The Garden

This garden was done back in May for the coronation of King Charles III, but I’ve been holding off on blipping it as it’s still not quite finished. But three months after the event, you get the impression that nothing else is going to happen this side of Christmas. Which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, given the snail like process of the rest of the flood defence works - there is still a sign up saying it’ll all be done by Summer 2022!
There’s always been a bit of a garden here, but it just used to have the town crest on it. Now it’s the “Coronation Garden” there’s been a bit of landscaping done, some flowers planted and a bug hotel (on the right) installed. You can just see there is still some temporary fencing at the back of the garden, but I’m not quite sure why because it all looks finished to me, with permanent rails installed down the side of the path.
Anyway, it all looks very pretty and I’m sure everything will mature over the coming years. The other end of the riverside path is a different kettle of fish, with God knows what work being done. Massive cranes, a temporary bridge and loads of concrete blocks, but no real signs of anything actually being created by way of a flood defence.
Still, we did at least get to walk in and out of the town in the (almost!) dry this morning for our usual Sunday coffee. Mrs C was being creative this afternoon but I’m afraid I just sat and listened to the radio whilst scrolling back through Facebook, looking at how many gigs and shows we’d been to in 2019 and then how long it took before we went to another one - September 2021! In fact, I played my first proper gig with Route 66 before I went to see a show at a theatre.
It all seems a bit surreal now, reading posts - and Blips! - about what went on during those 18 months of lockdowns and restrictions. And whilst I love the fact that life has pretty much returned to normal now, I do weirdly sort of miss the peace and quiet of lockdown and - ironically, given it was the middle of a pandemic - how fit and healthy I became during those eighteen months.
I think it may be time to get the running shoes out again and pray for an end to this miserable weather.