The Lockdown Diary - DAY 111
Posted 13th July 2020 at 15:00 by Cormack
The wonderful juxtaposition of the second day of the cricket being on the lockdown day of a Nelson.
Hard to believe that six weeks earlier, not only was the ground receiving minimal work, but I was on barracks only and I could have only taken this photo by long range drone. I only mention that because there was a local photography enthusiast (no, not that, you want Otterspool for that...) who sent a drone up to take some shots - a regular around the club, not some spy or something.
Mind you, I do have a Stone Age phone, so the effect is quite similar
The second redbrick pavilion is the newer build that went up with the lower ground when the club was granted permission to take it on. That was in use as the toilet block for the two days - the main pavilion and bar was closed and it was sanitise in, sanitise out. One person per bench, maintain the two metres, sanitise ever six overs when playing and the ball to be wiped at the same time. A second line marked out for a running corridor for the non-striker, bottle sales in front ofthe pavilion, no cash, non-players to sign in if the club needed to contact them and a sanitisation station at the 'entry book', one way in, one way out.
Cricket is a game played between the ears. Clubs are organised.
The wicket held together well for the second day - the concern was that the ground really needed another week. The mat had to be used on the lower ground, it is open to the public, no fence and as such any covers would last roughly one night... As a result, the square is invariably softer, though, and so given the expected weather, the decision was made last week to prepare the square for later weeks. It played particularly well, though, and as it was the strip at the edge of the square, it's all worked out quite well overall.
It was a really good event, thoroughly enjoyed by all - primarily because we actually got out but the levels in the club all getting together and feeding off each other mid-July is as rare an opportunity as a global pandemic... Managed to see a friend and former colleague who arranged to come down and watch the first game, and who got to see the boy club two sixes with which he was inordinately pleased - the first would have been into yesterday's barbecuers, a straight drive that has come on particularly the last fortnight, and knocked a bloke's balancing bottle off the fence it hit. The second was an orthodox pull into the Rose Garden that hit the 5ths skipper's father-in-law's food bag. Seems a good idea to load the boundaries with comestibles for him to aim at in future...
You could see how he settled and enjoyed himself once he'd properly got hold of one. The juniors by and large have took if nothing else some confidence in their own abilities out of it and it is genuinely uplifting to see because the enthusiasm lights them up. Can't help but be envious and I wish I'd been sound so that I could have played. They lost the semi but he got to turn out in the final but you could see he was out on his feet. He slept soundly when he got home. We were all there as a family as well - Mrs C and I are the same post-lobster shade and my daughter had a relaxed day out in the sun with the odd wee snooze. Son's arms are afire but he only really got facial sun in the last game as he is of course helmeted throughout when on the field - even then he's caught his fair share. I spent as much of the day as I could in shade as well.
At the end of ot all, of course, we got home and everyone was tired and stiff from doing nothing, the watcher's ailment and especially so in the climate-anomalous Liverpool near the river.
Mum is progressing to the point that she'll be cast-free for at least the time it takes to replace it on Wednesday. She also had scouse and roasties for dinner which she couldn't believe, as you all should know, you have one or the other, not both, and blancmange for dessert which annoyed her because she'd been looking forward to the trifle she'd ordered. Work experience Sunday? Swings and roundabluts, gain with the spuds, loss with the dessert that I thought no-one ever made any more.
Recommended listening - Bad Manners, Lip Up Fatty
Definitely a day for the Ska
Stay well
Hard to believe that six weeks earlier, not only was the ground receiving minimal work, but I was on barracks only and I could have only taken this photo by long range drone. I only mention that because there was a local photography enthusiast (no, not that, you want Otterspool for that...) who sent a drone up to take some shots - a regular around the club, not some spy or something.
Mind you, I do have a Stone Age phone, so the effect is quite similar
The second redbrick pavilion is the newer build that went up with the lower ground when the club was granted permission to take it on. That was in use as the toilet block for the two days - the main pavilion and bar was closed and it was sanitise in, sanitise out. One person per bench, maintain the two metres, sanitise ever six overs when playing and the ball to be wiped at the same time. A second line marked out for a running corridor for the non-striker, bottle sales in front ofthe pavilion, no cash, non-players to sign in if the club needed to contact them and a sanitisation station at the 'entry book', one way in, one way out.
Cricket is a game played between the ears. Clubs are organised.
The wicket held together well for the second day - the concern was that the ground really needed another week. The mat had to be used on the lower ground, it is open to the public, no fence and as such any covers would last roughly one night... As a result, the square is invariably softer, though, and so given the expected weather, the decision was made last week to prepare the square for later weeks. It played particularly well, though, and as it was the strip at the edge of the square, it's all worked out quite well overall.
It was a really good event, thoroughly enjoyed by all - primarily because we actually got out but the levels in the club all getting together and feeding off each other mid-July is as rare an opportunity as a global pandemic... Managed to see a friend and former colleague who arranged to come down and watch the first game, and who got to see the boy club two sixes with which he was inordinately pleased - the first would have been into yesterday's barbecuers, a straight drive that has come on particularly the last fortnight, and knocked a bloke's balancing bottle off the fence it hit. The second was an orthodox pull into the Rose Garden that hit the 5ths skipper's father-in-law's food bag. Seems a good idea to load the boundaries with comestibles for him to aim at in future...
You could see how he settled and enjoyed himself once he'd properly got hold of one. The juniors by and large have took if nothing else some confidence in their own abilities out of it and it is genuinely uplifting to see because the enthusiasm lights them up. Can't help but be envious and I wish I'd been sound so that I could have played. They lost the semi but he got to turn out in the final but you could see he was out on his feet. He slept soundly when he got home. We were all there as a family as well - Mrs C and I are the same post-lobster shade and my daughter had a relaxed day out in the sun with the odd wee snooze. Son's arms are afire but he only really got facial sun in the last game as he is of course helmeted throughout when on the field - even then he's caught his fair share. I spent as much of the day as I could in shade as well.
At the end of ot all, of course, we got home and everyone was tired and stiff from doing nothing, the watcher's ailment and especially so in the climate-anomalous Liverpool near the river.
Mum is progressing to the point that she'll be cast-free for at least the time it takes to replace it on Wednesday. She also had scouse and roasties for dinner which she couldn't believe, as you all should know, you have one or the other, not both, and blancmange for dessert which annoyed her because she'd been looking forward to the trifle she'd ordered. Work experience Sunday? Swings and roundabluts, gain with the spuds, loss with the dessert that I thought no-one ever made any more.
Recommended listening - Bad Manners, Lip Up Fatty
Definitely a day for the Ska
Stay well
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Recent Blog Entries by Cormack
- The Lockdown Diary - DAY 111 (13th July 2020)
- The Lockdown Diary - DAY 110 (13th July 2020)
- The Lockdown Diary - DAY 109 (11th July 2020)
- The Lockdown Diary - DAY 108 (10th July 2020)
- The Lockdown Diary - DAY 107 (9th July 2020)
