We have made it to day 21, the original date for lockdown to be reviewed. At the point I am writing this, the lockdown has not been officially extended, but given the ongoing problems and death rates, I am fairly confident the lockdown will be extended.
Today also happens to be a bank holiday, and the final day of my long weekend. It started with a small lie in, followed by crumpets for breakfast. Sarah took the dog out for his morning walk before making her weekly trip to the supermarket buy her parent’s shopping. Unlike last week, there was a sizeable queue outside Asda this week, so it took her over an hour.
Much of my day has been spent working through 1Q84. I bought this copy when Sarah and I visited Halifax Piece Hall a couple of weekends before the lockdown. As well as browsing the food shops and having lunch, we could not pass up the chance to look in the bookshop. Despite having a sizeable to read pile at the side of the bed, I could not resist buying this book. I know you should not judge a book by it’s cover, but on this case the cover drew me in, and when Sarah told me she had heard good things I was sold.
It is a fairly hefty tome, around 1200 pages, and actually consists of 3 books. My copy is the complete trilogy, and today I have finished the second book in the set. Although some of the bizarre happenings have been explained, I still have no idea where the story is heading which is keeping me engaged.
The book is set in Tokyo in an alternative 1984, with the Q in 1Q84 standing for question/query. A couple of years ago my brother lived in Tokyo, and I was lucky enough to visit him in three occasions. It is great to read about some of the sights and sounds I experienced when I was visiting, from the expressway which starts both the book and my arrival into Tokyo, to the frequent use of the subway and a character living near Mount Takao which Brad and I hiked to the top of on my second visit.
Most of the time I was in the house today, but the sun made an appearance this afternoon, and it was even warm for an hour or so. My afternoon walk was quieter than I have seen it since the lockdown began, but it did mean I was able to snap this pic of the blossom I mentioned yesterday.
Dinner this evening was salmon, asparagus and sugar snap peas. You could say it was almost healthy, so I plan to follow it up with some ice cream and/or chocolate for balance. Currently we are deciding between watching a film, watching TV or more time reading this evening. I am back at work tomorrow, but Sarah has another day off, so we will see how it goes when only one of us is working from home.
Self-Indulgent Twaddle 