Keeping A Lid On It and Other Factors

We're in week gazillion of Lockdown in UK and hope you're all keeping safe and well. Don't know about you, but I'm beginning to enjoy being in a bubble perhaps a bit too much, I'm not sure I want to get used to this new 'normal,' for there's nothing normal about any of this at all. Don't know about you, but I don't want to be in a world where there is advice to cover my face in some public places, social distancing and I can't hug my friends.

When we first went into Lockdown I thought, "Yippee, all this peace and quiet to write!" How wrong was I? It has proved near impossible. Apparently, the inability to concentrate is a world wide phenomenon and many writers have found it tricky committing words to paper, or settling down to read a good book. It's in the way our brains are processing these strange times. Or maybe it's just me then? Strange times or otherwise, here is what I've discovered over the last two or three months.

~ The peace and quiet and relative calm was startling at first, but once nestled into, found it to be good for the soul.

~ Material things are not necessary. Not having endless access to retail therapy doesn't matter. Not being able to browse in a book shop or two does matter. I miss the smell of books, and not least, finding a new gem to read.

~ Did I mention the Peace? No traffic, no aircraft noise, but sadly, no human activity also - at least in the early days. The birds though are chirping really loudly - can really appreciate the different sounding tweets and whistles.

~ For the time being anyway, I'm putting myself first. I'm enjoying managing my day to day to my own timetable. I'm doing what I want, not need to do.

~ Housework be damned, no-ones visiting! Mind you, at the weekend I started a belated spring clean. I have so much stuff, why?

~ Going out for daily exercise. How excited can one person get on leaving the house for an hour! Now that my local Country Park has opened and I'm allowed to drive to it...oh heaven! I'm even talking to the trees and saying thank you for doing their thing. Trees are magical you know.

~ That's the other thing, how Nature has sprung into life in a matter of weeks unseen by humans. Not seeing the same landscape on a daily basis, the woodland paths are amazingly lush and green. So many squirrels and rabbits (wonder what they think about the return of us humans)? As for the sky, how turquoise and pollution free it is.

~ Not using Zoom, boom or whatever it's called. I'm no dinosaur when it comes to technology, but there is a comfort in picking up a phone for a chat. No more texting, messaging and the like.  Call me old fashioned but I really don't care.

~ Re-discovered the joys of meditating, otherwise known as sitting in the afternoon sun with my eyes closed. Hippy dippy music played through headphones so as not to disturb others.

~ Relishing for the time being, not wearing makeup. I quite like the freedom. I quite like wearing it too ~ time and place and all that.

~ Contemplating that my laundry load is considerably lighter. Not being able to socialise and lolling about in PJ's has its upside - less clothes to worry about.

~ Legitimately can binge watch TV, Netflix, Youtube and no-one accuses you of slacking off.

So yes, I'm enjoying my bubble and not in a hurry to re-enter the world as yet. Baby steps...Am I bonkers? Possibly, but I won't be the only one I'm sure.

• Just to say, I recently wrote a similar article on Instagram recently.