Day One: Tuesday, 24th March 2020
Last night, here in the United Kingdom, the Government enacted severe new restrictions, including closing all shops not deemed as supplying essential goods, preventing people from accessing public spaces and leisure facilities and curtailing people from gathering in more than a pair.
My intention is to give a daily record of my own life during this rather turbulent time. It is not fact checked, it is not editorially sound and is merely my own reflections to look back on in years to come. One day, this will be in a history textbook!
There were queues this morning for ‘essential’ shopping. In fact, as I stood waiting to get into the supermarket, I overheard two ladies talking. One said to the other: “It’s not even us that started it but we have to pay the price!” How, exactly, did this person feel was the best way to deal with the pandemic? Perhaps the first poor soul who contracted Covid-19 is the one and only person who should be dealing with it? Poor sod.
The shop itself was reasonably stocked. I even managed to grab some toilet roll! Having missed out on the first wave of “panic buying”, I felt obliged to join in the craze and immediately grabbed my allowed two packs.
Later, after an afternoon gardening, a ventured out for my daily, allowed, exercise on the bike. I live about four miles from the town centre and, whilst the roads were quiet, the parks and open spaces were surprisingly busy. Not congregations, that would not be allowed(!), just lots and lots of people out walking their dogs or stretching their legs. It would appear that the “Stay at home” message, helpfully delivered by text from the government (via all the phone operators as the UK doesn’t have its own system) was being translated as “don’t go out in the car”.
Back at home, things are, for now, normal-ish. There’s food in the cupboards and sun in the sky. Now it would be great to get a contact sorted so I can work too!
