Season’s Greetings!  The vernal equinox, the clocks forward, the buds on the trees and the daffodils flattened a bit by heavy rain and winds, confirm that nature and the calendar have provided the shake-up wake-up call to spring into action. On 25th March 2020 my second attempt at a blog post had the title It’s Spring Again. … Continue reading It’s Spring Again, Again →

Signs of spring and a bunch of scented snowdrops from the garden of a socially distanced friend have helped to lift spirits that dampened occasionally over recent weeks.  February is the shortest month but seems to have taken the longest time to come and go.  What is it that tricks us to think some days … Continue reading Little Things →

As acknowledgement of The Bard’s birthday and in anticipation of the McSween’s haggis unearthed from the depths of the freezer, what better topic could there be for this first blog post of the year? Where previously we might be up to the elbows in buckets full of neeps and tatties to feed a crowd, more … Continue reading Poetry →

This festive season has been all very odd and we will each have had different experiences, joys and sorrows, plans turned upside down, people and places missed.  We fortunate ones will list the good things that happened in spite of disruption and more than likely find thinking space to count our blessings while acknowledging that it hasn’t been the … Continue reading Still Hunkerin’ Doon →

The last Monday of the month crept up so quietly it was unnoticed until I heard on the radio that it was St. Andrew’s Day. In what we might think of as normal times, the day would have been a celebration of one sort or another, marked by a dinner and amusing speeches or in … Continue reading Running late →

It is close to the day to turn the page on my calendar and enjoy the picture for November.  The story goes that a picture speaks a thousand words and the Scottish mountains I will be looking at have their own mysterious tales to tell. There’s something about the hills that soothes the soul and … Continue reading Stories →

When a friend enquired recently if I was managing to keep cheery, I admit to a slight hesitation before responding because it would be stretching it a bit to put that label on my modus operandi during this September. That momentary introspection highlighted a particular pre-occupation which justifies a less than cheerful mindset, stemming principally … Continue reading Cheery →

Hunkerin’ Doon kit If you want to look at this new Hunkerin’ Doon Kit you will see it is very different from the original, posted back in March. These items have provided the core requirements for continued adherence to the rules for a very measured re-emergence into the world. A few have been in service … Continue reading If you want →

It is hard to imagine what it would have been like since I began hunkerin’ doon on 15th March, if in the last twenty-one weeks life had been normal.   Take that to mean the daily lives we led before being forced to change our perspective on normality.  Several times over the years I have had occasion to note that The Ides … Continue reading Imagine How →

Dictionary definitions of Order are numerous, but the one coming to mind first is that which we associate with its close counterpart Law. Another is to give an authorised instruction to do something. Interesting to consider whether it is easier to maintain the first if everyone pays attention to the next, but that fails to … Continue reading Order →

The freedom accorded to the author of any written work is governed primarily by the desire to gratify a need for self-expression and secondly, by one or several external but integral influences.  Put simply, the idea I had mapped out for this week’s post has taken me into a maze of conflicting thoughts and distractions. … Continue reading Freedom →

Clapping is the percussive sound we make by striking one hand against the other.   This action is one we have come to associate during lockdown with a way to show appreciation for everyone who works in the NHS and more widely, for those involved in keeping up the services we now value as essential. … Continue reading Clap! →

All these weeks in and there is still something crops up to generate a renewed sense of gratitude for what had fallen into the taken for granted category. The benefits of the benches are proving to be beyond measure. At beyond two metre measure, but in close enough proximity to allow conversation at a comfortable … Continue reading Benches →

Wireless is all very fine if that is your way of doing things, but what happens if, while having made an effort to maintain a connection with up-to-date technology, the nagging conflict with built-in obsolescence and discarding simply because it’s outdated, results in a tangle of confusion? Spurred by the easing of restrictions to allow … Continue reading Wireless →

Classic scholars may know Heraclitus is attributed with informing us that change is the only constant in life, so admitting that I frequently change my mind is no shame.  If such an observation was made by an ancient Greek philosopher, it will do me. My Granny in her wisdom and flexibility to adapt to the many changes she encountered, … Continue reading Change →

How long should it take for a guilty conscience to dissipate and allow the perpetrator self-exoneration, taking comfort from the rational that no real harm was done and no criminal proceedings resulted? An unblemished record has prevailed until now. A calico drawstring laundry bag, put to very good use for nearly thirty years, has the … Continue reading Bags →

Bridging the gap between total lockdown and the freedom to meet with people from another household, albeit outdoors and maintaining social distance, brings a mix of conflicting emotions. The joy of seeing in person those sorely missed for weeks while resisting the strongest instinctive urge to hug, is bittersweet, to put it mildly. Having listened … Continue reading Bridges →

Maps, atlases, globes, Google Maps and satellite navigation each have their uses and characteristics, but all serve the purpose of illustrating where we are locally, countrywide or globally. Each has a level of usefulness relative to accuracy and ability of the user to process and apply the information for his or her particular purpose. Early … Continue reading Maps →

From time to time there is an advantage to taking time to reflect, time to take stock and to ponder on whether time really does fly past faster than it used to. An advantage of being #vulnerableage is having a long lifetime upon which to ponder! In my first blog post Good Intentions, I was … Continue reading Time →

Are we headed for trouble or can our heads be held high when we are told there is no need for hunkerin’ doon and we can head back out into the world?  So much to think about!  Enough to make a head spin, even before mentioning the risk of overthinking the risks in what lies … Continue reading Heads →

Masks – how topical and controversial, if medical grade PPE and face coverings are the issue. Is this the first time in recorded history or in living memory that hiding behind something has become such a bone of contention? Is the mask supply adequate? Is the grade appropriate? Do those who should have them, have … Continue reading Masks →

Several advantages of reaching #vulnerableage have already been identified, but the connections we can now make are benefiting all ages, provided they are privileged enough to have the facility and ability to join in. With the birthday celebrations, the virtual lunches and coffee mornings, not to mention the offices, classrooms or even just the chats, … Continue reading Connection →

The title Roots may trigger thoughts which take you in one or several directions, depending on mood or current concern. There has been recent media debate on whether hairdressing should be identified as an essential occupation, and plenty advice from currently unemployed hairdressers that we must leave well alone for now and wear a hat. … Continue reading Roots →

There is a knack to undertaking many tasks. Some folk have it and some don’t. For instance, some can calculate percentages and some reach for a calculator. There are those who have the knack of wrapping up a gift to look so promising that the contents may fail to match the anticipation of something very … Continue reading Duvet Day →

Test, testing times, put to the test, tested by bombardment of arguments around this issue of testing for Covid 19. Should you have the test? Do you have the virus? Have you had it? Will you get it again? These questions get conflicting answers, test my ability to fully understand, and also question the usefulness … Continue reading Testing →

There is an inherent mixture of potential joy and foreboding when lifting the lid off something when there is uncertainty about what we might be uncovering. Consider the alternatives: A) close it again quickly without investigation or B) embrace the excitement of discovery. I uncovered a dusty cardboard box long hidden at the back of … Continue reading Lifting the Lid →

Still trying to figure out the vagaries of this blogging platform, I inadvertently sent my post published last night into the ether never to be seen again. It had the title Spring. It has given this heading an alternative meaning, and will hopefully prompt any # vulnerableage readers to burst into song about Tulips from … Continue reading It’s Spring Again →

My guess is I am not the only one who writes lists, although never have I ever written a list of the lists I have written. It was a ‘To Do’ list, tucked away at the back of the kitchen drawer, clipped in a wooden clothes peg with crumpled up dishwasher instructions and a recipe … Continue reading Good Intentions →