The Quarantine Diaries

Today Captain Tom turns 100 and I read that the Queen has awarded him an honorary promotion to Colonel for his fantastic fundraising effort which has now reached over £30M. I think that is lovely, but I can't help wishing she'd made him a Major. The day ahead is busy, but sadly way behind Tom's in its level of achievement. First - an expedition. I have a bread maker to pick up, groceries to drop at my Mum's, a Google Dot for my Mum to drop at my sister's and my grandson's pocket money to deliver. I achieve all of this with appropriate social distancing and am home in time for my first zoom event of the day - an informative session on One Plant Living from Bioregional. A brief break for lunch and then a webinar from The Eden Project on Group Resilience which I have to leave before the end as I have another session to attend, on Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting. Then a socially-distanced visit from a friend to pick up some gifts she's purchased from...

I struggled to get to sleep again but finally the Calm app worked its magic and I wake just after 7. My son emerges bleary eyed, asks for advice on how to stop the toilet cistern running in his en-suite, and disappears again. I spend the morning at the PC, progressing my application to join the NHS skill bank as an administrator and following up the connections I made last night, as well as signing up for a few more webinars and courses. I have received an email telling me I've been accepted to the NHS skill bank but shortly after I receive a phone call about my MMR status, indicating that not only have I not yet been accepted but that they hadn't received my last email. I agree to get the MMR vaccination and forward them the proof. Today is fairly free of commitments, apart from meeting the WOMAD crew on a zoom call later, but I make some plans for tomorrow as I will have groceries to drop off as well as the Google Dot for Mum. I prepare ahead for dinner and put some apple s...

Where are the birds? I'm waking early these days and should be able to hear the dawn chorus … but there isn't one. This morning just the bird that sounds like a squeaky wheel. We have a robin and a blackbird who nest in our garden, magpies and pigeons who visit and raid our veg plot, and we regularly see red kites soaring on the thermals overheads (although far fewer of those than a couple of years ago too). And that's all. Perhaps not the most relevant observation in a pandemic, but still worrying. My friend with Covid messages to say she had a calmer night with much less coughing although little sleep. It's a grey day with rain forecast which is a pity because when I spoke to my sister yesterday she suggested that when I drop off the Google Dot for Mum we could sit on her wall and have a socially-distanced chat. However, there has been an exciting development (fanfare please) … I got an online delivery! It's booked for tomorrow evening and we have until last thi...

Ugh. I just could not sleep last night. I was too warm, then my brain was too busy, then my bladder was too full. I saw 4am before I finally managed to drop off, then I was awake before my alarm. No point trying to go back to sleep; I get up and begin my day which turns out to be surprisingly productive. I exchange messages with my friend and then speak to her on the phone, as she's had a bad night struggling to catch her breath during coughing fits. I urge her to call the doctor and she agrees that she will. I begin by applying for some jobs. There's one in particular, as head of comms for a business with a sustainability-centred value proposition, which looks particularly appealing and as well as submitting an online application I email the recruitment consultant. She explains that the role has been postponed until July, but we're going to talk anyway. I'm keen to maximise my chances of securing that role, but also to find out what else might be available. I find a ...

Like every day, I spend the morning alone while the boys sleep. It's a surprising lonely existence considering my situation. Too much time to think. As usual, I escape into busyness and today's challenge is email maintenance - my business mailbox is out of control and I need to tame it so that I can focus more clearly. It's quite a mission, but it's satisfying when I complete it. There's a bit of tension in the air today. A couple of weeks ago while descaling the shower hose hubby closed the flip plug on my basin and it stuck. We've been trying to release it ever since but it's not budging and after dismantling the trap beneath it's really not clear how it can be removed and replaced with a new one. Hubby now seems to think it's my job to try and find a solution. Given that he spends all morning in bed while I'm applying for jobs and trying to keep my online business afloat, I think it's a bit cheeky to expect me to solve the problem he cr...

I start the day by attending a webinar on productivity. I'm really struggling during the crisis to stay focused and avoid procrastination. I think that the enforced pause removes the sense of urgency to complete anything and even though I recognise that intellectually I am having difficulty overcoming it. In one sense I do have more time, but equally I'm not taking the opportunity to use that extra time to achieve more, and then I beat myself up about it. It's just too beautiful outside to be indoors today, so after lunch I weed my vegetable beds and plant up some vegetable scraps that I've read might grow back, then I spend some time in my hammock listening to the Outrage and Optimism podcast and reading a recipe book. Then I take my camera into the garden and photograph whatever I can find. All pure procrastination but so what… it's Saturday. It's not that I do nothing - I'm busy all day - I'm just not doing the things I feel I should be doing. My mo...

