Monday, November 09, 2020

Published Monday, November 09, 2020 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 8th November

Went for a swim on Monday morning. If will be the last one for me for a month or so but M may go on Wednesday. I've made a bit of a mess of the stonework above the window. Part of it is scratches made by the ladder (before I thought of putting socks on the end) part of it is sloppy painting that I am annoyed with myself about. I tried going at it with a scrubbing brush but it doesnt have any effect. Not sure what to do about it.
Did some harmonies for the Counting Salmon song. Watched the quizzes and a thing called The Undoing we have started watching on Now TV.  Put a coat of masonry paint on the window sills on Tuesday morning. I stopped feeding the birds during the first lockdown, not sure why, maybe I thought it wasn't essential. Anyway I've decided to start again so went to the big pet supplies at the retail park near Morrisons. Got the usual, peanuts, sunflower hearts, dried mealworms and thought I'd try some suet balls. I thought it might take a while for the birds to come back but it was only 15 mins or so except for the suet balls. They are in a more exposed position though at the front of the wisteria arch. Apart from the fact that schools are staying open there's a bit of a relaxation in the meeting up outdoors rule in this lockdown. If you are on your own you can meet up with one person from another household. A new chest of drawers arrived for M's dressing room. Its made from recycled furniture.
I put the second coat of masonry paint on the window sills so that job is finished now except for getting the double glazed sashes put in which will also involve some touching up plus sorting the stone above. On Wednesday I'd planned to a ride to a ford over the Thames at Duxford.
Me, Kelvin and Andy got a train to Didcot and met Charlie there. He lead us to Abingdon. The ford was down a footpath.
We thought we'd have our sarnies on the footbridge in the sun but there wasn't one so we headed for the churchyard at Hinton Waldren.
The ride out had been quite pleasant if unspectacular but the ride back wasn't so good. The roads themselves were in need of some serious maintenance. They are a bit narrow and windey so it was hard for traffic to get past and then they just got busy. I also had a bit of trouble navigating on unfamiliar roads. We stopped off for a pint of Landlord at the Hart of Hartwell. Charlie  had been forcing the pace most of the way. Wednesday was the last day the pubs were open so First Thursday was changed to First Wednesday. Charlie also does a First Thursday in East Hagbourne and they changed there's to Wet Wednesday. The original plan was to go to the Fox and Hounds but they were fully booked so I managed to book a 6 to 8 slot at the Castle Tap. We had 4 pints of Yellow Peak which hit the spot. I went home after that but the others managed another 3 in the Butler. Thursday was the first day of the new lockdown. During the bad weather of the last few weeks we talked about taking advantage of the good weather and seeing as it was a really nice sunny day I thought I'd head out on my bike to see if the Loddon Brewery shop was open. Took this snap on the way.
It was open so bought a selection. 
l cycled back through town. It's not as quiet as first lockdown. There were school kids around  things like estate agents still open, some restaurants and coffee bars doing takeaways and some shops doing click and collect. Clas Ohlson also seemed to be open. I'm not sure why. It was the US election on Tuesday but there's no result yet. It looks like Biden is edging but some states still have postal votes to count. They do it differently in different states some count them before, some after. Had a zoom call with Kevin, Adrienne and Penno in the evening. K and A are thinking of retiring to the coast and had visited Plymouth but other trips are now on hold due to lockdown. Penno's university life continues. I mentioned my ford spotting activities and Adrienne sent this.
Did some shed tidying on Friday then went for a walk along the Kennet to Milkmaid's Bridge. Saw Kelvin and Graham on their bikes taking advantage if the meeting up with a person from another household rule. I'm not sure which is Milkmaid's Bridge, they are both at Southcote Lock, probably the second one which is very narrow.
On the wayback I went to the shops in Coley Park. They have opened up a bit of metal fence from Coley Ave so you dont have to go through the iron kissing gate anymore. Its been blocked off for at least 36 years since we lived in Upavon Drive. I wonder if its because of covid or to make cycling easier or both.
Stayed up late on Friday. Went for a walk along the Kennet again with M. This time just to the bridge near the Brunell retail park and back through Waterloo Meadows and Elgar Rd. We had to go via the crossroads that supposedly is the only one in the country where a road, street, avenue and lane meet. 
A brisk 3 mile walk. A few minutes after we got back it was announced that Jo Biden has won the US election after winning Pennsylvania. Had a tweet forwarded to me from Dave Kirkham saying there's no beer collection from the Castle Tap because the manager has been told she has to self isolate. That's where we were on Wednesday evening. She's not ill just been contacted by the app it said. M had planned a ladies cards night for the evening and as a result I had planned a trip to the Phantom Brewery with Steve, Andy and Kelvin but both had to be cancelled. Judy and Mike did a zoom quiz instead, me, M, Stuart, Clare, Bobby and Fiona took part. We were second, B and F won. They had a couple of rounds with an online buzzer which was quite interesting. Very lazy day on Sunday. On Saturday we had done a bit of youtubing and Venus by Shocking Blue had popped up. Quite an intetesting song so had a stab at learning it. Its got a country style guitar solo. M cooked a really good Ottolenghi tray baked chicken dish. Included some flat breads made with our new rolling pin.
Then we settled down to watch telly.

