Corona Diaries

Charlotte

“I wondered when I would start dreaming about this. Two weeks ago, I began looking for “something to do”,

one of the most fiendish jigsaws in the world. It is 1000 pieces and has its own room.”

Background Information

Female, Aged 62, Retired Training Officer, Swansea, White, Married with one child, Heterosexual.

Dream Log

I started keeping a dream diary some time ago as a way of recording recurring dreams, which were maybe

trying to tell me something. It wasn’t long before the changes in our lives caused by the Pandemic started

to actually appear in my dreams.

March

March 5

Dream: We were in a place with a swimming pool further in but I didn’t have anything to tie my hair up and

no one could lend me a bobble so I couldn’t go swimming.

Analysis: I had looked online to see if it was safe to go swimming. A week later all the pools were shut.

March 24

Dream: I had a new job and had lunch after which we had to do the washing up. There was a special

machine for this you put your hands in. I was shown how to use it by Sandra the Vicar’s wife and I noticed

she wasn’t wearing her wedding ring.

Analysis: I have been leaving my own rings off most of the time to ensure I keep washing and drying my

hands properly. So, I am noticing this unusual thing in my dreams.

March 26

Dream: I met two men who were gay and they told me they were married, but I looked down and they

weren’t wearing wedding rings.

Analysis: As above.

March 31

Dream: I was with Howard from the Big Bang Theory. He had put his wedding ring on a different finger. He

was on the phone to Bernadette explaining he had fallen in love with someone else (me!) She was taking

this so well I knew she had some revenge planned. I looked down at my own hand and I was wearing my

usual ring and also my mother’s which had got so thin and flexible I could tie it on like wire.

Analysis: As above. I used to wear mum’s ring till it got so thin it snapped.

Dream: Making wine, I had to look for a towel to cover the bucket which I did so completely that the vessel

collapsed in on itself and all the wine went all over the floor.

Analysis: When we realised, we might be stuck in without supplies we bought online enough kits and

equipment to make 120 bottles of wine.

Dream: I was in a sort of gym but all the rowing machines had gone.

Analysis: My gym is shut.

April

This month there was an article in The Sunday Times: “The big sleep - Coronavirus has us dreaming

again.” I’ve attached a copy. It said we are sleeping and dreaming more. Leading sleep expert Russell

Foster said he had received reports of unusually vivid dreams some of them apparently featuring the prime

minister being infected. Well I haven’t started dreaming about Boris yet, but here are the corona relevant

dreams I did have!

April 2

Dream: I wanted to get to Milford Haven and started looking for a train to get there.

April 3

Dream: I was having to replace some workbook pages as I used to do in work. I managed to get to one

location on the bus but there wasn’t one back so I started walking.

April 5

Dream: A former workmate was going to give me a lift home and asked where he should pick me up.

Dream: My daughter had to go shopping and at first, I offered to drive her. Then we considered going on

the bus but realised we couldn’t. She got to town somehow and returned with several long dresses.

Analysis: Obviously all related to being unable to travel at the moment.

Dream: I returned from work to where our old dog Sam was being looked after. They told me he needed to

be taken out. I noticed 2 other dogs in the room and thought I would have taken one other with me, but not

two.

Analysis: When taking our dog for a walk we notice more dogs and walkers out than ever before. We

wonder if people are borrowing dogs to give them are reason to be out walking. (This also shows how often

I dream about our dead dogs, and about my main workplace even though I left 11 years ago.)

April 8

Dream: In the medical centre (again at work) I saw a swimming pool I never knew was there. A girl told me

I had to apply to the council to become a member. She was trying to get me in the water, I could see

people even on the floor of the pool.

Analysis: I am still missing swimming.

April 12

Dream: Here I was swimming in the sea and I saw a child get sucked right under the sand. An ex and I

were selling our house and the estate agent told us we might have trouble because it was built on the sand.

Analysis: Missing swimming again. (It’s also noticeable how often I dream of an ex-boyfriend - there are

quite a few but I’m 61 now and most of them are dead.)

