Monday 15th March 2021

Back to work.

In truth there isn't much difference between weekdays and weekends, I mean I spend most of the day on the computer, drink coffee, the cats sleep all day. I do try to concentrate long enough to get some actual work done.

The day will be best remembered for me for the day I thought my camera broke. Not that bad, but my macro lens is worn out, or needs servicing, and the iris jammed. Or would jam later in the day. But more of that later.

We have a good system at the morning, I am silent and grumpy and Jools gives me coffee, and does her stuff, so that before she comes back from her morning walk round the estate, I am logged on at work and already discussing the day's IT failures with Henrik.

So it goes, so it goes.

Jools leaves, and I carry on the conversation.

And so it goes, every day, the same as the day before. Same as the week before.

I make a second coffee and have breakfast, while I join a meeting and listen to multilingual confusion in action.

I keep looking outside as the glorious sunrise gave way to a fine clear day with light winds, I fully intended to use my early start in the morning to buy an ealry stack and a long walk to take some shots.

I mix up dough for a loaf to have for lunch all week, get back to work with a fresh brew.

Although not hungry, but 90 minutes rising in the oven means I bake the loaf straight away and 50 minutes later I am sitting down with yet another brew with a buttered hot crust to munch. Much better than supermarket sliced bread, and it really is so easy to make.

The day progresses with an added ham sandwich for lunch, then all systems stop at three, and after the battle to put on my dreadful shoes, I am ready for a long walk.

Out on Station Road there is a bank filled with dward daffodils, and they looked wonderful over the weekend in the sunshine, so the plan was to snap them, and as I neared them, the sun came out.

Result.

Down Station Road and into the village, turning at the old Red Lion along Kingsdown Road and out of the village, me noting all the wildflowers along the way, inclusing some Lesser Celedines growing in people's gardens.

I snapped them.

And out into the country, where when snapping some blossom, the lens jammed. Or the iris did, turning the scene in the viewfinder from day to night, as the iris was stuck on minimum apeture.

Bugger.

Although at first I thought it a camera fault, which would have been more expensive. But as I thought about it, the iris is in the lens not the camera, so I could at least shoot with other lenses, but then the orchid season could start any day, so I needed a solution.

I snap away with the compact from my pocket, and does the job.

Indeed once halfway down The Dip, the iris had freed itself and did work, for two or three shots, jammed, freed itslef and so on.

I walk back home to make yet another brew and look at camera websites.

Dinner was our favourite, courgette fritters and garlic mayo, and due to the fact I said I would cut down on the booze, Monday was a no drinking day, which meant no wine or beer.

Bugger.

But even with squash it was a great meal.

THere was footy, Wolves v Liverpool, which was OK.