Category: Isolation

Keep calm and carry on. Day 23.

Like Captain Tom Moore who yesterday I mentioned had raised £1,000,000. Todays Reuters published that it had reached $US8,000,000 and this evening the BBC states that it has reached £9,000,000. Well done Captain Tom he definitely deserves another medal.
Jeremy Vine meanwhile had a phone in from people isolating alone at home. Recommendations were to have a timetable – not sure how if most of us don’t even know what day it is let alone what time. Another idea was to get a bird feeder, very nice if you have a garden and no cats. However, I don’t fancy attracting the seagulls onto my minute balcony. I can’t remember what else was said but I’m sure we could make a concerted effort to learn a new skill like my singing. It’s not going too well but I’m having a go. I also always wanted as a child to know how to do cart wheels or hand stands. I think it might be a bit late for that and might involve a trip to hospital which the NHS can do without. It’s on my list of maybe ideas. I’ve been pottering around again on my balcony, trying hard not to bother the neighbours below. I’ve now potted the last few plants that I had purchased before lockdown. No sign of any shoots yet from the sunflowers but fuschias are doing ok. Honestly the truth is that as soon as lockdown is over I’ll forget to water them, the man downstairs will be happy and that will be the end of that for another summer.
As you know I finished my pedicure and am now planning a manicure. Also my daughter Sam bought me a hair dye so I can keep myself up to scratch. I already chopped a few bits off my fringe using a pair of nail scissors I keep in the bathroom. Do you remember that old saying ‘Jack of all trades, master of none”. Ha! I’ve been colouring my hair since I was 13 which is a bloody long time so I must have learnt something.
I absolutely can’t mention the news today. Nothing is happening but my iphone is full of stories about celebs that I’ve never heard of, stories about the royal family as if someone has an inside scoop or neighbours prattling about what they perceive to be someone breaking lockdown.
I’ve enjoyed my day, I’ve spoken to people and don’t think I upset anyone, I’ve made a mess and cleared up, I made a list of people I will definitely call or email tomorrow. Definitely no timetable which would confuse my locked down brain but I’m keeping calm and carrying on. Btw I nearly forgot to tell you that I texted the Jeremy Vine show today, I wonder how much that premium rate text will cost me. Whatever time your head hits the pillow sleep well and don’t snore you might disturb someone.

Surviving. Day 22

I’ve done some housework today and feeling very pleased with myself. I put Amazon music on and jigged around with the hoover (which is not a hoover but a Panasonic but it wouldn’t sound right to say I’ve been doing some Panasonicing and how would I spell it?) The house looks better for it and it gave me an excuse to dance onto the balcony but sadly, not a soul in sight. My plants are coming along nicely and when it’s finished I will put some photos up. I planted some sunflower seeds, not sure they’re the correct plant for a sixth floor, on a hill balcony. If they grow and it’s a big if because I’ve had them about five years, they will probably sail away on the first windy day.
Now for the newsworthy news items about survival. A man in France was given a surprise birthday present by his employees. A ride in a fighter jet. He wasn’t happy and in his panic he grabbed hold of the ejector button and 😱 was thrown from the plane. He fell 2,500 feet through the air but was unhurt. Btw, my birthday isn’t far off and I don’t fancy a ride in a fighter jet either. Just in case.
Then in Poland a man in a 4 wheel drive hit a roundabout at speed, he and his car flew over the roundabout completely landing in a graveyard 😱 whereupon it burst into flames. The driver was taken to hospital by ambulance but had escaped with only minor injuries.

On to the good news story. 99 years old veteran war hero Tom Moore has raised 1 million pounds for the NHS. He is walking 100 lengths of his garden which he hopes to finish before he reaches 100 at the end of the month.

I have to say he is a bit of a sweetheart and in the photo of him when he was young looks just like a penpal I was writing to when I was a teenager.
That’s all my darlings, it seems to get harder to find things to write about now we have entered the fourth week. But it’ll be ok. China, Italy and Spain are, to differing degrees, beginning to relax the isolation rules. Maybe we’ll be next. Sleep well my lovely loners, try not to have weird dreams. Nighty night 😴💤😴

Three Full Weeks. Day 21.

