431: Lockdown Week 3

Just beginning week three of our lockdown here in Spain. I suspect that governments around the world were trying to break us in gently when they 'suggested' a 2-3 week lockdown. I'm beginning to think 2-3 months might be nearer the truth. Mustn't complain though as it's keeping us safe (I hope). 

The clocks went forward this morning (Spring forward, Fall back). Got up at my usual time of 6.30ish and realized that if I hadn't put the clocks forward it would only be 5:30ish. Early even for me.

I heard birds singing when I woke up and thought how lucky they were - they can fly about as they please! 

Two Skype video calls today, one with the members of the local bible study group, bolstered by the addition of cousin Raymond, and the other with my family in UK. Two secrets to making Skype video calls - you can wear what you want on the bottom half, or even nothing at all, unless you mess up the camera angle!, and you can put what you want in the coffee mug and nobody will know what you're really drinking. I've set up a group called 'Des's virtual pub' which I will activate on my birthday, Thursday 2nd April. I will put a link on Face Book, please feel free to dip in and out during the day to wish me happy birthday. You'll have to bring your own drinks I'm afraid, but you will get to meet a nice class of people. 😇

Went shopping yesterday. I used to go once every two or three days as then there wasn't so much to carry. Now I'm trying to shop only once a week and just put up with the longer arms I get from carrying heavier bags. Don't like to leave my little bubble unless I absolutely have to. The shelves were full in my local Bon Preu supermarket and I was invited to don some disposable gloves before I could start my shopping. It's quite funny doing the new self-distancing dance - a bit like magnets repelling each other as soon as they get close.

One of the only advantages in these crazy times (it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good) is that many companies are offering 'stuff' for free. The Bolshoi Theatre is streaming live opera and ballet. So far I've watched, and enjoyed, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. Next up will be the Tsar's Bride on Wednesday. A reminder to any of you may who have been watching - Russia no longer changes clocks for winter/summer so 19:00 Moscow will be different in your local time zone to what it was last week.  I'm slightly puzzled as to how the dancers and all the staff at the Bolshoi are immune to the effects of the virus currently sweeping the world.

It's Sunday today so a day off from on-line fitness training. Time for a self-isolation party. All three of us will be attending:

430: Lockdown week 2

Last night they sprang a surprise on us. Because we'd all been doing so well under 'house arrest' they rewarded us with another two weeks. Until (at least) 11th April. I have already cancelled my March trip back to UK, now the April one is looking a bit 'iffy'. Too early to decide one way or the other and I will review the situation nearer the time.

Lst night, during the night, I heard a neighbour coughing for what seemed like several minutes. Oh dear, persistent coughing is one of the symptoms of the dreaded virus. Poor guy, I hope he hasn't got it. I shall pray for him. I'm quite pleased that the virus doesn't permeate through walls.

With no longer being allowed to walk outside, other than the short distance to the nearest shops, I was faced with a decision. In order not to pile on the pounds I had to either eat less or, somehow, exercise more. I've already cut out chocolate biscuits and cakes, and, let me tell you, that wasn't easy! The next step was to reduce the size of the portions or even, heaven forbid, cut out or cut down alcohol. In order to avoid either of those 'drastic' 😁steps, I searched You Tube for free workouts to do at home. There are hundreds of them. I chose this one. How could I not: "30 minute, low-impact, fat-burning workout for beginners". I enjoyed it, although I was sweating a bit by the end. Only the scales will tell if it has made a difference and, of course, I mustn't expect miracles after only one session. Nowhere near as powerful as my fellow Spanish student Inesa is doing. I've seen a video of her doing planks and all sorts of other exercises with her 3-year old son is sitting on her stomach or her back. спортсменка!

Here are some more jokes & memes about coronavirus and shortages in the shops. Luckily, at the moment anyway, we don't have shortages in the shops here. Perhaps Spanish people are more responsible than Brits? 

429: Lockdown - purgatory or sanctuary?

I understand, very well, that this current lockdown, here in Spain and most of Europe, may well be purgatory to many people. Especially to those having to entertain fractious children 24/7 or those with no hobbies or no access to the internet. For all those people, and many others, this enforced stay-at-home is probably a nightmare. For those trapped in the wrong place at the wrong time, when lockdown started, life can't be much fun either. All of those groups of people have my sympathy.

Personally, I find it more of a sanctuary, allowing me time to catch up on so many things that I've been meaning to do for ages: trying to progress from basic to intermediate Spanish, spending time developing and improving my Access databases and my web site (i.e re-learning VBA & HTML), keeping in touch with friends and relatives. Not to mention reading books, watching TV and DVDs.

Most importantly, inside my own little bubble, I'm away from that nasty virus that is particularly dangerous for older and vulnerable people (not that I'm in that category yet of course). We're allowed out to go shopping, but I try to restrict such expeditions to perhaps twice a week. I use my balcony, and sun lounger, to catch the sun and top up the Vitamin D. I use the stairs, in my block of flats, to walk up and down to get some exercise and stop muscles and internal organs from atrophying.

Using the stairs worked well - until yesterday. On my 2nd walk past floor 2 an elderly gentleman came out of his flat and started talking to me. I hope he was talking in Catalan, because if he was talking in Spanish I should be ashamed of myself at how little I understood. I did understand that he needed help so I followed him into his flat. There I saw an elderly lady, with tubes in her nose, sitting on the floor. It quickly became obvious that they needed help to get her back onto the settee. The man took one arm and I took the other and we soon had her back where she should be. I left and went back to my flat. As a precaution I not only washed my hands but had a shower and put all my clothes for wash. Overreacting? Probably, but better safe than sorry.

Too much talk. Coronavirus has shown that people still have a sense of humour. Here are just a few of the gems (gems, not germs) that I have come across in the last few days. You've probably seen some of them but not all. Mostly funny, I thought so anyway, the odd one simply wistful. Enjoy. More on request.

Breaking news: Spain has just become the 4th country to register >1,000 deaths - after China, Italy & Iran. 

This pandemic will end eventually. What we don’t yet know is when.