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Monday, November 02, 2020

Published Monday, November 02, 2020 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 1st November

Put a coat of gloss on the window on Monday morning. It chucked it down just after I'd finished. M went for a swim. A track called Chest Fever by The Band came up on my Spotify Discover Weekly playlist. This reminded me of a band called Chest Fever I saw a few times when I was at school. Did a bit of googling and found this link. Sent an email to the Goolies which sparked a bit of a nostalgia fest about bands we had seen including The Mandrakes with Robert Palmer and The Rats with Mick Ronson and Woody Woodmansey from The Spiders From Mars. A special day on Tuesday as the new guitar chair was being delivered. First I had a trip to the tip to dispose of the old chair. We reckon we bought it round about when Tom was born for about £30 so its had a good innings and was quite a bargin. I had it recovered about 10 years ago but M never liked the colour. Originally it was thick pink and white verical stripes.
You need to book half hour slots at the tip at the moment. I was a bit worried as I didn't take a mask but I didn't need one. I dropped a demi-john off at Penno's on the way as she's making some sloe gin. When I got back the new chair had arrived.
Its very comfy and you can get out of it by yourself. Also good for playing guitar. Not sure if I mentioned it when I bought it but the material is called Elsie. I watched Reading away at Blackburn. I missed the first goal. Meite scored in 7 seconds, later updated to 9, and they equalised at couple of minutes later. Then 2 cracking goals from Olise and Laurent before half time. They pulled one back, put us under a lot of pressure and the keeper made some good saves before another cracker from Joao. So we won 4 2 and are 7 points clear. Unbelievable. Went for a swim first thing on Wednesday. It was full of oldies holding people up. Good on em though. Finally got the underfloor insulation people to do a survey via zoom. Also had a bit of gutter work done. Got the quote from the underfloor insulation people and its just over 3K, a lot more then I thought. But that's good as it means we can spend the same amount on secondary measures, i.e. double glazing in the front room.  The scheme seems to be roughly this. You can get a voucher to cover two thirds of the cost of primary measures like insulation, solar panels etc. Up to 5K. You can then get a voucher for up to the same amount for secondary measures. 
Worked on my new Counting Salmon song.
On Thursday I got in touch with Allwood, the sash window people and got them to re-do their quote. Then discovered they are not registered on TrustMark which the government scheme requires so asked Kelly Sash Windows to re-do theirs. Got an impromptu WhattsApp call from the Goolies. Rick had tried to send a message about the play he's working on "Losing The Plot" but instigated a call by mistake. Me, Ian and Greg joined. It was good to chat. Greg is working on music and about to complete walking 1000 miles in a year for which he gets a medal. Ian had made a homopolar motor, Rick is working on his play. I got Margaret to check out Counting Salmon as its a bit of a departure from my normal stuff. She liked it but suggested the lyrics need a bit of work, which I agree. Declined an invite for a ride with Kelvin and the Andys on Friday morning as I wanted to put a second coat of gloss on the window. Bob Onions from Kelly Sash Windows cant do another quote until the week of the 9th November. M went for a swim first thing. Had a lie in on Saturday which was just as well as it chucked it down. It turned out to be a nice afternoon though so went out for a ride. Headed for a ford at Burghfield Common.
Its just over a stream which I think is Clayhill Brook. You dont really think of it as being that high up out that way but there is a fine view of Reading.
Coley Park flats on the left and the Mad Stad on the right. M texted to ask me to get some soda water but I didn't have a mask so had to come home first. We're trying to arrange a regular Goolies online chat. I suggested Wednesdays even though that's normally cards night in Sheffield but that has been posponed as they are in tier 1
Boris announced that England is going into lockdown again for a month starting on Thursday after midnight so that's after Wednesday night. We have therefore swiftly rearranged FT to be FW. Its not quite the same as the first lockdown as schools, colleges and unis are staying open and there's no restriction on the amount of exercise you can do. Its meant to be just for a month until 2nd December. Had a society walk on Sunday organised by Nick and Becky.
It was interesting to hear their covid stories. They had been in New Zealand at the start of things then flew to Vietnam which was meant to OK but things changed when they got there. They nearly got stuck out there and had to quaranteen when they got back. They also ended up in Wales where they got a lot of abuse from the locals. I mentioned the unwelcoming signs at Hambledon and Becky said they also had them in Turville. Their son Alex is stuck out in Guatamala City. They had also managed a trip to Greece to see Nick's family. Her mum has been sheilding but was out walking today with a society she belongs to. Apparently they can had up to 30 walking. Nice view of the autumnal Thames.
Did a roast chicken, very tasty even though I say it myself but probably could have done with a couple more roast potatoes. Used the quick cook method from the Genius book. The regulat Goolies call has been arranged for 8pm on Wednesday.
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Sunday, October 25, 2020

