Diary of Lockdown
Who’d have thought the buzzword of 2020 would be coronavirus eh?
I started writing this blog post a week or two into the UK lockdown and dipped in and out of it over the weeks and months that followed, as a record for myself of how the world reacted and how I felt, during what was to become the weirdest time of our lives. I backdated some entries to add news stories and headlines for earlier in the pandemic but the longer entries were written real time.
Friday 31st January 2020;
Britain officially leaves the EU and enters the transition period but the celebrations and commiserations are completely overshadowed by the first confirmed cases of Covid 19 in the UK.
Friday 7th February 2020;
Our wedding day! 3 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.
Tuesday 11th February 2020;
On our mini moon in Cornwall in a storm and a power cut! 9 confirmed cases in the UK.
Wednesday 26th February 2020;
Irritating day at work, nothing went right. Went to Mum’s in the evening to see the kids and had a chippy. First case of coronavirus in Scotland.
Thursday 27th February 2020;
16 covid cases uk the UK including the first in Northern Ireland. Payday! Popped in next door to have a bit of a catch up.
Friday 28th February 2020;
1st death of a British person (in Japan). First confirmed covid case in Wales. First uk to uk transmisson.
Sunday 1st March 2020;
Jos in Swansea at a St Davids day market. Cleaned the house and went to Tesco yesterday, spent the day at Mum’s and make welsh cakes with the kids. Total of 26 cases of corona in the UK.
Wednesday 4th March 2020;
85 cases of covid now in the UK. Had a staff meeting at work - lasted 4 hours!!!
Thursday 5th March 2020;
Weather is absolutely miserable. Went out for lunch with Mum in my lunch hour. First covid death in the UK and 115 cases. Our ‘threat level’ has changed from contain to delay.
Friday 6th March 2020;
Jos went into Cardiff with his Mum to do some shopping for his birthday presents and met Dad! Went to Mum’s in the afternoon to see the kids. Our first course at work has been cancelled because of the virus - suspect it won’t be our last.
Saturday 7th March 2020;
One month married! Went to Morrisons instead of Tesco to stock up on pies. Cases of covid in Britain jumped to 200.
Tuesday 10th March 2020;
Flooding gone so back to taking my car to work instead of the truck! Had a bit of a crazy day at work with course materials but loads more courses being cancelled. Health minister Nadine Dorris tested positive for covid.
Wednesday 11th March 2020;
Coronavirus declared a pandemic and first community transmission in Wales. Jos’ 27th birthday - had a takeaway with his family and watched a film.
Thursday 12th March 2020;
Jos in the drs for a repeat prescription - he said it felt really weird and eerie in there. More courses cancelled at work, if our biggest client go we are buggered. UK threat has upped from moderate to high and if you get symptoms now like a high temperature or a cough, you need to isolate for a week. First confirmed case in North Wales.
Friday 13th March 2020;
Horrible vibe at work. Went to Mum’s to see the kids after work. First coronavirus death in Scotland.
Saturday 14th March 2020;
All of the 6 nations games have been cancelled because of the virus. 1140 cases in Britain and 21 deaths. America has banned travellers from the UK. Took the truck to Tesco, shelves are relatively well stocked just things like eggs were out.
Sunday 15th March 2020;
The government announced ‘social distancing’ where you need to stay away from others as much as practical and announced shielding for the most vulnerable. They will be broadcasting live television updates daily from tomorrow. Went into Cardiff with Jenny for the day shopping - was perfectly normal for a Sunday, quiet ish but most shops had signs up saying they preferred us to use cards not cash. Jos’ sister home from skiing so we celebrated his Dad’s birthday a few days late with a takeaway.
Monday 16th March 2020;
Confirmation at work that everything is to be cancelled. Has skype meeting with our biggest client who are cancelling everything till July. Feels like this is the end. First government daily briefly and Boris advised against all non essential travel and contact. Had impromptu family meeting at Mum’s. Gareth picked up his new car so we all went there and had tea. Decided as long as we all felt safe we’ll just continue to see each other and stay as safe as we can.
Tuesday 17th March 2020;
Cinemas closed in the UK. Our last training course went ahead. Had a Teams meeting with half the staff at home and half in the office. Our jobs are up for redundancy at the end of March - the business cannot employ anyone with no income for the next however long. Feel numb to it.
Wednesday 18th March 2020;
Celebrated B’s birthday at work but it felt a bit like we were trying too hard to be happy. Went to Mum’s after work - my sister in law is at risk so has taken my niece out of school and from today they will all be isolating together so none of us can see the children whilst we’re still working/going out - including Gareth. I put the kids in the car and gave my niece a kiss and we all said '“see you soon” not see you tomorrow. My heart is breaking. Sobbed all the way home until I couldn’t see to drive. Schools will be closing from Friday and no exams will happen for GCSE or A Levels.
Thursday 19th March 2020;
The bank of England cut interest rates to 0.1% in an attempt to stop the economy crashing and the first virus related death was reported in Northern Ireland. Felt weak at work all day, loads to do but feels like working for nothing. Completely deflated in the evening.
Friday 20th March 2020;
Schools across the UK closed for what might be 6 months - seems absolutely inconceivable. Found work really scary and tricky. Was just packing up for the day and watched Rishi Sunak’s speech unveiling the furlough scheme where we can be paid 80% of our wage if employers keep us on - ran in to tell my boss and he said “tell them we’ll sort it'“. Feeling so relieved we might be able to hang on. Went to big Tesco after work and had a celebratory McDonalds but the shelves were completely empty. Feels a bit like an apocalypse.
Saturday 21st March 2020;
Jos’ Mum is at risk so they are going to isolate in their side of the house and I am not to have contact with them. The dog is going to go and live in there for a bit too to stop any cross contamination. Cleaned the house, had a productive day but made the decision to cancel our honeymoon. Jos’ parents scared me a bit talking about covid from a dr perspective. Had a bit of a wobble.
Sunday 22nd March 2020;
Mother’s Day. Gareth and I went there and we all sat at opposite ends of the table for dinner and it was horrible without the kids. We all made the decision that it’s not safe to come over anymore and we need to stay away from each other for a bit. Took a photo of Mum and Dad on the doorstep when we said goodbye “not sure for how long”. Cried all the way home. My boss text everyone in the evening to say he’s closing the office tomorrow.
Monday 23rd March 2020;
Boris announced lockdown in the evening so at least we had our normal 7.5 hour shift to prepare. We don’t even have wifi in the office so trying to get it all digital in a day to allow us to work from home was no mean feat and I stayed till 8pm backing everything up, choosing which files to take home and boxing up my fav stationary and then got back to the house in time to hear the PM broadcast. Could barely eat my tea and felt numb and exhausted, mentally and physically but also weirdly fizzy. Hard to tell if it was excitement or nerves. From today/tomorrow, you can only leave your house in the UK for 1 form of exercise per day and to get essential shopping. Feel weirdly annoyed I had to make the decision to say to the family we cannot see eachother anymore, when a day later it was sprung on us but maybe it’s better we had a ‘last day’ together. Gareth furloughed from his job too.
Tuesday 24th March 2020;
First day of working from home has been weird but quite nice. Spent the day clearing out my office and moving things from my desk to make room for my office files I took home and all my ‘borrowed’ stationery. I set up my desktop mac that I haven’t used in months and downloaded Office 365 and Teams and Skype and got to work remotely, shutting down the business for a few months. I stuck to my normal working hours, took my lunch break when I normally would, made a brew and had an afternoon snack at 3pm and listened to Radio 1 all day with the sun shining through my window overlooking the orchard. Feels like it could be a lovely new routine and I’m sad it’s only lasting a maximum of a week. Church of England closed and the Excel in London is going to be made into a field hospital called Nightingale.
Wednesday 26th March 2020;
Felt like I found my groove with working from home. Prince Charles has been tested positive for covid and 2 NHS workers have died. Parliament has shut down for a month. Been a week already since we last saw the kids.
Thursday 26th March 2020;
My baby niece’s first birthday, a day we couldn’t celebrate together which made me feel a bit teary in the build up but actually on the day she sulked at me on Facetime and I spent the whole 40 mins chatting to the big niece anyway. First venture out since Monday - had to go to the office to pick up the post and do a bit of work that couldn’t be done remotely so I went to the shops in my local town to get in the groceries for my parents, my in laws and my brother who are all isolating. It was only the next day I was able to quantify what the feeling was but I told my blog squad it felt like a long bank holiday and that’s exactly it. Barely any of the shops were open, hardly anyone was about but mainly it was just….quiet. The weather was glorious but it was about 4.30pm and it had a chill to the air of the evening to come and it was so peaceful and quiet. I went to Mum’ in the evening and then on to my brother’s house and deposited their shopping on the doorsteps and chatted to them from the end of the driveway. There were more than 100 deaths today and the 1st ‘clap for carers; at 8pm. Rishi Sunak has unveiled some self employment help that Jos might be able to take advantage of.
