An incredibly sad start to week three of quarantine, losing the first person that I know to Coronavirus. Hoping that everyone is well and keeping safe.
Quarantine Day 15
Monday 6 April 2020 – Reality of Covid-19
I found out today, through the acting grapevine, that a local actor I’ve worked with passed away yesterday. Very sad. The seriousness of the situation that I have been trying to avoid, hit close to home. It still doesn’t feel real. I kept expecting him to pop up on facebook at any moment and for it to have just been a terrible case of mistaken identity.
But it was confirmed and I had a cry. He had sent me an invite to an evening out and I hadn’t gone and now I wished I had. You don’t go around thinking that the last time you saw someone is the last time you’ll ever see them. Although, now I guess that is the reality of things.
The reality of yesterday made me scared for the people I have not seen or heard from in a while. Made me wonder if I should reach out and say ‘hi’, just to make sure people are okay. Scared because it was only a couple of weeks ago before the government would actually do anything and until government would do anything businesses wouldn’t do anything and people wouldn’t take it seriously. People who could see what was coming were having to quit their jobs to be safe. Whilst others were out and about as normal, shopping, working, meeting socialising, hugging, partying. I’m scared that the worst is yet to come.
Quarantine Day 16
Tuesday 7 April 2020 – Hairy
Quarantine Day 17
Wednesday 8 April 2020 – Caffeinating!
Quarantine Day 18:
Thursday 9 April 2020 – NFN
Was totally overdressed for the outside. Much warmer than expected. Fever or warm day? Couldn’t get close enough to another human to politely enquire. I observed some outside ‘others’ lacked clothing, but that’s nfn even in zero Celsius.
I queued outside M&S, listening to the young woman on the exit door saying ‘one out’ on her walkie talkie, after every person leaving the store, so that the person at the other door, at the front of the queue, could allow another one in.
I stood my designated distance away from the couple in front to avoid the smoker and his cloud of poison, as well as any potential covids being expirated. The reaper standing beside him grinned, winked at me and floated off.
Passed people yelling at each across Gentleman’s walk. A gentleman on a bicycle was very loudly declaring to a lady that she was a ‘bag of excrement’. Said lady alternated between threatening that she would be contacting police and referring to him as ‘female genitals’. From the words between the insults, I think it all began when he asked her the time.
I knew exactly what the time was, but my armour was noob, my stamina low and fucks to give were flickering around practically zero, so I scuttled by hoping that my invisibility cloak of the introvert +1 was fully operational. I had no intention of dying this day. I had a box of chocolate Brazil nuts in my backpack.
QuarantineDay 19:
Friday 10 April 2020 – Sandman
Been dreaming a lot over the past few nights. I didn’t really think there was any significance to it. Just thought it was due to me sleeping more soundly now the usual constant background traffic drone from the outer ring road is gone and all the stress of real life having been put on hold.
It turns out it probably is a Coronapocolyse thing. Lots of the others are experiencing it too. Except my dreams are odd as opposed to apocalyptic, scary or about bugs. I keep waking up mid-morning, around 3am.
This morning I dreamt I was playing about with an actor I know. No, not that kind of dream. Actually playing. Hide and seek, rough and tumble, tickling, joking about, circus like acrobatics at height. Yeah, I told you it was weird. Like a film montage of fun. He was telling me I wouldn’t get better and stronger unless we kept training.
I was having so much fun. He was turning the lights out and doing silly things with glowing things to scare me and make me jump and laugh.
So much so, I think he had just peek-a-boo’d me around a corner and I’d jumped, I was laughing out loud and laughed myself awake.
Glad I woke myself up laughing and not whilst doing sleep acrobatics with an in-my-head partner, up on the roof.
Quarantine Day 20:
Saturday 11 April 2020 – Worms
Watched Jesus Christ Superstar last night for free, courtesy of ‘The Shows Must Go On’. It was emoche, I have to confess. I was one year old when it was first performed and I had never been able to afford to see it. It took a global catastrophe for me to be able to, 49 years later. I had a little cry. Wine didn’t help.
Successfully convinced Ashlie that worms are not scary and do not consume humans… Well not whilst we are breathing anyhoo.
Progressed from chasing her down the garden path with a wriggling worm, to explaining how useful and amazing they are, why they are long and squiggly, why they are scared of birds, showing her the horrifically smelly worm city inside the compost bin, to finally her being swayed enough by my love of worms to actually asking to hold one… But only a baby one. Filled me with happies to be passing on the love of nature and gardening that my great auntie passed on to me.
She is now super-excited that I gave her responsibility of designing the garden and is resolved to remind me to water things so they don’t die in future. (My track record of potted plants is poor to bad)
RIP Washing Machine. Can’t wait for new one to arrive. Smooshing washing clean is not as much fun or even as satisfying as it sounds. Although you do end up with incredibly clean, soft, nice smelling feets.
Incidentally my toe nails are growing long and strong. Assuming it’s because I am mostly a hobbit nowadays and spend more time out of shoes than in.
Dreamt I was charity shop shopping. One of the first things I am going to do once Coronapocolypse subsides.
Quarantine Day 21:
Sunday 12 April 2020 – Covidioms
Week 3 done? Where did that go already? Well, mostly into 88 pages of a Stephen King book today, to be totally honest. Although I did fall down a few arty, theatrical, internet rabbit holes and found interesting things that could probably keep me amused for a good month of Sundays.
I have now totally given up on watching the government daily Coronavirus updates. I’m getting enough fiction from the books I’ve now got time to read. I guess we are all going to be incredibly humbled by the experience, now that we all realise that Britain is not in fact all that ‘Great’ and have, as my great auntie would have said, made a complete pigs ear of it all.
I don’t like clutter, so finally having time to spare is making me want to sort things out, move things about and throw stuff away. I may need a skip if I don’t stop soon. I know that in a couple of months time I’m going to be all “Where is that manky tupperware container without a lid that I hadn’t touched for a decade. I know I’ve seen it somewhere recently…. oooh… oops!”.
I am certain that Catface is not enjoying me being home so much, not now that the dustbuster is on constant charge and ready to be deployed at the drop of a cat litter clay, granule.
In spite of my cleaning stuff more, things don’t seem cleaner. This is one of the mysteries of the universe that I think scientists need to put time into once they’ve put Covid-19 to bed.
I have no idea why I’m leaking idioms today.