Corona Diaries

Eliza

“I watched our garden change from virtually no colour, to buds to flowers and trees full of colour. I have

never done this before or appreciated the growth and the garden as much as this year”

Background Information

Female, aged 65-74, Primary School Teacher, Newport, White, Married, Heterosexual, Two adult

children [aged 33 and 37].

April 2020

I am 65 years old, a retired teacher, I taught all age groups from reception to A level, but mostly year 1 age

5- 6. I have been married to Dave for 43 years. I have two children and three grandchildren. I normally live

a busy life. I belong to W.I., two book clubs, and a recorder group. I belong to a walking netball group. I go

to Slimming World and meet up regularly with friends for coffee and lunch. I look after two of the

grandchildren after school three times a week and see my other grandchild regularly. My husband and I

have a camper van and go away in it often.

Things that have changed since Lockdown - I have learnt how to use Zoom - I always seem to host

Zoom meetings now. I am finding ways to connect with my grandchildren in different ways. I am using

Skype. I am phoning friends. I have taught my 84 year old aunt to FaceTime. She can now FaceTime with

her son in America.

My daughter, son in law and grandson have all had the corona virus. My daughter is a teacher, she fell ill

on the day before the schools closed for Lockdown. We believe she got it from the children she teaches,

many of whom were coughing a lot. Her husband developed it three days later, then my grandson had it;

they were all very ill, with different symptoms. It took my daughter 5 weeks to feel better and is still very

tired. None of them were admitted to hospital, my daughter phoned 101 who were useless and told her to

contact her doctor who was marvellous and diagnosed corona over the phone, this was a very worrying

time. I was in contact with them 3 times a day to check how they all were.

I am lucky, I am a contented person with lots of hobbies. My daily routine is much the same every day, and

I think that helps. I read in bed every morning. I reply to whatsapp messages from my netball group. We all

check in every morning. We have had two alphabet games the first was to name a country, boys name and

girls name with each letter of the alphabet. We have finished that and now we are naming a place, what we

would do there and what we would eat there with each letter of the alphabet. We do that first thing every

morning! So, I know when I wake up I will have messages from my netball friends. In the mornings I do

housework with coffee breaks. After lunch I go for a walk, I find I can walk further and further now. At 4pm, I

FaceTime my 4 year old grandson and listen to him read, then I cook dinner, at 7:15pm I read him a bed

time story, I FaceTime the other grandchildren a few times a week. In the evening, I use Facebook

messenger to chat to a close friend. I play various word games with friends on the computer. My husband

spends as much time as he can in the garden. We have a nice size garden.

Monday 27th April

After some housework it was time for Zoom and coffee with my netball friends. I couldn't go for a walk today

because it was raining so I did exercise for seniors on YouTube instead. In the evening I had a WI Zoom

session, I think there were 12 of us. We had a quiz on films then another on general knowledge, which was

easier. A fortnight ago we had a best hat competition which was fun.

Tuesday 28th April

I spoke to my daughter in law this afternoon on the phone. She said she was worried about my son; he had

been feeling very tired for a few days and today he fainted. She didn't think he had the corona virus, but I

started to worry, and of course if he has it soon my daughter in law and grandchildren will have it. I have

been very worried about my daughter and family and now I am facing the possibility my son might have it. I

didn't sleep well worrying.

Wednesday 29th April

Today is my son’s birthday. I ordered presents from Next and Amazon to be delivered to his house. We had

a family zoom to wish him happy birthday, we sang happy birthday to him and the grandchildren blew out

the candles. He opened his presents in front of us. So different from last year when we all went to his

favourite Indian restaurant. He is feeling a bit better but not right. They had an Indian take away in the

evening. I played chess against my 11 year old grandson. Tricky as I couldn't see the whole of his board,

we had to describe our moves. I think he enjoyed it, and I was happy to have contact with him.