April 22

Dream: I was at a bus stop. The lady next to me wanted a bus to the Royal Mint, I told her to get on a

number 6 and ask on the bus. She didn’t want to in case people thought she was rich (minted?) and mug

her!

Later in the same dream I was waiting for a friend from school at the bus stop, she had gone to get a

sandwich. But I decided to get on the next bus and used my bus pass to go only a couple of stops and then

walk back. But the bus didn’t stop at all and when I asked they said it was going to Gloucester!

Analysis: Absolutely directly related to these times. I had booked a couple of coach trips this summer

including to the Royal Mint in Llantrisant. Now I doubt I will be going.

The other dreams are about being unable to travel.

April 23

Dream: I was in a church before a service. Up in the pulpit was an ex-boyfriend (another one). I was told

there was no service, instead there was training, so he wouldn’t be there and I didn’t have to see him, and

in fact I was hoping to get out of it myself

Analysis: Of course, the churches are not having services.

Dream: I was doing a jigsaw which had border pieces like in the old workbooks at work, so I knew where

they should go. I found some lost pieces under the box but they turned out to be pound coins.

Analysis: I wondered when I would start dreaming about this. Two weeks ago, I began looking for

“something to do”, one of the most fiendish jigsaws in the world. It is 1000 pieces and has its own room.

April 27

Dream: Looking at the jigsaw spoiler picture, the one you copy, there had appeared a man with a table

selling things, and I wondered if the grey pieces I could not place belonged there.

April 28

Dream: I drove to our caravan where I was starting a new jigsaw. The van was only down the road so I took

all our bedding in the car.

Analysis: The jigsaw again. It is really getting into my subconscious. And we are so missing our caravan

which we are not allowed to go to.

April 29

Dream: We went over a natural bridge in Gower where we were buying a house, and also buying the one

next door to rent out. My brother Dom came, he was going to rent next door.

Analysis: Obviously to do with being unable to go to our holiday home (which is a caravan not a house).

April 30

Dream: I was at my parents’ house with my daughter. I wanted to leave her there while I went to work. But

mum was unwilling and said they couldn’t possibly put her back on the bus on her own. I wanted to explain

she was used to this. Then my daughter (who now must have been older) told me she was giving up work

tomorrow so it didn’t matter whether she stayed there or not.

Analysis: Based on truth. My daughter always stayed with my late parents during the holidays and it was

very out of character for the dream mum to be unwilling. However, now she is older and lives in her own

place a few miles away. She works for a large well-known company via an agency. She was classed an

essential worker. She doesn’t drive and gets a lift with another worker. Earlier this month all workers were

told not to share a lift with anyone other than a family member. It’s too complicated to get there on the bus,

and unsafe anyway. So, she hasn’t been to work since. As an agency worker she is used to being laid off

and

taken

on

again

later in

summer

ready

for

Christmas. Last year she claimed universal credit for that time, but they didn’t give her enough even for her

rent.

May

One thing I notice is that till half way through the month I was writing April. So, while I expect many people

do not know what day it is at the moment, because all the days seem the same, I do not even know what

month it is. So, I have reproduced each entry exactly as I wrote it at the time.

April X MAY 2

Dream: Mr X was driving us, he managed to squeeze the car through a narrow space just missing a lorry

passing us. We had time to spare and he asked me where I would to go, I told him Cenarth Falls.

Analysis: It turns out I really miss driving and have dreamt about it a lot, even though I always say I do not

like driving. Cenarth Falls is near where we have our static caravan. We really miss going there and

normally would have spent every other week there starting in March. When the virus hit we considered

heading for the hills there, but then we started getting told not to travel to holiday homes, and anyway the

caravan park is shut.

April X MAY 3

Dream: I was staying in a woman’s house and doing the cleaning, there were lots of cobwebs. She went

outside for a smoke and I explained to her how I smoked for 25 years before giving up.

Analysis: This was true and occasionally I still dream I am having a cigarette. Mr X (who is still a smoker)

was very excited one morning having heard on TV that smokers are less likely to die of the virus. A few

days later we read that nicotine patches were being trialled on human volunteers as an anti-Corona drug.