I'm up early again and spend the morning at the PC, responding to emails and promoting my online shop. At noon I have a call with a new business contact who works in marketing but wants to talk about incorporating sustainability into her practice. I take my lunch outside again and listen to a podcast while I eat. Nobody else is up yet. I have a brief chat with my friend who had CV and we arrange to meet online at 6pm tomorrow. She's still working but clearly exhausted and her voice comes and goes; I'm afraid she'll do permanent damage to her vocal cords by not resting her voice sufficiently. In the afternoon I check in with my charity board then apply for a job and submit proposals for a couple of projects on Freelancer before driving to the parcel post box. I had hoped for a little time to sit in the garden but I've managed to fill my day somehow. It looks like this will be the warmest day of the weekend so I've planned a barbeque. Hubby is having online drin...

I have a busy morning planned - at 9am I'm attending a webinar and then straight after I have a yoga class. Fortunately I can wear the same for both - the joys of Zoom! The webinar is about sales - for me the most difficult thing about running my own business. There's more work to be done for the climate change partnership as well, preparing the agenda for next week's board meeting and the transition to a new chair at the end of the incumbent's two year term. I eat lunch in the garden, since the weather is still glorious, before returning to my PC to help finalise the board meeting. I pop out to the post box - Royal Mail has converted its franked mail post boxes to small parcel post boxes (presumably because offices are not creating so much franked mail since most of them are closed) so now I can post orders whenever I like. When I get back I help promote an online market being run by one of the brands I sell. I have a long call with another of my brands from the gard...

Earth Day today and an early start for me - I have to set up some tweets in Hootsuite to go out for the climate change partnership at hourly intervals, then I have a 9.30 meeting. After the meeting another call, then some social media activity to promote my online store during Earth Day. It's a busy one, and although the weather outside is lovely I stay focused on getting things done. Hubby goes to Makro after lunch and comes back with some wine that needs delivering to our daughter, along with some grass seed from our garage as they are taking the opportunity to try and restore their lawn. He's going to take it over but I persuade him to let me go instead as he was the last person to see our grandson "live" at a distance. On the way there I listen to the radio and turn it up loud when Muse's "Feeling Good" comes on. Unfortunately, when I get there he's asleep, having started his nap late so I call my Mum who lives nearby to see if she needs anythi...

Woke up about 6am and couldn't get back to sleep, so I'm at my desk by 8. I spend most of the morning working on social media assets for the climate change partnership for tomorrow's burst of promotion for the extension of the consultation period on the climate emergency strategy and action plan. I enjoy designing comms pieces and it doesn't take long to produce a suite of 8. I'm keen to get the chair's approval before sharing them with the rest of the board though and he's not online this morning; we have a meeting scheduled for 2pm anyway. I grab some lunch and then attend a "lunch and learn" session which has Sam Conniff as the guest speaker. I'm excited to hear him as I thoroughly enjoyed his book "Be More Pirate" and this morning I read a really insightful article he had written about his reaction to the current crisis. A few minutes in the broadcast sound is replaced by an annoying hum - my PC has mutinied. I quickly log back ...

Today is the day that our son should have vacated his halls if the lockdown had been eased. When I get up he's still awake, intending to power through to try and reset his body clock. Shortly after he decided to go for a nap and asks to be woken at 10.15, and then changes it to 11 as he hasn't managed to get back to sleep. I keep trying to persuade him to get up, resorting to preparing him a favourite lunch. I then walk down to a friend's house to drop some bread flour on her doorstep as she's run out; when I come back his lunch is still on the table and he's still in bed. It's a warm but breezy day and I enjoy the walk; there are few people about but I zig zag across the road a few times to avoid walking past people on narrow pavements. At my friend's house her daughter and husband come to the doorstep to say hi - I'm in the road two metres away - and it's lovely to see them in real life instead of over zoom. My office is a shambles, part re-arran...

I wake before 6 and doze a little, bothered by what feels like cramp in my left buttock and finally woken properly by the sound of the shower pump. My son has been struggling to re-align his body clock and our dinner has been his breakfast for most of the time he's been home. He said yesterday that he might power through and I think the shower might be part of that strategy, but he doesn't materialise downstairs so I'm guessing he's gone to lie on the bed after showering and then fallen asleep. We've agreed I'll wake him for lunch regardless, as lectures start tomorrow. It's a beautiful day, so my plan is to be busy this morning indoors so that I can spend some time in the garden later. It's just not in my nature to be unproductive, it makes me twitchy and anxious, even though there's no real imperative to do anything other than relax during the lockdown. I list lots of new gift set combinations on my online shop, which takes ages as the internet i...

