Life in Lockdown

Guess who's out of self-isolation?! Hurrah! We went for a bike ride on our first day of freedom and it was lovely. I love this time of year when everything's in full growing mode. The hedgerows are absolutely packed with flowers and the wild garlic smells amazing. Friends of mine are using it to make infused oil and putting it into bread, and all sorts! I've also been for a run, after a bit of procrastination. I knew this would happen: I spent two weeks moaning because I couldn't go out and now that I can, I don't want to. I'm like Andy off Little Britain, complete with forehead! I gave myself a good talking to the other morning and reminded myself that I'm in a unique position at the moment to be able to really focus on improving my fitness and my eating habits. It's easy to blame a lack of time when we have to travel 45 minutes to and from work each day, so I've got no excuse now that I've been gifted that extra time. So I went ...

The virus is coming closer to home for me, now, with one friend having to be tested after developing a mild cough and another starting work in the Dragon's Heart Hospital in the Principality Stadium. My next door neighbours are still living in blissful ignorance with their daughters visiting daily, often bringing their grandchildren. I'm just ignoring it as it doesn't affect us massively but it just emphasises the disparity in people's understanding/acceptance of the whole situation. It was a big week in the Pinney household this week as Dylan was allowed out of his room after doing 7 days of self-isolation as a precaution. We think his hay fever was causing similar symptoms, and brought on some asthma, but you can never be sure. He was given an inhaler and steroid tablets and is now much better. Lee, Matt and I, on the other hand, are staying in for the full 14 days just in case it was anything more sinister, although none of us is showing any symptoms. ...

Bloody hell, how is it Wednesday already??  I hope everyone had a nice Easter. My weekend began with an epic three hour shopping trip as everyone in Caerphilly went to the shop at the same time as me, apparently. As I drove towards Aldi I saw people standing out on the road with their trolleys! “Sod that”, I thought, and went up to Lidl instead - same thing, but a much shorter queue.   Easter in the Pinney household involved a bit of planting, a BBQ, baking, wrestling (no, not me and Lee - I’m running a book on which son will survive lockdown), and DIY hair cuts. Yes, Lee let Matt loose on his hair with the clippers, and I have to say the boy did good. Lee and I also slept in the van the whole weekend - why should Vera miss out on the fun?  Lee and Matt also painted the bottom half of the house over the weekend. A sneaky bike ride to What! revealed some masonry paint (don’t even ask about the debacle that was B&Q click and collect) so I ...

Even in a lockdown it seems there can still be surprises. This week our boys came to stay with us for an unspecified period of time. Normally they split their time between our home and their mum’s, but when all of this craziness began it was decided that they’d stay with their mum to avoid any unnecessary travel and to reduce the risk of unwittingly spreading the virus.  However, it seems that lockdown in Guantanamo Canton was more stressful than was originally anticipated, so they’ve come to spend some time with us. Upon arrival on Friday afternoon Dylan immediately set to it to dye his dark hair blonde. His reasoning is that if it doesn’t go to plan he’s got 12 weeks of not needing to go out in public so that it can grow out. I knew we were in for a treat when I heard him laughing to himself after he washed the toner out. It was originally a sort of yellow colour (think Justin Timberlake when he had dubious blonde hair) but he’s since had another go at it and it ...

Week Two of restrictions and I should point out before we go any further that not only is the country in virtual lockdown, it also happens to be Lent. I don’t always choose to give something up for Lent, but this year I chose to give up chocolate. Why on earth would I do that, you ask, especially at the moment? As with so many other daft decisions I’ve made over the years, it seemed like a good idea at the time.  So not only do I have to work at home, with my husband (you know, him in the “fun office”), with limited time outdoors, I have to do it without the aid of chocolate. Although that’s probably a good thing as I suspect I’d be mainlining it intravenously by now. One more week to go, kids, then I can face plant into an Easter egg!  I’m sure we’re all seeing similar changes in the week and a half since we’ve been asked to make changes to our lives. One of the positives to come out of it this situation is that we’re all making more effort to speak to each othe...

Two blogs in quick succession to bring you up to speed on goings on, you lucky people!  It’s been Week One of stricter sanctions and “repurposing” seems to have become the new buzz word of the moment, with lots of things being given a new purpose as needed. The Pinney household is no different, with our boys’ bedrooms being repurposed as makeshift offices, and the front room and garden have become our home gym.  I’ve quickly realised that a routine is important when working from home full time. It’s easy at first to pretend that every day is Saturday, but it’s not particularly professional to receive a video call from your manager when you’re still in your pyjamas (this has not happened to me, honest).  The daily routine at Guantanamo Bedwas is therefore as follows: daily dose of state sanctioned exercise  breakfast work Ok, so there’s a bit more to it than that, but it’s nice to have a regular routine. Ironically, the few times I’ve run t...