FEBRUARY 2021

Tuesday 2 February 2021

Looks like we're going to be in lock down until the end of the month.

Very sad to hear that 100 year old Captain Tom has passed away. What a remarkable man and he will forever be remembered for raising £34million for the NHS. However, it would be interesting to know what his death has been recorded as...................pneumonia, Covid, old age or something else.

Apparently the Isle of Man is Covid free and life is pretty much back to normal. Lucky them!

Friday 5 February 2021

Went to Portobello today so that Trixie, the Collie pup, could have a run on the beach. It feels like it's been raining for my whole life and the advantage of doing the dog walk at the beach is that she just get sandy and wet, rather than muddy and wet. I probably shouldn't be going out in the car for a walk because after all a walk is a walk and in first lockdown one's daily exercise was supposed to start and end at your front door. Driving to exercise was considered to be non-essential and I never did it for almost three months. The only time I went out in the car was once a week when I went to do a supermarket shop for myself and Mrs R.

Anyway to justify going to the beach in the car, I popped into the Range to buy some poo bags. Poo bags are essential. Right? I don't really understand how the Range is an essential shop this time around when it wasn't an essential shop during first lock down. It was really busy with families with kids just mooching about for no apparent reason. They all appeared to be out for a little jolly just because it was somewhere to go.

My friend, D, from Cornwall has had to cancel her visit yet again. She was due to come in December and that got cancelled and now she's cancelled her visit in March. Who knows when we'll be allowed to have people in our houses again.

Saturday 6 February 2021

I read an article online today that said that up to 40% of puppies that were bought during lock down have never been out of their own house. Can you believe that? The world is soon going to be over run with dogs that haven't been socialised and have all sorts of behavioural problems. Or abandoned dogs because people who got puppies in first lock down don't want them anymore. Do people not realise that a dog is for life and it takes a lot of time, effort and commitment to turn them into perfect pooches.

Sunday 7 February 2021

There was a power cut in EH10 tonight. Can things get any worse?

Wednesday 10 February 2021

Today I had an interview on Microsoft Teams for a job in St Ives. How techie am I? I thought if I got a job then I would have an essential reason to get back down there. Best laid plans and all that. Unfortunately the job was for 40 hours a week and I would have been doing the 2-11pm shift, which is far to long to leave Trixie by herself, so that was the end of that idea.

Thursday 11 February 2021

Loving all this snowy weather. There's something quite therapeutic about walking miles and miles in the snow.

Friday 12 February 2021

Home schooling at its best. The local kids have spent hours making this.

Went for a three and a half hour walk with a friend who has a dog. It's the first time I've been out for a walk with a friend for ages.

Sunday 14 February 2021

Amazingly my friend, F, came for a walk in the snow with me today.

It's day 41 of lock down and apparently Boris is outlining his route map out of lock down on the 22th February. Here's hoping that Nicola is going to do the same. I know that I'm a lot luckier than a lot of people but the fact still remains that I have no income coming in through no fault of my own. I'm not allowed to rent out my house in Cornwall and I'm not allowed to go there myself, even though I'm paying full council tax. Nor am I getting any work as a Meet & Greeter.

My life at the moment is walk the dog.................. watch TV................ walk the dog.................. watch TV.................. walk the dog. At least I've got a dog. That's all I can say.

Monday 15 February 2021

50 years ago today, decimalisation happened. My Gran who was staying with us at the time didn't really understand what was happening and she said, 'Why is the world changing?' Would anybody have believed that 50 years later, the whole country would be locked down and told to stay at home.

I wonder what will be happening in the world 50 years from today?

Tuesday 16 February 2021

It's my sister's 60^th birthday. No celebrations for her.

I broke the rules and went to my friend, Js, for lunch.

Friday 19 February 2021

Signs of Spring. An indication of better things to come perhaps?!

