I have updated my photography website – www.davidmcgill.co.uk Please feel free to take a look.
In addition my gallery of new images has also been updated with a selection of photos taken this year.
Photo website update
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Author Archives: Whitehall1965
Garden Work
We have had a busy two days. Last week we had a delivery of bedding plants from Yarnton Garden Centre. They have now reopened and I went down on Sunday to buy more bedding plants. We have now potted them all up and these photos show some of our efforts. There are still more plants to come that we ordered online so we are not quite finished yet. Hopefully they will be with us in the next week or so. Then we can enjoy the garden save for grass cutting and the weeding which seems to be never ending at this time of year.
This post makes a change from the doom and gloom of our “lock down” experiences!
Lockdown – Week 5
Still in lockdown, but now getting used to it. I’ve been making full use of the good weather and have produced these two planters for the garden. I’ve also made another smaller one. Just wondering what to do with the rest of the wood I have. I don’t want to use it all up at once as our local DIY stores have yet to reopen. There are big queues at the ones that have opened.
Spirits still okay, plenty of food and toilet roll! At least we won’t starve, neither will Jimmy, the dog! I suppose we are getting used to this new experience, but it will be great when we can actually do away from the “social distancing”. We can speak with friends but still have to keep 2m away from them or shout across the road.
Lockdown – Week 4
Week 4 in lockdown now underway. UK is on track to have the most deaths in Europe as now over 10,000 people here have died. We are well and staying safe in line with guidelines. Jimmy, the dog still needs to be walked, however, living in a village, there are not so many people around compared with cities. We can take him for walks and not see anyone.
It is so quiet with little traffic around. This means that we can hear the birdsong which cheers us up and gives us hope for the future. Still no sign of when the current lockdown rules will be relaxed. I can still see us having some form of lockdown for at least another two months.
We are both experimenting with cooking which is fun. The days seem to have gone quite quickly, perhaps the good weather has helped. At least we can spend time in the garden. We feel sorry for those who are stuck in flats with no garden to enjoy. It must be hard for them.
Living in lockdown….
The UK is in virtual lock down in a concentrated effort to limit the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. We are allowed to shop for essentials, virtually all shops have closed save for supermarkets and other food retailers. We are lucky that our village shop remains open albeit with reduced opening hours. Exercise is allowed but we have to keep a 2m exclusion zone around us if we see others whilst we are out.
On Monday I was able to get into Banbury to buy compost and others bits and pieces to keep us occupied should a “lock down” be implemented. Fortunately the weather during this past week of “social distancing” has been very sunny and mild. As a result the garden has been tidied and the car cleaned both inside and out. We are lucky in that we have a fairly large garden and have therefore spent a lot of the days outside.
Non essential car trips are discouraged as last weekend several parks and beauty spots up and down the country were overwhelmed with visitors. The police now have powers to hand out fines to anyone they consider to be breaking these new “rules”.
We are taking turns to walk the dog. As he is 15 we do not need to go so far with him. Naturally we would like to go further but it is best to adhere to the guidelines that have been put in place. From what we have read online and in the newspapers there are varying degrees of virus. These range from very mild symptoms through to death. The death rate is rising and even some with no underlying health conditions are succumbing to it. However, so we are told, the majority will only get mild symptoms.
Are we worried? Not really, but it is a niggling thought that we might end up getting it. We have to remain positive and put up with the inconveniences that have been thrown at us all in these uncertain times. Theatres and cinemas, pub and restaurants will all reopen at some point and we look forward to these days.
Coronavirus – Covid-19
This whole pandemic sounds as if it is from a science fiction novel. However, it is not, it is actually happening. More and more countries around the world are taking extreme measures to slow down the spread of this virus. Conspiracy theories will no doubt come to the fore. Was it a scientific experiment that went horribly wrong? It is now making its way around the world and is affecting our everyday lives.
In the UK it has not yet come to lock down but it seems to be going that way. Schools are closing, students are being sent home from further education establishments. Panic buying is commonplace. Toilet rolls, nappies and cleaning products have flown off the supermarket shelves. People are stockpiling leading to shortages. The powers that be do say that there is absolutely no need for this as there is plenty for everyone.
Life for us in north Oxfordshire goes on as normal. The dog still needs walking, the garden needs tidying. It has been said that everyone’s gardens will look good this summer. We still go out to the shops for food, however, between the fridge, freezer and larder we should be able to get by for a bit if there is total lockdown. Well, I hope so!
Stay safe and well.
Sarah Outen – Home
I don’t normally write about films I have seen, but Home is an exception. It is about Sarah Outen’s efforts in circumnavigating the world. Worldwide travel is commonplace these days but some travellers make it difficult for themselves. Sarah’s journey comprised, kayaking, cycling and rowing and was not for the faint hearted.
The film records the emotional highs and lows. It was not an entirely solo journey as Sarah was joined for parts of the trip by others most notably Gao who travelled part of the way across China with her.
