Queuing

It’s good Friday and it’s definitely busier out. I had to wait to get out onto Estcourt Road. Large queue at Tesco too. 

Couple of weeks in

The choice of TV to watch is definitely becoming more important. Jamie Oliver has a special lockdown cookery show, I happened to have some cubed beef so was inspired to follow his beef hotpot recipe - it was delicious. 

Yesterday I started to watch a documentary about the Spanish flu pandemic. It was just too real life so I stopped after 1 minute. 

Recipe

Cut into 1 inch chunks - 2 carrots, 2 onions, 2 celery sticks (I added more carrots)

Add herbs (he suggested rosemary, I didn’t have any dominos added a bit of sage)

Fry them in olive oil

Add a heaped table spoon of flour and stir

Pour in a bottle of beer

Add a tin on tomatoes 

Fill the tin with water and add that too

Season

Put the raw beef in the pan

(I added 1 teaspoon mustard powder and a glug of Henderson’s relish)

Cover and put in 160° oven for 2 hours

Par boil potatoes in 1cm slices for 10 minutes

Place on top of beef stew

Brush with olive oil

Back in the oven uncovered at 180° for 40 minutes

Weekend

Massive three hour quiz on Zoom on Saturday with six other families. Went for a 2 mile walk on Sunday too. 

Meanwhile I was working on Saturday and Sunday on the Emergency Register for Nurses. 

Being busy helps with my anxieties.

Homework

First day with the kids working from home. “We need to visit the store to get craft supplies for our homework”. We tell them no, as we are only leaving the house for essentials.... much wailing ensues.

In other news, a large Peacock Butterly flew into my office, fluttered about the window for a minute, and then flew away. 

Sunday

Webcam arrived yesterday, meeting with the masons went really well and we’re planning regular morning calls as well as ritual rehearsals and social events. 

Kids are already bored as of yesterday.
Yesterday we met the neighbours and the back of our house, David and Susan. So community is already starting to form. 

And on Saturday night we had a webcam hangout with some friends. Even played a few games. Nice evening, although we need to sort out audio issues. 

It’s Mother’s Day today and I‘ll be dropping off a card and then chat at a distance, with me well outside the house while she’s inside. 

More tea vicar

Webcam didn’t arrive last night, hopefully will today. Have a “breakfast briefing” with a few lodge members to talk about using videoconferencing to stay in touch whilst we are all isolating. 

And then I relocate my home office to the loft because the kids are now home for the foreseeable. Might need to put a little kettle up there too. 

Day 4

Thursday 19th

Starting to feel a bit concerned. It’s the not knowing how long this will last. There’s rumours that the kids will be off school until September. 

Thought I’d buy a webcam to attach to my monitor. They’re sold out everywhere. 

There are rows and rows of empty shelves in Tesco.