It's now a whole calendar month since we isolated as a family. It actually doesn't feel that long to me. I'm feeling productive today and since it's overcast I set up my photographic equipment next to a window and use a combination of natural and artificial light to photograph products for my web shop, focusing on combinations of products that are ideal for gifts. I've been meaning to up my game on Facebook, and start to use Instagram and Pinterest properly and while we're locked down I think gift sets by mail will be something people need, as they can't visit their friends and family to celebrate with them. I also Google how to post photos on Instagram from the PC - it turns out I need to use the developer tools in Chrome to emulate a mobile - it's past lunchtime before I get it working but it's very satisfying. We have a couple of aubergines that are going soft, so I make myself a late lunch of spaghetti parmigiana, saving some sauce for later, a...

Today I have decided that I will begin to post photos from our adventures on the same day in the past, which will give me the opportunity to relive them. A problem immediately becomes apparent when I can't find the photos I took when stranded in Istanbul. This prompts a large scale search of removable memory of all types that takes most of the morning, but when I finish things are much better organised. It's check in day for the charity and everybody seems to be doing well. There's also an exchange of emails with the climate change partnership; we've been working out what to do about the public consultation for the climate emergency strategy which was due to close at the end of next week. People have been understandably preoccupied with other matters so we'll be extending it but need to agree for how long. We arrange an online board meeting for the end of the month and I agree to make some online assets because the council's communications team is fully occupi...

Another good night's sleep so I'm at my desk by 9am and beginning my personal statement for another job application. It takes most of the morning to craft something suitable and while I'm working on it the blue sky outside is replaced by grey clouds. I listen to the news over lunch, which focuses on the likelihood of a further 3 weeks lockdown, accompanied by some adjustments to the brief the police force has about what's allowable. Apparently resting on a park bench during exercise is allowed, but sitting on a park bench to work is not. Driving to an open space for exercise is permissible, as long as the exercise takes significantly longer than the drive - no idea how anybody would police that! The most significant change is that people are allowed to stay with a friend for a week's respite to escape from a difficult situation at home. Domestic violence has increased during the restrictions, so this should be a lifeline for many. Today I arrange two meetings, whi...

At last! A really good night's sleep. And it's another lovely sunny day. I decide to restrict my computer time to the morning and spend the afternoon gardening. Listening to the news over breakfast, I hear the new leader of the opposition arguing for consideration to be given in good time to the exit plan for the lockdown, ensuring that we have in place all the necessary steps to act promptly once the decision is taken to relax restrictions. This makes perfect sense to me - it will promote trust that the government has things under control, as well as creating a sense of optimism that the current difficult situation will eventually end. On social media there is a growing backlash against a misguided plan to show support for the NHS by releasing sky lanterns. The idea is being promoted by a company that sells sky lanterns, so there is more than a sniff of commercial interest even though they are donating profits to NHS charities. These are dangerous to wildlife and, perhaps mo...

Not the best night. After two sleepless nights in a row I hoped I'd get to sleep easily but my brain was just too busy. Finally resorted to medication - the penultimate tablet of an antihistamine I've found very helpful in the past. It clearly worked, but I was woken at 8am by my alarm which I really should have switched off. I doze a little but can't get properly back to sleep. I'm feeling lethargic and slow-witted so I embrace it and give myself permission for a lazier day than I had planned. I finish two out of the three job applications I had planned to submit, and set myself a reminder to do the remaining one tomorrow. I message my friend who is recovering from CV and suggest an online movie night - in normal life we often go to the cinema together so it's an ideal activity for us. She loves the idea so I do some research to find the best platform we can use on our PCs. She doesn't have Netflix so we can use Netflix Party, but we both have Amazon Prime so...

Another terrible night's sleep, this time punctuated by emotional exchanges of messages with my friend who I have clearly hurt very badly. It finally becomes clear that not calling her has made her feel abandoned, when all the time I thought she wasn't up to speaking on the phone. I respond to that message with a phone call and we both end up in tears. A little while later she calls back and we speak more calmly; I'm so relieved that we are communicating properly again and that she's finally starting to feel better. My Monday yoga class has been moved to the morning and I really need it today. I'm feeling fuzzy-headed and lacking in energy due to lack of sleep, but after class I feel more energised and definitely calmer. Today marks three weeks since restrictions were imposed by the government; they are due to be reviewed on Thursday but it's obvious that this will be extended - the only question is for how long. I've given up watching the daily government...