If anyone had ever told me that I would spend three weeks mostly holed up in my flat I don’t think I would have believed them. I’m sure this is true of everyone and just think, there are millions of us doing the same thing. It’s almost unbelievable. Yesterday I forgot to mention my walk however, I did post some photos on FB. I wandered off through The Gardens – lots of lovely, colourful tulip beds – and down to the pier, there were a few people wandering along and quite a few cyclists. On my way back to The Square there were hardly any and none in the photo I took. An empty and rather spooky town centre. By the way, I’ve heard that the Cafe Obscura is on the market. Halleluja, It’s the best location but the worst cafe in town. And, why does it close at 5 o’clock in the afternoon even in summer when the town is full of visitors? Still we won’t have much town left after all this. Beales has gone and Debenhams in administration and other shops have already gone. Just a few coffee shops around so in the evening the town centre belongs to the drunks and homeless people.
I’ve been reading Michelle Obama’s book which was lent to me several months ago. I’ve dipped into it a few times but am now having the time to sit down and enjoy it. I’m finding it very fascinating and I’m full of admiration not only for the protagonist but, as always, for the many black women who help to shape America.
It’s getting harder each day to find anything of interest or even note worthy in the news. One headline states that the government doesn’t expect to relax COVID-19 lockdown this week. Well I don’t think any of expected they would. BoJo is out of hospital and at Chequers with his partner. That’s good news and quicker than we expected. Dutch scientists believe that the answer to the number of people that have been infected with the virus actually lies in the U-bend and depending on their test results the Germans are hoping to test 17 million human samples!! I’m glad I’m retired, there’s a job I don’t want. It has also been announced that the World Bog Snorkelling Championship has had to be cancelled, it was due to be held in Powys, Wales. I should think those competitors could be lent to the Germans to help with their trials. Just an idea.
I’ve been doing some essential shopping this evening. Off for a quick shimmy around Aldi at 7 o’clock. Nice and empty of customers at that time but quite nicely stocked up. I bought everything I needed and quite a few things I didn’t but shhh
don’t tell anyone. The lady on the checkout was from Madeira. bright, chatty and cheerful. There was no need to put a coin in for the trolley so the homeless people have lost another way of making a few coins. I’ve almost run out of loose change now so I’ll have to get some from somewhere.
Easter weekend has officially finished, back to normality tomorrow or maybe it will be a bit more of the same. Hope you enjoyed the sunshine, eggs, hot cross buns, bbqs, garden games, exercise walks and whatever else you found yourselves filling the time with. Believe me, it can’t go on forever. Dream your dreams, goodnight

Easter Sunday or Dairy Day 20

What shall I start with? I could tell you that I got up late but having spoken to several people, so did they. Here’s the thing, it seems that the whole world is confused. We don’t know when to wake up, go to bed, is it lunch time or have I not had breakfast yet?  Mostly we don’t know what day of the week it is. Will we ever know again?  Let me remind you, today has been Easter Day, all day and also now known as dairy day (only in this blog) because of all the chocolate we hoarded along with the toilet paper. Lots of the white stuff in a bar of Dairy Milk. I remember that advert where a glass of milk was pouring down inside the purple wrapper. Very apt because today we’ve been reminded that we should still be supporting our farmers during the pandemic as they have been throwing away thousands of litres of unsold milk. {lease pick up and extra bottle when you next go shopping.

Also in the press, the family that went on a fishing trip from London to Devon but got turned back by the police and were given a fixed penalty. Maybe they just didn’t want to risk the supermarket and were off to catch their dinner. The Thames would have been nearer. Also the journalists wrote that isolation is causing us to suffer from an epidemic of weird dreams. Can someone point out that it’s probably more due to the quantity of alcohol most people are drinking. They call themselves journalists?

I had a nice visit today – from a safe distance – as Elena and Elizabeth called by and left me an easter gift and card. A really lovely surprise. I’ll post a photo later.

At 6 pm Andrea Bocelli was streamed live from Milan Cathedral. Very beautiful  and called Music for Hope. A special Easter present for the world and they showed some great views of completely empty cities. I was fortunate to see him perform live in the Festival Puccini in Torre de Lago a couple of years ago.

I’ve been watching The Nest on BBC. I wasn’t sure about it when it started but it is getting interesting. Might have something to do with too much spare time. Last episode tomorrow. Also tomorrow is the much talked about (in the popular press anyway) Quiz. Haha, did they cheat or didn’t they? I’m sure we will be left wondering, a bit like the spinster a hundred years ago.

Just to remind you all that tomorrow, or today if you’re just waking up is Monday, in fact Easter Monday. Sleep peacefully and try not to have any weird dreams, nighty night

 

Big Brother Watching. Day 19

Happy Easter everyone. I’m writing this, of course, Saturday night but you will be reading in the morning. The easter bunny has been and eggs are hidden where you probably won’t find them. I can’t imagine rabbits isolating, they’re always in groups. Who knew that a group of rabbits is known as a fluffle? I certainly didn’t and I’ve no idea how we managed before google.

