Monday 23rd March 2020. 7-8am.
The cat has insisted on coming in my bedroom. I'm sitting up in bed and typing away on my chromebook. Normally, I'd get up and use my mum's phone as I would lock myself out of the internet. But there isn't much point now as the internet is going to be what I do for much of the time.
Much of this stuff is just "everyday" details that I wouldn't normally share. But maybe it will resonate more now that Coronavirus has turned everything upside down and affecting each of us in different ways. As this is going to go on for quite some time and it may be worth keeping a record of the day-to-day changes in case people are interested, here is how things look.
I live in the county of Lincolnshire in the UK. As of today, there are 5,683 cases in the UK as a whole and 281 deaths. So far there have only been 14 cases in Lincolnshire. The first confirmed case was in the start of March (someone has come back from Italy as I recall).
We are an extremely large, rural county and very sparely populated. It is difficult to get around without a car so I have to rely on public transport. That is almost always the bus. The nearest towns and city (Grimsby, Skegness and Lincoln) are essentially 2 hours away on the bus (so it's a 4 hour round trip for a day out say if I want to visit a bookshop like Waterstones or get some cheap clothes at Primark). All three have train stations and I have had "adventures" trying to do a round trip using the train to get between Grimsby, Lincoln and Skgness, then using the bus to make the journey back to my house between Skegness and grinsby. This is as much excitement as I can get from "travelling", but it gives me almost a whole day out of the house, probably 6-8 hours travelling easily, with some scenic views out the bus/train window. It's costs a bit, but its not a bad thing if I really need to think something over.
At the start of March I booked a holiday in Lincoln so I could actually do some of these things because it's easier to stay in a premier inn for three nights than to actually travel there and back in a day. It also give me a break from being in the house (and my parents a break so they can have the house to themselves). When I went off, I did check some of the deatils of "what to do" if you think you have the virus, but it wasn't such a big deal. Only the first case in the county has been confirmed at that point. In the past two weeks, everything has changed in terms of what we are seeing in the news. I timed the visit to coincide with a meeting of a housing charity to consider my options as I have been basically stuck in the house for over a decade, and depression has simply "changed" rather than necessarily getting better. I also visited the local citizens advice bureau to get some idea on what benefits might be available. It is simply easier to do stuff like that when you are in a place where you can meet people face to face. Depression makes it harder to go out and organise things, compouding the effect of the isolation.
This isolation has been an utter blight for me over the past few years in terms of jobs, housing and relationships as I am basically stuck in the house much of the time. The one exception is travelling to Louth (30 minutes away on the bus) which is convenient if I just want to stretch my legs, buy a few essentials or have a meal). Now it has suddenly become an advantage as we are essentially cut off the from the rest of the country.
Unfortunately, not everyone got the message. As the country goes in to self-isolation many people have come to Skegness as if it were a holiday, probably bringing the coronairus with them. Skegness was once a traditional working class seaside resort (famous for the ad campaign "skegness is bracing") but has fallen on hard times. Most of the year it has only a few people milling around, but in the tourist season in the summer can be packed depending on the weather. The train links are awful and very slow, but connect skegness to grantham (which goes south to London) and to nottingham. That is probably where most of the people came from.
'Disaster waiting to happen': visitors flock to Skegness
There are also signs that people in Lincoln haven't got the message either, with some footage from twitter showing crowds of people waiting in line at the local Tesco. Local newspapers have also reported panic buying and some shortages.
Brendan Lawlor on Twitter
Coronavirus: Panic-buying as Lincoln stores sell out of toilet rolls
No end in sight - shelves picked clean as fears over coronavirus grow
This kind of behaviour has legitimately infuriated my dad who couldn't understand why people would be so selfish and oblivious. Honestly, neither could I, but having spent far too long on the internet, I might be able to process it better. So I had a chat with him one evening after the news broke, so he could let off steam. He went to bed after
I read out a BBC news story on how they tracked down the virus to the Pangollin (a sort of ant eater with scales). He said that made him feel a bit better about the whole thing, if only by making the virus a bit more tangile and he slept well that night.