Published Sunday, October 25, 2020 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 25h October

Finished off sanding the window on Monday and have started doing minor repairs and filling. Wales are going back into more or less full lockdown for a couple weeks from Friday. They already have in Northern Ireland. We watched UC and they had screens between the contestants for the first time. They had had a break in filming during lock down as all the previous programs had no screens. Went for a swim on Tuesday morning. The new wood filler I bought seems to have worked on the window sill. I've finished the prep apart from sanding the middle sill. Sort of finished the Superstar video but I'm not entirely happy with it. Rick has suggested a get together at his place. Roy has a chest infection. He must have been worried that it was covid. On Wednesday it was announced that Sheffield is moving to tier 3 so the trip to Rick's is now off. Didn't do much as it rained most of the day. Got a text from John Lewis saying my guitar playing chair is ready. Re-did some of the Superstar video. I'm a bit happier with it but not entirely. On Thursday morning I arranged for the chair to be delivered, its coming next Tuesday. I'm very excited. M went for a swim but I didn't go as I wanted to put a coat if primer on the window. I used a bucket to put the paint in when using the ladder and managed to get it done by lunch time. We then had some very sad news. Fran and Ian's son Jake has died. He was Fran's son from her first marriage. I only met him a couple of times when he was very young. He has spent most of his life in care homes. He had epilepsy and then developed brain damage as a result of a bad attack. His condition had been deteriorating so they we're kind of expecting it. They don't think it was covid related, just his systems packing in. He was 44. I went to buy some paint from Johnstone's as Kelvin recommended it. It's kind if a trade shop and I think they found it odd that I only wanted half litre tins. It was very pleasant out so decided to go out for a quick ride when I got back. Headed out along the Kennet towards Theale. Bumped into Roger who looked very smart for someone out walking. He was with his niece visiting from London. I decided not to go the usual way as I thought it might be muddy so crossed the bridge just after the Cunning Man. It was fine until I got to the field where the path ran out and it was full of cows with calves. A bit worrying but I think they were used to humans.
There was a bull lurking in the bushes.
I took the usual footpath over the M4 and took a snap as I dont think I took one during the great footpath quest. You can see that the leaves are turning.
A good ride. Heard that nearby Sloughbhas been put in tier 2. Had a zoom with Penno, Kevin and Adrienne in the evening. All OK, Penno is now at uni in Farnham as she didn't like being down in Bournemouth. So she's commuting but at the moment doesn't need to go in that often. Its part of the University of Creative Arts (UCA). I was going to do some painting on Friday but it wasn't a very nice day so didn't get round to it. Then went for a swim and the next thing I new I was doing my blog and it was nearly 4 o-clock so too late to start. I'm been trying to following the underfloor insulation for the green deal thing but no luck. I tried to contact 3 companies initially. 2 said they would get back to me but haven't. I tried them again. Left a message with one but they haven't got back, another said phone Monday, the third didn't answer. They were the ones I gave up on initially. The weather couldn't make up its mind on Saurday but I wanted to crack on with the undercoat. There was a bit of fine drizzle but I stated anyway and the bottom bits. The paint is really good, very easy to apply. I stopped for a cuppa and it started to rain so had to abandon. It really chucked it down but the paint seemed to survive. Watched Reading v newly promoted Rotherham on iFollow. They were all over us in the first half but we had one shot and Meite scored. He then got a cracker with an overhead shot in the second half. Hopefully this link will work. Joao then won and scored a penalty to make it 3 0 and 5 points clear at the top. It was an unexpectedly nice day on Sunday so I finished off the undercoat. Got an email from my cousin Sue to say aunty Phil is in Scunthorpe hospital with a broken hip. No visitors allowed. Also got an email from Helen saying she has tested positive so wont be on the next walk. No symptoms but a slight sore throat. According to the covid app the number of current cases in Reading has jumped to 552, thats gone up by a couple of hundred since yesterday, only an estimate though. The clocks have gone back. Nice autumnal light on Kelvin's cherry tree.
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Sunday, October 18, 2020