Friday 27th March 2020;
Had a BBQ with Jos’ Mum and Dad sat at the other end of the table from us and wondered why we were cold at 7pm - forget it’s March when the weather is this nice! Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock have both tested positive for covid.
Saturday 28th March 2020;
We had a bbq last night, a last minute well thought out plan by Jos and I was incredulous to find burgers and burger buns but we did and we invited Jos’ parents to come over from next door and sit away from us and join in. Wondered why we felt cold by 7pm and needed blankets - only to remember it is only March no matter how lovely the weather. Spent today doing shit all for the first time in honestly years. Jos asked me the last time I could remember just sitting in front of the tv doing literally nothing, not working, not blogging, not nothing and the only time I could bring to mind was the day before my oldest niece was born…….5 years ago. I sat in a blanket and watched 4 hours worth of KUWTK, I had a mug of tea, I scrolled my phone, I browsed Pinterest and I ate a big bowl of potato salad and veggies and it was lovely. Until I got bored at 3pm, had a shower and fresh clothes and a mani and cleaned the whole house and made a big mac and cheese. 260 deaths. The government says it could be 6 months until things are normal.
Tuesday 31st March 2020;
My last day of working from home, and in fact my last day of working for the foreseeable and I felt a real sense of it being my last day. I worked bloody hard, and late into the evening having also worked a bit on the weekend and till 6pm in the actual office yesterday. I did a huge handover for my one remaining working colleague and we had a catch up phone call and then I logged off and felt really sad and melancholic about it. It’s horrible not knowing when I’m coming back to work, or if there’ll be a company and a job at the end of being furloughed and I’d much rather be working even on half pay or reduced hours, to make sure there’s work at the end of it than getting my 80% sat on my arse at home worrying about my job. MOTs have been extended by 6 months so people don’t have to go out. 1 week of lockdown already and nearly 2 since we saw the kids - the longest we’ve ever been apart before for holidays. Over 10 thousand people are in hospital with the virus.
Wednesday 1st April 2020;
April Fool’s day - the company is 30 years old today and we are all officially furloughed except Beth. Sulked in bed all day and not sorry about it. Welsh Assembly held on Zoom!
Thursday 2nd April 2020;
Much more productive day - redesigned my blog and it has given me a renewed love for it. The government have announced a target of 100,000 tests for covid per day by the end of the month and wiped off £13.4 billion of NHS debt.
Saturday 4th April 2020;
Made a huuuuuge mistake in going to the shops on a Saturday morning. They were well stocked and I got most of what we all needed but it was SO busy it made me feel extremely stressed and uneasy. I have been avoiding the bigger supermarkets, expecting them to be too high risk but actually they are apparently much better. The little Tesco has a one in one out system and tape on the floor to stop you entering the same section as other customers but you also can’t pass anyone so the people behind me didn’t need anything and I needed loads and it stressed me out so much I forgot half of what I needed and had to go to another shop anyway. Not doing that again, it really worried me. The Queen held her first Privy Council meeting virtually yesterday and the Nightingale hospital opened. Road traffic is apparently down by 73% but from the vibe round here, walkers and cyclists are definitely on the up! A child has died with the virus, think he had serious health issues - so sad. Kier Starmer has been elected as Labour leader - normal politics seems a bit mad the the moment!
Monday 6th March 2020;
Am trying to keep some semblance of routine and keep my weekends feel weekendy so I know where I am so things that I’d normally do on those days I am keeping to Saturday and Sundays like cleaning the house and sleeping in. Today I set my alarm and got up and was at my desk for 9am as if I was in work and I had such a good day! The sun was blazing, I was bopping away to the tunes on Radio 1, I made myself a nice lunch and got cracking and wrote 8 blog posts. I want to relaunch my blog tomorrow on the 7th for 2 months since we got married and finish my wedding series and I could easily have carried on into the evening if my niece hadn’t randomly facetimed me whilst doing some colouring and I ended up chatting to her till teatime. Boris Johnson is in intensive care in hospital with the virus. There are now over 5000 deaths. The Queen broadcast an update to the nation to say thank you for staying in and staying safe. Feels freakishly like living through a moment in history like a war.
Wednesday 8th April 2020;
Well my productive week all went to pot. I’d wanted to keep myself motivated and busy as it’s how I naturally live my life so at the end of last week I outlined daily tasks I wanted to get done in my bujo but my body had other ideas. On Monday night I had a bit of a wobble, I was feeling a bit like this was never ending, how could people say this will last into the summer when the peak is likely to be in a few weeks, I am SO desperate to make my niece’s 5th birthday at the end of May and I so badly want it to be over by then and I was feeling a little frustrated and frightened. We went for our half hour run as normal but there was a family wandering all over the path in the forestry we wanted to go down so we decided to run a bit further and take the next right instead. Anyway, SEVEN miles and two hours later we returned home in the dark, the food I’d had in the slow cooker was cremated and we were cold having taken a HUGE diversion. In the night I woke up feeling quite suddenly and within about half hour or so I was downstairs throwing up my guts and sleeping on the sofa. My rational mind tells me it was dehydration from our trek, the fact I’d barely eaten and my instant tea of chicken dippers probably did nothing for me but my irrational mind woke up to Jos coughing (not unusual, especially in hayfever season) and me sweating buckets (not unusual, the heating was on and I was in a duvet way too hot for the 20 degrees) and I panicked myself that this was IT immediately. It’s been a long long time, easily 8 years since I made myself sick through anxiety so I’m sure it can’t just have been panic but I got hardly any sleep and it wiped me out for two days - so much for my productive week! 3 weeks without the kids and Wales have extended their lockdown for another 3.
Thursday 9th April 2020;
Boris Johnson is out of intensive care. Went to Waitrose to get some groceries then dropped it round to Gareth and Mum. Put up the Easter decorations which I didn’t want to do without the kids but it did make me feel a bit brighter.
Saturday 11th April 2020;
It’s taken me a few days to feel back to normal from my sick day. I spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday sitting on the sofa watching tv and eating quite plain food as and when I felt I was able to stomach it. We walked to the post box and back (about 40 minutes) and I felt like my legs were dragging, I just couldn’t make them work and I was zapped of all my energy. In the meantime Jos’ mum had an accident and broke her hand and Jos had an accident and sliced his finger open and I just could not cope - but I did defrost the freezer! It’s baffling to think we’re in the midst of the bank holiday for Easter weekend, I just cannot fathom what day it is let alone some people having a long weekend! The queue was huge for the shops again on Thursday but was fine once I got in there and I got everything in one store and dropped it all off to the varying members of our families and since then the weather has peaked at a tasty 23 degrees and I have been enjoying it sat outdoors on our patio, chatting to friends and family on video calls and eating all my meals in the sunshine.
Sunday 12th April 2020;
No Easter Sunday like I have ever known before. Spent the afternoon in the garden and then went on a run but missed the family and our traditions. Boris Johnson has been discharged from hospital. Dragon Heart, the field hospital set up in the Millennium Stadium has had it’s first patient as the UK death toll hit 10,000.
Thursday 16th April 2020;
Don’t feel like I have achieved much this week, properly fallen off the productivity bandwagon and got into bad habits and yeah, basically feel like a slug. I am staying up way too late, waking up too early and then spending the majority of the morning in bed. I get up, watch some tv, eat lunch immediately after eating breakfast, maybe do one job in the afternoon and then have tea before watching too much tv and eating too many snacks and staying up too late again. On the plus side, we did a zoom quiz with work and it was SO good to see them again. I came second to last but I had SUCH a laugh and it felt nearly like we were in work again, bitching, sharing stories and laughing like drains. Cannot wait to see their faces again irl and do a proper pub quiz. 3 weeks in lockdown and 4 without the kids. People are attacking 5G masts over a conspiracy that it’s causing covid. Captain Tom Moore did 100 laps of his garden to raise money for the NHS and has raised over £25 million!
