The water is wide (O Waly, waly)

After coffee, I drove to Wark to buy meat at the butcher's there. 

Then I walked over the narrow metal bridge to the east side of the river North Tyne. There were snowdrops scattered along the banks. Many are below the height of the river when it flooded. They were encased in deep, icy snow just a few days ago. They are miracles really.

I walked to Gold Island. There was no possibility of crossing today. As you can see the water is much too deep, even for wellington wearers. I photographed the steps on the far side of the water. It will be beautiful when we can cross again.

The folk song O Waly Waly came to mind. Here is one of many versions available on the internet.

This afternoon, Anthony, my cousin Maureen's second son, phoned from his home in Austria. I was lovely to hear him. Tomorrow, his daughter, Emilia, is playing her French Horn in a brass competition. It has been recorded to keep to Covid restrictions, but we can watch the performances online and hear the result. Won't that be lovely?

I watched David Clapp do a talk for the RPS. He has some interesting ideas about his landscape work and I'd like to try some for myself.

Later, I went to the Almeida Theatre in London to watch a play called Hymn. It is a two hander and so quite intense. I thought it was good, although it dragged in one or two places. Very sad.