Almost a Year

Day 364...

Well, we have a Wednesday and it is almost a year since I started writing this 'lockdown diary'.

In fact it was a Wednesday afternoon this time last year that myself and my deputy made the decision to close pre-school. We beat the government's announcement that education would close by one day. It was an awful and horrid decision to make but with less and less children attending and parents simply lost as to know what to do for the best we felt we had to take charge of the situation and close our doors. There were tears as we made the decision and I sent out emails and text messages to our parents.

I could not have possibly foreseen the events of the past year; the twelve weeks we remained closed; the effects on our liberties and freedom; the ever changing 'scientific' advise; tier systems; lockdowns and operating from June last year all the way through till now with very little governmental support.

But it was Wednesday today and that meant a full day in work, which meant the usual bits of admin, banking, emails and invoice prepping. 

And after being open since 15th June 2020 we have now been given access to lateral flow tests which can be used (should we wish to do so) from next week. We have also been sent a supply of face masks...450 face masks to be precise...for a staff team of 6...who all work in one room together...who have been working together since June...

Now I don't wish to sound cynical or ungrateful but we have just two weeks left in pre-school before we break for Easter. The use of lateral flow tests and masks in education settings is supposed to be reviewed in time for the Summer term (four weeks away), if they decide that tests and masks are no longer needed then there will have been an awful lot of expense for pretty much no reason. As one of my team put it 'providing masks and tests now is a little like closing the gate after the horse has bolted'!! Whilst it is very nice to finally be thought about we have been open and working for nine months without either of these 'protections' available to us...and we have survived...at our own financial expense!

Having had our vaccines yesterday both Simon and I have reacted differently to them. I was awake for most of the night not really getting to sleep until about 4am but was still able to get up this morning and have a full day in work. There were times I felt a little achy but not enough to stop me and I simply made sure I had paracetamol to take to keep me going. Simon also had a disturbed nights sleep but for him it manifested in muscle aches; he described it as having 'restless leg syndrome' but all over his body. He decided to take it slow today and not do any work; he has felt tired and achy and his arm where he was injected is sore and he can't lift it above his head.

But this did mean that when I got home from work we were able to spend some time together, with a coffee, sat outside in the surprisingly warm sunshine and chat about our day.

Who would have thought almost a year after the world went mad and we entered the first of these bizarre lockdowns we would be dealing with the side effects of the vaccine for the disease for which our lives have been dictated over these past 364 days!

Take care out there.
xx

Vaccine Tuesday

Day 363...

Well we have another Tuesday and Tuesday's are now a day of two halves for me; mornings in work and afternoons off.

So into work this morning and it was pretty much the usual sort of stuff; admin bits and pieces, banking bits, submitting data to our county council and sorting more fundraising details.

Then this afternoon I drove home and picked up Simon so that we could both head off to get our COVID vaccine at a local health centre. We had debated quite a lot about whether we should get the jab or not. We have both kept pretty well informed of all things COVID and all things vaccine related. We have taken in all view points and are open to all arguments around the efficacy of both our current restrictions and the various vaccines.

Going back to this time last year the information we were presented with was very scary and the main stream media have continued with this mantra ever since. Ofcom rulings and parliamentary emergency acts have restricted a lot of media outlets from deviating away from the government messaging and emergency powers that were supposed to be temporary are still in place.

But back in March and April last year we followed dutifully the government guidance and the science that was being presented to us. And even as the Spring turned into Summer we tried to keep informed and act as we were being told to. But as the year moved on we became more and more curious about what was happening and began to notice dissenting voices.

Both Simon and I would consider ourselves a little bit sceptical, while at the same time wanting to 'do our bit' throughout all of this. But the longer this has gone on the more and more we find ourselves questioning decisions that have been made and whether the approach taken has in fact been correct and whether what we have done, and been subjected to, has actually caused more harm than good.

So when it came around to vaccines I will admit to being concerned at the relatively quick time in which the vaccines were 'discovered'. I have always been very pro-vaccine and my kids have had all the ones that were offered, Molly has taken part in a study for a meningitis vaccine and I took the flu vaccine when it was offered to me for the first time last year. But the speed to which this set of vaccines were approved has caused me some concerns. Most vaccines would be in stage three trials for a number of years before getting approval but these have all been given emergency approval which means that all of us who take it are basically taking part in a giant human trial whether we want to or not.

