Sniffling Sunday

Another day of non-stop coughing and nose-blowing, so it’s just as well I had cover for church this morning and didn’t go. Instead, I did a fairly comprehensive food shop at Sainsbury’s. I would rather have just stayed at home, but as there was virtually nothing left in the fridge, freezer and cupboards there wasn’t much choice in the matter. During my drive over through the lanes around Layer Marney, I spotted a lone Red Kite soaring above the fields. They’re now so common in Chesham where I used to live that they are almost a pest, but are still quite rare in my part of Essex. They are one of the things I miss about the Chilterns Hills, where they would glide gracefully past my windows. On the way back home via the country lane through Copford and Hardy’s Green I stopped at the pretty spot in my blip to admire the snowdrops and daffodils coming up on the steep bank. The field opposite used to be a traditional farm, but is now being turned into a solar farm (see Extras). Many locals were against it, but it’s happening anyway as these projects usually do. I have mixed feelings about it. It’s not a pretty sight, but it is going to produce green energy and, unlike a new housing estate, will not further overburden the inadequate and buckling infrastructure in the already overdeveloped Colchester area.

I have now used up a whole box of extra large tissues in the past two days and have a sore nose.