Experts now seem agreed that closing schools was a really bad idea, the risk to the children would have been less than now and would have not disrupted education and made life worse for parents. There seems to be several glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel, if the Tories are able to get it together they need to come up with targets to give a clear indication when this madness will end.

Here are our two latest truck films of the M6 with our remote camera at Plumley, I think we may well extend our coverage where it is safe to do so and remain within guidelines. Here are the covers for the latest truck releases, the Bus Spot Birkenhead Ultra is already selling well , even going as far as Canada on the first day for sale. I'm hoping to get some UK bus archives from scanned films ready before the end of next weekend. The weather has been very good here, a trip shopping to Waitrose, about 5 minute queue. Then we walked with Mandy using her wheelchair on nearby Back Lane, a little too popular with cyclists though, too fast, too many and too much lycra. There were lots of birds in the hedgerow and some wild flowers giving a taste of spring here are some shots I took on the walk.

If I get time there are other projects I still haven't followed through on which includes a series on the origins of the larger UK bus companies such as First, Stagecoach, Arriva etc. I'm still scanning archive cine film and the DVD orders remain buoyant although the fine weather seems to have knocked Youtube hits back a bit. I've done a whole load more work on the back garden borders getting ready for the turfing as soon as we get a damper spell this month, must happen in April surely. Also fed and sprayed the plants and cleaned out some of the bird feeders which were getting mucky.

Our latest archive release DVD is Bus Spot Ultra Birkenhead which I've just loaded to the PMP shop and I've updated the DVD list with the very latest releases. I'm just about to prepare covers for two of the remaining M6 lorry films covering Lower Peover from the remote camera last week and there are two from week 3 of the lock down from our remote camera at Plumley. I'm getting ready to announce the next bus archive feature. Views on Youtube seem to have taken a diver the last couple of days perhaps it has been sunny everywhere. Here it has been wet and windy as well as periods of sun between. I've been very busy in the garden, lawns mowed etc and started work on laying out our back borders to a new layout cutting down on the depth of the borders and undulating curves to a straight more easy to mow pattern. We have ordered up the new garden seat unit which should arrive soon.

Well it is about time we heard something from scraggy head in his hospital bed about an exit strategy to get us back to normal, they wheeled out the Queen last night to utter words which had already been leaked . Nothing momentous and it is fatal to let this situation continue, before we know it it will be little armbands getting dished out, let all those who tittle tattle and snitch on fold remember there could be a day of reckoning. I think it was absurd for police to throw a couple out of a park for sunbathing, if they live in an apartment why not have their exercise time enjoying some daylight. I felt really sorry for the woman in Scotland who got ratted on for visiting her home in Fife, hypocrite yes but isn't everyone at times.

Locally everyone here seems to have been very careful and follows guidelines without being obsessive and anal about it all. There won't be any businesses left to go back if we don't get something sorted quickly, if we had masks we could wear them, if we had tests we could get tested and a certificate to say we are virus free.  Thankfully we now seem to be getting an operational opposition party  albeit  London centered as ever, no wonder we lost so many seats in the North. It now irritates me to listen to the news and indeed as Queenie said good humour is required, what twits would shut the council tips when we most need them and then wonder why they are getting fly tipping. Gardening, cupboard clearing, tidying must be on the go throughout the country so why shut them.

Here are some shots of the M6 lorry traffic.

We continue to be busy with DVD orders , its a bit like the Christmas period at times. We did have a bit of a lay in this morning not getting up till about 9.30 wjhich is very late for us. My first job after breakfast was to get the base for the garden seat finished. This was accomplished without mishap other than my back, after getting tidied up Mandy told me to call it a day at lunch time as I was nearly bent double by then but it looks good. We've spotted a mail order garden furniture supplier at Burton on Trent who is selling what we want at a reasonable price and delivers quickly, Mandy wants to phone and check if they can put is near enough where it needs to be located and is there much 'putting together' involved, so I'll ring tomorrow.

i was glad to get the editing finished on the latest Bus Spot Ultra Birkenhead, it took a bit of piecing together - sorry I haven't had time today to get the cover finished, should be ready and on the shop tomorrow though. I'm now editing the two volumes of M6 coverage from our local flyover last week. Then I can get covers down fairly swiftly for these, the clips for trucks attract a lot more Youtube hits than anything bus orientated especially archive buses, sad but there it is. Lots of chats with friends and families between other jobs. Mandy has been clearing out cupboards as I guess is everyone else around the country. It was about 19 degrees C  today but a howling wind that wrecked it for sitting out much. The lawns need mowing now and I'm sizing up the back borders which will be straightened and made smaller, all to make it easier for my back on maintenance.

