I am amazed at how out of touch I feel when I have been away from Blogland for nearly a month. During lockdown Blogland was a place of normality for me. After all Blogland has seen me through a great deal in the last 15 years whilst I've been writing and reading blogs. Blog friends and acquaintances have come and gone (and stayed) but it's been there as a comfort blanket during my New Zealand life as well as life here on Lewis. It's seen me in France, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and Italy as well as Australia and touring New Zealand when I lived there.
Blogland has been part of normality during lockdown too.
When we were in full lockdown for six months last year I rarely went out except for walks. I met people a lot on video chats and the good old telephone. Like everyone else social life and things like meeting to play bowls all stopped.
However, unlike most of my friends, despite me being a social animal I did not miss socialising. I enjoyed having no commitments. I enjoyed waking up and looking at the weather and deciding it was a perfect day for the garden or a walk or writing letters or working in the workshop/garage out of the rain.
I could well understand the angst of people living in a multi-storey flat cooped up with other family members with no space and probably having to work from home or home-school. I would have hated that.
Now that things are returning to 'normal' and my diary is full and I have to be aware of the day and the time I am realising just how much I actually enjoyed lockdown. I didn't just endure it. I truly enjoyed it.
Now, though, I will get on with enjoying life again and now that I'm home from hospital and getting back into my Island routine I shall, hopefully, also catch up with all my Blogland pals and find out what you've been up to.
It's good to hear from you, Graham.
ReplyDeleteA lack of commitments or schedules can be very freeing. I know that I reassessed a lot during the first lockdown and it's allowed me to focus more on what is really important to me. X
Thank you, Jules. I'm sure a lot of us have had a reassessment whether voluntary or enforced.
DeleteI am pleased to see you back here Graham. You have been missed.
ReplyDeleteFor me, last year's lockdown was also a time to let go of everything, relax and just go with the flow. Our last one however was more difficult for me. Not everyone obeyed the rules and I became quite anxious. I am still a little anxious even now, and shall probably remain so until I have received my second vaccination.
Thank you, JayCee. It's good to be back. Some people here started stretching the rules too much too in the latest lockdown but we had a few minor outbreaks and people became a bit more circumspect again.
DeleteWere these outbreaks buboes?
DeleteNot, Adrian, as I understand the medical term.
DeleteGood to see you are back home and doing better. Must say, as an introvert, I have not really minded staying home and don't see my social life too much changing in the near future. I have been virtual schooling with my 6 yr old GS from August and up until last week, but now he is back in school for the last six weeks of the school year (it has not been easy--for either of us). The US, for the most part, has not had the intense lockdowns that the UK and Europe has endured, but I've pretty much lived as if I were in lockdown. Had both of my jabs completed by mid-March. Now I am just trying to figure out when I can come across the Pond again.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary. Your lockdown sounds quite challenging to me. I do hope that you manage to get across the pond soon and safely.
DeleteThings are slowly relaxing here too; whether it is wise or not remains to be seen. Somehow, I can't really imagine people will change their ways; we've been taught to be cautious, and have seen the results if we are not. I actually shook hands with someone yesterday, the first time for over a year.
ReplyDeleteCro, on the Island most of the adult population (we are doing 18+ at the moment) has been inoculated and we are feeling a bit safer. I've still not shaken hands with anyone though.
DeleteGood to know you're OK Graham.
ReplyDeleteYou are not the first person I know to admit to quite enjoying "getting off the hamster wheel".
Thank you, Jayne. I think there are more of us than many care to admit.
DeleteFor lots of reasons there will not be a getting 'back to normal' for me and I have noticed a real sigh of contentment when I return to my home. Today I shall have my first hair cut since last September and that will be very welcome. I do want to visit and stay over with friends and family here and in France but I don't think there will be a rush to do this. I'd hate to be the bringer or receiver of Covid.
ReplyDeletePotty, when I went to Ayr for my hospital visits I stayed with a friend even though that is forbidden here. I (and she) reckoned it was a lot safe than staying in a hotel for several nights. We have both had our second vaccination many weeks ago and I was tested for Covid at the hospital. I had a box of tests with me 'just in case' and the one person who visited offered to take one and was negative. It is, though, as you say something that weighs in our minds now.
