Skywatch Friday - Midsummer Eve

♫ Where have all the people gone?
Gone to the coast or countryside, everyone... (?)

I'm guessing the few of us left in the city are those who still stubbornly insist on keeping Social Distance! ;)

Last weekend, Sweden lifted restrictions about travels within the country. (For a while, we've been 'strongly advised' not to travel further from home than 2 hours by car.) Gatherings larger than 50 people are still forbidden, though, which means all usual public midsummer festivities have been cancelled. For this weekend, I'm guessing the problems with too many people getting together anyway will be bigger in the coast side towns than here in the inland. 

Today (Midsummer Eve), all the shops in Borås city are closed all day, and probably restaurants and cafés as well.  I'm glad I thought of going for a walk into town yesterday morning as well, as I then managed to buy strawberries from a temporary market stall in the square. They cost a small fortune, but never mind. (After all: Somebody planted them and watered them, somebody else -perhaps- picked them, someone transported them into town, and someone spent a hot day standing there selling them. And I get to eat them!)

Now I'm hoping for a cloudy afternoon, and that noisy neighbours choose to go somewhere else. (We're still in a heat wave here and on sunny afternoons, it gets too hot both indoors and outdoors.)

Happy Midsummer, World - and be careful out there...
(I'll be at home, washing my hands!)

Keep Your Distance, Please (Skywatch Friday)

Spring is here - and so are the seagulls (also always a sign of spring here in my inland town). Only one of them seemed to have caught up with the current rules about social distancing... 

Alas, to me it also seemed like there were too many people sitting outside some of the restaurants across the river. They are allowed to keep open, but have to follow restrictions like only serving at tables, and keeping customers further apart than usual - both indoors and outdoors. I did not zoom in or take any photos of that (feeling too much like a spy if I had!) - but to me it looked like two places out of three were not really adhering to the rules... (At one place, though, they seemed to have left one empty table between each small company of guests.) 

All in all, there were more people out and about in the city than I had expected on Good Friday. And who am I to blame them - obviously being there myself! I kept walking, though, and tried to stay away from people.

I think I'll probably take my walks in some other direction the rest of the weekend, though.

 

Easter Preparations

From a walk into town today

A lot of things seem to require more thinking and planning than usual just now. And at the same time one has to be prepared that plans may have to be changed at any moment...

I've been using online shopping with home deliveries regularly for five years already. So initially, when various corona restrictions began to be introduced, I thought that for me, grocery shopping would not really be a big problem - I could just carry on with the same routine as before. 

But then of course, suddenly everyone else started to want home deliveries, too... And unforeseen crazy stock-piling...

Usually, I've had no problem putting in my order a couple of days ahead, and getting a time slot for delivery that suited me - and usually most of the stuff I ordered delivered on time.

Even with Easter coming up, I still innocently thought it would be okay to put in my order pretty much as usual. Somehow I did not get round to it until Sunday morning though - and then it turned out that the only delivery time slot left open all week was Thursday evening (the day before Easter Friday)... I booked it, but did not feel all happy about it. For one thing, there were a couple of things I really wanted sooner - and for another, who knows what would still be left on the shelves late on Thursday, with Everyone in Extra Extra stock-piling mood for Easter (whether shopping with or without home delivery). And thirdly, I do prefer daytime delivery...

A place I walk by when going to the supermarket

Waking up the next day to an early to a sunny Monday morning, I decided on a different strategy. So went for a walk to the supermarket, to get the most necessary stuff (and no more than I'd be able to carry). There weren't all that many customers there at that hour; and as I use self-scanning and self-payment, no queuing and really no human contact involved at all...  I even thought of bringing a couple of disposable plastic gloves from home to use in the store! (Two months ago that would have made me feel ridiculous - and the thought has never even entered my head before.) Back home, I moved my online order forward to next week. (Plenty of time slots still open then; and I can adjust the content of my order later.) Hopefully someone else  was happy to find my abandoned time slot for Easter Thursday! :)

Yesterday afternoon, I removed the winter tarpaulin from my bench on the balcony. (I'm so glad I painted that bench a couple of years ago...) The flower-pot holders on the rail looked very empty after I had removed the pots of old withered heather - so today, I went for another walk to the florist's in the city center, and bought some daffodils. They have like half the store outside the shop now (in the daytime) - including the option to even take payments outside, if customers to not wish to enter. I was there early so no queue or crowd yet, though.

