(born 25th June 1945, Worthing, Sussex)

It is 5.44 am. I never use an alarm but at this time of year this is a normal time to get up. I leave the curtains slightly open so I will wake up naturally. I like this time of the morning. It is as if no one else is alive and allows my brain to concentrate on the task at hand. Later I will welcome distractions, but not now. Most of my best writing is done at this time of the morning.

I spend a high proportion of my waking life writing, but this is the first time I have written a diary. This has been a mistake. I wish I could access my thoughts of the past. I try to do this often, however, it is difficult to be sure of the accuracy of my memory. I have published a blog for around twenty years, but it is a place where I express opinions on the past and the present, I do not write about my own life.

It is 12th May, the fiftieth day of the lockdown. Lord Jonathan Sumption, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, said yesterday on Radio 4 that the lockdown is: “A hysterical slide into a police state. A shameful police force intruding with scant regard to common sense or tradition. An irrational overreaction driven by fear… The real problem is that when human societies lose their freedom, it's not usually because tyrants have taken it away. It's usually because people willingly surrender their freedom in return for protection against some external threat. And the threat is usually a real threat but usually exaggerated. That's what I fear we are seeing now.”

Supporters of the small state, such as Toby Young, have argued against the lockdown for economic reasons, but I have been shocked by Lord Sumption comments. Is he right? I, like everybody else feel a sense of frustration about not be able to do exactly what I want. Normally on a Tuesday I would be going for a long walk with a large group of friends. Instead, because of the lockdown, I will spend the day alone. I am doing as I am told because I have accepted the government's message that I am saving lives by protecting the NHS.

I do not think we are drifting into a police state but occasionally I do bend the rules. Living on your own is not easy during the lockdown and my daughter does sit in my garden with me about once a week. Technically, we are not allowed to do this, but we carry out “social distancing” and there is no way we can pass on Covid-10 to each other. I also visit Sue (my partner) several times a week as we live in different houses. Again, we only meet in the open air, and do not touch each other. These regulations will be changed tomorrow, and these meetings will become “legal” as long as we do not meet in the garden. Boris Johnson is catching up with “common sense”. Even so, you can only meet one person at a time and Louise, my daughter, will not be able to bring her husband or children. Another regulation that large numbers will ignore.

It is now 7.00 am and my silent period ends with me turning on Radio 4 to hear the latest news. Over the next couple of hours, I will be arguing with those politicians being interviewed on the "Today" programme. In fact, I am just as likely to be complaining about the questions being asked than the answers.

Since the Lockdown I have been writing my autobiography. It is something that I promised my daughter I would do several years ago. Not only am I writing my own autobiography, I am trying to persuade other people to join me. At the beginning of the Covid-19 health crisis I established a 35 strong email support group. Most of these people attended my University of a Third Age classes. I have now started a creative writing group. I post sections of my autobiography to encourage other people to do the same.

https://spartacus-educational.com/Auto_John_Simkin.htm

Today has been almost the same as yesterday and probably almost the same as tomorrow.I have just posted a passage entitled: “A traumatic experience in childhood” . At the age of five I went to school. I remember that when I entered the classroom all the other children were in their seats. This is probably because I was born in June and I was one of the last batch to join the class. I remember feeling extremely nervous, but I was distracted by a giant drawing of a peacock on the blackboard. The teacher was obviously a talented artist. My school reports were not impressive. It was not that I was badly behaved, they just complained that they found it difficult to motivate me. On one occasion mum came home from a parents' evening and told me that the teacher said that I did not see things as other children did. She gave the example of the time she asked the class what had three holes in it. I apparently replied pyjama trousers. The teacher suggested I might have a career as a comedian. I was not trying to be funny, that was just the answer that came into my mind.

There is one incident that took place in primary school that will remain with me for the rest of my life. I must have been about seven at the time. Just before the dinner-break a boy told the teacher that someone had stolen his dinky-toy. The teacher asked us all to open-up our desks to see if it had been placed there by accident. At that moment, the bell went and as I knew the toy was not in my desk, I went out to play.

Ten minutes later a group of boys came running over to me and two of them grabbed my arms. I was told the teacher wanted to see me urgently. When we arrived in the classroom, I was told that the stolen dinky-toy car had been found in my desk. The teacher assumed that I must have been the thief. I pleaded my innocence, but she continued to say how disappointed she was with me. Even my tears did not shake her resolve to punish me for this offence. She was still telling me off when the rest of the class returned for afternoon classes.

Then something amazing happen. A boy, whose name I cannot remember spoke up. This was a surprise as the boy rarely said anything in class. He was also considered to be an odd-ball and was receiving special help in lessons. The boy said that in the morning break he had been looking through the window and saw a boy, who he pointed at, put the dinky-toy in my desk. I cannot remember this boy's name either, but I can still see his face and his horizonal striped t-shirt. My immediate reaction was to wonder if the teacher will believe this boy. However, this was not an issue as the boy immediately confessed. The teacher apologised for accusing me of being a thief. This incident had a long-term impact on me. I was brought up not to steal. Throughout my life I have not stolen anything. it is one of the reasons I do not use self-service checkouts. I fear I will make a mistake that would result in me being accused of trying to steal something.

However, this was not an issue as the boy soon confessed. The teacher apologised for accusing me of being a thief. This incident had a long-term impact on me. I was brought up not to steal. Throughout my life I have not stolen anything. Yet, if that boy had not been looking through that window, I would have been labelled a thief. In my adult life I have always been interested in studying possible miscarriages of justice. I am also slow to judge people and if I had been called to serve on a jury, I doubt if I would have voted that they were guilty unless they had made a full confession.

I wonder if I will get any replies. I am sure all of us have had traumatic experiences as children but only a few people will be willing to write about it. I seem different from most people. I always feel much better after talking and writing about painful experiences in my past. I suspect this is because I am successfully justifying my reaction to the event. I also have a strong need to understand myself. My critics would say that this process is far from being objective and I see myself in a far more positive way than other people see me. Maybe, but I am sure that seeing yourself in a negative light is not good for your mental health.

On 12th March (updated 17th March, 2020) I posted an article, "Why the coronavirus (Covid-19) will probably kill a higher percentage of people in the UK than any other country in Europe". This was largely based on the resources available to the UK at that time of the health crisis and the early way the government responded to the news of the early cases of Covid-19. However, I did expect the government to improve their decision-making and that although eventually we would have the worst death-rate I did not expect it to be as early as this stage in the progression of the pandemic.

https://spartacus-educational.com/spartacus-blogURL134.htm

Over the last few days, I have been writing an article, "Why so many people in the UK have died of Covid-19". I will spend most of the day on this and hope that I will finish it by the time I am too exhausted to carry on.

