Day Fifty Seven - White Lines, Soundtracks and Missing Siblings

Much fallout after last night's vague mutterings of lockdown easing. Further confusion this morning as Dominic Raab tried to offer more detail. Common sense was cited! Common sense? This nation can be petulant and immature and these new guidelines will be exploited and misinterpreted. Already authorities are concerned that people will start flocking to beauty spots. Maybe it's a good thing the the good weather has broken. It's colder and windy today. But the real problem is that people do not or will not really understand social distancing. 2 meters is surely the minimum? And they've changed their mind so many bloody times about how far the virus can travel, whether it can survive indoors, outdoors, in the cold in the heat, what surfaces it stays live on. Sometimes I think they just make it up to fit whatever they're currently saying. And I think the truth is no one actually knows for sure. This is a mutating virus. They don't actually know of its origin. If it is a human engineered virus goodness only knows what it's capable of doing. Sorry I'm ranting. It serves no purpose. I'm quite clear. I'm in lockdown. I will exercise once a day. I will have everything delivered. I will try not to go anywhere near anyone else for a good while yet.

They painted the white lines on the road outside today. I say today I'm not actually sure. I only noticed it today. But how come I didn't see or hear them do it? The noise the vehicle makes, and I can vouch for that because they returned later to finish the job off, is very noticeable. All I can think is that they must've done it while I was out for my walk! But that was pretty early.

I was slightly concerned that with the new relaxation of exercising rules there might be an increase in people out this morning because there is now unlimited exercise, morning noon and night if you like, I guess. But in fact there were even less people today. One jogger who crept up behind me and didn't social distance just skirted round me because I was in his way, bitch that I am, two of my "wavers" and a dog walker. I feel I need to change my route a bit because the body can get too used to the same thing every day so I need to maybe try and extend things a bit further. I'm tempted to try and go down the hill to the station and then up again which I used to jog back in the day but it's quite an incline.

We've had an update on Auntie Pat. She's out of isolation and back in her own room but still being nursed in bed. She is eating a little and has been prescribed supplements to help her get stronger. She is now talking with the staff but we're not sure how lucid she is. She is not able to make or receive phone calls. My cousin suggested we maybe send her some cards reminding her we can't visit her at the moment in case she wonders why no one has come to see her. It's going to be a slow job. But as news goes it's not bad news.

Yesterday whilst walking I listened to the soundtrack of A Star is Born, the most recent one with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Interesting example of an actor turning singer/rockmusician. And then today I listened to the Begin Again soundtrack which was a fine example of a singer, Adam Levine from Maroon 5, turning actor! Then of course in that film  Keira Knightley an actress turning into a singer! Are they all completely dissatisfied with their initial chosen roles? I suppose in those kind of industries you can do that quite easily. There is a lot of jobs you couldn't. I mean for example a window cleaner couldn't decide to become a brain surgeon. Well I guess they could but it wouldn't be easy!

Last couple of days I've gone back to gently trying to do some more housework. It doesn't do me any good to overdo it and find I can't do very much for a few days. It's not good at the best of times but at the moment it really affects my mental health and self-esteem adversely. So I'm setting myself limits. I've got the spare room sorted out nicely now. It had become a bit of a dumping ground. And it looks really messy and I think that messes up your head too. But I get very frustrated because I can't move furniture out as I would like to to Hoover behind and underneath stuff. I have to just be contented with what I can actually do. Made me feel a bit sad too. Sometimes my brother or my sister come and stay. They sleep in the spare room. And it made me think of those times when I'd strive to get the room ready and welcoming for them. Sometimes the desire to see them is overwhelming and I end up in tears. Because I truly don't know when I will see them again. I phoned my brother this morning and talk to him. That always makes me feel better. Hearing his voice makes him seem closer. And my sister and I had a text message exchange. She's really got into online grocery shopping during this lockdown. She had a Sainsbury's delivery last week, she wasn't very impressed with that. She had an Oddbox delivery which she was very pleased with. And today she had a Co-op delivery. Which she thought was very good because they even delivered on a bicycle! How green can you get? Trouble is the Co-op deliveries are only operating in certain areas. And my area isn't one of them. Or I'd give them a try. I'm desperate for strawberries. I've only got frozen. They really don't taste the same. But sometimes I think it does you good to go without something you want. It's character building. You realise those things you thought you couldn't do without, you can quite easily.