After many months of virus free freedom we are now starting the second week of our island's circuit breaker lock down.
I know that the UK has been suffering all year long and that we have been very lucky up until now.
One of the pitfalls of allowing residents and so-called key workers to enter is that not all of them will abide by the isolation rules. We now have escalating numbers of cases and a slightly desperate seeming battle to trace, contact and test.
Today is a good day to stay at home. It is pouring down and pretty miserable outside.
I am reading and doing not much else, apart from exchanging silly WhatsApp messages with our group of friends.
P is playing chess with his friend. The board is set up on the dining room table and they are messaging each other with their moves.
The store cupboard and freezer are pretty well stocked but we have almost run out of firewood and coal.
May have to start on the dining room furniture soon. All that oak should burn well.
Doors and skirtings make good firewood too JayCee. Not forgetting the coal store -bath.😄
ReplyDeleteIt could get draughty around here soon 😁
DeleteAt first God must have overlooked The Isle of Man - perhaps not realising how many sinners live there but now God has got you in his field of vision and of course his wrath knows no bounds. I wonder how well chess sets burn. Pray to The Lord and Praise Him! Praise Him!
ReplyDeleteI think Finn MacCool and Mannanan MacLir were both so busy fighting the bugganes they didn't notice the wee little virus beasties creeping in.
DeleteTo help other readers... "In Manx folklore, a buggane (or boagane) was a huge ogre-like creature native to the Isle of Man. Some have considered them akin to the Scandinavian troll."
DeleteThanks Teacher!
DeleteWhere's my apple?
DeleteOh, JayCee, imagine if you lived in the USA! We are setting daily records for most cases confirmed and most deaths AND we are worrying about an insurrection, for crying out loud! WHAT NEXT, right? Holding our breath for now. YIKES!
ReplyDeleteYes, we have been following the news and can scarcely believe what is going on over there right now. It is almost like one of those sensationalist disaster movies - too far fetched to be believable but yet it is actually happening.
DeleteTake care Ellen x
Join the club JayCee. The situation is dire here too.
ReplyDeleteAs for the US - you can hardly believe it is happening in such a so called civilised country.
Truly shocking.
DeleteIt's like mouse pee. You can't see it.
ReplyDeleteBut at least you can smell mouse pee.
DeleteWell, JayCee, good luck to you and P. We are in the situation that every night when the Chief Executive of our Health Board gives us the daily update we hope on hope that it's going to be 'no cases' yet again. The tiny Isle of Barra had a couple of cases at Christmas and they have just been sent to Mainland hospitals. With around 1000 residents they have their hearts in their mouths at the moment.
ReplyDeleteAt the published count announced just now we have 36 cases, up from barely a handful at Christmas. The numbers are increasing daily and, if this rate does not slow, will put additional strain on our island's health services.
DeleteSo sorry for the increase in cases there and hoping the lockdown will accomplish its purpose. As for what’s going on in the U.S., it’s been proven time and again we are a strong and resilient people (even though, sadly, you have seen some of our worst elements in the news) and we will get through this recent troubling time. In one week a new president will take office and we will begin to turn a page.
ReplyDeleteThe first step.....
DeleteLook after yourselves ..... this variant is so contagious .... we lost a friend last week . We are staying put forward a while ! Take care JayCee. XXXX
ReplyDeleteOh no Jackie, I am so sorry to hear about your friend.
DeleteWe shall be staying home, except that P has to venture out once a week to get milk and bread.
We are doing our best to stay safe now xxx
I do hope you don't have to resort to burning the furniture although it will help you in the longrun when you downsize I suppose! lol. It's awful how fast it seems to be spreading now, it now feels worse than last year. Will it ever go away, in some ways you were lucky to get off so lightly before but it must now feel like a nightmare - I feel we're almost used to it now and this weekend we in Scotland are getting shut down even further! One day we will look back on this (I hope!!) Stay safe (and warm). x
ReplyDeleteLet us hope that a combination of the vaccine and lockdown will eventually make a difference.
DeleteTake care MG x
I used to share a house with a girl who grew up in Richmond, N Yorks. Her parents ran a pub and she remembered the 1947 winter. They were snowed in for so long they burned the pub furniture.
ReplyDeleteI expect it would have been pretty tough back then with no central heating and only the fire grates to burn fuel for warmth.
DeleteWe are very fortunate these days.
We've not been in a shop since last March. We've managed to arrange to get everything we need delivered, so far.
ReplyDeleteWe have not been able to get any deliveries, they are already fully booked, so we have to venture out when we run out of essentials. P tries to go first thing, when the shops open as they do an early session for the over 70s.
Deletelets hope they set up vaccination centres on the island sooner rather than later - catch it before it really takes off - and save your dining room furniture.
ReplyDeleteThey have started the vaccination programme but it is quite slow. We receive an allocation of vaccines from the UK, a few at a time. We are promised to have all the over 50s done by May.
DeleteOur firewood is being rationed now and P is leaving the gas heating switched on. I shall just use all that money we are saving on not going anywhere or buying anything to pay the gas bills!
Sounds dire! Hope your health system can cope with any rise in infections. Here, we are stretched to the max and it is a worrying scenario.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be the same everywhere doesn't it?
DeleteBurning the dining setting.
ReplyDeleteGives a whole new meaning to the expression ' Hang the expense, throw another chair on the fire'.
Alphie
Plenty more where that came from ... or, hmmm, perhaps not...
DeleteWhen I was at college, a few of the more 'adventurous' students decided to squat in an abandoned house that was due for demolition. They ended-up burning almost everything that was made of wood; including the staircase.
ReplyDeleteAt least it was going to be demolished anyway.
DeleteSending hugs. It's a bundle of fun down here in London too. I've been shielding alone since March with only the rare excursion outside the house for fresh air. I'm surprised I havent gone stir crazy yet but having a phone and the internet have helped me immensely to talk to other people and join zoom meetings on all manner of subjects. Hopefully we'll get on top of covid soon.
ReplyDeleteAddy, I can't imagine what it would be like to be confined, alone, for that amount of time. I would not be able to rely on the 'phone or Zoom to communicate as my hearing is so bad. As much as I complain about P and his annoying habits,his presence in the house is comforting. Oh, and he gets rid of the spiders too!
DeleteI hope that it will not be too much longer until you can be vaccinated and have a little more freedom x
Oh dear. I wish that you lived next door, I'd be handing it over the fence. Take care.
ReplyDeleteThanks Debby. We are keeping safe in our little cocoon 😉
DeleteSome days it's just better to stay indoors in the warm and read!
ReplyDelete