When I lived in the world of the well, I rarely saw a doctor. I needed sat nav to find my local GP’s surgery, and I had no clue how many hospitals were dotted around Oxford. I didn’t know what a phlebotomist did, what echocardiograms were, and biology was just a school memory. I’d feel … More A Break From The Treadmill
Back at the start of 2020, before any of us had heard of the coronavirus, and when the year ahead felt like a wonderful blank canvas waiting to be painted… Phil penciled a summer solstice adventure into our calendar. He’d long wanted us to get up before the dawn chorus, to witness the dark turning … More Celebrating The Summer Solstice
Back in March, when the coronavirus was claiming its first lives in our country, when supermarket shelves lay empty as folks greedily stockpiled, when sanitizer and masks were hoarded by those not on the front line; I worried for our country. Worried we were losing our humanity, our kindness, our compassion. There was a time … More Look For The Helpers
It was early. The sun hadn’t yet broken through the hazy clouds. The grass was still damp from the overnight dew. The birds were in full chorus welcoming in the new day. And that is when we spotted them. Two little deer, just ahead of us in the field. Their ears pricked up and their … More An Illicit Adventure
The fridge is looking a little empty, the wine has run out and I’ve been craving ice cream all week. But even though Mr Tesco is delivering us some indulgent chocolate Haagan-Dazs later this afternoon… we’ll have to resist it for another couple of days. And it will have to be thoroughly washed in soapy … More Trying To Keep Safe
Fifty days ago I’d never used Zoom before. In fact I’d never heard of it. I’d also never bought flour from a local miller, never washed my lettuce in soapy water, and never quarantined my mail. Fifty days ago, I’d not met the kind stranger who delivered my medicines today, not made coconut milk from … More Finding A New Normal
At the start of March, on the night that Phil and I started shielding ourselves from the world, we wrote a ‘Corona Bucket List’. Eighteen jobs and tasks and ‘one-day-when-we-have-time’ fun projects that we hoped to achieve during the upcoming months of self-isolation. With the prospect of many many weeks at home, I needed a … More Redrawing My Picture Of Self-Isolation
On the day the first UK case of Coronavirus was announced on the news, the birds moved in. A troop of tiny, chirping, colorful feathered creatures took roost in my head. My own personal town-criers. For the past month or so, they’ve been constant -unwanted- companions. Reminding me of what to worry about, who to … More The Chirping Birds
And so it is official. It has begun. I am now one of the 1.5 million folks that have been ordered to stay at home for at least the next twelve weeks. And although I’ve already been self-isolating for a while, although I knew this was coming, it feels quite scary now it has eventually … More Shielded From The World
I’m always a little nervous on the drive to hospital check-ups. My head starts psychologically prepping itself for bad news, and the ‘What if’s…’ start circling my thoughts. Even when I’m feeling in my best health, and am confident that my heart and lungs are doing well… there’s always a few butterflies as we drive … More Hospital Appointments And The Coronavirus
We Can Adjust The Sails 