The Quarantine Diaries

I didn't sleep at all well, so a bit of a late start for me this morning, but I'm still at my desk by 9.30 after listening to the excellent More or Less on BBC Radio 4 which takes a reassuringly analytical approach to the statistics behind CV. A few emails to deal with, followed by a fairly detailed job application that's due in today, then a little too much social media. As always, I try to share mainly positive stories. I'm horrified to read on Twitter of a local landlord who is threatening to wind up two entire chains because the branches he hosts as tenants can't pay their rent this month. Yesterday rent-to-own operators Brighthouse and restaurant group Carluccios both went into administration - no doubt the first of many. Radio 4's lunchtime phone You and Yours is full of people who have fallen through the gaps of the chancellor's programme to underwrite jobs and on the news programme that follows I'm alarmed to hear that many UK citizens are stil...

A surprise this morning - my son appears at breakfast-time! He's been completely nocturnal since we picked him up from uni, joining us for dinner which in his case is breakfast. Less good news is that he thinks his nose-piercing is infected. We decide not to bother the NHS and to try to care for it at home. I suggest tea tree but after consulting the internet he decides on a saline solution. I remind him to keep taking his vitamins to support his immune system; I don't need to remind him to get enough sleep! I receive a message to say that on her morning dog walk my friend has left by our gate a jar of jam she made from damsons from our tree - a lovely thought. A fairly productive morning, finalising the annual report for my limited company and dealing with some emails for my voluntary roles. We had a programme of activities lined up to promote the public consultation on Reading's Climate Change Emergency Strategy, but these are no longer possible or, indeed, appropriate....

Last night the clocks went forward one hour - so that's one hour less of lockdown. Even though it's only an hour, the change of time in spring and autumn always messes with my body clock and I'm up earlier than I really wanted to be. I had big plans to get a lot done today but I'm feeling tired and decide to cut myself some slack. I manage to get a little gardening done, which is good - that means I've planted everything now that I wanted to, apart from things it's not time for yet. I spend some time on the PC - first installing first an Android emulator and then House Party then retrieving some photos from the cloud and backing them up on my external drive. The photos are of a trip to Tanzania three years ago and it's lovely to see them again. People have been sharing photos of beaches in a bid to spread happiness on Facebook and I upload one from Zanzibar. I also add it to Zoom for use as a virtual background, which will take off the pressure to keep my ...

The weekend is not so different from other days for me since I work from home to my own schedule, and if I wasn't keeping this blog I probably wouldn't have noticed. But I try to resist the urge to check work emails at least. I'm at the PC checking social media when I receive a message from my friend in Australia asking if I want to Skype - yes, absolutely! We have a lovely chat, with the best call quality we've ever experienced. Australia has not yet taken the step of requiring people to stay home, but she's very sensibly doing so. Fortunately she works for a national infrastructure provider so her job is relatively safe and they are taking precautions to protect their staff by allowing them to work at home. As we discuss how the crisis is affecting our mental health the recognition comes that I'm coping pretty well. Clearly I have no control over the virus, but my natural reaction to a crisis is to keep calm and make a plan which in this case is primarily how ...

Today is the day of the weekly shopping expedition so I spend some time planning menus and writing a highly aspirational shopping list for hubby, who is our designated hunter gatherer. This provides a welcome opportunity to read recipe books in my hammock in the sunshine. In between I do a larder stocktake and check my emails. Friday is check-in day for the trustees of the charity I co-chair - fortunately we all seem to be well - and there is some discussion about how we protect the organisation from the economic impacts of the crisis while continuing to serve its stakeholders and, of course, keep its staff safe. Its mission is connecting businesses and charities for mutual benefit, so it has a critical role to play locally. It's my daughter's birthday next week and shopping online for gifts has to be completed today if they are to arrive in time. We've been looking for a way to celebrate with her remotely and as we are all fans of escape rooms we have found a couple of o...

Another beautiful sunny morning. I spend the first couple of hours trying to sort out grocery deliveries through the wholesalers who supply toiletries for my online businesses - a couple of them also sell wholefoods and organic produce. One is overwhelmed but the other is able to take orders and fortunately shows stock levels on its website so we can adapt what we buy according to what's available. I set up a What's App group for family and nearby friends so that we can pool an order and hubby can drop off to them. Then I review the accounts for my other business, which are due to be submitted at the end of this month. I finish the morning with two webinars, both offered free, on how to thrive in a crisis. The first is highly practical, outlining steps to reduce costs, secure income and pivot your business to ensure it can continue to trade and be ready to ramp up when things return to normal. The second is more focused on mindset and soft skills. Very different, but both equ...

