Small pleasures
Lockdown has eased slightly here in Melbourne so, since it was a glorious spring day, I made arrangements to meet up with the only writing friend I have within 5 kilometres and have a coffee in the park to celebrate my finishing the draft of my book. (Why the 5 kilometres? We’re not allowed to travel more than 5km —about 3 miles— from our home for any non-urgent reason.)
We met at a nearby inner city park, a small green oasis hidden away behind a sea of buildings. As you can see, it’s still early in the season — the hundred-year-old English elm trees are only just coming into spring leaf. It was late in the afternoon — my friend is working remotely, so we met after she’d finished work for the day, but even so, the park was full of people (and dogs) enjoying the relaxed restrictions and the sunshine. Social distancing was practiced and most people wore masks except when eating and drinking.
For me it was months since I’d had a real in-person chat with a friend, so we had a lovely time, talking books and writing and movies and a little bit of politics, and all kinds of other things. We each brought our own coffee and I also brought some yummy little Portuguese custard tarts from a shop near me that specializes in them. Delicious. It was a lovely break, and it made me conscious of the importance of appreciating small pleasures — and I don’t just mean the tarts. (g)
I hope you get to have some small enjoyable moments in your own daily life. And if not Portuguese custard tarts, something yummy to eat.
Those tarts look delicious! And it’s good you got out. Zooming and Skyping and all those other options are fine, but we’re not meant to be alone all the time. Being around others helps our own well-being. And your park is a very pretty place to do that.
Thanks, Theo, it was a lovely little outing. And yes, the tarts were delicious. It’s a very tempting shop to have close by.
Yum! I love those tarts. A couple of years ago my husband and I traveled to Portugal – and we’d buy these for breakfast!
And you’re right about the small things – I’ve found so many hidden treasures in my neighborhood which previously I was too busy to make time for! It is quite embarrassing really! I’m hoping that I keep some of this once we’re out of lockdown!
Vicki, a friend of mine has being doing walks around her neighborhood (Fitzroy/Carlton) and taking photos of some of the sights she’s spotted in the back lanes and elsewhere and posting them on FaceBook — and wow! So much to notice.