Life In Lockdown - Little Changes

Over the last few weeks, alongside the major upheaval to our day to day life, there have been a number of little changes to the everyday routines that no longer take place. The big ones are fairly obvious (most of us are more used to leaving the house more often) but sometimes it’s the little ones that are really sharpening the oddity of this strange new world.

- Smart shoes - I haven’t worn a proper pair of shoes for weeks now. A pair of trainers to do some daily exercise in but mostly I’m in my socks or barefoot. It’s a lot more comfy for my feet, though, I have to say. I’m liking it.

- Outerwear - as I’m fully confined to the house and garden  (I currently live with people who are “at risk” so we’re not leaving the house at all), I haven’t worn a jacket, coat or jumper for weeks either. Or a shirt with waistcoat like I normally do. Saving on dry-cleaning costs at least...

- Untouched keys and wallet - likewise, I haven’t picked up my keys or wallet for a long time. These were vital items of everyday necessity; now they are literally gathering dust.*

- Birdsong - with the lack of traffic noise, the amount of birdsong out there is frankly astonishing. They literally never shut up. What on Earth have they got to natter on about all day? Latest flying techniques? The best way to regurgitate worms for your young? They're loud enough that they've been commented on on work calls if I have the window open.

- Other shops are available - seeing as we’re not leaving the house, I’ve managed to order meat, veg, cheese, bread, eggs and copious amounts of booze (trust me, this qualifies as an essential) from individual non-supermarket-based shops. We have enough food to see us through the initial lockdown and beyond and all without having to go outside (plus it’s supporting smaller businesses). 

- Carrying a bag - I carry a bag every day for work. The rucksack on my shoulder has become a universal part of day to day life. There’s barely a day when I’m not unpacking and repacking it. It has sat untouched for two weeks now. That was unthinkable just over a fortnight ago.

- Time passing - surprisingly, what has been remarkable on some days is how quickly the time has passed. One evening, by the time I’d exercised, cooked, eaten, set up a new streaming device, Skyped for an hour, looked for photos in retaliation for photo posting on Facebook by an old friend and then washed up, that was the evening gone. I genuinely thought I’d absolutely power through my backlog of many, many things to watch and read but some nights I’ve barely even looked at the TV.

- Reading - I was powering through books like nobody's business at the start of the year; now I’m struggling to focus on prose. Comics, yes, getting through those at a rate of knots but actual books? Can't seem to concentrate.

- The Outside - I miss it. I can see it’s still there through the window. Looking forward to seeing all the non-inside based stuff again at some point. (Alright, that's a big one but I'm going to go with it anyway...)


*I mean, I'm dusting quite a bit so they don’t gather dust for long.