New normality or old?

Another overcast rainy day, but as it's Saturday, Clare cooked perfect pancakes for breakfast. A small domestic ritual we enjoy together. My back is less painful today, but it still takes a while to recover a measure of flexibility that makes walking relaxed and easy. Today we both went out in the drizzle. I took my Song Alpha 68 DSLR out with me, the first time in use it since before I went to Ibiza. It's heavy but a joy to use, like driving a Jag after driving a Ford Fiesta. 

I got it out as I wanted to see if I could take a photo of some pots of geraniums Clare has flowering outside the kitchen window, not through the glass but standing with my back to the wall a metre from them, too close for an ordinary lens to fit them all in, so I used the wide angle lens I bought last year, and was please with the result. I took it with my to the park without its case, and regretted this when it drizzled as I had to cover the camera with my coat. As it's the weekend, Cafe Castan was open for takeaway orders, as it has been since mid-May, so I took a few photos of it being open for business. 

There's a large mobile electronic sign now, at the top of Cathedral Road, warning drivers that they can no longer drive past the Castle due to road closures, but must divert around the station instead. There's a lot more traffic on roads now, more so than when I arrived home two and half weeks ago, and you can hear background traffic noise again. Pollution levels will rise again, but will they return to previous level? Will changes in work and consumer habits lead to overall reduction in car use, in favour of bikes? As is hoped by the city's traffic planners, keenly introducing new bike lanes in town.

Kath, Anto and Rhiannon met wth Owain in Bristol today to celebrate his birthday and their wedding anniversary. Kath sent a photo of them down at the harbour, with SS Great Britain in the background, and several of the amazing cake which Rhiannon had baked and decorated. Wales lowers its five mile travel boundary this coming Monday just too late for us to benefit from. Whether my back could cope with the car journey at the moment is doubtful, however. I'm just grateful it's improving.

In the evening Clare and I watched the third of Alan Bennett's 'Talking Heads' monologue series on BBC iPlayer. The character speaking was a bereaved middle class lady, talking to camera about her life from the funeral tea onward into genteel poverty due to her son's irresponsible stewardship of her financial legacy. It was amazingly well written, true to life observation. Bennett is a writer with a pastoral ear and eye for detail  It was an intense half hour of watching, as much as I could cope with, though I would like to see the others some time. This isn't binge watching material. Each is a work of art to be savoured.