Across social media it seems it’s not just me that’s currently seeking an end to this fairly dark and gloomy tunnel we all seem to be stuck in. Battling the wind & mud tramping across my neighbours farmland we explored the slightly bizarre feelings of ‘mental claustrophobia’ that we seemed to be suffering from. Before all the lockdowns & tiers were even thought of our lives were filled with a heady mixture of travel, exercise classes & all manner of other interesting projects & interests. Most of these it has to be said coming to an abrupt end as the shutters came down collectively on our personal freedom. Leaving even those of us who despite considering ourselves to be very fortunate feeling trapped & really fed up.

For me it has manifested itself in the wearing of skirts & tights to do the shopping rather than jeans to give a sense of ‘getting dressed up to go out’ to trying to wring out a sense of pleasure & satisfaction in completing the most mundane of tasks.

Highlight of the week was to put my new motorbike helmet through its paces. Streaming music & enabling conversation between rider & pillion whilst breezing along was great. However I couldn’t remember how to take a call & possibly wisely decided that the perfect learning opportunity was not whilst we were screaming down the motorway.

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Given the plans for Christmas were mutating faster than the corona virus seems to be, we abandoned the concept of a traditional roast. Mindful of not wanting to purchase food that potentially could be wasted we opted a ‘Tex Mex’ meal with my creative daughter making funky tree decorations. It was a ‘good call’ as the latest rules did impact our modest plans forcing us to revise the shopping list again as the guest list shrank further.

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So in the meantime I get to plod on with what has become the daily mix of guitar practice, conference calls & other computer related tasks. To give me a break from the tv I have watched a few streamed music gigs which were fun. It feels that in the last few months, I have watched more television than in my entire life (or so it feels). I was shocked to see I had registered at least 300 home workouts too which doesn’t include the zoom yoga classes either. I have taken the plunge and posted one of my short stories on this site and possibly will add some other things too. if i am feeling really brave the song I have written but I might have to issue a warning before listening notice if I do.

As I write this it is actually what is known as the ‘shortest day’ so that means the evenings will start to get a little lighter by a few minutes each day. So maybe there will sort of be some light after all? I certainly hope so. 

Wishing all who read this a very safe time as the end of 2020 approaches & if you normally celebrate Christmas the best you can achieve in the circumstances. Lets hope that 2021 is a whole lot brighter.