New Year’s Day - A Ghost Town Walk

After a no-sunset New Year’s Eve, I was hoping for at least a sunrise for New Year’s Day. But it was still grey and damp. I walked around the park but it’s so much like a swamp I couldn’t bear to do a second lap. So I continued my walk around the village instead. It really did feel like a ghost town. I’m sure people were sleeping in later because of seeing the new year in even though (hopefully) there were no big parties. Being on lockdown probably had something to do with it! Anyway - I was awake and out and very much enjoyed a quiet walk.

I was amazed, though, how many trains there were. It seemed like a normal Friday rush hour. I stopped at the station for a look. This is one of the tube trains that now come out all the way to Reading and stop in our village too. It’s amazing to be on the Elizabeth line! I saw ONE person on the train! The station was like a ghost town too.

Most of the Christmas decorations are still up. I’ve seen some of these lit up on my evening walks. The African nativity scene was interesting - I’m not sure of the significance - is there a story that talks about the elephant, giraffe and zebra at the manger? Each bearing a gift? Can anyone enlighten me?

The Golden Cross is one of our village pubs. I’ve never been inside! The Lincoln coffee house is new and I HAVE been in there. Their coffee is good - they roast their own beans right here in the village! The motorcycle and sidecar - I’d love a ride to catch a ride in that! I wonder if it gets ridden much? I’ve never seen it out on the roads.

In other news - I enjoyed a cosy day at home. Today was day 1 of the Tour de Ski - 7 days of cross country ski races in 3 different venues over the next 9 days. As always it provided several hours of enjoyment while relaxing in front of the fire. It even snowed a bit today to help get me in the mood - all 5 minutes of it!