Coronavirus Entry 11: Happy Birthday to me!

Please note, in this post I talk about my family who came to visit me on my birthday. I would like to make it clear that all visits were done safely, and at a social distance; there was no human contact. All birthday hugs are banked and ready for when we are officially told they can happen.

Wow what a weekend it has been! I finished work on Thursday and go back tomorrow because not only did we have a bank holiday, but it was also my 40th birthday! I had planned to write this entry on my actual birthday, but it has been so busy and amazing, I have only managed to sit down and write about it all today. 

Since the second half of last year I have been proactively deciding on what it is I wanted to do this year given it's milestone and there were various ideas thrown around including a family holiday, a meal in a nice restaurant, day out in London to see a show, until I finally settled on organising a big party instead! Planning it was so much fun. So many lists were written, so many ideas of what I wanted - theme, music, food, drinks on arrival, but most importantly, I just wanted everyone to get drunk with me and dance the night away! 

When this year began, things started to get serious! It was all about what dress I was going to wear, and I ended up buying two, knowing full well they weren't the end of my search! The plans were all going well until we went into lockdown and I was suddenly hit with the prospect of spending my birthday, not only indoors, but also on my own.

I won't lie, at first I was gutted and really upset about it, despite trying to find the positive in the situation, and there was a part of me that was secretly hoping by this weekend, some sort of relaxed arrangement would have been made by the Government, but unfortunately, we are still in lockdown. 

As the weeks went by, I got more used to the idea that my party wouldn't go ahead and the day I had to send out messages to everyone to let them know I made the decision to let it be and arrange one as when it would be safe to do so. 

I had an inkling my family were planning something to still make it special for me, but I wasn't entirely sure what they were cooking up given the restrictions we had in place, but oh my goodness, they did not fail!

It all started on Thursday when my friend, Chelsey dropped off a present and some flowers at my front door. Next, followed on the same day, were two more flower deliveries, one from my aunty and the other from my work colleagues.

I then received another delivery on Friday from my sister who arranged a pre-birthday pamper package for me including face masks, exfoliation scrub, moisturiser, pjs, chocolate, a bottle of cider, nail varnish and nail files. That was a real spoil!

Saturday saw three more deliveries, including a case of champagne and some social distancing conversations with a couple of friends (at different times). Honestly, by the evening, I was already feeling so spoilt and loved, it was unbelievable. 

Sunday (10th) was my birthday and I woke up to a flurry of Whatsapp and Facebook messages. I was actually awake really early - I think it was the excitement of it being my birthday! I opened the cards I had received in the post and the present Chelsey dropped off for me and indulged in a morning latte! 

By 10.30am, my mum had arrived at my house. I knew she was coming round so I had unlocked my back gate so she could let herself in and wow, was my garden full of surprises! Beautiful pink flowers, a bag of presents, a food hamper, an amazing birthday cake and of course, a bottle of bucks fizz! Whilst she was visiting, another delivery arrived, this time, two big bunches of flowers from my local garden centre. One from my friend, Sally, who I used to live with, and the other was from my family. I was in tears! I couldn't believe how beautiful this all was! It was really hard saying goodbye to my mum because I really wanted her to stay all day, but we both knew this was only going to be a quick visit - and little did I know a family zoom call was coming later on anyway!

Flowers received from my family

A couple of hours later, and after my mum had gone home, my sister arrived. Again, my garden was full of more gifts, 40th birthday bunting and giant silver helium filled 40 balloons that were blowing all over the place! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. As I was going through the unwrapping of my presents, I received another notification on my phone and it was something my sister said she was sending to me. Well, this wasn't just any message. She had only gone and organised a video message for me to watch of my friends and family wishing me happy birthday. Talk about emotional! I was an absolute mess as I watched family and friends from all over the world wishing me a happy 40th! I was absolutely blown away.

Later on that day, there was a knock on my front window and on opening the door, there was a big box of presents in front of me and in a car outside my house was my brother, his wife and my two nephews all wishing me happy birthday! I sat outside while they all stayed in the car and watched me open my presents and enjoyed a frozen mojito which they had organised to be delivered to my house! What a spoil! 