I live with my parents on the road to Mablethorpe (another sea side resort- only with even less stuff to do than Skegness). The main road has been quieter the past few days as fewer cars go past the house. There is a Spar supermarket just up the road (2 or 3 minutes drive away) for a local caravan tourist resort. I've been there once to get a loaf of bread (it was rationed, which is fair enough). My parents went up there yesterday to get a few essentials. So aside from deliberately reducing the amount of times we go out (which was always limited anyway), we haven't been dramatically effected so far.
My dad turned 70 in March and we celebrated with some cherry cake and a few cards. Now, we learn he will have to self-isolate because he is old enough to fall in the vulnerable category. Both my parents have hypertension/high blood pressure and take medications for it. So they are in "at risk" categories as that is an underlying condition. So far, they are both well and coping with the changes. My dad has spent much of his time out in the garden.
The biggest impact so far has been on food. We are used to eating probably a bit too much. Yesterday we have some home made Artichoke soup (with alot less bread than usual) and some omelettes with tinned beans and sausage. We keep 3 chickens and then tend to lay 3 eggs a day so we have to use up the eggs for food. My mum took steps to build up a food store in case of Brexit and all the disruption that was expected to follow. Whilst that hasn't come to pass, we are now using it for the Coronavirus. Funny, how things turn out isn't it?
One concern I do have is that I have been unable to get in contact with a friend who I knew from University. We've been in touch for years, often having a chat on the phone every month or two and I occasionally go down to visit. (Despite repeated offers, he has yet to visit me up in Lincolnshire, particularly as travel is so inconvenient). He lives and works down in London, which is the centre of the outbreak. He and his girl friend visited Florence sometime in February and it is not clear if he was caught up in the outbreak there. It would be sheer bad utter timing if he was. I haven't heart anything from him since February despite texting him each weekend since March began.
I quit Facebook early last year, but have created a new account to see if I can get in touch with him that way (no response so far). I have also sent friend requests to a few people I know including my cousin. He is a music teacher and chorister in Wells cathedral. He is getting paid for the choir, whilst having to teach remotely from home (on "Zoom" which I am not familiar with). His wife works at a local school and so it going to be looking after the "worker children" as he put it during the outbreak till the Easter holidays. As he's in a local band, all his events or "gigs" have been cancelled. So he's been doing some gardening and will be in charge of their two kids next week. The local Tesco was also busy. So they are feeling some of the disruptive effects of the outbreak too, despite being in the other side of the country.
There is a local Facebook group for the village I am in and there is a chance that, if the worst comes to the worst, we can ring a phone number to one of the local people here (working at a caravan park) and they will deliver some essentials (milk, bread and eggs) so we don't have to go out of the house. In other times, I would visit a local resturant in the village for half an hour or an hour out of the house (often timed for when I'm feeling anxious or depressed). That's not an option now, but the local business appears to be trying to deliver to people to keep the place afloat. The UK offically closed all bars and resturants, much to the protests of the owners of Weatherspoons who vowed to stay open no matter what.
Coronavirus: Wetherspoon's boss says 'over the top' to shut pubs
To be fair, Weatherspoons do offer a consistent menu and have locations in both Louth, Grimsby, Skegness and Lincoln so I am a regular customer (when I get the chance to get out). The food is consistently good and I visited the Lincoln branch when I stayed there. Whilst waiting for food, I usually glance at the in-house magazine, which advertises new food, different locations and contains deabtes on Brexit (the owner of Weatherspoons is a fervent and vocal supporter of Brexit).
For me, beyond feeling a bit more hungry than usual (which given the need to lose some weight isn't a bad thing) and knowing I can go out even less than usual, I have all but given up trying to self-regulate my internet usage. There is basically nothing to do than be online. I might lock myself out off for an hour or so, just to get my head clear, but that's about it. Maybe a new routine will emerge, but everything is literally on hold for now. My mental health has been extremely good so far. I've been surprised. I expect being stuck in the house will become frustrating over time, but so far- knowing that people are actually doing something about the coronavirus nationally and internationally, has been more reassuring. If we hold tight and sit this out, we might be one of the lucky ones.
Jess, our black female cat, has however been minimally affected. Much to her approval, as she sleeps on my bed after clawing and meowing at my door this morning. Cats always seem to own the place, whether there is a global pandemic or not.
