At a time when we could all be out and about enjoying the glorious weather, we’re on lockdown 🤪🤪🤪❌🚶🏻♀️
I can hear the birds 😃🕊🕊🐦
For me, in my job, its business as usual. This is my life…confined to the house for 22 hours a day, 2-4 weeks at a time, with a few outing exceptions like hospital visits or the doctor or a bit of shopping. I don’t mind so much in winter when its cold and rainy, but it’s a mental (and emotional) challenge in spring, summer and autumn. 🌸🌼🍁
But, I am making the most of my break and getting out while the going is good and making the most of my allowable time off and out ….adhering to work and government guidelines. Thankfully this position is not like many others I’ve had in the past where I’m not allowed to leave the house at all for 2 weeks at a time due to the nature of the client’s condition and requirements.
Make the most of your time out allowance and enjoy the fabulous weather….the air is clearer, I can hear the birds, there’s less pollution, I can see the stars at night, and nature is drawing breath….
I’m going to try keeping a diary over this period and blog on a daily basis….
However, I do get lazy and distracted by reading/social media/tv/OPB/BBC 🤪🤪😂😂😂 but I’ll try my best. (OPB = other people’s blogs).
Frankly my life hasn’t changed that much. As a Carer for the elderly I’m classified as a ‘key worker’, and yesterday, after a 6.5 hour journey on 2 trains, 2 tube rides and 2 taxis, I arrived at my next assignment. I’m meant to be here for 2 weeks, but that could change due to the lockdown, and I may end up being here for 4 weeks….not longer. My birthday is coming up soon and I DO. NOT. WORK. ON. MY. BIRTHDAY.
So for me its same old same….different place, different client, same difference. In other words, my jobs entails pretty much the same thing every day for 14 days, but just a different location and different person, but same issues.
I get sent all over the country and sometimes to places well off the map, mostly never heard of except by the residents.
But often the dice falls in my favour and I get sent to a place that has all the elements that get me excited…. in this instance, not only is this village a Domesday Book Village, but it has had some famous residents and boasts the ruins of a Norman motte and bailey.
Following Johnson’s announcement of a nationwide lockdown last night, I took my 1st ‘allowed’ excursion this morning to the store for basics. I’m going to make use of this time every day for a breather and stock up on the basics needed to feed my client, and other such things.
Then this afternoon I used my 2 hour break to take advantage of the allowable exercise outing. I usually do take this time to get out and walk anyway but now of course it’s a privilege rather than an expectation.
What a charming little village this is. Quaint old houses, a little brook dashing through the streets, a clock tower, and oodles of history….one of the Guy Fawkes protagonists was born here. How awesome is that!!!
Quaint old cottages and a clock tower A bubbling brookBad lad…boom!!
I’m staying in a quirky 16th century cottage with more steps and landings than I care to count 😂😂😂😂 if I lift my hand I can touch the ceiling….and I am not tall…just 5ft 5 inches. I’m guessing people were much shorter in the 16th century. Last night when I went to bed, last thing before I switched off the light…I reminded myself about the step outside my room so that I don’t fall flat on my face in the middle of the night.
I pretty much have the house to myself as my client has been practicing ‘social distancing’ for the last 4 years…apparently she took to her room 4 years ago and refuses to come out unless she has a medical appointment. This is not unusual.
I set off at 2pm and after a short walk I found an information board about the village and that’s where I discovered there’s a castle. Whoop whoop. Needless to say it’s on the top of the hill 🤪🤪🤪🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️⛰🏰 a steep climb. What’s with those Normans anyway, building their castles at the top of the hills…I mean seriously, no cars, no buses, no escalators, no lifts…but they build on the top of the hill 🤨🤨😉
It’s at this point that I miss my walking poles the most. It really feels weird being out walking without them. But onwards….
I soon reached the crest of the hill and to my delight there was the castle. Okay its totally overgrown now and there’s nary a stone or wooden pole to be seen, but it’s so exciting to walk in the footsteps of people who lived here nearly 1000 years ago.
Norman motte and bailey Hinkley Point in the distance
The views are spectacular…you can see for miles and miles, even the Bristol Channel, and in the distance I could see Hinkley Point Power Station. The village looked cosy snuggled as it is in the folds of the valley.
