Days like this take your mind off some things and focus it on others. For me, the lock-down has given me the most gentle shove in the direction I should have been heading years ago. I don't want to go back to some of the old habits, which is a good job because I don't think I will be able to.
There has been a lot of talk from wildlife experts about how normally timid creatures have been spotted by people in places rarely seen because of the drop in traffic and humans on foot. I don't believe it. The real reason is because the people who are not out obsessively running or cycling have begun to actually notice more things for the first time since childhood. We have not been at work but we have not been on holiday either. Most children don't work, but are forced to stop playing when they take their place on the treadmill. Christopher Robin's explanation to Pooh as to why he will not be playing with him anymore after he goes to school is one of the saddest lines in literature.
The first thing I noticed was local residents strolling through town, looking up at things. I noticed it in myself first, then saw the same behaviour in others. Becoming a tourist in a tourist town is wonderful. It is the next best thing to having a holiday abroad.
I have a plan to get lost in a rockpool again soon.
I've been promising myself a day rockpooling at West Runton.
ReplyDeleteLovelly.
DeleteDelete an L please.
DeleteI think that many have taken stock and are now realising it’s the little things in life that make it so enjoyable and most of those are free ! Trouble is, when this pandemic is over( if ! ) many will go back to the way they were before ! Greedy, selfish and materialistic !!! XXXX
ReplyDeleteWell, it must be hard for the young. One minute they are supposed to play the game, then the rules change. I never played that game, but in those days you didn't need so much money - or so I thought.
Deleteand a game of conkers perhaps.
ReplyDeleteMy hands hurt enough as it is already - mainly caused by hitting them over about 50 years. My conker days are over I think.
DeleteI've never read the Pooh books.
ReplyDeleteYou are in for a treat then. Forget bloody Disney.
DeleteI've been one of those who've been busier than a one-armed paper hanger during the last several months. What i have noticed is a lot more people walking around our neighbourhood who didn't have chance before, because they were too busy. It's been a nice way to get to know some new neighbours, and we know just about every dog and cat, and they know us.
ReplyDeleteI live in a place that gets lots of tourist traffic, which is decidedly lighter this year. It was nice to enjoy some of the things I typically don't because there's too many people.
I love 'one-armed paper-hanger'. I can just see the image. I laughed out loud when I read that.
DeleteI used to have that record album back in the day. Good music. I'm amazed when I see a reference to the group or album It's A Beautiful Day.
ReplyDeleteYes, I loved the album too. 'White Bird' lingers.
DeleteThe goats of Llandudno are an example of animals taking over
ReplyDeleteI have seen sheep taking over Welsh towns before. Maybe nobody noticed the goats before Covid?
DeleteTourist traffic here is only beginning to pick up, and summer is more than half over.
ReplyDeleteAnd Donald has only just started to respond.
DeleteTo look at things attentively is what I try to do for years (and yes: I even write a "Gratitude-Journal" - with surprising results, compared to lamenting diaries). I love to see at the moment that cities and towns are not that overcrowded - and "a lazy Sunday afternoon"-attitude may seem a bit boring, but also gives one the feeling of time stretching, not hurrying by.
ReplyDeleteYes. One thing I would not include in my gratitude journal are the drunks who have returned to our streets.
DeleteYou could be grateful for the time they haven't been there... :-)
DeleteThat's true. It was like 1950s England.
DeleteWhat a lovely thought. It is the one thing I treasured about our level 4 lockdown - a crystal clear harbour, birdsong because one could hear it without traffic noise to compete with, the sense that nature had a place in the city. It still does, it's just harder to hear it.
ReplyDeleteIronically, birds are singing softer now that they don't have to make themselves heard above the traffic, they just sound louder. It's all back to abnormal here now.
DeleteI've observed solo adults at the beach engrossed in building sandcastles and rooting around for sea glass. It almost feels like a return to the mindless (mindful?) pursuits of childhood.
ReplyDelete