Getting, or not getting, boosters. Library visits. Christmas comes early. Vandalism. City centre closures,

 Yesterday I went back to the chemist’s in Uppermill, as planned, in the afternoon and had my Covid booster vaccination. Phil didn’t! He had too much to do. Now he’ll have to organise something else. 

While there I visited the library. I would have done so in the morning but worked out that I did not have time before catching my bus. As someone I got into conversation with at the bus-stop said, there’s little point in rushing a library visit, as part of the experience is wandering around looking for inspiration. I didn’t find much inspiration though. I think I need to go to a bigger branch. 

I also popped into the co-op store for a couple of things. There I found mince pies on sale. It’s not quite October and we haven’t yet got the madness of Hallowe’en out of the way but there they are. A German friend told me that the German traditional Christmas lebkuchen go on sale in October. She tried to persuade me that it’s something to do with the bakeries that make such things needing to set up their machinery in plenty of time. I am not convinced. i think they just play on people’s sentimentality and greed. 

Later in the day I heard that a 300 year old tree had been cut down in Northumbria, at a gap in Hadrian’s wall. This was an unauthorised felling of a famous tree, a tree which apparently starred in the film “Robin Hood Prince of Thieves”, although quite what Robin of Loxley was doing all that way up north remains a mystery. It was also famous for people scattering loved ones’ ashes there, proposing under the tree, having their wedding photos taken there, even actually getting married there. And now it’s been cut down, which has been widely acclaimed as an act of arrant vandalism. 

It seems a sixteen year old was arrested and has now been released on bail. Even if he was the brains behind the deed, for whatever reason, it strikes me as unlikely that the achieved it single-handed. The average sixteen year old does not have the necessary equipment to cut down bid old trees. Surely it would have needed a team, and some of them experienced tree-fellers! 

Today I have been to Manchester to visit my hairdresser. I went with plenty of time to go to various shops - hence the late posting of my blog - nut I was surprised to find that several of my proposed destinations have closed since I was last in Manchester at the start of the summer. It’s rather sad to see places standing empty. A sign of the times perhaps! 

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!