Season 430 - Travel

What a great theme for these restricted times,as one of those "at risk" here in the UK and not been more than a couple of hundred yards from home I'm really looking forward to seeing where you guys take me wild exotic places preferred. I'll be inspired to play some selection of my own even if I cannot record them.
 
Here's an original for you Steve. An existential journey of The Philosophy of Pony and Man.


You can play the Bourgeois blues
From here to Santa Cruz
Leave a trail of greenbacks in your wake
But don’t you shilly shally
when you ride through Nightmare Alley
there’s grifters there can play you off a break

and sometimes in the end
you know it just depends
on the pony you choose to ride

Sister Martin had a voice,
It was clear and it was choice,
It rang out strong where grass was blue
Like Little Joan upon the pyre
Her Appaloosa caught on fire
Now she’s singing backup to Gabriel’s horn

and sometimes in the end
you know it just depends
on the pony you choose to ride

Young Taylor cut a dash,
He was charmed and never brash
They loved to hear him preach

Throughout the land
But his Palomino froze
Enchanted by a desert rose
Taylor wrote this last sermon
in the sand
sometimes in the end
you know it just depends
on the pony you choose to ride

Jimmy Gibson came alive
In the flood of ’45 when the levee broke
Across the handcarved plain
Don’t think that man a fool
Cause he rode a swayback mule
There was something deep
behind those sunburst eyes
he told me to my face, son,
don’t you ever double brace
too much caution sucks the life
out of a man
and sometimes in the end
you know it just depends
on the pony you choose to ride
 
Just realised I didn't say anything about a prize. That's because I hadn't thought about one. Now I have, and there might be one.
Considering the theme, I’m guessing the prize will be travel related? An all expenses paid trip to Wuhan?
 
Considering the theme, I’m guessing the prize will be travel related? An all expenses paid trip to Wuhan?

That's a thought. Or maybe printouts of all the booking confirmations for the holidays we're not going on. Or maybe something else.

Anyway, seeing as I had an hour to spare, here's one from me.

 
I filled the car up on 17th March, when our lockdown in France started ... I still have half a tank and I don't think I filled it much past the half-way point. I've been out approximately three times since then ... only to visit our local supermarket and the pharmacy. As of tomorrow, our lockdown will be lifted in that we will no longer have to fill in a form explaining the reason for our outing, in case we are stopped by the police and we will be allowed to go on journeys of 100 kms. from home. I doubt that we will be travelling far, but I might choose a more "scenic" route over the hills to get to the supermarket. But what the heck ... it's raining at the moment! Meanwhile, I shall indulge myself in travelling "by proxy", courtesy of your splendid theme this week, Steve.

Hi, Val! Is it official, now — are you out of lockdown? I’m getting emails from Starbucks again (sorry, Berni! ;)) telling me to come on in to re-opened stores for a cup of joe — but, I am still sticking with making coffee at home for now! :D
 
Hi, Val! Is it official, now — are you out of lockdown? I’m getting emails from Starbucks again (sorry, Berni! ;)) telling me to come on in to re-opened stores for a cup of joe — but, I am still sticking with making coffee at home for now! :D

Yes, Chelle "officially" out of lockdown, but since Harry and I are both at risk (Harry already has a big problem with his lungs and I have had pneumonia twice), I don't think we'll be going far! Very wise not to frequent Starbucks!
 
There is a crack in everything, that is how the light gets in.

I'm traveling light
It's au revoir
My once so bright
My fallen star

I'm running late
They'll close the bar
I used to play
One mean guitar

I guess I'm just
Somebody who
Has given up
On the me and you
I'm not alone
I've met a few
Traveling light like
We used to do

Goodnight goodnight
My fallen star
I guess you're right
You always are

I know you're right
About the blues
You live some life
You'd never choose

I'm just a fool
A dreamer who
Forgot to dream
Of the me and you
I'm not alone
I've met a few
Traveling light like
We used to do
 
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My response to Boris's speech Sunday night and the farce that's followed.



Lyrics in description
 
My response to Boris's speech Sunday night and the farce that's followed.
Your ode to a lack of travel is spot on.
For the benefit of those in other parts of the world (and maybe for some here too!) things have changed here this week. We are still encouraged to stay at home, but also to go to work if we can't work at home. But discouraged from using public transport to get there. And we can go out as many times a day as we like to do exercise. We can even drive as far as we like to exercise somewhere else. But not as far as Wales or Scotland, who have not relaxed their rules. While we are out, we can meet one person at a time who doesn't live with us, as long as we stay 2m away. So my wife can't meet both of her parents at once. But if she employed them as cleaners, they could come to our house.
Personally, I am staying where I am as much as possible.
 
Your ode to a lack of travel is spot on.
For the benefit of those in other parts of the world (and maybe for some here too!) things have changed here this week. We are still encouraged to stay at home, but also to go to work if we can't work at home. But discouraged from using public transport to get there. And we can go out as many times a day as we like to do exercise. We can even drive as far as we like to exercise somewhere else. But not as far as Wales or Scotland, who have not relaxed their rules. While we are out, we can meet one person at a time who doesn't live with us, as long as we stay 2m away. So my wife can't meet both of her parents at once. But if she employed them as cleaners, they could come to our house.
Personally, I am staying where I am as much as possible.