It is 10.00 am and I phone Sue. We speak for about an hour every morning. The conversation is usually about what we have read in the online Guardian and last night's television. We agreed about the ridiculous changes to the lockdown regulations. Especially about being able to travel long distances by car to beauty spots for exercise and the restriction of only seeing one relative at a time, in a public space, even if you are social distancing. Hancock defended both policies on the radio this morning, so our understanding of the situation is not wrong. He argued that the reason why you cannot see both your parents (or grandparents) at the same time is because the government does not want "groups" of people meeting! Unlike the police, he sees nothing wrong in driving long-distances to areas like the Lake District where they already have large number of cases. We also agreed that the idea of cleaners being able to go into people's houses was also highly dangerous. The government is also allowing nannies to go back to work. According to Hancock these changes are important because they will help to get the economy going. Maybe he is responding to his upper-class friends who are having difficulty looking after their children and doing their own cleaning.

Had my lunch as normal at 1.00 pm. I listen to the headlines on the BBC but no longer trust its reporting. A leak from the BBC has appeared in the Economist today. It appears that journalists working for the BBC have been told not to ask government ministers difficult questions. Matt Hancock and other government ministers are boycotting ITV's Good Morning Britain because they don't like the questions they are receiving. I therefore tape the programme and watch it in the evening. I do hope that when we are over all this the inquiry will look at the way the BBC have let down the British public. ITV, Sky and Channel 4, have all done a better job of making our politicians accountable during this health crisis. I am sure the government's decision making would be better if they had a more vigilant BBC. The most heart-warming thing that I watched today was the video of a nurse of 50 years' service to the NHS, addressing her colleagues after surviving Covid-19. Compare her to those politicians who are running this country. As they said during the First World War, “Lions led by Donkeys”.

https://metro.co.uk/2020/05/12/nurse-50-years-gives-emotional-speech-thanks-nhs-colleagues-saving-life-coronavirus-12691255/

Sue arrives at 2.30 pm with my shopping. At the beginning of the lockdown I received a letter from my GP telling me that because of my medical condition, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia? (CLL), I must not have physical contact with anybody. Although the government promised people in my category that the supermarkets will deliver, this has not been the case and they have refused to take on new customers. We do not have any physical contact. Sue, wearing a mask, places the food on the doorstep and retreats. She has a terrible fear that she will give me Covid-19.

I returned to writing my article. Louise phoned me to say she needed some papers from me to finish off the company accounts. She arrived at 3.50 pm. Under the new regulations we should have met in some public space in front of the house. The main reason for this is that some people would have to go through the house to reach the garden. That is not true in my case as I have a side-gate. Anyway, I employ my daughter for one day a week, and we did some time discussing our end of year accounts. I am sure a business meeting is acceptable under the regulations.

Although seeing my daughter is important, it is very frustrating not being able to hug her. Louise admitted that she is finding the lockdown difficult. She is working from home, but she is missing the group laughter that is so vital for mental health. So am I. Emails and telephone conversations are extremely valuable, but these things cannot supply group laughter.

Louise leaves at 5.20 and I then go for my daily walk. Interestingly, people are much more likely to exchange a few words than they were before the Lockdown. It is not difficult to "social distance" in the streets where I live. The roads are so quiet that it is no problem moving away from people as you pass. Young people seem less aware of the need to do this and sometimes, especially when they are wearing earphones, they do not notice you and walk in straight lines.

It is 6.50 am and can no longer concentrate on writing my article on Covid-19. However, I am fairly pleased with what I have done today. Today I was looking at the consequences of the government changing its policy on testing. At first the government followed the WHO advice of "test, trace and isolate". Then on 15th March, 2020, the policy changed. The UK's Chief Scientific Adviser said a degree of herd immunity will help the UK population as Covid-19 spreads. Patrick Vallance said the aim would be to "reduce the peak, broaden the peak, not suppress it completely; also, because the vast majority of people get a mild illness, to build up some kind of herd immunity so more people are immune to this disease and we reduce the transmission". This view was supported by the UK's chief medical adviser, Professor Chris Whitty.

England's deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries, said it was "inappropriate to carry out extensive testing for Covid-19". This is the same woman who had said that it was fine that the Cheltenham Festival horse racing event should proceed. At one of the daily briefings on the coronavirus outbreak, Harries said "The UK, regardless of the position that we may be in now, has been an international exemplar in preparedness." No wonder, Richard Horton, the editor of The Lancet commented: "When you see supposedly independent medical advisors to government tell what are manifest untruths to shore up a political regime whose credibility is rapidly collapsing, you have to say that those advisors have lost their integrity and our trust."

When Dr Harries appeared before the Parliament's Health and Social Care committee on the 4th May, 2020, she defended the move to stop community testing and tracing in March, suggesting that as the number of cases rapidly increased there was not enough capacity for testing or enough resources to continue to trace contacts of those with the virus. The government said in March they were carrying out actions based on the best "scientific advice". We now know that advice was based on a lack of resources, based on the failure of the government to respond to the "scientific advice" they have received during the previous ten years. Harries basically admitted she had lied to the public. Another reason why public trust in the authorities is in decline.

Speaking before the same committee, UK's Chief Scientific Adviser, Patrick Vallance, expressed regret that Britain did not "ramp" up its testing capacity at an earlier stage of the coronavirus outbreak, failing to follow the lead of South Korea or Germany. Referring to the early stages of the outbreak, he said: "If we had managed to ramp testing capacity quickly, that would have been beneficial. For all sorts of reasons that didn't happen." We can only speculate what these reasons were, but it is clear that you cannot follow WHO advice of "test, trace and isolate" when the UK only had the capacity to test fewer than 2,000 people a day. "I'd be surprised if when we look back we don't think, yup, we could have done something different there," Sir Patrick said.

Britain was left badly exposed by a lack of testing capacity and ended community testing on 12th March to focus on protecting the NHS. To a certain extent was a success because hospitals continued to function during the Covid-19 crisis. However, they have not been good at protecting the staff in the NHS. According to The Guardian : "The government says there have been 49 verified deaths of NHS staff from Covid-19 during the pandemic, but it is clear that many others have died. The Guardian has recorded 172 deaths that have been reported in the news, but the true figure is likely to be higher because not all deaths will be in the public domain. Many family members of those who have died have complained that health professionals are not being given adequate protective equipment as they deal with coronavirus cases."

In trying to protect the hospitals they sacrificed the care homes. It was reported in several newspapers that in an effort to make sure the NHS had enough critical-care beds, elderly patients were sent to care homes. The Daily Mail reported: "Hospitals may have broken the law by sending patients with Covid-19 back to care homes without telling their managers they had the virus. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has been told that several hospitals returned people despite suspecting – or even knowing – they were infected. Tragically, these patients triggered outbreaks in the homes, claiming the lives of other vulnerable residents. Staff at the care homes would have not realised they had the virus so may not have been wearing adequate protective clothing or taken other infection control precautions."