After they had left I went back inside my house and thought about organising something to eat, afterall, I had been drinking all day so it was much needed. As I started to get some food together, the next flurry of events took place, only this time, it was all on zoom. A call with my aunties, a mass family call and ending with catch up with my uni friends. Before I knew it, the day had gone and it was 10pm at night! 

By that time I was absolutely exhausted, but SO unbelievably happy. I got into my pj's, made myself a cup of tea and finally got round to reading all the messages that had been sent to me throughout the day. It certainly wasn't the birthday I had planned, but there's no doubt about it, I couldn't have been anymore spoilt. Thoughtfully written cards, so many bottles of champagne and prosecco, flowers, jewellery, photos...I am so overwhelmed. 

Thankfully I had yesterday and today off work too, and I can't tell you how much I needed it! I've spent the last few days trying to take it all in and spend time looking at all the wonderful presents I've received, and read all the lovely cards I have been sent. Of course, I have also watched the video messages over and over again - that is one I will treasure for the rest of my life! 

Overall, I have to say, turning 40 during a lockdown, wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Infact, it was better! I am so bloody lucky to have the most amazing friends and family in my life and I absolutely cannot wait until I can see them all again. 

Thank you to everyone of you for making my 40th birthday such a special day. I love you all so much xxx

My birthday cake!

Coronavirus entry 10: VE Day: 75th anniversary

Today marks the 75th anniversary of VE Day - Victory in Europe - this day in 1945 where Winston Churchill made a radio announcement at 3pm that fighting against Nazi Germany had come to an end, following their surrender the day before. On that day, people dressed up in red, white, and blue and stood outside Buckingham Palace celebrating with King George VI, Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth (our current Queen) who looked on from the infamous balcony that still draws crowds to today. Apparently later that evening, both Princesses dressed up in disguise and snuck out of the Palace to go and join the masses who were partying. Girls after my own heart!

Under normal circumstances, and given the landmark anniversary, there would have been a lot of parties, parades and events taking place to mark the occasion. Even May day bank holiday was moved to coincide with the anniversary, however, as we are still in lockdown, there have been strict rules around what we can and can't do. 

Street parties are still banned, however people have been encouraged to put DIY bunting up outside their homes and enjoy social distancing drinks and cake on front gardens. I saw a few houses have been decorated during my afternoon walk today and there was a little gathering of people sitting outside their homes enjoying drinks, chatting and laughing together, all within social distancing limits, of course! I even heard fireworks going off in the distance this evening, although I couldn't see them, but I did think that was nice touch. (I haven't watched the news today so I'm writing this with the hope that people haven't ignore the rules and put themselves at risk!)

Despite this strange time we are living in, there was something special about seeing people together, and hearing the laughter did bring a smile to my face. A sign of things to come, I hope. 

Boris Johnson is set to address the nation on Sunday to give another update on the current lockdown situation. There have now been 211,000 confirmed cases of Coronavirus in the UK, and more than 31,000 deaths, the highest official death toll in Europe. Yesterday 626 deaths were recorded in this country. This number has started to reduce, but I don't think it's enough to warrant any major changes. Once again, there is a lot of hearsay around what announcement will be made. A lot of people, me included, are hoping there is something around being able to see family members in small groups, but if that's not the case, then we just need to try and carry on as we are for a little bit longer. I guess only time will tell. 

Coronavirus entry 9: Happy 100th Birthday Captain Tom Moore!

A few weeks ago, Captain Tom Moore, a 99 year old World War 2 veteran, was living his life with his family and friends, when he had an idea to support NHS staff and volunteers working with Covid-19 patients. His aim was to walk 100 laps of his back garden, which is 25m in length, and raise £1000 before his birthday on 30th April.

Now, somewhere within the midst of Tom and his family setting this up and sharing their Just Giving page, the universe had a bigger plan and within 24 hours they had reached their target, and so decided to set the bar even higher and increase their fundraising to £100,000. 

After sending out a tweet, it wasn't long before Tom was appearing on Good Morning Britain being interviewed by Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid. By this time, there had been so many donations they were now looking at raising half a million pounds, of which he was almost halfway there! During the interview, Piers donated £10,000 of his own money to the cause and encouraged everyone make a donation of some sort, big or small, to help.

What happened next, was absolutely phenomenal. Captain Tom became the most well known 99 year old, not just in England, but world wide! Everyone wanted to interview him, and most importantly, everyone wanted to make a donation. His story touched the hearts of so many people and even after reaching the £1 million pound mark, donations were still coming in and to date, he has now raised a staggering £32,330,609!

