Lockdown day #80

The birds woke me up very early - and I got up at 5.30am!  It was tipping down with rain too, grrr.

I received in the post the latest Stedsure Magazine.  I have e-mailed the editor with an article for the next edition (let's see if it goes in!).

I met up with my friend Dave and we went for a 4.7 km (2.9 miles) walk through Queens Park, Woodlands and Lower Crumpsall.  Very nice it was too.

I then did some research for a book

I should have been going to the theatre tonight to see a play called "Romeo and Julie" (obviously based on Shakespeare's play of a similar name).  It was, of course, cancelled due to this COVID-19.

Instead I downloaded an ebook on Blackpool's trams and did some editing on LibraryThing.

Lockdown day #53 'Bank Holiday Friday'

Another glorious day - usually when we have Bank Holiday on a Monday it rains - but the only usual Friday Bank Holiday is Good Friday - the weather for that was great, and the weather today is good too ... so maybe Bank Holidays should move to Fridays ... instead of Mondays.

The reason for the change to a Friday for the Bank Holiday was to commemorate (celebrate?) the 75th Anniversary of VE-day.  One national newspaper was calling "Victory over Europe Day"!  There were a good number of Union Flags and English flags adorning people's homes and the jingoistic attitude that Britain stood alone against Hitler.  Except of course that was not true.  By VE-day there were over 60 nations (together with colonies and protected states) standing against fascism!

I had a quiet day working on my computer settings (it has to be done), and had a couple of telephone conversations.  I went for a walk and chatted with a friend who was in his garden (and I on the pavement). 

At 9pm, Queen Elizabeth II spoke to the nation - exactly 75 years since her father did the same on VE day, 1945.

I listened to some music on YouTube - Jonathan Scott's VE Day Organ Recital, Samuel Barber's Agnus Dei and Dan Jones' SS-GB theme tune.

I should have been going on holiday today to Blackpool - but needless to say this was cancelled.

Lockdown day #39

Today I was up nice and early and decided to spend the day reading.  None of the books I read today are physically owned by me, and all were free downloads to help us "readers" who are running out of material to read.

Today's "must reads" were:
*The Golden Miles, Blackpool Corporation Tramways 1885-2010
*Hawaii's Religions
*Independent Buses in North Wales and
*MDS Books for collectors and enthusiasts 2020 Spring Book News.

I also received in the post the Cyprus Post News detailing their upcoming new stamp issues.

I took the opportunity of the sunny and warm weather (21 degrees near me) for a nice walk in the sun.  My ankle is easier to walk on and it felt good to be in the sun.

In the evening I "attended" the Lockdown Ceilidh - streamed live from a kitchen in Nottingham - great fun to watch, but a tad difficult to do by oneself.

The road to 2013 part 5

In May 1967 we moved again to Tipton (my parents taking charge of the Salvation Army corps there) in what was then Staffordshire.  We lived at 18 Furnace Parade.

The Tipton corps hall is now used as a factory.

One of my earliest memories is crossing a canal bridge in Tipton on the way to school.  My parents took a picture of me asleep on the settee at our house in Tipton.

In the summer of 1967 we holidayed in Blackpool, and there is a delightful picture of me riding on a "panda" at the funfair in Blackpool Tower.

 

On a sad note, my sister was born while we are at Tipton.  She wasn't officially named because she was still born.  The name my parents would have given a girl was Sandra Elizabeth, so as far as I am concerned my sister was Sandra Elizabeth even though she never breathed a breath.