Saturday 18th April 2020;
A proper wobble of a day. Nothing at all brought it on but one lazy morning in bed and I was suddenly ranting about losing my job, not having enough money, Jos not having enough money, when would we have lots of money, who would be hiring if my company closes, when can I do the house renovations I want to do, but if we can’t afford to do them this year now I don’t want to wait to do it bit by bit I want to do it now, why can’t I buy paint on B&Q when I have all this time to redecorate, I miss my nieces and my brother and I haven’t been in my Mum’s house in 4 weeks and how can we possibly go on like this into next year and oh hasn’t 2020 been shite, and if we can’t be rich how will we keep the house, and will we ever be able to afford an extension and WHERE WILL OUR FUTURE CHILDREN SLEEP. So yeah, all rational, was 10 years into the future before I knew it and I could not bring myself out of the funk. Maybe it’s because I start my period this weekend, maybe it’s because I have had a mega unproductive week and I feel like a slob, maybe it’s because I love control and this is anything but in my control or maybe it’s because we all have bad days and good days and this was my bad one. Hoping for better vibes next week. A woman leaned over me in Waitrose to get something which didn’t help my anxiety levels. Security chased her down! Went to Gareth’s to drop off the shopping yesterday and the baby was there for a sleepover so I sneaked a peep over the sofa - she seems bigger already. Furlough has been extended to the end of June which helps us as we’re aiming to be back for July. Lockdown has been extended by another 3 weeks and there are now over 100,000 UK cases of the virus.
Sunday 19th April 2020;
The BBC hosted a ‘Together at Home’ concert. V v emotional. There is definitely a sense of we’re all in this together.
Monday 20th April 1020;
4 weeks in lockdown. Furlough applications for businesses to register their employees and there was 67k applications in the first half hour.
Tuesday 21st April 2020;
Parliament reopened with some people in the house and some virtually on skype. Welcome to the new world!
Wednesday 22nd April 2020;
5 weeks without the children - I facetimed my nieces and the big one said she is missing me. You and me both mate, words do not describe. Chris Whitty said social distancing will likely remain all year. Seems absolutely implausible this could still be around in the winter.
Thursday 23rd April 2020;
Had a really stressful day sorting click and collect orders for everyone - managed to get my first slots in a month and am shopping for Mum & Dad, in laws, sister in law and her fam, Gareth and ourselves. Feeling very under appreciated for being the only one able to go out and very angry at the world. Did a couples quiz at work which I majorly wasn’t feeling but actually we did have fun. One month since lockdown already and I feel like I have been through all the emotions every day. BBC Big Night In brought a few tears.
Friday 24th April 2020;
Captain Tom Moore and Michael Ball are no. 1.
Saturday 25th April 2020;
The UK death toll has hit 20,000 deaths - the only other country in the world with more than that is the USA. A&E attendance has been halved.
Monday 27th April 2020;
5 weeks in lockdown - feels like the weeks are flying and dragging at the same time. Boris is back in work and the govt have announced that families of NHS workers who die due to the pandemic will receive £60K. Jos and I both felt ill and exhausted for no reason.
Tuesday 28th April 2020;
Feel like for every 1 day of productivity I have I have 1 wasted after it - today was a waste. A third of UK covid cases are now in care home as people are discharged back into them without being tested first. There was a 1 minute silence at 11am for key workers.
Thursday 30th April 2020;
Been over 6 weeks without the kids. They have announced schools are to be phased back in, no determinate date yet. Captain Tom Moore turned 100 - he has raised £32 million for the NHS. They reckon the UK is past the peak.
Saturday 2nd May 2020;
Government going to announce a ‘road map’ out of lockdown next week. 100,000 tests were sent out so the government reported meeting their target but not all were completed.
Sunday 3rd May 2020;
Completely forgot it was a Sunday! First day I haven’t known what the day or date is. NHS app for the IOW announced to then be rolled out to the rest of the UK. Contingency plans were apparently worked out when Boris was in intensive care in case he died.
Tuesday 5th May 2020;
Got up at 6.30am for Tesco click and collect, was in Gareth’s for 8 and then on to Mum’s. Was absolutely knackered pm so took it easy. Skyped Jos’ grandmother’s and did bingo with work. UK has the most covid deaths in Europe.
Wednesday 6th May 2020;
Stayed in bed till 1pm - felt absolutely crap and so over everything. Phoned Jen for a chat and went on a 20 minute run to clear my head. 7 weeks without the children, praying we can be together for her 5th birthday at the end of the month. Boris’ first PMQ’s since he came back to work. Deaths have topped 30K.
Thursday 7th May 2020;
Our 10 year anniversary. Bank of England announced a big recession coming.
Saturday 9th May 2020;
I think the lack of proper diary entries in about 3 weeks says everything you need to know. My overall motivation for day to day massively deteriorated and I spent a good two weeks or so like a human slug. I have had paddys over feeling under appreciated, have sulked, have spent whole mornings in bed, my days don’t start till 1pm and lunchtime, I feel like I haven’t achieved anything I want to and apart from my daily exercise I get very little done. The return of the heatwave has given me motivation and zest for life again (this is my second blog post today) and as lockdown has been extended for another three weeks, I am going to try and get back to better habits. I enjoy my quiet mornings to myself, Jos enjoys eating breakfast watching Youtube videos and I enjoy eating mine in front of the tv or scrolling social media so I tend to stay in bed till he is on the farm, then get up and begin my day so I am going to try and stop that and have breakfast at the same time even if we’re doing separate things. Feeling much more happy with the week ahead and sure I can keep my mood up if I keep busy. Wales, Scotland and NI have all extended their lockdowns again. We can now exercise more than once a day but still only local and still only with people you live with.
Sunday 10th May 2020;
Boris Johnson did a pre recorded broadcast announcing the easing of lockdown/partial lockdown easing. It’s so confusing, everyone is acting like it is over. The message is now ‘stay alert, control the virus’ instead of stay at home.
Monday 11th May 2020;
7 weeks of lockdown. Rishi Sunak has announced an extension of the furlough scheme till the end of October but has said it will be a phased ending and employers will be asked to start contributing to the costs. Hopefully will buy us some more time as a company. The government has published some papers for how lockdown will end. Feels far far too early I think.
Wednesday 13th May 2020;
8 weeks without the children. Garden centres can reopen and some sports can resume outdoors.
Friday 15th May 2020;
Stayed in bed till 1pm again. Hating days like this but I cannot shake myself out of it. R rate is up to 0.7 - 1 instead of 0.5 - 0.9.
Monday 18th 2020;
Protests have been held against the virus and lockdown in the UK. 8 weeks in lockdown now. Trains can be used more/run more in England and jury duties can resume in some aspects. Tests are now available to all who have symptoms not just key workers and loss of taste and small has been added to the official list of symptoms. 21 thousand contact tracers are being employed to track the contacts of people who have positive tests.
Tuesday 19th May 2020;
Went on a walk on the phone with Mum on the phone in her village and then came home and did some note making for work tomorrow. Did freelance work in the afternoon and did a quiz on Zoom with the work ladies. Track and trace app trialled on the IOW was found to be faulty and maybe some have security issues.
Wednesday 20th May 2020;
9 weeks without the kids. Rushed down to Asda to get my click and collect and then made it back in time for a staff meeting. Not being made redundant just yet! We’ll make use of the furlough scheme for a long while yet and see how we go with the workload. The amount of people in hospital in the UK with covid had dropped below 10k. Test and trace app will be made available to the rest of England (maybe UK? Not sure) on June 1st.
Friday 22nd May 2020;
Went on a walk with Mum on the phone, then did a Big Fat Quiz of the Year style quiz with the girls from school. Government has announced people will have to quarantine from abroad when they come into the UK from June. Guernsey is reopening!
Sunday 24th May 2020;
Yup, another few weeks has passed without me so much as turning my laptop on let alone doing anything with my blog, but less for human sad slug reasons, more for busy reasons. I have always known what motivates me, what gets me up in the mornings and how I cope with down days but lockdown has taken most of my coping mechanisms away. Last week I decided that i really was going to focus on structure and make a plan for the week and I took to my bullet journal like I have not taken to it for a while. I mapped out my week, leaving weekends as more chill no chores days and then added tasks and plans to each weekday. It helped that it was a busy week anyway, with multiple quizzes and skype sessions with pals and family, two groceries runs which means deliveries to my family, plus general tasks and exercise. I factored it all in, then added in our meals for the evenings which we always plan and then planned my lunches too as that’s something I’ve been getting mega bored with and it really did the trick. I feel more positive, more able to tackle the shit bits of lockdown and more well equipped to handle missing my family and normality.
