to walk down the path.Had a brief zoom with James and Amy on Saturday then we went for a walk through town to the Thames. Went past my favourite bit of graffiti.The flooding had gone down and we hoped we could walk to the Kennet mouth but the little bridge near Caversham lock was still under about 6 inches of water so had to abandon that idea. Instead went the other way, over the new footbridge over Caversham bridgeand back along the south side of the river. One bit was under water to had to take a detour down Thames Ave. It was a little bit too busy for my liking but most people were behaving responsibly. M cooked a curry in the evening including some excellent onion bhajis.
On Sunday drafted up a plan for the February Lockdown Festival. Had a roast chicken and watched telly. 

Took the masking tape off in the front room on Monday morning. It worked well with the exception of a few leaks that will need to he touched up. Matt and his mate came to install the new fitted cupboard. We all wore masks on arrival and then we just let them get on with it. For some reason the pilot light has gone out in fire in the kitchen and wont light again. Need to get a man in. On Tuesday I painted the cupboard. It looks great but will need another coat and its so dull by the time the first ones dried that it will have tp wait for tomorrow. I haven't had too many responses about the February Lockdown Festival so sent out reminders. Gave the cupboard another coat plus a fee other jobs on Wednesday. Had a zoom dpwn the Hop Leaf withAndy and Kelvin in the evening. On Thursday I started putting stuff back in the front room and Tony came to put the radiator back and fit new sockets. M went up to the library at the uni to pick up a book. All very quiet as hardly anyone around. Moved back into the front room on Friday. There's still a bit of touching up to be done round the sockets Tony replaced. A weird thing happened as the remote stopped working for the TV. Turned out to be the up arrow button that was stuck in. Watched a Cinematic Orchestra live stream on the telly in the evening. Thought I'd be able to cast if from my phone but couldn't so had to use the browser on the telly to get to it. That was a first apart from playing around when we first got it. URZ beat Bouremouth 3 1 to go fourth. A good start to the day on Saturday. We had a lie in but I baked some bread that was ready for breakfast. Did a bit more finishing off in the front room and putting stuff away. My January Berkshire Beer Box arrived. Had a zoom with the Lutonians in the evening. We did some of our quiz. Drank too much. A bit more touching up on Sunday and some research into bluetooth decks and speakers. The deck I wanted doesn't seem to be available. Have ordered a bluetooth transmitter to see if that will work with an existing deck. Did an experiment afterand think I will need a phoho amp as well.