The Lockdown Diaries, Chapter 1

Hello friends! I am sat writing this on my sofa, with a woollen green blanket over my knee and an Oslo cuddled up against my side. Outside I can hear the chirping of the birds amidst the racket of Harvey’s chainsaw… though I can’t complain too much as he is making me a bench! I’ve been wanting a little, rustic wooden bench to sit outside under our window so I can enjoy my morning coffee with the sun and the birds. It’s a Saturday and well, honestly, I don’t have much to do today so I thought I’d write in my favourite possible way; just whatever comes to mind, like I’m chatting to an old friend. I thought I’d tell you a little about what I’ve been getting up to in the lockdown and share some of the photos I’ve taken as well.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll probably have seen a fair bit of what I’ve been doing. A lot of people have said to me how well I’ve been adjusting to lockdown, for an outdoor person who usually spends a lot of time out and about, here, there and everywhere — climbing, hiking, on van trips and camping trips. I feel almost guilty for saying this, but yes, life in lockdown suits me quite well. I’ve always been a home bird. For as long as I can remember I’ve always wanted to live in a little cottage somewhere surrounded by nature, with a loving partner and a cuddly dog; with hills just beyond my front door and a big kitchen for baking in and a wooden porch with two deck chairs and a wood-burner and cosy blankets and cushions everywhere. Yes it does sound like some kind of retirement dream, but perhaps I just am a little old lady on the inside.

Anyway, I don’t have every part of that dream but I have a good chunk of it, and being ‘forced’ to stay at home has allowed me to really enjoy and appreciate every little bit of it. Of course, I miss walking in the hills and having the freedom to just pack up the van and go somewhere… I miss climbing and travel, I miss my family and friends, and I miss the ocean a lot. But, how privileged am I to say that I am content right now. I am content with what I have here at home — in our little cottage on the edge of the hills, with a cherry blossom tree in the front garden and neighbours who make us homemade marmalade and woodland covered in bluebells just a short walk away.

I think that lockdown has reminded many of us of what joy can be found in simplicity; in the act of making a morning cup of coffee, or lying on the sofa reading a book, or kneading the dough of your first homemade sourdough, or photographing the opening of the flowers in your garden or just down the lane. Lockdown has given me the gift of time; time to rediscover old passions and explore new ones, time to just be in the simplest sense of the word. Yes, it can be scary sometimes, but I think that once you find acceptance in what you can no longer do, you can see this added time as a true gift. And run with it, embrace it, find new passions to fill your time.

For me, one of those has been cooking. I have been cooking so so many things! It started with sourdough, then gnocchi, wild garlic pesto, pad thai, focaccia, chapattis, crumpets… I have been loving having the time to put love and passion into every one of our meals, and savour the delicious flavours of Spring from our kitchen. To add to that, Harvey made us a firepit in our garden, just under the cherry tree, and we have been exploring cooking over the open fire. I am SO excited about this and can’t wait to try so many new outdoor cooking recipes as the Spring and Summer draw on. This morning, we set up a little outdoor kitchen with picnic blankets around the firepit and ate homemade crumpets with bacon and eggs, washed down with a couple of cups of coffee and morning birdsong.

So I suppose we have been finding many new ways to enjoy the outdoors, even though we can’t partake in our usual long hillwalks or climbing days. I’ve now migrated from the sofa to the garden, using our outdoor kitchen as a little desk and tip-tapping away on my laptop; the smoke of the fire still burning and the soft tones of Laura Marling’s new album beside me. We are so lucky to have an outdoor space to sit in. I feel for anyone reading this who doesn’t. I hope you can escape into nature with my videos, photographs and words, as a little way to escape from the constraints of lockdown. And I hope you can find a way to find some joy in simplicity, in time, and in the beautiful Spring sunshine.

Have a lovely Sunday!

Athena x