Published Sunday, October 18, 2020 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 18th October

Went for a swim late Monday morning. Did my blog, learnt a few songs for the Sheffield Locktober session but that was about it. Boris announced a new 3 tier lockdown system. Discovered on Tuesday morning that Sheffield is tier 2 which means no mixing of households so the session is off. Booked a flu jab. 4 22 on 21st October. Very precise. Ian has said we can still go to Sheffield but I dont think its right to break the rules. Did a bit of sanding of the bay window. Still haven't heard from the green deal people. Did tidying and more on the window on Wednesday with a swim in between. Started on my vidro for Shooting Star. On Thursday I persuaded Andy and Kelvin to do some ford spotting so we headed out to North Warnborough just East of Basingstoke. 
We spotted some massive mushrooms on the way. We lost Kelvin at one point and realised we had stopped under an apple tree so grabbed a couple, not done that for ages.
Stopped off at West Green House for lunch where Andy had been on Sunday.
We then hit the Basingstoke canal where I haven't been before and cycled along the towpath. Its a bit like the Kennet and Avon but narrower and shallower. The water is also very clear.
Just off the canal we found the ford on the river Whitewater.
Its not a proper ford anymore as its not open to traffic. The river flows under some fences. All a bit odd but very picturesque.
We then made our way back to the canal and cycled to the end taking in Odium Castle.
If doesn't go to Basingstoke any more because of the colapsed Greywell Tunnel.
We picked up  Sunstrans route 23 and branched off to the station to catch a train back. We didn't sit together on the train. We normally would have but we put each bike in a separare door way and say near them. I've found this website dedicated to fords http://www.wetroads.co.uk. Had a zoom with T, S, J and A in the evening. All OK. T and S making good progress moving in. Went up to the university on Friday morning as M needed to go the library. Its click and collect. Went for a bit of a wander around the campus. Then went for quite a long swim. M did 40 lengths. Had a fun call with the Lutonians in the evening. All doing well. Pete and Sue in Jersey. This is the view from their balcony.
Brian in his studio. Ron and Lyn are going to be grand parents next easter. Got up late on Saturday. Listened to a Charles Paris. A good start to the day on Sunday. Had a bit of a lie in. Trimmed the jasmin by the side of the house and put a new tube in my mountain bike after the covid puncture a couple of weeks ago. M did roast lamb.

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Monday, October 12, 2020

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Coronavirus - Sunday 11th October

Had a bit of a slow start on Monday. It was a nice morning so eventually I did a bit of paint stripping then we went for a swim. Did more stripping in the afternoon then cooked a veggie stir fry but maybe not quite enough. Finished off Superstar and settled down for all the quizzes. A new post covid Mastermind with no audience. Had a problem with gears on my road bike after the repairs so cycled out to Rotec at Shinfield on Tuesday morning to see if they could sort it. It just took a few minutes to do and involved doing something to a cable and adjusting a screw. There had been a suggestion of going over to Ian's for a musical weekend and I've decided to go. Got a suggested playlist from Roy. so checked out a few songs. On Wednesday we drove over to Tom and Sally's. They are completing on there new house on Thursday which is also Tom's birthday and wanted to cook us a nice last meal. Spaghetti and meat balls, very nice. May have over indulged they had  a few bottles they wanted finishing off before the move.
They got to know they had completed about 11 o-clock. We had breakfast and walked over with them to pick up the keys. Then we went round to the house. Its great, we're really pleased for them. Here are some photos.

We walked back to the flat to pick up a some stuff that we took over in the car, Me and Tom made another trip with some boxes, then walked back, its very close to where they live. They met some friendly neighbours. We had our last bottle of ruby wedding champagne and a cake we had bought.

M did make one but we decided not to bring it.
We then went for a couple of pints in the nearest pub, the British Oak, we sat inside, they had one of the NHS QR location codes. My phone wouldn't read it but Sally's did. Very friendly pub, had Good Old Boy on but we went for a golden ale instead. We then went to Bianco's, an Italian in Blackheath. Had an excellent meal, very good pizzas. Then back to the flat and had a relatively early night. We drove back on Friday. Keith and Fiona were going over for the weekend to help with the main move. They have a bigger car and Tom and Sally were hiring a van on Sunday to move the big stuff. Keith had been moving his mum into sheltered accommodation up in Yorkshire. He then discoved she had tested positive for covid so he had been isolating for a week. Fiona hadn't though as she needed to go to work so they had been socially distancing at home. Made a really good Ottolenghi chick pea dish for tea that I had seen in a magazine and Tom and Sally's.
Lazy day on Saturday. On Sunday I had a phone call from Anton Aaron and also phoned Norilyn as she had emailed to say she was having computer problems. Andrew seemed to have beaten me to it though. There is no change in Martin's condition. She Skypes everyday and has been to seem him in the hospital in Putney twice. She is living in their flat in Harwich but hoping to move to London soon. Watched some old Spooks in the evening and persuaded M to watch the second series of Ghosts which she actually enjoyed. We ended up watching until 1 30. A bit late for a Sunday.
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Monday, October 05, 2020