Yesterday I informed you of the benches on Bournemouth seafront being taped to stop people sitting on them. Well, stop press news item today said that it was to discourage tourists from coming! A man has been stopped from playing ball with his son in his front garden and stories abound (not all true) of police patrolling the streets and fining or arresting people who are not abiding by the government guidelines. I also saw photos of a queue of cars that had come off the ferry at Studland. The police said that all registrations had been caught on camera so be warned.

I’ve been working on my Blog pages today and it will be linked to Facebook but so far there is nothing extra to see although I’m hoping there will be.

We had a virtual family get together or party this evening. Four locations, fifteen people and the games organised by my nineteen year old grandchildren Jack and Elizabeth. We started with Two Truths One Lie with each of us making three statements. This was followed by the online game Psyche and then of course the inevitable trivia quiz. It seems that all answers are acceptable and therefore most should be in the unacceptable category, especially taking into account the age range of players. I think the surveillance police would have been interested. I lost spectacularly or maybe even miserably. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with the online forums everyone seems to be speaking at once and I have little idea of what is going on. Nothing new there I suspect. Sleep well my little easter bunnies, nighty night

Good Friday. Day 18

The day we are supposed to eat hot cross buns but of course they are in the shops all year. I’ve had some this year and even this month but none today. Gold star to my stepdaughter Jane Trigg who baked her own. A beautiful looking tray full, next year you can expect a visitor Jane. Easter eggs on Sunday if you’re lucky and you might even have an easter egg hunt unless you’re in isolation alone. Many oldies like me are alone but FB says if we hide them when we get up we won’t remember where they are an hour later so we can still have the traditional hunt. Might even find that remote you lost six weeks ago. In Spain they eat torrijas which is similar to French toast. Very tasty.
My walk this afternoon took place through the gardens and down to the pier. Quite a few people out and about but mostly keeping social distancing. I sat in the sun on one of the stone seating areas at pier approach and just enjoyed seeing people quietly going about their daily exercise. Then I wandered along the seafront and found something rather strange All the benches on the promenade were wrapped in red and white ribbon to stop people sitting on them, only a few yards from where I had been sitting a few moments before. someone had removed most of the tape from one of the seats so I quickly put my bum down. I can’t resist a bit of mutiny. I decided to walk up the zig zag path and there was an available bench on each bend. I made use of a couple of them, the views are great and they are in the sun and nicely sheltered. Complete bliss. I don’t know what the recommendation is for how long we should be out exercising but it can’t be too long as all the public toilets are closed. Just saying, this might be useful information for certain people.
Mot much in the press today but I think that is also traditional on Good Friday. However. one article commented on people stocking up! Really? Shops are closed on Sunday guys so you really need to get in those supplies. Apparently shoppers were “braving” the supermarket today with massive queues through car parks and snaking round stores. What on earth have they done with all that stockpiling they stockpiled a couple of weeks ago. Please don’t tell me they’ve run out of toilet paper again. I haven’t been (shopping, I mean) but then I did mention yesterday that I need to diet. Sleep well my lovelies the easter bunny is on his way (or her way)

What’s new pussy cat? Day 17

So here’s the thing, today was my daughter Sam’s birthday. Should I say how many? Well she can always deny it’s 48 and what would I know, I only gave birth to her. She had a lovely day for it, 23º and as she loves the sun she spent the day in her garden reading a book Friends and family popped by and left cards and presents on the doorstep. What more can a girl want.
There was an item in the press today that police could check shopping trolleys to ensure that only ‘essential’ items are purchased. Now I have to say that everyone’s idea of essential items is different. One of mine today when I popped in for milk was salted caramel ice cream. Felt essential to me. For certain people a bottle of vodka might be, after all it could stop them going into withdrawal and needing an ambulance. What would yours be?
Another press release is that cats could carry coronavirus and should be kept indoors. Read on my friends, this only refers to pets of people in quarantine because they have the virus. But not if the cat is of a nervous disposition and therefore doesn’t like to be locked in. Who writes this stuff?
BoJo is out of ICU, good news.
The off duty cops took their police vehicles to Bournemouth Hospital and lights flashing cheered the hospital staff. All Britain came out on their doorsteps, balconies, windows and joined in applauding the medical staff and I believe all those who are still risking Covid19 by working and keeping the country on it’s feet.
My online Blog (as opposed to my FB blog) seems to have gone live and I have a comment from Martin. Thank you Martin, it was great hearing from you and I feel honoured that you took the time to read it. Tomorrow I hope to make it officially live and look at the layout etc. etc.
Am I the only one buying more kindle books these days? I seem to be buying one a day and I’m certainly not reading one each day. Truth to tell though, I seem to buy several books that I never read past the first few pages. They sound as if they might be interesting but don’t turn out to be my style.
Tomorrow I intend dieting, exercising and hitting my todo list. Watch this space. Sleep tight, don’t let the bug bite. 😴💤😴

Not a lot changed. Day 16.