Since then, he has received a promotion to honorary Colonel by Lt Col Thomas Miller, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment. He has also joined forces with Michael Ball and got to number 1 in the UK charts with a rendition of "You'll never walk alone" and an estimated, 140,000 birthday cards have been sent to him from people all over the world. 

Today, he has celebrated his 100th birthday and of course, there was something very special he received in the post - a personalised card from the Queen! Boris Johnson also delivered a televised birthday message to him and a flypast took place over his house of a Spitfire and Hurricane from RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, based at RAF Coningsby. Not only that, his neighbours have been celebrating with him and making sure he has a day to remember! ,.

"Tom was born and brought up in Keighley, Yorkshire. He went to Keighley Grammar School and later completed an apprenticeship as a Civil Engineer. Tom went onto being enlisted in 8 DWR (145 RAC) at the beginning of the war, and in 1940 was selected for Officer training. He was later posted to 9DWR in India, and served and fought on the Arakan, went to Regiment to Sumatra after the Japanese surrender and returned to be Instructor at Armoured Fighting Vehicle School in Bovington." (Taken from Just Giving page)

The best thing about this is how much Tom has captured the hearts of the nation and brought everyone together to show their appreciation of not just the NHS, but of someone looking to do a good deed. Everyone has been talking about this wonderful man, and it has brought smiles to so many of our faces during such a difficult time. There is no doubt about it, he will always be remembered for this.

Happy 100th Birthday, Colonel Tom Moore. I am raising a glass to you now and wishing you a wonderful day. 

Cheers!

Coronavirus entry 8: Switching off

It's been ten days since I last did a coronavirus update. I have sat down at my laptop two or three times to write another update during that time, but found myself struggling to find something to write. It's not like there hasn't been anything going on, or updates to give; the struggle has come because it's just so depressing every time I hear the news or listen to the radio and I'm just tired of it all right now.

I've had to switch off from the reality of what is going on because it's draining. The UK now holds the second highest number of deaths of Covid-19 in Europe with figures confirmed at 26,097. That includes deaths in care homes, hospitals and in the community. Although the number of deaths in hospitals are declining, records of those dying in care homes are only just coming to the forefront. We are now also, the third worst-hit country in the world with Italy at 26,872 and the USA exceeding 59,000 deaths. It scares the hell out of me when I look at those figures.

We're still in lockdown for another week, but I can't see Brois lifting that before the end of May. There have been a few mentions of maybe being allowed to have small family gatherings, rumours of some shops opening up soon and even schools reopening again, however all of that is hearsay. I guess we won't know for certain until another Government announcement is made.

The plus side is Boris officially started back at work this week, after spending two weeks recovering at home, and his partner, Carrie, gave birth to their son today. So a little bit of good news amongst all of this bad!

Coronavirus entry 7: Lockdown extension

It's been three weeks since the Government ordered the country to go into lockdown and on Thursday of this week we were told to continue for another three. This takes us to 7th May, three days before my 40th and six days before my sisters birthday! 

I'm not in any anyway anticipating freedom from that day onwards, but there is a part of me still hoping something will be lifted so I can spend the day with at least one person! 

Realistically though, I'm also planning a digital lockdown party as a back up so either way, I'm still going to celebrate. It just feels weird that, on a landmark birthday, where so many people choose to hide away and not face it, I was going all out that weekend and had a big party planned with hair and makeup booked in too, but instead I will actually be hiding indoors on my own! 

Don't worry, I'm not getting down about it because I'm still going to celebrate when it's safe to do so...it's just gives me more time to ponder over what dress I'm going to wear! 

Back to the seriousness of lockdown...

In my first coronavirus entry on 22nd March, I said 281 people in the UK had died of this awful virus. It is now 27 days later and the current number of deaths in this country has reached 15,464 with a total number of confirmed cases at 114,217.

I even looked up how many local cases of the virus there are and in Northamptonshire, there have been 820 confirmed cases out of a local population of 747,622. (Confirmed cases only include those testing positive for the virus, not all will have been tested. Deaths in England only include those in hospitals, those outside England may include a small number that occured in the community.)

