Sitting out
#100DaysToOffload – Day 21
Was thinking of skipping today's post but my son is playing Fortnite in the living room and listening to the running commentary of him shouting into his headset at his team mates was doing my head in. So here we are!
My neighbourhood has small back yards, as you'd have seen if you were paying attention but it also has even smaller front gardens. Nobody usually ever sits out the front of their house and normally most life takes place indoors or in the backyard. Which is a shame but we do it as well as everyone else. One thing I've noticed since lockdown is there is a lot more of life taking place outside. Gyms are shut so people are exercising outside. Can't visit people properly so friends are talking on their doorsteps. That sort of thing. I like it. My folks have got a holiday apartment in Spain in a small seaside town that is primarily full of Spanish second homes. So people from the interior of Spain decamp to the coast for July and August (bit like the Parisians famously all go to the south for the summer). One thing I notice there is a lot of life happens outside. Most of the holiday apartments are tiny so everyone eats their evening meal out on the balcony. As they're on holiday there is no gym memberships so they all exercise outside. You get the picture I'm sure. It's something I like. It means you see other people and interact with other people but also reminds you there has to be a bit of give and take. Some of the things you might do outside might annoy others and some of the things they do might annoy you. That's life and it is about realising that. Anyway bck to lockdown in Hove. Something a lot of the houses on the north side of the local streets have been doing is sitting out in their front gardens. We've been doing it too. I've seen neighbours sat out with their laptops working. People soaking up some sun. It's been really nice. Here's a few photos I've taken of the shift to front garden usage I've taken during lockdown. Just a few as I didn't want to look like a weird stalker. Hopefully this is something that will continue a bit even after lockdown is eventually lifted.