Richard Coker, emeritus professor of public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, accused the government of "harvesting" patients in care homes: "Coronavirus is tearing through our nursing home population in the UK. Even if official statistics are opaque, we know this anecdotally. More than 400,000 people live in UK care homes. We are only now beginning to see the statistics in terms of confirmed cases. Estimates that more than 3,000 people had died in care homes by mid-April are likely to be gross underestimates. We can see this when we look at national excess mortality numbers. These statistics, especially when we look at the elderly, paint a horrifying picture. Enormous numbers of deaths among our most frail citizens are the result, both directly and indirectly, of the coronavirus crisis."

Coker goes on to point out: "The initial strategy of allowing herd immunity to develop in the wider community was pursued, but the most vulnerable people were not protected. Though harvesting may not have been the government's intention, it became the de facto policy in the absence of adequate protections for older and vulnerable people. Had the government monitored care homes, supplied adequate PPE, rolled out testing in care homes and reduced the exposure of their residents to visitors and other carers, the islands of vulnerable and elderly people would have been protected. The government's initial strategy, therefore, was herd immunity and harvesting. Operational implementation follows a strategy, not the other way round. Only belatedly did the government's strategy morph into one that sought to protect the elderly and reverse the harvesting, through widespread testing and contact tracing. But by then it was too late. Operations could not catch up."

The Metro reported today that the latest official statistics showed the consequences of this policy: "The number of coronavirus deaths in the UK has passed 40,000, according to new analysis of the latest official figures, making it by far the worst toll in Europe. Shocking new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have also revealed that almost 40% of deaths are in care homes. There were 8,312 coronavirus-related care home deaths registered up to May 1 in England and Wales, the ONS said."

I still have enough energy to carry on with work that does not need too much creativity. I am a member of a U3A group called Musical Memories. Over the last few days several members have sent me their top ten tracks released since 2000. I plan to spend the next hour or so in preparing a couple of them to be uploaded to my website.

https://spartacus-educational.com/Musical10.htm

I have just looked at my emails. I have been pleased with the group's response to "A traumatic experience in childhood". Several people wrote stories about incidents from their childhood concerning false accusations about stealing. John Manning also told an interesting story about an early romance that left him feeling guilty. Also had several replies on "Changed Regulations" and "Lions led by Donkeys" but only one person commented on my "Lord Jonathan Sumption" post.

It is now 8.00 pm and I am ready to leave the office and go down and phone Sue. We talk over today's events. I then watched my recording of Good Morning Britain . This included an interview with Brian Booth, the chairman of the West Yorkshire Police Federation. He argued that it was impossible for the police to enforce government regulations. As he pointed out, the police have no power to enter private premises. He was asked how the police would deal with these arranged meetings in public spaces with one relative. How can they decide that another person 2 meters away is a stranger and not a relative? Booth replied that the whole thing was impossible. One of the issues that were not raised was this regulation discriminates against frail and disabled population. They might have a garden with a side-entrance but cannot talk in comfort with a daughter, son or grandchild.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HfGX8ZJrBU

It seems the government will have to change the current guidelines. At the moment, a cleaner or an estate agent can visit your elderly parents house, but you cannot. You can self-isolate and still cannot visit, whereas the cleaner may have been in several different houses during their working-day.

It seems to me that the government should make a detailed statement making it clear the risks people will be taking by visiting parents in their home, garden, etc. Then people can make their own decisions based on this risk-assessment. I suspect that in most cases people will not chose to go into their parent's home and hug them, but will opt for a garden visit, plus social distancing. The problem, at the moment, is the government is trying to regulate against people's moral desires to give emotional and physical support to their parents. For law-abiding citizens, this is causing them serious problems.

I then watched a recording documentary on Dusty Springfield. To stay awake I did my ironing. When it was completed at 10.30 pm I went to bed.

(born 1st October, 1950, East Grinstead, Sussex)

A shaft of sunlight hits me in the face from between a curtain deliberately left apart to save me from early morning lockdown lethargy. I wake up this morning with less of a black cloud in my head than yesterday. Up until then and throughout the last six weeks of lockdown, I have marvelled at the beauty of nature, the clear notes of bird song and the lime green leaves of our oak tree against a bright blue sky. But now I have absolutely had enough of this isolation.

I check and reply to emails.

My day begins with ‘Today' on Radio 4, a mix of information, debate and some stressful interviews as I brace myself to hear the news at 7 AM. From then on, Radio 4 continues in the background, often stopping me in my tracks with key phrases which spark interest. 

I go out and stand in the front garden to make sure that everything familiar was still intact and check the plants. I am not really a gardener but since March everything has changed. This must be how it is to be under house arrest and the most concerning aspect is that I fear I might start to only feel safe at home. Is it possible that I could seriously get used to living like this?

I check and reply to emails.

I have a half-hearted to do list pencilled in my diary, written in the empty slots where social events and meetings should be. I try to give myself motivational targets and deadlines but it is increasingly not working.

After breakfast I take a facetime call from my son in Hong Kong. I gaze longingly at my 10 month old granddaughter and we wave to each other. As she smiles at me and chatters, I wonder if I will look familiar to her when we next meet. I want to lean through the screen and touch her chubby legs and baby soft skin. We are lucky to have her, as after her birth she endured 6 hours of life saving open heart surgery in New York. This time last year was even more stressful than it is now as we waited anxiously for her birth. The deprivation of the long distance grandparent is something many more will understand now. The way that Hong Kong has managed the virus has been impressive and my son and I contrast their latest easing of lockdown with ours. 

At 10.30 I have a Zoom home schooling session with my 9 year old granddaughter in Reading. We attempt to speak French and then read ‘The Kites are Flying' by Michael Morpurgo. I enjoy the chance to put my visits, training local teachers in The West Bank into this context and I love listening to her explaining the symbolism of the story to me. I haven't seen Isabella for eight weeks and she seems to be growing up so quickly.

Mid-morning my neighbour calls from a distance to see if we need any shopping. I am touched by her kindness but wrestle with the blow to my self-image. 

I am on the cusp of being classified as vulnerable, five months from my seventieth birthday but I still engage in European travel for work and lead an interesting, varied life. I want to be out there helping in the community. I have never had to rely on the help of other people before. I fear my age group are being singled out and excluded from society, to become marginalised, second class citizens. 

I refuse all offers of support and go to Sainsbury's myself. It is a quiet, joyless almost furtive experience as people manoeuvre their trolleys round each other avoiding contact but it is more fun than an online delivery of shopping! I glance at the railway station as I drive past, a symbol of a previous life of choice, normality and freedom.