Just read an article on line where Cornwall's tourism boss, Malcolm Bell says that he thinks there's only a 10% chance that hospitality will be open by Easter. Seriously? I was hoping to get down to my house in Cornwall in March to do essential work, ready for letting it out in April. I totally understand that the rules are what the rules are, but the longer this goes on the harder it is to stick to them. I haven't been to my own house since October and if I were there, I'd be doing exactly the same as I'm doing here. Living by myself, walking the dog and watching TV.

I can't wait to hear what Boris's route out of lock down is on Monday, though whatever it is, Nicola, no doubt will still be stopping people getting in and out of Scotland.

Also it would seem that now that the 65-70 age group have been vaccinated (or at least got an appointment) the next group of people are the 'vulnerable'. No where can I find a list of what the criteria actually is for a 'vulnerable' person. Does anyone in Scotland know?

Sunday 21 February 2021

My Google newsfeed has been full of stuff today about what Boris is going to say in his 'route out of lock down' speech tomorrow. Why don't they just wait until tomorrow and then they'll be able to report it a bit more accurately.

I've not really got any interest in schools re-opening because it doesn't affect me. I've got no interest in non-essential shops re-opening either because as far as I'm concerned there's been loads of non-essential shops open during this lock down anyway. It would be nice to have some new clothes but if the changing rooms aren't open and I can't try them on in the shop, then I might as well shop online.

I'm not sure how true any of the following is true but things that I've read/heard today include:-

Hairdressers aren't re-opening until the end of April.

People are going to be allowed to meet outdoors in groups of six. (Well judging by what I saw on this afternoon's dog walk, that's already happening.)

Pubs are going to re-open but can only serve alcohol outdoors. Hospitality could stay closed for another three months.

Self catering won't be opening until at least June. Hotels/B&Bs will probably be even later.

Tomorrow is going to be all about waiting for Boris to make his route map out of lock down speech and then hopefully on Tuesday, Nicola will make hers. And then perhaps I will be able to plan what I'm going to do for the rest of my life.

Monday 22 February 2021

…....THROUGH NO FAULT OF MY OWN

A year ago I had the 'perfect life'. …..............Well perfect for me......................

I had two homes; one in St Ives, Cornwall and one in Edinburgh, Scotland. I moved between the two. I had friends in both places.

I was making a living from renting out my properties (via Airbnb) when I wasn't living in them.

I was self-employed as a 'Meet & Greeter' to short term lets in Edinburgh. The job suited me. I could work as much or as little as I wanted.

I was a member of a fitness club and went swimming 4-5 times a week, I did Pilates 2-3 times a week.

I went out to eat/drink with friends 1-2 times a week.

I had friends round to my house for dinner (or I went round to theirs) 1-2 times a week.

…................And obviously I walked Trixie, my gorgeous little collie pup, for a couple of hours a day.

My whole world changed dramatically on 23rd March 2020, through no fault of my own.

….............Overnight my 'perfect life' changed.................................

I no longer had an income.

I was no longer allowed to see my friends.

I could no longer go to my fitness club.

I couldn't even go to my own house in Cornwall, by myself, (but I still had to keep paying the extortionate council tax and water rates).

I had no work coming in.

I was trapped in a 4th floor flat with no human contact.

The only good thing about my life during lock down has been 'Trixie the collie pup'. And I'm so glad I got her a year before lock down and managed to get her trained and socialised. Over the past year we have walked miles and miles and miles. …............She has literally given me a reason to get up every day.

I've just found a poem that I wrote 7 months ago. And I still feel the same today that I did then. And, even with the vaccine I actually can't see much light at the end of the tunnel.

I know I'm not alone with what I'm going through. And I know I RANT a lot. And I know that a lot of people are having it a lot harder than me. And I know I should feel grateful for what I've got. BUT although we're all in the same storm, we are all weathering it in different ways. And nobody should be made to feel guilty about how they are feeling.

I like to think that I'm a pretty strong, independent woman, so if I'm feeling like this, hopefully the poem below might help others...............

