NOVEMBER 2020

 Sunday 1 November 2020

Here we go again. Lockdown two in England. Non- essential shops and hospitality businesses to close, although schools and universities can stay open. Surely they are where Covid is spreading the most? Furlough is to be extended. A year ago no one had even heard the word 'furlough'.

This lockdown is going to start on Thursday and last until the 2 December. Mmmm........... I wonder if it will be extended till Christmas.

What does it mean for me? No income for another month. Great!!

Monday 2 November 2020

Trekked around with Trixie, the Collie pup, for two-three hours. And apart from defrosting the freezer, that's as exciting as it's got today.

Wednesday 4 November 2020

Life is getting very monotonous!

Thursday 5 November 2020

Here, in Edinburgh we're not in complete lock down (although it feels like it) but all my work as a 'Meet & Greeter' has dried up. I'm guessing that this is because people from England can't actually travel anywhere.

I've applied for quite a lot of minimum wage and voluntary work but it would seem that nobody wants an intelligent 61 year old with loads of experience in numerous different occupations. Oh well, ho hum. It's their loss! Having said that, it is extremely irritating to go into the local bakers and see a member of staff wearing a very stained uniform, playing on their phone, chewing gum and totally ignoring the customers. How do these people even manage to get a job in the first place? And what is even worse............... most of the places I've applied to don't even bother to acknowledge my application. To be honest it doesn't really bother me. I'm quite confident that I could do the job ten times better that most of the people who are already in the role, but imagine if you're a 16 year old applying for your first job. It must be sole destroying to spend time and effort preparing a CV and then not even get an email telling you that they don't want you. It would seem that most places want to employ students. I'm guessing because they're cheaper and they can boss them around more. There was an advert which appeared on a local shop window a few days ago. They were looking for someone to work on a Saturday until Christmas and possibly Friday & Sunday afternoons. I thought, 'that'll do, I can do that', until I read the last line of the ad which said, 'Would suit someone still at school'. In other words they want a 14 year old that they can use as cheap labour. So, no, I didn't bother handing my CV in, because who cares what O grades I got in 1975?!

At least I can go to my fitness club (unless Nicola puts us back into Tier 4 and then it would probably have to close) so I'm going to spend the next few weeks getting fit. I'm going to swim a few times a week and do the 'couch to 5k' thingy on the treadmill. Maybe by Christmas, I'll be looking all slim and sylph like??!!

Friday 6 November 2020

Went for a walk with a friend who owns a dog today. We walked all the way to Balerno and all the way back. Six hours of walking has worn me out so I won't be doing anything else today.

Saturday 7 November 2020

Today has been almost normal. Went for a walk with Trixie, the Collie pup, and K through the Hermitage. This evening I went to Ss for dinner.

Two single people are now allowed to form a 'support bubble' and go into each others houses. Thank goodness for that. At least myself and S can get back to doing what we would normally do................. which is go to each others houses and have dinner once a week.

Monday 9 November 2020

Met a friend for coffee this afternoon.

Does anyone else in Tier 3 in Scotland think that it is absolutely ridiculous that one can go into a coffee shop with a friend, sit at a small table facing each other, have waiting staff deliver the coffee to the table and have other people constantly walking past the table................... And yet we're not allowed to have even one friend in our house unless it's our 'support bubble'. It's mad!

My friend is elderly and by elderly, I mean late 70s. This afternoon she had to get a bus to and from the coffee shop. Surely she would have been a lot safer, if I had just walked to her house and we had sat at opposite ends of her living room? I just don't understand the reasoning behind some of these ludicrous rules. And it doesn't look like anything is going to change any time soon, even though the number of Covid cases are reducing in Edinburgh!

Tuesday 10 November 2020

Still in Tier 3 and no sign of coming out of it anytime soon. Does anyone know when Nicola is doing her next review? Is it three weeks from today? I can never find any of the information that I need. The whole thing is just a shambles.

Today has been horrible. Nowhere to go. Nothing to do. No-one to talk to.

#thingscanonlygetbetter

Wednesday 11 November 2020

Even our pets have to suffer due to all the Covid rules. Trixie, the Collie pup, is two years old today. Last year she had a party with some of her little doggie friends. This year we spent the day totally alone!

Thursday 12 November 2020

During first lock down (when we thought we'd be back to normal by now) I had two highlights in my life................. doing a weekly shop for my friends elderly mother and watching my friend D, do a live stream 'songs & sundowners' show on FB from his shed.

I would sit on my balcony, glass of wine in hand, and google chrome-cast him onto my TV which I could see from the balcony. D stopped his 'songs & sundowners' sessions when we all thought that life was getting back to normal. How wrong we all were. Life is anything but normal. England is back in lock down and Edinburgh is in Tier 3. Basically none of us can see our friends so D is helping the nation and will be performing from his shed every Thursday for the next few weeks. Yay! At least that's one thing I have to look forward to every week.

Saturday 14 November 2020

My 'support bubble', S, came round for dinner tonight and that's as exciting as it's got today.

