When did this start? What am I talking about? What day of the week is it? When did I last wear ‘proper’ shoes or pick up a handbag? What shall I eat tonight/for breakfast tonight/NEXT? What day is tomorrow? ……,

These and other rambled and scrambled thoughts are constantly going through my head at the moment!

I just checked and this is day 11 of the UK’s version of ‘lockdown’ & day 18 of my family’s self-imposed social isolation. I only know this because it was my birthday on March 15th and that was the last time I got anything like dressed-up….Now, that seems like a lifetime away.

I’ve almost forgotten the feeling of hurrying to get ready to go out, ambling around shops or going for a coffee. I’m not looking at the online sites I browse when there’s nothing on Netflix that appeals…. though it has to be said there have been a few Amazon purchases & deliveries, including a bark shredder, and EIGHT bags of Buckwheat…. ordered in error instead of wholemeal strong bread flour! Well it sounds similar doesn’t it? Fortunately Buckwheat makes very good pancakes and with 1/4 wholemeal flour, highly acceptable bread. Phew!!

But let’s face it: LIFE IS WEIRD.

Strangely enough though, there’s a feeling of security- at least for those of us not working on the ‘front-line’. That old saying: “An Englishman’s home is his castle” rings true.

As long as I’m in the 4 walls of my home, I feel safe. Then there’s the silence and the new sounds it brings! Do birds always sing so loudly? Except!!! At certain times there has been a cacophony of chain saws and power-tools… and the distant moan of the power-hose. No wonder the sales of online garden tools are rocketing!

But I’m also all too aware, whilst I’m here in my quiet ‘castle’, not far away people are gasping for their lives and medical staff are working to the point of exhaustion and more. In supermarkets, staff are dealing with a frustrated and often rude public, whilst putting their own health at risk to serve us….

It’s as if there are 2 parallel worlds and we, the ones safely in our homes, will hopefully never have to cross that line into the other chaotic and frightening world.

And everything I read tells me I should be using this time to be creative, learn a new language, keep a diary, de-clutter my wardrobe or read more…. but so far I haven’t had the time -or inclination.

But maybe it doesn’t matter. This is about survival…..,Better go and have a cup of tea and a crumpet whilst I think about being grateful for being here, now.

#staysafe #stayhome