Rowing was an entirely different matter, this was a solo effort and involved many months at sea crossing both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
I watched the film in Oxford in early March. The screening was followed by a Q&A with Sarah. The majority of the questions were from female members of the audience and centred more on the emotional and hardship side of the journey. On her return Sarah did indeed suffer from PTSD which she has now got to grips with. As a male and a photographer any question I may have asked would no doubt been of a practical nature. How many memory cards did she use and what capacity? How long did it take to recharge her batteries using solar power? Did she do any editing whilst travelling?
Would I have attempted any of what she did? Definitely not, even if I was her age!
All in all an entertaining film. Did she achieve her goal? Well to find out you will have to see it when the cinemas reopen post Covid-19. However, if you cannot wait it is available to stream from Vimeo – https://vimeo.com/ondemand/sarahoutenhome
Gun Salutes
The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery is the Army’s saluting battery and can be seen on numerous occasions during the year in the Royal Parks in London. The first salute of year was on 6th February – Accession Day, the day Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the throne following the death of her father on that day in 1952. Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip were staying at Treetops in Kenya when the sad news was received.
The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery fired a 41 gun salute at noon in Green Park. 21 shots mark the royal occasion plus a further 20 shots as it takes place in a Royal Park making 41 in all. At 1pm the Honourable Artillery Company fires a 62 gun salute at the Tower of London. This is made up of 21 shots for the royal occasion, a further 20 shots as the Tower is a Royal Palace and a further 21 shots will be fired for the City of London.
It is a spectacular sight as the horses canter or gallop depending on whether it is Hyde Park or Green Park to the area where the guns will be fired. Some of their 13 pounder guns saw action during the Great War.
People watching
I normally walk along the street without taking much notice of my fellow pedestrians. However, here I am in one of Oxford’s numerous restaurants, this time I have decided to take stock of the other diners.
It is early, just before 6pm, but as it is still winter it is dark outside. It is dark inside too, the lighting is very subdued. Is it for ambiance? Or is it to save on electricity? Two girls sit at adjacent tables tucked away in a corner. The glow from their laptops light up their faces as they no doubt fit in some studying while waiting for their meals to arrive.
There are several groups of friends clustered round some of the other tables. Conversation and laughter flow from some groups. Others, however, converse in 21st century mode – their phones are on the table and they are busy texting away to friends who are not present. Unless, of course, they are texting each other. Not wanting to speak, they text, after all the standing joke is that the modern family no longer indulges in conversation, they simply text each other instead.
A man in a bright yellow jacket enters and waits to be seated. Like me he is on his own. Perhaps he is going to the theatre afterwards and is taking advantage of the “early bird” fixed price offerings. As usual I don’t fully take in what he is wearing until he gets up to go to the loo. He is wearing a kilt. Burns Night has been and gone, but there are men who are proud to wear the kilt on any occasion. He must be one of them, no doubt a fellow Scot, proud to wear national dress in everyday use. But wait, he is wearing long leather boots the length of wellingtons. His kilt is a mini kilt with no sporran sitting way above the knee. The sort of kilt young boys wear, the kilt that has been handed down from brother to brother, the embarrassing short kilt. However, he seems non plussed and obviously sees it as a fashion statement. Rather him than me I think, but each to their own.
I finish my meal, pay, and leave to go to the theatre. Films from the Banff Mountain Film Festival are being shown in the New Theatre, Oxford. Virtually a full house, the majority much younger than me. Maybe they are the sort who go on the adventures portrayed in the films. Me – I just like watching the feats and endurance of my fellow man. Maybe 40 years ago I might have gone on such trips, but not now. I like my comforts when it comes to travel.
The film showings over I leave and make my way to the bus stop. In front of me is my kilted fellow diner – he did go to the screenings after all. I wonder if he enjoyed them as much as I did. If he goes on such trips does he wear his kilt?
To Blog or not to Blog
My blog has not been updated for a few months, however, I wonder if I have any regular readers who have noticed? I can offer no real excuse but how many people know my blog and, indeed, website exists?
I recently read “Globejotting” by Dave Fox which I found to be very motivational. However, maybe it was only motivational while I was reading it. It is time to put what he wrote into practice.
The majority of travellers will carry a camera in one form or another whether it will be a phone camera or a top of the range DSLR.
Dave’s question though is how many of us actually take the time to write about their travels? This is where the numbers drop considerably and this is where his book steps in to offer encouragement.
Finding time to write would seem to be half the battle for those who want to write a blog about their travels or whatever. This post has been written in an Oxford restaurant while I was waiting for for my food to arrive. I’m off to the theatre afterwards so I’ve asked if they can serve me quickly so I can get there in time. They have assured me they can so I shall wait and see.
Footnote:- Yes, they did, one two course meal washed down with a beer and I’m off to the theatre with time to spare!