Our leaders said that CV19 was not accelerating out of control. The PM is still in ICU but no worse. We are all still at home (as we should be) and trying to pretend we are busy. And the sun shone on our empty beaches and parks and reached, I believe, 21° or maybe even higher. Jeremy Vine had a phone in on family fall outs or arguments. One couple thought they might get divorced. It covered kids in bed till well past midday, chore sharing and whatever else families bicker over. No problem here as I live on my own. Although the guy downstairs doesn’t like me watering my plants on the balcony and someone else sent me a snotty email. I had no idea what the rant was about, maybe more to do with lockdown than me. I sat most of this sunny day in my spare room painting. It’s not exactly a masterpiece but it’s coming along. I heard from my grandson Christian which is always nice. I caught up with my dear friend Ilse in Hamburg. She’s in total lockdown in her apartment. Her adult children do her shopping and accompany her on her daily exercise walk. It seems they don’t ‘allow’ her to go alone. No comment. We spoke about Paco and Inmaculada as we were once all friends together in Madrid. 52 years ago we were having an English speaking coffee morning every two weeks taking turns hosting. We all had babies or toddlers and took them along with us. Must have been eventful although I don’t remember any problems. There are five of the original ladies left, we still meet up but usually once a year these days. Sadly we are all widows now, Paco was the last of our men. I saw him last May when we were all together in Madrid for Ilse’s birthday celebration.
I believe I have an online family party to log into tomorrow but more about that later. It was good to know that BoJo may be slightly better, I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for him and his mother is a fabulous artist. Wish I could paint like her. Dream sweet dreams and wake up full of happy thoughts, good night or buenas noches 😴💤😴

Let Me Out! Day 15.

Today I literally was on the phone until 4 in the afternoon. Kept trying to go for a walk but as soon as I made a move in that direction the phone rang again, and again, and …..
Lots of nice, chatty catch ups I must say and I was more than happy to hear from people and plenty of time going forward to do everything else. I did escape as I say about 4 o/c and do you know, I think the streets were even emptier today. One of my calls was my son Peter about the online blog I’ve thought about creating but have been putting off. Now he’s going to help me set it up. We decided on a title which is needed, of course, to get started. Result: NannyJune.com – Musings of a Grandmother has been purchased. If we’re holed up long enough my daily post might be on there as well as on FB. Bit of work still to do but at last it’s become a work in progress. I spoke to a couple of people about our poor Paco and will try to speak to my friend Inmaculada in the morning. This evening I even managed to work on my painting, I’m really quite enjoying the challenge. Here’s the thing, once NannyJune is set up I could put paintings on there, short stories (got a few of them lurking on my computer) or any other nonsense I might come up with. What do you all think? I could even start up an advice column? but there again that could attract all sorts of strange or weird questions. I feel quite excited, I think. Sleep well my darlings, tomorrow is just another day 😴💤😴

Holed up Day 14

Sad day as our friend Paco in Madrid died this morning from Coronavirus. Married to my friend Inmaculada he was a charming man with a great sense of humour that I’ve known over 50 years. They stayed with Sandy and I in Wimborne and one of the places we took them was Kingston Lacy House. He spoke to all the volunteers there and somehow managed to make them all laugh. I have so many lovely memories of him at parties, on their roof terrace and even playing Rummikub, he loved to win over us ladies. He was older than us and probably was his time but he will be missed. Can’t bear to think of his family not having a proper funeral for him. They will be devastated.
I started my new painting and so far so good. No clues just yet except it’s quite big or biggish. My son suggested I start a Blog which I have to admit I’ve thought about so I might put that on the top of my ‘todo’ list. I haven’t practised my vocals for a couple of days and haven’t been for a walk today either. My infamous list is more of a ‘don’t do” list and is still getting longer.
Boris is in ICU tonight, I hope there is good news for him in the morning. He’s in St Thomas’s, I seem to remember that’s where my grandsons were born. I hope BoJo gets as good treatment as they did. This too shall pass – all of it one day. Sleep well my lovely loners. I’ll be back mañana. 😘😴💤😴😘