Sunday 15 November 2020

Went to Js for lunch today. OK, so she's not my support bubble, but she's single, I'm single and all this lack of human interaction can't be good for our mental health. Humans are not designed to live in total isolation. I honestly do not believe that I am putting myself or anyone else at risk just because I decide to go and see a friend and sit on different sofa from her.

Monday 16 November 2020

Until now I've resisted all temptation to sign up to extra TV channels etc. but winter is setting in so I've caved in and signed up to 'Netflix'. Looks like I'm going to be watching even more TV. I've already watched two episodes of the 'Crown' today.

Took Trixie, the Collie pup, down to Porty Beach this afternoon and popped into the 'Range' on the way. OMG! What a horrible experience. It was ridiculously busy, especially in the Christmas department. Nobody was social distancing or following the markers/arrows on the floor and the queues for the check outs was just as bad. There was actually only one queue but all the check-outs were open (so the queue actually moved quite quickly) but why don't people who are queuing not realise that they have to stand on the markers to ensure that they are two meters away from the person in front/behind them. I actually felt quite unsafe in there. I was only in the shop for about 10 mins, but when I came out, the queue to get in, went half way round the car park and there was 47 people in it. Won't be going back there till after Christmas.

Tuesday 17 November 2020

Went to the local garden centre to have a coffee with a friend (because the 'rules' state that we can't have coffee with a friend in our own houses, even though it would be much safer), except we couldn't have a coffee there. The rather snooty assistant said that all the tables were booked. I'm all for social distancing and all that but seriously, the cafe is huge, but they only seemed to be using about a quarter of the tables.

Went elsewhere. But what has happened to all the 'Track & trace' info that people are supposed to be leaving. To be honest, since I came back from Cornwall, I've only been into one coffee shop but I had to leave my name and contact details. Nobody asked us for any details today. I have to say, I think the English 'Track & Trace' app seems far superior to the Scottish one. When I was in St Ives, everywhere I went I had to scan myself in. I don't have to do that in Scotland and as far as I can make out, the Scottish app will only notify me if my phone has been in contact with someone else's phone who has tested positive.

The coffee shop that we went to was operating a 1m rule so myself and friend were sitting at a very small table. My friend doesn't have a smart phone so if either of us get Covid our phones won't know. I still think we would both have been far safer just sitting in either of our houses. At least we would have been more than 2m away from each other.

Went to my fitness club this afternoon and then did the dog walk. Came home to the news that Nicola has put Glasgow into Tier 4 until the 11 December.

Who would ever have thought in March that we'd still be in this situation now. I cancelled a holiday to Seville at the end of March, I cancelled a cruise in August and now I'm going to have to cancel two nights holiday in Glasgow at the end of the month. I'd like to say, 'things can only get better', but I can't say I'm feeling very positive.

Wednesday 18 November 2020

Took Trixie, the Collie pup, to Musselburgh Beach this afternoon. There was two reasons for this. Firstly, I wanted to collect some driftwood sticks to make a Christmas wreath with, and secondly, as from Friday, it is going to be illegal for me to go to Musselburgh Beach because East Lothian is moving into Tier 2 and as I live in Edinburgh (which is Tier 3) I cannot travel into a different Tier.

Personally, I think this whole Tier thing is a load of rubbish. It can't possibly be policed. We should all be doing the same thing. It's ridiculous. I have friends who 'officially' live in Edinburgh but their nearest supermarket is in East Lothian. Are they now supposed to drive to a supermarket further away because they are not allowed to go to the one which is within walking distance of their house? Its mad!

Oh and did anyone else see Piers Morgan on TV this morning saying that most people were following the rules? Seriously? What planet is he on? I don't know anyone who is following the rules anymore. Myself included. I mean; is it essential that I drive to a beach to go for a walk? No it isn't. In 'proper' lockdown the only time that I went out in a car was once a week when I went to do a supermarket shop for myself and Mrs R. I never drove anywhere else for more than 3 months. And I wouldn't have dreamt of jumping on a bus if I got tired whilst out on a big, long walk.

Personally, I think that all these half-hearted measures are just that............... half hearted. A friend from Cornwall has just had to cancel her visit to come and stay with me on 6 December because I think it's highly unlikely that I will be allowed to have anyone else in the house. She's changed her flights to the beginning of March but the way things are going; are things really going to be any better then. Let's face it, everybody is going to be seeing their friends/family over Christmas (whether they're allowed to or not), so come the end of January everyone will have Covid and this whole half hearted process will begin all over again.

Thursday 19 November 2020

The only half decent thing I've done today is watch Ds 'songs & sundowners' session live from his shed.

Saturday 21 November 2020

I only signed up to Netflix on Monday and that's the whole of series 1 of the Crown watched. Honestly I am turning into such a big fat slob, but I don't really care. I have no motivation at all, although I am still swimming and going to the gym on a regular basis. Doesn't seem to be doing me much good though.

