Lockdown, Days #186 & 187 (Peak District, Part 1)
I'm just back from a much-needed family weekend away in the Peak District; I am so glad I was able to get away, as it was my first holiday in over a year.
Friday
We had the journey to the Peak District, and we tried two service stations. My heart sank at the first, as when we arrived, we saw people flowing non-stop into it; we'd arrived just after a large coach party, so it wasn't easy to socially distance. The second service station was a bit easier; there were people walking around without masks - I realise some people are exempt for various reasons, but when I see two of them together, I'm inclined to think "Hmmm, are they just not interested in the rules?" I know London has had a massive anti-mask protest, which is one of the reasons I still want to avoid the place; it seemed like a Trump-style level of craziness.
We reached the campsite without too many issues; it was a nice place, set within a woodland; we visited back in 2005, but they've expanded somewhat since then.
We ate in the on-site restaurant on site; I will have to get used to being greeted and served by people who are wearing face masks, so it's a bit like having Sub-Zero, Scorpion and Reptile as waiters (if you saw them in the street, would you recognise them?)
Maybe more themed restaurants is the key to going ahead. A restaurant where the staff all dress as wild west outlaws, or operating surgeons, for example, wouldn't make the use of face coverings look strange; it would just look like part of the costume.
Saturday
We went to Chatsworth House, which is an amazing-looking place with enormous grounds; it wasn't the easiest place to socially distance, and people are awful at obeying rules. I noticed this when queuing for the toilets; they were quite small, so the sign said a maximum of two in at once. So, I waited for one person to leave, and waited for a second person, becuase he was drying his hands my the door, so hard to get around; after he left, I made to go in, only for a third person to appear at the door. That's a lax attitude towards rules right there; the public really do need marshalling to make sure they respect the rules. It's also a good way of reducing unemployment.
I'll add a picspam here, starting with a picture of the house.
Many of my other best shots from this day are close-ups of flowers; it's just that they ended up looking most pleasing.
This last one was taken nearby outside the farm shop.
The weather was unusually cold on this particular day; it felt like we'd skipped autumn and gone straight through to winter; it was bizarre. We finished the day with a quick visit to the Chatsworth farm shop, which I didn't enjoy so much, partly because people in shops seem to forget about social distancing and just rush past you. The fact that I've come to expect others to have the same manners and lack of patience as I see from most people on rush hour trains doesn't help. I was glad to be out of the shop, and realised I was going to avoid shops wherever possible for the rest of the weekend. I wasn't too thrilled when I went and found a quiet out of the way spot, and realised a man in the queue was staring at me (I hate being stared at; I always feel that I am being judged, and in a most disapproving manner). The fact that he had a face covering made me more uncomfortable, because where face coverings are involved, I have no idea what the person's facial expression is underneath it.
We had dinner in the lodge on Saturday night; it also gave us a chance to play my new game, Don't Count Your Chickens; I don't think I did the best job of explaining it - I think in my head, I'm going to do this really well, and then I completely fail, and end up floundering a lot. I wasn't sure exactly what the family made of it.
Friday
We had the journey to the Peak District, and we tried two service stations. My heart sank at the first, as when we arrived, we saw people flowing non-stop into it; we'd arrived just after a large coach party, so it wasn't easy to socially distance. The second service station was a bit easier; there were people walking around without masks - I realise some people are exempt for various reasons, but when I see two of them together, I'm inclined to think "Hmmm, are they just not interested in the rules?" I know London has had a massive anti-mask protest, which is one of the reasons I still want to avoid the place; it seemed like a Trump-style level of craziness.
We reached the campsite without too many issues; it was a nice place, set within a woodland; we visited back in 2005, but they've expanded somewhat since then.
We ate in the on-site restaurant on site; I will have to get used to being greeted and served by people who are wearing face masks, so it's a bit like having Sub-Zero, Scorpion and Reptile as waiters (if you saw them in the street, would you recognise them?)
Maybe more themed restaurants is the key to going ahead. A restaurant where the staff all dress as wild west outlaws, or operating surgeons, for example, wouldn't make the use of face coverings look strange; it would just look like part of the costume.
Saturday
We went to Chatsworth House, which is an amazing-looking place with enormous grounds; it wasn't the easiest place to socially distance, and people are awful at obeying rules. I noticed this when queuing for the toilets; they were quite small, so the sign said a maximum of two in at once. So, I waited for one person to leave, and waited for a second person, becuase he was drying his hands my the door, so hard to get around; after he left, I made to go in, only for a third person to appear at the door. That's a lax attitude towards rules right there; the public really do need marshalling to make sure they respect the rules. It's also a good way of reducing unemployment.
I'll add a picspam here, starting with a picture of the house.
Many of my other best shots from this day are close-ups of flowers; it's just that they ended up looking most pleasing.
This last one was taken nearby outside the farm shop.
The weather was unusually cold on this particular day; it felt like we'd skipped autumn and gone straight through to winter; it was bizarre. We finished the day with a quick visit to the Chatsworth farm shop, which I didn't enjoy so much, partly because people in shops seem to forget about social distancing and just rush past you. The fact that I've come to expect others to have the same manners and lack of patience as I see from most people on rush hour trains doesn't help. I was glad to be out of the shop, and realised I was going to avoid shops wherever possible for the rest of the weekend. I wasn't too thrilled when I went and found a quiet out of the way spot, and realised a man in the queue was staring at me (I hate being stared at; I always feel that I am being judged, and in a most disapproving manner). The fact that he had a face covering made me more uncomfortable, because where face coverings are involved, I have no idea what the person's facial expression is underneath it.
We had dinner in the lodge on Saturday night; it also gave us a chance to play my new game, Don't Count Your Chickens; I don't think I did the best job of explaining it - I think in my head, I'm going to do this really well, and then I completely fail, and end up floundering a lot. I wasn't sure exactly what the family made of it.