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...