When we realised that our local health centre was administering the Oxford AstraZeneca version we felt much more comfortable in going for it. This version uses existing methods of creating vaccines and as far as I understand it the lab at Oxford had been working on a vaccine to combat this type of Coronavirus for a while and were simply 'waiting for one to come along' so to speak. Whereas the Pfizer and Moderna versions are using new technology to create theirs and both Simon and I were more cautious and concerned surrounding the possible long term affects that those versions may present.

So we took the view that as we are both in our 50's and not getting any younger, and it was the version we felt happier about, that we would 'do the right thing' and get stuck with a needle. We are both healthy individuals, neither of us have any known illnesses that would put us at risk of a serious outcome should we contract COVID but we felt that we ought to play safe.

We had a little wait at the clinic as we had arrived ahead of our appointment time and the clinicians administering the vaccine were on their lunch break! But once up and running it was a very efficient service and we were both happily surprised that they let us go through the process together. Within six minutes of our allotted appointment time we were back in the car and heading home. We have both mentioned having a sore arm and Simon has said that he 'feels like he's coming down with something' but other than that we are both doing okay at the moment.

And the rest of my afternoon was spent doing a little online shopping for pre-school, watching a Department of Education video about lateral flow tests within the early years sector and making a keto crustless bacon and mushroom quiche ready for tomorrow's lunch.

So all in all a productive day one way or another.

Wherever you are, whatever you may be doing, take care.
xx

Day 360...a Saturday

Day 360...

I am almost at a year of writing this blog, something that I could never have predicted. I thought I would put virtual pen to virtual paper to simply record what we were going through and to keep a record of what life was like. No way could I have foreseen that almost a year later and I would still be writing.

So today was Saturday and the day started off slowly; after a week of mixed nights sleeps I had said to Simon yesterday that I was looking forward to just staying in bed and sleeping this weekend. It was a bit of a flippant comment but said with a grain of truth, and so Simon went out of his way not to wake me this morning. Although to be fair I had woken at pretty much my normal time but had allowed myself to drift in and out of sleep for a short while. There is a point at which I have to get up and move about as otherwise I would have felt that I had wasted a day if I were to spend it lounging around in bed!

So we had a steady morning which ended with our usual walk into the next village for coffee. It was windy, sunny, rainy and even hailed at one point but we made it there and back in an hour and seven minutes. We brought back a muffin for Ethan and I had a treat of a date scone which was very yummy with some cheese!

Simon and I have been discussing whether or not we should take up the offer of the COVID vaccine as we had both received texts from our doctors inviting us to make appointments. Two of my staff were booked in to get theirs today as well as my friend Michelle, and they all received the AstraZeneca version. Having done our own research, read papers and watched videos we definitely feel more comfortable going with the AstraZeneca version as this draws on existing vaccine technology, whereas the other authorised versions are using a new way of creating vaccines that has not seen the extensive trials that other methods have. After our walk we took the plunge and booked ourselves in for this coming Tuesday afternoon!

The afternoon was then spent doing a little online work; I had some updates for pre-school to do that I simply hadn't had the chance to finish yesterday but I wanted to get up straight ready for the week ahead so decided to take an hour of my time today. Simon has been in and out of the garage spray painting more of his R2D2 parts as well as ordering some bolts so that he can start assembling the leg parts and fixing them to the body.

And tonight I was treated to the men of the family making keto pizza for dinner!

Take care out there.
xx

A Blustery Day

Day 358...

Well the wet and windy Wednesday kept on going and turned into a very blustery Thursday. So much so that my first thought this morning was to pick up one of my work colleagues who doesn't have access to a car as I think her usual walk to work may have resulted in her sporting a rather bedraggled look!!

The main focus of my morning was to not only get all the usual banking, emails and admin up straight but to find time to chat with my deputy about the cash flow forecasts I'd completed yesterday so that we could discuss and plan a way forward. We had a very productive 'chat' and have a clear vision for where we are going and how we are going to get there.

It was then time to head home as I have just changed my working pattern from having all day on a Thursday off to just the afternoon. And my time this afternoon was spent doing a spot of baking. I have made another low carb banana bread and this time I have added some dark chocolate chips...

...I also made some low carb avocado chocolate truffles, a combination of dark chocolate, avocado, lime and vanilla...

Very, very dark chocolate truffles!

...and these will both be going with me into work tomorrow as a treat for my team and to see what they reckon to some low carb goodness.  

And that was today...our Census 2021 form arrived and we had much discussion about vaccines and whether to opt in or not. Lots to think about and I think I will simply take my time to come to my own conclusions.

Take care out there.
xx