Heads or tails ...

The sunset this morning was stunning. Some commented that it looked as if the sky was actually on fire. The brilliant dawn light was short-lived, as it often is, but the red sky proverb was thankfully proved wrong. Perhaps the strong wind was a factor? It slowed our progress as we walked to Fort Kinnaird our nearest retail park. Unsurprisingly it was busy. The car parks 75% full. The longest queue of shoppers was to get into a national electrical and computer store. I think they were already selling so called “Black Friday” deals. Maybe they had also received new stocks of a very popular gaming console? We were looking for a specific seasonal art product but the shop that we expected to find it did not have it and incidentally was only allowing 39 people in at any one time. We were clicked in and out and came out empty handed but our hands had been well sanitised in the process.

Were it not for the shuttered multiplex cinema on this sprawling retail campus and these social distancing reminder signs it could have been a normal pre Christmas shopping day.

On our walk we encountered two of our immediate neighbours - the first on the way there and the second on our way back. In pre-pandemic times we would have passed with a cheery greeting without breaking step. Today, it was different and we enjoyed two very informative lengthy conversations.

As dusk fell we watched the PM making a statement to the House. He was really speaking as FM of England as almost everything was about England and not the rest of the UK on this occasion. As he was self isolating and WFH it was not totally unexpected that the line to Downing Street went down when the questions started to crank up and the Health Secretary suddenly found himself fielding PM’s Questions!