Targaryan Christmas.....30th December, 2020.

 Well..... we are still in the midst of a pandemic, and sources would have us believe that we are far from over the worst. Today, a second vaccine- developed by Oxford University and Astrazeneca- has been give approval, ready for roll-out, and my seventy-nine year old father has been the first in our family to be vaccinated- though his was the one developed by Pfizer-BioNTech. IN the meantime, we are all expecting further measures to be announced by the government today, with regards to slowing the spread of this terrible respiratory virus.

Christmas was quiet, for obvious reasons. But it was still lovely. And today, we have had the first hard frost of the season.

Poor sheep were freezing! So, Christmas.....

...still had family around....

...still had children singing...

...still had Dave Pooley's brilliant artwork...

....still had Christmas shirts....

....and gin!

Since the summer, we have watched every season of Game of Thrones. Seventy-two episodes, in all. We are late to the party, I know, but WOW! what was that all about. But we've got so into the story and characters. And it's certainly art imitating life!! So many Petyr Baelishes about!!

And we have reinvented ourselves as Jon Snow and Arya Stark! The writer of A Song of Fire and Ice- George R.R.Martin- must have had a crystal ball. Surely the White Walkers could be a creeping pandemic?? That the world had to work together to defeat, though megalomaniacs got in the way!!

Whatever it was about, we've taken to calling How Tun Woods Targaryia!

Still no weddings, though! So the SteveHillman Camera has had to reinvent itself as a nature and landscape photographer.

(guess where that was taken....it's Barrow?)

Me? I'm just writing and studying and writing some more. And reading. thanks to everyone who has volunteered to proofread for me. I have to let my agent do the work now, though.

But don't miss this book.

It's superb!

8th November, 2020....A twist of difference on Remembrance Sunday.

 Sadly, our country went into lockdown again this week, which means that all the usual Remembrance Day commemorations had to be restricted or cancelled, leaving many of us baffled. The government's scientific advisors have been accused of scaremongering this week too. You do the maths. Some good news though; the megalomaniac that is Donald Trump has been defeated. But I doubt he'll go quietly.

We've had some beautiful autumnal walks this week. Living in Barrow means there is no need to drive to enjoy countryside, woodland and seaside- we are so lucky.

A poignant first anniversary for me. A year since I left teaching. I've learnt so much about myself in that year. That I'll always be a teacher at heart. That when your gut instinct is telling you something, you HAVE to listen. And who my friends really are. Only a select group of people know what actually happened this time last year, that the truth wasn't what it appeared to be. And to the people who wanted me gone- thanks. I'd never have done it without you! Enough said.

Three weddings had to be cancelled for this November. But the Steve Hillman camera was not downhearted (we don't do that)- it's reinvented itself as a wildlife camera! 

Good, hey!

Been looking at poetry this week on my course- all by Zoom or Teams of course! Here's the full version of For the Fallen by Robert Laurence Binyon. Interspersed with photos from previous Barrow Remembrance commemorations.

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,

England mourns for her dead across the sea.

Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,

Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal

Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.

There is music in the midst of desolation

And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,

Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;

They sit no more at familiar tables of home;

They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;

They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,

Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,

To the innermost heart of their own land they are known

As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,

Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,

As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,

To the end, to the end, they remain.

Let's stick together folks- we only get one shot at this!

 

18th October, 2020...A new normal for us all.

So......we've hit a second wave of the pandemic. Most countries are having to take precautions, though in our country these are not as strict as they were in March. I think we will all have to learn to live with this virus for the foreseeable future sadly. Living in this restricted way is becoming the norm.

Some things don't change though.......

...and Autumn is well and truly here again!

Here's my intended front cover picture! That cottage!!

Had a wonderful socially distanced visit to one of my old comrades earlier this month...and his field...

Stunning views from up there.....

...and The Nance is languishing there, under cover!

It was a breath of fresh air, meeting up again. We slipped back into our old ways so easily...

...lots of conker talk!

Back to my old self again! Submitting course work seems so retro, but I'm loving it in a way I don't remember back when I ploughed through my B.Ed with a new baby! Finally got some people interested in my writing too! Sometimes, it's what you don't say that counts....