Staying Home: Day 4

I have now finished preparing to stay home for however long this takes. While the rest of the country has been stripping the supermarket shelves bare this week I have:

• Sorted out enough work to keep me going for at least three months, including collecting the brass band archives
• Collected H from university
• Had the bath drain unblocked
• Had my very neglected piano tuned for the first time in many years
• Bought sunbeds
• Bought a hair cutting set (clippers for M, scissors for the rest of us)

I'm not sure that is the most logical way to prepare, but it works for me. We were already pretty well stocked with food (and toilet paper!), and I get both a veg box and a fish box delivered regularly. 

Today was a full work-at-home day. Freelance work this morning, then archive work this afternoon - I did various oddments, including organising the assortment of digital files and images I brought home with me and uploading them to  Dropbox. I am now all set to get properly stuck into things on Monday. All staff with underlying medical conditions have now been formally instructed not to go into work and to work from home if at all possible, for an initial period of twelve weeks.  I filled in the relevant "social distancing" form online and had that approved, which means I am now officially staying home. 

H unpacked and had a clear out in her room, then had a two hour online class this afternoon. M cleaned the car, did some tidying up in the garden, went for a couple of short walks (one on his own and one with me) and picked up Teen Girl from school for the last time for a while. She came home loaded down with exercise books, and with a log in to a GCSE Pod website and the promise that they will be set work through a homework platform. Technically she has two weeks of this term left, so we shall wait and see how much work materialises. 

Staying Home: Day 3

Our lovely neighbours know we are keeping away from people as much as possible, so when they went out to the supermarket yesterday picked up a few things we needed. They also gave us a bunch of daffodils which are now brightening the table next to my chair. This morning another set of neighbours also got some bits for us when they went shopping. We are very lucky to live in a small road where all the neighbours look out for each other even when we aren't living through a major crisis.

Daughter H and most of her stuff are now home. I set off soon after eight this morning and we were back by three. We were both surprised that the motorway didn't seem much quieter than normal for a weekday. The usual number of lorries was to be expected, but that many cars? So much for only travelling if essential. We took a slight detour to pick up a box of donuts before heading home. There is a coffee and donut shop on a small industrial estate in her university city which sells the best donuts - huge, lots of flavours, and all vegan. Their cafe is closed but they are still selling takeaways.

In a burst of optimism I bought two cheap sunbeds from Argos. We are going to be spending a lot of time cooped up inside over the next few months, and anything that encourages us to be out in the garden if there is half way decent weather has to be a good thing. Usually everyone fights over our single deckchair. My logic for buying them now is that if we do get nice weather, chances are either we won't be able to get out and buy any, or they will all sell out. H went into town to collect them, causing the counter staff a certain amount of amusement when they realised what she was getting. The optimistic side of me pictures sitting outside in the fresh air working with my feet up; the pessimistic side now expects it to rain for the next three months. When she got back to the car H noticed a rear tyre was looking flat. Fortunately she was just round the corner from the garage we usually use and they were able to change it on the spot for her.

As I drove home from collecting the band archives last night I passed a Toad Patrol - several people in hi-vis jackets with buckets and torches, picking up toads and taking them across the road. Apparently at this time of year common toads head to their ancestral breeding ponds. This particular road is between the toads and their pond and lots of them get squashed, so the Toad Patrol steps in to help. I found it incredibly cheering that with all the coronavirus misery going on, people were still out rescuing toads.

Staying Home: Day 2

It took me all of one morning to learn lesson number one of working two separate jobs at home. Compartmentalise! I settled down to do some freelance work (we write exam questions for various financial services organisations), and then kept getting distracted by my nice shiny new archives webmail. Having half my mind on two different jobs at the same time was not a success, particularly as (1) I was having nasty formatting issues with a file which were making it barely readable, and (2) I  was having a brain-fog day thanks to the wretched non-corona virus that won't shift. By lunchtime I had achieved very little and was not in the best of moods when we went out for the twenty minute walk we are trying to do every day - at the moment that is as much as I can manage, and on bad days like today even that is a struggle. The fresh air did help my mood a bit, even though I came back very tired.

From now on, it is going to be one thing at a time (I just mistyped that as one "think" at a time, which is very apt). I am also going to stick to working my standard two full days a week on my archives work, rather than allow myself to spread out my hours over the week. I am not naturally self-disciplined and I think it would be sensible to impose that discipline on myself. I have also now turned off notifications on my laptop, so that I don't get distracted by messages while I am working.

I forgot to say yesterday that we are trying to get a few things which involve a certain amount of social contact sorted this week in case everything gets locked down for a while and before the virus risk rises. One of these was a  badly blocked bath drain - water was running out, but only just - and our friendly local unblocker man came round within a couple of hours of us calling him and did his stuff. Last time this happened he advised us to tip soda crystals down the plug hole followed by boiling water. Unfortunately two long haired daughters had caused havoc way beyond what soda crystals could deal with. At least now we will be able to enjoy soaking in an unblocked bath while we are staying home.

