Pandemic - Part 1…

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 100^th 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.