Bleak

We met Marion and Steve at High Humbleton for what was to be a 9 or 10 mile walk taking in a climb up to Yeaveringbell to the Iron Age hill fort on the summit. However my chesty cold had given me a bad night so I was relieved when the rain and wind necessitated a shorter (7 miles) walk, branching off onto St Cuthbert’s Way and back to the start. They really enjoyed it despite the weather so that made it worthwhile. In fact I was quite pleased with my efforts too.

After a hot bath I made a pudding to put in the freezer for Dennis’s visit. He’s not sure yet if he can come as he’s still Covid positive after 9 days. I’m not sure how long people are infectious?

Message from #3 daughter last night . “Nathaniel got invested as a cub tonight. He chose to invest as a Buddhist. He wanted to do a Viking god, but that mustn’t have been an option. He has asked to go to the Compassion Centre to find out more about it.”

I wondered why he had been asking about such things. He is a thoughtful boy. A bit of a hippy so I’m not sure the head shaving woukd appeal! Apparently they were told options they had - Cubs are so much more inclusive nowadays to encourage all faiths and non-believers to join. Ella chose the non-religious promise and did not mention obeying the Queen.

Our local councillor has set up a hub for people to leave donations for refugees in Poland. His colleague is of Polish extraction and has a comprehensive list of exactly what is needed and has a means of getting it to Poland, where there are more and more refugees arriving from Ukraine. Meanwhile, the hospitals in Tigray in Ethiopia have no way of generating electricity - the war there has been on-going so long and I hope we don’t lose sight of this now.