I’m sure the air is fresher….I sat out on the highest point I could find and just enjoyed the quiet, the brisk breeze and the delicious sunshine on my skin. There’s a grassy bowl towards the middle of the castle where I could easily spend the day…a blanket, a good book, flask of hot tea and packet of biscuits and I’d not leave all day.
Perfect spot to spend the day
I phoned my little family on the other side of the country and enjoyed seeing my adorable grandson and chatting to my daughter and son-in-law. They’re bearing up and enjoying being home, creating fun things to do for the baby.
A few other people made the most of the lovely weather and walked around the perimeter of the mound.
After 20 minutes of gorgeous warmth I walked back down into the village and along one street to the outer edge then turned back and made my way back to the cottage. A pleasing break and added 3.2 kms to my walk 1000 miles challenge….although as things are going, its unlikely I’ll reach my target this year.
Edge of the village
Then it was back to work and supper preparation and frequent visits from downstairs to upstairs 🤪🤪🤪 I told my client that at this rate, with the number of times I respond to the bell, I’m sure to get fit and lose weight.
At the moment I’m watching TV and writing this blog while counting the minutes till bedtime 😁😁 end of day one of 21 days of lockdown. 20 to go…its frustrating of course, upsetting and unsettling and we have no idea how things are going to pan out, but in the greater scheme of things…time out is no bad thing, and like I said, my life has not changed that much…
I saw this sculpture at the edge of the village…it made me smile and think of bonkers Boris….”stay home or else ”
Watching Boris Johnson on BBC1 last night was an exercise in frustration. As usual he waffles on ??? using highfalutting, fancy words most people don’t even understand (I love a good fancy word myself; but time and place Boris!!) We all know you have a preppy education, have written books, and use words no-one has used since Shakespeare died…..now is not the time to show off.
So instead of saying “I am putting the UK on lockdown for 3 weeks with immediate effect”, he scurries about scrambling for placating words; words he strings together in long rambling sentences that by the time he ends it, we’re no wiser and have lost track of the message….. meanwhile his eyes and hands betraying his uncertainty. Talk about clenched. 👊👊
Is he trying to protect his city buddies investments? Just say “lockdown” ffs. You’re not dealing with reasonable people (on the whole). The number of people who are flouting the recommendations and still making unnecessary trips are thick, they need their heads banged together….use strong, solid, forceful words that get the message across. 💪💪💪
As for Michael Gove….can someone sew up his lips for the duration and ban him from speaking on TV…what a tosser. Seriously. 🛎🛎🛎🔔🔚
I was so impressed with the action taken by the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa….a short, concise, clear message “….decided to enforce a nationwide lockdown for 21 days with effect from midnight on Thursday”. Boom!!💣💥💣💥 end of. 🚷🚷🚷🚷🚷🚷 We’re on 🔐⬇️ “…a decisive measure to save lives”. ergo…stay at home.
We are living in uncertain times, Covid-19 is an unprecedented issue and if we don’t get our act together, we are going to be culpable for the deaths of any number of people…. people you may not even know, but they’re loved by someone else, but your selfish actions have caused their untimely death.
I messaged my daughter yesterday to say that even if I do finish this current job in 2 weeks time, I am not going to visit them at their home. Anyone who knows me, would know how terribly hard that will be for me to do….but I do not want to inadvertently infect the people most precious to me…my beloved daughter, my cherished grandson and my lovely son-in-law.
Instead we’re going to do video messaging and keep in touch on WhatsApp with lots of photos.
Be safe folks, please follow government guidelines and let’s beat this bastard virus
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
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 🤪🤪🤪🤢
Gloves off…
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.
St Pancras
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
Just 43 minutes more….
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.
Underground- Bakerloo linePaddington Station
However, on the plus side I had time to visit Paddington Bear and grab a cuppachino from Nero.
Paddington Bear
I’m finally on my train and all being well I’ll get to my destination…only 1 hour 13 minutes behind schedule.
Paddington Station
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
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….
I’m not someone who panics easily. I tend to be calm and logical in the face of adversity and hold my meltdown for the after party…..LOL
Whether panic is needed seems to depend on those who seed it …~Na’ama Yehuda
But I must admit to having gone from “bloody Chinese eating wild animals and treating those and other animals in a most appalling way – the animals have risen and are taking revenge” a couple of months ago, to the faint stirrings of unease, and concern at how fast this virus has spread and how vicious it is.
