Coronavirus diary

If anything today was to go by, we’ve got many more months of lockdown to go. I didn’t manage to leave my flat until 5pm. I’d been caught up with work and a couple of video conferences. All the ways to potentially videoconference and I’m still never quite sure if I need to look professional i.e. show my face, or do it via phone. I prepare anyway. At least the top half. The bottom half is generally my gym kit. I walked down the street. Caught up with a neighbour who was on her front stairs with her daughters and […]

It’s in these strange times that my emotions keep catching me out. The trigger can be a thought, something I read or watch. It’s been a good day. There’s been dancing, bad singing, work, coffee, a few phone calls, lunch, a chat to neighbours, a walk in Dulwich Park, more coffee, more work. An article I wrote on housing policy post Covid-19 got published. I am bouncing off walls a little and I can’t blame coffee for that. That explains the dancing and singing. Like half the world, I’m feeling cooped up with energy to burn. The trigger today was […]

Today was a good day. The best day I’ve had in lockdown. I got up. Drank coffee. Did some detailed prep for a meeting this afternoon as my head has been out of the game for a while when it comes to all things data and artificial intelligence. Did some work on a proposal. Had a great video chat with someone I run into every now and again at conferences but won’t now meet again in person for who knows how long. Had a toasted cheese sandwich for lunch, something I’ve not had for a few years but I had […]

Day 28 of lockdown. The relief 28 days ago when the lockdown was finally announced. Today I read some of the first few days of this journal of sorts. Social distancing is now in full swing. While I still feel some degree of dread at stepping outside, I’ve settled into a routine that works. I drink coffee. I do some work albeit mainly putting together stuff that might secure me future work. I have lunch at some point, going for my daily bit of exercise either before or after. I have regular calls with friends and friends I do projects […]

I started off today feeling a little tired but otherwise pretty chill. Following a very long phone call last night, I put on Alien, a film I’ve not watched for perhaps a year or so. I stayed up way too late and had a late start to the day. I had coffee, much coffee, and then went for my daily bit of exercise. I had felt relaxed until hitting Dulwich Park. There were too many people about to feel comfortable – walkers, runners, cyclists, lots of kids. I walked up past Dulwich College and went into Sydenham Woods. For the […]

I’m having a day of becoming trapped in thought loops. And not the good kind. I’m doing what I can to distract myself – listening to music and dancing about. I went out for my daily allotted exercise. In Dulwich Park they’ve now taped all the park benches to prevent people sitting. Clearly my local council is getting serious on the ‘no sitting’ in the park rule. And I’m torn. On the one hand, I know why the park benches have been taped up. On the other, in the part of my brain that keeps repeating lines from Queen’s ‘I […]

There’s been a lot of blather about all those things you can achieve during lockdown. A quick google search on ‘how to stay motivated during lockdown’ brought up 15,000,0000 + results.  I couldn’t bear to read a single piece but I know how it goes – Write a book Learn a language Become a guru Start a business Build your client base by 3000% Lose weight Be the best you   My response is simple. Sod Off. Getting through this is not a competition. If there’s one time that really highlights just how bollocksy the ‘self-help’ ‘motivation’ industry is, it’s […]

Songs for social distancing or dancing like nobody’s watching. In these strange times, here are some songs that may bring you joy, may have you dancing around your home like nobody’s watching, or just if you have the need for a little wallowing (and that is more than fair enough under current circumstances). With thanks to the good folks of social media for numerous suggestions. Let me know if you’ve got other suggestions. The disclaimer is that I need to like the song! Full playlist now on Youtube   List here Songs for social distancing Beatles – Get Back The […]

I’m at the stage of lockdown where everything is mildly irritating. And mildly irritating things become incredibly irritating. Perhaps it’s the talk of there being some form of lockdown until a vaccine is found and being used widely. Estimated timeframe is 12 to 18 months at best. Perhaps it’s the talk of immunity passports, the idea that if you’re tested and it shows you’ve got antibodies i.e. you’ve had Coronavirus, then you can go about your daily life. Difficult to unpack how troubling this one is. We know that some people who have tested positive, then negative, have tested positive […]

At times it’s so quiet, it must be what it’s like to live in the country. Clear blue skies, few planes overhead, the sound of birds, little traffic. And the birds are very polite here. None of the shouty birds you get in Australia, albeit there are quite a few rowdy parrots in Dulwich Park. Even magpies are polite. There is no magpie season in the UK. I heard on the grapevine that Dulwich College has opened many of its playing fields to the public. So I walked through Dulwich Park, up to the College fields and wandered through. A […]

It’s weird how small the world becomes in lockdown. And the joy of the mundane. I went food shopping today. I scored half a dozen eggs, and a tin of baked beans. There was even toilet paper on the shelves. I didn’t buy any as I already have enough for now, but it was good to see. But finding the eggs and the baked beans brought me a strange sense of satisfaction. I hadn’t been able to find any on my two essential shopping trips last week. And they aren’t so important that I would go into a shop only […]

I’m in an unreasonably grumpy mood today. Or perhaps it’s perfectly reasonable. I’ve had a few of these days during lockdown. I think it comes from wanting my ‘old normal’, not this ‘new normal’. I want to be able to get on a bus, get off at London Bridge and then wander down to Westminster. I might stop and have a coffee along the way. Perhaps a little window shopping at the Oxo Tower. I might wander into Tate Modern to have a look, to wonder at whatever is on display in the Turbine Hall, perhaps meeting a friend there.  […]