Incarcerated

From tomorrow, I'll be working from home for the forseeable. I must one of the few people on this planet that is not pleased about that. I know what this is all about. I know that there is a huge crisis ongoing, but that doesn't stop me feeling like I am being incarcerated. I think I am feeling it more than perhaps I would have previously because of the amount of time I missed out last year whilst ill, recovering, being treated etc. I've got no idea where we are actually going with all this, but I absolutely expect that we will lockdown for a month, gradually start getting back to normal and do it all again. And again.

As for work, I should point out that my factory is well and truly a vital cog in the food industry. All those tinned beans, soup, veg, beer and soft drinks that people are buying up like there is literally no tomorrow only exist if there is packaging to put them in - ie the food and beverage cans that my company makes. Numbers, numbers and more numbers is all I will see. Nothing physical. I'll be looking at the line monitoring software, virtually watching machines run (or not), and checking that the hourly scores and total output is where it should be. Reviewing, sense checking, questioning, and quite probably being a complete pain in the arse to the people still actually there doing.

Away from work, outdoor activities will be limited to the garden and anywhere very local where I can walk for a short while alone for my 'once a day exercise'. Ironically, I reckon there is less chance of finding solitude locally than if I were driving out to the sites I would usually visit. I'll not be taking the piss and carting around sieves/sweepnet etc, though I don't see how walking with a shoulder bag carrying camera and pots is any more risky or selfish than jogging about or going on a bike ride, which I know many will still be doing. I'll keep in mind how fulfilling and generally satisfying the 1k in 1k square thing was back in 2013, and maybe enjoy some more of that approach. The garden moth trap will become vital to generating interest too, and surely that has to pick up soon (a single Hebrew Character last night).

Today brought the first garden butterflies of the year; a couple of Small Tortoiseshell, a Comma and a Brimstone. None of these hit the camera lens. Bird action so far has been predictably dull. Flyover Canada Geese this morning, a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls, the usual array of c10 species using the feeders. I found a couple of beetles though, which I bunged into a steep-sided ceramic pot with some compost and stones and then chased around for a while with the camera. Harder than you'd think!

Badister bullatus

Loricera pilicornis

I can find other things to keep me busy or entertained too, including working on some new stuff using my DAW (I use FL Studio) and an array of  VST synths, samplers and drum machines. I didn't play with it last year, but I've started up a new track and I can feel a number of SARS-Cov-2 quotes and samples coming on.

It might take hours or months to percolate into something presentable. When I say presentable, I mean that it sounds like a tangible construction - not anywhere near professional in either the structure or mixing. It's not aimed at anyone in particular, and doesn't fit a narrow genre. It's just something else that I can sit back every now and then and think 'I made that'. Ironically, the last couple of tracks I made sound about right for now - 'Captivity' and 'Insane'.

It also struck me today that it is less than 18 months ago when we were enjoying sun and sand in the Caribbean as part of our 50th Birthday celebrations. Spot the difference.