Stray thoughts under partial quarantine

I wonder, though, whether the animals that are well habituated to living alongside humans are having a hard time right now? I'm thinking of rats, squirrels, pigeons, seagulls etc. that routinely live on half-eaten sandwiches retrieved from park bins, chips and chicken nuggets dropped on the pavement, all of that.

Animals employed in the tourist trade are having a terrible time. Starving elephants and roaming monkey hordes in Thailand. Seagull muggings here in the UK. There'll be lions and gibbonry roaming Regents Park by Summer.
 

catalog

Well-known member
Went for a walk along the canal yesterday, near my house, fairly urban area. And saw a heron gliding about the canal, looking pretty good for a heron. I've never seen one along this stretch before, so can't help thinking that the relative lack of human beings has encouraged it out. Which I think is broadly a good thing
 
I'm curious, if you can share, how the rapprochement came about.

My girlfriend and I moved across and then out of London and our paths never crossed. 8 years later I'd had a kid and felt like I'd entered a new phase where friendships gain importance as they become fewer in number. Eventually, we ended up meeting at a pub off Fleet Street for drinks arranged by mutuals and bygones were allowed to be bygones. We're still mates now of course. I Whatsapped him last night and learnt that he thinks he had COVID and just got out of quarantine.

I've been in contact with quite a few lapsed friends lately. Feels a little like we're all putting our affairs in order, just in case.
 
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Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Animals employed in the tourist trade are having a terrible time. Starving elephants and roaming monkey hordes in Thailand. Seagull muggings here in the UK. There'll be lions and gibbonry roaming Regents Park by Summer.

+1 for "gibbonry"

as in "entire battalions of gibbonry"
 

yyaldrin

in je ogen waait de wind
some more observations:
- the woodpecker kind of sound that traffic lights make when they are green and signal the road is safe to cross sound so loud when there is less noise around. i stood next to one yesterday night, one i have passed a million times and i never noticed before how loud it makes the TOC TOC TOC TOC sound now that there were no cars around, no sirens, no people.
- the sky is empty. there are no chemtrails any more. it's something you never think of but today i was laying in the grass, looked up and noticed a single air plane drawing a white line in the sky, i realized it had been the first one i've seen for a long time. the sky is full of it normally.
 

luka

Well-known member
There seems to be less 'noise' in every sense. Not just in terms of sound. every figure is standing out more clearly and distinctly against its ground. Buildings. Plants. Street furniture
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I love the shisha table in the last photo. The acoustic guitar makes me think pattycakes is about to turn up and start having an impromptu singalong with an ethnically diverse little group of strangers he's just met.
 

pattycakes_

Can turn naughty
I love the shisha table in the last photo. The acoustic guitar makes me think pattycakes is about to turn up and start having an impromptu singalong with an ethnically diverse little group of strangers he's just met.

"habla con la luu-una, habla con la playy-ya"
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
Seeing adverts on the side of buses for events, exhibitions, fun days out, etc. Running for the duration of this pandemic.

Just kinda interesting seeing adverts for current or coming soon events that don't or won't exist anymore.
 

Leo

Well-known member
yeah, even the most mundane TV commercial with a group of friends hanging to at their backyard party or something, so weird to actually notice that as odd. ad agencies and production companies are having a challenging time developing new commercials, so we'll probably see this pre-virus marketing still lingering for awhile.
 

version

Well-known member
I was about to ask whether there was much point coming up with new ads then remembered this is projected to last months...
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Seeing adverts on the side of buses for events, exhibitions, fun days out, etc. Running for the duration of this pandemic.

Just kinda interesting seeing adverts for current or coming soon events that don't or won't exist anymore.

2490e941638f1952090b8a953b361327.jpg
 

luka

Well-known member
I started talking to myself a couple of days ago. Not full conversations yet. Just little mutterings
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I started talking to myself a couple of days ago. Not full conversations yet. Just little mutterings

You don't do that by default? I've always talked to myself. Out loud. I do it without realising I'm doing it and have to make a conscious effort not to do it.
 
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