20th March - A night of worship and prayer

After a late night of sorting house docs, I decided to skip exercise for the morning. Got up about 9. Washed and dressed in stripy top, dungaree dress and leggings. Had breakfast with Mum as usual. 

Worked. IT had fixed email issues. 

Sent house docs to Mark. Had to re-send a couple due to format issues. We've plans to meet with him after we're out of lockdown. 

Mim, Martha and Mum did Body Coach together, which I found quite entertaining. I filmed a hyperlapse of their legs waving in the air and put it on Instagram. Everyone agreed it did look pretty hilarious. 

For lunch, we had toasties. 

All the females went for a walk to the park. I can't remember why Dad didn't come with us - busy in the garden?

Poor Mum got a phone call from Pam near the start of the walk and had to spend a good portion of it on the phone to her. Bless her, that woman can really talk. 

Carried on with work when we got home. I played Friends and The Good Place as I worked. I'm going to have watched so much TV by the end of all this. 

When I finished work, I helped Martha set up her laptop so she could play The Sims. Glad I'm not the only one who finds it fun - and addictive!

I sorted some stuff in my bedroom. I've started tidying some of the books on my shelves into boxes, hoping to make it a little tidier. Now is the pefect time to do some sorting. 

Mim made dinner - a delicious Catsu curry. I gotta make sure I contribute to the cooking effort!

After dinner, we watched the Rend Collective Live on Instagram. They lead worship so well, so passionately. If I remember correctly, I think it stopped suddenly for some reason?

We prayed for the coronavirus situation. 

After the holiness of worship and prayer...us girls proceeded to make some G & Ts. Don't judge us. 

Mim and Martha played card games sitting on the floor of the lounge. I wrote my diary. In it, I finished with these words 'Life is strange at the moment. But good. And that's God's grace.'

Even over two months later and still in lockdown, those words hold true.

March 19th - Colourful quarantine trousers and big news

I slept quite restlessly, which is apparently normal due to the pandemic. But I suspect the whole drama about the house and the strangeness of working from home was also pressing on me. 

I got up about 8 to exercise (the butt exercise - sitting on it a lot requires a workout). 
Got a little distracted watching Frodo leave for the Gray Havens on Youtube. (Blame watching Return of the King last night.) Never fails to get me in the feels that scene. It's a metaphor for death, no doubt. And again, it makes me think of Dan. As if he were the one boarding the ship and we were left standing on the shore. We will follow one day. 
I also noticed something subtle - that as Frodo hugs each hobbit, a slight change comes over their expressions as if they find some comfort and peace in the moment, no matter how sad. I think that might be in the book. Will have to re-read them!

I sat and had breakfast with Mum again. We talked about how we were going to do food shops as we're technically supposed to isolate and not go shopping. Found a loophole in the fact that Mim was coming back from her night shift and wanted to pop to the shops before she 'officially' began to isolate. Mum would pick her up, give her a list and wait outside while Mim shopped. Poor Mim. But she did it! She was shattered after. 

I washed and dressed in a black top, my beige patterned headband and some new floaty colourful black trousers I brought from Pep & Co before we started working from home. It may be cheap of me to shop there, but I've got some good bargains as a result. 

Work - still got Sergio, Oliver and, occasionally, Kirsty, messaging me with various questions. 

Our homegroup WhatsApp was going a bit mad with prayer requests. I may have had to mute it for a few hours. 

If work is quiet, I tend to other things at the same time - listen to music, practise on Duolingo etc. I think I also started a free trial of Scribd - a digital reading/audiobook app. I'm currently listening to Kingdom of Copper. It's SO good!

At lunch, Martha and I walked around the block. It was fairly short, according to Marv's wishes. She covered her mouth with her scarf if we saw anyone. Her cough's so bad I think she'd freak out anyone who heard her. 

We had homemade soup and bread rolls for lunch. 

I got my parcel from Owlcrate - the Queen of Nothing tapestry and tray and the Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix mug. All lovely products. Very nice getting stuff in the post.

There was some further discussion on the houses because Nathan sent a link to another property. Mum thought it looked nice, which threw Mim into another stew because she needs everyone to like Westerleigh Road. She, Marv & I all agreed we're sticking with it. No point backing out at this point!

I feel like we've got some rocky roads ahead. Be with us in this next stage Lord. 

Speaking of rocky roads - Jonah MC is on one. Mim came to tell me that Mum heard from Caroline that Fiona has left Jonah. Couldn't believe it. He alienated himself from his family because of her and now he's alone in Ireland with no wife, no dog and no job (yeah, he lost his job too.) Poor guy. That's very rough. To think when I first met her I liked her! And thought she'd be good for him! (On reflection, I think it's because we'd seen so many girls swoon over him, that it seemed good that she wasn't a pushover. Trouble is, he became the pushover.)
But! As usual, God is already using this for His good. He's had an encounter with God - a real conversion experience - and is totally different. His church are supporting him too. I pray God continues to work in his life during this hard time. 

Chatted with Mum and the girls after work and scanned some stuff for the house. 

I found out I have an interview with Mullers, which will take place though Zoom, BUT they may be making it part time. They still want me to interview though. 
I haven't done an online interview since the Skype call with Banner. Should be interesting...

Risotto for dinner. 

Mum, Dad and I had the last Vital Life chat through Zoom. Second time we'd used it, and it's an interesting experience. We didn't do a load of chat on the Mike Reeves talk - spent more time seeing how everyone is doing in lockdown. Nathan isn't amazing at prompting discussion. Mim and Martha's Zoom went on a lot longer - but's that's Pete B for you.