It's another beautiful morning, but I've slept badly. Woke in the early hours and laid awake worrying about how to support my friend, so it takes me a while to get going this morning. I get some laundry underway and waste some time on social media. Still trying to get my friend with CV to engage I message her an amusing cat-based Easter greeting in the hope it will provoke a response that will lead us to a conversation. It doesn't. While my grandson is napping after lunch I have a long chat on the phone with my daughter, sitting on a lounger in the sunshine. I tell her how hard I am finding it to interpret what support my friend needs and she says she has heard from her today and she's finally beginning to feel a little better, which is greatly reassuring. She always has good advice and I feel a lot better after speaking to her. She suggests I drop a care package over to my friend - I had come up with this idea during the night but not mentioned it, so that confirms m...

Disappointing news this morning - my yoga teacher is feeling unwell so class is cancelled. I send her "get well" wishes and hope it's not the start of CV. At 11am I join Morning Gloryville's online rave, and this time I'm immediately dancing around like nobody's watching (well, they're not!). An ex-colleague is also attending this morning and it's lovely to see her and her family bopping around on Facebook. She even manages to find me among the masses on the zoom call. Towards the end of the event the organisers select me to go full-screen which is not as embarrassing as I thought it would be. I'm beginning to recognise some of the other ravers, which is lovely. I really hope they continue this after the crisis - it's so much fun and great exercise. Manchester superclub The Hacienda is also streaming today, and Camp Bestival is having an online sleepover too. I grab some leftovers for lunch and sit on the veranda to enjoy it. The weather is a...

Good Friday today - or in other words anyday, since they are all the same at the moment. A beautiful day outside but I can't enjoy it yet as I have to update our online grocery order. That entails waiting in a queue for half an hour first, then I get sucked in to social media … it's becoming a familiar story. After jet-washing the sun lounger I spend a lovely afternoon sunbathing in the garden. I could almost fool myself I'm on holiday. There have apparently been queues on the way to Cornwall, with police turning people back. We're so fortunately to have outside space we can use, I imagine the temptation to bend the rules is strong for those who live in flats and apartments. I've updated our Morrisons order several times today, just to make sure I've added everything we need to avoid another visit to the supermarkets where reports from friends indicate social distancing isn't being properly observed. Hearing how ill my friend has been has made me more af...

I wake up at around 8 and listen to the radio for a while before getting up. My eyes have sorted themselves out but I have a very sore shoulder; I get random aches and pains due to fibromyalgia so I just grab some ibuprofen and do my best to ignore it. I make myself a coffee and notice that the kettle is still warm, so my son has presumably not been in bed long. I can tell what he's eaten while we were asleep as the debris is scattered over the kitchen - student life has followed him home. At breakfast I receive a thank you message from my nephew - it's his 30th birthday today and luckily both his card and the care package (ie case of beer) I sent him have arrived on time. I reply saying that we'll have the biggest ever party at the end of all this, and celebrate properly all the birthdays and anniversaries that we missed. My veg and salad order arrives, together with the cheese I added yesterday, and prompts me to do a larder and fridge inventory so that I can refine the...

After an unsettled night I wake up with very sore eyes and a bit of a headache for no reason that I can fathom. My focus seems to be off and everything is a bit blurry. Perhaps too much PC time? I'm used to changing my focal length when I go outside to walk or drive, but now I spend all day staring at the screen. Hopefully later today it will be warm enough to go outside and do some gardening - my tomato seeds have sprouted so it's time to split them up and plant them into pots. I begin the day with a quick Facebook fix and see a post from our fruit and veg supplier to say they are adding some products to their offering, including cheddar! I can't amend my order online but when I call them they are happy to add it, so that's one product off my shopping list. Another quick check of the supermarkets reveals no new delivery slots and my wholesaler is still out of stock of many staples. In desperation I decide to wait in the queue for Morrisons even though it says no deli...

It took me ages to get to sleep but I seem to have finally slept soundly when I awake about 8am. It's Mum's birthday today but we won't be able to see her because of this dratted virus. After breakfast I watch Tim Minchin, Josie Long and Robin Ince on a zoom discussion with a couple of comedy/music guests. I spend the rest of the morning trying to find ways to get the groceries we need delivered to the house so hubby doesn't have to keep going to the supermarket. There are still no slots at the supermarket, even for click and collect, but I manage to find a couple of catering wholesalers who can deliver some bits, and I also find a wholefoods supplier with flour, chick peas and tinned tomatoes - albeit premium priced organic ones. After lunch I check my car insurance which I thought might be due for renewal and I can't find any emails about it which sends me into a panic in case I'm not insured. I finally find hard copy documents that show cover up until July,...

