It has been a while since I updated my blog and that is due
mostly to the global COVID-19 pandemic that has had us in lockdown since after we
returned from my birthday trip away in February (I went into isolation before
it was made mandatory).
I had a cold around Valentine’s Day (pretty sure it was
nothing more, but now every cough and sniffle makes you nervous), otherwise we
have been quite healthy (touch wood). We were worried about Sue’s mum who was
very ill for quite sometime and even got ‘blue lighted’ to hospital a couple of
times. It was much later that she got a test which showed she did not have it,
but not the antibody test to say if she had had it before. My family in NZ have
had a much better time of it thankfully as that is a huge weight of my mind, anxiety
being the worst thing that I have had to deal with.
The weather improved and was unseasonably warm and dry
during the strictest part of the lockdown period and so we felt very fortunate
to have a garden to sit out in and an abundance of countryside on our doorstep
to get our exercise in.
Sue and I set up an office space in our attic games room at
either end of a gateleg table. This meant we had a regular work routine to keep
us occupied and were able to leave things set up overnight without the
equipment impacting our living space. Another regular event emerged for a while
as people stood at their doorsteps one day a week to ‘clap for the heroes’ (NHS
staff and other essential workers who were keeping the most important services
working and caring for the mounting sick).
There was a rise in the use of video conference technologies
to keep people in contact (Zoom and Houseparty appeared and new features were
added to FaceTime, WhatsApp, and Skype). We ended up with calls almost every other
night with family and friends and even ended up played a few quizzes and games
using them.
Musicians and actors trapped in their homes started to broadcast
shows online as concerts and shows were cancelled. These events provided a glimpse
into the homes and lives of our favourite artists that we would not normally
see. The Globe showed some very interesting performances, there were global
musical concerts arranged, and there was even a Comic Relief Dungeons &
Dragons event.
We stayed away from the supermarkets and only ventured into
our local bakers and corner shop. We managed to source our provisions from
other local venders who would deliver (meat from the butchers, fruit and veg
from a deli/coffee shop, fish from a bit further afield, English cheese, and of
course wine… …lots of wine).
We have been drinking a lot more than normal (and we were
never that abstemious in the first place), but it has become one of the
crutches to help us through the days. We have started doing Pilates via YouTube
and have done some length walks out in the countryside, but it hardly
compensates.
As companies felt the financial pinch Sue and I made some
sacrifices for ours. Sue took a pay cut and started working five days a week
rather than the contracted three, and I took 10 days unpaid leave one day a
week. Some of our friends and relatives were furloughed (a word that we were
previously unfamiliar with but now everyone knows), and the government but in
schemes to try and support the workforce. This spare day I used to do some
tasks around home (paint furniture, plant and tend the garden, and even try my
hand a baking).
Inspiration came from unexpected places and the country (indeed
even beyond our shores) became captivated with 99-year-old veteran Captain Tom
Moore who was raising money for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his garden
before his 100th birthday. His story prompted a duet with Michael
Ball that went to number 1 in the charts (and gave him another record) and he
raised tens of millions of pounds for charity. He was given an honorary military
promotion and a knighthood for his efforts and many other people were inspired
to do similar fund-raising events.
Many memes and jokes circulated as antidotes to the
increasingly desperate news broadcasts and we started to learn some new terms:
Lockdown
lingo
*Coronacoaster*
The ups and
downs of your mood during the pandemic. You’re loving lockdown one minute but
suddenly weepy with anxiety the next. It truly is “an emotional coronacoaster”.
*Quarantinis*
Experimental
cocktails mixed from whatever random ingredients you have left in the house.
The boozy equivalent of a store cupboard supper. Southern Comfort and Ribena
quarantini with a glacé cherry garnish, anyone? These are sipped at “locktail
hour”, ie. wine o’clock during lockdown, which seems to be creeping earlier
with each passing week.
*Le Creuset
wrist*
It’s the new
“avocado hand” - an aching arm after taking one’s best saucepan outside to bang
during the weekly ‘Clap For Carers.’ It might be heavy but you’re keen to
impress the neighbours with your high-quality kitchenware.
*Coronials*
As opposed
to millennials, this refers to the future generation of babies conceived or
born during coronavirus quarantine. They might also become known as “Generation
C” or, more spookily, “Children of the Quarn”.
*Furlough
Merlot*
Wine
consumed in an attempt to relieve the frustration of not working. Also known as
“bored-eaux” or “cabernet tedium”.
*Coronadose*
An overdose
of bad news from consuming too much media during a time of crisis. Can result
in a panicdemic.
*The
elephant in the Zoom*
The glaring
issue during a videoconferencing call that nobody feels able to mention. E.g.
one participant has dramatically put on weight, suddenly sprouted terrible
facial hair or has a worryingly messy house visible in the background.
*Quentin
Quarantino*
An
attention-seeker using their time in lockdown to make amateur films which
they’re convinced are funnier and cleverer than they actually are.
*Covidiot*
or *Wuhan-ker*
One who
ignores public health advice or behaves with reckless disregard for the safety
of others can be said to display “covidiocy” or be “covidiotic”. Also called a
“lockclown” or even a “Wuhan-ker”.
*Goutbreak*
The sudden
fear that you’ve consumed so much wine, cheese, home-made cake and Easter
chocolate in lockdown that your ankles are swelling up like a medieval king’s.
*Antisocial
distancing*
Using health
precautions as an excuse for snubbing neighbours and generally ignoring people
you find irritating.
*Coughin’
dodger*
Someone so
alarmed by an innocuous splutter or throat-clear that they back away in terror.
*Mask-ara*
Extra
make-up applied to "make one's eyes pop" before venturing out in
public wearing a face mask.
*Covid-10*
The 10lbs in
weight that we’re all gaining from comfort-eating and comfort-drinking. Also
known as “fattening the curve.
VE Day
celebrations were different and some streets, such as ours, set up in the front
gardens, taking advantage of the good weather, to responsibly socialise. One of
our neighbours had a powerful sound system that was placed on his van and played
music and reruns of historic speeches. The music show became a regular event
for a while allowing us to check in with our neighbours.
We saw more
wildlife as spring moved towards summer and watched the birds nesting, feeding
and the young emerge. Our trips in the countryside seemed full of life as the
lack of airplanes and much reduced road noise allowed us to hear and see more
than usual.
Initially we
were horrified as the numbers of infected and dead increased in countries ever
closer to us such as Italy and Spain until we eventually saw the UK death toll surpass
them. It was of some comfort that the efforts in New Zealand seemed to be much
more successful. Any stoic constraint and patience the UK population may have had
with the regulations and controls put in place by our government soon waned as the
rules started to be questioned.
As the weather
continued to be good and a series of Bank Holidays approached we were somewhat concerned
as lockdown restrictions seemed to be flouted (even by government officials).
People flocked to beaches and countryside in large numbers that ignored the
social distancing rules. When the Black Lives Matters, protests blew up in
America and spread around the world thousands of people gathered close together
in groups. At a time when the infection rate was borderline under control and the
death rate was decreasing many of us were increasing worried about a future
spike as has been evidenced in historical viral outbreaks (like the disastrous
Spanish Flu amongst others).
The lockdown
was eased to allow small gatherings outdoors and now single people can extend
their ‘bubble’ to one other family to help them with the isolation. More businesses
are starting to open, and some children are returning to school. We though are
continuing to play things safe and are limiting our interactions with others to
only close family and friends now.
I am sure this
will be an ongoing saga that will continue for quite some time to come.
Somethings may never return to how they were before as this becomes the new
normal.