Monday 25th May 2020;
Watched the Dominic Cummings press briefing. Been reported over the weekend that he broke lockdown rules to go and stay with his family members x amount of miles away because him and his wife had covid. He’s under pressure to resign, Boris is under pressure to sack him but spent the weekend saying the reports were false - only for them to do a press conference and him to admit it. Absolute shit show.
Tuesday 26th May 2020;
Over 9 weeks in lockdown. It feels long when written or said like that but seems more manageable somehow as three blocks of three which is how often they have renewed it for each time. No new deaths in Northern Ireland.
Thursday 28th May 2020;
After last week’s good week I felt sure that this week, which I meticulously planned out, would be much the same but ahhhh lockdown knows when you’re getting comfortable doesn’t it? There have definitely been more good elements to this week than there have been bad and it’s definitely not my worst lockdown week but I am not quite loving life as much as I was last week. Maybe it’s that the Dominic Cummings story broke over the weekend and the political hype has been a lot to handle, maybe it’s because measures are lifting but not in the way I would like (hello car show rooms opening but still cannae see family) or maybe it’s cos I just haven’t slept as well. Whatever it is, I am just generally more slow this week, less inclined to be busy and thus less motivated. I am clumsy, I injured my foot when a toolbox fell on it and got a blister on the other foot from wearing my converse too tight. I am not sleeping right and my eyes are tired but I so desperately WANT to be motivated and busy. The balance is not quite there this week. It was the final clap for carers and the track and trace system is live, but not the app. People in England will be able to meet outdoors with up to 6 people, socially distanced, from 1st June.
Friday 29th May 2020;
My niece’s 5th birthday and the first one I haven’t celebrated with her, including her actual birth day where I met her at 2 hours old. Hated the whole day. Rishi Sunak has announced the plans for ending the furlough scheme so from August, bosses will need to pay national insurance and pension, from September it will be that plus 10% and in October, same again plus 20%. Welsh government announced some easing of measures from 1st June. Competitive sport can resume in England behind closed doors from June 1st as well.
Sunday 31st May 2020;
Super hot day. Capacity for tests increased to 200,000 a day. The shielded in Wales can now see people outside in their gardens as long as they remain socially distanced.
Monday 1st June 2020;
10 weeks of lockdown. Cannot believe we are in the summer really. You can now meet more than 1 household in England up to 6 people outdoors at a 2m distance. In Wales we can now meet more than one household of any size in the garden as long as they remain socially distanced and it’s no more than 2 households at a time. Still cannot travel more than 5 miles - Mum’s is 5.2!!! Lucky I have the groceries to deliver to them and Gareth otherwise I still wouldn’t be able to see them.
Tuesday 2nd June 2020;
Insanely hot day. Mum came over for her first social distanced walk now we can meet outdoors with one household! She brought all her own tea, snacks and utensils and we sat outdoors when we got back. She was very pleased to be out of the house after all these weeks in! Daily briefings are going to be cut from 7 days a week to only weekdays. Social media black out for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Wednesday 3rd June 2020;
Schools in Wales will be opening at the end of June at around 30% capacity to check up on pupils and get them prepared for the new normal in September. 11 weeks without the kids.
Saturday 6th June 2020;
It’s been a hell of a few days and for the first time in lockdown I took myself back to bed in the afternoon to wallow in my own self pity. I have been struggling this week with the lack of end in sight, particularly for seeing my nieces and I felt like I was turning down every tiny bit of lifeline given to me because it wasn’t safe or against the rules or puts someone else at more risk. Generally feeling down about it all and scared at the prospect of doing this for several months with no knowing when it’s going to end. Having spoke to some people, friends and family though it seems I am not the only one feeling it this week and we’re all having an off week. I am in equal parts scared that measures will be lifted and we’ll be granted some freedom only to have a second lockdown in Autumn or that we’ll just continue this long stretch into the Autumn and lockdown without much being released at all. Not sure what would be worse. Death toll in the UK has exceeded 40k. The R number is 1 or above in some places in England.
Sunday 7th June 2020;
Black Lives Matter protests all weekend. No coronavirus deaths in Scotland for the first time, nor any in London. People will have to quarantine for 14 days after they have reentered the UK from other countries.
Monday 8th June 2020;
Feeling SO much brighter and more positive. It is amazing me how much small pleasures and things we once took for granted are bringing me so much joy at the moment but this weekend I have filled up my social quota and am feeling so much better for it. Yesterday my cousins came by the farm to pick up some cider (essential groceries of course) and I haven’t seen them since our wedding and it was SO good to see them, feel a connection with that side of the family I haven’t caught up with enough and have a chinwag over the farm gates. As they left Jos’ sister and her boyfriend arrived with the dog and the weather held out long enough to have a cuppa at a distance in the garden with them and Jos’ parents. Living next door to Jos’ Mum and Dad and being able to open our gate and wander into their house has always been something I have taken as normal and even before I lived here I can’t remember the last time I knocked and didn’t walk straight in. But in lockdown, Jos’ Mum is at risk and I am the only go out so I haven’t been in that house or near here since March 15th when we last had a family meal for my father in law’s birthday so seeing them at a distance and having a proper chat was delish. I don’t often volunteer to do cider deliveries but today there were two very special customers in the form of two of my friends and colleagues so I offered to take them and I had such a good afternoon out. I stood on one friend’s driveway in the sunshine for an hour and had a natter with her kids running around and then hot footed it over to my other pal who had popped a chair out in the sun for me and we spent an hour or so putting the world to rights - and I got to see her extended family too who’d popped by so I really did get my IRL people fix.
Tuesday 9th June 2020;
Over 11 weeks in lockdown and it will be 12 tomorrow since I last saw the children. The plans for all children in England to go back to school before the end of term has been scrapped. Masks are now recommended in Wales in places where you cannot socially distance but won’t be made mandatory as the Assembly believe it makes people take more risks.
Friday 12th June 2020;
I am finding I am having one week on top form and one week major off in lockdown and this week since my high on Monday has been majorly off. There have been lovely bits don’t get me wrong like my daily walks on the phone to Mum and some lovely Facetimes with the kids and I phoned Gareth on his birthday yesterday but on the whole it has been a massively sluggish week. I haven’t achieved a single thing really, no project ticked off, no real sense of achievement and I hate weeks like that when my motivation is low and I come away thinking what a wasted opportunity. My only saving grace is I hope if this week was slug week that means next week might be all go getting week and I am up for that. Have been thinking today how I wished I had written this every day or at least written a personal journal throughout lockdown. It is amazing how quickly we have come to accept things like PPE and the R number being terms we hear daily, how press conferences have become the norm and there is nothing jarring about the reporting of the daily death rate anymore. We have masks and gloves and we can’t go near the people we love. We cross the road when we see someone coming the other way, seeing an actual IRL person is the highlight of your day and most of us haven’t been into a Drs, dentist or a shop in 3 months. It’s a crazy time we live in and I wish I had documented it more thoroughly to look back on. The economy has shrunk in April by 20.4%. The R rate in Wales is 0.7.
Saturday 13th June 2020;
Went for a lovely evening walk and Scooby is back living with us after all these months living next door! Social bubbles can be formed in England where 1 household can join a single person/single parent household and they won’t have to socially distance.
Monday 15th June 2020;
12th week in lockdown - 4 blocks of 3 reviews. Feeling a lot more positive about the week to come and went on a lovely walk with Mum on the phone. The Isle of Man has lifted lockdown - so long as people don’t leave! Shops in England can reopen with measures in place, zoos and farms can reopen and private prayer can start again in places of worship.
Tuesday 16th June 2020;
600,000 people lost their jobs between March and May.
Wednesday 17th June 2020;
This week is a massive head fuck for sure. I started the week feeling really confident it was going to be a good week but after a virtual staff meeting my brain is fried and I have a pounding headache. Throughout the whole of lockdown, not seeing my family and my potential redundancy have been my two biggest problems and I feel like with work it’s so up and down I just can’t take it. I have been feeling a bit more positive that I might have a job to go back to in the last few weeks but another meeting where nothing is set in stone, the uncertainty is so frustrating and I understand there really is no way of knowing. Couldn’t shake my bad mood then for the rest of the day, was miserable, sulky and had no motivation, combined with early morning starts and not enough sleep and I have been good for no one. Doesn’t help it is 13 weeks without the kids with no end in sight. The test and trace app won’t be working until winter.