DeleteYour approach to the lockdown was healthy in that you focused on its positive effects on your life instead of missing what you could not have or do during that time. I must say I do miss seeing my friends at the pub or go dancing every now and then with my girls (all in our mid-forties to early fifties), and I would love to host a proper party again like I used to do. But I do enjoy having most evenings off, and do not mind at all working from home - of course that is easy for me to say since I have my flat all to myself.
ReplyDeleteMeike, I am fortunate in having a positive outlook on life (I'm not sure whether one is born that way or one learns from parents and life but either way I consider myself very lucky) and it does help me keep happy. I have the opportunity to go out this evening to play bowls and socialise (outdoors). It is 20 months since I last played. It's going to take a monumental amount of effort to do so this evening.
DeleteThat is quite something to admit - that you actively "enjoyed" many features of lockdown. However, I am sure that you are not alone in that Graham. In some ways life has been less frenzied. I enjoy solitude and peacefulness with nobody bothering me so lockdowns have not been too bothersome for me. I wonder if we will ever get back to the "normality" we once knew.
ReplyDeleteYP, I'm wondering why it might be hard to 'admit' that I enjoyed many features of lockdown. It's just a straightforward statement of fact. I did have the advantage of being able to walk in the country straight from my house and I know that you sought your solitude out in the country some drive away and were very dismissive of lockdown initially as it sought to proscribe your movements. So to that extent it was easy for me.
DeleteThat is certainly not how I would describe my attitude to lockdown.
DeleteI apologise, Neil, if I have misinterpreted your attitude. I seemed to recall quite a few posts from the first lockdown where you drove out into the countryside for your walks despite understanding that the interpretation was that this was not allowed. I seem to recall your reasoning was that you went where there were few people. Which is, of course, what happened in many places where there then became far more people. I wasn't criticising you. I was simply pointing out that it was easier for me.
DeleteLockdown has not been a terrible experience for me, but to say that I have enjoyed it would be a bit of a stretch. Both Miriam and I are active people, involved with our community in various ways, members of the local naturalists club, she the quilt guild, and so on. We have missed seeing our friends and taking part in the activities we enjoy so much. I have for years led nature walks and given presentations all over, and that has ground to a halt, although I have recently dipped my toes into the world of Zoom. We are retired, we have a garden, our income has not suffered and we don't have young children to take care of, so from that standpoint we have not been affected. However, I will be wholeheartedly glad when a friend comes to borrow a book, I can say, "Come on in and have a coffee with us" instead of placing the book at the edge of the porch and talking to them two metres away through masks! No handshakes, no hugs, no chats. I miss that.
ReplyDeleteDavid, living on the Island we have been more fortunate than most in the UK in that since the initial 6 months lockdown we have been able to meet outside and in cafés up to a point for much of the time. It will, however, be wonderful when people can come and visit without restrictions and we can socialise properly again without giving it a thought.
DeleteWelcome back. You are right about lockdown being a forced re-evaluation for some people. Others, possibly like yourself, had already worked where the gears were on the hamster wheel and could drive it rather than being driven by it. I'm sure even they too have enjoyed taking a spectators seat for a while.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure, Tigger, that you are right. Lots of people I know who have hated the restrictions have 'ditched' some of the things they really did out of habit rather than for the joy of doing them.
DeleteHappy to have you back writing... Have missed your blog. I admit to having actually settled in to feeling more serene and my neighborhood traffic has been so wonderfully silent that I prefer it this way. The slower tempo, if you will, is appreciated for more time alone. At my age I'm loving it. Stay well Graham.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Regina M. Neighbourhood traffic here is non-existent at the busiest of times but the slower tempo of life has certainly been noticeable and welcome.
DeleteI suspect that a complete lockdown from Blogland would be harder for me to cope with than the past year of physical corona restrictions! - Blogland having been a very important part of my Normality too, for around 12 years... We haven't had quite the same kind of lockdown here as you, but we also haven't got as far as you have with the vaccinations. I find myself having difficulties imagining what new normality might even be like. As I won't be getting my 2nd jab until August, I know that for me, this summer will definitely be another one dominated by "keeping distance".