After an early night I woke up extra-early so I decide to take the opportunity to attempt to book a supermarket delivery. Still no slots available, the calendars just stop in mid-April. The government's advice is to have groceries delivered if at all possible, but it simply isn't possible if you rely on the supermarkets. At 10am the new online box delivery service from a local fruit and veg wholesaler goes live and I'm ready to order my boxes moments later. Everything I manage to get done despite the crisis feels like an act of defiance against an unseen enemy and fuels my resolve to thrive despite the challenges. I spend the rest of the morning completing a supporting statement for my application for a non-exec role; it helps keep me distracted from the rolling CV news which surrounds me and I'm pleased with how it reads when it's finished. After lunch I chat on Skype with my daughter and grandson and on Zoom with my friend. Our son emerges from his room with the...

I wake a little later than usual after a disturbed night - surprisingly, I've been sleeping relatively well for a chronic insomniac - and feeling a little tearful. Sleep deprivation always affects my mood, but this feels like a delayed response to yesterday's announcement. When I enter my office and open the curtains the bright spring sunshine lifts my mood and when I turn on my PC I read that the lockdown in Hubei province is being lifted - a welcome reminder that this, too, will pass. Today I'm due to judge the local Young Enterprise competition which normally involves a big event but this time requires me to mark online submissions and then have a conference call. It's always inspiring to see what the young people achieve and it provides me with a boost today. It's hard to stay focused though … the temptation to keep half an eye on the news is almost overwhelming. I want to see how well people are observing the new restrictions, and sadly it seems that many ar...

They say routine is important, so I'm back at my desk as usual this morning. I work from home anyway, but there's not much in my inbox so I spend the morning looking for local suppliers I can order from to get groceries delivered. I have found sources for fresh meat, fruit and veg but when I start to run out of store-cupboard staples I'd prefer to buy them from independent businesses who are more vulnerable in these challenging times. First port of call is the local Gossip Girls group - what would we do without Facebook in times like this? I volunteer each year as a judge for the Young Enterprise programme, where sixth-form students are able to set up a young enterprise company and run it for an academic year to learn business skills. Our final event has been cancelled for obvious reasons, but we are all still marking the business plans the young people have written and there is an online showcase planned in place of the usual trade fair. I'm so glad we are still goin...

Mothers Day really emphasises how this pandemic has changed our lives so drastically. The day when normally anybody who is within travelling distance of their Mum would normally visit her, enjoy a meal out, exchange cards and gifts and get a welcome boost of motherly love. I message my Mum to wish her a happy day and she phones me back to tell me her flowers have arrived, although the man left them on the doorstep and put a card through the door rather than posting them, which somewhat undermines their USP. She was pleased that the bouquet includes some of her favourite freesias, and so was I. She's a resourceful and self-sufficient sort, despite her age and mobility issues, and will no doubt find ways to entertain herself today. My mission is today the garden - I've dug out our seeds and I'm preparing the beds for planting - I spend around four hours weeding four raised beds and one of our polytunnels. It's a beautiful spring day and with my radio to keep me company ...

I allow myself an hour of news in the morning, and today it's a tough listen - a radio interview with a hospital consultant who is beside himself with frustration about how people won't take seriously the threat that is already seeing the ICUs in London overwhelmed. It baffles me that people can't grasp the simple fact that by mixing and mingling unnecessarily they are putting themselves and everybody else at risk, including the very people they will have to rely on if they get sick. If altruism isn't in their make-up then surely self-preservation might convince them? I resolve to "let it go" and get on with my day in a positive and pragmatic frame of mind. Meat having been entirely absent from my online supermarket delivery earlier in the week I have decided to shop as much as I can with local independents, not only because they need our support but also because it offers more certainty. Having lost a lot of their trade with hotels and restaurants, the loca...

A sad start to the day - a call from my daughter to say that they are putting themselves in isolation because my one-year-old grandson has developed a persistent cough. Immediately my relief at having all my family safely in our home town is undermined by a new threat. He has been getting over a recent bout of strep throat so the cough isn't necessarily anything new or sinister, but the fear in her voice is palpable. She's worried about his health, but also the challenge of keeping a very active toddler entertained indoors for 14 days. I remind her that they can go outside as long as they don't go near anybody, and reassure her as best I can. It's worrying enough being a new-ish mum without this added, invisible menace. It's a normal working day for me as I work from home running a couple of businesses and volunteering for a couple of charities. Our trustee meeting this afternoon will be the first I have chaired online but we manage to get most of us connected. Bu...

And so it begins. I'm in the UK's Thames Valley and things are not too bad here yet, but it's clear from what's happening in other places that are further along the curve that we are only at the beginning of the beginning. Our government has not, so far, placed many restrictions on us which, in my view, is a mistake. I know we're a liberal democracy but there are some things that need decisive, draconian action and a pandemic is one of them. I have an underlying respiratory problem - the legacy of pneumonia - and can't afford to take any chances and a few days ago our PM recommended 12 weeks of isolation for those classed as vulnerable, so we've been gearing up to do just that. Only one problem - our son is still at university 70 miles away. Lectures have gone online for the rest of the academic year, so today we made the drive to pick him up. He was reluctant to clear his entire flat in halls, hoping I think that it would all be over before the summer and h...