Thursday 18th June 2020;
Up early for the Tesco click and collect then went to Mum and Gareth to deliver their shopping. In a stinking mood and couldn’t bring myself out of it. Trace app officially delayed and not really fit for purpose. Outbreak in a food factory on Anglesey.
Friday 19th June 2020;
Honestly this week is mad. I was reasonably nervous this week for the announcement by Mark Drakeford (Welsh First Minister) but by the time it came around, most of the announcement had already been drip fed during the lead up in the week. From next week non essential retail can open, the next week schools will go back and from the beginning of July we can travel further than 5 miles and holiday lets/caravan parks/hotels etc can open as long as they have self catered not communal facilities. In happier news for me personally, after feeling really down about work I had a phone call from my boss to say I can return to work for a few days in July to complete a project. It’s not a regular contract, it’s not return to work as we know it, the company might not even survive still but it’s a foot in the door and a chance to do something to help the company. Jos said I am much much happier today!! The UK threat level is down the next level.
Saturday 20th June 2020;
Reading terrorist attack.
Tuesday 23rd June 2020;
Three months to the day since Boris sat at his desk and solemnly told us we needed to stay home to save lives and protect the NHS. In some ways it actually feels like a lot longer, we’re in our 14th week here in Wales with very few restrictions lifted at all and that feels more like the gravitas of the situation - 3 months doesn’t sound that long really. I feel like the beginning of lockdown was a lifetime ago, the Tiger King binge watching, the clapping for the emergency services, when daily briefings was still a scary sign of the times and now, we’re living with it like the new normal they all promised. This week has been a good week following my call to say I can go back to work a few days in July and on the weekend my brother and I overlapped in our Father’s Day visit to my parents house. We all sat outdoors apart and chatted and had a slice of cake and it was only an hour but oh, what an hour. It is rare these days for my childhood unit to be together on our own anyway, we normally have a partner or a kid or two in tow so it was nice to see them all in one place, for the first time since Mother’s Day - 3 months ago, the day before lockdown. Riding high on that and the prospect of a heatwave this week, I am feeling much more motivated and positive about the week ahead and keen to get cracking on life. First time we broke the rules too as you’re still only allowed to meet one other household outdoors and we were obviously three in total but in comparison to most - it’s a drop in the ocean! Big day of announcements from the government including shielding being paused in August, wedding ceremonies can take place up to 30 people socially distanced and no receptions yet. Worship, pubs, cafes, museums, restaurants, hair dressers all to open in the next few weeks. In England you will be able to go inside the home of one other household and stay overnight as long as you social distance which seems mad but also a bit pointless to me. The social distance is to be reduced to 1 metre + which means it needs to be 2m as much as possible, but if it cannot be then 1m is fine but you should use more mitigating measures such as shields or masks. Wales are not going to change their advice - it’s so confusing in England. Feeling much safer here.
Friday 26th June 2020;
1/2 million people on Bournemouth beach in the heatwave! Lots of mass gatherings being held round here like Cardiff Bay, Ogmore and Liverpool for the trophy win. There will be a traffic like system for quarantining when you come back from abroad into the country - countries will be added and those in the green section will not need to isolate when they return.
Saturday 27th June 2020;
100 days without the children. Forgot to take the chicken for fajitas out to thaw for tea - I cried.
Sunday 28th June 2020;
Had a rough couple of days. Am really struggling with seeing people breaking the rules on social media and on the news when I can’t see my own family. I’ve seen people bubble with one household, then the next day they’re sharing snaps from inside someone else’s home. I’ve seen people on road trips in the car with people they don’t live or bubble with. I’ve seen people holding the children of friends in their arms and yet I can’t even get to the garden of the little people in my life, who I haven’t seen for 100 days. And don’t get me started on the mass brawls on a local beach, the street parties and raves in London, Cardiff and Manchester, the half a million people who turned up on Bournemouth beach in a single day and the celebrations for the footy in Liverpool. As England had abandoned it’s daily press announcements, pubs and hotels can open in a week’s time and you can travel to countries in Europe without quarantining on your return in less than a fortnight - I just feel like we are running full force toward a second wave, a second spike and a second lockdown, all before Wales has even come out of it’s first. I am desperate to see my family and sick of the whole situation. I feel nervous about returning to normal, I am avoiding having to go to work when anyone else is there and I feel like people are just cracking on as normal and there’s hardly anyone left doing things safely. I know I am in a better position than some people, who haven’t seen their families in the flesh in months at all but I also feel like people don’t understand that me seeing my Mum, Dad and brother on the doorstep of their houses is not the same as being able to see them normally. I haven’t set foot in my childhood home in 3 months, haven’t been in the kitchen or sat in the living room. We haven’t sat round the dining table and eaten a meal, I haven’t had a takeaway since March, been in a supermarket since April or even just had a brew with someone other than Jos. And most importantly, we haven’t been a family all together in over 3 months - the girls aren’t with us, Jos hasn’t been to my Mum’s and we haven’t seen my sister in law since mid March. This evening Jos’ family bent the rules and celebrated Jos’ Mum’s birthday. The plan was to have some food sat in the garden with his parents and sister and her boyfriend but the weather was hanging so it wasn’t possible. I am trying desperately not to put myself in a position where I cannot see the children at the first possible opportunity so I couldn’t go and sit inside with Jos’ family without social distancing and ventilation so I had to stay in my house whilst they celebrated - and please remember here I live in a semi detached house next to them. Over this whole thing.
Monday 29th June 2020;
Mum rang me during lunch to say “have you seen the news?” and for once, I hadn’t. The Welsh Government have announced that from next Monday, to coincide with the 5 mile travel restrictions being lifted, two households can form an ‘extended household’. The households need to be exclusive, it needs to just be one household but those in the extended household won’t need to maintain social distancing - the first minister literally said “grandparents can hug grandchildren”. My Mum said to me “you don’t seem very happy” and honestly? I wasn’t. It’s all I’ve been waiting for, it suddenly is allowed, you don’t even have to maintain social distancing with the children! It’s everything I have been waiting all these weeks for, since March 18th and honestly I just felt numb to it. I feel like I am scared to get my hopes up when my sister in law is shielding so the children might not be able to see us, and also the very strict two household limit - I cannot even begin to think about a situation where a choice has to be made between me or my parents, especially because I suspect I would lose that battle. Leicester has gone back into lockdown due to a spike and it’s likely there will be local lockdowns, in a hope to avoid a national lockdown a second time. MOTs are reintroduced from August and UK travellers have been banned from Greece due to our covid numbers.
Tuesday 30th June 2020;
100 days of lockdown!
Wednesday 1st July 2020;
April 1st was my first day of furlough and July 1st was my first day of work again. I have been flexibly furloughed and am working the odd day or hours in an attempt to generate work and save the business as closure is still a real threat, but also not working too much as the employers now have to pay 100% of wages for days worked, which isn’t easy when you’re making no income. I worked a full day from home today and tomorrow I’m popping into the office for a few hours on my own, still trying to minimise my exposure to other people so I can see my nieces as soon as possible. From then on I’ll be working odd hours and days whenever the work is needed but I have been given some responsibility and some projects that could be a game changer for the company if we can make it work. I am so happy to get my brain working again, to get my teeth stuck into some challenges and be organised, have some routine to my day and really put into fruition what Bethan and I have been saying for months - we’d be such a good team together. Outdoor dining will be able to open in Wales from July 13th. Lots of redundancies announced in big UK companies as the furlough scheme needs contributing to in August and people have notice periods to adhere to.
Friday 3rd July 2020;
Oh what a day. I think I am still not dealing very well with the idea we could see the children in the eyes of the law but might not be able to in practice, so when I went downstairs and it was a tip I just could. not. cope. I was due to work but I can choose my hours and I just simply could not concentrate knowing the kitchen was full of dishes, cupboard doors open, marmite and butter out by the toaster from where Jos had made his breakfast, crumbs and empty food packets everywhere attracting flies - I just could not cope with it. So I spent the next hour slamming and banging about cleaning, doing dishes and generally yelling at Jos about how he’s as capable as I am to empty and reload the dishwasher before starting work…..and then I turned around and the washing machine was leaking all over the floor. My ability to simply deal with anything in lockdown has become more and more fractious, my fuse is a LOT shorter and every mild inconvenience seems like a disaster sent to test me. Cue one FaceTime to Mum, a lot of mopping, very very soaked washing and a puddle of foam and I still hadn’t even eaten my breakfast let alone started work. But in the end I turned the day around, I worked 4 solid hours and bossed the day, Jos made me lunch and brought it to my desk as a peace offering so I could continue to work and then I did what you can only do in these situations - called in reinforcements. My mum showed up mid afternoon and we went for a long old stomp in the forest in the pissing rain and got soaked through our jeans but thoroughly cleared our heads. I couldn’t even bring myself to feel annoyed again when we got home and she assessed my washing machine from the safety of the back door and said ‘open that filter there’……which promptly led to a tidal wave across my tiles. I finished the day up with a two hour catch up on the phone to Jenny and Jos made tea and we watched TV and the day had turned itself around. 59 countries are exempt from the quarantine period when they return to the UK.
