[Saturday 28th March 2020]
Attempted to keep ourselves amused while stuck at h ome. It was hard work at times. Although highlights include the sofa cushion fortresss / Nerf battle Erika and I had, and the girls made me a belated birthday cake.
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[Friday 27th March 2020]
Erika put on her Hogwarts robes in the daytime (I forget why now?). Also another case of wine delivered - this time pinot noir from Davenport.
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[Wednesday 25th March 2020]
Had a food box delivered today, oddly from Crosstown Doughnuts (although it contained things other than doughnuts).
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[Sunday 22nd March 2020]
Finally discovered how to set up the washing line in our back garden - there had been a coiled up line attached to one wall since we moved in, but I had never figured out where to hook the other end of the line to until now - I was standing and looking at the fence at the back and saw a nail sticking out of the top of the fence post. It was just the right distance.
Spent much of the day out in the garden, inventing new games to play with Erika. Most successful of these was "blind fishing". You have to close your eyes and catch as many balls / frogs as you can from the paddling pool with a fishing net. We then made a more complicated version of the rules in which you get points for the frogs, but points taken away for the balls. Erika was suspiciously good at it.
Later on opened the bottle of Sugrue Cuvee Dr Brendan o'Regan. I had been saving it for a Sugrue themed tasting session with friends, but who knows when that might be able to happen now? So I thought I'd just drink the bloody thing. The cork was moudly, but I read that as long as it's only on the exterior, the wine inside would be fine. I decided it best to sabrage it to be on the safe side, and this led to a particularly satisfying video:
Tasting notes here, on Twitter:
The @DermotSugrue Dr Brendan O'Regan: A fantastic, complex wine, filled with notes of Japanese cuisine. Bitter citrus (yuzu?) on the nose, honeysuckle veering towards mirin, so much umami on the palate (kombu, wakame), and succulent (rice vinegar?) acidity. #EnglishSparklingWinepic.twitter.com/8IgHML8aov
[Sunday 15th March 2020]
Birthday outing, which turned out to be one final hurrah in terms of restaurants and pubs for the foreseeable future - lunch at Oliveto followed by some time at the Pineapple in the afternoon.
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[Saturday 14th March 2020]
Went to the garden centre to get a new pot and some potting compost to repot the rosebush. Stopped off at the Pineapple on the way back for an al fresco pint.
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[Wednesday 11th March 2020]
Was cheered up by seeing the periwinkle flowering in the front garden, which prompted a survey of all the various blooms front and back.
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[Sunday 8th March 2020]
Spent some of the early evening out in the garden with my Biolite stove. I'd got some proper firewood and wanted to try it out.
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[Saturday 7th March 2020]
Had an early start this morning, having stayed overnight in Goring, so I could do the next section of the Ridgeway: from Goring to Wantage.
I'd quite liked my cosy room, up in the roof of the Miller of Mansfield, although I often find it a bit difficult sleeping in a different bed for the first night - just adjusting to the different sounds of the room etc. So I didn't get a perfect night's sleep, but it was good enough. Breakfast wasn't officially served until 8am but I was keen to get going as early as possible, so I went down a bit before that and just helped myself to the cold buffet stuff. Thus I was on the way by 8am.
Like many stretches of the Ridgeway, today's walk generally didn't deliver the most scintillating scenery. The countryside surrounding much of the Ridgeway is generally agricultural in nature, and despite the elevation of much of the route (frequently over 200m) the landscape either side often feels a bit, well, flat.
Still, I did enjoy two bits of the walk in particular today:
First, near the start of the walk, the long country lane leading out of Streatley which the Ridgeway follows, and then the track beyond there. Once I had got onto the track I think I walked for about 2 or 3 miles before I saw another human. That was a wonderful feeling of solitude and as I write this now, several weeks later, I realise how precious that was.
Second, towards the end of the walk, I passed Scutchamer Knob, and paused there for a while to take it in. I enjoyed this spot both because it was one of the first signs of ancient man I'd passed on the Ridgeway so far (beyond Wantage there will be many more of course!) and also because I remembered having been there once before, on a short walk with Dad over 20 years ago. This was a very evocative spot today, and I stood atop it despite the wind, eating the stem ginger biscuit I'd been given on the train yesterday, and felt something or other which I couldn't really put my finger on.
[Friday 6th March 2020]
Received a case of GevCham in the morning. Got the train to Reading in the evening to go aRob and meet up with Rob and Mark while Mark was in the UK. After that I headed on to Goring to check in to the Miller of Mansfield where I'd be staying tonight ahead of my walk along the Ridgeway tomorrow.
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[Thursday 5th March 2020]
Erika got dressed up for World Book Day as Hermione Granger, and in the evening I attended Jeremy's art exhibition.
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[Tuesday 3rd March 2020]
Kodomo no hi (children's day) in Japan. Chie made Japanese food for dinner - chirashi sushi and lotus chips. Also I had a go at Japanese flower arranging. Sort of.
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[Sunday 1st March 2020]
Breakfast at Bear and Wolf followed by a Sunday morning stroll across Hampstead Heath. Also did a bit of kite flying.
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John's Journal / Blog