2pm sees me coping with life without new episodes of The Archers. This parallel world of a farming community has run alongside mine for five decades so it is a loss, at a time when I could do with these familiar routines and diversions. 

I check and reply to emails. I am involved in a European Partnership of schools, headed by Glasgow City Council and inspired by the work of Prof Sugata Mitra. The rationale behind the ‘Hole in the Wall' experiment has formed the basis of this Mathematics Project which explores the way a ‘Self- Organised Learning Environment' can be used as an effective classroom methodology. Having been involved in supervision visits to Valencia, Glasgow and Warsaw I am now writing up a set of Guidelines for teachers. I lose myself in that for an hour. 

My daughter phones, partly to chat and partly I suspect to make sure I am coping. She knows I find confinement difficult.

Late afternoon sees me typing up memoirs to leave for my children. It has been an interesting and emotional experience but I need to be less retrospective now and more forward looking. It is hard to do this when I see this country heading for obscurity. I was brought up in the 1950s when I was told I should to be proud to be British but any feelings of pride I might have had when younger are diminishing fast as we hurtle ill-prepared towards BREXIT. 

I phone a friend who lives on her own and whose house is ‘on the market' I have spoken to her every day since lockdown and she tells me the Estate Agents are opening tomorrow and will be able to show people round her house and yet I am not allowed to visit her. I need to be able to make up my own mind about what actions are safe and I feel frustrated.

At 9AM we watch ‘Hospital Special Fighting Covid 19' on BBC2. It is a brave and unsentimental account of life in the Royal Free Hospital during the start of the outbreak. The story telling is mesmerizing, following two particular patients through their fight with the virus. Hospital staff go seamlessly from dealing with complex medical procedures to sensitively updating families. The man with the transplanted kidney deteriorates to a ventilator. When he walks out of the ward, it seems like a miracle and makes me gasp with amazement. With this still going round in my head, I check my emails and go to bed.

Today has been almost the same as yesterday and probably almost the same as tomorrow.

(born 11th May, 1948, Worthing, Sussex)

I wake early every morning and during this lockdown we have been fostering one of our granddaughter's dog. A rescue Lurcher called Ebs. She is a bit of a mixed blessing – great company, very affectionate and keeps us busy, but she is very strong, hates squirrels and cats (hence being fostered at our home rather than with the rest of the family where there are three cats).

So at about 6 a.m we go off for our walk with Ebs and today was no exception. It was very chilly so a bit of a shock after the wonderful weather that we have been having for the past few weeks. I love walking at this time of the morning – the world seems very fresh even in the town. When the lockdown first started the mornings were still fairly dark and we saw some wonderful sunrises and also heard the dawn chorus. Today the sun is in the sky long before we leave home and the birds are up and about. We go to the local green – a large open space with a cricket pitch in the middle – upon which there are numerous birds – I didn't realise what an entertaining walk jackdaws have; the pigeons which appear quite clumsy when walking are beautiful once they take to the air and just seem to float in the thermals.

The trees that were dark skeletons at the beginning of lockdown are now decked in their summer foliage – I'm not sure which I prefer at that time of the morning. There was something magical in March – their dark silhouettes outlined against the lightening sky.  I enjoy looking at the sky – the different shades of colour – even on a very grey today – there are so many different shades.

There aren't too many people on Broadwater Green at this time of the morning – two or three people walking their dogs – an elderly retriever whose owner always passes the time of the day – at a safe distance, of course – and various people out for a run or a more energetic walk than ours.

As we walk back home I can look in the gardens – we have seen the daffodils, tulips and Spring flowers – the lilacs are coming to the end of their blooming – my favourite is the dark mauve colour – and now the peonies and roses are beginning to come into bloom. Some overhang the garden walls and fences and if I'm lucky I can smell the beautiful perfumes that some of them have. Soon the roses will be in full bloom, the peonies will be over and the summer flowers will be out in abundance. All the colours are so fresh and vibrant in May.

Back home I make breakfast – today porridge with banana and blueberries and a small amount of natural yogurt and a cup of tea. I turn Radio 4 on and listen to the Today Programme. Now we have Ebs with us I miss the end of the Farming Programme and Tweet of the Day – both of which I enjoyed. We could go out later, but once we've stirred she seems to think it's her walk time! We're just too soft.

Today I feel in a very reflective mood. Yesterday was my birthday and, although we are in lockdown, I had a lovely day. Lots of phone calls from friends, messages on Facebook, cards through the post and popped through the door and a Zoom meet up with the family in the evening. We also had a hamper of goodies to eat left on the doorstep by our wonderful children and grandchildren. My reflection is, I think, prompted by looking at my cards and my situation. How fortunate am I that I live in a pleasant home with a garden. I have plenty of food and a caring family. We live in a road which is very community minded – we have a residents' group and the younger members are always making sure that everyone is all right. They are always prepared to do shopping and share things. It is wonderful to feel so safe and secure.

I feel quite despondent at the moment – not as focussed and especially despairing of the statement put out by Boris Johnson on Sunday evening. I could get angry, but what would be the point – I feel that I have to do what I can to keep myself and my husband safe and get on with life.

So I get on with my jobs around the home. There is always something to do. I look at my emails and delete the dross. I belong to different groups in the U3A and have quite a few emails from the various groups. I reply to a few emails and send emails off to friends who have sent me birthday cards and presents. I keep in touch with a friend in Canada and one in Spain – it is interesting to hear how lockdown is going for them. The friend in Spain is allowed out a little more now and with her partner, but only at certain times of the day and only for a certain length of time. If they don't obey the rules the police will fine them.

I listen to Woman's Hour and always have a cup of coffee whilst the programme is on. My husband usually joins me and later on we will discuss some of the topics. I got rather sidetracked today with a phone call from a friend so will catch up on iplayer later on. The author of Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens, was on and my husband enjoyed listening to her as he is reading the book with his U3A Book Club.

I have been writing down a lot of family history for my grandchildren who had asked me to do this and I thought that whilst I had so much time on my hands I would find it easier to get on with this – not the case. My parents had a long-distance romance both during the war and for some months after they were married and I have a few hundred letters that they wrote to each other. I have always been reluctant to read them as I found them too personal. However, I have made a start during this time – hoping that I would find more history to add to the stock. This has not quite been the case as I had overlooked the fact that when these letters were written they were in their early twenties, they were so in love and, of course, like most of us you don't always realise that the times you're living through are actually history. So today I looked through a few more of these letters, but didn't really glean much that will be of any relevance for my history of the family.