However, since then all this has gone quiet - they would never tell us if smoking protects people against the

virus.

April X MAY 6

Dream: In a caravan I had washed my hair but forgotten to rinse it. I had to dry it with the hairdryer because

we (my parents and daughter) were going to church.

Analysis: A caravan again. This time it was a dream one though often it is our actual one. Also, I do not

bother washing my hair for nearly 2 weeks at the moment. Who is going to see me?

Dream: Later, out of our front bedroom window I saw a group of Muslim women walking down the road with

a few children. In my dream I thought they had the right idea, their face coverings operated as masks.

Analysis: We tried to make masks which looked exactly like what they were: cut up tea towels held on by

elastic bands. Eventually we saw sense and ordered face coverings online.

About this front bedroom window: I am spending so much more time here because this is the jigsaw room.

(Approx. 60 pieces left since you ask, out of 1000; all sky.) From this window I can see the queue for the

chemist which is useful if I need to go myself. Three months in a row I have taken a fold-up garden chair

and a book and sat there for 1.5 hours.

April X May 7

Dream: I was in an airport bar and they poured out in front of me a cold pint of golden cider. Later on, this

holiday abroad, my bag disappeared. I could feel deep in my pockets I still had some money (notes) but of

course my phone had gone with my bag. So, I decided to have another pint (with the money I still had) and

then walk to find a police station to report the theft. But meanwhile where was my pint I had already, I went

looking round the bar, perhaps the bar staff had taken it?

Analysis: It does not take a great deal of psychological insight to realise what this dream is telling me - like

many people I am missing going for a pint. On this subject: we always buy Strongbow to drink at home. In

the last month I noticed the colour of the packaging and cans changed and they tasted different to me.

Looking closely, I saw that the boxes of cans we had bought recently, the alcohol content had changed -

from 5% down to 4.5%. I wondered if during the crisis they were getting rid of the stuff no one would want

normally? I still had a few older cans in the shed and they were 5% (yes, we have a fridge in the shed). So,

I emailed Strongbow customer services and they replied: “We have reduced the strength to 4.5%. The taste

has not changed and has been stringently tested on thousands of customers. Research suggests people

are more mindful of the alcohol content of their drinks. So, we have slightly removed the ABV without

affecting the taste or quality.” Well I could taste the difference. Why is there not a public outcry about this?

June

I found it most interesting that one person dreamt the virus was being tackled by ladybirds blowing bubbles

- only 2 days later we started hearing on TV about households being allowed to create bubbles to meet

each other.

Also, this study repeats some themes I have written about in previous months. For example, I dream about

my former workplace every week, and about my childhood home. I notice the absence of any anxiety

dreams for me. Perhaps this is because I haven’t felt this whole time to be particularly stressful.

Having said that I feel this will be my last diary entry. The dreams if any are getting repetitive. I still dream

about swimming, and going for a pint, and about our caravan which we really miss. However, we have

been told we can go to it on July 11th so things are getting back to normal for us. Even better, we are to be

refunded 25% of the site fees for this year.

June 1

Dream: I was making cider and had to fill fabric containers and iron them shut. Then I took them to be

weighed but they leaked into a larger container and got the clothes in there wet.

Analysis: As well as making wine we made a vat of cider which is also drinkable.

June 7

Dream: I was in the library with my daughter, they were making appointments for children to go and play

there. I put her name down though it seemed a bit childish for her (in the dream she was a young teen).

Analysis: I always dream about my daughter every week as well. She is grown up and lives several miles

away. In June I was able to see her again for the first time in 5 months. We last met in January, then Mr X

and myself were both ill for weeks - we think we had the virus. I remember watching him struggling to

breathe and wondering should I call an ambulance. This was in January/February before any of us had

heard of Coronavirus. In March we had lockdown so that explains why I didn’t see my daughter for so long.

Dream: With our dog Bob, on a train to Haverfordwest. I found a restaurant but wasn’t sure if we were

allowed in, both with the dog and because of social distancing.

