I went out on Sunday and took a few photos of the autumn colours. Photography helps me get much-needed exercise but it was damp and chilly on Sunday so I didn’t stay out too long. The colours of autumn can give us great photos but the colours can become a mass of oranges and red without anything clearly defined.
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Preparing for another lockdown? #ramble
It’s Sunday morning and so as usual on a Sunday I’ll share my thoughts with you. Avoiding contact with people is difficult and I live alone so I miss having visitors. This is likely to continue right through the winter. The only thing to do is to adopt a positive mindset and accept the limitations. Many people are not accepting the limitations and will enjoy Christmas as they usually do. I expect they will be drinking too much, crowding into shops and hugging each other in drunken denial of the situation. Should we be preparing for Christmas or preparing for another lockdown?
It is going to be a long winter. #FinanceFriday
As covid infections rise I fear that it will be even worse when winter arrives. A half-term lockdown has been rejected by the government but that will probably make a Christmas lockdown more likely. The limit for contactless payments with a debit card was increased earlier this year to £45 but the Bank of England says that people are holding more cash. It seems likely that people who normally use a lot of cash and spend it in the shops and pubs are withdrawing the same amounts but saving it and spending less in places like the pubs. They will spend it eventually of course, which could give the economy a boost. The way things stand now, the economy is likely to get worse before it gets better; it is going to be a long winter.
A long winter and a mental health crisis? #health
The covid epidemic is worsening and the government is losing any little respect it once had. It couldn’t even come to an agreement with Andy Burnham, mayor of Manchester on new restrictions there. It should have at least tried to protect the incomes of those on minimum wage. They will now have to try to survive a winter of stress and mental health problems while negotiating the minefield that is claiming benefits. They won’t find it easy and it will be too much for some.
Shooting in a dark grey light #photography
I went out to take some photographs of our conservation zone on Sunday before the renovation starts. It was a dark grey light with an overcast sky. The light was diffused and I had little shadow and that made my shots a bit flat.
Do dead flies go to heaven? #ramble
Do dead flies go to heaven? I imagine there are religious people who would object to that question. If your belief system isn’t robust enough to withstand questions then it’s a bit fragile. People tend to believe all sorts of things and their beliefs won’t stand up to scrutiny. Scientific belief, however, can usually hold up to scrutiny. The laws of science have to be proven before they are accepted and there is a distinction between the laws of science and scientific theories. In religion, there is no distinction. So heaven might be full of flies or it might not or heaven might be just a theory and not exist at all.
Is inflation the price we have to pay as a result of covid #financefriday
The transmission rate for covid in the UK continues to rise as the government seems to prefer to ignore the science in favour of trying to keep the economy open. Is it delaying the inevitable? Wetherspoons pub chain reported a loss this morning and Marstons announced job losses. In the long run, people will have to pay more for their pint if they drink in a pub so why haven’t they increased prices? Prices will also have to go up in cinemas and theatres as they have to get used to smaller audiences. Inflation is the price we will have to pay for not getting this epidemic under control.
Ideas for composition #photography
The composition is important in photography at all levels. It is the first thing you learn about. It is also fun to experiment with composition and try something new to see if it works. When we look at a photograph we make comparisons. Although the photograph itself is flat we see a landscape that has depth and we see the scene going away from us. We unconsciously compare the size of different things in the picture and assess how far away things are. We see things in the foreground as being closer to us because of their size relative to similar things in the background.
Twisting the narrative #ramble
Once again it’s Sunday morning and so I’ll share my thoughts with you. People still claim that the government is trying to control them. There was another comment on Facebook about Bill Gates having an interest in a vaccine company. In fact, Bill Gates has a foundation that tries to vaccinate children again deadly diseases in the third world. People twist the narrative to create their own narrative that aligns with their own twisted view of the world.
Willing to invest in Britain? #FinanceFriday
The stock market promises decent rewards for those of us willing to invest in Britain at this difficult time but which companies offer the most promise? I don’t see the likes of Ryan Air and Easyjet recovering in the near-term but I’m quite bullish about banks. The flight to safety saw investors selling on the stock market and buying gold. Is that trend reversing? The gold price has fallen but on a day-to-day basis, it bobs up and down, demonstrating the fragile nature of the economy and the nervousness of investors. Things are still very uncertain and Covid has not gone away. In China, they are already testing their vaccine in a wide-scale test. AstraZeneca is gearing up and getting ready to produce one for us.
Time for permanent changes? #covid-19
I’m not the only one thinking that maybe this Covid-19 pandemic should bring about some permanent changes to the way we live. There is a lot of chatter about electric cars being the future but is that practical? The roads are congested now and the skies have become quite congested by air travel. Do people really need cars? Obviously, people with disabilities do but the able-bodied could use public transport. Public transport would need to change a lot to persuade people to use it, however. If public transport was very cheap or even free and motoring was expensive would more people use public transport? Elderly people who own cars often take the bus because it’s free using their bus pass and it takes them close to the shopping centre without the problem of parking.
Looking for an interesting feature #photography
I was out photographing our conservation zone again on Sunday. I was photographing the streets and buildings and of course, I have to photograph what’s there but I can also look for interesting features to make my images more interesting. 
