Coronavirus entry 23: A lovely day

I am so happy. REALLY happy! Today has been wonderful and I cannot tell you how grateful I am feeling right now. 

I have been out today with my family spending the afternoon at Abington Park, a local park not too far from my house. This is the first time we have all been together since lockdown and it was lovely. We all brought food and drink and had a picnic, played cricket, rounders and football and bought ice creams for the kids, who absolutely loved spending time together. 

Everyone was in such good spirits and the park was full of people enjoying the sunshine, and more so, enjoying being outdoors and with other people. It was so lovely to see smiling faces and hearing laughter.

We all stayed together and everyone was respectful of each others spaces so there was no bother from anyone else in the park. I haven't laughed so much or talked so much for such a long time. It was a day of pure happiness and one I will forever be grateful for! 

Coronavirus entry 22: A month of furlough

It's been 4 weeks since I was furloughed, and I have to say, I've really enjoyed having some extended time off. I have spent a lot of time looking after my niece, Ella, catching up with my mum and sister, and today I met a friend of mine for coffee. 

Shops, pubs and restaurants are slowing starting to open up again, but it seems there are also a lot going into administration too. At the moment, I don't have any desire to go shopping or meeting friends at the pub; I feel safer doing it in the safety of my own home. I'm sure it will settle down soon, but I still feel we are doing all of this a little too soon. I know we have to start somewhere, but for me, I'm going to stay close to my family.     

It is nice seeing people out and about more now but I can't help but think it's all happening too quickly. I know it has to start somewhere; maybe I'm just a little bit nervous about it all still. The Governrment are talking about reopening gyms and beauty salons too. I'm just keeping everything crossed that this doesn't backfire on us.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Coronavirus entry 21: A visit to the Doctor

Today I had to go to the Doctors to get a blood test as I am due my yearly review. I wouldn't normally blog about this but given the crisis we are currently in, I have to admit I was a little apprehensive about going. 

There were quite a few rules to follow, but I wasn't complaining:

1) only turn up at the exact time of appointment

2) you MUST wear a mask

3) you MUST use the hand sanitiser 

4) don't try and attempt to enter the surgery - a member of staff will let you in

5) sit 2 meters apart

6) do not use toilets

7) do not attend appointment if feeling unwell 

As soon as I was there it was probably the best appointment I've ever been to! It was so quiet and hardly anyone there - definitely the way forward for future appointments! If it wasn't for the massive coughing fit I had whilst in the waiting area, the look of pure terror on the faces of the receptionists, followed by a quick exit to clear my throat and an explanation that sounded like I was making up the world's worst excuse, I think it would have been quite a successful visit! 

Definitely one visit I won't forget in a long time! 

Coronavirus entry 20: let's open our doors again

Boris Johnson addressed the country this afternoon to update results on their plan to rebuild life after lockdown, and confirmed with the number of people getting the Coronavirus, and the number of people dying from it are both going down, we are now in a position to open up a lot more premises and venues. 

From Saturday 4th July the following are now allowed to reopen: hotels, B&B's and self contained holiday accommodation, caravan parks, camp sites, places of worships, libraries, restaurants, cafes, bars, pubs, social clubs, cinemas, bingo halls, museums and galleries, hair salons and barbers, outdoor playgrounds and outdoor gyms. 

There are certain Government rules they still have to follow to ensure the health and safety of customers, but this is progress that so many people are happy to hear today. 

Nightclubs, indoor gyms and swimming pools must remain closed for the time being because of the risks they still hold. 

Your household can also meet with one other household at a time, including staying the night. This can be indoors, outside, at your home, at a restaurant, pub or in paid accommodation. We have to remain socially distant from anyone outside your household still, but this is such good news for families who haven't seen each other for so long. 

Shielders still need to stay as they are but plans are in place to help them going forward however we need to wait for those to be announced. It's all very positive news today though, so let's hope this doesn't cause any problems or spikes. 

For me, personally, I'm not fussed about going back to clubs or bars, all I want is to be able to see all of my family. That is my priority and focus. 

Coronavirus entry 19: A little update

So today is Monday and marks the start of a new week. Matt Hancock has delivered his daily stats update and confirmed over 8 million tests have now been carried out on people in England to determine if they have had the virus or not.

For the first time since the peak, the number of confirmed cases is now under 1,000 (958) and 330 people are currently on ventilators, down from 395 last week. There are also fewer than 5000 people in hospitals with the coronavirus

There were 15 reported deaths yesterday - the lowest figure since 15th March, however they are aware this is a weekend figure so these could rise over the next few days. About a month ago 1 in 400 people had the virus, and now it is more like 1 in 1700.

Tomorrow the Prime Minister is going to announce the next stage of his plan so it will be interesting to see what he says.

There are still 2.2 million people shielding in England who have been delivered medicine, support and more than 3 million food boxes, but they are hoping to rules in the next few weeks so that people can come together and bubble up. 

Coronavirus entry 18: Happy Father's Day

Today is Father's Day and I would have usually arranged to spend the weekend with my Dad, but with the social distancing rules still being a bit shady, we decided it was probably best to leave it a little bit longer. However, it didn't stop us doing something special!

My brother, sister and I arranged for a hamper of our Dad's favourite things to be delivered to him and we got together on Zoom this morning to wish him well and watch him open his presents; which he absolutely loved! 

It may not have been the usual way we would have celebrated but it was really lovely that we could still get together and have some time with him and right now, doing it this way is far more important than not doing anything at all.

Happy Father's Day Dad. I love you so much xxx

Coronavirus entry 17: I got my cuddles!

Today I hugged my sister; the first cuddle I have since lockdown and we absolutely balled my eyes out with happy tears! Never have I hugged someone as tight as what I hugged my Suzy! It was the best feeling and I didn't want to let her go, however we both had a very confused toddler looking at us with serious concern when she saw the tears, so we both very quickly started laughing and very quickly defused the moment! 

Unfortunately, my niece wasn't as quick to cuddle me as my sister was, but it wasn't long before she was holding my hand and walking around the garden with me, picking leaves and flowers and playing football! Thankfully when we sat down to have a drink, she happily sat on my lap then the cuddles commenced. It was perfect! 

I spent all day with the two of them and it was the best day I have had in such a long time. My heart felt full again and when I got home, I did actually have a little cry, but it was because I was so happy! I've heard a lot of people say living alone during this pandemic must be easy and less stressful, but it's been so tough. I am SO grateful for today, and what's even better is, I am going back to see them both tomorrow.

I absolutely cannot wait!