Meanwood

In advance of the (relatively limited) lockdown that's being brought in across England at the stroke of midnight tonight, R and I made a dash up country today, to meet Child Two. We chat to him him most Sundays via Zoom, but R hadn't been in a room with him since a gig back in February, and I hadn't seen him in the flesh since he returned to the Frozen North after our family gathering at New Year. In the circumstances it was very difficult not to give him a hug, but it was lovely to spend three hours in his company.

We met at an excellent park in Leeds called Meanwood, which as well as the normal parky kinds of things such as a café, a bowling green and a children's play area, has a series of walking trails through a wooded valley and up into open countryside. We didn't have time today to go all the way through the woods, but the small section we did explore was really interesting, especially because of a beck that runs down through it, passing over a series of weirs and waterfalls. I didn't have the right gear with me to do these justice, but even with a big lens on the camera I managed some reasonable semi-slow water images. And then at one point I turned to see if there was anything interesting behind us, and caught sight of the sun lighting these autumnal beech leaves - and instantly knew that this was likely to be my blip.

H had an appointment in the afternoon, so after a takeaway lunch from the café in the park we bumped elbows with him and went on our way, fervently hoping that it won't be another ten months till we next meet.