So in line with my Merseyside epic some random photos for the bus fans tonight from that region. This weekend though should have been Detling and Cobham rallies, what a shame as the weather would have been good down there. All DVDs in post tomorrow I'm trying out a new overbridge on the M6 to ring the changes. We had a look out today from the car for wheelchair friendly roads, Lower peover's are a disgrace but there are better in Plumley so out next 'walk' will be a car ride and wheel adventure in new pastures. We hope you are all well and catching up with jobs if at home, we are busy but relaxed never having to look at the diary dates for once in our lives. Actually other than the obvious sad side there are many great pluses to the lock down, I'm sure you'll find a few, always look on the bright .... etc.

The weather today was cool, dull and overcast so I carried on editing Bus Spot Ultra Birkenhead which I've almost finished it has been quite a hefty undertaking as I had a lot of material on the editing line and the computer was possibly overwhelmed but nearly there now. I went out for a walk with Mandy, we are very restricted in routes as the pavement soon finishes and the road surfaces are poor around us. Another busy day with a lot of DVD orders to process, they will all go off Monday morning when Dawn is working at the post office.  When I've got the DVD burnt to disc and done this blog I'll be ready for a sit down it has been a bit of a marathon. One of our regulars sister has the virus but I think she'll be ok. Other than that it all remains rather surreal. Perhaps they could quarantine London, get face masks for everyone else and get us all back to somewhere near normal. other than those at extreme risk.

It looks as if we are faced with a crisis with television and it takes a lot of searching to find anything funny or interesting to watch. I'm going to get the Birkenhead film on Youtube asap and perhaps I'll put on a few more clips while they are loaded on the editing deck. Meanwhile here are some more photos from my camera on the M6 yesterday. Tomorrow I hope to be working out in the garden all day.

I'm on top of the releases with digital downloads and DVDs available up to the very latest releases which are the two truck M6 programmes shown below.

This afternoon I will carry on getting material for the Birkenhead production on the editing timeline and hope to get it finished over the weekend. If the weather is as good as they say I will get outdoor jobs over the next few days but I haven't forgotten the bus fans and as promised I will be compiling another London bus archive film in the Tickety-boo series. We are still very busy with the shop and on Youtuve is is setting new records for our channel. So good to have so many people beside us through the current crisis. We went to Marks & Spencers yesterday, quite well stocked but lots of things were just on their sell by dates. Today Mandy has done the shopping for Malcolm and June our more elderly neighbours across the road. This morning I had my exercise period as a truck watch at the Lower Peover over bridge on the M6 which is where the photos come from, just a few minutes old when posted.

I managed to get the Llandudno film finished today and it is already loaded as both digital and DVD on our site shop plus the PMP Amazon shop which I updated this afternoon. The Amazon upgrade took quite a while as they had altered stuff yet again. I also loaded a trailer for Llandudno on to Youtube, this site which causes so much angst yet declares to abhor so many things has yet again been playing around with their advertising friendly rules which recently banned mention of Corona, now we have to self certify to say that our films don't contain anything nasty but in their warped world that could be almost anything. Anyway here is the cover which also takes a little time to put together, I haven't had a break all day other than to remount the hose reel I fixed so Mandy didn't trip on it when going to the back garden.

We hope to have the remote camera recording on Friday near our house, lots of jobs built up now for outside which should be warmer by the weekend, our first rain for two weeks today, one short shower , it is still bitingly cold with the gusty wind. I've made a start on getting the last two remote camera films edited so they should be available tomorrow. I have also drawn up the list of resourced I need to load for Bus Spot Ultra Birkenhead ( with Wallasey) which I'll start when the weather is against me outside. I need to look ahead for the next Tickety - boo production which will probably be more on London buses from scanned cine. A few more truck shots of the M6.

The next part of the process for Bus Spot Ultra Llandudno is actually tidying up and trimming down to size the clips until I'm left with 120minutes. We hear that Corona virus has now arrived at our neighbouring village, Plumley, hitherto we had been an island of health in the North West with the badlands around Manchester area. I had a session with the remote camera located at Plumley and took some lorry stills. This visit will give us another two films which you will see in due course once I've finished the Lllandudno film, next Ultra production will be Birkenhead with Wallasey/New Brighton. We have been very busy with the DVDs plus lots of digital downloads happening. We are able to turn around everything as we obviously aren't out on our travels at all. We've just had a walk out down to the Cobbles but with the wheelchair its as far as you can get, with terrible roads and broken kerbs it is a struggle for Mandy to get out anywhere. I've put off most outdoor jobs until the weather eases a bit, supposed to be warmer by Friday so they can wait until then, actually warmer should read less cold, todays its been hat, scarf,gloves weather. Here are some lorry shots to keep you going until I can put on trailers via Youtube.