Today's job was work related. The brass band I play for wanted to recover storage space by donating boxes of its old records to the archives where I work. In the circumstances, it made sense to shift them from the outside (clean and dry!) barn they were stored in and bring them home with me. I met a couple of friends there tonight, boxed everything up, and they are now sitting in our dining room. The plan is for me to properly package and catalogue them while I am working from home, and then deposit them all done and finished when things eventually get back to normal.

We have changed plans slightly and I will be going up to Yorkshire tomorrow to collect middle daughter from university. The original plan was for her boyfriend to collect her on Saturday, but things are moving so fast now that she is a bit worried that a lockdown will be put in place and she will get stuck up there. I think it is unlikely but possible, so for everyone's peace of mind it will be better to bring her home now. I will take our small car so that she can drive back and it isn't too tiring for me. 

Today's major, but unsurprising,  announcement was that schools will be closing from the end of this week. Provision will still be made for the children of essential workers and vulnerable children, who will continue to go to school. I was glad to see that there is also going to be a scheme to ensure that children eligible for free school meals still get fed. Public exams for 16 and 18 year olds are being cancelled, which is a big deal as grades in these exams are the main qualification needed for university places, college places, apprenticeships and so on. The announcement said that these students would still get the grades they deserve but gave no detail - presumably grades will be based on school marks and predictions, but who knows. Very tough on the kids who have been working for these exams for two years. Teen Girl is quite happy to have some time off school, but would rather it isn't too long. She looked a bit glum at the idea that school might be out until after the summer, mainly I think because she will not be seeing her friends. 

Staying Home: Day 1

Until yesterday, although coronavirus was a growing threat, the UK had largely carried on as normal. Last night new measures and recommendations for social distancing were announced, including working from home where possible and avoiding as much social interaction as possible. People over the age of 70 and those with certain underlying health conditions have been advised to be particularly strict in following the guidelines, and it seems probable that from the end of this week they will be expected to stay at home for up to twelve weeks. I have been asthmatic for ten years and have been struggling with something viral / post-viral since the beginning of the year; M was recently diagnosed with asthma and has compromised breathing due to scoliosis. That means both of us will be staying home.

Twelve weeks (or more, or less - who knows!) without any of our usual activities or social events will be quite a change. The extent of the change will vary for each of us. I went into work this morning to collect some stuff that will allow me to work at home for the duration (so in truth not quite a staying home day). As an archivist working at home isn't easy, as I can't bring actual documents home with me, but I have managed to sort out enough constructive and useful things to do to keep me busy for the two days a week I normally spend there. Over the last couple of years the freelance work M does at home has taken off, and I work with him on it for probably a day to a day and a half a week on average. That isn’t likely to be significantly affected by the coronavirus shutdown, so we will both have at least some work to do while we are home.

M will be taking leave of absence from his work with the NHS 111 service. That simply cant be done at home, and being in a busy call centre with lots of other people for several hours at a time wouldn't be sensible for someone in his 60s with slightly dodgy lungs. He feels a bit guilty given the pressure the service is now under, but it is what it is. Currently schools are still open, so teen daughter will be in school until either the Easter break or when they decide to close, whichever comes first. Student daughter will be home on Saturday, as universities are switching to online classes. She is very close to the end of her course and it seems likely she won't need to go back much if at all, except to collect her stuff. Having her home means we can rely on her to do errands and shopping for us, so keeping away from other people will be easier.

To "celebrate" Day 1 of the new regime we bought dinner from the mobile fish and chip van that comes to our estate every Tuesday, thinking it may well be the last time it would be here for a while. In fact, being outdoors makes it much easier for customers to keep their distance and they hope to keep running. I hope they can. M and Teen Girl went and he waited in the car while she bought the food and ran into the local shop for milk.

Christmas Lights

For us Christmas and New Year is a busy season with lots of time spent with family and friends, and this year is no exception. While that is lovely, it does mean that we are mostly indoors, eating and drinking too much and not moving enough. As we are members of the National Trust we take advantage of that to visit Waddesdon Manor during this Christmas season, and this year and last we booked to visit between Christmas and New Year rather than before Christmas. In theory (though I'm not sure it is true in practice!) it is less busy after December 25th, and it is lovely to have something arranged that makes sure we get outside.

Waddesdon is a spectacular stately home in the Buckinghamshire countryside built by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild in the late 19th century to display his art collections, now owned by the National Trust. In recent years it has become a very popular place to visit at Christmas, with spectacular themed decorations inside, a musical light show, a winter light trail, a Christmas market, and various other festive tweaks. It is so popular that bookings for the house sell out some time in advance.

Our house visit slot was for 3.30pm, nicely timed so that it was light when we arrived but dark by the time we left the house. This year the theme was Christmas music. Here is a partridge in a pear tree, with a goose-a-laying above it. I think there may be a lord-a-leaping in there somewhere too.

Not so easy to see, but the three serving dishes in the centre of this table are the three ships a-sailing in.

The Nutcracker themed room was one of my favourites. This one is a smaller dining room / breakfast room with a very unusual light fitting made from broken white crockery. To go with the theme the table had been given a centre piece made of ballet shoes.

Back outside we walked down to the stables cafe for hot drinks and cake, which we ate and drank supervised by a zebra. 

