Lockdown Diary

Today is the 14^th day of the UK’s three-week lockdown. There’s been no indication of if the measures will really be reversed, or how.

Most people I know think the lockdown will be extended. A couple think it’ll all be over in a few weeks. I tend to agree with the majority.

For now, it will take mental, emotional, and physical discipline to get through this time.

Mental, because without outside stimulus the brain quickly becomes disoriented. What day is it? Who am I? What was I going to do? This is very common among elderly people who are moved to care homes where there is nothing to do. Now we’re all fighting in it together.

Strategies that have helped me:

Making a to-do list. I write it on a post-it note, so it’s not a long list. But if I don’t write things down I forget them.

Talking to at least two friends or family members a day. Not messaging, talking. There is something about hearing the human voice that makes it more intimate.

Limiting news and social media: I scan the news headlines each morning and limit myself to reading 1-2 articles. I have to admit; checking the daily “scoreboard” of how many cases and deaths have been recorded in every country is a fascination to me.

I read an article, “What you should know before you need a ventilator.” I read it because it was in the New York Times and written by a doctor. I should have known better. Do Not read it.

I turn off my laptop and switch my cell to silent, then do something mentally absorbing, like crossword puzzles. I brought this pile with me from home, threw them in the recycling bin when I hadn’t looked at them after a month, then frantically dug them out of the bin when the lockdown was announced. Whew!

Baking is mentally absorbing, especially for me because the measures are different here. You measure things by weight in grams and in millilitres, not cups.

My first attempt was tapenade-filled yeast rolls. They didn’t look great but they tasted wonderful.

As a bonus, I use the weights holder, which totals about five pounds, to workout. Normally I would do shoulder presses with about 15 pound dumbbells. Now I just do a ton of reps.

The highlight of my day is getting outside for a walk, rain or shine. Even passing strangers at a two-metre distance somehow helps me to know I still exist and to believe we will all be together again eventually. This was the last meal I had in a pub, a fish pie at The Head of the River.

This was my dinner a few nights ago.

I do cook fresh, but in times like these, crisps are also called for, especially when watching the Downing Street Daily Briefing.

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I am so lucky to be in a British beauty spot. I live a few blocks from the Thames, which has a wide path along it that—if I only had a bike!—I could follow all the way from London to a place called Kemble. The water has turned a lovely green. Is this because there is less effluent being dumped into it, and less boat traffic?

Those are garden allotments on the opposite side. People who have allotments are allowed to go dig around in them. Sigh.

In addition to walking and weight training I am taking yoga classes on Zoom twice a week. It is hilarious to see people’s cats standing on their backs and toddlers imitating their mothers’ downward dogs.

Emotionally, all of the above helps—staying connected and not overdoing the news or social media. Also, not fighting battles unless I have the strength. For instance, I have been trying to get through to Expedia for three weeks. Two days ago I was on hold for two hours and had to give up. There will be some sort of reckoning for Expedia and other companies that have so massively failed. I realize the times are “unprecedented” as we hear over and over, but still.