Whatever?!!! It's a record of my life after almost one year in lock down!

So here goes....................

Forgotten and alone

We're the forgotten ones

Over 60

Single

In good health

No underlying medical issues

Alone

Forgotten

A whole sector of society that nobody cares about.

We don't have families

Our parents are dead

We never had children

We are totally, utterly, completely alone.

Until Coronavirus took away our independence

We were envied

We lived our life

How we wanted to live our life

We had a life

We went out, we had fun, we lived

Until Coronavirus stopped all that.

Overnight our enviable lifestyle changed

We couldn't go out

We were prisoners in our own homes

Alone, frightened, scared

Of the future.

Overnight our freedom became a prison

We no longer had choices

We were fit, healthy and intelligent

But none of that mattered

We had no human companionship.

And as the death toll rose

And reports of domestic abuse increased

And parents had no money to feed their children

Us single 60s were the fortunate ones

We had the financial means to be comfortable in lockdown

But money can't buy everything

We were alone

Very alone

We tried telling ourselves we were lucky

We could feed ourselves, heat our houses, go outside for our daily exercise

And spend a fortune online buying non essential items which quite frankly we didn't need.

But none of that mattered

Because after spending a lifetime of doing what we wanted, when we wanted, with whom we wanted

We no longer had a choice.

We were alone

Very, very, very alone.

And after 3 months in lock down

We are still alone

We have our health

We have our money

But we are still alone

We're forgotten.

All we want is to meet with our single friends

The rules have passed us by

Two households of up to 8 people

But not four single people living by themselves.

We're single

Alone

Isolated.

There seems to be no end in sight

To the loneliness we endure.

All we can do is keep repeating the mantra; 'this time next year'

And hope that things will get better.

....................That was written in June 2020.

Are things any better now? No they're not!

Tuesday 23 February 2021

Yesterday Boris announced that the world could be back to normal by 21^st June 2021.

My support bubble came round today so that we could watch Nicola's 'route out of lock down speech' together. Mmmmmm...................... watched TV for an hour. Nicola doesn't seem to have a route out of lock down plan. We were both so depressed that we drank copious quantities of wine. Not that either of us need an excuse to do that!

Wednesday 24 February 2021

Nicola might be keeping us all locked up in Scotland, but Boris is releasing the English and I can start to rent out my house in Cornwall from the 12^th April. Yay! Hopefully I can get down to Cornwall in April, even if it means breaking the rules and escaping out of Scotland. I have opened up my bookings from May. In the last 24hrs I have taken ten bookings. Ten? How amazing is that? Obviously everyone must be desperate for a staycation.

Had a tradesperson round to do a few jobs for me. In Scotland tradespeople are not allowed to do jobs in the house unless they're essential. Well as far as I'm concerned, replacing the sealant around my shower tray is essential because after all, if the water leaked through to the flat below that would be very disastrous and very expensive. I got him to do a few other jobs while he was here because lets face it, he was here anyway.

Went out to do a Meet & Greet this afternoon. It was a couple from Glasgow who had just come to Edinburgh for a little jolly. That's not really allowed but who's going to stop them?

Friday 26 February 2021

Broke the rules today and took Trixie, the Collie pup, for a play on Musselburgh Beach. To justify it, I did some essential shopping en-route! I haven't actually been to Musselburgh since November because Musselburgh is in East Lothian and I live in Edinburgh and we're not supposed to go out of our own area. I could have gone to Portobello beach which is only about a mile from Musselburgh (and in my own area) but it would have been mobbed on a beautiful day like this.

I've actually heard of someone who got fined for going to North Berwick, which is only 20 miles down the coast. Though to be honest, that was a few weeks ago when the police seemed to be doing random road stops. I don't think they're doing that anymore, but who knows.

Sunday 28 February 2021

I've got a new project. Cross stitch. Bought a beginners kit on line, but I can't make head nor tail of it. Apart from anything else, I don't think my eye sight is good enough. Another waste of money spent in lock down.