Day 16 – 8th of April 2020

In which our hero takes a more contemplative journey and ends up feeling he’s on a ‘roll’.

“We are all of us obliged, if we are to make reality endurable, to nurse a few little follies in ourselves.”

Marcel Proust

After the rigours of yesterday’s ……. may I call it a discourse?  Of course, you are free to describe it as a rant. I allowed myself the pleasure of a stroll.  As is the ‘law of the land’ (please pronounce this in your head as if it was Inspector Clouseau speaking) any stroll is not to be without a purpose.  I had three purposes (are you keeping the Clouseau accent going?).  My purposes were: exercise (of the light variety), contemplation (on the meaning and practice of social distancing) and shopping.

I share my journey with you as a photo-essay.

Arriving at Turnham Green I was happy to note the inherent responsibility of Chiswick Residents.

The sun was shining and I was able to capture the spring blooms with only a hint at the number of shops that were already empty before the Covod-19 crisis and only one of the old blokes drinking Tennants Extra on the benches.

God may also be social distancing from his people but He did light up the weather vane for me with a beam of sunlight to make my shot more cheerful.

As I moved under the railway arch onto – is this Chiswick Common I ask because isn’t it actually in Ealing? I do get confused.

Anyway, what ever we call it, it’s a grand place for walking your dogs and being Chiswick (or was it Ealing?) people are generally very good at collecting their dog shit.

Now, at this point I switch from contemplation mode and into a combination of shopping and exercise mode.  I yomped (Maggie Thatcher fans should love that term *) up towards Acton to buy a ‘few bits and pieces’.  Now, my mate Brooksy made a special request for another picture of a bacon sandwich, which is surprising because Brooksy is a builder and is still working so he can get bacon sandwiches whenever he wants. However, when I was in Plum Duff the bakers I opted for a different variety of unhealthy snack.  So, unhealthy snack in hand I strolled back (yomping would have spilled my take away flat white) and was a very naughty boy and sat on a bench on whatever common we have decided it is and munched. **

Sorry Brooksy you are going to have to make do with a picture of my sausage roll.

While munching I had pause to reflect on my abject failure to maintain my plant based eating regime – well, since the last bacon sandwich anyway, but consoled myself that had he been with me, if he was true to his writing, Marcel Proust would have approved because, to be fair, eating processed sausage meat is a folly. I can’t help it. I mean, not all the time anyway.

Finally, dawdling home I had the opportunity to reflect, once more on social distancing and so decided I would finish today’s Blog with a good example of responsible behaviour and to name and shame an example of failure to keep up the slightest pretense of a safe distance.

It is good to see these London taxis will not pass the virus on to each other. Well done! Its a shame we can’t call you ‘Black Cabs’ anymore since you went all colourified.

Same on you Bentley, Fortnum and Willow. You haven’t even made an effort.

That’s it.

* The term became really popular so Maggie provided some people lots of opportunities for ‘Yomping’ across islands in the South Atlantic.

** Stationary munching is now proscribed under the – are you still in Clouseau mode? – Law.  One must munch while actively taking exercise or shopping, sitting on a bench doesn’t count even if its a sausage roll or Tennants Extra or both.