Last evening I took my first walk, my permitted local exercise, for nearly a fortnight. It was a warm sunny evening and I just strolled around Longridge to see what was happening. Precisely nothing as there was hardly a car on the roads and I only passed maybe half a dozen people.
The rather boring photos below show empty streets but note the large proportion of stone houses for which the village was renowned before all the new developments which bear no connection architecturally to our heritage.
Not quite as bleak as the one depicted by The Specials which was in my ear as I walked around.
This won’t be my regular walk as it is all urban and crossing the road to avoid oncoming pedestrians is awkward. People of my generation are extra careful but I find a minority of youngsters pay little heed to distance, I personally am not convinced that 2 metres are sufficient. Social distancing isn’t working as one can see from the steadily rising coronavirus infection figures. The wearing of face masks by all early on would have cut down on transmission but the politicians couldn’t say that as there weren’t sufficient reserves. Next time I’ll head into the countryside or should I just stay safe in my garden, I’m privileged to have one and feel sympathy for all flat dwellers.
*****
All very sobering.
The music was a masterstroke – I’d never heard of them – unique – fabulous – brilliant evocative trombone solo.
Thanks.
Sorry if it appeared I was copying your post of photos around our respective villages but I wanted to use that tune. You can see their original video of Ghost Town on youtube, early 80’s I think in the Thatcher years.
No problem at all. I think we are essentially recording history wherever it applies.
Thats OK then, how much are the copywright fees?
Never heard Ghost Town Conrad???…. wow!
It was massive when I was in high school, early ’80s I think. A real classic.
I left school in 1956 and spent my formative years listening to jazz and rubbishing “pop” so I missed out on all that stuff big time. Something I now regret having discovered in later yeas their is a lot of good stuff out there – the arrogance of youth eh? At the time some union embargo was lifted on USA jazz performers coming to the UK. I lived in Bradford and saw practically every well known American jazz band or group including a memorable performance from Ella. We also had a number of jazz groups playing in local clubs, and The Students Club, a vaulted cellar in the town centre similar to The Cavern – individual musicians from the USA bands would come snd jam with our locals after their gig at St. Georoge’s Hall. Happy days.
Happy days indeed.
There, not their!
Years not yeas.
It’s all too easy when typing especially on the phone. I think spell check sometimes changes things behind your back.
I know your grammar is impeccable.
Thank you for the tour of your town, I like the sign though, they will deliver anything you need. That does help them, instead of ordering something from Amazon.
I have quite a few people from the states who follow my posts so it is good to show where I live. Boring for loclas.
Yes we will need some extra effort to keep those local businesses alive in these uncertain times.
That is what I like about this blogging, seeing places where others live especially other country’s. Places I may never go but I can see it with real photo’s like yours. Like your roundabouts you showed. We have those, they are a little bigger than that one. I don’t care for them at all. Some people do not know how to use them and it can cause back ups. 🙂
Yes that’s why I like your pictures of exotic birds, at least exotic to me.
Great tune, a real favourite of mine.
That’s pretty striking – so quiet. Hard to imagine the roundabout as a bottleneck!
Yes and it was at what would normally be rush hour.
The tune came in my head before the walk but fitted it nicely.
Great piece with very nice photos. When I see the empty street like this in my own town, I think I am looking at something rare like a total solar eclipse. I know it will go back to normal thankfully, but it is something up to now we wouldn’t have believed. Thanks for the post.
Thanks. You did well to stumble across my post across the Atlantic.
That day seems forever ago now, the streets are becoming active again but most of the businesses are still closed – cafes pubs hairdressers etc.
I’m keeping clear of most of humanity. We haven’t been that successful in Britain with dealing with the pandemic.
Hopefully it will pass and never come back. By the way, Britain is on my bucket list for places to visit. Be safe