I was thinking it was Thursday. I have no idea why.
My dad called from north Queensland. We had a good chat.
Another hour of walking in Dulwich Park. It’s been pretty grim today but that’s English weather. And I have never seen the park so empty. Good social distancing being practiced.
On the way there, a woman was approaching me on the footpath. We both veered at the same time to walk on the road. I stepped back on the footpath. We both laughed. Between us there were a good 3 metres.
In London we’re pretty good as navigating social space. Most of us managed to navigate Waterloo or King’s Cross or Euston stations at peak times in normal times. Buses are a little different, a little cosy. When I first moved to southeast London, I had to switch from the tube to buses. It would freak me out a little, how you’d be sitting arm to arm, leg to leg, much of the time. Awful in summer. Rather cosy in winter.
Today I’ve spent a little less time following the news and Twitter. On Twitter, there are more and more tweets about family members who have been hospitalised or died. Not all from the virus. Dads, mums, siblings, neighbours, being blue lighted to hospital. Noone able to go with them. No relative or friends able to hold their hand. Funerals being held with only a handful of people in attendance. And unless people in the same house or flat, none of the usual comforts, the hugs, the holding of hands, can be offered.
A field hospital is being built in London’s Excel centre, a huge space better known for its exhibitions and conference. My first conference there was in my days of the Department of Health, as part of the team that set up the first of the NHS Health and Care Expos. The other two times was to pick up my race bib etc for London Marathon.
I can barely look at the photos of the field hospital.
But apart from not knowing what day of the week it is, it’s been all in all for me, a pretty good day. I’m keeping busy. Not sure where the projects I’m developing with other folks are going to end up but certainly looking better than it was a week ago.
I do want my normal back. For now, there’s no real timeframe on that. Working on getting used to this new normal. It’s only been a week in lockdown. And looking forward to being able to have coffee with my neighbour once there’s a bit of sun, albeit we make our own coffees and sit apart at an appropriate distance.
So that’s it for Day 7. Stay safe, stay well, and stay home!