Published Monday, October 05, 2020 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 4th October

I was putting the finishing touches to this post on Sunday night and for some reason the text was blue so I pressed the discard option as opposed to save thinking it would discard my changes but it discarded the whole post. So now I have to try to remember what I've been doing all week. It was a really nice morning on Monday so I went a ride. Did the one along the Kennet to Theale then across to Pangbourne and back via Hardwick Stud and Mapledurham. Not many people about. Went for a swim in the afternoon so I did two thirds of a triathlon. Finished my video of A Sailors Daughter in the evening but I might make some changes when my green screen arrives. Another nice morning on Tuesday so I went for another ride. This time exploring the tracks out Barkham way. Spotted these starlings on A33 bridge over the M4.
Came across this ford which I had already discovered on a previous lockdown ride but not sure if I took a picture. Anyway I approached from the opposite direction. I do like a ford, there's something timeless about them.
Had my first covid puncture. Not very diffetent to a regular one but at least it was on the front wheel. I must have nicked the new tube with a tyre lever when putting it on as it wouldn't inflate so had to take it off again. Found the hole OK but then discovered my puncture kit was so old the glue had almost dried up. I did manage to get a couple of patches on though. I thought about getting a train back from Wokingham to be on the safe side but didn't have a mask so cycled all the way and fortunately it held up. Went to get some more tubes and stuff from Evans but they didn't have the right ones and very little choice of other stuff so ordered online from Tredz.
Started work on another song. The weather changed on Wednesday but we did manage a swim. My  green screen arrived and I managed to successfully take some video and get it to work once I'd remembered how to use the settings in Filmora.  On Thursday I embarked on a spot of ford spotting. My new hobby now that I've exhausted the motorway footbridges. Went for these 3 on the river Blackwater.
I went over the motorway bridge again and the starlings were still hanging about. 
Stopped of at Kings Bridge and trued to take a picture of a kingfisher but it wouldn't stay still. Took one of some Himalayan balsam instead. There seems to be a lot  of it around.
I may have done the first ford before but I cant imagine what I would have been dojng there. It looked impassable and there didn't appear to be a bridge until a dog walker on the other side pointed me in the right direction.

There was some sort of memorial on the other side.
l was difficult to get to the middle ford so I ended up at the last one after a pleasant ride through some woods. This also looked impassable but had an obvious bridge.
I tried to get to the middle ford via various footpaths but got to a point where I would have to take my bike over a stile and through a field of horses so decided to go the long way around and approach it from the other side. This was also impassable  and didn't look like it was used much. It had no obvious bridge but some walkers I spoke to had been told there was one.
Cooked a cherry tomato and feta flan in the evening that turned out OK. Posted an updated version of Sailors Daughter with the green screen bits of me playing guitar. Storm Alex arrived on Friday  (I think) so didn't do much during the day but did go for a swim. In the  evening had a greater Ounsley zoom call for James's birthday. They were going to the Finneston for a meal. Tom was going to Pirate Studios with Adam. Had a bit of a lazy day on Saturday due to the weather. Made tapas for tea which worked OK. I had organised the society walk on Sunday but quite a few people dropped out because of the weather leaving just 7. We decided to all go round together even though we would be technically breaking the rule of 6 as when you walk you tend to spread out and break into smaller groups anyway. Me and M had already done the walk with Kelvin, as described a couple of posts ago, but unfortunately we had a bit of a problem. We needed to cross a ford after about a mile but it was completely impassable.
I managed to walk round and get to the bridge by getting very wet but could see it was too deep on the other side. It was nearly 6 feet deep in the middle. We decided on an alternative walk on Greenham Common. None of us had been before except Lindsey had turned up once to join the protest and Margaret had taken a cake she baked for the protestors. If was quite interesting. We walked to on old control tower which is now a coffee shop and then made our way back.


M cooked a lasagna for tea with homemade pasta. We spent the evening watching the starting episodes of various Netflix series. So this post has pictures of 5 different fords and has the word impassable 4 times.




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