42 Walks – the sixth week

Tuesday 28th April

06:25 - 07:12, wind NW 1 gusting 2, temp 1C (feels like 1)
The clash of models - the economy versus heath - is a straw man 
                           to the nortH east clockwise
          a dairyman consults his phonE
               don twarr is signed in A window
                      candles of laureL scent the road
                headstones blurred by Time
                         wind and weatHer
              slow warmth in the sunshIne
                    collared dove callS at the back of the cemetery
     a dawn frost carpets down to the Wall
                                  stonEs stand in lost corners
                             a chiffchAff sings
                                  the Long and winding road
                                 a dusTbin is papered with flowers
bassett hound labradoodle and the lurcHer palatinate

Wednesday 29th April

06:29 - 07:13, wind E 1 gusting 2, temp 6C (feels like 6)
There is a to and fro of enthusiasm for wearing face masks in public 
- “not very effective” versus “what harm can it do?” 
                             off To the west coast
                            mailbOx grey-greened with moss and lichen
       a bin-wagon returns for a Missed-bin
                          last yeAr’s flowers brown the buddleia
                        waves of Sound lap along the western shore
                  roman doric marKs a garden
      pavier and gravel gardens fOr cars
        a lost hat placed on a gaRden wall
                      a bricked-iN gateway
                the slug trails tO the top of the wall
                            pass The sparrow colony
                      the walled Triangle full of maple seedlings
chalked bricks and a shrek swamp On the pavement
     gable end picked out in creaM bricks
           wooden gates let onto A cobbled yard
                             NHS Staff priority at the bank
                         a dunnocK’s song at the turn into the alley

Thursday 30th April

07:04 - 07:47, wind S 2 gusting 4, temp 8C (feels like 6)
There is speculation about whether the government will meet today’s 
target for the number of daily tests 
                          staying in The mid-land
                 step off to avoid thE weeping willow
                    roosting pigeons Splatter the pavement
                         a builder reTurning to work
                         over a wall Is a back-of-garden rubbish heap
        discarded bottles disappear uNder weeds
                 three starlings foraGe behind the church
                     a crow inspects The gutter
                         cross the chAnnel of sound
a black cat passes a bentley at numbeR one
                        the roofline Goes up in steps north to south
                   the enduring allurE of allotments
                    a deep red maple Tops the wall
                     back across the Sound

Friday 1st May

06:20 - 07:01, wind W 2 gusting 3, temp 7C (feels like 5)
The virus reproduction rate (r) needs to be kept below one to halt 
the pandemic 
along the shore of south hAven
    a mistle thrush pale oN the grass
      over the fence neat Rows of potatoes
  step through the stream Of sounds
                 a verge oF sweet cicely bluebell and dead nettle
                       a bLackcap flies up into the sycamore
       trolls guard an allEyway gate
                    pigeonS display at the roadside
  rosebay willow herb growS under the eaves
              boutique cloThing home delivery available
     military general as rHinoceros
           a spaniel runs Amongst the cows
                   I straiN to hear the lark’s song
         the squeak-clang Of gates
         an alder grows feNced against the cows
           scattered feathErs mark a kill

Saturday 2nd May

04:36 - 05:18, wind W 3 gusting 4, temp 7C (feels like 5)
There is scepticism about the government claim to have met its 
‘100,000 tests a day by the end of April’ target 
                 to the wesT coast through a dawn chorus
 in civil twilight the streEts are empty
rolling waves of blackbird Song sweep by
      from far off the fainT shush of traffic
 a siren sings beneath an aIrcraft’s roar
              a scooter droNes by
           sparrows cheepinG and blackbird silhouettes’
   blue tit sings in the gaThering dawn
              through the tIght sounds of a narrow canyon
           walk into the teMpo of a chaffinch song
     pigeons call as sunrisE approaches
           four minutes to Sunup

Sunday 3rd May

04:19 - 05:04, wind NE 1 gusting 2, temp 7C (feels like 7)
An NHS doctor writes of government ‘lauding heroes’ whist watching 
them die without PPE
                   around the soutH haven
                 a basement hum frOm a block of flats
                    lights in the Windows of an early riser
        over the dene the blackbirD sing
         amongst three blackbirds A wren trills
tilled rows lie still in the gatheRing dawn
              the crow’s call echoEs around the streets
                the exuberant blasT of a wren
                           song ecHoes along the terraces
    amongst the blackbirds a singlE song thrush sings
    the streetlight goes off as daY approaches

Monday 4th May

06:42 - 07:28, wind NE 2 gusting 3, temp 8C (feels like 8)
A report on plans for coming out of lockdown is leaked to the BBC 
as Downing Street plays catch up over the membership and 
deliberations of SAGE 
      to the eastern peninsuLa
                    cross thE main sound
                 along the gArdens
                 a small monKey puzzle tree grows in a front garden
     a holly tree dome on a Stick
             pass through a Pulse of vehicles
      step into the green quIet
                     ivy truNks sawn at the tree’s base
              pass a quarry Dimmed with shrubs
           the two runners dIstance-pass
                  two ducks Stand on the edge of the weir
  move along above the burn’S flow
        a gatehouse roof tilEs missing
               a blackcap muMble-sings behind a wall
                  along the Beat of the channel of sound
         the next train at pLatform two is for regent centre
             in the back-allEy plants grow in bins and buckets