So week 6 of the lockdown…..
I planted a wisteria 3 or 4 years ago and I knew they took a while to mature and produce flowers, so each year I have hoped that there would be at least one flower……. And this year for the first time it produced a flower and has done better than one!! Yeh!!
I thought I would go back to week 1 and see how I am doing on my 3 areas which I need to consider.
Social Contact I think I have made 10 phone calls out and there have been 3 in; a bunch of e-mails – mostly from my university friends; a few texts; 2 “hang-outs” with my housegroup from church; seen two friends to talk to at a distance when I delivered them some food (one twice as I accidently failed to take her halloumi the first time); saw one ex-pupil and family (3 children under 5, 2 bikes and a pushchair) who I also know from SP2 (church café) when out for a walk so we had a chat until the son got bored…. There is also sort of social contact in the comments on Future Learn – but there are too many people doing the course for it to work very well.
Exercise This week with the rain I thought I would try some of the exercises the leisure centre sent me. Most looked as if they needed more coordination than I have, so I tried the “Active Health” workout (for those who have been referred by their doctor). I can’t say I got more than very slightly warm and certainly not out of breath (no good for CV then) but it was good for doing “weights” or at least starting to use those muscles which I obviously don’t use otherwise. Had to do more skipping for CV and added some sit-ups for fun! I did walk some days, but that was sometimes to go shopping or deliver the halloumi to the friend.
Keeping Busy I have been doing my Future Learn course – “Working Lives in the Factories and Mills”. This was about the weavers this week and the cotton famine during the American civil war. Having eaten the cake I made some Quaker oat biscuits 
known as “Daddy biscuits” in our family. I think the recipe came from my father’s mother. My Dad liked them and so do I. Then I also did a bit of jigsaw, started a new book and did a bit of gardening, but I might have failed to wash my hands for the required 20 seconds when I came in from that. Whoops!
What about other people? Several dog walkers got soaked several times this week! My nephew who had his driving test postponed by the lockdown has been practising with his mother, but it is not very real – no cars to avoid and fewer bikes in Cambridge. My neighbours put up lights outside some time ago – as if it was Christmas! Not sure why, maybe they thought it would be cheerful?
And so we will go on to week 7……. There are suggestions the lockdown might be eased – maybe…..