Stricter rules

I had heard on the radio that the Welsh government was going to announce changes to the lockdown conditions. And it seemed to involve relaxations of the rules! There was mention of people with certain mental conditions being allowed out more than once per day. But there also was mention of tightening on other fronts. Hm! I was hoping that wouldn't be necessary. But well, apparently it is. Even though Wales has lower death rates than England. Wales only has about 1/20th of the population of England, and deaths are about 700 vs 20.000 when I write this, so England has about 1.5 times the death rate. No sounds about tightening measures in England! But maybe that's because they have a Tory government, while we have a Labour one. Tories will be extra keen to lift the lockdown so businesses can reopen. Labour is more likely to look at the cost to health. So they deemed more measures were needed!

The new measures meant a change for me; I had been going for a weekly walk with Chris, and that would now not be allowed anymore. Not even at 2m distance! And bike rides that take you 'more than a reasonable walking distance' away from home were outlawed too. I'm not sure what the rationale is; it seems to me that biking would be a particularly harmless activity. A pity! I was enjoying bike rides for exercise. But what is a reasonable walk? You are not even supposed to go for long walks anymore. So no Lwytmor bach until lockdown is over, or at least relaxed! So say you can go for a two hour walk (they specified 4 hrs is too much); how far can you get in that time? 12 km? I first thought you couldn't cover a distance longer than that on your bike, but some discussion with other people pondering this made me realise they probably mean you can cover a lot of distance, as long as it doesn't take you far from home. So lots of loops around the block are fine! So if we stick with the 12 km rule of thumb; that takes you 6 km away from home, max. That sounds very small but it's actually not bad. I'm sure I can think of a nice route within these constraints. But mostly: back to my runs! And shorter walks. On my own. And let's hope it works, and this won't have to last too long...

One year later: transplant successful

Last year I had decided to move a beech tree that had lived potted in front of the house. As soon as it lived in its new place, it lost all its leaves. I was wondering if it would survive! But I would have to wait until this spring to find out. But it's spring now and I have found out! It is getting a new dress of leaves. I think it will get used to this new situation!

Compost heap

I had been using the garden waste bin to get rid of garden waste. But in a way, that's a silly thing to do. I am drawing organic carbon out of my garden and giving in to the council. Not sure that's a sustainable strategy! But there had been so much I had to do in the garden; I had not quite got around to deciding where I would start a compost heap and what I would put on it.

With a free Easter I had the time! And I was emptying out my weed patch. That yielded a lot of garden waste. It had to go somewhere! And I decided to chuck it in a spot behind the garden shed. I figured it had to be on that level, as that is where the action is. I only throw harmless things there; things that are too woody and would take too long to compost don't go there. They can go into the garden waste bin or the wood burner. And I am boycotting brambles too! These are for the brown bin. I want to be able to handle the compost without grabbing thorns all the time.

After a week it was already a sizeable heap! And it kept growing. Soon I should have compost I can spread over my beds! And maybe my grass, as it will want nutrients too. I think I am bang on trend!

It doesn't work too well in a picture, but here it is: my most fashionable compost heap! 

Bike to Dinorwic

Ever since I realised there was an asphalt road to the top of Dinorwic, I had wanted to bike it. But you know how that goes: life gets in the way! But when driving places to go for a run, walk or bike ride became outlawed, it suddenly became a much more attractive option. So one fine day I decided to go for it.

I biked out of town. Soon I was on the devilishly steep road to Mynydd Llandygai! I'd only biked it once. This time I had less luggage. I had started with three layers on but soon that got reduced to two. And after the steep bit it's a fair stretch you don't have to do in smallest gear. Nice and relaxed! But I was keeping a pace up as I was here for my exercise.

When I got to the actual access road to the reservoir things got serious again. Another layer came off! And I struggled my way up to the junction where the road to Dinorwic (rather than to the reservoir) starts. It's steep! I was sweating like a daft person. And it had taken me 45 mins to get there.

The rest of the way was not anywhere as steep as that access road. And the road is a bit dull but it has its own beauty! And I saw one cyclist coming down, with a big smile on her face.

After exactly an hour I was at the quarry. You can go in there! But I didn't; I was heading for the top. Eight minutes later I got there. I stopped, took a few pics, and got on the bike again. Strangely enough, the way back was a lot quicker! And soon both layers of clothing were back. This had been fun! And it turned out I was just in time; soon after, biking more than a 'reasonable walking distance' got banned. And this is 24 km and 600m ascent! Not sure that counts as reasonable...

Me at the junction where the road to Dinorwic splits off the one to the reservoir

The Snowdon Range comes into view

At the top

Moel y Ci in the distance

Cousins online

When I am in the Netherlands, I always try to have dinner with my sister and as many cousins as we can round up. That tends to be: one or two. And I had hoped to be in the Netherlands this spring, and have another one of those dinners. But that's not happening! Evidently. But then I suggested we'd do one virtually. And the ladies were up for it! But it wouldn't be a dinner; one of my cousins was actually recovering from the virus and was too tired in the evenings. So we settled for coffee!

