Corona Virus Concerns

We stopped folks from stroking our dog right from the start, for their good, and his and ours. I have no issue with dogs having to be kept on leads as well, a sensible precaution when around others. There are likely to be some less than well socialised dogs out there at the moment, having walks they seldom get at other times, and there are lots of people out in our park who we have never seen before and who don’t seem to know it very well. But thankfully, all doing the right thing, keeping apart, dogs and children well looked after.

We are on the edge of a town, got a lovely park and huge sports field on our doorstep. Tantalisingly, local woodlands are only a mile away, however, it’s a 1:5 hill to get there, so pushing pooch’s chariot is beyond us, even working in tandem! It’s a shame as we see far more folks in the park than we ever do in the huge woodland. Mum is a couple of miles away, in a rural area, but again those two miles are up the highest hill in town, a monster. The buses can’t always get up there in the snow😂 

Lucky to enjoy a big garden, a quiet, small, friendly street. One or two local shops for emergencies. Lots of supermarkets, but have only used one, others seem chaotic and poorly stocked. But some clever diversification has seen our great local nursery delivering veg and fruit boxes, eggs and milk. Hospital is only two miles away.............we can hear the sirens wailing during the day occasionally😕

Our local birds and wildlife have become a source of intense interest to us. We have always enjoyed lots of different birds, squirrels, occasional fox, occasional hedgehog. Lots of butterflies, we saw our first orange tip yesterday. Won’t be too long now before swallows and house martins arrive. And the tadpoles are getting larger daily🐸

I empathise with you, your hamlet sounds like my dream! I've always had an issue with second home owners *(but maybe that's just because we can't afford one😂), I have friends who live in Alwinton and a number of the properties there are empty for most of the year, except for the summer holidays.. It is such a shame that there are so many small villages who are in this predicament.

It's a difficult situation, as on the one hand I don't condone an "us and them" mentality, but I do sympathise with locals faced with an influx of "outsiders" who often have no awareness of local etiquette. This current Corona virus situation is not helping at all and I can only hope that locals will welcome us tourists back when the pandemic is over.....

*I've always thought static caravan parks, lodges and touring/camping sites are a better option because they allow people to visit areas without causing an "empty cottage" or "ghost village"situation.

It makes for a strange atmosphere does second homes. I recall booking a holiday cottage for Mum and Dad, Sister and me, one June. Burnham Market, gorgeous picture book village in North Norfolk. By day it can be heaving, with its deli butchers, deli fishmongers, a dozen or so lovely independent interesting shops, pretty Church, pretty cottages. But I recall going for an evening walk, no one around at all. It’s was eerily quiet. On closer inspection we noticed blinds drawn, and no signs of life in most of cottages. They were empty. Been other places as well and noticed similar. 

We live in a cup de sac in a medium sized village with a local shop. It only carries basics but I did notice the other day that they had split some large toilet roll packs up and are now selling some rolls as singles.

We are lucky in many ways. we can still access lovely countryside without having to drive. This morning we were out for an hour on quiet lanes. We came across just 2 lots of dog walkers, 1 runner, and 2 other couples walking on the lanes. A few more in the village roads but very quiet. There were a lot of cyclists out yesterday. Must be great for them at the moment.

I have noticed everyone keeping their distance when having a chat even in the close but there have been instances of grown children visiting their mothers and going inside the house, definitely not keeping their 2 metres separation. Plus 2 neighbours actually shared a car to go shopping. We have one couple who are, let's say, advanced in years, who are doing well with keeping their distance but  he has a sister who lives nearby and unfortunately has Dementia. She is as fit as a flea but wanders. He visits her 2 or 3 times a day to make sure she has her medication as she is prone to take it all in one go if left to her own devices. She won't accept a carer and will only let him into the house so he is undoubtedly exposing himself to the potential of the virus as he has no idea who she has seen or sometimes where she has been. It's so sad to see.

The three of us are doing OK but we couldn't buy an online slot so Mrs WN, the "healthy" one has to do a shop, usually once a week. I might drive her there but sit in the car. I need some stuff from Homebase. Ready mix concrete and outdoor wood paint to name just 2. I'm sure she'll be able to do it but we don't like having to.

Being away a lot in the caravan I think we can do being confined quite well although MiL may go a bit stir crazy. We have a decent size garden and she also has a nice stone bench at the front to sit and shout at the neighbours when they stop for a chat. I have to give her some credit as every day she sits down and uses a small pedal machine and does an hours pedalling to keep herself fit.

Anyway stay safe everyone and I hope we're not confined in a more claustrophobic lockdown thanks to some idiots who can't behave properly. The minority spoiling it for the majority as usual.

brue,  we have a chippy in the village but its shut just now  as is the pub and hotel, which is a shame because you would have thought the chippy at least could have carried on as their food is by nature 'take away' plenty of room outside it for folk to keep their distance.

Same with the hotel, they could have carried on providing meals for take away from their public bar side but still keeping the lounge bar and the hotel closed. Shame really as there are many in the village that would use such a service just now.

We do however have one chap who at the weekend, makes food up into containers and delivers them FOC to those elderly who need a little help at these times. Nothing fancy sausage and mash, cottage pie, mince and tatties etc. other folk in the village are now giving him funds to help buy the food. There really are some very wonderful folk out there.

Our local birds and wildlife have become a source of intense interest to us. We have always enjoyed lots of different birds, squirrels, occasional fox, occasional hedgehog. Lots of butterflies, we saw our first orange tip yesterday. Won’t be too long now before swallows and house martins arrive. 

We have been feeding the birds in the garden for years now, a simple thing to do and a constant fascination, even the pigeons that clean up below the feeders. Sometimes we see a Sparrow hawk on the fencing and the small birds aim straight for the holly tree for safety.

Saw our regular hedgehog yesterday evening before bedtime when I went out with Cassie for her last wee. First sighting of the year and if its the same one then its now four years running.

Last week I put a 'catch shelf' up below the house martins nest under the gutter in readiness of their arrival, as the chicks poo straight onto the conservatory roof 

I'm decorating the kitchen (only the walls), doing one wall every few days, just finished wall two and started about 7 days ago  Have to make these things last out.

I started a new shopping regime this week. I have been going on a Wednesday and stopping first at Lidl and then at ASDA. I decided that my exposure is no greater if I go twice a week once to ASDA and once to Lidl. Less to carry and should I forget something at one I can probably get it at the other. No queues at my chosen times at either and neither crowded 

There does not seem to be any animosity per say regarding second homes.It is more political.Many of the old cottages, redundant farm buildings would have collapsed without being turned into second homes. Chalet parks are not suitable permanent homes.. They provide a huge amount of council income ( even though the councilors moan) and provide repair/upkeep work.Tourism in general is a huge portion of the rural economy. I dont suppose that the majority here have  had any issues with being visitors. The virus is a different issue and unless we ALL adhere to guidelines it will remain.

We feed the birds as well. 

I am resisting all decorating until things get really boring, which is unlikely for me. OH has bought himself a window cleaning tool, I am impressed😂

Just noticed that Rowena has announced that bookings up to 30 June  next year have been released and its not a Wednesday even and that's 3 months availability to book.