A change of scene

A day which began unpromisingly and turned out to be quite fruitful ... but what a beginning! In that time between waking with the light and actually rousing myself to get up, I had an absurd and detailed dream which involved meeting an old friend in Glasgow and fighting my way through vast clouds in Cathcart (why? I've never been there!) where I felt lost and didn't know how to get home, all the time worrying about social distancing ... I was exhausted when I finally staggered downstairs!

However, for the first time since lockdown began, I settled to some thought and some real work - unless you count the daily Duolingo Italian practice as work. By lunchtime I'd written a sermon for next week - the first I'll preach over zoom. It was good to get the brain going again; I fear I'm in danger of becoming an angst-ridden cabbage if I don't watch out. Use it or lose it seems to apply to the brain as well as to several other aspects of life ...

Our walk in the late afternoon took us north for a change, along the East Bay as far as Hunter's Quay and back. I took the blip in Kirn, which is the best-tended area of coastline in terms of communal effort. There is no longer the Lido where I used to take the pram when #1 son was a baby, but there are seats and tables and a mini-labyrinth and decorative trees and flowerbeds and in the late afternoon sun it all looked rather attractive. 

I realised quite early on today that we should have arrived in Italy today for a week's walking around Lake Garda. We've rearranged it for the end of September, though Mr PB has had his doubts - but I've just heard that Italy is reopening for international flights and is waiving quarantine in an attempt to restart its tourist trade.

Fingers crossed!