Afternoon walk in the late November sunshine.

After we had finished our dinner, (which we have at lunchtime these days), we set off on one of our longer circular walks of just under 3 miles.
  The light was so lovely with the sun low in the sky casting long shadows through the trees.
It has been incredibly mild today for so late in the month.
It is, however, not scheduled to last.
A return to colder frosty nights and much lower temperatures is forecast.
  I cut most of the last of the rose bushes this morning, bringing the last of their blooms to put in the little jug on the kitchen windowsill.
  As I write the children are coming out of school opposite, happy and chattering. The ice cream van arrived earlier and there is now a socially distanced queue waiting for their turn.
  It just looks so normal.
As we got halfway round our walk and  were coming down through the Moor Hall Estate, which includes the golf club, we bumped into an old friend.
  He was out for his stroll. We have known him and his wife for years, as they used to live just up the road and are still at the same Sutton Coldfield Baptist Church where we went for 35 years until we moved to Birmingham Vineyard Church to support a young man and his wife as he had just been appointed the Youth Pastor. We stayed on.
After a chat with our friend we went our separate ways.
We were by then coming down past the golf course and the large hotel, which is beautifully situated in its own grounds opposite.
I took the photo as we were passing by the course on our left.
There was a man with his dog, on their way home. 
After just under 3 miles we are now home having some fresh ground coffee and for me a Scottish shortbread biscuit.
We had a lovely tin given to Stephen when he came home from hospital and  between us have now eaten all but two!
I was listening to a phone in programme on the radio as I was cooking dinner in the kitchen, around midday.
The subject being the, what I am calling, the “Christmas Amnesty” on the latest restrictions and Tiers.
There will be 5 day window from the 23rd - 27th inclusive free from all restrictions, which will include the travelling some people will make.
It is complicated as ever and I am not going to attempt to explain it here.
Only 3 households can meet together. And that has to be fixed for that period.
The phone in was people asking about what permutations can or cannot be made.
We already know that some people will just ignore all the rules anyway, and none of us wish to have another Lockdown straight after all the Christmas celebrations, nor catch the virus.
We will have to wait and see till then.
It is a discussion we will be having with our son and his wife as to what really is the best thing for all of us.
   There is a vaccine on the horizon and the promise of a life more virus free in maybe 4 or 5 months time.
  In the meantime I am going to attempt to get our Christmas tree out from underneath the cupboard space in the eaves, and put it in the back room by the patio window, before the end of the week. 
It’s Advent Sunday on the 29th.