Lockdown - pandemic

Updates first. Managed to avoid watching the football last night and so missed the hammering Liverpool got. I just didn't fancy the game and am pleased there was nothing riding on it with the title already secured.

Despite the miles of running and riding in July already, I trotted out for another 10km run this morning in the company of the podcast 'Shagged, Married, Annoyed', at least for the first part of the run. Felt good and took it easy after the exertions of previous days.

Once back, I joined Alison in the kitchen. She is cooking lots of cakes and biscuits, I got on with the chickpea, aubergine and tomato concoction from a recipe in The Guardian before turning to a task which is rather sad and allows me to spend a little time reflecting on lockdown, cancellation of our campsite bookings, or at least the ones for the trip to Scotland.

Maria and Joseph have been hit hard by the closure of school. Despite the home schooling, it's the routine and the friendships they are missing out on, as well as the learning. It has also meant for Maria, the loss of her dancing classes and drama, Joseph is missing drama too. This morning she learnt that the Easter show, postponed until later in the year, has now been abandoned completely. There are to be classes to prepare the dancers for exams but within strict guidelines reflecting the ongoing concerns regarding the spread of coronavirus.

I have now spoken with  my mum about not going to visit her this summer. We have already had Larmer Tree cancelled but had held on to the trip to the Hebrides in the hope that the easing of restrictions might allow us to travel up given the isolation we could achieve in the motorhome. However, the ferries are running a limited service, are fastidious regarding the reason for the journey and in prioritising specific groups which is quite right. I would hate for us to be the people taking the virus across to Lewis when they have been almost entirely free of cases and have had no deaths.

The fact is we would not have been able to see mum anyway, given she is in a care home full of very vulnerable people. It is very disappointing. The Scottish campsites we'd booked are not all opening until August or may not even open at all and there are severe restrictions in the other sites we'd booked as well.

Our trip to Cornwall is going to go ahead in August but the campsite emailed yesterday to advise there are to be no tents and there will be no facilities open of any kind, toilets, showers, bar, swimming pool and so on. We can still go but it will be about using the site to park up and connect to the electric and nothing more. It's a shame but again, the right thing to do in difficult circumstances.

My thoughts this morning are about how we are being affected by coronavirus, that it is has had a huge impact all round, despite the fact that on a day to day basis I feel it has almost passed us by. It has been easy to forget it at times, out exercising, gardening, doing the allotment, keeping in touch with family and so on. Not working has made this even more the case.

So the huge impact is on the wider society, not ourselves particularly, but there are more and more aspects of our lives where the ongoing consequences are affecting us. I wonder how long it will be until we are back living with the freedom we enjoyed previously?