Sunday 22 November 2020

Walked for 7 miles today but got very sore feet so jumped on a bus and came home. I don't feel well at all. I'm aching all over, I've got a sore throat and I'm very cold. Maybe I've got flu. Not that I've actually been in contact with anyone to get flu but that's what it feels like. I don't think it's Covid because I've still got my sense of smell. Maybe an early night will sort me out.

Monday 23 November 2020

I felt so ill last night that I went to bed at 7.45pm. I dragged myself out of bed at 7.15am today to take the dog out as I thought she'd be desperate to go to the toilet. Fortunately she wasn't, so after a little toileting walk for her I just went back to bed for a couple of hours.

Didn't have the energy to walk anywhere too far though so I just popped Trixie in the car, took her up Blackford Hill and made her run around after her ball for half an hour. That tired her out. It tired me out too.

I'm pretty sure that I don't have Covid. I've got that 'Zoe-Covid-19' app on my phone so I report in every day as to how I'm feeling. Today when I said I wasn't feeling normal, I had to read through a big long list of ailments and tick any that applied. Apart from feeling tired I didn't tick any of the other things. Aching all over and a sore back wasn't one of the options?

Just to be on the safe side, I googled, 'how to get a Covid test in Edinburgh?' Apparently there's a drive in centre at Edinburgh airport. Well that's one of the worse places in Edinburgh to drive into at the best of times so I won't be going there. Or there's a walk in centre at the Usher Hall, but if you're exhibiting Covid symptoms, you need an appointment to go to these two places and the website states that you should not use public transport or taxis to get there. That means that I'd have to walk half an hour there and half an hour back and I really haven't got the energy to do that. Anyway I wouldn't get an appointment because I'm not exhibiting any symptoms.

I'm well aware that some people have been lying about their symptoms just so that they can get a test, but seriously what is the point of that? All that the test tells you is whether you actually have Covid on the day that you take the test. (Who's to say you won't get it a few days later or had it a few days before). To be honest, if you're taking a test and don't really need one, then that is stopping other people who might be more needy from getting one.

I won't be sending off for a 'do it yourself' one either, because I'm far too squeamish. There's no way I'd be able to stick something down my throat or up my nose. My sister had to do one and she ended up dislocating her jaw in the process?!!

I'm pretty sure I've not got Covid so I'm just going to cancel my gym/swims for the next few days and take it easy. I've got plenty of food (and wine) in, so I don't actually have to go anywhere apart from take the dog for some little walks.

Tuesday 24 November 2020

Feeling a lot better today but I've still cancelled all my gym/swims for the rest of the week.

Wednesday 25 November 2020

Walked for an hour and a half with Trixie, the Collie pup. That exhausted me so I had to lie down for three hours when I got home.

While I was resting a message popped up on my phone from the 'Scottish Test & Protect app' to tell me that I'd been in close contact with someone who had Covid and I had to isolate for 14 days. Apparently the date of isolation is from the date of exposure which according to the Scottish Test & Protect app was the 18^th November. Seriously? That is a week ago. It's obviously not a very efficient app is it? I've been feeling a bit ropey for the last few days but in the past week, I've been on buses and in supermarkets so if I have got Covid (or have had it), I'm pretty sure I'll have passed it onto a lot of people by now. What is the point of isolating for a week after it's supposed to have happened?

Apart from anything else I know exactly what I was doing a week ago on 18 Nov. I took Trixie, the Collie pup, to play on Musselburgh beach, by myself. I also went to the gym and for a swim. I spent half an hour on the treadmill (with my phone) doing the Couch to 5k thing. There are four treadmills but there was no one on any of the others and was in fact only one other person in the gym right down the other end. I then went for a swim. Obviously I did not take my phone into the pool with me. There was nobody else in the changing rooms while I was there, but I put my phone into a locker and what I think has happened is................... my phone 'talked' to the phone in the next locker and it's owner had Covid.

…..................It's taken a whole week for the Scottish Test & Protect app to relay this information to me. What a farce. And now I'm expected to stay in for a whole week, even though I've already been out and about for a week before I got this message. It's ridiculous?!!

What am I supposed to do with Trixie? Try and find someone to come round and take her out, and obviously risk them coming into contact with me or something I have touched or would it be more sensible to just carry on doing what I'm doing? ….........Which is walking her by myself when I very rarely come into contact with anyone.

If I'd been contacted by Test & Protect on the day that the so called exposure to Covid happened, I might feel differently. As it is, I think it's just too little, too late. Admittedly, I have been feeling very ropey for the last few days, but even if I have got Covid, I know that there is absolutely no way that I got it on the 18 Nov because I didn't come into contact with one single person that day.

The whole thing is just a joke!!!

Friday 27 November 2020

Everybody seems to be putting their Christmas decorations up early this year. Probably because no one has anything better to do. I've followed suit and made a Christmas wreath for my front door.

Monday 30 November 2020

I am so bored I have resorted to doing a 1000 piece jigsaw.