The Northwest Corner

The northwest corner of Central Park is probably the section I like the most right now.  The north eastern section was originally a swamp and became the Harlem Meer but the western section was a forest and was the least changed section of the park when it was created.  Most of the streams in Central Park were moved underground but not here in the North Woods where you find flowing water and waterfalls.  Strangely the 'Loch' that you find here is really what you would you think of the stream - the small lake that feeds the Loch is called the Pool and all the water eventually ends up in Harlem Meer.

The North Woods despite its beauty is also known as the location for a notorious crime in 1989 (the Central Park Jogger case).  Five teenagers were accused and convicted (the Central Park Five) based on their confessions and the then real-estate developer Donald J Trump took out an advertisement in New York papers calling for the return of the death penalty.  In 2002 the five's convictions were quashed when another person confessed and DNA testing confirmed his guilt.

In its history Central Park has gone through amazing growth and shocking decay and despair.  Right now it is very much on an upswing though like much of the rest of the city, currently starved of tourist and tax revenues its future is uncertain.

 

Our corner of Central Park

Central Park is said by Wikipedia to be the most filmed location in the world.  The park runs from 59th street in the south to 110th street in the north and is bounded on either side by Fifth Avenue and Central Park West (effectively Eighth Avenue).  The most famous parts are probably in the southern section and I did not know our corner in the north-east well at all until we moved here.

The closest entrance to our apartment is 110th Street and Fifth Avenue.  The first thing you see is the lake, the Harlem Meer.  The walk around the lake is by far my most common route for walking the dog on normal day.

 

The lake area is usually busy and there are almost always people fishing.  By the edge the water looks choked with turtles and small fish.  I have seen some very large ones 

Not everyone enjoys the walk around the lake.  Mikey has developed a habit of covering his ears, not only when he does not want to listen but to demonstrate his displeasure (he preferred to be back in the stroller here).

Next to the lake is a large outdoor swimming pool / ice rink (the Lasker Rink).  I have only seen it used for ice hockey in the winter.  There were plans to close it for three years to renovate it but who knows what will happen now.  Much more useful was the playground.

I am writing this now when it is 90F outside and we have not been to that particular playground since before the lockdown (it gets very busy and given Mikey will not wear a mask it will probably remain off limits).  So I only have photos of everyone wrapped up warmly.

  

South of the Meer is a unique part of the part: a formal garden called the Conservatory Garden.  This is very different from any other section because it is so ornate. The lake is noisy and it is not uncommon for people to blare out music but the conservatory is serene.

 

Summer in the City

It was often said to me that I catch planes in the same way as I would a bus.  That is still true these days.  I just do not get on buses any more, or trains or subways for that matter.

I really needed a break from work.  Working from home has been good but it makes the days long.  It is an international company so when I wake up there are always a lot of emails waiting for me from Asian and European time zones.  I had been doing a lot of extra meetings early in the morning and late in the evening and I knew from my increasing irritability that I was heading for burnout.

The original plan was for us to rent a home with a pool.  However, as June went on it became clear that the US was heading in a bad direction with increased cases in the south and west (our likely destinations).  In fact, right now, the New York metropolitan area is probably one of the safest places in the country.

So I would still take the time off work but it would be a stay-at-home vacation.

I wanted to try a few new things and really stay away from work mentally as much as possible even though I was still in the same place I now usually work.  I did know I would have to do a couple of calls because they were important and could not be moved.

To begin I varied my usual morning walk.  We are lucky to live next to Central Park but to change things up a bit I headed in the opposite direction on Saturday morning.  We actually live much closer to the East River than Central Park so I wandered there for the first time.  It is not a very inviting place compared to the west side of Manhattan because of the highway (the FDR drive).  However, I remembered that there was a bridge and I could go over to Randall's and Ward's Islands.

I have crossed over the islands many times.  The main bridge from home to get to Queens (and usually LaGuardia or JFK airports) passes over.  This was the first time on foot and it makes for a very interesting walk.  I started walking along the park beside lots of soccer fields with views of the downriver and then walked under the arches of the rail bridge (the Hell Gate bridge).