Thursday 30th April

I started the day replying to Whatsapp messages with my netball group, then I read for half an hour before

getting up. At 10 o'clock I had a Zoom meeting with coffee with two of my college friends. At 12 o’clock I

played beetle with two of my grandchildren via FaceTime. I went out for a walk, it started raining so I came

home, the rain stopped so I went for my walk - about 30 minutes. I did some sewing on my tapestry. At 4

o’clock I Facetimed my other grandson to listen to him read. I made tea, and then did some knitting. I

Facetimed my younger grandson again to read him a bedtime story. I went outside with two neighbours to

clap the NHS. Then I chatted on messenger with a friend, watched some tv and went to bed, reading

before going to sleep.

May 2020

1st May

I woke late this morning, hoovered downstairs, and did some washing. At 12 o'clock I Facetimed my

granddaughter while she did flute practice. She read some of her story writing book to me. I Facetimed my

younger grandson, he read his book to me. We didn't have time to talk as he was having a Zoom session

with his class friends which one of the parents had arranged. I Facetimed him later, he wanted a drawing

competition, then I read him his bedtime story. I then watched television and did some knitting

My routine is much the same each day. I start with a read in bed, housework in the morning, a walk after

lunch, sewing, knitting in the afternoon and evening. I FaceTime my granddaughter and elder grandson in

the afternoon, I listen to my younger grandson at 4 o'clock and I read him a bedtime story about 7. I catch

up with my best friend at 8. On Monday I have two zoom meetings, in the morning with my netball group

and in the evening with W.I. On Thursday I Zoom with my college friends. Once a fortnight I zoom with all

my family.

Every morning on whatsapp I play an alphabet game with my netball friends. We are now on our third

game. The first one was to name a country - one each day starting with a. Then we did a place we would

go to, what we would eat and do there, all starting with the same letter of the alphabet. Now we are doing a

singer and a song. I didn't think we would get to finish the first round, and yet here we are in the 3 rd round.

I have watched our garden grow during lockdown. My husband loves gardening and spends hours in the

garden. I enjoy sitting in the garden, when the weather is nice. The weather in April and May was lovely, so

we had coffee outside most days, often two or three times a day. I watched our garden change from

virtually no colour, to buds to flowers and trees full of colour. I have never done this before or appreciated

the growth and the garden as much as this year, we are really lucky to have such a nice garden.

I go out for a walk every day. I have noticed loads of people who are not social distancing, including many

of my neighbours who have family and partners coming over, and one who has a friend coming. It makes

me cross as my husband and I would love to meet family and friends and go out. I haven't left our village for

10 weeks and only walk around our local estate - looking at gardens and houses. My husband rarely leaves

the house/garden. The positive side of people not social distancing is perhaps this means we are further

ahead with the progress of this disease than we think and further down the road of easing out of lockdown.

I have finished an embroidered table cloth during lockdown. I started it at least two years ago and never

finished it, I don't know why as I enjoyed doing it. So that is one achievement during lockdown.

Every Easter my daughter and family come to stay and we have an Easter egg hunt in the garden for the 3

grandchildren, first with chocolate eggs, then with plastic eggs. The children like to hide the plastic eggs for

the adults to find, but they help. It's funny to watch them excitedly find eggs they have hidden in the first

place. I felt sad that another family tradition wouldn't take place this year, so I decided to hide the eggs in

the house and use FaceTime for the children to find them. My 11 year old grandson had me searching

through kitchen cupboards for eggs, which I knew hadn't been hidden there. I think they quite enjoyed it,

not as much fun as usual, but we did have an Easter egg hunt.

Another family tradition is May Day Bank Holiday. A fair comes to our village and every year I have taken

my youngest grandson on the tea cups. We have had a photograph every year for the last 4 years of him

and me on the tea cup ride, also a record of how he has grown. This won't happen this year.

I don't know what I would do without the Internet. It helps me connect with my family, grandchildren and

friends. I would not survive without it.

