Bluebell Woods

On Sunday morning we went for a walk in the woods before M went to work. Last time we went there the bluebells were just starting to come into flower; today they were just past their peak, beautiful but not the same spectacular carpet of blue they were last year. They are also almost a month later this year. Such a contrast between last year's beautiful spring weather and this year, when it has felt at times as though winter has dragged on into May. 

This has been my week for working in the office. I am so enjoying the near-normality of it, seeing colleagues and having access to the archives after such a long time of juggling as best I can with what I have been able to access remotely. I am not enjoying having to wear a mask when I am supervising in the searchroom - our small team of four have plenty of space to spread out and have all had at least one dose of vaccine, so we don't bother with them the rest of the time. Ironically I am not finding wearing a mask for extended periods as uncomfortable as I expected, but it affects the position of my glasses just enough to send the varifocals slightly out of whack and give me blurry vision. I meant to take in my music glasses which have plain middle distance lenses to see if they are better, but forgot. Ah well! After today I am not back in for nearly four weeks as the next time it is my team's turn is TG's half term and I have booked the week off. 

Driving home today it was sunny until I got two-thirds of the way home, when huge, billowing black clouds appeared. A few minutes after I got in the storm broke, with thunder, lightening, and torrential rain mixed with hail. I was very glad I didn't have to drive through it. M and TG were out, as he had taken her to her dance class and went into M & S Food to get some bits while she was there. Her dance exam is supposed to be happening next weekend, but the examiner pulled out due to concerns over covid; a replacement was found who has also now pulled out, and the exam board are trying to find yet another replacement. 

After a couple of months with everything seeming so much more positive there is now concern that a covid variant that originated in India is gaining ground here and may be significantly more transmissible. If so, it means we will be very much in a race to get as many people as possible vaccinated before it can cause another serious wave of infections. Fortunately there doesn't seem to be any real concern that the variant is likely to evade the vaccines. Unfortunately one of the areas which has had an alarming increase in cases is Bedford, where I work - I suspect this is what freaked out the dance examiners, who probably would not realise that our area is not affected and still has a low case rate. I have looked at a lot of statistics and I'm actually quite hopeful that what is going on is more of a blip than the beginning of another major wave, but the timing is unfortunate as yesterday saw the next stage of lockdown lfiting. Pubs and restaurants can now serve food indoors, groups of up to six can meet indoors, and more indoor activities can restart, including in person band rehearsals. On current figures, this should be fine - we just have to hope that the new variant doesn't mean it turns out to be a mistake.