I’m guessing that none of us expected this virus to jump borders and spread so rapidly, taking down swathes of people and leaving fear and despair in its wake.
But suddenly we’re in the midst of a pandemic that the authorities seem unable to contain. And so the infected numbers and deaths mount up. Every day now the figures go up in the hundreds rather than the occasional report of one or two.
For obvious reasons this has brought about a sense of panic and the possibility of a lockdown is causing irrational behaviour.
I know that I for one have started to feel somewhat stressed….mainly for my little family; my daughter, son-in-law and my cherished grandson.
While we were away in Devon last week the first reports of panic buying started to filter through. I said to my daughter that as soon as we get back we must go shopping. Well that turned out to be a bit of a fright since the shelves were practically bare of essentials and necessities…..panic buying was in full swing.
However, we calmly walked along the aisles and bought whatever we could find, particularly things that can be used in soups and stews. Baby food was high on the list of essentials and nappies. We bought as much by way of prepared food as we could without emptying the shelves.
Since then I have raided my tax savings and on a daily basis I buy a small quantity of whatever I can find focusing on dry goods and tins where there’s availability.
We went shopping at Tesco’s a few days ago and the shock of the empty shelves was so overwhelming for my daughter that she had a meltdown in the store. Like she said, she has a baby to consider, and besides that her levels of empathy for older people wandering about looking for something they could buy was just too much.
I’m due to leave tomorrow morning for my next job…in the depths of Somerset, a 4.5 hour journey on 2 trains and the tube, and frankly I have no idea what will happen in the next few weeks. Will I contract the virus? Will my elderly client? How long will I be stuck there? If I do get ill basically I have no home to return to for either recovery or self-isolation.
Of course I wouldn’t want to return to my daughter’s home because I may well end up infecting them, and it begs the question….when my assignment is completed in 2 weeks time, should I even have any physical contact with them at all? And what of my accommodation? It’s on a very tenuous basis anyway. I rent a tiny room on an adhoc basis in a shared house. I have no lease and no guarantee that the landlady who currently rents out the room would even allow me to return to the property if I need to self-isolate.
Besides that, I have no food where I stay between jobs. I can’t store stuff there because not only have the permanent residents recently helped themselves to some of my fridge stuff, but where would I keep it….its not a permanent place of residence with a secure place to store anything? And even if she agrees to let me stay there, I wouldn’t be able to prepare anything in the shared kitchen if I was ill as it may affect the other residents.
So even though I don’t normally panic, I do confess to feeling rather uneasy and uncertain. I can only hope that the person I’m going to care for over the next couple of weeks doesn’t turn out to be a nightmare, and if I’m required to extend my stay due to a lockdown, that we’ll have sufficient food to see us through.
The other aspect is the worry I have for my family….will they have sufficient food for an extended period if there’s a lockdown? Will they be safe from the virus? Will I be able to return to help out if they happen to get ill? I have urged my daughter to be very conservative with her food and to not waste anything….I can only hope that they do.
My grandson is right in the middle of weaning and I worry that she will not have enough food to cope with his requirements. A lot of food already goes to waste when he plays with the food instead of eating it and it ends up on the floor and subsequently into the trash.
So while I am not normally given to panicking, I do admit that I’m beginning to feel incredibly stressed and worried, especially if there is a lockdown and all that that implies.
Unless you live in Antarctica, it’s likely you reside in a country where COVID-19 has reared its ugly head. The high contagiousness of this virus is certainly frightening and while the mortality rate right now is the subject of much debate and is sure to change several times over when all is said is done, the deaths thus far as well as the continuing uncertainty are adding to the underlying panic.
What is also frightening are the conspiracy theories and mind-blowing, idiotic medical quackery that’s popping up all over the web. In an effort to put some trustworthy information out there that everyone can easily access, here are some links to resources where you can get more information about the virus as well as common sense preventative measures you can take to lower the risk of getting the ill that don’t involve drinking bleach. (Seriously. That’s apparently a thing.)
Gosh. Its extraordinary to think that our governments are not trusted enough to ensure that nature, a vital part of our lives, is not sacrosanct and protected from over development and destruction, as well as pollution. Its extraordinary that it needs organisations like the RSPB to have to fight for this.
Not Just a Granny 
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