R's rue

Yesterday afternoon - a walk on the moors to the south west of Sheffield. Though our suburban neighbourhood was green, up on the moors the climate was truly wintry with many paths covered with ice and snow blown by a biting Arctic wind. I had to watch my step on those paths for fear of breaking through the ice and plunging into muddy puddles. It's so unpleasant to plod across a frozen landscape in wet boots . Last night I finished watching "A Teacher" on BBC 2. It's an American drama series with ten half hour episodes. It focusses on an illicit affair between a thirty year old high school English teacher and one of her senior year students. I enjoyed it and it filled five hours of  screen time very happily. There was no killing and no detectives - elements that are very hard to avoid in most TV drama these days. from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/3nhOMpo

  The chimney sweep is here! A visitor!  How wonderful. He’s a cheerful chap, behind his mask and has already asked where his “ Big bear helper “ was. He was genuinely  sad  when I told him that she had died. To give him covid space I took the dogs into the Churchyard and sat on one of the benches facing south. The weak sun took an age to warm my face and for the first time in weeks I sucked in as much vitamin D as I could. I didn’t notice old Rowenna’s walking stick until it poked me in the back “ Mr Gray ! “ she said brusquely but not unkindly “ I haven’t seen you in a long time!”  “ I have been on night shifts” I told her “ I have been told you are working too much” she told me  Word gets around , I thought Rowenna is a stalwart of the Church and strangely is a far distant relative of mine. She lives next to village elder Islwyn who she always refers to as Billy. Her sister Barbara used to be the champion baker in the village and...