This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
I cannot quite believe I am saying this but we have nearly completed Lockdown week 10 and I can see light at the end of this dark tunnel we have been travelling through. However, as lockdown starts to lift, I have no idea what is meant to be happening or what we are going to do. Is anyone else feeling a little discombobulated?
Has 10 weeks of being in lockdown taken away our sense of adventure? Have the pictures and stories of Covid-19 so terrified us that we cannot quite regain a feeling of complete safety. As the postman said to me this morning, “We’re now more likely to get hit by a bus?” (except there aren’t too many of those around). But I understand his sentiments.
Well I don’t know about you but I am going to take my chances with the buses as I think a good grounding in the Green Cross Code is all that is needed but who knows what we need to do to avoid Covid-19.
Suddenly we can see six people in our gardens but not inside our house. So I am upping my sun salutations in my Yoga lessons as, wouldn’t it be typical if the weather changed just as we could start to socialise. Umbrellas, wet weather gear, huddled around, at least 2 metres apart, does not inspire friendly conversation – reminds me of past summer holidays, when the children were young, on a beach in Cornwall. So OH and I are breaking the guidelines and starting the socialising this weekend and not waiting for Monday. What difference will two days make? No you’re right it will make a difference so I am planning the big reunion with friends on Monday. I can’t see our children as on Monday they are #wfh. We plan a family reunion the following weekend but no partners as that takes us way over our 6.
However can OH and I see a different 4 people the following day, and so on, so that by the end of the week we have seen 28 different people? Or do we have to see the same 4 people each day? Could OH go somewhere and see 5 other people whilst I stay home and have 5 girlfriends for a glass of something in the garden.
Let’s look on the bright side of things. Happily our supply of Laziridis Rosé wine arrived this morning from Greece. Took less time than a sun canopy coming from London that I ordered on the same day! As I said last week, if we cannot go to Greece this summer then we are bringing Greece to us. Our delivery should keep our parties of 6 in the garden going for a while.
Next up I need to talk about masks as I am long on them. I have pretty ones for parties, functional ones for popping into shops and highly technical ones with air filters for when I hit a heavily populated public space. However there has been no mention of masks in the latest delivery from our PM. Have they now been put on the back-burner or is this another thing we have to decide on for ourselves? PPE, which I used to think stood for a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, now is a favoured topic and could make it to the next dictionary update. Everyone has been talking about it, making it, denouncing the government for their lack of it but now we have billions of sets coming. Ha I say! If Covid-19 is on the way out why are we buying billions of sets now? A bit like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.
I think that Chris Whitty knows a little more than he is allowed to let on. Covid-19 has not gone and may return for a second visit but this time we will be ready with PPE in abundance. So let’s make hay whilst the sun shines and crossed fingers Covid-19 doesn’t like the sun, and when it does return we will be supercharged with enough Vitamin D to fight back. Our medics will be in full blue and even though there won’t be a vaccine yet we will have testers, tracers, trackers and all the rest so our frontline will be ready.
Meanwhile back to the new now. I liked lockdown because we all did the same thing, no deviating from the rules (let’s not mention Dominic at this point). Some developed a habit of severe tutting if they found that you had gone off piste. To be honest we all felt a great unity in protecting not only our own lives but also all of our friends, family and beyond. We were happy to oblige and many of us grew to enjoy lockdown. BC (Before Coronavirus) seems now to be a distant memory and it includes a lifestyle that is long gone, maybe forever. However this week, the week of the Dominic Cummings debacle, we seem to have been rushed into a sudden lifting of lockdown. We weren’t expecting it and now that we have been offered it we are nervous to embrace it. Whoops embrace is a word from BC.
So I am calling this week AD or After Dominic (crisis) when in order to make us forget this embarrassing government situation we have been offered a gift. A bit like giving a child a sweet after she has fallen down and hurt herself – a gift to forget the pain. But we weren’t quite ready. We thought we had June in the bag, more lockdown lounging, more time to get the ‘R’ down but no suddenly it’s 1st June and the starting gun has been fired.
This has thrown us into a new way for social invitations. You have to list all those that you have had any social interaction with in the past 7 days before the invitation is finally proffered. Suddenly, as we were driving to see some friends for a very socially distanced lunch in their garden, I remembered I had forgotten to tell them that our cleaner had returned to work. What do you do? Stay quiet or call from the car and give them the option to cancel us?
This is a minefield. Now I understand the government line, Stay Alert. You need to be alert to all the people you have seen, your memory needs to be in tip-top shape. Keep a note as you would be surprised at how many people you see without really knowing you have seen them. We opted for the Stay Quiet, Stay Distanced and Protect our Friends in this instance.
As we sidled down a path along the side of our friend’s house so as not to set foot inside their house I gasped and said to OH, “Forget the cleaner, the man that delivered the wine carried it to my doorstep as it was so heavy.” “No way are we going to mention that one”, said OH, and anyway we had brought them a bottle of our newly delivered Laziridis!
Wine available from Greece and Grapes click HERE
For previous Lockdown diary posts click HERE