Sunday, May 3, 2020

Signs of easing.


Monsoon weather. Torrential rain followed by spells of  sunshine. The air gets hot and muggy and then the rain reappears and it gets chilly. So it goes on all day.  The little stream and the waterfall gurgle happily away.


Angus loses his footing on the wet mud and sits down unexpectedly on the ground next to the family diva. Sophie takes this as an indication that she should greet him enthusiastically. Mud, water and a happy dog. A bracing start to a Sunday morning.


Out on the lane we have a long walk to dry out. Plans for the ending of the lockdown are being gradually unveiled by the government. The latest suggestion is that anyone who enters the country from abroad will have to go into quarantine for 14 days. Quite what that means is left unanswered. Primary schools start a week on Monday, 'the tikes' go back a week after that. Their mother will be delighted.


On our way back to the car it pours.


Back in the village Sophie stands at the end of the pond and maintains a careful look out for the moorhens. Because Angus has the i-Phone with him the moorhens and their brood are nowhere to be seen. They can be heard clucking happily away in the thick undergrowth .


New Zealand is doing really well : 
Image

Interesting podcast from Italy : https://play.acast.com/s/talkingpolitics/4a2e75ac-b036-4680-b9fc-636ba0ca500e

Some folks say that 40% of restaurants will go and that eating out will become something of a luxury if 'distancing' becomes a thing :https://dcist.com/story/20/04/30/old-ebbitt-grill-one-of-the-citys-oldest-restaurants-is-barely-hanging-on/

https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/food/article/21131398/sushi-taro-will-not-reopen-as-a-dinein-restaurant-after-covid19-crisis

7 comments:

WFT Nobby said...

Sophie does look bedraggled in the car boot. A multiple towel drying session in the offing?

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
I suspect a great many folk are resigned to the fact that eating out will come with risks other than potential 'funny tummy'... YAM xx

Coppa's girl said...

Towel drying, Bertie? It might be a bath!
At last it's sunny and warm here, so we are about to take our 10 a.m. slot and go for a walk around the block. I'm trying to work out a couple of routes to take us further in our allotted hour, without Inca realising what I'm up to! Yesterday, on our short walk she ambled slowly behind me most of the way, but when I turned to go back, she ran ahead like a two year old, all the way home!

Poppy Q said...

I think we will lose cinemas and lots of small shops as well as many restaurants and bars. Towns and cities will be changed by this, especially in areas that rely on tourists and travelers. I think it will take years to recover.

Very wet here today too, but the rain has settled now overnight. It did make us laugh to think of Angus sitting in the mud while Sophie was happy that he was joining in the games.

Lisa in France said...

What an exciting day the two of you have had, and it's only just begun! Your link to the article about Old Ebbitt Grill brought me up short. Although I grew up in New Jersey, I've only visited DC twice in my life. The last time, we stayed at the Willard hotel and the Old Ebbitt Grill was just around the corner. I am a sucker for historic restaurants (and hotels, hence the Willard), so we ate twice at the Old Ebbitt Grill. I don't remember the food, actually, but it was very atmospheric and it would be a shame if it does not survive the pandemic. I am trying not to think about what will be lost.

Bella Roxy & Macdui said...

Cannot imagine if restaurants are sparsely populated, how they will turn a profit. Australia quarantined all incoming people--returning citizens the vast majority--in hotels for 14 days. They tried self-isolation but it didn't work, so everyone was taken by bus immediately from airports or ship. Then some, had to do it again when they got to their home states. However, it did keep down the infections. I think being an island at the end of the world helped.

Hailey and Zaphod and their Lady said...

New Zealand nailed it. Glad to see Canada's position. I worry as we sitar's to reopen in the next few weeks.