Life under the Stairs

By Local Resident, Jane Stevenson AFTER ARMAGEDDON

It seems a slightly alarming title for this month’s meanderings, but that is how I’m beginning to view coronavirus, Brexit and the state of the UK in general.

put the washing in the machine. It was 7.30am and that was my day. No other plans at all. I’d done jigsaws, read, cleaned, and sorted out my knicker drawer yet again. Now I had to think of how to occupy the rest of the day. The options were unappealing to say the least. To sit in front of the television or go back to bed. Hibernation looked promising!

I am my own worst enemy at times like this. I absorb misery like a sponge. I also realised not only was I fed up with me, but it wasn’t fair on family and friends to be so constantly negative. Therefore, I sat… and thought. Initially I considered the positive aspect of the restrictions which rule our lives. Our neighbourhood seems closer. People smile and talk more. Complete strangers shout a socially distanced ‘good morning’ when out and about. Offers of shopping, gardening and general help have become the norm. It’s quieter and cleaner, thanks to the dedicated few picking up roadside rubbish. Pre-snow, there were glimmers of life in the hedgerows and garden. It was life, ‘but not as we know it, Jim’ (thanks to Dr McCoy Star Trek).

We each have our own plans and hopes for the future. It might be seeing grandchildren and other family, a much-wanted holiday somewhere warm, a day’s retail therapy at Bluewater. It is different for each of us.

I created a ‘positivity tree’. It took some days of careful thought to do. It has small goals and actions to take on when lockdown is over. Tea and cake with my friends, walks with Oldest Offspring and dog. A trip to Bristol to spend some time with Youngest Offspring. A week’s holiday with Other Half, where we can sit on a beach and just watch the sea – with a cuppa now and again.

For months I have been trying to make the best of a Bad Thing but have recently realised by my own thoughts and actions, I’m merely reinforcing the negative side of it. It is hard to be positive when we are bombarded daily with figures and graphs; given the numbers of those ill, the seemingly illogical decisions made and constantly reminded that the virus mutates. Added to that is the feeling that post Brexit, the UK is a bit of a joke, and still subject to the whims of a larger EU. We miss family and friends and for some the worry that their children are missing the academic, social and emotional growth from meeting peers at schools doesn’t help.

It is more difficult to source certain items of fresh food, thanks to border controls and the virus. I am in awe of the many delivery drivers who bring items to our home. They are cheery, friendly, and often apologetic for substitutions and unavailable items. It’s OK people, it happens. We’ll adapt to a lack of bananas!

There are those whose daily fight against anxiety and depression began way before our current situation. Perhaps this is a silver lining for us! We are used to it. It is for all those who find such feelings new and unwelcome, that are struggling. Things hit a low for me one morning; I was up, washed and dressed had