In a change to our current schedule I return briefly to the travel blog and November 2019. On our final morning in Aviemore we wake to a whiteout. Heavy frost covers everything – the lawn is white and our black car beside it wears camouflage. A fluffed up ball of blackbird sits on the hedge. […]
Lockdown: Day 29
I’m watching a lot more TV than I usually do, a combination of keeping up to date with the situation and that, in a smaller living area than we are used to, it isn’t half a kilometre away at the other end of the room and I can actually see it whilst I’m preparing/eating dinner. […]
Lockdown: Day 28
All the best apocalyptic movies have a hidden danger lurking somewhere in the silent streets, just waiting for our heroine (or hero) to fall asleep, make a noise, or say ‘I’ll be back in a minute.’ Then they pounce. Or crawl slowly as dramatic music plays. With a suitable gravelly voiceover, I now report that […]
Lockdown: Day 27
It’s that time of year. The time when my dreams are haunted by columns of figures and my days are filled with excuses to avoid doing our tax returns. This year, being in lockdown, I should find it easier to plant my bum on a chair, stay inside and just get on with it. But […]
Lockdown: Day 26
Most days I can nail this lockdown thing. Yes, I’m frustrated by some aspects of it, as no doubt most are, but I can look forward to the end: when I can shop without having to queue to get into the store, and I can find everything I need in there; when I can get […]
Lockdown: Day 25
It being a weekend and therefore time for a longer walk, we headed up Mt Victoria again. It’s a nice change from city streets, even if it can be a little challenging to maintain the required social distance, the path in places being a mere metre wide. Some creative thinking is required when meeting walkers […]
Lockdown: Day 24
There are a few ‘re-worded’ songs doing the rounds at the moment. Most of them are pretty clever, lyrics changed to reflect the current circumstances. Walking around Wellington’s waterfront this afternoon I had my own attempt buzzing around my skull: Walking in a Covid-normal World. There is no more; those were the only lyrics I […]
Lockdown: Day 23
One of the ‘ideas’ I’ve seen for filling the time during lockdown is to learn to play an instrument. Well, okay, if you happen to have one lying around that you’ve been meaning to learn for years and never had the time or inclination. But if you haven’t, I’m not sure that they qualify as […]
Lockdown: Day 22
As we swing over into week four – and what we hope is our last week at level 4 – I feel it appropriate to commend New Zealand’s leadership in this crisis. Years ago in the UK there was an ad on TV for an insurance company with the tagline ‘we don’t make a drama […]
Lockdown: Day 21
There are a lot of questions around the use of masks at the moment. Some countries have made them compulsory when stepping outdoors. In others it’s left up to the individual whether they wear one or not. The scientific view seems to be that they are only of any use if worn correctly, and most […]
Tracy Annenberg 