It's so scary and absolutely devastating that so many lives have been taken from this. Globally, the current death toll exceeds 158,000 which is something I find so difficult to take in. The worst thing is we haven't even reached the peak yet. It's thought that we are nearing it, but all that means is, those death rate numbers are set to soar. 

It won't surprise me if the Government start to put tighter restrictions in the next week or so in an attempt to help curb those numbers, but saying that, I thought the same last week too. Let's just hope people listen and stay in and keep remembering wash their hands.

Coronavirus entry 6: Easter weekend

This weekend has been a strange one. It's Easter, and under normal circumstances I would have relished in the four day weekend, but for obvious reasons, this one has been challenging. Don't get my wrong, I haven't been moping around, but this is the biggest family get together I usually have after Christmas, and with the weather being so lovely and warm, it made it very hard not being able to go and spend it with mine.

It didn't stop us from keeping in touch though. Since Thursday evening I have been on video chat with so many people and spent the majority of Saturday with friends and family - both in England and South Africa - some of whom I haven't seen for months, if not years, so it was treasured moments I am grateful for. 

As much as I tried not to let it get to me, I did have a few wobbly moments, but I just kept on reminding myself this is (hopefully) a short term thing and as soon as we get the go ahead, we will all be together again. I managed to keep myself occupied by mowing the lawn, tidying the house, washing, reading and playing "Words with friends". 

Unfortunately, the sad news is we have now exceeded 11,000 deaths in the UK which is just heartbreaking, so when I was tagged on instagram to do a challenge to raise money for the NHS this morning, it was a no brainer. The aim was to run, walk or cycle 5k, donate £5 and nominate 5 more people to do the challenge too. In the big scheme of things, it isn't a lot, and only took an hour of my time, but all small things add up to something big especially with so many people getting involved. Initially, the aim was to raise £1 million and it is already far exceeded that so the organisers have increased it to £2 million and I don't think it will be long before that target is reached either.

Boris Johnson is also out of hospital now. Thankfully. Although he is still resting at home, he addressed the country on Saturday night and thanked everyone in the NHS for the remarkable job they did. Whatever anyone's political viewpoint is with the Government's attitude toward the NHS, there is no doubt about it, everything will change going forward.

Back to work tomorrow (in the kitchen, not the office!) so no doubt a busy day ahead. Feeling anxious about it again, but I know I'll be fine once I get into it. I hate that I feel like this so trying not to let it get to me. Maybe it's the lack of sleep I'll no doubt have that I am more anxious about. Yet again, I am still sleeping terribly, but I've decided not to stress about it. Hopefully it will settle down, but in the meantime, I can only deal with it in the moment. 

Coronavirus entry 5: It's been emotional!

This afternoon I ventured outdoors to go and pick up an order I placed with the butchers for myself and a couple of family members. It was a pay on delivery from a local pub car park and was all very well orchestrated. Lots of space around us with 2 meter markings on the floor to queue, payment by card, only dealt with one person and he even carried the orders to my car for me!

I then made two drop offs. The first was to my brother and sister-in-law where I had a very brief chat and check-in with them both and my two nephews, Thomas and Oliver who are 8 and 5 years old. Whilst keeping our distance we all agreed not being able to spend time with family was proving to be really difficult, especially as Easter weekend is approaching and we always spend it together. 

The second stop was to my sister, where again, I planned to drop off, check in and go home. However when she opened the front door, I was greeted with the biggest social distancing hello and the sweetest exclamation of "Aunty Tanya" from my 2 year old niece, Ella, that I burst out crying! I hadn't anticipated it to be emotional and I wasn't prepared for my tears so when I got home I had a big cry and poured myself a large vodka and diet coke! 

On the flip side, my cousin featured on The One Show this evening. She was part of a pre-recorded medics ceremony after graduating from The University of Nottingham having spent the last five years studying to be a doctor. She is now part of the new intake of junior doctors about to embark on their journey into the NHS. Now more than ever, she will be entering a field that is going to be faced so many challenges, and I couldn't be more proud of her. She is doing such a remarkable thing.

I have since spent time this evening catching up on correspondence, seeing my nephews again, only this time on video chat where we played a few games of bingo, and making plans for what I can do around the house over the bank holiday weekend!

I am emotionally exhausted and an early night is a must. I just hope I can actually get to sleep tonight!