Week 6 or is it week 7 of isolation?

When, like me, you are shielding from Covid-19, life becomes extremely mundane, so much so that I have almost lost track of time. I have to check on my watch as to what day of the week it is and as to whether it is week 6 or week 7 out of the initial 12 weeks of shielding, I have no idea.

Shielding is incredibly difficult. I had no idea how difficult I would find it. I did not realise how much I rely on people contact. I’m not talking about conversation, of course that’s important, but its face to face contact that I really miss. I can go up to and over 10 days without seeing anyone face to face to talk to. I have a couple of friends who I video chat with and that’s great, really great but it is still not the same as actually seeing somebody for real!

I also think that shielding is more difficult if you live on your own. Everything seems magnified. I keep telling myself to get a grip on myself. I have food in my fridge and cupboard, a decent roof over my head and people who love and care for me, even if I don’t get to see them very often. So I count myself as being rich and lucky: there are an awful lot of people who are far worse off than am I.

However, I am a bit nervous about what the future holds. The Prime Minister is going to address the Nation on Sunday at 7.00pm. During this address he is apparently going to inform us of what he is calling his ‘roadmap’ of what ‘phase 2″ of the lockdown will be. It is hoped that he will relax some of the measures. This is not going to affect me at all, I fear. The consensus of opinion is that it will be allowing people longer to exercises outside and instructing construction workers to return to work. We shall have to see.

I am 100% convinced that those of us who are shielding are going to have our period of total isolation extended. Probably until we have a safe and reliable vaccine, which we all know it is unlikely not going to be until roughly March next year may God help me. I really cannot imagine what life will be like in a years time.

As those of you have been kind enough to read my blog, know I am a member of The Rock Choir. Obviously we had to stop our weekly rehearsals right at the very beginning of lockdown, which we were all gutted about. However this fantastic organisation, who so obviously really cares about its membership and who equally obviously (sorry to use that word so may times), understands the importance and benefits that singing has on both your physical and mental health, have responded in the most amazing way.

Every day, at 3.00pm, one of the incredibly talented Rock Choir Leaders, somewhere in the country, holds a live streamed singalong last approx 20 mins, which is ‘tuned’ into by over 4000 of us Rockies. Our weekly rehearsals are now held once a week via zoom (members only, can only be accessed via the members area of the Rock Choir web site). Under normal circumstances, we have access to Audio downloads of all the harmony parts to the current song we are learning. During lockdown, we have access to video tutorials by our own leaders where we are taught our various harmony parts. Finally, yes there is even more, we have another zoom session on a Thursday evening for an hours singalong, no tuition, just a good old fashioned sing. Again led by our incredibly inspirational Choir Leaders. All of this is at no extra charge to our usual monthly fee.

I would like to take this opportunity to really thank Rock Choir. They have gone over and way, way above what they are expected to do.

I have heard that there are some members of Rock Choir somewhere in the country that have moaned/complained that they have to continue to pay their fees during these unprecedented times. Excuse me? In normal times our fees just cover the weekly rehearsals and downloads etc. As I have just demonstrated, we are now getting so much more for our money, so much more. So I say to those people, I have no idea who they are by the way, shut up with your selfish unsubstatiated moans and appreciate what a fantastic, inspiration and caring organisation we have the privilege to belong to.

On a completely different note. One of the huge personal benefits that has resulted in Lockdown, is that I have managed to save just over £400! This has occurred because as I am shielding, I have had to cancel the man, Andy Yakub from http://www.waterbox who maintains my fish tank and also had to cancel Michelle from http://www.handstohelp who helps keep my flat so beautifully clean. I miss them terribly, both their company and their services.

I was thinking and praying about this, amongst other things, as to what to do with this money that I have saved, as I did not want to fritter it away. I am going to buy myself a decent laptop.

Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011), an author and journalist one said that ‘there is a book inside everyone” a quote that most people have heard, but probably few knew who said it (to be honest, I had to look it up!). What most people don’t realise is that he finished the sentence with “and that is where it should stay!” Well that may be true, but I think there is 2 books inside me!

One is purely autobiographical and will never be for publication or indeed for anyone else eyes. It is solely for my own gratification and catharsis.

The second book inside me, may be for publication. This will be about Autism. Not a description of Autism or how to manage it, there is enough written about that already. Rather it will be about the effect that having a member of your family that lives with Autism has on the rest of the family and especially on how it affects siblings, who can suffer terribly.

I have started the first book and in fact have approx 40,000 words on my iPad. But in reality, an iPad is not the best device to write a large piece of work. Hence my desire for a laptop.

So wish me luck, they may never come into fruition, I sometimes doubt that I have the intellectual ability to undertake such a project!

Till next time x