Saturday 2nd May

Today I started reading Gangster Granny by David Walliams with my granddaughter over FaceTime, we

read one page each, she is an excellent reader so doesn't need help with reading, but hopefully we can

enjoy a book together. I went for a walk around the estate. I enjoyed a cup of coffee in the garden and

chatting to a friend on the phone. We had a Morrison’s delivery.

Tuesday 5th May

This morning I phoned a lady who I worked with for a short while. She joined my W.I. before Christmas,

after losing her husband in May last year. She lives alone with family in different parts of the country. She

asked my how our W.I. zoom conference went yesterday. I asked if she had thought of joining us. She said

she didn't have Zoom and didn't know how to get it. She has an iPad, so I offered to help her download it.

She explained that technology isn't her thing. With some difficulty, she downloaded it, and was very

pleased. We are going to have a trial run on Thursday so she will be able to join us next Monday.

Thursday 7th may

I spent a lot of time on Zoom and FaceTime today. First a zoom with my college friends, then 30 mins

teaching a lady from WI how to use zoom, so she can join our weekly meetings. I read with my

granddaughter, played beetle with two of my grandchildren, listened to the youngest grandchild read, and

read him a bedtime story. At 8 o’clock I went outside with my neighbours to clap the key workers. We

decided to have a get together tomorrow for VE Day with social distancing.

Friday 8th May

It was a beautiful sunny day. We joined the neighbours, for a small street party to celebrate VE Day, all

social distancing. It was lovely to dress up - the first time in 8 weeks, have a few drinks and some food, and

music - Vera Lynn, but also nice to chat with the neighbours, as if everything was normal.

Sunday 10th May

This evening, I listened to Boris Johnson address the nation about the first stages of coming out of

Lockdown. I could not believe what I was hearing. Schools to start a staged return starting with reception,

year 1 and year 6. Well, I can understand how important it is for year 6 to return, but reception and year 1.

The youngest children, the ones least able to social distance, the ones most likely to give each other a

cuddle, sneeze and cough on you, who will cry wipe their noses anywhere. With 600 plus deaths

announced in the last 24 hours, surely it is not safe for children and teachers to return to school.

Unbelievable, thank goodness I live in Wales.

Saturday 16th May

Our Morrison’s order arrived this morning. I tried to edit the order 5 times last week. I wanted to buy more

fresh vegetables, but they were out of stock. I couldn't get carrots, parsnips, tomatoes, cabbage, cucumber,

or leeks. I couldn't get a bag of oranges so ordered 4 individual oranges. When my order arrived, individual

oranges were out of stock they were replaced with 4 bags of oranges - 5 oranges in each bag!! 20 oranges

altogether, I appreciate these are difficult times, but surely packers realise we won't need 20 oranges and

we are not allowed to refuse items at present. Luckily my daughter in law was quite happy to take half the

oranges for the family. Back to the order - there was no onions, spring onions or milk. I am not a

complainer, but I have emailed a complaint to Morrison’s. Our local shop has fresh milk every day and fresh

vegetables.

Monday 18th May

This evening I led our W.I. Zoom meeting with exercises for the older people. We had 12 people taking

part. I suggested we could do the exercises standing or sitting, I expected our older member to remain

sitting, but everyone joined in standing up, I think everyone enjoyed it.

Wednesday 20the May

It was very hot today, when my 4 year old grandson Facetimed for me to hear him read, he was in his

paddling pool and my daughter had out his desk in the paddling pool so he read sat at his desk in his

paddling pool. He had done other school work sat at his desk in the paddling pool earlier in the days.

I made a lemon drizzle cake, I have never made one before, it was really nice.

Saturday 23rd May

I am really cross to find Dominic Cummings travelled 260 miles with his wife who had corona virus and 4

his year old son in case they needed child care, hasn't he got any friends in London who could help, no one

in Parliament who could help. At the same time, he travelled my daughter and family were very poorly with

corona virus. I desperately wanted to travel 100 miles to help them and look after my 4 year old grandson.

