Lockdown Diary - Saturday 28th March 2020

Been shopping for the first time since last weekend and only the second time I've been out in a week - went for a run on Monday.  Despite good intentions, work has kept me so busy during the days that I've not even managed to squeeze in a walk the rest of the week: by the time I've stopped work it's been getting dark and, to my shame, I couldn't be arsed.

Next week, I've promised myself I'll do better. Gonna put something in my work Outlook calendar each day so I do some walking. (I have been exercising every day though: press-ups and weights which is better than nowt, I guess)

Did my first Zoom-hosted Yoga class on Thursday evening, which was an experiment by our Yoga teacher.  It was successful, though very odd to be adopting the tree pose in the living room while watching it on the laptop.  This is going to start in earnest next week, so it'll be back to Yoga at 10am on Monday, except no need to leave the house first.

Zoom is fast becoming the social interaction medium of choice:  a few of us from the book club met up online yesterday evening as part of a trial. It was pretty cool - most of us were helping alcohol, of one form or other, fulfil it's natural role in the water cycle.  We'll probably do it again before April's official meet to discuss 'Convenience Store Woman', as it was quite sociable and fun, not to mention the pleasure of seeing people in their 'natural habitat'. 

One fun thing with Zoom is watching people start it up when they're not used to it - the 'stare into the camera wondering if it's on' look! Priceless!

Though I work from home a lot, I must admit it was wearing thin by the end of the week, however we are all sticking to the staying in except for getting essentials - trying to keep it to once a week, except for exercise as per the Government's guidance.

I am acutely aware of the extreme risk that Covid-19 presents to us all, but also especially to one member of our family, so social distancing / shielding is something I can easily accept.  Unfortunately their needs mean we are reliant on carers, District Nurses, deliveries of medical & other supplies from the NHS and our local Pharmacy even under normal circumstances - a lot of people come and go from our house - and this is a risk we have to live with. It's a Catch-22.

Saying that, we have been incredibly well looked after by friends who have been kind enough to support us, the carers who do an amazing job for us and others, taking huge risks and not getting either the reward or recognition they deserve (Priti Patel be damned), plus the District Nurses and out of hours Nurses without whom life would be impossible. A big thank you to all of you, though I know you all deserve a lot more than thanks.

Assuming my sons can be organised enough, we plan to watch 'The Irishman' tonight, though frankly I've seen enough of him this past week to last me a lifetime.

One song I've been playing especially loud this week is 'Allas Sak' by Dungen.  I love this song, especially because of Reine Fiske's guitar-playing.  I really love the tone he gets - it sounds like the guitar is about to go into overload.  Oh, and for what it's worth, 'Allas Sak' is Swedish and roughly translates as 'Everyone's Thing' or 'Anyone's Thing'...