Week 15
That is an exact representation of the number of cups of tea I have drunk this week, a week that felt like it was a month long. Probably because all the weeks are merging into now, aren’t they? Though this was a lovely week as we got to welcome Lady Barrow into our support bubble. Lady Barrow has been living on her own for the whole of lockdown so as soon as we were told that we could create a support bubble with one other person we made plans to go up and collect her for a weekend down here with us, and a change of scenery.
A real glimpse of normality again and it felt good.
Which was then shattered early in the week when our boiler decided to start leaking and throwing water all over the utility room and kitchen. Why do these domestic incidents always happen when you are already juggling 43 other things and have plans for the day? I have never been more grateful that plumbers are now working more normal hours and that they come out at two hours notice. And if ever you are going to have to spend four days having cold showers you might as well do it during a heatwave.
Boy was this week hot. Which was a disaster for our beaches as families flocked to them in their droves. Roads were clogged, car parks were rammed, bins were overflowing and the tonnes of rubbish left behind were horrific. Weeks of lockdown being relaxed, and a weekend of great weather has definitely brought out the worst in people. I fear next weekend when alcohol can be added to the mix when pubs are able to reopen is going to cause a massive issue, and ultimately spike in the number of cases. July 4th is being billed as the UK’s Independence Day as will also be able to meet two other households inside and the 2m distancing rule is going to be reduced to 1m. And it was confirmed that this is the day hairdressers can officially reopen, the rumours are true. This is the best news, and I dont care about other shops, or being able to travel abroad (sorry if that sounds selfish), but the only thing I really want right now is a hair cut. People are rushing to book holidays from July 6th, and I do totally get that. The need for a change of scenery or a few days away is totally understandable and will probably shoot up my agenda after a haircut, but for now we are all happy to stay at home.
Travel overseas is still being debated and I am not sure I want to run the risk of being stuck abroad, or having to self isolate for 14 days when we get home again if they change the rules whilst we are away. The guidelines, talk of air bridges, all seem to be changing daily and to be honest I can’t keep up. To a certain extent I found complete lockdown so much easier to live with, the rules around what we can or cant do, will we do something we think is okay, but that will have people pointing the finger at us on social media are daunting. Do the rules relate to us, Scotland, Wales, now or in a week or two? Uggghh it is all a bit confusing to be honest and the fact we think we can make plans, but those then might have to change if rules are changed again puts me off making any. It’s draining. It has an actual name, too, I have learned: FOMLO “Fear Of Missing LockDown”. I can relate to so much of this article in The Telegraph
We also saw the end of the daily 5pm briefing. Until last week I have watched these religiously every day in an effort to keep up to date on what was happening. I quite liked following who was evading today’s questions and being able to rant about them on Twitter as they steadfastly skirt round issues. Who can we rant at now?
Photo of mugs of tea and coffee courtesy of Shutterstock