It's tough at the moment; I'm likely to be overstating as there are a lot more who are worse off than me, though while many are back at work (or haven't stopped) there is nothing on the horizon here. I last loaded the car and worked back in February. No furlough for us self employed artistic muso types, just a useless offer of nothing. So it's been savings and live of the immoral earnings of Mrs. F. ...not ideal and not good mentally. There is no likelihood of anything happening for the rest of the year. Pubs maybe opening, but if you read to the bottom of the conditions you will note that live music is banned and that applies from the Dog and Duck to the Palladium. The pubs, the weddings, the festivals, the theatre jobs that were in the book this year; all gone. Even the annual bookend of panto looks unlikely as I can't see how it could operate in any shape or form backstage with distancing, let alone the audience which is what the media keep focusing on. As you may have gathered I'm shifting to more stuff on this page and you may be able to see why. I can't afford to sit back and have to keep moving forward.
On a lighter note Mrs F. suggested a run out for a coffee to the Spa Valley here. Oddly I've never travelled on this preserved line though it seemed churlish not to spend a few quid to help them by chucking some money into the pot for a drink on the platform. Even though they have made the effort to open up, they weren't exactly overwhelmed and my previous comments on exhibitions apply just as much to these preserved lines that many of us take for granted. A scoot back via Eridge to film the Victorian footbridge, after a tip-off from Stig that it will be removed this week. Looking at it you can see why, though this is generated by neglect not necessity. Note to self: although I took a whole series of photos here around the end of the Thumper DEMU era, I've not been back to take a closer look. Now could be the time to do this.
