Nellie Knows : The Wokingham Paper : 7 May 2020

It has been interesting reading how people are coping with Lockdown. At the beginning I had grand plans to do a load of things that a) had been put to the bottom of the list or b) I never had time or inclination to do before. That list went out of the window along with every other plan as social distancing, lockdown, daily briefing became bywords of the pandemic. I was thinking about what to write for this week’s column on my daily walk and it got me thinking about what it has been like during lockdown. Here’s my lighthearted A-Z, by the end of lockdown I will have padded it out!

A - All day, every day. Somedays the days merge into one.

B - Baking, it seems everyone is baking whereas I have not done any. Birthdays in lockdown are strange, my birthday was at the beginning of social distancing and my husband’s was last week but we still managed to celebrate, big thanks to P for Post for delivering the cards and gifts.

C - The Cleaning aisles are nigh on empty. I really don’t like the smell of any cleaning products apart from Meleleuca which is a concentrate so very easy to dilute and not run out of. I am also a great fan of rubbing alcohol, white vinegar and bicarb but bicarb is hard to get these days due to B.

D - Drums. If you have not seen the Welsh weatherman Owain Wyn-Evans then you’ve missed something. No matter how many times I see it I always smile.

E - Eating, that could also be in A. All day. To have all my lot at home all day every day has been an eye opener at how much and how many times a day we are in the kitchen, also at the time they eat as well. I don’t tend to eat anything until 2pm but when someone is making poached eggs which I cannot do I will eat with them, having teenagers in the house means it’s more like midday.

F - Films, I have started so many and either lost the plot or dozed off. I have been watching lots of odd things on telly though. I loved the Alexandra Tolstoy documentary and of course Iolo Williams' programme on the Brecon Beacons. It’s also Ffion from Furnace whose daily videos on YouTube have kept us entertained

G - Gardening, half heartedly as nothing is open, I have been sent lots of seeds by friends so have planted them and am waiting patiently.

H - Health something we are all concerned and careful about. Home, that’s also an A.

I - Itinerary, well it is fair to say that each day follows the same itinerary of A, C, E, W, Z.

J - Joe Exotic was a name I didn’t know before Lockdown, now him and Carole Baskin are names that will be forever associated with this time in our lives.

K - Keeping fit, until 20 months ago this was not something I would ever get excited about but since giving up sugar, losing weight and getting fit I wanted to keep on keeping fit so I have been out walking, doing online exercise classes and counting my steps. I recently signed up to Strava and I have been surprised at how far I do actually walk.

L - Learning, home learning. Well that’s a completely different ball game and I have even more respect for teachers than I did before.

M - Medics, there are no words they are all brilliant. Mummmmmm - you know that word that could be where’s this, where’s that, what’s to eat, can I have ….?

N - Normal People, another one of those programs that will always be associated with “this time”.

O - Old ways, I wrote about old and new ways on my blog. I have to admit that I will miss certain things about now.

P - Post, huge shout out to the team at Barkham Post Office and our postmen and women who have been working, you have all helped me keep in touch with my family who aren’t on social media and who I have written to rather than phone.

Q - Quick chats in the supermarket are limited to how are you and how are the family? None of the time wasting chats that used to go before! Now when I see a friend we acknowledge each other and then shuffle off as quickly as we can.

R - Routine oh I miss you, as much I hate to admit it I do like a spot of routine, but I also like spontaneity. I’m a Piscean what can I say? Repeats, particularly on ITV. I started watching something and realised I had seen it before so switched off, there are very few things I could watch again.

S - S4C and despite not speaking Welsh I do enjoy watching Welsh telly and have been filling the gap of missing my friends and Wales by watching Welsh telly. Cyswllt/Lifeline which is 3 episodes started last Wednesday on S4C and is now available on iPlayer and stars some familiar faces from Keeping Faith, Stella, Hinterland, Eastenders, Casualty and Brookside. Also Shopping, the time of which is a gamble to beat the queues and then when you’re in it’s like the Crystal Maze and Hunted.

T - Tom, Captain Tom Moore - has really captured the hearts of us all. What an amazing guy.

U - Uniform, I washed it at the start of lockdown but now I am wondering where it is or did I really wash it?

V - VE Day and a Friday Bank Holiday. No Street Parties but a time for celebration and remembrance nonetheless.

W - Walking, my one form of exercise, never before have I been so interested in footpaths and OS maps.

X - kissing, cuddling, cwtching - looking forward to seeing my friends and family and giving them a squidge.

Y - You. I have missed you. I have missed seeing familiar faces.

Z - Zzzzzzz, sleep which slots in between B, C, E, G, I, K, L and W if only my puppy could realise that 430am is not an acceptable time to whine.