Here we go again then, yet another Lockdown. I think this is Lockdown 3.0, but who knows with all the various tiers that we have accelerated through in recent months?
Up front I will say what I said last time, and that is that we in the UK are not in Lockdown. Never have been, never will because a) the Government are not tough enough to impose and police it and b) we are too fragile and irresponsible to adhere to it.
Many will disagree with me I am sure but to be clear: if I can start the day going for a walk with a friend, then call into a Garden Centre to do a bit of shopping, and then pick up a takeaway on the way home I am not in Lockdown.
I have grown increasingly fed up with the main stream media and indeed any form of media, commentator, official or politician who says that “most people” have been following the rules. So what? Meaningless and misleading as the simple fact is that NOT ENOUGH people have been following the rules and too many people have been in contact with other people and the virus has spread.
For those that claim that Lockdowns do not work a) I refer you to my above point about these not really been Lockdowns and b) they do “work” as we saw in March 2020 when the R number was brought below 1. What has not worked is the “release back to the new normal” as NOT ENOUGH people followed the rules.
This in itself is both bemusing an ironic: much of the Brexit debate was (won) around the strength of the British spirit, our backbone, how we fought them on the beaches, won two World Wars, survived the blitz.
Indeed we called upon the spirit of the blitz to fight the war against COVID-19, which was great …. until we realised we couldn’t live without a takeaway, a night in the pub, not going to the cinema. Time on own, night after night with family, creating our own entertainment … HELP!!!
But here we are again, only this time we have more freedom and the opportunity to learn from previous Lockdowns.
Which for me means:
- Getting up later, and spending the first part of the day with the animals, tidying the Cottage and doing some exercise (I really didn’t make the most of the opportunity to get fitter last time).
- Longer walks with the dogs.
- More time reading and writing and less time on Social Media.
- Eating healthier and spending more time preparing and consuming meals.
- More time on the Exercise Bike.
- More movies and less time watching the news.
We will remain self isolating and in a support bubble with my parents for as long as it takes. My father has had the first Pfizer vaccination and as I write is due his second one in a couple of days and has not been told it has been re-arranged. My mother wasn’t give the Pfizer one as she has had a few reactions in the past to antibiotics (but not the Flu Vaccine) so hopefully she will get the Oxford one soon.
I will stick to my 34th Dry January, and indeed my three month fitness plan (let’s be honest Lockdown makes that easier and I doubt much will change before the end of March regards a return to anything resembling normality), and above all we just be patient and considerate to those that are putting their health (and their families health) at risk to help us all.