Water Everywhere

As neither of us were working today M and I originally planned to go for a walk at the country park again, but this morning it was raining again and I had some finance stuff I needed to do ahead of a trustee meeting for the brass band tonight. It brightened up by lunch time, but in the end I just couldn't face paddling through mud and puddles again, so we went for an afternoon walk into the town centre, sticking to paved paths. There is a slightly complex water system running through the town: the canal, which often features in my photos as we walk along the towpath a lot; a fairly small river which runs more or less parallel with the canal, though it wriggles about quite a bit; and a series of flood plain water meadows. In dry weather the river tops up the canal, in wet weather the canal drains into the river, and in very wet weather it all overflows into the water meadows. However, we have had so much rain recently that the overflow is encroaching into places it shouldn't be, and it is getting harder and harder to find places to walk that aren't under water. Today we planned to circle round through a riverside walk and back into town, but half way along the path turned into this ... 

Path? What path! We diverted, and cut along a dry section back to the road! Both the canal and the river are looking very brown and muddy, and the river was flowing much faster than usual. It isn't a pretty river at the best of times, and it looked very unappealing today.  More snow is forecast for tomorrow, which I for one very much prefer to the rain. 

I have made myself a small bucket list of ten things I am looking forward to doing again when the pandemic restrictions are eased. They are all things I would have taken for granted until last year, and don't include any of the big stuff like trips abroad. In no particular order:

1.  Go to the cinema

2.  Attend a live theatre performance

3.  Visit the Thomas Becket exhibition at the British Museum (supposed to be starting in the spring)

4.  Spend a day working at the British Library

5.  Go to work! 

6.  Spend an evening with one of my closest group of friends who I haven't seen since last March. 

7.  Play in an orchestra

8.  Go to Stonehenge (I almost managed that one in December!)

9.  Have a drink in a pub with friends

10.  Go swimming

I'm sure there are plenty more things I could think of, but if I manage to do all - or even most of - those this year I will be very happy.