I have been endeavouring to do exercise apart from our early morning walk. Today I logged into one of the yoga classes which my teacher is putting on line and also a more active You Tube exercise class. I shall certainly be taking advantage of being able to go out for longer come Wednesday, but am pretty sure I won't be getting into the car and driving off to some beauty spot, just local, but hopefully a bit more energetic than our early morning walk with Ebs when she is really interested in sniffing around and looking out for cats and squirrels which isn't very conducive to constructive exercise for me.

At 1 p.m we sit down and watch the 1 o'clock news. We also have lunch – today it was rolls – ham and chutney and smoked salmon followed by a pear and a few grapes. Food has certainly become one of the highlights of the day since the lockdown. We have a veg box, a salad box and a fruit box delivered each week and so we are getting quite innovative with our meals, looking up recipes to accommodate what we have in the fridge. This evening it will be asparagus risotto with salad and again followed by fruit.

At 1.45 I watch Neighbours. I am a source of great amusement to my family and most of my friends and it is the only soap that I watch – don't ask me when I started watching it, but it was probably because the children watched it as it started being broadcast in this country in autumn 1986 and for some reason I carried on watching it.

My husband and I belong to a poetry group with the U3A and today Andrew Motion Selected Poems 1976-1997 was delivered so we will be able to start reading some of his poems and discuss them – via email at the moment – with other members of the group.

During the afternoon I carry on knitting a blanket that I decided would be a good project to start on whilst I was restricted to home for so many hours. Bad decision. It's on very, very big needles which I find an absolute pain, but I shall continue to do it. I am finding it rather boring though.

A cup of tea in the middle of the afternoon is a relief from the boring old knitting and my husband and I sit down for a chat and also listen to some of the tracks that have been chosen by various members of his U3A Musical Memories group. They have been choosing tunes from the 21 st Century – and, as with everything, some appeal more than others and what appeals to my husband doesn't necessarily appeal to me.

During the course of the afternoon I also catch up with Normal People which is being shown on BBC1 television. I'm finding it very interesting and so reminiscent of life at that age and the emotions etc. I haven't read the book, but maybe I will.

Usually I go out and do some gardening as we have been having such wonderful weather, however, today is still a little on the chilly side and for some reason I have felt very cold today so I stay indoors. I have been growing lots of seeds in the summer room so I have to make sure that they are watered and still thriving. I vowed that I wasn't going to bother with growing seeds this year, but in view of the lockdown and time on my hands decided that I would. I wouldn't say I was brilliant at it, but I have quite a good crop of Tithonia which are one of my favourite plants for the garden with the most amazing burnt orange, velvety flowers which look gorgeous in the border.

Our granddaughter and her partner come round to collect Ebs to take her for her main run of the day. I think we are breaking the rules, but we either open the front door and they grab the dog and go or else if we are out in the garden they come down the side and collect her from there. It is a dilemma. They actually live in London, but wanted to come to spend the lockdown in Worthing and escaped just as lockdown was closing in, partly because Harriet is asthmatic. The dog needs a run and my husband and I can't do that so that's what we do.

At 6 o'clock we have our evening meal – said asparagus risotto – and this evening will be one of the evenings when we venture onto Zoom for the residents' group Bingo game. I had never played Bingo other than with the children and grandchildren before the lockdown. However, one of the residents has organised it and about 15 families take part. It is a jolly meet up with all ages and it is very refreshing to hear what they have been up to and the children keep us entertained for an hour. It is all good fun, harmless and keeps us in touch albeit by Zoom. I think that they are going to arrange a quiz evening at some point.

My eldest daughter phones on her way home from work. She will have worked a very long day at the NHS. She doesn't say too much about her actual workings, but I know she is very frustrated with all that is going on. I'm glad she phones me on her way home as it gives her a chance to unwind before walking into her home and also there won't be a chance of her falling asleep at the wheel which always bothers me.

So that's pretty much my day – Tuesday 12 th May 2020. After the Bingo meet-up we wind down by reading and chatting. I send my shopping list off to one of my daughters and she and her daughter will go and get it tomorrow. We are so lucky. I think of those who are locked down in high-rise flats with children and have nowhere to exercise, people who are homeless and are now shut in a room they are not familiar with for 23 hours a day, those in violent relationships and who are scared and suffering. I might get grumpy with the government, but I count my blessings.

(born 23 May 1958, Goring-by-Sea, West Sussex)

Groundhog day number 50. Wake up 6.30, consider the day ahead. Get up 7.00. Shave, shower; some rituals never change. 20 minutes of exercise before a cup of tea. Check the latest news online. Make a mental note of what I'm allowed to do today. Read 29 unread emails and reply to some of them. Spend 20 minutes on DuoLingo, learning Spanish; I'm on a 127 day streak (whoop-de-doo). Then an online cryptic crossword. 16 minutes without any hints; a good day. Check Facebook; wonder again at friends oversharing. Read 4 chapters of Bill Bryson's book on ‘The Body', but lose interest.

Look out the window from my solitary confinement. Dare I risk it? I decide to go for a walk. The usual pedestrian dodgems. Will we still go out of our way to avoid each other when this is all over, I wonder? An aimless amble along the greensward. Windy today; not so many cyclists. Families out picnicking a day early, lunching on the grass like in Manet's painting (but with their clothes on). A crowd of people outside Sea Lane Cafe; they must have re-opened for take-aways. More green shoots, more signs of unlocking the lockdown. The usual queues outside Tesco's and Sainsbury's; some 2 metres apart, others defiantly not, the occasional glare. Many out walking their dogs; others walking their children; a general pretence that they're in charge. And back home within the allotted hour. 59 minutes; that was close.

Another cup of tea. A fast day today, but tea is a poor food-substitute. Fasting's more difficult when you crave comfort food. Watch some recorded TV. An episode of ‘Misfits' (seen it before). Read another 2 chapters of ‘The Body'. Read another 18 emails. Checked the latest news updates, which are the same as yesterday's. Decide against watching the Government's daily briefing; too many angry questions and evasive answers. Watch ‘Bicentennial Man' instead (seen it before). Phone friend to get his shopping order for the day ahead. He's not left his flat in 7 weeks, but still sounds cheerful. Dare I risk a second trip outside to the shops? Decide against it. Leave that excitement for tomorrow. Need to have something to look forward to.

6pm and I break-fast. Consume my own weight in calories; not much point in going without for the last 24 hours. Watch the BBC News (seen it before). Friend phones from London. He still can't understand why the pubs are shut; I try to explain it for the umpteenth time. He's not convinced. Read another chapter of ‘The Body'; mind wanders again. Watch the National Theatre's production of ‘Macbeth' online, but my heart's not in it.

And then to bed at 11.00. To sleep, perchance to dream. I've probably had those dreams before too.

