INSIDE THE WORLD OF MEETUP

  Making up for lost time it was 2 meetups in a row, with a bank holiday the following day it didn't matter what time I got home. It was a bit of a trek just to the start with a skylink to Nottingham (95 minutes) then a tram that I'd never used before . Met the group for the first time then got the nice coach to Harrogate arriving before midday. First time having to wear a mask for more than 15 minutes which took some getting used to. We had several options on arrival, I joined the majority on a walk around the historic town, I knew nothing about the town and nobody told me much about it but I was just happy to be more than 5 miles from home for the first time in 6 months. By 3PM we stopped in Weatherspoon's for food and first proper drink in a pub since March. Weather was ok but not great. It was good to meet a new crowd and discuss future meets. Had an hour before heading back.   

  First meetup for 6 months, first with this group and a little strange being so close to home. Walked 15 minutes across the fields to mount St Bernard's Abbey to meet the group. We did a lap of the quarry before heading down the road to Charley woods and the area near the scout campsite. Some of it was tough going with steep hills and high ferns to push through. Amazingly I seen places I'd never walked despite being less than 4 miles from home.  We had several pit stops on the way round, headed back to St Josephs tea room (again never been before) to finish off. The rain held off as it has been bad the last few days, until I was walking home. After months of nothing but working and uneventful weekends it was a well needed start.

After months of nothing but online events via zoom some of the groups started putting events on. Obviously no wild nights out clubbing due to social distancing laws but simple things like walks and meals. Given the fact I'd spent 5 months doing little or nothing at weekends I wanted to sign up for as many events as I could not only to make up for lost time but the knowledge that a second wave of the virus could could shut the country down again or at the very least lead to more local lockdowns. It seemed obvious that everyone else had the same idea, I seen a simple 4 mile walk with a 22 person waitlist a couple of days beforehand. So leaving things until the last minute was out of the question. I got the calendar out and started signing up for events weeks ahead, it was better to drop out (with notice) if something better came up than miss out. Saturday night I'd signed up for night out in Nottingham, it was 2 separate events at 2 pubs with prebooked  tables. I unexpectedly got