The hip flask

Some friends have made a WhatsApp group for walks. Sometimes nobody responds but today 5 of us met at Tosson. It’s so annoying that it meant 5 cars though what else can we do. We could walk from home of course, but we live scattered in 3 villages so it’s the only way to meet up.

So today Ailie, Katy, Chris, Rose and I met at 9.30 and set off up the Brough to Simonside. It was very wet and churned up underfoot as due to the recent logging a cycle path was re-routed, meaning more people know about what used to be a quiet path. It was lovely to be out though and the rain didn’t start till we got back to the cars.

We stopped for a snack and a tipple of sloe gin from Ailie’s hip flask. Her daughter has remarked this seems to have become a feature of our walks these days. Small pleasures and a nip to keep out the cold.

Another friend has become so freaked out by the news of the new Covid variant that she says she won’t be walking with anyone now.

Ella and Nathaniel are embracing the Covid opportunities for new experiences. After on-line panto at the weekend today they went to a drive-in Santa.

A friend widowed last Christmas has not seen her children or grandchildren since the funeral. They were all going to be coming up from London but have missed the window. So many people are having such tough times.

So that’s the shortest day.