My Daughter shared this explanation of our Government's wonderfully clear new rules.
I think I’ve worked it out...

* 4 year olds can go to school but university students who have paid for their tuition and the accommodation they aren’t living in, can’t go to into university.

* I can go to school with many 4 year olds that I’m not related to but can’t see one 4 year old that I am related to.

* I can sit in a park, but not tomorrow or Tuesday but by Wednesday that’ll be fine.

* I can meet one person from another household for a chat or to sunbathe but not two people so if I know two people from another household I have to pick my favourite. Hopefully, I’m also their favourite person from my household or this could be awkward. It’s possible I’m not. In fact, thinking about it I’m almost definitely not. But I can’t go closer than 2m to the one I choose anyway so you wouldn’t think having the other one sat next to them would matter - unless two people would restrict my eyeline too much and prevent me from being alert.

* I can work all day with my colleagues but I can’t sit in their garden for a chat after work.

* I can now do unlimited exercise when quite frankly just doing an hour a day felt like I was some kind of fitness guru. I can think of lots of things that I would like to be unlimited but exercise definitely isn’t one of them.

* I can drive to other destinations although which destinations is unclear. I was supposed to be in Brighton this weekend. Can I drive there? It’s hundreds of miles away but no one has said that’s wrong.

* The buses are still running past my house but I shouldn’t get on one. We should just let empty buses drive around so bus drivers aren’t doing nothing.

* It will soon be time to quarantine people coming into the country by air... but not yet. It’s too soon. And not ever if you’re coming from France because... well, I don’t do know why, actually. Because the French version of coronavirus wouldn’t come to the UK maybe.

* Our youngest children go back to school first because... they are notoriously good at not touching things they shouldn’t, maintain personal space at all times and never randomly lick you.

* We are somewhere in between 3.5 and 4.5 on a five point scale where 5 is all of the virus and 1 is none of the virus but 2,3 and 4 can be anything you’d like it to be really. Some of the virus? A bit of the virus? Just enough virus to see off those over 70s who were told to self isolate but now we’ve realised that they’ve done that a bit too well despite us offloading coronavirus patients into care homes and now we are claiming that was never said in the first place, even though it’s in writing in the stay at home guidance.

* The slogan isn’t stay at home any more.So we don’t have to say at home. Except we do. Unless we can’t. In which case we should go out. But there will be fines if we break the rules. So don’t do that.

Don’t forget...

Stay alert... which Robert Jenrick has explained actually means Stay home as much as possible. Obviously.

Control the virus. Well, I can’t even control my dogs and I can actually see them. Plus I know a bit about dogs and very little about controlling viruses.

Save lives. Always preferable to not saving lives, I’d say, so I’ll try my best with that
one, although hopefully I don’t need telling to do that. I know I’m bragging now but not NOT saving lives is something I do every day.

So there you are. If you’re the weirdo wanting unlimited exercise then enjoy. But not until Wednesday. Obviously.

PS When can Year 7 go back to school? Not even asking for a friend!

Aren't our government wonderful :worship:
 
In Denmark the reopening of the country is perhaps not exactly the same level of bizarre, but some aspects are the same.
Like the first thing to open is school for small children. Museums and zoos where you walk around at quite a distance must wait.
It can't relate to the disease control logic, only to people really neading to send children to school if they can work from home or have a job that is not close down.
 
Last week CeeJay did a fine version of "Isle of Capri" and I remembered another song, which tells basically the same story. In "Ballad of Pärnu" (1945) by Raimond Valgre, a man travels to an Estonian seaside town and meets a girl who "blooms like a rose on the beach". The man has to leave, and when he returns next weekend, the girl has an engagement ring on her finger.
 
Travel can have its down sides. Here's one by Nick Lowe about those car journeys which seem to go on forever. It always reminds me of a journey I did on holiday in Finland (from Helsinki to Vaasa, if anyone knows the road), which seemed like an eternity of straight tree-lined road. I'm sure there must have been other things, but I don't recall them.

 
Sometimes, Traveling isn't easy.

Sometimes, it's Hard Travelin'.

 
In Denmark the reopening of the country is perhaps not exactly the same level of bizarre, but some aspects are the same.
Like the first thing to open is school for small children. Museums and zoos where you walk around at quite a distance must wait.
It can't relate to the disease control logic, only to people really neading to send children to school if they can work from home or have a job that is not close down.

There was an interview with a Danish Primary Schoolteacher on our news this evening. They seemed to have it well organised.
 
In Denmark the reopening of the country is perhaps not exactly the same level of bizarre, but some aspects are the same.
Like the first thing to open is school for small children. Museums and zoos where you walk around at quite a distance must wait.
It can't relate to the disease control logic, only to people really neading to send children to school if they can work from home or have a job that is not close down.

Interestingly, Mikel, film of the reopening of Danish schools has been shown on the BBC news today ... it is being held up as an example of how to manage the situation, especially where younger children are involved.
 
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Here is a song I wrote a few years ago about a journey on our local heritage railway, the North York Moors Railway. Steve is familiar with this one as he and I have travelled on it together a couple of times with three hundred others playing ukuleles. It's a fabulous journey through gorgeous country. The video features the railway.
 
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