Life under the Stairs

By Local Resident, Jane Stevenson TIME

Timelines. Timetables. Spare time. Wasting time. Time. It’s a strange concept. Physicists define time as the progression of events from the past to the present into the future. Simple when it’s put like that.

the date’ forms part of the daily conversation We simply lose track of time. The rhythm of the day is so fluid. In our current situation it doesn’t matter if it’s a weekend or a bank holiday – all days are spent in the same manner. Even those who have a set routine each day during lockdown, have little room for impulsiveness or adventure. Days merge with little chance of breaking out to provide a change of scenery or habit. It’s not all negative; the inventiveness of people is both interesting and amusing, from the teacher who started her online classes and is followed by thousands, to Joe Wicks, extolling us to rise from our chairs and move. More local people are starting their own businesses online which provide an opportunity to support them. A lady has started an online book club in our locality and there is a wealth of learning for all ages and all interests, offered. I’m back in my ‘office’ Rather than enter the strange world where time hangs, I’ve formed a battle plan for myself. I write more fiction – it’s hard and I’m out of practice, I have three family trees in various stages of investigation. I found a British Sign Language course on offer and applied. I want and need to have structure to my day. I’m searching for more time to use – let me know if you have any spare. I saw this quote which rather crystallised my thoughts on the whole matter of time; how we use it, do we waste it? Does it fly by or drag? “It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince. Makes inordinate sense to me. However we use our time, whether for work, hobbies, learning or our social life, providing it matters to us, we’ve used it properly.

See you next month!

I noticed a disruption in this concept when I finally decided I was a retired person. No longer any need to get up at a certain time or be somewhere for work. It was alternately liberating and scary. My days became very routine and for a while I went through the odd situation of missing the definition of my ‘day’. The progression of events lost their importance compared to my pre-retirement. My last job was working in education where time was rigidly adhered to. School starts, the children have lessons, break, more lessons and lunch. The pattern was repeated until school finished. As a staff member my day was organised by these simple events. Break duty, lunch duty, administration, and classroom support. After the students left, then was the time to gulp down the inevitable cold coffee, catch up on paperwork, phone calls and reports. Never think for a minute that school staff have short days and long holidays! It ain’t true! I had found it easier when I worked from home. It was simple to factor in business meetings and client calls, and despite the added disadvantage of some evening and weekend work time was manageable because I planned how it would work for me. If I wanted to write a report it was often easier to do so in the evening, after dinner, when the house was quieter. Meetings were via mobiles, plans reviewed via email. I found it liberating to spend the day at home, having tea or coffee when it suited (and being able to drink it while still hot). I could choose to dress down although resisted the famous pyjama days – I was never sure who would call up and catch me in my fleecy dressing gown. After retirement I decided to pursue other interests. I studied and volunteered to support an animal charity. The role of volunteer grant writer soon took over and again I used my home office routine. Time was mine to organise. However, ‘time’ as experienced now is a never-ending question . At Stevenson Towers the frequent question of ‘which day’ or ‘what’s