Today I got my first official sunburn of 2020. It happens every year without fail (or should I say I fail every time and end up looking like a lobster…). With most shops closed I’ll have to rely on my last year’s supply of sunscreen (most certainly out of date…) and I’ll probably order some more SPF 50 online. I think my skin has had some time now to get used to the sun thanks to walking and running and it will hopefully soon turn pale brown rather then stay bright red.

I am not really looking forward to lockdown ‘easing’. Hardly anything has changed in neighbouring Wales, other then letting people exercise outside more than once a day, still locally. Seeing so many people cycling these days it crossed my mind that I could, too, get a bike. After all, I can only walk that far. But then, would I get arrested in Ruabon for being too far from my local area, whatever in heaven’s name ‘local area’ means? I certainly hope that Countess of Chester Country Park belongs in that perimeter. Once I’m done with C25K (5 weeks to go!) I can imagine myself heading there for little trail runs, and maybe even participate in Park Runs, once they’re ‘legal’ again.

It’s going to be a weird summer. I already know I won’t be able to go to Ireland in the beginning of July, because the Irish government in their infinite wisdom has decided that internal travel e.g. driving from Wicklow to Beara Peninsula will only be allowed after the 20th of July. Even if we somehow managed to get to Beara without getting fined by Garda there would be nowhere to go for a meal as pubs and eateries will be the last to re-open. Imagine social distancing in an Irish Bar! I also have a bad feeling that Scotland, a small country where most Covid-19 deaths are related to care homes, will follow the same lead and will choose to remain closed for tourists for weeks and weeks to come. I have therefore little hope that our long awaited South West Coastal 300 road trip will happen this year. Last but not least, I simply couldn’t bear having to wear face masks and gloves during my holiday and with heavy heart I had to cancel my September trip to Poland. Face masks aside, there is a risk, no matter how small, that I would unintentionally infect my frail relatives, and so I thought ‘better safe than sorry’ and changed my Easy Jet booking for free, both dates and destination. I wanted to find somewhere I could go for 4 day Easter break and I booked flights to the Isle of Man, where I’ve never been before. It is likely that South West Coastal will be postponed until next year, just like our second visit to the Basque Country. I looks like I’ve got 2021 more or less sorted!

In the meantime, since I’m trapped in my ‘local’ area until who knows when, I am going to have to start looking for photo-worthy locactions and themes right on my doorstep. Oh, and maybe I’ll get that bike 😉