Work has now started on Bus Spot Ultra Llandudno, this will be at the smaller end of locations covered very regular coverage from mid 1990's but patchy before but nice scenes of the old Trams and Cable cars. The next Bus Spot Ultra will cover Birkenhead with Wallasey with quite good coverage from municipal and old trams through to present day. The next Spot On Tickety'boo film will be on London buses in 1960s-70s, exact content to be decided. That should take most of my time this week plus I hope to be able to get out and walk to the motorway from more shots on the M6 allowing for suitable weather, it was below freezing again today first thing. As it gets less cold I'll get a couple of outside jobs done, feed birds and put some more 'no nails' adhesive on the leaking hose, if it doesn't do the trick I'll buy a new one.

Not a lot I can report other than the DVD sales are still quite buoyant  as are digital downloads, I'll try and get more on the shop today. Mandy hasn't as many things to go at as I have so is getting a lot of reading done. I'm trying to avoid the constant depressing news broadcasts with just a glance at the headlines a couple of times a day. All is calm in Lower Peover, next door decided to take their front wall down which now looks a mess and they intend to plant a hedge, I'd do the exact opposite but each to their own. My other outside jobs are pending milder weather.

As I'm pottering away with North Wales archives lets have a few shots to put us in the mood for that

I had to delete and remake the last 13 video trailers on Youtube as specially at beginning and end and sometimes in between I made reference to the present situation without realising that Youtube will stop your revenue if they find this happening. So in the rather crazy world that is the USA you cannot mention the biggest elephant in the room since WWII. No wonder a country so strange produced a Trump but then following their type of logic and people being sucked in by propaganda we ended up with Scraggy Head and their far right camp followers. Mandy says I need to be positive in what I say, believe me I've rethought and amended many of my recent blogs. This jolly hockey sticks we are all in it together is not my world. For me we should have an open free debate ongoing and decisions at government level should be cross party rather than the fascist right given free reign at COBRA meetings.

Meanwhile we continue to support our more elderly neighbours and the community, for example I went around the surrounding roads with my weed killer and treated the pavements and gutters where overgrown and decaying with weed breaking up the tarmac. I will not be standing at the door clapping anyone that doesn't mean I don't support whatever just that it seems a bit banal to me. Also the local church diocese wants us to put candles in the window Sunday nights, what a crazh fire risk that is, so no we won't be doing that either.

It is Mandys birthday today, I recycled an old birthday card but a special one. It was the first I gave Mandy when I was helping on the Catonsville Roadrunner before we were married in spring 1974. All very 70's it was very delicate and in danger of decaying so restored and encapsulated it and trimmed to size. Today I am going to do outside jobs, some more no nails glue on the old hose reel to stop the remaining small leak. Then there is a strip on the opening roof light in the greenhouse which needs filling in to stop rain coming down through it. The min job will be the base for the to be purchased garden seat, it is laid out roughly just needs the bottom cement scree then leveling and finishing from back to the front.

After that well we will have got the house warmish, remember our boiler is not working, no central heating or hot water, day 2 of that, Worcester the boiler maker are coming tomorrow under warranty to fix. There are masses of photos to file and the remote M6 camera coverage from Lock Down week 1 to edit, there will be four DVDs. I've also started gathering the material for Bus Spot Ultra Llandudno with Colwyn Bay. Anyway a few photos before I file them in the archive. the Goole trip is now on the shop, four volumes of that. I'm still loading digital downloads on the shop as and when I have time.

We went to M&S at Handforth Dean, health workers went first but then disabled, we only waited 10 minutes. The amazing sight of full shelves even toilet paper. Anyway I've bulk purchased marzipan balls my favourite. Come to think of it, sweets and biscuits figure large. They were handing out bunches of daffs to customers leaving, how wonderful- nice friendly staff, nothing heavy. Bouncers on doors at most supermarkets, than goodness M&S are shining through. We attempted Tescos next door for items for our more elderly neighbours buit queue there was about half a mile, bouncer said there was no pensioner hour, perhaps they should alter their website then. Why can't there be co-ordinated times of opening and uniform times when health and elderly persons can get in.

Our boiler broke down again, bad news no heat or hot water, not goof for Mandy and her chronic circulation but good new Worcester boilers are coming Monday to sort under warranty.

I'm editing the last of four DVDs on trucks at Goole last before lock down started. Then it will be the remote camera an hour at a time on the M6, there will be four films at two locations and if weather suitable we'll repeat next week.  Still scanning old films. I'll clear the current material editing and get back to the archive bus material to keep up that side of business.

Highest ever daily hits on Youtube this past week hit 88k in a day. Digital downloads are starting to take off now.

I've been getting the slabs for the new garden seat in place, a lot of digging and lifting. Next to cement the base, loads of level checking plus hazard that existing grass lawn is not level so ingenuity required there. Noisy in garden, screaming kids and wine quaffers abound. I've been around our property and along the adjacent road in either direction with the Polish super strength weed killer, fingers crossed that it actually works.

When we were out shopping also used Boots in Knutsford, opens 9.30, very helpful, got neighbours chest pastilles .

Some more shots from the M6 for today's slide show. Clips of Goole trucks second batch on tonight.