Saturday 4th July 2020;
Jos’ Nan has come to stay with Jos’ parents so now Jos is isolating from his parents too as she is elderly. There was a minutes silence for the victims of coronavirus. In contrast - pubs opened in England.
Monday 6th July 2020;
Fab day! Felt so busy and motivated. Worked 2 and a half hours, my car was in the garage and then went to Bethan’s to drop off cider and have a chinwag - till we realised it was 7.20pm and neither of us had eaten!! Extended households are allowed to be formed but my brother is on a two week quarantine from the kids because he has gone back to work so it’ll be a week or so till we can see them at best. 15 weeks of lockdown and no deaths in Wales today and the 5 mile rule has been abolished.
Tuesday 7th July 2020;
Only 22% of positive covid tests have any symptoms.
Wednesday 8th July 2020;
Really busy day! Worked 9 hours in the office developing online training courses - am absolutely knackered! Rishi Sunak announced £30 billion pend for covid impact and reduced the VAT on hospitality to try and encourage people back to spending. There will be a rise in stamp duty to help the housing market and employers who bring staff back till January will be rewarded for saving jobs with a £1000 payback.
Thursday 9th July 2020;
More big companies are announcing redundancies but lots also saying they will not take advantage of the £1K bonus, and in fact, some are going to pay back the furlough money they were given as they have retained staff. Schools will be fully open to all students in September but no details on how yet. Gareth’s phone dead so he came to mine at 11.30pm to get my iPad whilst he waits for me to buy him a new one. Knackered.
Friday 10th July 2020;
Went into Mum’s house to paint a measuring chart on the wall for her - first time I have been in the kitchen for months. Not allowed but she stayed in the garden and I opened all the doors and windows and cleaned everything and I’ve done nothing for months so feel reasonably safe. Masks are being made compulsory in Scotland in shots and the list of countries who don’t need to quarantine in the UK is increased to 75. Seems insane.
Saturday 11th July 2020;
Self catered accommodation in Wales has reopened. Really tough day. Went to sit outside at my sister in laws to discuss the easing of lockdown restrictions and the extended household bubbles with her family - haven’t seen any of them since March if not my wedding!! Only one household can mix with another so I have put myself out of the picture of seeing the kids so my Mum and Dad can see them as I don’t think they can handle it any longer and I think I can be stronger for longer. Didn’t get home till 11pm and didn’t eat. Such a taxing day.
Sunday 12th July 2020;
Have never experienced anything like sobbing all the way to my Mum’s house trying to convince myself I was strong enough to see the children be with my family, but not be able to be with them myself.
Monday 13h July 2020;
16 weeks of lockdown. Outdoor pubs and dining can open in Wales and hairdressers & salons opening in England. Had a virtual meeting with our biggest client at work.
Tuesday 14th July 2020;
Went to Asda for my click and collect in the morning and worked from home for a few hours. Mum having a tough day so she showed up here and I took her on a 2 hour walk. Jos’ Nanna left back to her own house, I didn’t get home till 11pm again and didn’t eat. Reports of a second wave in winter which will be much much worse.
Thursday 16th July 2020;
Worked all day on our pilot online course - so nervy. Actually ate tea and watched tv for the first time in a week! Leicester lockdown extended. Shielded people in Wales will stop shielding on the 16th. Patrick Vallance said there is no need for the work from home message to change.
Thursday 17th July 2020;
BoJo said back to work will be left to employers to decide but should be encouraged. Daily briefings are over everywhere now - will just be as and when they have something to announce. Tom Moore knighted. Mum came over for a distanced walk and then did some gardening for me whilst I sat in a chair in the sun and chatted - could get used to that!! Had a social distanced BBQ for Jos’ sister’s birthday which apart from the fact we were miles apart and couldn’t touch any of the same stuff, it felt almost normal! Am absolutely whacked - this week has massively caught up on me.
Sunday 19th July 2020;
It’s been a minute. I took a little social media break after having a shitter of a week and I kinda just forgot I had this blog post to update at all. A long story short, over the space of the last two week, my worst nightmare turned into my reality when it was a case of choosing between me or my parents for the children to bubble with - and I decided to take the decision out of everyone’s hands and let it be my parents without kicking up a fuss. It’s been a really hard time for my family and between the 9th - 13th July I had my brother turn up at my door every night in a mess, and on the 14th it was my Mum. I didn’t eat an evening meal for a week from Thursday 9th - Thursday 16th, I didn’t go to bed before 1am and juggled work through it all. Being a support for your family, being the one they turn to and the one who takes control, sorts it all out and gets them through is tough enough as it is, but it’s even tougher in a pandemic. Normally if my brother turned up upset at 11.30pm I’d just have him stay, but he’s not in my bubble and I am a risk to him and his kids and I couldn’t even hug my family, let alone make them a brew and sit them down. Instead, we walked miles and miles and hours and hours around the forestry at my house, I made countless late night trips to my parents house where I am not allowed in, we had hours of family meetings and I sat outside my brother’s in-laws house on two cold July nights, wrapped up in winter coats. In the midst of all this, things changed for me and as my parents were allowed to bubble with my brother and my nieces, I could only see them outside. After 16.5 weeks, 116 days, I finally got to see my two favourite humans face to face - and I couldn’t go anywhere near them. My oldest niece was scared, she was nervous of me, wouldn’t include me in any games I could play and reminded me at all times to stay 2m away from her and it was god awful. I didn’t want to do it, I knew it was going to be horrible and as I was driving to my Mum’s I was sobbing and repeating “I can’t do this, I can’t do this”. This week I have seen them again and it was a little better, my oldest niece was a bit more used to it and the baby niece is just a marvel in herself, but now I know I am faced with several more weeks of this and it just sucks. Boris doesn’t think another lockdown will be needed and councils in England have been given more powers to shut stuff down if local lockdowns are needed.
Monday 20th July 2020;
Treated today like a day off instead of a flexi furlough day. Went for a walk with Mum on the hone and then chilled and watched TV and went on another walk with Jos in the evening. 17 weeks of lockdown and Boris says a vaccine looks promising.
Tuesday 21st July 2020;
Back in the office and have a socially distanced colleague for the first time! Playgrounds can open in Wales and 900,000 public sector workers are going to get a pay rise following the pandemic.
Wednesday 22nd July 2020;
Joe Wicks pe classes stopped after 18 weeks.
Thursday 23rd July 2020;
Northern Ireland have a working test and trace app. Pregnant women in Wales can take their partner to their appointments.
Friday 24th July 2020;
This week has been a lot better, I have felt much more myself and I have almost convinced myself we’re back to normal. I was in work three days out of five this week and last week worked from home too so I feel like things are much more usual. This week for the first time in ages I had to go to the chemist to get a prescription and town felt busy and even though I am terrified of everything, I feel like it’s a bit more like something I’m used to. Work has turned out to be pretty manic as we have developed online training and crammed as much into July as we can, but I am enjoying the challenge. It feels a little like headless chicken and I am struggling to even get my normal routines in place, like prioritising and list making which I have struggled with. I think it is because I am not used to doing the training courses from start to finish, they are normally handed to me when they are pretty much fully organised, I do my bit and then it’s handed back over to the organiser to finish up the job - but at the mo we’re still on skeleton staff and I am learning how to handle a course from start to end. It’s a learning curve, and I am learning quick but I am enjoying the challenge. The scary thing for me now is feeling like I am moving back into work in a normal kinda way, but having to remind myself this is me trying to save my job - it is still completely not secured still and the company could still cease. Masks are being made mandatory in England in shops. Retail sales almost back to pre pandemic levels and there has been only 1 death in Wales this week.