(Worthing, W Sussex. Retired language teacher, born 1951)

 As usual on Tuesdays I begin the day reading the news online in French, seeing that the educators over there seem as concerned as our own about easing the lockdown. I wonder what new word or expression will emerge to describe this: deconfinement  the French expression doesn t quite cut la moutarde. The Big Easey?

Having finally managed to put an order in to Asda last week, I realised that it was not the local shop but some megastore 4 railway stations away. Thankfully R took pity on me and so I was picked up at 815 outside my block.It was the first  outing for my home-made mask: would it show me up by unravelling before my eyes?

After living together for ten years R ordained we would be LAT-living apart together, apparently- so I now live most of the time in my new Worthing flat, which has paid for itself many times over already with it views of sea and downs.

We reached the hypermarket easily,-to find about 30 people in a socially-distanced queue waiting for the 9 o clock opening.  We had no idea how to collect the click-and-collect groceries. After some panic R managed to get some information and picked up the order. I passed on the chance to go in  the supermarket with her- why can t they leave the grocery orders outside for customers and save a life or two in the bargain?- so my tee shirt and elastic band mask will have its debut some other time

We were close to Highdown so went for a lovely walk over the hill. Fields full of buttercups and skies full of skylarks. R says it was so quiet without traffic noise, but later admitted she didn t have her hearing aid in.

It was such a gorgeous day that I had her leave me on the prom in Worthing. Tide was low so I walked quite a while on the beach then sat in Denton park. On the way back I was charmed to see the return of the cuddly toys on free offer on a garden wall, in variegated array. I ve been a sucker in recent weeks for  books, files, DVDs, lamps, kitchenware people have been leaving outside.

At home I cooked the giant asparagi that my fellow badminton-player M had given us at the allotment yesterday, listening to You and Yours which like most radio is all coronavirus talk. Ate it to the One o Clock news, ditto.

I cannot believe that I didn t bother to switch of The Archers whilst writing the first part of this: I always click it off on hearing the theme tune like a Pavlovian dog, and I heard it anyway last night. I d love to hear the episode when the smug Merrie Englanders  realise they re the last people in the country to have heard of Covid 19.

Lunch on the balcony, brushing up my elementary Bengali (language of every second Thursday).
In pre-Covid days I would literally not get a phone call for weeks on end. Today I got an incredible three:

 N, holed up on her own in North London, who retired as a psychologist earlier this year, hoping to travel and extend her volunteer work. Now she has no chance for either, and no furloughed salary, either. She asked for a virtual tour of my flat and marvelled at the view. I m so lucky.

E, my daughter living in Oxford, who works part time as an emergency call-handler. She has and will be given no guidance about the new Covid regulations which come into force tomorrow, when she returns after her break. Her brilliant younger son rattles through his schoolwork in the morning and then spends time computer gaming with his friends. Her mother, K, has recently offered space in her b-and-b to people who have the need but no the capacity to work from home. No takers, but it s perhaps early days.

J, a Maths teacher in North London, where years 10 and 12 will be returning to school soon. Luckily he only teaches year 12, who might be expected to behave more responsibly in the classroom. He tells me he s going to work another year rather than retiring. Heroic, perhaps, but in addition nearby HS2, the loss of job opportunities for his son and the collapse in the housing market means he will have to defer his family s move to sunny Worthing. To his surprise his son received money from a job he left last year. When he queried it he was told ‘Boris is paying, bro'.

Delightful to speak to them as always, but the last two did rather get in the way of my cooking, as R was coming round. The most elaborate meal I ve ever cooked for anyone outside of much-lamented dinner parties of yore. Lentil and carrot soup, roasted kale and peanut butter, dry potato gratin, and an oat and tomato bake from an old hippy cookbook  photocopied in the 1970s. With a fancy Chablis, as I m paying more for alcohol these days as a result of the unexpected repayment of a loan to a friend from  the noughties. Life is to short to buy cheap wine, they say. Or maybe just too short these days.

All this to a backdrop of the radio: no real fall in the daily number of UK deaths, consolidating our status at the top of the European league. Daily I obsessively follow worldometer death figures, with the obvious queries in my mind: how much more awful is the UK s death toll, will Sweden s surge as a result of their more laissez faire approach, are Russia and my adopted home of Peru still in lockstep, how bad are things in the US by the end of the day?

R says she needs to go to the allotment in North Lancing, where I do my traditional water-carrying duties. The Age of Aquarius is my destiny. Another great hit of nature. As a continuation of the luck we have had today, the goblin in the adjoining plot is conspicuous by their absence.

I got so much kudos from the meal, but we re too knackered for Scrabble: my phone tells me I ve walked over three hours, which does not take account of my little jogs on the beach.  We watch a few youtube clips of satirists Jonathan Pie and Trevor Noah, taking aim at the respective idiots in charge in the UK and US. Then, as part of my cunning plan to improve R s immune system we watch a classic Horizon in which Michael Mosley informs us of the joys of intermitten fasting. She will join me in the 5:2 diet tomorrow.

Our luck runs out as she proves unable to transfer her Netflix account to my telly.

Before sleep, R asks me what the best part of our walk had been. We agree it was when a skylark rose up from the ground before us.

(born 31  December 1948, West Worthing, West Sussex)

I'm quite a light sleeper so I wake, as usual when its starts to get light, today at about 5:30.  I don't want to be awake this early so I try to get back to sleep but end up half dozing until 7:00.  My wife Julie is good at sleeping but by 7:30 I decide that if I get up and make enough noise making a cup of tea she will wake up, and this proves to be the case.  Under normal circumstances we would read the paper while drinking our tea but since lockdown the paper doesn't come until 9:30 so we read yesterday's, look at emails and look at the on-line edition of the Guardian. 

We both watched a video of Piers Morgan eviscerating some hapless junior minister on Good Morning Britain; I'm sure he is articulating the anger felt by many people but I wonder if a more forensic dissection of the government's handling of Covid might have been more useful.  As it is, the main result is to give ministers a plausible reason for not appearing on TV.  We talked about Johnson's plans for easing lockdown which we both agree are inconsistent and confusing.  I wonder if Johnson's breaking of the UK consensus on lockdown is part of separating England from the rest of the UK.  Julie talked about Yuval Noah Harari's views on empire.

Got out of bed showered and shaved at 9:30 ready for a WhatsApp discussion with our U3A philosophy discussion group, and had an interesting two hour text-based discussion on the subject of "Motivation".  I'm finding motivation difficult at the moment: I have a list of things I want to do which at the start of lockdown I thought I would be able to do, but I have a struggle to get motivated.  Things are improving now and I'm more likely to contribute to on-line groups.  The U3A has been central to our social life  for several years now, and not being able to attend meetings and socialise with our friends has proved difficult.  On-line contact is helpful.

