Monday 9th November 2020 - By Another Name and a Touch of Spring?

I think this lockdown should have been given an alternative name. It is nothing like the first lockdown. There are too many differences between the two. There have been questions on social media as to why, over the weekend, the car park on the Runton Road in Cromer has been full of holidaymakers, and a queue observed outside one of the town’s chippys. Here in Overstrand, the car park has been busy and on Sunday, the ice-cream van was in its usual position. There were no set rules announced by the Government as to how far people can travel for exercise at the beginning of this second lockdown, but since then guidance has been given. If you travel from your locality, let’s say a thirty minute drive, to a place for exercise then on your arrival you should spend an amount of time in excess of the travelling time of thirty minutes exercising. This aside, with this current lockdown not having such strict rules; I think it should have been given another name so as to avoid people making direct comparisons between the two.

How wonderful; the last couple of mornings I have been woken at dawn by birdsong. This is something I associate with spring not late autumn. Both mornings as we have set off down the lane towards the beach, a solitary blackbird has serenaded us on our way. While I was dusting this morning, I saw the nearby overhead cable was lined with gulls and what at a distance looked like blackbirds. Later, Peter drew my attention to a neighbouring roof with its ridge a continuous line of dark coloured birds, a few occasionally dipped into a nearby cordyline. Using our binoculars to get a clearer view and opening the conservatory door to listen to their banter revealed they were starlings. They didn’t stay long and soon flew off inland. I guess they had just arrived after migrating from cooler Eastern Europe.

Today’s photo is of a chrysanthemum growing in a pot on our patio. Previous attempts to grow them in a border in our back garden have failed, quite simply because the slugs destroyed them!