Waymarker, Cannock Chase

A normal Saturday, at least superficially. Where it differed from normality included the queues outside the supermarket before opening, probably 10 times as many people waiting as I might see on a typical day. The spaces on shelves; the efforts to maintain distance; a lady with a face mask and scarf across her face.

Traffic is lighter, but when it came to a walk there were similar numbers of people on the Chase paths. I met up with L riding with her friend a little later into the walk and they told me that the local cafe was open, at least for takeaway sales.  I checked it out and they were serving from a hatch, providing drinks and food using disposable cups and plates.  My initial reaction was ‘good for them’, but on reflection and in light of the developing guidance on social isolation, I’m now more ambivalent. We’ve heard this evening that John Lewis department stores will close from Monday. It’s suggesting that we really need to isolate as much as possible, to take the oxygen out of this pandemic. It’s what they did in China and they are now seeing no new cases. It’s draconian but look at the benefit! When you compare it with some other countries, where lockdown was slow or not enforced, the number of cases (and deaths) continue to grow. It’s scary.

Day Miles: 7.0 miles       Total Miles: 363.9 miles