We had agreed on a time. It was still a while away. And then Whatsapp video rang! Oh, duh, one hour time difference. I picked up and there we were! It wasn't the same as physically being together, of course, but it was good to see them. And this time there, of course, were the added family members and pets making cameos. And I could show off my house!

Apart from the one illness, everything was well. No personal tragedies here! Fortunately. And we chatted about how we all coped with working at home. And how the various non-present relatives were. And that sort of stuff!

If this lockdown lasts a  lot longer I will suggest a follow-up. Maybe then with my Canadian cousin too! That will have to be in the evening due to the time difference. An unexpected advantage of the current situation: maybe we can muster three cousins (or maybe even four) next time!

WiFi in entire house

When I have my dinner parties with Jaco and Marjan, I always sit in the garden. The weather has been great! And Skype is perfectly happy there. But I have tried other media too; FaceTime, Messenger video, Whatsapp video, Teams... and these don't tend to like the garden. They seem to struggle with the 4G there! And are happier with my wifi. But the wifi only covers the old part of the house. None in the bedroom or conservatory! So I had my last dinner party with Kate and Fiona in my kitchen. The software worked fine the second time around (not so much the first time around), but I had to stay in the old part of the house. And that meant the kitchen, as there I have a dining table. Dinner on a coffee table doesn't really work! Especially not online. So the dinner table is nice, but the view is not. I like to at least see the garden over dinner when it's spring. And I can see it from the bedroom (where my breakfast bar lives) and the conservatory. So I figured I had better get wifi there too! So I googled what a good but affordable wifi booster would be. And ordered it. And decided it could take a while, given how busy delivery drivers are. But it arrived in no time!

Then I had to set it up. The technical aspects were easy. But where to put it? Too close to the router and it would not reach the bedroom. Too far away and it would not work. I tried it in the landing. That was too far from the bedroom. Then in the only socket in, what to call it, the vestibule? But that was too far away from the router. Hmm. This was a precision job. I decided I had best try it in the corner of said vestibule closest to the router. But that required an extension lead! But if that's what it takes, that's what I'll use. So I dug one out, installed the extender, and checked how it worked. And it did! Lovely wifi in bedroom and conservatory. I have not yet tried how far into the garden it reaches. But I'm chuffed! I should now be able to do all my video calling from at least the entire house!

Not pretty, but effective; the wifi extender

Day off

It has been gorgeous weather for pretty much all of lockdown. It is a bit of a pity to spend all that time in my chilly office when it's so sunny outside! And there was a lull in the amount of work. I had finished the first round of marking, but the second wasn't far. There would be three big deadlines coming in at the same time, and then another big one in the same week. So that would be it for a while then, regarding escaping from the office! ! Of course there was still enough to do: we had to be able to do an entire semester online. Will we have to? Maybe not! But if we only start preparing would it become clear we'd have too, that would be too late. But if you never go out and have some fun until you have no work at all to do you never will! So I got bold and decided to take a day off.

I wanted to go for a long walk. I had picked a target: Llwytmor Bach. I hadn't been yet! An excellent reason to go now. And I contacted Chris. Would he be interested in joining? It would be quite something, having to walk in from Bangor! My feet wouldn't enjoy that. But he has different feet. And he was up for it. So we decided to meet at Bwlch-ym-Mhwll-le. I was early! And a bit sleepy. I positioned myself strategically and lay down for a snooze.

When it was the actual time I was surprised I still had not seen Chris. He's punctual! I stood up. And then I saw him! Looking elsewhere. I hadn't been that strategically placed after all! He'd been standing there for ten minutes. But now we could start. We had a long way to go.

We walked to y Gyrn, up y Drosgl, to Bera Bach, and there turned towards Bera Mawr. It was lovely walking weather! We also bumped into a dog walker who seemed to be quite glad he could exchange a bit of small talk. It was all very pleasant! And over coffee we decided how exactly we would go on. We had a plan! But first we would have our coffee. And then visit Bera Mawr. That one I hadn't done yet either!

We had some fun on the top of Bera Mawr. But when we came back I saw Chris limp. So I questioned if we should push on to Llwytmor Bach. Or Llwytmore Mawr, for that matter! I figured we should not. I didn't want him to end up home in agony! I have walked myself into agony way too often myself. It's not fun. So we decided on a plan B. We would walk down the hill to the path that would loop around the mountain and get us back to y Gyrn. We had seen it from Moel Wnion and I had found it rather tempting-looking. So that way I could tick both Bera Mawr and that path off the list. Not bad!

We drank the rest of the coffee not far below Bera Mawr. And had lunch shortly before we were back on the plain. And one more drink where we had met that morning. And then it was time to say goodbye! The walk had been shorter than planned. but nice anyway, and Chris had a long way home still. And I still had some feet left so I could still do some work in and around  the garden. Which I did!

Later it would become clear this would be our last walk together until further notice, due to tightened restrictions. I'm glad I took that day off! I got that walk done while I still could!

Hike selfie

Llwytmor Mawr and Bach as seen from Bera Mawr

Chris on Bera Mawr's summit