Yesterday, I had to go to the bank. It was the first time I’d walked through the centre of Folkestone since the lockdown rules relaxed on Saturday, allowing pubs, restaurants and hairdressers (among others) to resume trading, and I was intrigued to see what I would find. At first glance, you could have been forgiven forContinue reading “A walk through town”
Tag Archives: Covid-19
The return of childcare
This week marks something of a watershed in our house: our childcare arrangements have resumed. After three and a half months of juggling work and toddler wrangling between us, my husband and I are able to return to our normal office hours. The feeling is extraordinary. Suddenly, there is time to breathe. There is timeContinue reading “The return of childcare”
Venturing out and seeking solitude
A few days ago, a friend in Australia sent me a message: ‘Been to the beach lately? Worrying scenes on our televisions!’ He was referring to the major incident declared when around half a million people flocked to Bournemouth on the UK’s south coast last week on one of the hottest days of the yearContinue reading “Venturing out and seeking solitude”
Face masks in my garden
Situated on a T-junction, with only a few streets between it and the gusts of the English Channel, our house tends to get a lot of litter blown into its front garden. Over the time we have lived here, I have got used to picking up crisp packets, drinks cans and chocolate wrappers that haveContinue reading “Face masks in my garden”
Going our separate ways
The past few days have brought a greater sense of variety and divergence to life here on the UK’s south coast. With different lockdown rules now applying to different groups of people (for example, single adults are now at liberty to form a bubble with another household, while those deemed clinically vulnerable are still advisedContinue reading “Going our separate ways”
Life opening up again
The world has felt different these last few days. Walking out with my toddler along the cliffs near my house yesterday, a change was evident. The flags were back on the municipal golf course around the Martello tower. The tennis nets were up on the courts at the local sports facility and two games wereContinue reading “Life opening up again”
2020: the year that recalibrated time?
Strange things have been happening to time, these past few months. When the UK went into lockdown on 23 March, it felt in many ways as though life had ground to a halt. Projects were postponed; plans were left hanging. Three weddings I was meant to attend were put off – two of them untilContinue reading “2020: the year that recalibrated time?”
First takeaway coffee since lockdown began
It happened on a whim. Out for a walk with my toddler this morning, I noticed that Bobbies Bakehouse, the small cafe running in the signal box at the now-defunct Folkestone Harbour station, was open for takeaways. Knowing my daughter’s penchant for warm, frothy milk (or a babyccino as it’s known in the trade), IContinue reading “First takeaway coffee since lockdown began”
Back to school
Today marks the partial reopening of the UK’s primary (elementary) schools. Although classroom teaching has been available for the children of keyworkers throughout the pandemic, the majority of the nation’s pupils have been at home since mid-March. From now, three year groups are officially allowed back: Reception (aged 4-5), Year 1 (aged 5-6) and YearContinue reading “Back to school”
Social media outrage
A couple of days ago, a Dutch writer friend retweeted something at me. ‘Did you see this one-sentence postcolonial novel? ;)’ he asked. The ‘novel’ was a tweet by London-based Lebanese-Iraqi architect and satirist Karl Sharro. It was this: ‘The British are finally experiencing what’s it like to have the British rule your country.’ TheContinue reading “Social media outrage”
A Journal of the Plague Year 