Alan Williams's Blog, page 22

Supermoon Flatbread TWTW # 72

Its been a gloriously sunny week here, even the day they said it was going to be a bit gloomy was a good one. The slight perversity of having a bank holiday weekend when the weather is smashing but we cant go out has not escaped the attention. Whatever happened to those old fashioned bank holidays were the weather was miserable and so was everyone stuck indoors? As I write this on a Sunday afternoon, it feels slightly dystopian being at home and all that I can hear are the sounds of police...

TWTW # 71

[image error]Hello. How are you doing? I hope youre safe and well.

The blackthorn is in full bloom at the moment (see left), and its quite an amazing site.

I didnt sleep very well last night. Because of someone else monumental incompetence I have to leave the house today for something other than my daily exercise and Im not looking forward to it. Is the trip essential? Yes it is, but I have tried so hard to complete this task without leaving the house and just cant. At the heart of this is someone elses...

Nest Building TWTW # 70

[image error]After last weeks posts the Prime Minister announced a full lockdown in the UK. Stay home, only go out for essential items. Our lockdown is not it seems as harsh as those in some other countries, but then our government has been doing its own thing with this pandemic from the start. The practicalities of these new rules dont really bother me that much. It has meant curtailing my usual two dog walks to a single one in the morning, but otherwise I dont think Ive been outside of the boundaries of...

Social Distance TWTW # 69

Its probably impossible to write here and not to acknowledge whats happening in the world, even though my experience is only limited to what is going on around me. It also seems that things are constantly changing and greater efforts are being made to contain the spread of the virus and pressure on the vital health services. However as I write this on Sunday things will have moved on by the time its published tomorrow, so bear with me.

On Monday things seemed to be more or less normal, with...

Things To Do When You Can’t Go Out

So you might be on an extended spell of working from home or self-isolating due to the Coronavirus. If youre not already used to the home working or hermit lifestyle it can be a bit of a shock to the system.

I thought therefore that Id post a few links to books, tv shows, podcast and other things that Ive enjoyed that might be new to you and perhaps give you some alternative options. Ive tried to limit things to those that can be accessed electronically without having to leave the house.

I...

They Move In Herds TWTW # 68

[image error]Well its been a funny old week funny peculiar, not funny haha Ive had some more bookings for talks in 2021 and cancellations for ones coming up over the next few weeks. To be honest I think its absolutely the right thing to do given the current Coronavirus situation and the fact that often the average age of my audience is over 70.

As you probably know I mostly work from home anyway, but Ive had several client meetings moved from face to face encounters to telephone or video calls. Again...

Up, Up, and Away TWTW # 67

Click to view slideshow.

How often do you look up? I was in Oxford last week, and while I was waiting for a bus looked up to see a Red Kite riding the thermals overhead. I was a little surprised but did manage to fumble my phone out of my pocket and snap the picture to the left (you’ll have to take my word for it that the little blob in the clouds is said bird). It got me thinking however that we perhaps don’t look up as much as we should. When I got home, and got out of the car to open the...

Of Mice & Men TWTW # 66

[image error]Well this was a week that didn’t turn out how I’d thought it was going to at the start. The best laid plans and all that…

I had a meeting booked for Tuesday, followed by a lunch with a friend. The meeting was cancelled the day before but the lunch went ahead (see below).

Then on Thursday I had another meeting, and had made it to the railway station and purchased my ticket, when I got a text cancelling the meeting I was going to. Fortunately I was able to get my money back on the ticket. The...

About The Birds TWTW # 65

I was on my travels this week, down to see a client in Somerset again, I made what is becoming a regular stop and a visit to a charity shop on my way back and picked up a couple of secondhand books. I think I’ve purchased something in there every time I’ve been there, and their stock turnover seems to be quite frequent so there always seems to be new stuff for me to look at.

On Monday I was walking the dogs and saw a Kingfisher flying along the little creek in one of the local patches of...

The Weather Outside Is Frightful – TWTW # 64

[image error]We’ve just had another weekend of weather warnings, more wind and rain. Again we seem to have escaped the worst – although it’s been pretty miserable and not very conducive to doing much outdoors – other parts of the country have been very badly affected.

I’ve been staying in, reading and making chutney – another batch of gooseberry and red onion, which went down really well last year, and gives me a bit of space in the freezer after I defrosted the gooseberries.

[image error]I’ve gotten through a couple...