Much the same situation but we followed the rules, also my daughter didn't want to risk us catching corona,

she is obviously less selfish. She said never have they been so desperate for childcare but had to manage.

My daughter bought a caterpillar set for my grandson to watch them change. This morning the first

caterpillar hatched and they managed to film him coming out of the chrysalis, they sent me the video it was

amazing,

Today we had a family quiz on Zoom, it was fun. The children did really well. Most questions were for the

children. My daughter had done a powerpoint with pictures for them. One question was a picture of me, the

question was - How old is grandma? My 4 your old grandson said 24 (I am happy with that!). My 7 year old

granddaughter said she didn't know so decided 24 was a good answer. I asked my son how old I was, he

got it wrong. So did my daughter, my daughter in law got my age right!

Sunday 24th May

Today is my brother in law’s 60th birthday. He is self-isolating with emphysema, he would have had a party.

No doubt something for the future, he lives close so we were able to leave a present by his front door.

My grandson is meant to be returning to school on 1st June. I have realised I will miss my twice daily

contact with him, via FaceTime. This won't be possible when he is in school.

They now have 5 butterflies.

Wednesday 27th May

I emailed my MP today; I have never done that before. Although she is Labour, I wanted to voice my anger

about Dominic Cummings and also Boris Johnson for not sacking him. Do they really think the British public

are that stupid as to believe his lies? If they were true, then he risked his families’ lives, driving when his

eyesight was dodgy.

I have been fine coping with lockdown up until now, but I am beginning to struggle, I want to see my family.

My grandson goes back to school in 10 days, and I still can't see him.

Thursday 28th May

I played chess via FaceTime with my grandson.

I went outside to clap key workers possibly for the last time.

Friday 29th May

I was disappointed today to hear Mark Drakeford first steps for Wales to come out of Lockdown. England

are allowed to travel as far as they like, as long as they social distance. I was hoping to be able to travel as

far as Birmingham to visit my daughter and family. This is not possible as Wales is only allowed to travel 5

miles. This does mean I can visit my son, daughter in law and 2 grandchildren who live half a mile away.

This is a picture of chess via FaceTime - with my grandson, you can see parts of both boards.

June 2020

Tuesday 2nd June

Today was another hot sunny day. My son called over and we all sat in the garden (my husband too), for

about an hour, chatting and social distancing.

Wednesday 3rd June

Would you believe it? Today is the day I have arranged to meet my grandchildren (social distancing) for the

first time in 10 weeks. We have had amazing weather, and today it is raining. We had thought to go to the

local rugby pitch so they could go on their scooters and kick a ball around. Instead, I went to their house, to

meet outside. My granddaughter was waiting outside for me. My son came out and my grandson, and the

children rode on their scooters, in the rain, my son showed me what he had been doing in his garden, It

was lovely to be able to chat to the children. I stayed for about half an hour, but we were getting wet, so I

didn't stay any longer.

Thursday 4th June

My daughter in law phoned to ask if I would like to meet everyone in the dry. We went for a long walk with

the children on their scooters, it was lovely. Tonight, while I read some stories to my youngest grandchild,

my daughter did a treasure hunt for him. He wanted me to stay and watch him do his treasure hunt, it was

great fun. He had ten clues to read, he was running up and down stairs following instructions to find the

next clue, a great way for him to practice his reading, the final one told him to look by the front door for a

bag, and that is the bag he would find everything he needed to make fruit kebabs, I enjoyed the treasure

hunt too, and seeing his excitement.

Friday 5th June

My son and grandson called around this afternoon. We sat in the garden chatting, my grandson has really

grown in the last few weeks. I think he is now taller than me, but we can't measure each other to find out.

