Isolation calendar.

[Margaret Pilkington]

That's a really nice one...congratulations Mitzy.
The time will come....and I know that being patient is hard...but it is something to look forward to.

[Hill Walker]

Sorry I cannot do a picture for reasons that will become obvious. In fact this post should probably not be here as its the opposite of what was requested. I do have a picture but its a mental picture being forced to the fore by the recurrent use of the word ‘isolation’. Its a picture of a hospital ward from when I was very young and had Scarlett Fever. In those days there were Isolation Hospitals where you were sent if you had highly infectious diseases.
Visitors were not allowed onto the wards but were permitted to look in through the windows. Young as I was this seemed like a stupid arrangement as you were in bed facing into the ward and could only see the visitors of the person in the bed opposite. Being a small child in a full size bed I was a bit of an escape artist and caused all sorts of problems for the staff eventually needing to be restrained at visiting times. (Much delayed apologies to the staff!)
One thing happened during this period which is still with me to this day. Prior to this illness I liked dogs and had no fear of them. For some reason a dog, which I remember as probably an Alsatian and described as ‘the Matron’s dog’ was allowed on the ward. If it was near your bed and you put your hand out it would walk past and in doing so got stroked from head to tail. However near the end of my stay when I was allowed out of bed I tried to do the same sort of stroke whilst standing near the bed. This went wrong as the vigorous wagging of the dog’s tail sent me flying across the highly polished floor and I banged my head on something. Ok I know its a bit irrational but I am still a bit wary of dogs to this day.

[Margaret Pilkington]

You do not need to post a picture
all you need to do is tell us the picture that would be behind your door for this day of lockdown.
Your word picture does it for me Hill Walker...I have a very visual imagination and I can see it all.
I wonder if your isolation was at Park Lee hospital,because many children remeber it in the way you describe it,
How very scary for a little boy

[Hill Walker]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

I wonder if your isolation was at Park Lee hospital,because many children remeber it in the way you describe it,
How very scary for a little boy

No, my parents were living in N Wales at the time, the hospital was a few miles up the Conwy Valley. Last time I went past, several years ago, it had been converted into an old folks home with the only other property in sight a pub. Possibly a good place to end one's days.

[Margaret Pilkington]

What a lovely place to grow up...Conwy....love the place.

[Ryewolf90]

Day 14 of Isolation: Normally on a nice day like today I would have gone to Spring Wood near Whalley and watched the birds.

A Starling taken today in the grounds of Christchurch Church

[dotti34]

My young granddaughters each have a birthday this week (their 10th and 13th respectively) and I'm not able to kiss and hug them which I wish I could do, but thanks to modern technology I have been able to see them, and talk to them. So at least that is something.

I also miss being able to visit my friend for a coffee - and vice versa, but we make up for it by chatting on the phone. Not quite the same though.

I miss being able to hop onto public transport when necessary - could still do it but wouldn't take the risk.

So although I am feeling okay being self-isolated there are some things I am missing, and probably will miss more things as time goes on.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I am missing having my education broadened by Spindlshanks.(he is a mine of interesting information....look up Quarks, up quarks, down quarks and strange quarks...that will give you a flavour)
Yes we could do it over facetime but it is not the same...and I miss his very dry sense of humour...he 'gets' irony.

[Margaret Pilkington]

It is looking like we will be looking to extend this Isolation Calendar.....for....ooh, let me see....another three weeks is my guess.
So we are going to be needing to think of more things to put behind the doors.

And it might not be letters.
Yesterday our postman told us that no letters were delivered yesterday...only parcels...the vans are now single manned(that makes sense)
No guaranteed next day delivery and very soon post may only be picked up from postboxes on alternate days.
Sorry for the thread wander.

[Hill Walker]

I have a sneaking suspicion that this might be a good thing to put on the CV of anyone planning to apply to NASA as one of the new astronauts for the Mars mission - 'Survived Covid-19 isolation'

[Ryewolf90]

Day 15 of Isolation: Again another day I would have been bird watching...

A Blue Tit I photographed in March.

[dotti34]

This thread has definitely got people thinking about what they would normally take for granted in the 'outside world', and it's often the little things in life that we miss most when we can't have them.

However, as frustrating as it is, and it might seem like an imposition having to stay indoors for a while, but if this is the way to beat the virus then so be it. Better to ‘lose’ a few weeks of your life than to actually lose your life, or contribute to someone else losing theirs....or at the very least catching the bug and suffering because of it. Nobody wants that.

Just think how much your 'freedom' will be appreciated once doors are opened wide again. I don't think we will be taking things for granted once everyone is out and about. When that happens we should all go and hug a tree....

[Margaret Pilkington]

I get all that Dorothy... I really do...but and this is going to sound a bit conspiracy like.
Whe you mention how much we will enjoy reinstated freedoms, I worry about what freedoms will be returned.
When a population gently hand over their freedoms with hardly a peep, governments feel emboldened.
Despots use force to imprison...governments use stealth and guilt.

Also you only have freedoms if you are solvent....can make a living.
This lockdown will remove from many the ability to be employed, the ability to own the place they live in(I can see a whole raft of mortgage repossessions because people cannot pay the mortgage...well unless there is legislation to prevent this)

I have thought right from the outset that this was a reactive move rather than a proactive one.....and because other countries were doing this then we should do it too.

I also know that being wise after the event is easy.
I never meant this thread to become 'heavy' and here I am....the originator.....and I am the one introducing the 'heavy'....and for that I apologise.
My aim was to get people to be a little bit distracted from the difficulties of life right now.
Also to get them to focus on the things in their lives which matter.
Dorothy....you have done that....got them to see that health and family are riches you do not need the banks or coins to possess.....an indomitable spirit and a sense of humour and perspective are also essential that you cannot buy barter or trade.

Sorry for this post.

Now Day 16....I Miss M&S white farmhouse bread.
My breakfast toast this morning was some other bit of cardboard that was masquerading as bread...it was neither pleasant nor sustaining.
I will now take my political grumbly self off for a period of 'OM' to see if I can re-balance.

[dotti34]

You are right, Margaret. It's going to take a long time to get back to any sort of normality, if ever we do. It will certainly change lives. (Sorry, I'm sounding a bit 'heavy' now). By the way, over here there was talk about banks holding off on mortgage repayments for 6 months where necessary, I'm not sure if that is what is happening though.

Margaret, you have certainly got a great thread going and got people thinking about what is important to them, and what they would like to be able to do that they can't at the present time. It's interesting to read the postings and it would be great to hear more from members on this.

[Margaret Pilkington]

The banks were asked to give their mortgage customers a three month payment break to help them over this difficult time.
I am not sure how many are actually doing this...or whether they are making the red tape difficult to access this...but even if that is done, a three month break will not be helpful to those who, through the lockdown will have no job to go back to....so it is inevitable that there are going to be reposessions(unless, that is, the government do something to stop this...not quite sure what).

Life is never going to be the same again.
China has trashed the economies of most of the major countries in the western world and is set(because of the way its politics run) to be calling the tune that we all dance to.
This is not a palatable thought, neither is it fiction.

We are generating a huge debt that is going to take generations to pay off...well unless all the affected countries decide it is in their mutual interests to waive these debts.
It is still going to cost in human terms and I think in the heat of the current crisis(man made) this has not been considered by many.