I walked back past the large psychiatric hospital I have seen so many times from taxis on the way to the airport (I had always assumed it was abandoned but apparently not).  It also gave good views of East Harlem across the water.

 

Adapting

We have been lucky, so far.  No one has exhibited any sign of illness despite New York City having become the epicenter of the virus outbreak in the northeastern United States.

I started to work from home on March 13th and it has been fine.  I miss the office, I miss the personal contact and I miss travel but the work can still be done and it is made easier because almost everyone else has to do the same thing.  The IT has worked well so far.

The luckiest thing is that last year we moved apartment.  The main reason for moving was to get some more space - particularly so that the kids to get their own rooms.  It was a trade-off: we moved from a smaller, worse apartment in a much better area to a bigger, nicer place in a less salubrious area.  That has paid off because no longer having so many nice restaurants and bars nearby is completely irrelevant.  We now have a small bit of outside space (a balcony) and we still have easy access to Central Park.

The most immediate challenge has been schooling. Harriet is not someone who likes to get her work out of the way and then relax.  In fact it is quite the opposite.  Still, I'm impressed at how quickly the teachers have adapted to the new technology.  The kids have a morning meeting on Zoom and also have small group sessions on video chat.  Again, we have been lucky in that this is fifth grade and the middle school application process was already complete.  We did not, as expected, get our first choice of middle school but we have a good one and three of her very good friends are also going there (we will keep on the wait list for the other school).

There is a lot that is on hold and probably will be for some time.  Our plans for summer in France are gone and we wanted to do a few things with Mikey that are also now extremely difficult.  It's unlikely we even go to the RV this summer and if we do go anywhere it will be closer to home (perhaps we rent a house with a pool in the south).

So like most people there are some minor things and some bigger things that make this less than ideal but we will get through it and there are silver linings, especially the time spent with the kids.  Not that this is a competition but others have it really hard.  I see the lines at the nearby food pantry.  On first avenue I see national guard distributing boxes of supplies to lines of taxis.  Many people I know have fled the city but that is not an option for most.

Things are getting better though.  The weather is improving although this is New York so be prepared for some volatility (we have had both 30C temperatures and snow in the last few weeks).  Most organizations are preparing for a phased return to the office and the immediate crisis for intensive care facilities has abated and there are promising therapies.  He is not perfect and really should have done more to release prisoners but New York has been fortunate to have a governor who reminds us what basic competence looks like.

So we keep on adapting to the new normal.  We are doing well and are grateful for that.     

February Trip - to the Midlands

My flight to London City was uneventful and ran to time.  I spent two days working from the London office because I had an important US meeting and this way I could at least attend by video conference.  When I checked in to the hotel they asked as usual if I was familiar with the facilities - "I was here two weeks ago so yes" was my reply.

J, Mikey and Hatty had driven down on Tuesday.  The UK had been battered by some severe storms - this time Scotland had missed the worst of it but England was another matter.  There was heavy flooding and major road closures.  He could not even get to the hotel we had booked at Fradley so he stayed the night with Sarah and Rob.

The next day he managed to get to the hotel to check in, taking more than an hour for what is normally a fifteen minute drive.  Again they stayed the night with Sarah and Rob and in fact Hatty did not stay even one night in the hotel (although that was always likely given she would want to maximize her time with her cousins).

We all got back together on Thursday.  I took a train from London Euston - luckily this service was still running but the West Coast mainline to Glasgow was flooded so there were major cancellations and bus replacement services.  I had the misfortune to choose what I thought looked like a quiet carriage but in fact one person talked loudly most of the way.  She had been in Thailand and had returned out of concern for the coronavirus situation and spent a lot of time sharing her thoughts on the phone.

But I arrived eventually at Lichfield Trent Valley.

Our first trip out all together was to the swimming pool in Tamworth.  The infant pool was a perfect depth for Mikey.  After a great dinner at the Love-Wilsons and not a few episodes of BBC3's comedy This Country we returned to the hotel.

