A dreary,dull New year's day walk.

Grand walk! But NB Wales is not "safe" any longer - Covid is rampaging.

There is a greater feeling of safety in Wales when the majority of people are wearing masks and adhering to distancing,Stera.

Glad you had a walk that was healthy for your body, well being and Covid safe. Happy 2022.

Siris, I second your comment! Lovely blog Julia . . . happy new year to you and yours.

Thank you Siris and Sheila..we felt very refreshed, both mentally and physically, from the walk.Happy New Year to you bothx

Sorry Shirley, I had Sheila's name on my mind!!

Even though there was dampness in the air and under foot it still looked beautiful and you must have felt so much better for being out in it.

The stained glass at the beginning was gorgeous.

Thank you for the walk Julia! I loved the stained glass! It's a shame you couldn't stop for a well earned drink! It is so annoying when people don't wear masks, isn't it!
We watched the Vienna concert too which we really enjoyed.

Thanks for taking us on your walk through the Forest of Dean, Julia. It looked lovely, all misty and ethereal too.
The stained glass is quite beautiful..
I'll bet you both thoroughly enjoyed that first walk of the year!
I can understand you giving the Speech House a miss for coffee...just avoiding 'maskless' places where and when you can - it's all good!
Hope you enjoyed your lovely New Year's lunch.
😊

I would love to revisit the Forest - your blog reminded me. I understand both Wales and Scotland are more stringent in their rules than in England. I'm happy to be in England. We have to learn to live with it now.

Wales,especially seems to be more restricted....I'm afraid I just go with them.One day,maybe we are starting to do it now,as you say,Ang,we may have to live with it...
The Forest is very varied, some parts are pretty dismal where local industry has shut down,but on a brighter note,there are some beautiful parts.
Pleased to have given you a memory flashback.

Well, it might have been a dull & dreary day,but that was a lovely walk in the woods for us all. I love trees & the mossy logs look nice, also liked the first sculpture in the trees. Happy New Year to you.

Lovely place for a walk, The glass window is splendid.

Thank you FF and Hywel. A very Happy New year to you both.

No one has mentioned vaccination. I have had an initial two shot vaccination and developed blindness in one eye for about 5 hours before the clot dissolved and full eyesight returned (a true miracle for having impaired blood circulation for so long)all attributed to the vaccine and adverse effect reported. No ones to blame for this incident since we are are all “ strangers in paradise” in combating this bioweapon, which is my own personal view of this bug. Yet I decided to get the booster shot when I saw what happened to a fully vaccinated but not boostered friend of mine when she acquired a breakthrough variant D. Thankfully the monoclonal antibody infusion gave her a miraculous recovery. That D variant is very, very nasty. The initial symptoms are mild but within 24 hours ones health starts to go horribly down hill. The safest place to be ? If you look around and see no one else, such as in these wonderful pictures, that’s the place. Don’t have too much confidence with masks alone unless it is a custom test fitted(with irritating vapor) N95 mask and eye protection which I wore as a retired healthcare worker providing volunteer services in certain areas of severe viral outbreak (incarcerated populations) pre and post vaccination availability. Do whatever you can to protect yourself but in my opinion, total avoidance is still a roll of the dice.

So sorry, LS,to hear of your eye problem after vaccination..
I wonder how many others were affected.
Certainly with you as regards safest place to be.....

Yes, I’m sorry you’ve had quite awful adverse effects post vaccination. I do hope you have fully recovered, Loosestrife? It must’ve been really quite frightening.
I’m a specialist nurse who works with renal patients, they are so anxious and worried about catching the virus. They’ve all had two vaccinations and a booster. I can’t recall any having side effects - fingers doubly crossed! Thank heavens!
Things are getting tough again here with the new variant. As you and Julia said, avoidance where and when possible is the best!

Love the larch trees Julia and they haven't turned to gold yet? I can.imagine walking there is very peaceful and calming...I took a deep breath looking at your photos..:)

For compromised patients ,the constant worry of catching the variant must be awful even though they have been triple vaccinated,Kate.
Janey,that's good to hear you could sense the tranquillity in the forest.My photos weren't too clear.

Yes, you're so right, Julia! So many staff off with the Omicron variant in my nhs trust.
My friend whose husband retired from BP last spring, has returned for 6 months or so. He mentioned 50% of the work staff are off with covid there..

Take extra care,Kate,which I'm sure you dox