Lockdown diary: Sun, sleet, seagull and soup Saturday
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Saturday, normally a day of football - 22 men chasing each other around a strip of grass, cursing and swearing, fans abusing match officials and managers bemoaning their bad luck.
It doesn't really seem that important in the grand scheme of things at present. Don't get me wrong, I will celebrate and rejoice at the return of football like any fan of the 'beautiful' game, but in the bigger picture, it is just a sideshow.
The UK has seen another 260 people die in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 1019.
'Football's not about life and death; it's more important than that', somebody in the game once said. But honestly, that statement couldn't be further from the truth.
The daily death toll around the world is devastating. I know people die every day of a 'normal' week from illness, accidents and acts of crime; but this feels a bit more apocalyptic.
However, it has to be stressed that the vast majority of people recover from coronavirus or Covid-19, whichever name you want to use, so we also have to look on the positive side.
I am in the local media and our team, all working from home, are trying our best to keep the public informed of developments locally and nationally through our websites and newspapers; however, even I have to limit the amount of time I trawl through social media and watch the news headlines, otherwise you really would drag yourself down into the depths of despair.
It is important to let some light into your life every day, whether that's a video call with a friend or family member, sharing some funny jokes or pictures on social media, listen to some uplifting music on the radio or watch a happy film or TV programme.
My Saturday started with a little bit of work, breakfast, catching up with the overnight news and then the dreary business of ironing a pile of clothes; oh and making some delicious tattie soup. My soupmaker was a Christmas present from friends, one of whom works in food retail and is one of the workers keeping people fed at such a difficult time.
I see that Spain has had another bad 24 hours with 832 more people losing their lives, taking the death toll to more than 5600. Madrid, like the rest of the country is in lockdown to try and curb the spread.
My aunt and uncle have lived in Spain for years and are currently behind doors in their apartment in Valencia, venturing out only for food and essential medicines.
Rome, Berlin, Paris; it's a similar lockdown story there and in other major countries across Europe.
The USA and New York in particular are being very badly affected. President Trump's ridiculous suggestion that America could be open again by Easter was just breath-taking in its stupidity, but not surprising from a grandstanding president.
I am sure when this is all over, the American leader will try and take the credit for having beaten the pandemic on behalf of the world.
On a brighter note - and it is more important than ever to seek them out - I read that Wuhan, the Chinese city where the outbreak began last December, is starting to relax some of its stringent lockdown rules and there appears to be hope that the worst is behind them there.
My Saturday afternoon viewing consisted of a 2004 flick featuring 007 himself, Daniel Craig, but in an unfamiliar role as a drug dealer caught up in an underworld crime battle. Layer Cake was, I thought, a good watch although ultimately crime didn't pay for Mr Craig and he was left shaken and stirred by the end of the movie.
I don't know how you are keeping in touch with loved ones at this time but I swear by WhatsApp video calls and they are my go-to social media instrument.
If you are not on WhatsApp, try it out, the video calls are free and a brilliant way to keep up relationships, no matter the distance and the length of the lockdown.
We have two members of staff whose families are involved in the farming industry and this, like all those in the food sector, is going to be more vital than ever in the coming weeks and months.
Of course, this time of year is largely about lambing in the Scots farming sector and for a look at some of the lambs currently being born on one farm in Aberdeenshire, checkout the video which is embedded in this article.
My daily walk today consisted of being blown away during a quick stroll across Moray Golf Club, currently closed to golfers, to the west beach at Lossie. It certainly blew the cobwebs away and was a marked difference from Friday when the sun was beating down and all was calm.
It didn't get off to the best of starts when a seagull took aim and landed a direct hit on the shoulder of my jacket just a few yards from the house.
Still, it was a walk and a chance to escape the four walls for a brief period - seagull poo or not. The timing was perfect at the end as we had no sooner sat back down in the house and sleety snow started to descend.
Right, I'm away to catch up on the rest of the news today and see what people have been doing locally to keep spirits up and how the national picture is shaping up.
One thing to look out for, and I hope you agree it has been one of the most uplifting aspects of life at the moment, is the number of rainbow pictures that children are putting in their windows.
Please check out our website on Sunday night from 6pm when we will be sharing some of the pictures from around the area.
Keep sending them in to newsdesk@northern-scot.co.uk and we will share as many as we can online and in the paper.
Until next time....