This afternoon I Facetimed with my granddaughter and we finished reading Gangsta Granny by David

Walliams. I am not a fan of David Walliams, but my granddaughter loves him, I thought the book was boring

to start with, then it did become exciting, but it was sad at the end. We started a new book - The beast of

Buckingham Palace, David Walliams latest book, which she wanted to read. She has the book and I

download it in my kindle, we read a page each, my kindle pages aren't the same length as her book,so she

tells me when to start and stop reading. When I was reading with my 4 year old grandson I told him we

were having a quiz later on Zoom, with his cousins and that I had written questions for him to answer. He

said he wanted to write some questions, I said that was a good idea, he asked me to help him. I told him to

write some sums, which he did, one very easy one. Then he wrote some questions -'What is my favourite

colour? What colour are my socks?’ This evening we had a family quiz on Zoom, most questions were

aimed at the children. I thought they all did very well.

Monday 8th June

My 4 year old grandson has returned to school today. I am not happy as I think it is too early to reopen the

schools. He lives in England, my other two grandchildren don't return yet. He will have a different teacher

as his teacher is shielding. He is going to a different classroom as his classroom isn't big enough. He isn't

with his best friend. And these are just a few of the many changes he has to deal with. I will miss my twice

daily FaceTime with him. When my daughter, son in law and grandson all had the corona virus, we were

Facetiming three times a day as I was so worried about them. I will still FaceTime them, as my grandson

will also miss our contact, but it will just be once a day as he won't time for more. I will still hear him read

and read him a story.

I am really cross about the demonstrations held across the country yesterday for Black Lives Matter. All

lives matter and the lack of social distancing in the rallies means the corona virus will spread, possibly

bringing about another peak, where lives will be lost.

I spoke to my grandson this evening and was very relieved to find he had really enjoyed his first day back

at school. He had made a new friend. He was very happy to tell me he has his own desk, not near an yone

else. He liked having his own desk.

Tuesday 10th June

A lovely sunny day. I went to visit a friend, it's her 70th birthday this week. We sat in her garden 2 metres

apart. It was lovely to chat to her face to face.

Wednesday 11th June

My son came over and we sat in the garden.

Thursday 12th June

I took my granddaughter for a walk whilst her mum was on work conferences. We walked for ages; I was

exhausted when we got back. We sat in her garden reading David Walliams together - one page each

using our own book and kindle.

It is my friends 70th birthday today. Her daughter arranged a zoom party for her with family and friends, we

all had a small bottle of prosecco together.

Monday 15th June

Another sunny day, my friend came over for coffee and a chat in the garden. Lovely to see her after 12

weeks.

Thursday 18th June

I went to the building society this morning for the first time since February, wearing a mask and gloves. I

needed to go as we had cheques to pay in, I am expecting the Welsh shops to reopen next Monday so I

wanted to go before it got too busy. I was surprised how many people were actually in town. There was a

big queue outside Greggs. Only one person is allowed to go into the building society at a time. I didn't have

long to wait. Whilst I was there, I was asked to complete an oral questionnaire about how I had used their

services during lockdown, I didn't want to stay in town for any longer than necessary, but I was able to

answer the questions while I was paying in the cheques.

This evening my recorder group had our first session on Zoom together. It was fun, and nice to see the

other four members of our group, but tricky playing together. When I played I couldn't hear the others.

Tuesday 23rd June

A hot day. My daughter in law had a lot of meetings on Teams so asked if I would go over, sit in the garden

and keep an eye on my granddaughter. Babysitting again at last! Hurray. They had the paddling pool out so

she sat in the paddling pool, I allowed her to shoot me with her water pistol. We read David Walliams

together.

Wednesday 24th June

The last day of the government’s corona virus update, strange that it is the last one. I have got into the

habit of turning the BBC on at 4.30 every day. I am mostly interested in the graphs to see how we have

passed the peak. I also like to know how many deaths there have been in the U.K., and in Wales.

Yesterday my daughter had a corona virus antibody test at hospital. She is a teacher in a school. We know

she and her family had the virus in March. The test came back positive. The hospital are doing research

into the spread on the virus in schools in their area, as they believe there was a spike in March. Not

surprisingly many of my daughter's colleagues have also received positive tests.

