I
woke up this morning to the sound of rain and the threat of the “thin end of
the wedge” challenge to exercise: if you don’t go out for your bike ride
because of a little dampness, then what will you do if the sky is merely overcast
tomorrow? Will that be excuse enough to
defer effort?
Admittedly, rainy days are in the minority
in this country, and therefore the opportunities for indolence are fewer too,
but the rot can set in at any moment, and the dust can settle on a machine that
is meant for motion!
I do have waterproof leggings and a lightweight
rain jacket so it is perfectly possible (if unpleasant) to go for a bike ride
and stay relatively dry. On the other
hand, it does make the ride more duty than pleasure. On the other hand (making three, by my
computation!) exercise is essential for the preservation of a healthy lifestyle
under lockdown and so the (unpleasant) effort should probably be made.
As you can imagine, I indulged in such
pleasant prevarication, while reading my Daily Dose of Misery from the news
section of the digital Guardian and doing the Quick Crossword and, of course,
drinking my essential cup of tea. Time
well spent. And dry too!
Eventually, I decided to test the weather
and, after extensive sampling of the climatic conditions (i.e. opening the
kitchen window) I reasoned that, while it was still damp it was not actually
raining so the ride could be taken in relative comfort.
It was only when I was gloved and helmeted
with the bike newly charged and ready to go, that I looked at my watch. I had missed my age-specific designated time
slot for exercise, so back upstairs for a cup of tea?
In the eagerness to return to the comfort
of the sitting room I conveniently forgot the possibility of the mind numbing
circling of the communal pool as a substitute for the more open and interesting
vistas of the Paseo. It comes to
something that I have to write about it before the possibility of doing
something that I outlined in the previous sentence becomes an imperative. Moppy (for it is she, god bless her
mechanical revolving cleaning pads) is about her business on our tile floors
and therefore the presence of my obstructing feet are an impediment to her
efficiency and I should remove them to the pool. So I will.
And service will be resumed after I have listened on another episode of
‘In Our Time’ on the hoof!
Which was Mandeville’s ‘Fable of the Bees’
– a book I own and have never read, but now I will be able to bluff my way and
make links with present economic and sociological thought. That’s what ‘In Our Time’ is all about! Learning with walking stick in one hand and
umbrella in the other and weaving my way around sun loungers to make the
circuits a little bit more interesting.
As the weather is glum, there are few
people about and I am sure that gatherings of the ‘bike gangs’ (that makes them
sound so much more threatening than these al
fresco bike mounted chat groups are) will be loath to form without the
clemency of warm weather.
As it is Sunday, I will make one of my
commercial outings to the pollo a last
to get our chicken meal. As well as
facilitating the provision of food it also gives an interesting view of how
well physical distancing is enduring. So
far, the distancing has been exemplary, although rain does encourage grouping
under awning, so it will test discipline!
And I can now confirm that discipline was
preserved and, apart from the kids who now seem not to wear mask as a matter of
course.
Rather
than listen to the Blond Buffoon who was speaking at 7 pm I went out in the
rain on my bike rather than listen to his bluster. The lead up to this talk (Why on a
Sunday? Why not in parliament?) was a
master class in communication ineptitude as expectation was allowed to distort
any possible message. The new slogan “Stay
alert” is confusing and dangerously ambiguous, it just adds to the general air
of desperate ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ approach that has characterised
the methodology of this government.
Spain too is easing restrictions in a
stepped approach. You would have thought
that any easing would only be in those areas where the virus had been shown to
be limited, with extensive testing to verify any such limitation. Why then has Madrid decided that it is one of
the regions where restrictions can be relaxed when the number of deaths and new
infections is still rife?
In Spain and the UK, it would appear that
the political is more important that public health, and unless that is reversed
then we are going to pay for that in more and more deaths.
Tomorrow
is our weekly shop, something I look forward to with pathetic excitement! There is an added delight this time, as I
have to find some ant traps to combat a mild infestation upstairs. Always something to make like just that
little bit more interesting!
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