Saturday 25th July 2020;
Had a really lovely day with Jos. Had a lazy morning in bed then watched Super Saturday highlights and then went on a big long walk, made fajitas and watched a movie. Campsites in Wales can reopen and masks are being made mandatory on public transport. Data has been produced saying obesity increases your risk of being ill with covid.
Sunday 26th July 2020;
Yesterday was the first day since our mini moon back in February that Jos and I actually spent all of it together doing things together - and we have been in lockdown with one another for three months. Today has been a bit more sulky and whilst I enjoyed one day of lazing around yesterday, I feel like I waste a weekend if I do the same today so I have tried to be mega productive and have a day of Getting. Shit. Done. However, I have been in a right funk all day, you know the type - the ones you can’t shake even though you know you’re being unreasonable? It’s all stemmed from the fact I cannot see my nieces this weekend because the weather is manky so they cannot be outside - and I cannot go in. I know I hated seeing them at all when I could maintain social distancing, and I know actually in a way it’s better for me not to be there at all but I am feeling the victim and v much expecting everyone to feel sorry for me and take pity on me and be extra nice. I was sulking at lunchtime because I’d said the kids could Facetime me if they wanted and nobody had - only for them to ring me and me to then sulk because they were watching home movies of us as kids and I wasn’t there to experience it and I was angry they’d decided to show her that for the first time without me. That then of course spiralled into a massive funk which has resulted in me projecting into the future and demanding Jos earn more money because I am certain to lose my job and nobody is understanding me and my struggles. So yeah, no winning with me today - I must be such a joy to be around. You need to quarantine if you come to the UK from Spain.
Monday 27th July 2020;
18 weeks of lockdown. Cinemas and salons can reopen in Wales.
Thursday 30th July 2020;
Parts of Northern England tighten restrictions (areas round Manchester & Lancashire) - no meeting at home or in gardens.
Friday 31st July 2020;
The UK government has paused their next lockdown lifting which would have been bigger weddings and theatres/concerts/arts reopening. The Welsh government announced that children under 11 years won’t need to social distance with each other, or with adults from Monday which is sad for me this weekend.
Saturday 1st August 2020;
Shielding paused in England and Scotland.
Monday 3rd August 2020;
19 weeks of lockdown. Pubs open indoors in Wales as well as cafes, restaurants etc and the ‘Eat out to help out’ which offers people a discount on food in the week has started as a way of encouraging everyone back out spending. Groups of up to 30 can meet outdoors.
Wednesday 5th August 2020;
Aberdeen in local lockdown.
Thursday 6th August 2020;
People travelling back to the Uk from Belgium, the Bahamas and Andorra need to quarantine for 14 days.
Friday 7th August 2020;
6 months married and oh what a 6 months that turned out to be!! The R rate is above 1 in London, the North West & the South West and I’m a Celeb is going to be filmed in a castle in Wales instead of in Oz.
Saturday 8th August 2020;
I’ve taken another little break between proper updates other than news headlines and to be honest, it’s been a shit show. I considered just uploading this blog post because I didn’t have the energy to write anything but also, I don’t know when the natural end to this is? Maybe I upload on the 23rd of this month to mark 5 months of lockdown seen as most things are open in some format? Maybe I need to wait until I’m back to work properly not flexi furloughed? Maybe 6 months would be a nice round number. Maybe we’ll go back into lockdown and this post will never end - who knows. In terms of lockdown life, I can’t even bring to mind any big changes other than the headlines and in terms of my feelings and emotions? Well nothing is covid related at the moment anyway, hence my long break. My personal life has taken a nose dive and a lot of my personal relationships, and those around me, have completely broken down. I have no intention of going into it but it’s been an incredibly hard few weeks and has tested my physical and mental health to the extreme. Hoping the new week and the sunny weather brings a happier change.
Sunday 9th August 2020;
Cases exceeding 1000 a day for the first time in a long time.
Tuesday 11th August 2020;
20 weeks in lockdown and statistics show that employment fell 220,000 between April and June.
Wednesday 12th August 020;
England have changed the way the report deaths following a positive covid test to come into line with the devolved nations. It was previously that anyone who died following a positive test would be marked as coronavirus on their death certificate but now it’s anyone who died within 28 days of that test result. The UK has officially gone into a recession after the economy shrunk 20.4% in quarter two.
Thursday 13th August 2020;
A Level results day for a year who did not sit their A levels! 36% were lower than teachers predicted grades, 3% were down two grades and lots have missed out on university places because of it. Lots of outcry in the news and students protesting.
Saturday 15th August 2020;
Highest daily case rise since June 14th. France, Malta, Netherlands, Monaco and more are added to the quarantine list after a rise in cases. Extra ferries had to be put on for people rushing back from France to beat the 4am deadline.
Sunday 16th August 2020;
Shielding in Wales is paused. Dad’s birthday but he is away so we phoned him to sing happy birthday down the phone. A very special day for me - after 21.5 weeks I was finally able to hug the girls. My big niece was waiting on my Mum’s doorstep for 25 minutes for me to arrive and she was screaming ‘we don’t have to stay away from you’ as she ran down the drive into my arms. They are both much heavier to carry than they were in February! Was also able to go inside my Mum and Dad’s house with them for the first time since March and I kept catching my oldest niece stroking my jumper and she was like my shadow all day and sat on my lap to eat her tea saying “this is my comfiest place to eat”. She told me she loved me a LOT and came back to gave me a big hug and a kiss when she was wandering off to do something.
Monday 17th August 2020;
21 weeks since lockdown and the second lot of financial help for self employed people was opened for claimants.
Tuesday 18th August 2020;
After a weekend of protests from students and a lot of confusion from education leaders and universities, the government is doing U turns left right and centre on exam results. Instead of using the algorithm calculated grades they will primarily go off tutor predictions/nobody will get lower than what they got in mocks and GCSEs next week will be the same. Still no clarification for what this means for university places though.
Thursday 20th August 2020;
Croatia added to the UK quarantining list but Portugal removed. Had a virtual staff meeting to discuss the future of the company and potential redundancies as we are working on only a third of our normal productivity.
Saturday 22nd August 2020;
Had a day off yesterday and Gareth had the kids so I spent the day with them as we won’t be able to see them for two weeks now when Dad comes home. R rate is between 0.9 - 1.1 in England and Mark Drakeford announced the next lot of restrictions lifting in Wales - starting today with 4 households able to make an extended household although nothing will change for me just yet. Still won’t be able to spend time with Jos’ family as that would be too many household crossovers - mad when I live next door! Other facilities such as casinos will begin to reopen, next weekend visits will be allowed inside care homes and wedding receptions with 30 people can be held.
Sunday 23rd August 2020;
5 months since lockdown day!
Tuesday 25th August 2020;
22 weeks in lockdown and Northern Irish schools have gone back. Tesco are creating 16,000 new jobs, mostly keeping on people who joined them on a temporary basis during lockdown to facilitate the sky rocketing demand for online sales. Chris Whitty has urged people to send their children back to school in September saying the risk of children catching it is so much lower and being out of school will do more harm to them mentally, and also ruin their prospects for the future if they miss anymore time out. The first covid case and death in the UK is now believed to be a woman in Nottingham on February 21st.
Wednesday 26th August 2020;
Very stormy - half our our oak tree came down in the night! Places are extending the eat out to help out scheme into September as it has proved popular at bringing people back into restaurants and cafes and help boost the economy in those sectors. Jonathan Slater a top civil servant in the Department for Education and the head of one of the exam regulators have quit/been dismissed - Boris Johnson and Gavin Williamson no sign of doing the same.
Thursday 27th August 2020;
Pret a Manger are cutting 3000 jobs to try and save the business. Ed Davey has been elected Lib Dem leader and daily cases are a cool 1522.
Friday 28th August 2020;
The UK government are urging people/creating a new campaign drive to get companies to bring workers back to work in offices as people who rely on passig trade are still feeling the hit of lockdown. The Welsh government are still saying the best thing to do is stay home to work as much as possible. SAGE documents have been leaked to Newsnight which predicts a worse case scenario of 85,000 extra deaths over the course of the winter when covid meets flu season.
Saturday 29th August 2020;
Switzerland, Czech Republic and Jamaica have all been added to the quarantine list for anyone entering the UK. 2500 spectators went to watch Chelsea v Brighton in a pilot for bringing more people back to live events and women’s football made a return. Big day for the Craddock household as I had my first social engagement since lockdown and we had our first takeaway since March! I met up with friends in the park for a picnic and spent 7 blissful hours out in the sun nearrrlllly like normal.