Thursday 24th June

I looked after my granddaughter again this morning, it was so hot we stayed in the shade, on their path. We

read some more of David Walliams, a page each, I used my kindle, she used a book. Then she did some

maths in her maths book, and then she did some story writing. So, I think we managed home schooling in

the garden this morning.

Friday 25th June

A lady was advertising homemade masks on our local Facebook page. My daughter in law recommended

her, so I ordered one - pink - £5. She brought it to our house this afternoon.

Monday 29th June

My two eldest grandchildren went back to school today (Wales). I Facetimed them both to find out how they

had got on. My grandson is 11 and in the local comprehensive school. He is in a class of ten. He had three

lessons - French, Physics and Geography. He isn't really happy to be back in school, but he has his best

friend in his class. He was in school for 3 hours. He didn't have to wear school uniform. My granddaughter

is in year 2; she is 7. She is in a class of 6, with 2 of her friends. She said school was fine, and she did work

and played outside. She was in school for 4 hours and had to wear school uniform. (Crazy that my

youngest grandson - 4, goes to school for 4 1/2 days each week in England.) I think Wales have got it right

as every child is going back to school for a short while every week. In England, many children will not go

back to school until September.

July 2020

Thursday 2nd July 

My grand daughter came to the house for us to look after her while her mother has Team conferences. She

is really fed up and was glad to be in a different place. We did school work in the garden, including reading

David Walliams together. She needed some help with her maths. 

Friday 3rd July

I heard today Boris Johnson's father flew to Greece on Wednesday, breaking lockdown rules, he flew via

Bulgaria as Greece aren't accepting flights from the UK. So first we have Dominic Cummings breaking the

rules, now Sidney Johnson.

Saturday 4th July

My son did some food shopping for us, and came over with my grandson, we sat in the garden in the

drizzle. We haven't seen my eldest grandson very much as his dad and mum split up years ago, so it was

lovely to see him. It was like normal - he played with his lego.

So today the pubs in England open. What a silly day to open the pubs! Four months they have been closed

- a Saturday, people could go crazy. If they opened on a Monday, many people would have had work the

next day, people would go back to the pubs gradually throughout the week.

Watching the news tonight has really worried me, as far as I can see people, in the UK are stupid. The tv

cameras were in Soho at the pubs. People were drunk at 6 o'clock, no social distancing, what will they be

like at 11 o'clock. There were be another spike in a few weeks.

When the pubs in Wales do finally reopen, many will not be able to afford to open - they will need to

employ waiters and with social distancing, they won't make a profit.

Monday 6th July 

My grandson went to school again today for 3 hours. He hated it, which is such a pity, as he has

been really happy in school since September when he joined the comprehensive. He didn't like staying in

the same classroom, sitting a long way from his friends, he enjoys changing classrooms and chatting

between lessons. My granddaughter was also in school today. She loved it. 

Thursday 9th July

Today my husband and I went to visit my elderly aunt and uncle, the first time since lockdown. We have

stayed in touch by phone and Facetime, but it was nice to meet face to face. Of course, it was raining. We

sat in their summer house. They both seem well and cheerful. They have had a neighbour shopping for

them, but they have also been doing online shopping with Morrison’s. 

I feel cross. My son is a self-employed plasterer. The government promised grants to the self-employed.

Naturally he applied. The first grant he applied for he was refused as he wasn't eligible. He was told to

apply for a different one, which he did. He hasn't heard anything from that one. He has a mortgage and two

children. Luckily his wife is working from home. We have had to lend/give him some money. A wealthy

friend of mine told me her husband and son have had around £25.000 from the government. They run a

farm shop. They have worked throughout lockdown, although at one time reduced hours. They have no

mortgage. My son has managed some work - maybe two days a week. He now has plenty of work but there

is no plaster about. So, he is stressed as people want rooms plastered so they can paint and decorate and

are phoning him constantly. He has also taken on rendering jobs which are fine in good weather, as he can

get the equipment.

