Lockdown Diary - Thursday 28th May 2020

Struggled to get up at 6am, but finally managed to wrestle with my conscience and got out of bed at 6:15.  Plan to go and walk for 30 minutes or so before 7am, or at least no later than ten past.

Did it! Got back by 10 past 7 and, more importantly, before the first carer visit. Visit over, I showered, made some breakfast and settled down to work.

Tum ti tum ti tum (this is me indicating the passage of time whilst I'm working).

Had a brief break from work when the lunchtime carers arrived. Today was the day to change my wife's bedding whilst she was briefly out of bed in her special chair. My break was to put the washing on. It needs doing there and then because part of the bed is a special layer which is part of her bed positioning system (it aligns her body in the bed, as she can't move herself) and there are only two of these. One in use and one spare. If it needed changing unexpectedly then the spare has to be clean and dry, so no option but to do it there and then.

Got a surprise work email asking me if I'd like to write an article for the company intranet. Apparently the week beginning 8th June is 'Carers Week' and I've been asked to write an article about being both a carer and working as a consultant. I thought about it for a while and, in the end, decided to do it.

Work over, it was time to get set up for the latest Idler 'Drinks with...'. Tonight's guests are Miranda Sawyer and Sheryl Garratt, the former a culture/music journalist for 'The Guardian/Observer', amongst others, and the latter formerly editor of 'The Face' magazine in the late 80s / 90s. They were both there to talk about Gavin Hills, a journalist who died a few years ago, aged 31.  Gavin was a writer for 'The Face' and 'The Idler', amongst others. A book of his collected writing, 'Bliss To Be Alive', newly updated on Amazon Kindle (see here), is available.  It's hard to get hold of in print form - second-hand copies fetch £70+ - though there is some suggestion that a print-to-order version of the updated book will become available later this year. 

After 'The Idler' it was time to start making dinner, a joint effort with son #3.  He asked me to help with the vegetables, or rather the kohlrabi specifically, as he didn't know how to prep it. 

Watched the penultimate episode of 'His Dark Materials', then the usual downwards spiral leading upstairs to bed, sleep and oblivion.

One thing before oblivion...and I nearly went for 'Oblivion' by Mastodon (but that's too obvious)...instead here are Massive Attack with 'Protection' from the album of the same name

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