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Lockdown story

By David Howard

I usually make plans for each year for the photo season, roughly when the clocks go forward till when they go back, based on new map records and areas. The easiest new record was going to be my 20th myriad, SH in mid Wales. Then came the lockdown when we couldn't go out for more than about an hour, so on local duties. I covered every area I'd rarely visited TQ4187 : Wanstead Park by David Howard TQ4189 : Lakeside Avenue, Redbridge by David Howard TQ1488 : Bradstowe House, Harrow by David Howard TQ1288 : Lincoln Road, Harrow by David Howard TQ1288 : Willow tree by Yeading Walk by David Howard, and as a result of the added time managed a couple of POTY nominations TQ2885 : Sharps Fishing Tackle on Malden Road by David Howard TQ3585 : Derelict flats on Homerton High Street by David Howard. Then came the free travel, except to Wales. As a collector of pre-Worboys signs TQ3197 : Pre-worboys sign Enfield by David Howard, I decided instead to scour the country for them, first deciding Shropshire was a goldmine, where I'd never been at all, so went around Bridgnorth SO7193 : Bridgnorth Town Hall by David Howard SO7193 : Alley Katz Toy Shop, Bridgnorth by David HowardSO7192 : Underhill Street, Bridgnorth by David Howard (one I knew of wasn't apparent till I spotted it on Google when checking the others), which added me quite a few I'd never even have considered getting before. Then I Streetviewed everywhere within around 100 miles, as a result picking up beauties in Blandford Forum ST8806 : Edward Street, Blandford Forum by David Howard ST8906 : Bayfran Way at the junction of St Leonard's Avenue by David Howard, Daventry SP5662 : Cowper Road, Daventry by David Howard SP5762 : Tavern Lane looking towards High Street Daventry by David Howard and rural Northants SP7272 : Field by Station Road east of Cottesbrooke by David Howard SP7273 : Field by Station Road, Cottesbrooke by David HowardI may not have thought of looking for before. None are here as there are no other pictures of them online and many vanish when locations are offered, but they are all on Flickr pre-Worboys group.

Then I went back to filling space on my map, working round the compass points covering places like Rochford TQ8394 : Park homes at Hockley Park by David Howard TQ8791 : Ashingdon Road, Rochford by David Howard, Spalding TF2419 : Field by Barrier Bank, Cowbit by David Howard TF2518 : Barrier Bank, Cowbit by David Howard, Kettering SP8778 : Unusual building on Montagu Street, Kettering by David Howard SP8778 : Silver birch trees on St Mary's Road, Kettering by David Howard, Dereham TF9912 : Roys on Yaxham Road, Dereham by David Howard TF9911 : Thurlow Nunn Vauxhall, Dereham by David Howard and Leicester SK5804 : West Bridge, Leicester by David Howard SK5906 : Melton Road at the junction of Doncaster Road by David Howard, one of the only large towns in England I'd never been to before. I also moved up to 15th on the personal point leaderboard as a result, which took precisely 14 1/2 years of digital photography and getting on for 50,000 photos. But the map can never be finished, and with a reluctance to stay in strange places overnight nowadays my scope is also limited, although I had planned an overnight trip as well which also got postponed by 12 months. With the nights drawing in I have just started planning next year's trips, SH myriad of course, and other places in yawning gaps on the map mainly in the midlands. Also I may manage a second trip to the Channel Islands (after 57 years) which would begin a profile on another Geograph site if so.


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Fri, 25 Sep 2020 at 23:56
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