Saturday 11th July

Another fun weekend cancelled because of Corona. My youngest grandson was having his birthday party

tomorrow. I was supposed to be taking my other two grandchildren to Birmingham today for a sleep over

ready for the party tomorrow. Obviously, his party has had to be cancelled.

Thursday 16th July

What a lovely day I have had today. I had two of my grandchildren from 9.30-3pm. I felt we had to go out

somewhere as they have spent long enough in their house. We were able to find a parking space quite

easily. We bought a really large ice cream, we walked on the beach. The children went rock climbing and

collected loads of pebbles and shells. We walked on the pier, and then had a picnic on the cliffs. The

weather was warm - just perfect, 

Friday 17th July

Today is my grandson’s 5th birthday. My husband and I drove to Birmingham in time to meet him from

school. We then went to the park, where he played with his friends. We spent the afternoon in the garden,

his other grandparents came over. Lots of his school friends gave him birthday presents. 

Saturday 18th July

My grandson had rugby training first thing, then we walked around and went to a lovely park. Later we went

to T G I Fridays for a birthday meal. We had to book in advance, but we still had to wait outside. Luckily it

was dry, there was a one way system around the restaurant, we didn't feel the waitresses were socially

distancing as much as they could have. The meal was very expensive, I guess they are making up for the

time they were closed. We had a nice meal. I think we all felt uncomfortable eating out, but we did it

for Sam as he couldn't have a party. I don't think we will go to a restaurant again soon.

Sunday 19th July

Today we went to the zoo. We had to book in advance. Although many animal enclosures were still closed

there was plenty for us to see. I was impressed, the zoo had a one way system so it was easy most of the

time to manage social distancing. We had a wonderful weekend, so lovely to see my family again.

Wednesday 22nd July

My husband had his hair cut today. He looks so much tidier. He said he was quite happy to go to the

hairdressers, all the staff had visors on. I am not ready to allow anyone to get that close to me, so I will

continue to let my hair grow, and just cut my fringe as straight as possible.

Thursday 23rd July

I cut my fringe again today, the fourth time since Lockdown. I doubt it is straight, but it feels better and I

can't see it.

I had a chat with my elderly neighbour this morning. She lives next door but one to us. I haven't seen her

much since lockdown as she has been shielding. She likes tapestries and knitting like me. She showed me

the three jumpers she has made during Lockdown, using some of the wool I had given her.

Friday 24th July

An exciting day, my daughter, son in law and grandson are coming to stay. They live in Birmingham. It will

be the first time they have been to Wales since February. They usually come at least once a month. This

will be their holiday, they were going on a cruise about the Mediterranean with a week in Corfu, but of

course it has been cancelled. My daughter in law and granddaughter came over in the evening to see

them. My granddaughter stayed for a sleep over.

Saturday 25th July

We all went to the boating lake, my son came too. The children had a bike and scooter, we walked around

the lake and then went to the park.

Sunday 26th July 

We all went to the Island, we went early to avoid the crowds. It was cold and windy. The children and my

son in law went swimming. It was almost high tide, so we were sat at the top of the beach and very close to

the sea which was fun. We had an ice cream.

Monday 27th July

Today was wet, we played games in the morning, then went for a McDonalds as a treat. I was impressed

with how McDonalds organised their social distancing. In the afternoon we went for a walk with the children

on their bikes. It rained a bit. We ended up at a park.

Tuesday 28th July

We went to the gardens. It was disappointing, many parts of the garden were fenced off, they had a one

way system in operation. It was run down, the gardens needed a lot of work, my guess, it's because we had

so much rain through the Winter, then Lockdown. We had a picnic. We thought we would find

picnic benches but we didn't, so we went back to the car. We had three stools and the children sat in the

boot.

Wednesday 29th July

We walked on the beach, collected pebbles, walked on the pier, then went on the cliff and to a play park.