Now it's 12:00 and I prepare dinner while Julie finishes the ironing.  Like many people we have changed our eating habits as we have got older and moved to a more plant-based diet and we now eat meat only once or twice a week.  I'm not sure if this is a moral decision on my part as I don't want to become vegetarian: I like cheese too much.

At 1:00 we watch the BBC news and then the local news.  Not surprisingly, almost all the news is about some aspect of Covid: in fact almost all the news on all media is about Covid and the Government's handling/mishandling of the crisis.  In my view it has been badly mishandled: if Johnson, Raab and Hancock are the cream of the government then you shudder to think what the rest are like.  They're clearly out of their depth and the whole approach has been shambolic from the start.

1:45 A video call from our daughter who lives in Worcestershire.  On Friday our 8 year old grandson broke his arm badly while playing in the garden and they had been discharged from  hospital the previous day after an operation to pin the two broken bones.  He seemed happy to be home and definitely happy to have control of the TV remote.  They had been in the non-Covid part of the hospital but obviously the radiography unit was used by Covid and non-Covid patients which was a bit worrying for them.  The ability to make video calls on WhatsApp and Skype make a huge difference to you when you can't visit in person.  Not the same as a physical hug though.

4:30 and time for saxophone practice.  I took up the saxophone quite late in life and I really enjoy playing.  I play in the U3A orchestra and until lockdown I had been rehearsing with a jazz group.  Although I'm not a great musician I do enjoy performing, and I wonder how and when public performance of music will start again, and what will happen to the thousands of pro, semi pro and amateur musicians who make up UK live music scene.  Many venues are small and crowded, which is part of their charm, but will these venues be viable after lockdown if people are afraid to be together or bands unwilling to play?  At the moment the prospect of the U3A orchestra resuming – 30 older people in a small rehearsal room – is quite daunting.

At 6:00 we have an early dinner as we have been able to book a 7:00 Click and Collect at Tesco in Durrington.  We've been quite lucky with shopping as we had several deliveries booked at the start of lockdown and have been able to get Click and Collect somewhere ever since.  I haven't been in a shop since the start of lockdown.  I don't miss food shopping but I do miss (surprisingly) most other shops.  So at 7:00 we set off for Durrington, our trip out for the day.  Nothing exciting happens.

By 8:00 we have unpacked the shopping and are ready to continue our Rummikub tournament.  We were introduced to Rummikub by some friends and now we play one or two games most nights and are quite evenly matched.  At 9:00 we watch some TV drama recently we've watched Homeland (a very clever ending we thought); DEVS/DEUS which I enjoyed but found a bit unsatisfactory in the end, and Trust Me (from 2019) which we are part way through.  After the drama we like to watch something a bit lighter and have been watching a BBC4 series on country music and also a 50 th anniversary tribute to Dolly Parton.

11:00 to bed where I read for a few minutes before sleeping.  At the moment I'm reading "The Diary of an Ordinary Woman" by Margaret Forster (not her diary, she edited it) the diary was kept continuously from 1914, when the diarist was 13, to 1995, when she gave up.  Obviously Forster has had to edit it considerably but it is 80 years of social history and I've found it very interesting.  I'm also reading Diarmaid Macculloch's biography of Thomas Cromwell which is interesting but rather heavy going.  I've just finished "Once Upon a River" by Diane Setterfield which was very unusual and enjoyable.

(born in Buenos Aires on 12th May 2020)

Well, I woke up around 6.30 - I hate waking up so early and try my hardest to go back to sleep, but never manage to. Had a coffee and ciggy in the garden watching the dog having a poo (scintillating eh?).

The TV goes on in the background and I half listen to BBC Breakfast and then the news whilst I am catching up with my 8 games of on-line scrabble that I play with two guys from somewhere else - don't know where. We have been playing for a year or two and it's very comforting when it's my turn to play. Something to do - yey !! I also look at and read my emails, mostly all from you lovely guys. I concentrate on listening to each of your music with interest. I love how all our tastes differ so much but it gives me great pleasure when someone likes some of my choices.

I check Facebook to see what my daughters are up to. Yesterday was one of my grandson's 22nd birthday, he lives in Kirkwall, Orkney, along with my daughter, son-in-law and three siblings. He is a lobster fisherman. I make a mental note to call him later. I ask Sarah how Jodie is doing. She is 23, and a physiotherapist at Edinburgh Hospital working on the Covid wards. She contracted Covid a couple of weeks ago and I felt so sorry for her isolating on her own in her flat without her housemates who are back with their parents because they both go to Uni still. Anyway Sarah said Jodie is good now, bless her, so young to be seeing such devastating things.

It was, sadly, the first anniversary of two young men's deaths yesterday. My niece's fiance was killed in a motorbike accident on a sunny Sunday afternoon and my son's partner lost her husband after a long and devastating illness resulting from a cardiac arrest two years earlier. He was in his 30s and my niece's fiance was 25. I sent a personal message to each to let them know I was thinking about them.

After a few more cups of coffee I gave-in to my dog Charlie's pleading eyes and took him for a long walk around the streets her in Goring. It was lovely looking at people's front gardens and comparing them to some of the gardens that have had nothing done in them, weeds, dandelions, and long stringy scruffy grass. Glad I don't live next door to one of those gardens. With my halo intact I decide to catch up on a couple of programmes I had recorded on Monday night, both documentaries. The Covid documentary taken in a London hospital really brought it home to me how truly awful this disease can be and reaffirmed my determination to keep the 2 metres apart.

My son is working from home, in his bedroom, with his new little desk and chair. He is on the phone most of the time on conference calls and I try to remember not to yell up the stairs that his washing is done. I've got previous for that and he wasn't happy. He pops downstairs for snacks and drinks sporadically during the day and then finishes around 6. It was his turn to cook and he made a tasty bacon and tomato pasta.

6 pm is wine time and I take it into the garden and have a ciggy. I'm limiting myself to a glass a night and doing ok. Tim, my son, doesn't drink so there is no excuse to keep boozing.

He goes back to his room after supper to watch Netflix, ring his girlfriend, and do whatever else he does to relax (playing computer games I think).

I watched the quiz Who Wants To Be a Millionaire even though I think Jeremy Clarkson is a knob. A really nice guy with MS in a wheelchair blew me away by winning £500,000. Fabulous. Well done him.

More scrabble, more Whats App jokes coming in and bed around 10 to read my book. I am devouring books at a rate of knots and am now buying second-hand paperbacks of my favourite authors from Amazon.

So, nothing academic or mind-enhancing in my day.

