Merry X’mas?! during Covid-19🎅🎈

🎅🎈 Merry X’mas? !

The deadline for the end of the Brexit transition period is 31 December; however, European life is generally bound together universally by Christmas.

Yet there is more than that, all the European countries are currently suffering from the coronavirus pandemic, then outside the UK parts decided to isolate Britain before this Christmas as a new variant of the Covid-19 virus spreads rapidly in London and Southeast England. Therefore, we are suggested to have a merry 'little' Christmas by Boris Johnson's warning. No boxing day today, and everyone needs to stay safe and healthy, ideally at home. 

Although Covid-19 has posed a great deal of challenges in many aspects of life, and I did not dare to take risks to return home, I have received some gifts from people surrounded me. These gifts made this Christmas not that cold. 

Greetings from my neighbour

Gift package from schoolmates

Gift from my landlord

Gift package from the University

Interestingly, Kate Fox once said, ‘Snow is thus always excellent conversation-fodder, but it is only universally welcomed if it falls at Christmas, which it almost never does.’ However, this weird year we have witnessed snow came to visit York on Christmas. I didn’t see its falling in person, but here is some white X'mas evidence. 

(North Yorkshire moors: Source:@northyorkswx; HMGoverment)

疫情期間聖誕快樂?!

英國脫歐過渡期結束的截止日期是12月31日；儘管如此,歐洲生活普遍地會因聖誕節綁在一起。 

不僅如此，整個歐洲目前都遭受了冠狀病毒大流行的困擾，但是之後在英國以外的部分決定在聖誕節前隔離英國，因為Covid-19病毒的新變種在倫敦和英格蘭東南部迅速傳播，因此Boris Johnson(英國首相)的警告建議我們度過一個快樂的“小”聖誕節。今天沒有開禮日，每個人都需要保持安全和健康，最好是待在家中。 

儘管Covid-19在生活的許多方面都使人面對很多挑戰，而且我不敢冒險回到家，但是我收到了周圍人的一些禮物。這些禮物使這個聖誕節沒那麼冷。 

有趣的是，英國社會學家凱特·福克斯（Kate Fox）曾經說過：“因此，雪永遠是最棒的對話話題，但只有在聖誕節降雪時，雪才受到普遍歡迎，而這幾乎是從來沒有發生過。”但是，這一詭異的年，我們目睹了雪在聖誕降臨了約克。我本身沒看到它的降落，但這有些證據。

 

 

 

Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire

The second national lockdown in the UK was ended on December 2 although stricter tiers on the way in some areas. I have longing for an outing for so long so I decided to have a one-day trip nearby my city.  By the time I was looking for a 2021 Yorkshire calendar, some pretty photos taken in some places were thus put on my trip list. Among them, a small town in West Yorkshire--Hebden Bridge, has been named ‘the greatest town in Europe’.

With my curiosity, I took one-hour train to there on this Thursday. As this Thursday was not a sunny day, on my way to Hebden Bridge, there are only few people on the train; however, considering travelling safety during this ongoing pandemic, one prominent rule and three principals have to bear in mind and put them into practice to halt the spread of Covid-19: physical social distancing and “Hands. Face. Space”.

British Airway’s High Life magazine named Hebden Bridge as ‘one of the world’s funkiest towns’ in terms of its welcoming atmosphere, quirkiness and creativity. It is also a place where can be termed as the lesbian capital of the UK. As the scholar Richard Florida observes, a city with more tolerance, diversity and equality is more appealing to certain groups to migrate to live and work.

As daytime becomes shorter in the winter, I planned to walk along the picturesque Rochdale Canal, which runs through the heart of Hebden Bridge, and arrived at the National Trust site: Hardcastle Crags.

Autumn is said to be a best time to visit Hardcastle Crags, and it is not too late to explore the maple beauty and enjoy the wildlife. The walking routes are muddy due to continuous rain in this week. ‘Why don’t you wear boots?’ I was asked by a local resident when we encounter, also her dog. The muddy footpaths cannot stop me in any way and finally I reached Hardcastle Crags by 4 pm, almost the end of the daytime. 

Sometimes conquering challenges could add more fun and excitement to the trip. For a small example, I brought with a Coca-Cola and expected to enjoy it when I finished my walking, however, I found I did not have a bottle opener...I originally want to give up, while some film scenarios came to my mind, from Rambo in the jungle to Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Revenant. Finally, I used one of my keys to pull the bottle cap, and ended today's nature hiking journey with a special tasty drinking.

A night view of Hebden Bridge.

 Hebden Bridge 之旅

英國第2次封鎖已於12月2日結束，但在某些地區採取了更為嚴格的措施。我已渴望出遊很久，所以我決定在我的城市近郊進行一日遊。當我正在尋找約克2021年曆時，一些在有些地方拍攝的漂亮照片因此被列入了我的旅行清單。其中, Hebden Bridge是西約克郡的一個小鎮，被譽為“歐洲最偉大的小鎮”。出於好奇，我在這個星期四搭了一個小時的火車去那裡。

由於這個星期四不是晴天，所以在去Hebden Bridge的路上，火車上的人很少。但是，考慮到在這一持續疫情大流行期間的旅行安全，必須牢記一項重要的規則和三項原則，並付諸實踐以防止Covid-19的傳播：身體上的社交距離和“手”。面對。空間”。

英國航空公司的《高尚生活》雜誌以其宜人的氛圍，古怪和創造力將Hebden Bridge評為“世界上最時髦的城鎮之一”。它也是可以被稱為英國女同性戀首都的地方。正如學者Richard Florida所觀察到的那樣，一個具有容忍度，多樣性和平等性更高的城市對於某些群體遷移到生活和工作會更具吸引力。

隨著冬天的白天越來越短，我計劃沿著風景如畫的羅奇代爾運河漫步，該運河穿過Hebden Bridge的中心，並到達了國家信託基金會的所在地：Hardcastle Crags。

據說秋天是參觀Hardcastle Crags的最佳時機，探索楓樹之美和享受野生動植物還為時不晚。由於本週持續降雨，步行路線很泥濘。 “你為什麼不穿靴子？”當地居民在我們相遇，還有她的狗,時問我。泥濘的小徑無法阻擋我，最終我在下午4點左右到達Hardcastle Crags，幾乎是白天快結束了的時刻。

有時，征服挑戰可以為旅途增添更多樂趣和刺激。舉個小例子，我帶著可口可樂，並希望在我走完路後可以享用，但是，我發現我沒有帶開瓶器……我本來想放棄的，一些電影場景出現在我腦海, 從叢林中的Rambo到Leonardo DiCaprio的《 The Revenant》；最後，我用我的一把鑰匙拉起了瓶蓋，使我能夠以一種特別美味的飲料圓滿結束今天的自然徒步之旅。