We finished our trip by heading back up to the house to watch the light show, then walked the light trail round the grounds.

This is one of my favourite things about Waddesdon at Christmas. I just love the effect of the coloured lights illuminating the trees.

One of our newer Christmas traditions, but definitely one I hope to keep up in future. 

Last Seaside Days of Summer

For the last couple of years we have finished off the summer break with a short trip to the sea. Two years ago we took a day trip to the Norfolk coast, and last year a short break to Normandy. The fastest we can drive to the sea is about two hours down to the south coast, if there is no traffic. The east coast is a similar distance but slower roads, so we are less likely to go in that direction. We had heard good things about the Suffolk coast and the small town of Southwold in particular so decided to head out there for a short break. In the end we drove to Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, spent a day there, stayed overnight on the Norfolk / Suffolk border at Lowestoft, then spent the next day at Southwold before driving home. It took us just over three hours each way.

Great Yarmouth is a fair sized holiday resort, with the usual run of amusement arcades, funfairs, ice cream stalls and so on. More the teen daughter's idea of fun than ours, on the whole. Southwold, however, definitely lived up its reputation. We started off with a bit of time on the beach. Teen Girl is keen on photography and as she will be able to take it as an option at school next year we helped her to buy a proper camera this summer. Here she is trying to get pictures of splashing surf.

There were picture perfect painted beach huts all the way along the sea front.

We ate lunch at a cafe on the pier. It was sunny but very windy. We decided to ignore the wind and make the most of the opportunity to eat outside while we could.

Then a walk along the pier to blow the cobwebs away. This was the lee side where we were sheltered from the wind. The other side was very blowy!

We walked along the sea front, where we got this view of the beach and pier, then up into the town. There is a working brewery with a shop, and a little high street with a mix of gift shops, antique shops and galleries, clothes shops, tea shops and bakeries - quite up market.

The town even has its own lighthouse, slightly inland. I think we had just missed the last tour of the day, but in any case the rest of the family had voted not to bother climbing it.

That won't be our last sea fix for the year as we have one more lined up for next month - more cheap flights to somewhere that should be a little warmer than it will be here.

Goodbye Summer

School holidays are over - youngest daughter started back at school on Wednesday - and the summer weather has gone with with them. The evenings are starting to get a cool and tomorrow is forecast to be 14 degrees (57F) and wet. So, hello autumn! I have always loved autumn, not just because I have an autumn birthday. I like the colder weather before we hit the long dark evenings of summer, autumn colours, leaves crunching with the first frosts, and that sense of new beginnings. I think even when I no longer have kids going back to school or uni, I will still think of September as a "new year" month.

This year student daughter is back from Italy and will be heading back to Yorkshire for her last year at uni. She is very on the ball with job hunting and is already beginning to get applications in for grad schemes - I'm not sure whether the US has a similar system, but here many large employers have training roles for new graduates and begin recruiting for these up to a year in advance. She has some ideas for the direction she would ultimately like to go in, but is keeping options open and casting her net fairly widely. She has a house share all sorted, is signed up for all her preferred courses, and has put in a proposal for her final year dissertation. I am looking forward to being able to see the floor in the garage once all the stuff she has left there for the last 15 months goes back up north!

Her younger sister is now thirteen and is now at upper school. We are in one of the very few places in the UK which operates a three tier schooling system with kids moving to middle school at nine and upper school at thirteen, rather than two tier with transfer from primary to secondary school at eleven. I actually prefer the three tier system, though I think it is doomed to disappear in the next few years. She seems happy enough after her first three days at her new school. She chose to go across town rather than to our nearest school, but quite a few of her friends made the same decision so she has enough familiar faces not to feel lonely. Our school exam system means that she will have to start making specific subject choices this year for exams to be taken at sixteen (GCSEs), then from sixteen to eighteen they usually only study three or four subjects, before narrowing to just one or two at university. She is also beginning to have ideas of the sort of things she would like to study - unlike her older sisters she leans to the science side. She is also keen on drama and musical theatre and wants to take part in both a school production and a youth theatre group this year, as well as continuing to dance a couple of evenings a week, so she will be busy.

Politics is utterly depressing, with the Brexit debacle now reaching crisis point and the government pushing the legal and constitutional boundaries to try to force it through at any cost. One positive is that it has forced the opposition parties to work together, and there have been a significant number of defections from the government leaving it powerless to get anything through Parliament. It should now legally be blocked from crashing the UK out of the European Union without any transitional arrangements, but will try anything it can to avoid or subvert the law. A general election is inevitable in the near future, which will I am afraid be both the most important and the most bitter and unpleasant of my lifetime. I am tempted to spend the next two months reading Terry Pratchett and avoiding all media, but my inner historian feels compelled to follow every stage of the whole wretched process.

If I could manage to ignore the whole sorry political mess I would be looking forward to this year's autumn reboot, but it does overshadow everything at the moment. That aside, I am looking forward to getting back into more of a routine, getting on with a couple of writing projects I am working on, getting outdoors and enjoying the autumn weather, and generally getting into my "new start" groove.