London – Day 19 of lockdown

I slept badly last night. I started waking up from 4.30am. Sleep was sparse for the next few hours. I crawled out of bed at about 7am. I flicked between various newsfeeds, Twitter and the like. Decided to then not. I went back to bed for a morning nap.

A lazy start to the day.

I managed to get out for a walk. I ran into the my neighbour just up the road who’d been out for a run with his two boys, the boys on bikes. Somehow we got onto the topic of haircuts. I think we’re all missing our hairdressers. My neighbour told me about some interesting hairstyles he’s had in the past. I suggested to the boys that when they get home, they spend some time looking through their parents photos for a good laugh. They’re great kids and holding up well under lockdown.

I didn’t stay long in Dulwich Park. There were a few too many people. I headed out of the park and wandered various streets around Dulwich. There’s a little orchard that’s part of the Dulwich Estate which by now I must have walked past a few hundred times. Today it was open. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen it open. So I wandered in.

It look like various parts of the Dulwich Estate are being opened, a playing field, the orchard, and the posh school down the road has also opened up its green spaces. It means there’s more outdoor space for kids to run and play, making it easier to get social distancing right. While many households around me do have gardens, they’re tiny, and there’s not enough room for kids to really stretch their legs. There are also a lot of us in flats.

After leaving the orchard, I saw a mum with her kid, he was maybe 6 or 7 years old, and on Easter egg hunt. This is an Easter egg hunt with a difference. She had a printout of the gardens where eggs had been hidden, not for kids to grab and eat, just to look at, a sensible approach in the middle of a viral pandemic.

I came home and I’ve been trying to do some work. I can’t say I’ve been particularly successful.

Interestingly, my hayfever isn’t nearly as bad as it would usually be at this time of year. Perhaps it’s because there’s less pollution?

And another briefing. This was the first time the briefing has been led by a female Minister. This time it was Home Secretary Priti Patel. The Prime Minister’s condition continues to improve. Another 917 deaths reported since 9am yesterday and 9am today. This brings the total to 9,875. I hate to think of the true figure, one that also takes into account those who have died in care homes or at home over the last week or so. We should have that in the next few days.

And the focus of today’s discussion was on law and order, no surprise there. The number of reported crimes has dropped. However, there are some disturbing trends emerging. Calls to domestic abuse hotlines are significantly up, and the types of crimes are shifting. There’s been fraud related to Covid-19, and lots of concerns with so many kids at home and online and the very real threat to online child abuse. No words.

Over 1,000 fines have now been issued for breaking lockdown rules.

There’s a growing sense of anger and frustration here – in how long it took to go into lockdown, the lack of PPE for health and care staff and other ‘frontline’ workers, the numbers of healthcare and public transport workers dying. ‘I’m sorry if people feel there have been failings.’ Hmm…

And this shit continues to move at a terrifying pace. The last Parkun was only 4 weeks ago, the London marathon was meant to be next weekend if I remember correctly. Time continues to be bendy and stretchy in lockdown land.

So that’s it for Day 19. Stay safe, stay well, and stay home!