Sunday 30th August 2020;
Universities are being urged to cancel any plans for face to face training before 2021 to stop a spread of coronavirus as students move across the country in late September/early October. There were 1715 confirmed cases in the UK - the highest since mid May but there are less deaths and less people in hospital as most of the spikes seem to be younger people socialising who then go on to recover much easier.
Monday 31st August 2020;
The east out to help out scheme has come to an end in the places who have not chosen to extend it into September and tomorrow marks the first day employers need to contribute to staff wages on the furlough scheme. A flight from Zante back to Cardiff have all been asked to isolate as 16 cases have been confirmed and apparently no covid compliant measures were being taken. It’s 23 weeks since lockdown and a bank holiday and things feel almost like a normal long weekend in the UK? This week has probably been the biggest move in our family as both Jos and I met friends outdoors at a distance, I braved the postoffice and we had a takeaway but still the scenes of people partying, getting smashed and throwing themselves all over their friends on my social media are jarring with me. I am almost offended when I am asked to make plans like “how could you?! We are in a pandemic! What even is socialising anymore’ and after talking to my blogging friends, that stems 100% from jealousy. My life is barely moving on, crawling at a snails pace and I know even now as I have eeked into something a bit more normal, I need to stop this week now in the hope I can see my nieces at the end of the week. Life feels freakishly like everyone is just cracking on which is all well and good, a lot of what I see is perfectly allowed, but the lack of social distancing makes me not want to see anyone ever. I toyed with the idea of publishing this blog post in August as we hit the 5 month mark since lockdown and I am seeing the kids, back at work on a part time basis and there are very few places not open in some capacity but I have decided to go on to 6 months. A round number, a nice finish, and hopefully a place that will feel more like pre pandemic life - done in a safe way.
Thursday 3rd September 2020;
Portugal removed from the exemption list in Scotland and Wales but not in England - complete chaos.
Sunday 6th September 2020;
2988 cases - the highest since May 22nd. Government blaming young people for lack of social distancing even though they pushed the eat out to help out, said pubs were safe and returned people to work.
Monday 7th September 2020;
7 Greek islands now need to quarantine when they come back to the UK but Greece itself is still exempt. Eastenders and Hollyoaks back on air! Caerphilly becoming the first local lockdown in Wales.
Wednesday 9th September 2020;
Boris announced a new ‘rule of six’ which will be in place from next week. People will not be able to mix indoors or outdoors in groups bigger than 6 in England and children will count toward the total. Also announced ‘operation moonshot’ - a plan to get quick tests like a pregnancy test where you can get results within minutes so people can go about their business. Lots of new jobs being made in supermarkets like Iceland and Morrisons. The Oxford vaccine paused as someone had an adverse reaction.
Friday 11th September 2020;
NHS contact tracing app set to be launched on 24th September. R rate is between 1 and 1.2 for the first time since March. Welsh government announce the rule of 6 in Wales will be limited to extended households and children under 11 will be exempt. It will remain illegal for people to socialise with anyone not in their extended household. Scotland’s rule of 6 is limited to 2 households and under 12’s are exempt.
Saturday 12th September 2020;
Oxford vaccine trials resumed again.
Monday 14th September 2020;
Weird situation number 293829478 during this pandemic - I have moved out of my house. Jos’ family have someone working and staying at the farm which will mean I have mixed too many houses/won’t be able to see my family until 14 days after he leaves which will be October 1st. I just couldn’t face not being with the kids or my family for that amount of time after only being part of their extended household for a month so I moved out to Mum and Dad’s. The plan is I stay here for a week then go home, at which point I need to social distance with them again. The rule of 16 is enforced in all countries of the united kingdom in their own way. The Minister for crime and policing suggests people should shop their neighbours to non emergency police lines if they are breaking the rules - Matt Hancock and Priti Patel say they would do it. Kier Starmer isolating as someone in his household has symptoms. There are insane delays in testing results and also just not enough. People are unable to book tests, people are having to drive hundreds of miles for tests, absolute shambles.
Tuesday 15th September 2020;
Priti Patel suggests two families stopping to chat in the street is breaking the rule of 6 laws.
Wednesday 16th September 2020;
R rate between 1.1 and 1.4 as scientists and the government warn there are much worse things to come. Rhondda going into lockdown tomorrow. Fines being raised to £10,000 for people who refuse to adhere to self isolation rules.
Sunday 20th September 2020;
End of my week at home with Mum Dad and Gareth and it actually flew by and I had a really good time. I worked a lot of overtime this week and raced around but I had such a nice time - it was such a novelty being all together with no partners and no kids and to actually have adult conversation. It also meant I got to see the children more and spend some quality time with them that I haven’t had on 6 months. We had a games night which we normally reserve for NYE, we watched a film together and we had our first chippy since March. Nice to be home in my own bed though and not have to hang out with my husband at 2m away.
Monday 21st September 2020;
Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance did a press conference this morning where they said the UK has taking a turn for the worst and restrictions need to be implemented. The cases are doubling every week and without putting in more sanctions there would be 50,000 daily cases by mid October and 200+ deaths a day in November. The UK coronavirus threat level has been increased to 4, one step below the worst. Four more welsh counties are going into lockdown tomorrow - Merthyr, Blaneau Gwent, Newport and Bridgend. That means the Vale of Glamorgan and Cardiff where we are are surrounded by local lockdowns and our cases have sky rocketed, prompting my local council leader to say we’re on our last chance. Almost 6 months to the day of being put onto furlough after Rishi Sunak’s announcement back in March and today after 3 months of being flexi furloughed I have been told my hours are being cut for the next 4 months. Feeling really down and flat today as we head into what’s likely to be another week of sanctions announced and I feel like I’m in exactly the same situation I was in back then. Same family problems, same money woes, same work worries, same pandemic.
Tuesday 22nd September 2020;
My last entry for this lockdown post. Tomorrow will mark 6 months to the day that Boris broadcast the nation to say we were heading into lockdown and I feel freakishly like we have a bad case of deja vu. Leaders of all 4 of the countries in the united kingdom broadcast in the evening to impose further sanctions on our daily lives - mainly curfews of 10pm on pubs and restaurants, making table service only a legal requirement, off licences and supermarkets in wales have a 10pm sales curfew on alcohol, Scotland and Northern Ireland are stopping households mixing and the work from home message is game on.
So here I end my lockdown 1 blog post. 6 months on, heading into lockdown 2 (if we ever really made it out the first time).
My pandemic - a timeline:
Day in work - Last March 23rd (day in office)
Last March 31st (work from home)
First July 1st (flexi furlough) 93 days
Full pay cheque - Last March 27th
Still ongoing
Meal with my all four of my family - Last March 22nd (Mother’s Day)
First September 6th 169 days
Socialising with all four of my family - Last March 22nd (Mother’s Day)
First 21st June overlapped outdoors 45 mins social distancing (Father’s Day) 92 days
Socialising with my whole family - Last March 8th (Jos’ early birthday)
Still ongoing
Seeing my nieces - Last March 18th (at Mum’s in the evening after work)
First 12th July (outdoors, social distancing) 117 days
First 16th August (inside, no social distancing) 151 days
Hanging out with Mum - Last March 22nd (mothers day)
First meet up that wasn’t dropping off groceries 2nd June (socially distanced walk) 73 days
First indoors for a cuppa/lunch August 14th (waiting for Argos delivery) 146 days
Inside my childhood home - Last March 22nd (Mother’s Day)
First July 9th (downstairs to paint height chart, social distancing, Mum outside) 110 days
First August 7th (upstairs, social distancing) 139 days
First August 15th (no social distancing) 147 days
Socialising with Jos’ family - Last March 15th (Father in laws’s bday)
First 17th July outdoor bbq (Sister in law’ bday) 124 days
Inside next door (Jos’ parents house) - Last March 15th (Father in laws bday)
Still ongoing
Socialising with friends - Last March 15th (Cardiff shopping with Jenny)
First August 29th (Park picnic, no indoors, social distancing with school pals) 168 days
Shopping trip - Last March 15th (Cardiff with Jenny)
Still ongoing
Supermarket - Last March 20th (Tesco)
Still ongoing
Last time in a shop - Last 29th April (Waitrose)
Still ongoing
Takeaways - Last March 20th (McDonalds)
First August 29th (Burger King) 163 days
Meal out - Last March 15th (Taco bell with Jenny)
Still ongoing