BACK IN THE COVID - The Lockdown Diary Day 69

We have completed the obligatory lockdown jigsaw puzzle. It had to be done, even if it is just the one. It had to be done to get the full lockdown experience and quite a challenging puzzle it turned out to be. Usually one piece proves illusive, so much so that you get nearly to the end swearing that a piece is missing. No-one wants to do a jigsaw puzzle that cannot be completed, despondency sets in as things progress and you become more and more convinced that the piece missing is not on the table. Well as ever it was there, about 10 pieces from the end, but in an absolute first for us we had one piece left over! Strange times indeed but here in The Covid life is strange.

It is for example becoming increasingly difficult to fit a little bit of writing in. WE are at least twice as busy as we were before. We have enjoyed a wonderful summer so far and June has not started yet. Apart from seeing, hugging and chatting with our babies, (their babies and their babies), nothing feels too difficult to manage and thanks to online shopping and family support we are eating well, eating better than before in fact especially since we have not been to a restaurant for nearly 10 weeks.  TV programmes, many of which at the best of times are pretty inane, have in some instances been enlivened by being filmed from homes of stars giving us an insight into their homes over their shoulders. Seriously, some of them have weird tastes in knick-knacks and some pretty odd reading material has crossed their intellect judging by the ubiquitous bookcase background now employed by many.

But the underlying feeling of vulnerability continues and it rather looks as though we the shielded are going to need to keep our wits about us. News on social media is that NHS planners have been told to gear up ICU’s for another peak mid july onwards and I heard from a funeral director that their trade body (did you get that?) has been advised to expect a flood of customers in August. This is the strangest thing, the next 3, 4, maybe 5 months it will be more dangerous to go out than it has been at any earlier time. Stranger still, today the government announced that some of the less vulnerable no longer need to shield and we are now allowed to go out! Go out and meet another person from another household even! Yes these are strange times indeed. We have been unlocked at the point of maximum danger. From now on we the shielded are on our own. We shall decide things for ourselves and ignore everything the government tells us.