I’ve managed to get a bit of a suntan over the last few days. Walking in the park or on footpaths/roads, while keeping an appropriate distance from others, my daily one trip out for exercise; a chat with a neighbour outside who passed on a bag of onions spare, in a candy bag; sitting by my windows in my living room, I don’t have a garden. This tan of mine is starting to include sock tan.
Sun and warmth make a huge difference. I remember those moments in previous years, in normal times, the first warm day of the year, people would smile at each other, even on public transport. Living in London, this is a big deal.
And people are smiling a little more. But sitting under this is the hum of anxiety – the fear of infection, the fear of infecting others. Along with it comes the having to pay attention all the time – where I am on a footpath or road in relation to others. How do I stay clear from kid learning to ride bikes in the park? I’m doing a lot of walking on grass. I hear parents herding their kids, having to remind them again and again and again about staying a good distance away from others, some too young to really understand.
It took me a long time to get to sleep last night. I was up until about 2am.
And today, all in all a good day. I managed to get some work done on various proposals, whether these are successful or not is a different thing. I had a good hour’s walk through Dulwich Park. Yet again I ran into someone I know locally who walks her dog once a day. We walked and talked from a distance. There was a police officer walking through the park. I’m presuming he was there to ensure noone was taking the piss with the rules around lockdown.
And the news today? Some vaguely promising, most still very bad. The numbers are up as expected, a further 786 deaths bringing the total to 6,159. Boris Johnson, the UK’s Prime Minister, remains in intensive care, thankfully not currently requiring a ventilator. Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, is deputising for him. Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, is isolating due to a member of his family showing symptoms. But there seems to be some hint that lockdown is having an effect. It’s still early days.
There’s still no timeframe for how long we’ll be in lockdown. I think most of us are assuming it won’t end any time soon. It is what it is.
So that’s it for Day 15. Stay safe, stay well, and stay home!