Wednesday morning weather thoughts. Donkey Line reflections. Face masks. Statues.

Recently, on one of my Wednesday trips to Uppermill, the lady who has the Oliviccio delicatessen and I commented on how fortunate we have been over the lockdown period with the Wednesday weather. Even when it has not been so fine and sunny as in the early weeks we have not had many wet Wednesdays. Clearly we put a hex on it because today I walked to Uppermill in the drizzle. To be fair, even that was not bad; it was that fine drizzle that sort of floats about in the air rather than serious rain.

For several years now, walking along our Donkey Line bridle path, my daughter and I have speculated on the future of a house that we could look down on from a highish point on the path. Situated in a bit of a valley, the house had clearly stood empty for a while. We could never work out how you actually got to the house as it didn’t seem to be on a main road. Over time, a number of roof tiles disappeared and it began to look dilapidated. It was one of those “if I had the money I would like to do it up” houses. Then, last week, as I went past, I noticed that work of some mind was going on in the valley. Were they doing the house up or pulling it down? It was hard to say.

At the weekend we did a family walk, along our “secret path” (with some complaints from the almost four-year-old because there were no ducks: “This is not the walk I wanted! This is the walk I did not want!”) ending up at a park with a children’s playground on the edge of Dobcross. From there, we realised, we could see the tumbledown house, clearly being pulled down now.

And this morning I looked down on a flattened area, razed to the ground. So now we wonder what will happen to the site. Will a similar single large house be erected in that pleasant spot? Or will a cluster of houses spring up there, nominally detached but having little space between them and precious little garden for each one? I fear it will be the latter, although such a cluster of houses has to be built out of, or at least faced with, stone to match he character of the area.

On my way back from Uppermill, along the Donkey Line once more, I spotted a couple of small bicycles, apparently abandoned. Where were the small cyclists? Then a voice rang out, “Hello, old lady!” Well, that put me in my place! Half way up the rocky embankment a small boy and a small girl were perched, obviously having been honing their climbing skills. “Hello, little girl,” I replied, for it was a little girl’s voice that had greeted me, thus putting her in her place in return. I congratulated them on their climbing!

A little further along, I came across their mother with an even smaller child on a balance bike, no pedals, no stabilisers, the best way to learn how to cycle.

Phil’s bike was finally delivered yesterday at about 3.30pm! Considering that tracking showed that it had left Bury at 8.00am, this seemed rather late. The van had broken down, the delivery man told us. But finally it was there and Phil had to set about organising it so that it was actually fit for road-cycling. This has been quite demanding, especially as there were only minimal instructions.

There was a little moment of panic as Phil found an L sticker low on the frame. Did this mean they had sent a LARGE cycle, rather than the MEDIUM that was ordered. The bike did look rather large. The prospect of trying to parcel it up again and post it back was daunting. But then he discovered an R sticker on the other side of the bike frame. So, nothing to do with size, merely a helpful indicator of which side to attach which pedal!! Now it needs a test-drive, as it were, or is that test-ride? However, the prospect of taking his spanking new bike for it’s maiden ride on a drizzly day with the bridle path turned into a very muddy surface is not looked on very favourably at the moment!

On the radio news they have been talking about the wearing of face-masks. The response to the government decision has been mixed. Some people really seem to feel that being told to wear a face-mask is a major restriction on their freedom. A number of members of the Conservative Party have cut up their membership cards in protest! A certain Dr Mike Galsworthy has commented on social media:- 

“Fascinating. I’ve often wondered what it’d take for Tory party members to cut up their cards.

Austerity? No.

Care home deaths? No.

Undermining British farmers? No.

Kamikaze Brexit? No.

Malnourished British children? No.

Face coverings in shops to help save lives? Yup, that’s the one.”

Meanwhile, British tourists in Magaluf shock the Spanish by being drunk and disorderly (nothing new there, then) and above all maskless!  It’s the British in Magaluf - why am I not surprised?

In Bristol at dawn a group of people erected a statue on the empty plinth where Edward Colston’s statue used to stand.   It’s the statue if a young black woman, Jen Reid, made with lots of modern technology and inspired by a photo of the same young woman standing on the empty plinth just after the statue was toppled. Now it seems that debate is going on as to whether the statue should be allowed to remain. The people of Bristol, it seems, had little say in it’s erection and should be consulted. Mind you, for years they asked for the Edward Colston statue to be removed and nothing happened. So maybe this one will also remain on place for years.

 We shall see.

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!