Analysis: Not sure when is the next time we will ever go out for a meal.

June 13

Dream: Setting up for a Bring & Buy sale. There was a table with a crystal ball on which had to be next to

the exit, and wherever I put it was wrong and they kept moving it.

Analysis: We have been watching a video by the comedian Michael McIntyre in which he visits a fortune

teller to find out his future in 2020. The fortune teller sees his future self in a shop wearing a mask and

gloves; and being shut in and only allowed out for exercise for half hour each day. So, he thinks he must

have been put in prison after committing a robbery.

Dream: I was going to leave my bag hanging up till the Bring & Buy started but I went back to remove the

money from it.

Analysis: In real life I did not spend a pound of real money for 3 months till later in June when we had our

first takeaway.

June 17

Dream: Driving to my former workplace, I saw white letters painted on the road: “No money beyond this

point.”

Analysis: I think this is about the barriers and signs that are everywhere now telling us where to walk and

keeping people apart.

June 18

Dream: We received a basket of goods from a food bank. As well as tins and lemonade it also contained

other items - a couple of potted plants and a tapestry of a brightly coloured bird, to while away the time. I

was impressed at the thought of these other things intended to cheer us up in lockdown.

Analysis: Happily, we haven’t needed to use a food bank though I did donate some things.

June 20

Dream: I was driving and got off by the sea and decided to go for a swim. By the time I had changed, into

wellies as well, the sea had risen so high I had to scramble back up the steps.

June 29

Dream: I was swimming in a pool but there was a large tree at the bottom, and I had to arrange for its

removal.

Analysis: I still can’t go to the pool and even when our caravan site reopens, we have been told the pool will

not be. However, I’m thinking of going swimming in the sea.

July

July 1

Dreams: My daughter wore a cross / crucifix like Sophie.

July 5

Dream: I was having my annual appraisal with Gerald from Sophie.

July 7

Dream: I was in a large garden with too many visitors - I tried shouting at them but nothing would come out

of my mouth.

July 27

Dream: I dreamed I was actually writing this dream diary, pages of it.

August

August 7

Dream: We had been put up in an hotel for Covid and people were sending food packages up to us outside

using ropes - we were high up. The food came in polystyrene packages so we couldn’t see what the food

was till we opened it. There was something green in batter - a pea fritter? - in fact everything they sent up

came in batter.

September

September 23

Dream: At the beach during lockdown, I was pushing a man (my husband) in a wheelchair. The police

stopped us and asked where we were going and my husband said, to visit my friend. They asked for the

friend’s name and he told them, Alan Partridge! I though oh no, now they will know we were lying and they

will fine us!

Analysis: It is at the beach that I started sea swimming this year. The facetious reply is just the sort of thing

my husband would say to the police and incidentally he can’t stand Alan Partridge!

October

October 25

Dream: I was with my daughter. One of us had to only say the mantra “I’m going to rip your arms off” and it

would come true and someone would change into a vampire. You couldn’t get away without saying it. So I

tried to escape wearing a long black leather coat.

November

November 4

Dream: Martin was waiting outside a phone box. The woman inside wouldn’t let him but in to use the

phone. He said sarcastically, “That’s ok, I’ve only found a dead body in the sea”.

December

December 20

Dream: I was with Buffy in a hotel room. Spike came in with another man who told us he was Angel though

he didn’t look like him. He knew Spike of old but didn’t know he was Buffy’s boyfriend. I had a black eye

and Buffy had a bruised jaw - what had been going on?

Analysis: During lockdown in 2020 I watched the complete set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer1 - 144 episodes.

Then I watched them all again this time interspersed with crossover episodes of Angel (110 episodes). No

wonder I started dreaming about vampire related things. In the July 7th dream I had just watched the Buffy

episode “Hush” where everyone loses their voices. In the October 25 dream the leather coat belongs to the

vampire Spike who was totally in character in the next dream.

1 Buffy, Spike and Angel are characters from this TV Series.