Coronavirus Lockdown Week 5 Saturday

Bike ride to collect asparagus, computer catching up,  quiz, light food, ticked off by Ann for visiting Janet, asparagus run, Candace quiz.

Do one thing a day that challenges you, someone said as a guide for this time. I almost didn’t. Collecting my bike from Huggy (£8, here’s 10, are you sure?) I thought, why i could just bike all the way to Bramfield, but Kali stood firm, it was too far for him so we biked back, saw the hole in my panier, realised my phone must have fallen thorugh it, so had to retrace. I’ll take the Bob. Actually, when we got to the spot I found the phone still safe. Why not. So we, Bob and I, biked on through those glorious backroads, passed Mells, (and the quarry I did not buy), skirting the commons of Wenhaston, down over the Byth tributary that leads to the balancing barn, turning right, passed the barns I almost bought (luckily bought by a builder family who I glimpse in the distance: I am not jealous but glad for them, they have a wonderful view), to where the asparagus is for sale, £10 for 20 bunches. The back was like a movie, Alexandra (reminds me of Tessa (Newcomb) who taught me the name not so long ago, a couple of years back) vibrant green by roadside. 16k little bobji and I covered, and felt exhilarated at such a modest accomplishment.

Later in the day Michael and I went on our asparagus happiness venture, to Ros, Naomi, Juliette, and got ticked off by Ann for jeopardising Janet by visiting her yesterday. Repercussions. Juliette in her garden gave warm welcome, both she and Tom had had the virus, Tom still recovering.

Still miles of text to catch up.

The UK hit the milestone of 20,000 dead. UK briefing announced by Priti Patel (I’ve never warmed to her despite her Indianess) throughout the day. The news is getting back to normal politics I realised yesterday. I am missing the intelligence of the surgeons, the scientists, or even artists to tell us where they and we are. Instead we have banal often defensive statements from politicians.

Not as bad as American though. Trump has given up on press conferences. No more nightly fact check to entertain. The reason? He has been told they do not increase his popularity. Nothing to do with the need to give clear direction/govern his people at this time of extraordinary uncertain times. As a captain of his ship during a storm, he is staying below deck to mouch his popularity. Others will rise to the helm.

The scandal exploded just a day after a New York Times report that detailed how Trump is coping with the pressures and isolation caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In a lengthy piece it portrayed a US president who has become cut off from many of his former friends and associates as he lives and works in the White House, unable to leave and travel and hold the campaign rallies that he appears to crave. It described Trump bingeing on cable news for many hours each morning and often late into the night, surveying the wreckage of a once-booming economy that he had planned on being the main plank of his reelection strategy.

ALEXANDERS The new shoots can sometimes be picked through winter and
into spring but the most reliable time to collect them is from
February until they start to flower, when they become tough and woody.
When the shoots become tough the flowers and flower buds can
be used like broccoli or cooked in a light batter.
The seeds can be dried and used as a spice, a bit like black pepper.
The leaves can be collected when they are young and fresh at any
time of year and used sparingly in salads or as a green.
The roots can be scrubbed, peeled and sliced and roasted like parsnip.

Thanks to David Green recommendation, we watched Wise Children (iPlayer) last night, Emma Rice’s acclaimed adaptation of Angela Carter’s Wise Children (part of the BBC’s Culture in Quarantine programme) Made me want to dance and sing, and do high kicks. Dark as well as very funny. Highly recommend.

The term “Cockaigne” comes from the Middle French phrase pais de cocaigne, which literally means “the land of plenty.” The word was first popularized in a 13th-century French poem that is known in English as “The Land of Cockaigne.” According to an early English translation of the work, in Cockaigne “the houses were made of barley sugar cakes, the streets were paved with pastry, and the shops supplied goods for nothing.” Some have theorized that cocaigne derives from an earlier word related to “cake” or “cook,” but its early history remains obscure.