Last Day Before Lockdown

Well now we're supposed to be "socially distancing" - limited trips out and about, pubs and restaurants closed, even the leisure centre has shut its doors (no more swimming for the time being).  The prom was very quiet yesterday on a sunny Sunday, although elsewhere people hadn't really taken the concept on board, with  'unprecedented crowds' visiting some areas of Wales!

Today (one of my non-working days) was just as nice, so with Martin needing to pick up a work vehicle in Aberaeron, I went along for the ride (and to drive our own car back).

Had time for a short wander round a largely deserted harbour - except for a man and his two dogs, who were enjoying the water - and the local jackdaw population squabbling over scraps . . .

Back home again, and tonight Boris was announcing a 'lockdown' - now we have to stay at home and can only go out for essential shopping and a single solo exercise session.  At least we have the garden, and some rural country lanes for our daily wander . . .

Home Working

As this coronavirus thing gets ever more serious we've all been told to work from home - for the time-being at least.  So here we go - home working at the kitchen table (snuggled up next to the rayburn):

Luckily the IT all seems to be working - combine the work laptop with a keyboard, mouse and laptop riser that we had at home anyway, and it's not really that different from being in the office. 

Missing my monitor mind you (the laptop screen is a bit on the small side), and still getting to grips with online meetings.  Might have to look at a better office set-up if this is going to go on for any length of time!

It's the End of the World As We Know It

Well, we can only hope that's an exaggeration, but this coronavirus thing is starting to look serious, and there are empty shelves in the supermarket . . .

Tentative Travels

Back from visiting with family for a few days - took the train across country following a work meeting in Birmingham, but only after much anxious watching of the news for the latest on the coronavirus and cases in the UK.

Anyway - decided to go for it in the end - and had a couple of days with the parents, shopping, gardening, doing bits and pieces round the house, catching up with everyone, etc.


On one of my daily walks I also came upon some wildlife in the raw.

A sparrowhawk (I think) merrily plucking away at pigeon in someone's garden by the river - not five metres away from me - as the other pigeons looked on from the surrounding trees.

Only had my not-so-great phone camera on me, so no award-winning wildlife pics / film, just a rather blurry bird surrounded by feathers!

 

Sunday Sights

More storms and what probably counts as drama in mid-Wales on a sunny Sunday . . .

Our morning trip to the gym brought evidence of the impact of Storm Jorge - named by the Spanish before it reached us - which  has seen flooding up and down the country. 

Luckily mid-Wales appears to have got off relatively lightly again, and the only real damage we saw was this tree down outside the local leisure centre.

Later in the day we took a still rather breezy walk along an admittedly pebble-strewn prom, but nothing too serious.

Then back at home we noticed the air ambulance parked up in the field next door.  They were there for some time, but we didn't see them actually pick anyone up, so hopefully nobody was seriously hurt.

And it did make for a good photo opportunity!