Greetings from what feels like day 10,367 of lockdown. Here in the UK, we are supposed to be in phase 2 or level 3 or something but since I (in common with much of the population) didn't actually understand an awful lot of the government guidance issued earlier this week (I mean, I understood some of the individual words themselves just not what they were supposed to convey when squished together in a sentence) I am just staying exactly where I am.
The world is very small right now. There is the house, the little garden, the occasional foray to the Sainsburys Local on the corner and, on one memorable occasion, a jaunt ten minutes down the road to the pharmacist. That is it. Certain things, occasionally, will come to mind and I will realise that I miss them and long for them so strongly that I experience a momentary flash almost akin to physical pain. But then it passes, and I sink back into my little life, not contented exactly, but certainly not unhappy.
Work is busy and that helps a lot. D and I are both able to work full time from home so we have two stations set up - one in a little study at the front of a house (with a proper desk and a view of the street), one at the end of the dining room table (colder, feels less "professional", but closer to the kettle). We alternate between them. We have our little routine; whoever is based downstairs makes the first cup of tea of the day, we always stop for Popmaster (and the second cup of tea) at half ten, lunch is twelve on the dot. As I said, a little life.
We've been eating well though, I'll say that for us. I'm going to try and publish some recipes on here in the next few weeks to make sure some dishes get saved for posterity. Quite a lot of baking (our flour stocks remain healthy for now), some random combinations (food waste, always something of an anathema has now become an absolute no no. D baked up potato peelings the other week - NB: good, but probably needed slightly less time in our beast of an oven) and lots of comfort food type dishes. This weekend a glorious treat; The Black Swan at Oldstead (of Michelin star and Tommy Banks fame) are doing food box deliveries and this week have extended to Leeds. Two three course meals for two people (so four meals in all) for seventy of your English pounds. I will share pictures. And if you happen to live in the vicinity (they're delivering to Oldstead, York, Harrogate and North Leeds) then check out the website (not an ad. Not sponsored, although if they'd like to, I am shameless, shameless. I will extol their virtues to all 5 of my readers all day in return for some nice food.)
I hope that all of you out there are staying safe and well; and to all on the frontline - not just the doctors and nurses but the people who man the checkouts in the supermarkets, the delivery drivers, the posties, everyone, thank you very much. I am acutely conscious that the only reason I am able to whiffle on from the safety of my own home is because you are out there facilitating that.
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