First post for a while and quite a lot has changed. Our freedom in Cardiff has been gradually diminishing as the second wave takes hold, though I’ve managed a few good perfectly legal hours in the gazebo.
Jack has been moaning because bars and restaurants in Seville had to close at 1 am and then, unthinkably, at 10 pm. Enforcement sounds pretty tough as well, with police appearing on the streets at curfew time.
Leon’s in tier 2 of COVID restrictions and just emerged unscathed from 14 days’ self-isolation because he spent the evening with a friend who tested positive. Leon was then contacted by the track and trace teams and told to stay home. A far cry from carefree days in Rome this summer.
I was already planning to come up to Derbyshire for a visit, but decided to come up a couple of days’ earlier to beat the Friday 6 pm cut off point for the firebreak lockdown affecting all Wales.
My last night in Cardiff was spent at Pipes brewery.
We were celebrating the broadcast of the first episode of Ali’s radio show on BBC Wales, entirely written, presented and put together by her: Never Mind The Bus Pass. It was great.
I was sad at the thought of leaving home, but the alternative is a bleak existence in a gulag-like Cardiff for the next couple of weeks. Well, my flu jab visit felt a bit gulag-like, at least.
Up here in Holloway we have autumnal colour and friends to see.
Last night I even daringly went to the Gate Inn with Maggie. The barman brought dog biscuits for Lottie.
Dad is coping, but life is pretty bleak for him as winter approaches.
Newspapers are reflecting the times we live in, with articles on outdoor entertaining and holidays in the far-off future.
I toyed with the idea of dying my hair pink because, after all, who cares? I’ve fortunately persuaded myself against it now, and anyway it’s already been done.
My places in Capena are full of young digital nomads desperate for a change of scene: a lovely Argentinian couple and a South African hip-hop journalist who’s arriving next Friday. I have to follow special COVID guidelines, of course, leaving a few days between guests and deep cleaning.
Translating work is very thin on the ground, but I’ve been keeping busy with paperwork and rewriting my websites. I’m particularly enjoying writing the updated restaurant and bar guide for http://www.casacapena.com. Wish I was there right now!
2022 and all that 