A short break

Badgell's Wood, September 2020

Well, the damp man returned and reassured me that the plumbers could proceed, but for the next 10 days I was due to be at work and then away for my last camping trip of the season. Then the plumbers notified me that the tiler they recommend can't fit me in until late October. I've asked for them to finish everything else as soon as possible in case of more hitches on the rocky path to wet room bliss. No word of response to my plea so far. This has become a familiar pattern, but I'm getting very used to showering in the bath.

My camping trip was a response to the lack of other holiday options, and once I'd settled on the dates I invited others to join me, but they weren't available. I also chose the campsite to be in the home locality of a friend that I hoped to meet, but said friend was also away at the time. So I prepared myself for one of my solitary holidays, and spent a lot of the time reading meditation books and doing meditation, and walking and a bit of cooking and eating. The weather was absolutely perfect throughout, and the campsite shower was better than my shower options at home. I did meet a friend for lunch, and went to the cinema for the first time since Covid - on Friday just after lunch there were only 3 of us in the screening, so it didn't feel too risky.

Badminton still hasn't started up for me, although other clubs that play in a leisure centre have returned. Both my clubs meet in school halls, and schools are just trying to work out how to keep their students safe and manage all the requirements without wanting to worry about extra people on site, so there's no sign that we'll be back for a while yet. I continue to run for about 35 minutes up to three times a week, so I won't be completely unfit should we ever play again. I arranged a socially distanced picnic at the weekend with the Monday club, so at least we still recognise one another.

Trosley Country Park, September 2020