Vocal Voices

With all this lockdown do you like time to spend baking and a slower pace of things
Made me think of my early married life in the 60 baking proper family meals
Sunday tea
Gosh im,feeling very nostalgic

There's a cemetery just over the road so some late afternoons or evenings I go for a walk. What I have noticed is that if I come across others we keep our distance but whereas before it would be a nod and "evening, "evening" as we went on our ways many of us now stop and have a little chat:

"How you doing?" "We're doing fine. It's a nice evening, can you hear the birds? "Oh yes, first time for ages." and so it goes. Same thing with neighbours looking after each other; young asking old, old asking young.

People do seem to have a little bit more time for each other and I do hope that remains.

That's interesting, Saundra, in some ways we have - very subtly - reverted back to "days of yesteryear" in that we are having a Baking Day once a week (Mrs O has not baked for years because of us trying to keep the weight down ) and we have started watching a lot more Telly together in the evenings, but by and large it hasn't been hard to adapt to Staying At Home.

This being Dorset, folk you pass on the street would usually greet you with a "Marrrnin'"; social convention now is that you cross the road and raise a hand in acknowledgement! Again, it's all very laid back and life hasn't really changed all that much.

WM wrote:People do seem to have a little bit more time for each other and I do hope that remains.

I was anticipating when lockdown started that there might have been more of a pulling-together, but I have to say, it's not been evident in our road. But there again, we're merely a "microcosm" and what's happening here isn't necessarily a reflection of what's happening elsewhere in town.

I do like the quieter roads, although they have got busier they are still quieter than they used to be. I like slightly slower pace of life too Saundra. Although I am still working every day it is really quiet and we have had time to chat and enjoy each others company like we never have before. Also the patients that do come in, the nurses have more time for them.

Today because the weather is so awful we havent been able to visit Luke. We saw Tim's mum and his aunty Kay yesterday so today apart from walking the dog I had a whole day at home and I did enjoy that

Living in a seaside town close to city centre which attracts large amounts of people all the time, the peace and quiet of the last weeks has been wonderful. I know our local businesses need the visitors but most of us locals are loving it as it is at the moment. Since our 2km travel distance has increased to 5km we can see an increase in the amount of cars coming here so people can go for walks. Obviously our social stuff - golf, gym, dancing - isn’t happening but life is pleasant and we are lucky that Miss Osc lives close by so we see her and the children.

Nice question Saundra.

I've enjoyed spending loads of time reading.

Life is very laid back here so that doesn't feel any different.

What lockdown has brought has been a super awareness of how much I miss contact with people. I miss hugging and kissing my friends....the Spanish are very tactile. I'm missing big bear hugs from my boys.

Round where we live is quiet anyway so not much change there...but go into town it's a different story. Lots of noise and revelry....not at the moment obviously.

It's made me notice how quietly content I am watching more TV than I would which I'm enjoying.

Normally I'd be meeting Don after work for beers and a bite to eat and we'd be out lots over a normal weekend. I've actually enjoyed staying in more. I've not had a beer since 13 March. My friends think this is hilarious.

Spending all this time too with Don has been great and I can't think of anyone I'd rather be in lockdown land with.

I'm really missing my normal life, my boys, my friends, spending time with Doreen It has been nice to spend a bit more time at home, I have enjoyed finding my baking mojo again, although it isn't doing my waistline any good

The main difference for me is a total lack of a jobs market. Beyond that, the main difference in my life is that the decheterie is shut so I can't get away the garden junk and about 2 tonnes of wall we took down in the garage.

Besides that, Mrs S has torn into the downstairs bedroom and the downstairs hall. So far she has "Wainscotted" the downstairs hall by the simple method of getting yours truly to measure, cut, fit and trim the boards, then painting them.

I have had to pull out sockets, refit them in the boards, pull out the ceiling we had to hide the old soil pipe (now re routed), then refinish it with a new ceiling and light. Finish the walls then exposed, build a new shelf area under the stairs and sort out a host of other little problems. Including the kitchen light switches which I have been procrastinating.

Today I brought the rotovator in from the shed and stripped it. It had been standing vertically and the oil had drained into the cylinder and carb. After cleaning, filling and getting it running again, with the aid of a soldering gas torch on the spark plug, I brought the lawn mower in from the garden and stripped the fuel system on that. It has been giving real trouble for months now. Water in the carburettor removed, clogged air filter cleaned and the plug serviced and it is purring nicely now instead of racing and stalling every few seconds.

I then moved the huge stack of wood reclaimed from the old chicken shed and pergola platform we took down, that I had cut up yesterday, onto the other stack of wood I cut up on Tuesday and fixed a tarp over it.

My reward for this was to move a rather heavy oak chest of drawers up two flights of stairs with my son and then returned for the marble top myself as my son has tennis elbow.

Then I went back to cleaning and clearing the workshop which has been going on for 2 weeks now in off times when we can't make noise.

On the + side I have lost 7.3kg in the last two weeks. I'm not sure whether to be pleased or totally depressed that I lost it all last year and am having to do it all over again.

Slower life? Not really. As for community? Most people are keeping to themselves and the only British community we spend any real time with are in the UK and Germany respectively.

Suff! You need to get back to work for a rest!
Well done on the weight loss.

I think so too. Just no jobs. Who knows, perhaps the O2 Virgin Media deal will spring some work???