The next day was a major day out at Adventure Farm.  It was yet another bleak, cold day but it was the school holidays so the place was absolutely packed.  The others loved the lamb feeding butMikey was completely unimpressed with the animals

On the other hand the jumping pillows and the indoor playground were a huge hit with everyone.  There was some minor drama with Hatty burning her ankle on one of the plastic slides and Mikey deciding to stay in the ball pond at the bottom of one slide thus stopping everyone else from using it.  But Granny got everyone lunch and spirits were restored.

The real drama came when I went to collect the stroller and Mikey decided to follow me (unnoticed by the five other people from our group there...) only he took the shortest route through the mud (no shoes because he had just been on the jumping pillow).  Everyone had a fantastic time.

In the evening we went to Kev and Amy's, J's brother and sister-in-law, in Lichfield for a catch-up and pizza.  The drama this time was I left a bad outside the car when I got in (I was distracted getting Mikey's seatbelt on).  When we realized Kev drove me back post-haste and thankfully someone had handed it in (it contained passports and iPads so would have been a disaster to lose).

The next morning we picked up Hatty and then stopped off at J's sister Cathy's before we began the long journey home, with a long drive to Heathrow.

February Trip - to Scotland

It was Valentine's Day, February 14th when we left for Scotland.  This was a long weekend in the US because Monday was President's Day.  The third Monday in February, near to George Washington's birthday February 22nd (although the British Empire was still on the Julian Calendar and his birthday was February 11th under that system).  The point is that it was to be a big travel weekend (remember those?) so we really should have left earlier than we did.  The traffic to Newark was grim the whole way and the airport was completely packed.  It was lucky my frequent traveler status let me use the business class check-in desks and my TSA Pre-Check expedited security.

Once past security we had just enough time to eat a quick dinner and drink.  Normally I like to be at the gate before they start boarding but this time we were one of the last on.  The flight left more or less on time after 8pm and then we drove around the airport for an hour before taking off.  It is a very short flight to Edinburgh - at least having eaten I could skip whatever passes for food in United Economy and tried to sleep.

At Edinburgh I handed over our passports.  He scanned mine and then looked puzzled at Hatty's.  "Do you know this passport has expired?".  I knew it was close to expiry but I had forgotten to check because I used her (unexpired) US passport when we left.  I handed over that passport for him to scan and he waved us on.

Once we had the bags we collected the rental car and drove to Maddiston, to Gran and Grandad's for breakfast.  J and Mikey were already in Scotland and met us there.  Our next stop was Anne and Iain's.  Lana was there too although neither were too keen on sharing with each other.

Our next stop for entertainment was a trampoline park near Alloa.  The weather was absolutely horrendous, even by Scottish standards.  There was a road closure due to flooding and my GPS decided to stop working so it was a bit of a struggle to get there but we made it.  Mikey absolutely loves this.

The next day we went swimming in the morning at the Mariner Center in Camelon.  The pool has barely changed since I was Hatty's age but it is a perfect pool for both kids.  After the swimming we went to the adjacent bowling alley - now that is completely transformed from the days I used to go.  Everywhere was really busy because of the weather but we got a lane eventually.

In the evening J, Lynsay, Craig and I had a grown-up night out in Edinburgh.  We went to Six by Nico on Hanover Street.  The concept at this restaurant is they have a six course tasting menu that changes every few weeks.  J and I went for the wine pairing too and the food was absolutely superb.  The only downside is their insistence on describing it before giving it to you - get a move on was what I kept thinking!

The next day we visited another soft-play, pizza for lunch then another trip to the same trampoline park in Alloa.

We were staying at a Premier Inn in Falkirk that is next to a pub so we had been there a couple of nights for dinner.  It was very convenient because it had a soft play area attached (though the Health and Safety jobsworths would sometimes try to stop Hatty going in).  Everyone came round with a cake for Hatty's birthday on our last evening.

The next day we went our separate ways.  I returned to Edinburgh airport for a flight to London.  Everyone else had one last breakfast at Maddiston before they drove to England.  We had emptied the case we borrowed from my parents last time to give them back but it remained in the car while they had breakfast and stayed in the car all the way to England.  So you see it isn't just me that does these things!