Out Of The Fog

We had a period of nearly a week where we were immersed in fog and mist and it didn't clear at all throughout the day, and then on Thursday it suddenly lifted and we had the most beautiful day. I think we appreciate the sunshine more when it's been missing for a while.

Mick has been working from home now since before the first lockdown in March, I don't think he'll ever go back to working how he did before. There will be times when he needs to go to a particular site but I think many businesses will now realise that some employees are able to work just as efficiently from home, and in some cases, they get more work done during the day as they're not using up working hours travelling. He can get under my feet at times but in the main we get along well even though we're with each other twenty four seven. It's quite convenient when the sun's shining as we're able to take advantage and pop out for an hour as he can make up the time later, so with some better weather materialising on Thursday we headed off to Roundhay Park.

It seemed many people had the same idea as it was very busy but the park is so big that you don't really realise that so many other people are out for a stroll too. The cricket pavilion was serving sandwiches, cakes and hot drinks but we were good and resisted, lunch was waiting for us back home. This arena, where cricket is played during the summer months, has staged many large concerts. It can hold over 100,000 people. It's where I saw Michael Jackson perform back in 1988 and where the latest Ed Sheeran concert Eleanor's attended was held, last year.

We headed down to Waterloo Lake, so called as it was landscaped from a former quarry by soldiers returning from the Napoleonic wars and thus named after the Battle of Waterloo. It covers thirty three acres. It's a favourite place in the park for children as there's lots of water birds who are only too happy to be fed.

It wasn't too cold on Thursday but even though the sun was shining, it's quite obvious now that we're heading into winter as many of the trees are now devoid of leaves and those which are still hanging on have lost the bright colour which is so evident a little earlier in autumn.

Looking through the trees you can catch a glimpse of The Mansion, a large stone two and three-storey house in Greek Revival style which was built from 1811 to 1826. It is now used as a wedding venue and it's where we held our own celebrations thirty years ago. My sister also held her wedding reception there the following year. The park was such a lovely backdrop for our wedding photos.

I thought we'd managed to deter Archie from rolling in the fallen leaves but just as we were on our way back to the car park he took us unawares. I don't really mind, he's such a happy little doggy squirming amongst the leaves. He was covered in mud but luckily his coat is short at the moment as he's recently been to see the groomer and the dirt just brushed out otherwise he'd have had to be dunked in the bath.

I really enjoy my midday walks, it's good to make the most of any fine weather we have at the moment, and as well as breaking the day up a little I always feel better after getting a bit of fresh air.