I managed a solid 8 hours last night and awake feeling more refreshed. I've avoided the news for the last few days but catch up this morning. I'm dismayed to see how many people took advantage of the year's first sunny weekend to have picnics and barbeques in parks and on beaches, putting themselves and others at risk of transmitting the virus - deaths in the UK have almost reached 5,000 and yet people still don't get the seriousness of the situation. Our PM's pregnant girlfriend has revealed that she's been suffering from CV symptoms, and he's now been hospitalised. My daugher's (very recent) former employer Cath Kidston has announced that it is seeking the support of administrators. The new Labour leader, Kier Starmer, has challenged the government to reveal its exit plan for managing the return to normal life and business and the Chancellor has invited the newly appointed shadow Chancellor to a zoom meeting to discuss economic policy, which is an enco...

I wake up ridiculously early again, which is getting really annoying now. But it's a beautiful day. Over breakfast I see an ad for a webinar on building an online business which looks interesting so I hop on that for an hour, then get some laundry out on the line to benefit from the weather. Before the crisis I had finally got round to attending The Sunday Alternative - it's a social gathering loosely defined as "church without god". The one I went to had a guest speaker on sustainable food, cake, some communal singing and chats - I had intended to return, but then gatherings were cancelled for the virus. Anyway, they've taken it online and so at 11am I join a zoom session with them and chat about this and that over a coffee. My son has not materialised by lunchtime, so I grab something to eat and brief hubby about my preferred lunch options for them both. I had to throw something away this morning that had gone mouldy in the fridge and I'm more aware than...

That was a rubbish night's sleep. I woke about 3.30am and couldn't get back to sleep at all. I finally gave up at 7am and went to watch the live action Aladdin movie with a duvet on the sofa. After breakfast I join my yoga teacher's class on Facebook live, which is lovely but she's rotated through 90degrees the whole way through. From 11 to 1 I join Morning Gloryville, an online rave. At first I keep my video camera off because I feel self-conscious but eventually I relax into it. Now that I've discovered zoom backgrounds I can vary them to suit the occasion - this one requires the flags of WOMAD. My son emerges soon after it starts an I take a quick break to cook him breakfast burritos; since it's so hard to keep him in our timezone I've decided to reward him by cooking him something he likes whenever he emerges before lunch - otherwise he has to make it himself. I keep the music on loud so I can hear it while I cook; some of the other ravers are dancing ...

At last - a decent night's sleep. And my son emerges at lunchtime, so I spoil him with crushed avocado and poached egg on toast for brunch. I drop my sick friend a message but she doesn't reply until lunchtime. She has been dozing after being afraid to sleep last night, but she's feeling a bit better. We have our weekly check-in with the trustees of my charity, and everybody is fine apart from an unexpected outbreak of chicken pox. I have some orders to post for my online shop and hubby takes those when he goes to the supermarket. He comes back with most of the things I asked for and some that I didn't.  I have been looking for groceries online to avoid going out but some items remain stubbornly out of stock - the only one I really need is chick peas but pasta and flour are also in short supply everywhere. I wonder whether pasta is mostly made in Italy and affected by their CV lockdown. It's still impossible to get an online delivery slot, even for a couple of wee...

Shit just got real. Woke up late after a restless night to a message from my best friend who has been ill with a cough for a few days. She was waiting for a call back from the paramedics because she has a tight chest and feels breathless. She had been insisting it was just a regular cough, but now she's feeling worse and she's scared it's coronavirus. She lives alone so there's nobody to take care of her and of course I'm not allowed to go to her. She's tired and needs to rest so I stop messaging and look for distractions. I've decided to avoid all news, broadcast and online, today as I'm feeling anxious. My yoga teacher pops up on Facebook live with a lovely meditation so I spend some time trying to still my mind and focus on the present. I attend a webinar about how the circular economy can help us deal with coronavirus and it's reassuring to feel that I'm part of something that might have some practical solutions both during and after the cu...

Today is my daughter's birthday, and also the first day she is allowed outside after her son developed a cough and a fever that triggered 14 days isolation for the family. He has recovered well and they are showing no signs of infection, so they spend a little time outside and she ventures to the local shop for supplies, only to find it stressful because people weren't observing social distancing. I catch up with my PAYE today, as the tax year is about to finish. I use the HMRC's software and regularly back it up but unfortunately when I tried to restore it after my PC returned from a factory reset, it didn't work. I have records of the year's salary payments but the software no longer contains them and it won't let me switch to the next tax year until everything's up to date. Under current circumstances I see no chance the I can get any tech support, so I work out for myself how to record the information without duplicating what it has reported to HMRC. I...