An Errand and a City Walk

TG discovered last night that her camera wasn't working, and after a bit of experimenting realised that it was turning on and taking photographs, but the LCD screen was blank. Fortunately we bought it from John Lewis (department store) with a two year warranty. M phoned them and they confirmed it was covered for repair. We needed to drop it into the store, so decided to combine the errand with a walk round Campbell Park, the main city park in Milton Keynes which is conveniently just across the road from John Lewis.   

After dropping off the camera with a helpful tech support lady, we headed across to the park and spent a bit of time exploring one of the public art works there, the Milton Keynes Rose.  The photograph above doesn't do it justice. The website describes the Rose as a place for celebration, contemplation and commemoration. There are over 100 inscribed granite pillars of various heights, set in the intersections of petals etched on the ground. Each pillar commemorates something different; the inscriptions are very varied, ranging from the serious to the lighthearted. We wandered around for a while reading some of the inscriptions - the photo below includes World Food Day (with the quotation "First we eat, then we do everything else"), Disability Awareness Day and First Tea Bag Day. Some mark world wide events, and others are specific to the Milton Keynes area - the first tea bag was produced in a local Tetley factory in 1953.  

Next we walked up the hill to the Light Pyramid, which aligns with the rising sun on the Summer Solstice - the city was deliberately built with the main avenue through the centre in that alignment, and the route continues into the park. The Pyramid is a good viewpoint across the parkland, and rather than walk back a longer way round we scrambled down the steep grassy side of the mound and walked through the park down to the canal and along the tow path for a short way before heading back to the car to get home in time to collect TG from school. 

There were some good autumn colours in the park. Also more public art, a labyrinth, and a Japanese garden, but time was getting tight so I didn't stop to take photographs. 

By the time we got home I was tired - the slight cold I had last month seems to have triggered a minor recurrence of the post-viral thing I had earlier in the year. I now suspect it may have been long Covid. The timing seemed wrong as I first got ill in January, but it now seems likely that coronavirus was circulating in Europe earlier than was first thought, so it could be a possibility. I imagine I will never know for sure. Whatever virus it was, the fatigue certainly lingered for a long time, and it seems to have left me less resilient. At least I can still manage the walks and some exercise, but I am finding I need a bit more time to recuperate than I did before. A lazy afternoon and evening watching TV has helped. I finished watching the Star Wars spin off series The Mandalorian on Disney Plus, just in time for the second series later this month, and M and I watched a couple of episodes of Michael Palin's Pole to Pole travel series - an oldie but a goodie. While the rest of us were being lazy H and her BF drove over to R's for the evening. It's lovely that as adults the girls enjoy each other's company and want to spend time together. Also good for H to have a break from all the work and studying she has been doing.