Thursday 30th July

My birthday! I am lucky we are not in lockdown. We took the three grand children to the beach; one I

haven't been to for years. They children loved it there, the sea was quite rough, but warm. I went in the sea.

It was the first time my three grandchildren have been together this year I think. In the evening we had a

Chinese take away which my daughter in law organised. My son and daughter, my son in law and daughter

in law and my three children came. One friend bought me a VW facemask. I love VW campers and beetles.

I loved the mask, but it reminds me of the strange time we are living in.

Friday 31st July

We travelled the short distance to a walking spot, we found a place where the children could go paddling as

it was very shallow. It was a hot day, we decided to come home and change into swimming costumes. We

heard the news, the infection rate in England is going up, so they are delaying the next step of coming out

of lockdown, we couldn't find out what that was. There are threats of new places going back into lockdown.

Europe is also experiencing a spike.

August 2020

Positives of Lockdown:

There aren't really any positives, but these are the best I can think of:-

• I learned how to use Zoom. I have enjoyed zooming with WI, netball, recorders, my college friends

and especially my family. I have enjoyed family quizzes, but of course I would far rather meet

everyone in person.

• I have spent a lot of time on Facebook with my granddaughter - we have shared reading David

Walliams - reading one page each. I have listened to her play the flute and given her

spelling tests. But of course, all this is easier in person.

• With my youngest grandchild, I have listened to him read and have read him stories.

• With my eldest grandchild, it has been more difficult. We did play chess on FaceTime which proved

extremely difficult. 

• I have played beetle with all 3 grandchildren , again not easy over FaceTime. 

• I have really appreciated our garden, and watched things grow. My husband has spent most of his

time during lockdown in the garden so it has got more beautiful. 

• I finished an embroidery table cloth which I started two years ago.

• I knitted a Nativity set for my daughter, I now have to knit two more sets.

• I taught my elderly aunt how to use FaceTime. As well as Facetiming with us, she can now

FaceTime her son in America.

• I have chatted more to our neighbours.

• I have done more shopping on the internet - Amazon particularly, also Morrison’s.

• I couldn't have managed without the internet.

• My daughter, son in law and grandson have had their cruise cancelled, the positive for me is they

are spending two weeks with us as their holiday. I don't usually see them for that long in the

Summer holidays as they go away, and meet up with friends etc

What I have missed:

• I have really really missed my family, especially the regular contact I have with my grandchildren. I

meet the two oldest grand children from school 2 or 3 times a week. They have their meals with us

and stay for a few hours. I see my youngest grandchild about every three weeks - usually for the

weekend.

• I have missed meeting my friends and my busy social life, Zoom isn't the same.

• I miss going to cafes for coffee and cake.

• I miss wandering around shops, browsing. I won't do that for a long time yet.

• I miss going away in my camper van. We missed our month holiday in the Shetland islands in June,

we were going to Anglesey and the Isle of Wight, and other weekends away, I have missed our

camper van friends.

Negatives:

• I have gained half a stone - maybe because I have been baking more cakes.

• I haven't been to Slimming World since early March. That has been available on Zoom but I haven't

bothered.

The New Normal:

• I hope to continue Facetiming regularly with my youngest grandson and hearing him read every

day. I hope to continue sharing a reading book with my granddaughter, although maybe only on

weekends when she is in school. I will probably be able to listen to her playing the flute over

FaceTime too. 

• I don't think W.I. will be able to return any time this year, our W.I. has more than fifty members and

many are elderly and vulnerable, so I guess we will continue with Zoom meetings. My recorder

group won’t be able to return either so that will continue on Zoom.

• I hope netball will start back before Christmas but who knows.

• Browsing shops will be replaced by browsing the internet, thank goodness for Amazon.

• I am not still not happy or comfortable going into shops. I won't be going to cafes or restaurants or

the theatre or cinema any time soon.

• In my handbag I now carry two masks, a pair of plastic gloves, two lots of hand sanitiser and some

antiseptic wipes.