Lockdown Diary - Tuesday 10th November 2020

Back to earth with a bump. Work today, so I probably won't have much to say, which, all things considered, is probably just as well.

Mid-morning, whilst working, I was interrupted by the sound of someone entering the house, using a key - it was the nurses coming to change my wife's catheter.  I do wish they'd ring the doorbell before resorting to the key - obviously if there's no answer, use the key, otherwise it just feels like a violation. As it is, every day there's a stream of people who come and go from early morning until the evening, but they generally ring the bell and I, or one of my sons, let them in. At least that way it feels like I have some level of control and it just seems more polite - I get to invite them in, even though they are always going to come in.

After lunch I walked to the nearest post office, killing two birds with one stone - getting my 30 minutes plus of brisk walking done and also returning an Amazon parcel, that needed proof of postage.

Back to work for the remainder of the day.  I managed to find time to listen to last week's 'Freak Zone', which included a few new discoveries, most notably a band called Infected Mushroom.  Don't be surprised if they appear here soon 😅

I keep getting emails from Patient Access and today's was about mental health set against the backdrop of the second lockdown.  There was an NHS online questionnaire to complete to determine if you are depressed, which, in an idle moment, I decided to complete.  At the end it said I should seek urgent medical help, though given I am on antidepressants and participating in Talking Therapies mindful meditation, I figure I am getting it. It did make me stop and think, though. Things are very fragile at the moment and I do need to be a bit more serious in noticing and responding to the signs. Damn.

With those words bouncing around my brain, I decided to try and focus on some tedious chores - some washing for my wife and clearing up the remnants of meals in the kitchen. This seemed to do the trick. Managed to listen to Infected Mushroom then move on to cooking dinner - the shoulder of lamb needed and hour an forty minutes including preparation and resting time after cooking, so I thought I'd get on with it. I still couldn't bring myself to properly sit and listen to music, but it was a start.

Sat down to dinner with sons one and two and to watch another episode of 'The Last Wave'.  The lamb was very good - nicely cooked - and we followed it with blackberry and apple pie, for a change. We don't normally eat desserts, or rather, I try not to, in order not to become the land-based version of the Goodyear blimp.

The usual escape route from the vale of whatever.

This song has one of the most brutal, verging at times on the industrial, soundscapes from any artist in the pop mainstream that I have heard in some time. Not only that but it's the first track on the album, which is certainly making a statement.  A friend from book club had raved about the album earlier this year - back when you could meet people indoors, in a pub and in a group of more than six. I didn't really pick up on it back then, but heard it out of context (?) and was stopped in my tracks. I am going to have to find time to listen to the album. This is 'Pink Diamond' by Charli XCX from the album 'how I'm feeling now'. 

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