07:08 – 07:52, wind E 2 gusting 4, temp 7C (feels like 6)

The increased risks of domestic and child abuse during lockdown are highlighted.

                 to the mouth of The northeast haven
one semi-skimmed one full cream tHree organic
                        the lurchEr is again in the dene
                   walk right up To a song thrush
                 a volunteer papeRboy works along the road
       no parking garage in constAnt use thank you
             a second chiffchaff Pulses song
                      from surteeS to brandling
                     the trundle Of a cornering metro
    a blackcap or garden warbler Flutes
              singing from deep eLdercover
               a sandstone tombstOne weathered through
                          a gull Cries above the haven
a potential woodland glade is choKed with ivy
  a truck ignores the flashing reD warning
  house of a high sheriff and a lOrd lieutenant’s deputy
                      a sparrowhaWk spars with a mobbing crow
                            a runNer passes by

04:50 – 05:35, wind NNW 1 gusting 3, temp 4C (feels like 4)

There is a dawning realisation of the somehow unanticipated carnage being wreaked in care homes.

            along and down to sOuth haven
                  walking in naUtical twilight
                  wagons noise Their way along the road
                  blackbird melOdy in full flow
                            rooFtop silhouettes sing and sing
              the darkness feedS the dawn with song
                   beyond the lIne of houses a metro trundles
a thrush dimly lands on the verGe
         distant lights of seetHing traffic
                         words Through an open window
                            blaCkbird wren and great tit
  as if by some common consent A quieting falls
                   the late choRus of the woodpigeons
                 birds ghost thEir way across the grass
                              sHapes swoop
                  and drift thrOugh the gathering dawn
                    a crescent Moon rises in the south
                             wrEns zip
            below circling gullS

06:45 – 07:27, wind W 3 gusting 4, temp 6C (feels like 3)

Some on low incomes are having to choose whether to eat or not.

a figure of eight through the North
     a hedge sprouts green thrOugh old copper
                         a useFul mirror trapped in a skip
               camelia pink brOwned by frost
          pavement trees are tOo low
                 boxes for birDs and bats
                    blackbird Flutes as sparrows chirp
            a pond by an abandOned bowling green
                peeling door fRame uncut grass
      ferns grow from the mortAr ...
                   of a house Wall
           a pope picture in tHe back window
                          narrOw pavement …
                         on beLle vue
                   gulls circlE calling
    an alley of windows on garDens
                        the trAffic pulse on the high street
                     a friendlY wave from a jaguar

07:16 – 08:00, wind SW 2 gusting 3, temp 0C (feels like 0)

In the absence of the Prime Minister his deputies are judged wanting.

                           to and From the south haven
                        a frost glAzes windscreens
               two song thrushes lIsten pick and hop
                      woodpigeon fLies from a car roof
          moving in a dog-walker hIatus
              a small blue and oraNge male
a lady a black lab and a yellow baG deliver papers
        a neat allotment has a porTico
            crossing the road in lOckdown rush hour
               great tit song bounDs above the path
                     my first willOw warbler sings
                  flowers grow in Two wheelbarrows
             perhaps the thrushes Have been arriving
                         the climbEr lines the side gutter
                                  Jaded garage doors
                         an overgrOwn alleyway
                        the green Boxes hum

07:42 – 08:24, wind NW 2 gusting 3, temp 4C (feels like 2)

The impact of the pandemic is not evenly distributed across society. 

off toward the north-west penInsula
              cherry trees piNk-dusted with blossom
                           frEsh but no frost
 from the aerial a starling sQueaks then wheezes like a greenfinch
                   clearing oUt the old hospital site
    infill building in lost gArdens
                    the trickLe of traffic
          song thrush and robIn sing
             snake’s head friTillaries droop in a front garden
          an old fence post lYing ... 
                       in a sKip
a deserted house has an upstaIrs window open
a garden stream’s sisyphean fLow
              a mews cottage Lost in a hidden yard
         a skipped door must Surely be useful

07:54 – 08:39, wind NW 1 gusting 2, temp 11C (feels like 11)

The government continues to be slow in organising access to tests and PPE for health workers.

             to the souThern grasslands again
    a first swallow fliEs through head high
    through a gate and Stoop a fence
                       Tussocked grass
a skylark lifts then flIckers upwards
          cattle crowd Near the gate
        the skylark hanGs and sings and sings
                cows stAre as we walk by
  head for the copse igNoring the paths
                yellow Dung flies sit on the cowpats
 a lark lands and disapPears
        from nowhere a Path to who knows where
         mechanical silEnce if only for a few seconds
               ‘till a Drum ’n’ base car thumps by
                     woOden gate
                  the cIty badge on the wall
         three castles Triple towered argent

07:34 – 08:19, wind W 2 gusting 3, temp 12C (feels like 12)

The government continues to be slow in organising access to PPE for health workers.

                        off to the North east coast
                       a towering sHadowy auracaria
                    a japonica splaSh of deep red
          a churchyard easter gardeN
  a hyena-like dog walks forward thEn stops
                           the gravEyard stretches back and back
          the metro line runs beyonD the wall
        more commonwealth war graveS
       robin sings as crow and woodPigeon call
            headstone writing lead-Pegged in place
along the foot-worn track around thE little dell

07:48 – 08:34, wind S 2 gusting 3, temp 8C (feels like 7)

Under lockdown conditions the UK peak of the epidemic is predicted to be two weeks off.

                 to the norTh west
                           Where sarah had her cello lessons,
               a skip full Of useful wood
            behind the low Wall a stellate magnolia
               dad’s porschE by mum’s range rover
             across the greEn and along the alley
      tea-cher tea-cher rocKing tea-cher
                socially diStanced queue at charlotte’s butchery
            a back alley ouT of a memory of kiddar’s luck
            a cemetery of nO paths
             graves sunken And grown through by elder
 commonwealth war graves; “Poor bloody infantry”
                   the convEnt’s group plot
   a song snatch is almost A willow warbler
                   by a bacK gate a concrete mixer’s slow churn

05:22 – 06:06, wind NE 2 gusting 4, temp 6C (feels like 4)

Patterns of behaviour and infection are discussed in the press.

                          baCk to the east wood
       north through the hilLs
     a walk in the dawn chorUs
     nautical twilight driftS through civil dawn
                            Two 5 AM runners
                       the mEtro’s rumble carries
roof-line silhouette blackbiRds sing
      no parking access requIred at all times thank you
        burglar alarms rockiNg blue lights
                       throuGh the site of the old factory
          pigeons start to sIng
            the shops palletS are loaded onto the lorry
                  along the Back alley
         the chorus falls awAy as dawn arrives
                        jackDaws chack to one another

11:24 – 12:10, wind WSW 3 gusting 5, temp 16C (feels like 15)

A vetinary scientist in the Faroes repurposed his laboratory to test for Covid-19 in advance of a significant number of cases, allowing a comprehensive trace and test policy.

                       laurel Blossom scent pervades Nanny’s Corner
         heading to the cemeteRy and the orchard
           south along the greAt north road                                                walkers Voices - my hat
  the continuity of traffics rOar
           walk around the dafFodil drifts
       clockwise around the grAves
             a hidden corner oRchard
                   standing crOsses laid down on graves
                  a wall top nEst hole tucked below the coping stone                           archItecture speaks of values
                 stone carved Septimus gladstone ward
                 a snatch of bLackcap song
                jay-walk the mAin road
empty busses cross with the biN wagon
                       a washeD-out peacock butterfly
                         what’S with the hat?