23 | March | 2020 | Not Just a Granny

Archive for March 23rd, 2020

Clap for the NHS

Posted in around the UK, family and relationships, gratitude, Health, lifestyle, messages, tagged #clapforourcarers #coronavirus #covid-19, appreciation, clap for our carers, gratitude, NHS on March 23, 2020| Leave a Comment »

I got all emotional when I got this via a friend. I’ll be in the depths of Somerset and I’m sure they’d think I’m daft if I stand on the street, but I can share this with you and hopefully you’ll be able to join in, I’ll certainly be applauding from my room.

The NHS staff deserve our highest appreciation and gratitude for all that they do. We can self-isolate, or stay at home for a few weeks, but the NHS staff are on the frontline of this pandemic. Let’s show them how much they are appreciated

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In times like these

Posted in Inspiration, tagged Inspiration, quotes on March 23, 2020| 3 Comments »

This quote just popped into my email inbox…

Seems quite pertinent in times like these

A nation’ s strength ultimately consists in what it can do on its own, and not in what it can borrow from others. Indira Gandhi

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Covid-19 Travel

Posted in around the UK, Health, It's my life, Travel, tagged Coronavirus, Travel, walk 1000 miles on March 23, 2020| 1 Comment »

Gloves on, gloves off, gloves on, gloves off. Its been a right pain with the gloves, but since I’m exposed to so many different surfaces, some of which might be carrying the virus, I thought it best to play safe. Especially as I love taking photos on my travels, I don’t want to ‘infect’ my phone 🤪🤪🤪🤢

So, well done to South Eastern railway for getting us to St Pancras only 5 minutes behind schedule despite the trespassers on the line at Margate. I’ve never seen St Pancras station or trains so empty.

After a couple of changes on the Underground I finally made it to Paddington Station, well ahead of time, only to find my next train had been cancelled…😕😕🙄 so a long wait of 1.5 hours ensued

and I’m sure I clocked up at least 3 kms pacing up and down…the seats are too cold to sit on. Besides which I know how long the virus lingers on stainless steel and I am trying to avoid any contact.

However, on the plus side I had time to visit Paddington Bear and grab a cuppachino from Nero.

I’m finally on my train and all being well I’ll get to my destination…only 1 hour 13 minutes behind schedule.

Thankfully the outgoing Carer is taking a few days break and is not enroute to another job. I really should have insisted that the agency give me a job closer to ‘home’.

I was impressed to note that even the finer details have been thought of

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Totally surreal

Posted in around the UK, family and relationships, Health, It's my life, Travel, tagged commuting to work, Coronavirus, Travel on March 23, 2020| Leave a Comment »

My next job/assignment starts today and the day hasn’t had the most auspicious start.

My alarm didn’t go off when it was supposed to 🤪🤪 Fortunately I had been awake for a few hours already and thought to check the time….only 10 minutes out, but with a taxi booked, I had to hustle.

I got to the station with plenty of time to spare and whilst waiting for the train, heard the dreaded announcement….my train was cancelled due to trespassers on the line 2 stations down.

I immediately sought out one of the station staff and secured authorisation to travel on the highspeed route instead…so

At the moment I’m travelling on the highspeed route to St Pancras. And its surreal….

This route is always packed to the rafters with commuters and you would be lucky to get a seat. The train is virtually empty…besides that

The train is stopping at all the small stations it doesn’t normally stop at, and I had a momentary flutter of concern…am I on the right train? But yes, it seems I am.

These are extraordinary times. Very few cars on the road, people few and far between- social distancing 😉 and an empty train

I’m just hoping that I don’t have any issues with the underground getting to my next departure point. The services have been drastically reduced and I am a tad nervous about making my connection. Besides the reduced service, I have 2 heavy grocery bags to carry and an unwieldy suitcase to lug around. 😕😕

I haven’t seen anyone wearing a mask yet 😷😷😷 and no-one has sneezed 🤧🤧 in my vicinity…so far so good. I’m being careful about what I touch and my elbows are getting a good workout 😂😂

One of the people in the houseshare coughed pretty much right through the night (hence my lack of sleep), so I used a sock on my hand to open or close doors, turn on taps and flush the 🚽 and I’m diligently washing my hands at every opportunity 🧼🧼🧼🧼

Fortunately I haven’t had any contact with her, so I can only hope her note on the fridge door was truthful “Sorry for the coughing, I have a cold.” Everyone and everything is suspect now and its quite unnerving.

Strange times. But the air feels cleaner and last night the sky was so clear I could see hundreds of stars.

Stay well every one and please be sensible about following government guidelines. I have a healthy distrust of the government on most days, and I have a healthy regard for some of the conspiracy theories that abound, but I’m still not at all keen to either contract this virus or pass it on to my loved ones….so to that end, I’ll take the news at face value and I’m being a good girl and not rebelling against the advice….

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