Filling the footballing void during lockdown...

Today marks 100 days since my last groundhop, a visit to Huntingdon Town for their United Counties League Division One match against Blackstones. It felt like a surreal day at the time, with the black cloud of COVID-19 starting to engulf all aspects of society - the United Counties League was one of a minority of leagues that still played that day. Several leagues did still plan to play on with fixtures during the following midweek and beyond - but those plans were crushed with Boris Johnson announcing on the Monday that all gatherings were discouraged. A rather chaotic and in my opinion, distasteful under the circumstances, chain of events played out - whether to void the season, how to calculate final placings if not, threats of legal proceedings  - the one thing that did become clear almost immediately however, was that groundhopping would be off the agenda until autumn at the earliest. And one of the biggest disappointments of that would be having my planned trip to Boston United's home ground York Street cancelled, and with it losing my chance to visit a gloriously old-fashioned football ground, as the bulldozers will imminently raze it to the ground.

Surprisingly, although the Covid-19 lockdown deprived me of my favourite time of year for groundhopping - in warmer, sunnier conditions, with cup finals, early evening kick-offs and fixtures stretching well into May to take in, often at venues that would usually my off my radar during the regular season at intermediate and junior level,  I have not actually missed the groundhopping as much as I thought I would. Perhaps through a combination of there really being "more to life" at the time, as "staying safe" became all-important, and perhaps enjoying a little break from the extensive travelling on a weekly basis, and more generally, enjoying a more simple, basic lifestyle for a while, instead of rushing around and not seeming to have time for things. I was fortunate enough to make the most of life during the lockdown as far as possible, taking advantage of living close to the countryside to go out for long walks - as far as regulations allowed - and enjoy springtime like I have probably never done before, and leading a healthier lifestyle than I have done for years - walking for around 25-30 miles each week, and with visiting supermarkets more of a hassle than it was worth, there was no temptation to snack or eat beyond the weekly shop. We were also fortunate to have prolonged fine, warm and sunny weather - although that was somewhat bittersweet, as I could not help thinking wistfully of how great a groundhop would have been on such beautiful sunny days. No doubt that working from home throughout also helped to keep my spirits up - I have certainly been a lot more fortunate than many to come through what was an incredibly difficult time.

Although living through the Covid-19 pandemic has been a challenging time mentally, there have also been plenty of positive aspects to life under lockdown, positives I will certainly try to retain as life returns to some kind of normal in the coming months and years.  So, let us look back at some of the more enjoyable times I experienced since March, with some photos taken during my various walks through the Sussex and Kent countryside.