Hannah and Est both rang at various points today. 

After Vital Life, we sat and made lists of activities to do during lockdown. It's as Joel described it - a bit like being in the Lake District during wet weather. Not being able to go anywhere. 
We made many plans - walks, games, films and activities. We shall get through it eventually. Until then - these are unique times. I hope we make the most of them. 

March 18th - It starts, and emotions a-plenty

Start of working from home.

I began the day with some exercise in the lounge. In the absence of a gym, this is going to be the only way I can keep the pounds off. It's something I've been considering doing for a while, as the lure of the gym is starting to wear off. Even when paying £17.99 a month for it.

So, in place of watching girls taking selfies while using the treadmill, I'm face-planting our dusty carpet, gasping for air and hoping I don't wake the rest of the house. At least it's free!

Had the benefit of being able to sit and eat breakfast with Mum before starting work. Also read my Bible. This is a slower, calmer pace of life that we would never have been able to adjust to without an enforced lock-down. I am grateful for more time with the family - especially Mum and Dad. More on that later.

In the name of comfort, I moved my wooden desk chair to the bunk bed room and dragged the old swivel chair from the study up to my room. This is going to be my office for the next goodness-knows-how-many weeks.

I cannot, however, escape my colleagues asking for help. Sergio messaged our CIU group chat on Whatsapp. I was the first to reply to him, so he promptly continued to message me privately with more requests. I struggled with irritation. It must be tough for him - he's pretty much all alone (except for Tom? And the apprentice? Geez, I can't even remember that guy's name.)
Along with Sergio, I had Oliver emailing me with questions. I felt a bit like IT support.

The rest of the family carried on with normal life - Mim and Martha went to the gym and Mum went to the shops.

At lunch, I went to the Coop and brought snacks (my essentials before the storm) and a gift card for Mother's Day.

In the afternoon, everything went a bit nuts.

We put an offer in for Westerleigh Road and, to our astonishment, had our offer accepted. This is hardly the situation we envisioned getting a house in - a pandemic and potential lockdown.
Mum was upset because she was starting to realise we may not see family for a while and felt like us 3 were rushing out the door too. Mim was upset because she needed more reassurance that we'd made the right choice in putting in an offer for the house. I was left to scurry between the two of them, doing my best to comfort and reassure. Reminding Mum that it was still going to take a while. That even though it felt like everything was falling apart, God was still our rock. Reminding Mim that she did not carry the world on her shoulders - we'd made this choice together and God was sovereign over us getting this house.I am grateful God gave me the words, for it flowed from a desperate desire for peace and everyone to be happy.

We contacted ol' Bristolian Mark to get the ball rolling with the house process.

Mim and Martha were both working night shifts. I tried to keep Mim happy by excitedly envisioning plans for our house. (If it all goes ahead.)

Mum, Dad and I joined a test Zoom vision with a lot of church members. Quite hilarious and chaotic. Funny - and good - to see everyone again.

I set up my laptop so we could see the last of the Mike Reeves videos. (As Vital Life has to take place electronically tomorrow.) He was as excellent a speaker as always. .

Martha got sent home from work early because she has a cough. She now has to isolate for 7 days, and the rest of us must isolate for 14 days. Churchers and others in our church have already began the same situation.

We started watching Return of the King - extended as I don't know where the shorter DVDs are kept.
The story never fails to get to me - memories of Dan and his love for the series.

Self-isolation begins...

First mentions

Hand sanitiser appeared at work. Everyone had to get set up to work from home.

March 1st - Prayed for the situation in Life Group

March 2nd - Katie and Henry had to isolate because Esther just got back from Italy

March 3rd - Discussed possibility of lockdown with Tom (we were a little cynical) in appraisal. An office nearby had closed and were cleaning it.

March 6th - Talked about it at God Squad and whether hand sanitiser actually makes a difference.

March 7th - Tissues provided at Women's Conference and mentioned in notices

March 9th - Team huddle, no update

March 12th - Felt very rough. Astonished by how much pain killers had sold out.

March 13th - Is the Life Weekend Away still going to happen? 'No physical contact!' Nervous shopping in Coop with toilet roll and hand gel flying off the shelves. Life Weekend Away - elbow greetings, hand gel and Angi on a hunt for gloves.

March 16th - Prince of Egypt definitely cancelled. Social gatherings are advised against.

March 17th - Still had to go into work as we plan to start working from home. Buses and streets are eerily quiet.

March 18th - I start working from home and Martha comes back from her job, saying we all have to self-isolate for 2 weeks because she has a cough.

It begins a little earlier for us before the full lockdown is issued

Inital Thoughts

I find it somewhat ironic that I choose to start this blog just as talk of lifting the lockdown starts to circulate the news. 

Better late than never?

2020 shall go down in history. A strange year. A surreal year. 

To think that 2016-2019, the UK's biggest concern was Brexit. 

January 2020, word started to creep in of a virus in China. I was a naysayer. 

'Oh, it can't be that bad.'

'It won't come to us.'

Etc. etc. Words that were proved wrong. 

Instead, we were months away from being plunged into one of the biggest crises of our generation.

The previous generation knew the devastation left by WWII. We will know the devastation of COVID-19. 

So, how did we spend the lockdown months? What will our memories be?

Let's find out...