By now, I should be writing about our little adventures on a scheduled weekend getaway, but it is not to be.
On Tuesday, 17th November 2020, Level 4 Restrictions, which is closest to Full Lockdown due to COVID 19, was announced by the Scottish Government to be imposed from Friday, 20th November 2020 to 11th December 2020, to curtail the rising transmission of the disease in the run through Christmas and the winter season.
For Tony and myself, we had to re-schedule our booked short break for the weekend 20th-23rd this month. Although we were looking forward to this break from all the madness, we had to do the right thing and follow the rules. It is for the best for everyone in the country, and we have to do our part, however small it may seem, to contain this dreadful disease.
The good thing was, there were other things we could do to occupy our disappointed hearts! Like walking adventures, of course, and there are plenty within our vicinity.
One of the exciting walks we discovered this time was at the country park Dalzell Estate and Baron’s Haugh in Motherwell, just five miles from where we live. This country park provides five scenic routes of nature, wildlife, and some centuries-old spots such as the mausoleum and an old graveyard.
We took the route towards the River Clyde and followed the path along the river. We stopped a couple of times in some bird-watching pods that overlooked the Baron’s Haugh, where wildlife abounds. Unsurprisingly, we spotted a family of swans in a pond in the middle of the haugh (a flat alluvial land by a riverside).
The footpath was wet and muddy as it was raining that day. However, the weather did not stop people from going to this beautiful place. There were many walkers, mostly in family groups, that we met on our way.
We passed by the mausoleum and the old graveyard and carried on to a fantastic pathway with centuries-old woodlands. This path was an easy walk apart from a short uphill part. I loved this walk, and I look forward to the other four scenic routes we will be exploring soon!
Back to the issue of COVID 19 disease, it is just right that everyone should do their part to contain its spread before it cripples the NHS (National Health Services). I have friends working as nurses in the NHS, one of them said yesterday that she is so scared to go to work. Two of her colleagues have just been tested positive for COVID 19, and one of them is currently in the High Dependency Unit.
Many of our NHS frontliners would not want to go to work to protect themselves and their families, but it is their job, and they are committed to it. But they are risking their lives!
For us, who are fortunate enough not to work or not exposed to such an environment like hospitals, we should do our part and stop whining about being restricted to do things freely. We should always think of those risking their lives. What if they all decide not to risk their lives anymore and leave their jobs? Who will take care of the sick?
On the upside, I watched a bit of the news today (Tuesday, 24th Nov). According to First Minister Sturgeon, the Oxford University/Astra Zeneca clinical trials show that ‘the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.’ And the first vaccines could be administered before Christmas, and there is a possibility that by springtime, we will get back to something much closer to the normal life we had before the pandemic.
That will be brilliant. Fingers crossed!!!
Till here for now, until next Wednesday. Keep well, and stay safe!
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