I got those lowdown, lockdown blues

Well, hello everyone, here we all are again, I hope you're all doing as well as possible, staying safe and trying to be positive. As in many other countries around the world, here in the UK, we have been in some form of lockdown for almost a year now and, to be honest, the novelty of our situation has worn off ! When it all began, the idea of wearing surgical-type masks to go shopping seemed very dramatic whereas now ? Well, it's become as much a part of the daily routine as making sure you've got your phone and house keys before heading out the door.

Before all this happened, I know I took for granted being able to meet up with people, sitting in a coffee shop, travelling on a train with friends, going to the movies etc etc Whereas now, with having to be within the house for 22 hours of every day, I think I might have started to go slightly loopy! Only the other day, I realised, I hadn't had a face to face conversation with anyone other than my daughter, for the whole duration of these lockdowns. Luckily, we have enough room within our home, so we can when necessary, otherwise we might have killed each other by now. I know I would be even worse off, if I did not have my wonderful social media friends who, through their posts and pictures, remind me there is still a world out there.

But I have to be honest with you, I am starting to struggle now, however hard you try and fill each day, there always seem to be loads of spare hours between getting up in the morning and falling into bed at night. These have been occasionally filled with allowing myself to fall down numerous rabbit holes on YouTube, but there are only so many videos you can see before you realise, you're no longer absorbing anything you're watching.

I have to confess to feeling a degree of envy at those other nations who seemed to have sailed through the whole crisis and are now joyfully reporting they've had no new cases for months. Their citizens have resumed normal life and are having the very best of times! Obviously, I do find it encouraging this is possible and I'm very happy to know, people are safe and well, But it's not always easy to maintain this positive outlook when, over here, we are treated to daily briefings where sour-faced scientists tell us, we are basically doomed. There are numerous graphs and charts highlighting all the very worst figures, where frankly, it would be more uplifting to occasionally hear about all those who have survived. Better yet, how about all the people who haven't had the virus at all? There must be several thousand of those fortunate souls, tell us about them!

There is a glimmer of hope on the horizon, in the shapely form of the vaccination effort which seems to be going particularly well. We can only hope this success continues until everyone is safe and we can start living again.

But for now, I am indeed singing the lockdown blues, my high heeled boots have gathered a thin layer of dust as they are never worn anymore, my make up bag is a shadow of its former self as there's no point slapping on the slap and, perhaps worst of all, I've realised I'm starting to resemble the godawful picture on my driving licence - woe is indeed me!

I really do try not to be gloomy and without hope, but it's proving a bit hard these days, as the time for the lockdown to be eased keeps getting pushed further and further into the year. I know it will end eventually, it would just be really nice to know when- but only time will tell.

But I refuse to end on a sour note, so I will quickly tell you about my attempt at being healthier which began when I realised I was becoming way too sedentary. I have begun doing a workout routine every day which, if nothing else, is getting the body moving and hopefully improving my overall health. It's nothing extreme, so don't imagine me lurching around the room in a leotard, but it isn't easy either, so it should be doing me some good. In fairness, it was my daughter's idea, as she too was starting to feel as if she barely moved during the day- especially as the weather has been so awful. We both love to walk but it's so dismal here with endless rain, our trips outside have been basically a run to the shops and back between heavy downpours. I will, obviously, let you know how we get on with our new approach to fitness, although I wouldn't look forward to seeing my bikini body any time soon. My bikini body hasn't been seen since I had children and I think for the sake of public decency, it should stay concealed!

So, yes, I am singing the lowdown, lockdown blues, but I am very aware, how lucky I am to be able to sing them. Please try and safe safe...until the next time,

Take care out there xxx

P.S. Oh I almost forgot, many thanks to those people who got in touch after my last post, I'm relieved you saw, there is no political motivation behind anything I write and that I only want the best for everyone -regardless of who they might support within their leadership. As I know I've said before, there are many political blogs out there, written by people who know infinitely more than me, so it will never be something I will attempt. Thank you for your kind words and I'm very happy to have you all as readers xxx