ReplyDeleteUntil August, Monica! That seems a long way off. I know I had mine before the 12 weeks but even so... I do hope that for the sake of the vast majority that lockdown restrictions are now coming to an end.
DeleteGraham, it will be 14 weeks for us 65+ here (in B.) who got the 1st AZ the last weekend in April; I think for a combination of practical reasons + later studies showing that there seems to be no medical disadvantage involved in waiting a bit longer. There have been some angry "letters to editor" in the local paper from people upset about the two extra weeks; but I'm trying to convince myself to just believe it will all work out for the best. (My 2nd jab booked for 2 Aug.)
DeleteI have enjoyed lockdown in many respects, Zoom courses available regardless of geographical location of students and teachers is just one reason and I hope it will continue after meeting restrictions are lifted. I have also enjoyed the levelling of society during Lockdown and not having the feeling of being the odd one out in things like I do sometimes (purely psychological I guess but true). I am glad to see you back.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rachel. It is certainly true that this has been a 'leveller' for people who live alone. For example friends in a geographical group whom I used to meet only occasionally when I was on the mainland have brought me into their weekly virtual get togethers. I think your Zoom courses are great and I have a feeling Zoom courses in general will become more common.
DeleteOOoh, coffee sometime then?
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea. Great idea. I've emailed you.
DeleteThe world shut off for a while was as much a relief as it was sadness. A bother less life it was for basic living. A huge bother worrying the pain of illness. I am glad it is almost over.
ReplyDeletePost pandemicish, I feel there is a new meaning for...A day of rest.
Maywyn, at least post pandemic we can choose our rest days.
DeleteGood to hear from you again! We just got our first shots today... May 28th is the second round. So far so good. As for quarantining, I couldn't be happier than staying home in my own garden and only leaving when absolutely necessary. It's what I do anyway, ha! Looking forward to more photos of your garden. HUGS!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marcheline. I'm very happy that you're on your way to being protected. By the end of the summer Blogland may be well fed up of my garden!
DeleteI'll never be fed up of your garden... and if you're not fed up of mine, come on over to my blog!
DeletePrince Philip became the first person in over a year to die of old age, experts fear an outbreak and up to 350k people may die of this condition in future years.
ReplyDeleteI take your point, Adrian, but over 80,000 people died in 2020 over the average for the previous 5 years.
DeleteWe are like you, once we get home from work we don't go anywhere, we are total homebodies and I don't mind either. I can't believe you spent 6 months in lockdown though, but I guess you just deal with it and get on with it.
ReplyDeleteAmy, our first lockdown was 6 months and it really did feel as though the country had closed down with traffic in many cities really quiet and public transport at a minimum and almost all shops closed. It has gradually returned towards what it used to be like but there will be so many changes (such as working from home and hundreds of department stores closed permanently) that the 'new normal' when it comes will be quite different from the old normal.
DeleteAs I've said previously, I'm always a hermit, by choice, so the past 14 or so months "inconveniences" haven't affected my day to day routines. I'm not a social animal these days...and haven't been for quite some time, now. I think being in the hospitality industry for many years, and dealing with the public in other jobs I had before those times gave me my fill. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm quite happy being in my own company...with my two furry mates to boss me around. I prefer being at home, as do they. We three are indoor cats! :)
Keep taking good care, Graham. :)
Lee, I am a lot nearer to you in my thinking now that I was before.
DeleteI really enjoyed the pandemic life I had. It wasn't exactly lockdown but it was quiet. It was an enforced re-evaluation for people and you have the level of self sufficiency that you should have (and did) do very well
ReplyDeleteKylie, I'm so glad that you, too, enjoyed your pandemic life. I did re-evaluate various aspects of life and I'm not really looking forward to some of the changes the new normal will bring. I liked lockdown for the most part.
DeleteIt sounds like you have learnt the greatest secret in life - how to be happy whatever situation you find yourself in. Fantastic! :) xx
ReplyDeleteMargaret, It took a very drastic period of my life just over 20 years ago to realise that to get the best out of life one had to use the cards dealt. I've never looked back. I'm one of the lucky ones.
Delete