Closing time. Restrictions. Public transport fears. Out and about. Autumn colours.

“For 16 days from Friday at 6pm, all pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes must operate on a daytime-only basis, from 6am to 6pm, and for the service of food and non-alcoholic drinks only. They can continue to serve alcohol outdoors up to the current curfew of 10pm.”

So reada a report of what is going on in Scotland. It’s stricter for some places though:

“In five health board areas that are causing greatest concern – Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, the Lothians, Ayrshire and Arran and Forth Valley – all licensed premises, with the exception of hotels for residents, must close indoors and outdoors, although takeaways will be permitted. Cafes that do not have an alcohol licence will be able to stay open until 6pm.”

There are fears of similar moves in England. There is precedent for this, of course. We followed Scotland’s lead on exam “results”. Maybe the policy is the see how it goes in Scotland and then maybe follow suit. The virus does seem to be rampaging along though. We are glad to live in the very outer outskirts of Greater Manchester, where numbers of cases are frighteningly high. 

This is not preventing our eldest granddaughter’s managers from talking once more about a return to the office. It’s hard to get a full picture of what they are asking for as she gets rather panic-stressed about it all. However, they do appear to want a small number of people in each day. I don’t think it’s the being in the office that stresses her out completely - although that is also a factor - so much as having to get there on public transport. She’s not been a fan of buses and trams and trains for a good while and the prospect of travelling with a mask on, with the possibility of others refusing to wear masks, just freaks her out.

I can understand her feelings. My Italian teacher, who also teaches film studies occasionally, is organising an “event” based on the film Cinema Paradiso and a homage to Ennio Moriconi’s music at the venue in Ardwick, a twenty minute walk from Manchester’s Piccadilly Station, where we used to have classes before they went online. The event will be socially distanced and covid-controlled. I would like to go but the prospect travelling on bus and tram for such a trivial motive is rather off-putting. 

So maybe I should continue to restrict myself to long walks and cycle rides around the local area - always assuming they don’t decide to curtail those activities as well. 

Yesterday I did my usual Wednesday ride to Uppermill market. Later in the day I rode over to my granddaughter’s house, where I was not successful in persuading her to go for a walk in the sunshine. She had been in the garden picking dandelion leaves for her tortoise, she told me, and that was enough for one day! Besides she needed to clean the cages of other creatures in her menagerie. Okay. So we had a chat about this and that and eventually I rode home again, stopping on the way to take photos of autumn colours in the trees. 

Thank goodness I live in a place with good autumn colours in the trees.

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!