My little box of strawberry plants has survived the winter once again (it spent the winter well wrapped up under the bench). The clematis seems to have survived too - or at least some branches of it. (I have not yet removed the winter covering from that, but I see at least some buds and leaves behind there...)



 

Weekend Reflections / Social Distancing Continued

 
The weather is still sunny, and the temperature "chilly spring" - as in people still wearing winter clothes, but more and more signs of spring showing up in nature nevertheless.

Yesterday the Swedish government declared organized meetings involving more than 50 people forbidden. Still far from the total lock-down in many other countries, though. (For better or for worse, only the future will be able to judge.) Everyone with any kind of flu/cold symptoms is of course (still) supposed to stay home; and people over 70 or in a risk group are urged to keep isolated and minimize all contact with others. Little Red Riding Hood is not supposed to go visiting grandmother (or the other way round) - and everyone else as well is strongly advised to think twice (or more) before undertaking any kind of travel.

I'm still going out for daily walks (not breaking any rules) but keeping away from people. Like last week, I've also stayed away from the city centre during the week - but decided once again to go that way today (Saturday morning), to buy myself another bouquet of tulips (provided the flower shop was not crowded - and it wasn't) ... and generally check on the progress of spring.

Even the ducks seem to be practicing social distancing and "three is a crowd" just now.

Out of the twelve stone chairs in the square (a permanent sculpture art installation), only one was occupied. Certainly no crowds of 50 to be seen.

A new addition is a green mini square with colourful footprints at respectful distance from each other. And a sign saying something like "a safe place to meet". (Mostly meant as a reminder to keep your distance, I think.)

Services in the Church of Sweden churches in our city have been cancelled for this Sunday (tomorrow), in order to follow the new restrictions.

The cherry trees beginning to blossom are a reminder of new life on the other side of winter...

On my way home, after my visit to the flower shop, I passed by this place, which is a small arts and crafts shop and gallery, where local artists sell their handicraft. I recalled having seen an ad for a current exhibition, and decided to take a look through the door to see if it was crowded in there or not... It was not. The only other person inside was the salesperson. So I went in, and very much enjoyed the exhibition of colourful textile art.

(I also bought a couple of little things but as one may end up as a future present for someone, I'm not showing those. Yet, anyway.)

Fading Memories of Cycling and Before Social Distancing (Sepia Saturday 512)

The Sepia Saturday prompt picture this week shows bicycle girls from c. 1925 - and I think Alan's comment deserves quoting, too:  

When I was putting together the theme prompt images for March, a few weeks ago, the last thing I thought is that we would be looking at this week's theme image and thinking "those two on the right seem to be standing a little too close together!".

 

This made me go back to my photo album from 1976, and some fading photos from my own one and only cycling holiday, with a church youth group - up in the province of Värmland, where I was living then. 

All my colour photos from the 1970s are in a sad condition of fading away now. They are also firmly glued into an album. I just quick-copied them with my camera and decided to leave the colouring as it is, without any attempts at digital editing (except a bit of cropping with one or two). I've deliberately chosen photos that are pretty much anonymous, but hopefully they still convey the general atmosphere. I think we were away for four days (three nights) - staying the nights in summer camp cottages and old countryside chapels rather than tents, but still rather primitive conditions. (Cooking on portable spirit stoves etc.) And certainly not involving keeping much distance - except perhaps uphill! (being more of a challenge for some than for others, depending on personal condition as well as what kind of bike you had...)

(Me sitting on the ground with my legs crossed.)

(Whether worrying about toilet paper, I cannot remember!)

Social Distancing

I  think maybe people around here are starting to get the "social distancing" message ... It's a difficult time for merchants, though!

Can you spot the people in these photos?