My name is Mrs Julie Caroline Balderstone. I am aged 65 years (13/9/54) and am a retired administrator/book keeper. I live in Worthing, West Sussex with my husband, in a four bedroomed home that we have lived in for 32 years, bringing up our two children; my son and my step-daughter who visited monthly at weekends and for all the school holidays.

Today I awoke at 8.30am. This is later than it would have been if we hadn't been in the Coronavirus (covid-19) lockdown which started on 23 rd March. My lovely husband Peter, is already up and making a cup of tea which he brings up just after I have woken. We settle down with the tea and I switch on my phone and quickly check my emails. I then read my book until 9am. Peter is the one to say that we should get up – I don't like to leave my lovely bed.

9:00: I use the bathroom first most of the time. Today Peter has breakfast on his own while I am showering. I have put on around 3lb while in lockdown and I am having a second day of just having coffee until we have our dinner in the evening. Many think this a bad way to lose weight but for me it is the best way. I have identified myself as a 50/50 emotional and feaster eater as per a TV programme I watched by the leading obesity specialists of the day. This is not good. The emotional eater is self-explanatory and particularly bad at this time; the feaster is someone who, once food has entered their mouths, find it almost impossible to stop eating if food is available. Put these two together and life can be challenging around food which is why I am 1 stone over, what should be, my heaviest weight. As usual, I spend too much time once the hot water is running over me in the shower; both because I enjoy the feeling so much but also because I am thinking about ‘things'. These thoughts are not just about the present situation but about all sorts of things stimulated, often, by the many emails that are being sent out on the U3A group I am linked into. This has been a great help in having a feeling of still being connected to people although, of course, not as good as a real meeting.

9:30: Out of the bathroom, and my lovely Peter has brought me up a cup of coffee and he disappears into the bathroom while I sit in front of the mirror to ‘do my face'. I look at my hair which I have not coloured since lockdown. I have read that this might be a good time to transition to grey. I thought that I would see how it goes but have decided to continue with the colour; I am not quite ready for my drab pepper and salt colour that is really starting to show now. My thoughts turn to my mum, as they often do at this stage of the day. I remember thinking how long she used to spend doing her make-up. I now realise that she was like me, or I am like her in that I spend and she spent, a lot of time thinking. My thoughts cover all sorts of things: the lockdown and what it means to us, freewill, motivation, as well as conversations from the past that have been triggered by my various thoughts.

9:50: My phone alerts me to the near start, at 10am, of our WhatsApp discussion. Before lockdown, we attended a U3A group called Everyday Philosophy from 10 to 12 midday monthly. Because we can't meet, our group leader decided to try a Lite Philosophy discussion using WhatsApp. It has to be less in-depth as it relies on people's typing abilities on their phones. It has proved a very interesting group and the discussions are now happening every two weeks. When I get downstairs, I use the, fairly new, mouth/throat exerciser we have brought: IQoro. It was quite expensive considering it is a fairly simple piece of plastic but we are paying for the idea. I have a hiatus hernia and suffer reflux. This device they say, if used three times a day, is supposed within three to six months help with this condition by activating the body's own pre-programmed systems – a natural chain of events from the brain, along neural pathways and muscles, from the lips down to the stomach. It only takes a couple of minute each time and so I am hoping it will work and I can cease to take the medication I now take for my condition. 

10:00: The Lite Philosophy starts in earnest. When it was first thought to be done like this our group leader said that she would keep it going for several days and people could just drop in and out as they wished. What actually happened is that, basically, people still joined at 10am and left around 12 midday although today some of us continued until around 12:30. It has proved interesting as everyone can make a point whereas when we met, sometimes it was difficult to get your point in as others were talking and then the conversation had moved on. With the phone, we end up with several threads getting a little tied up with each other but it is very enjoyable. I feel connected to the people in the group and feel that I have got to know them a little better than I would have done in our normal sessions. Today the topic is motivation and proves very stimulating. I had set up the ironing board to iron while I participate in the group chat which has meant that the ironing wasn't finished until 1pm; three hours instead of the usual two. Peter has been cleaning an outside plastic trolley, for me to paint at some point, in one of the bedrooms which we have set up as a painting room. It makes me smile when we are both sending messages to the group from different rooms; some amusing involving each other. At around 10:45 Peter comes into the room and then goes and makes a coffee for us both; I am feeling very hungry! At 11am Peter goes into the kitchen to prepare the dinner while I carry on with the ironing – and philosophising. The session has stimulated a new idea in my head and I wonder whether I will put it out there for anyone else to consider and comment on.

13:00: Lunch time for Peter – I am trying not to look at his lovely fat tuna, mayonnaise, lettuce and cumber sandwich made with his homemade wholemeal bread. He follows this with a piece of my homemade fruit cake. We are in the lounge and have the TV on watching the lunchtime news. We have made a point of watching the short BBC lunchtime news (even though we think the BBC is reporting too sympathetically to the government; we think we can see through this) and not watching anything else about the virus as we find it too distressing; especially Peter. We are not turned off to what is happening though and will do all we can to try to ensure that the truth will come out and, hopefully, a better world can emerge; a UK with a Renewable Economy not a return to Growth as normal. Am I just kidding myself? Peter is sitting on the sofa but I am astride my ‘horse'. That is my electronic horse which exercises my core muscles for 15 minutes. While I am exercising on my ‘horse' I am exercising my arms with 2 x 2kg weights which I lift and swing around! It is not much, but I hope it helps.

13:45: Our daughter (my step-daughter) video WhatsApps us for half an hour. This is lovely, especially as our grandson aged 8 years, has just four days ago badly broken his left arm in two places with compound fractures. It has been a worrying time with him and our daughter, both with other health issues, having to be in a hospital where the virus is. We get to see our grandson smiling, as well as a brief glimpse of his younger brother. Our daughter looks tired but well, and is pleased to be home, although our grandson has said he wants to live in the hospital. We find this a little amusing but also think it is because he feels safe there. Of course, it might be because he had his mum to himself all of the time and was allowed to watch the TV constantly! 

14:15: We thought that we would go for a walk but pop out onto the patio and check the weather and feel how cold it is. The sun is shining but the wind is chilling and so we decide to stay in and read. First of all, I water my indoor plants and exercise with my IQoro again.

15:00: We sit in the lounge with a drink. I check my emails on my phone and then read my book for a bit. I decide I will go up on my computer and deal with my emails. I don't like to answer them, other than if it is just a short line, on my phone but prefer to type on a keyboard. This takes me right up until 6pm and I don't get as far as I had planned, which is usual as I get lots of petitions and updates on ones I have already signed although I don't read all of them. I also make a start with this diary day. 

18:00: Peter, who is much more restless than me, had prepared the dinner earlier while I was ironing and finishes it so I don't have to think about that today. We do the cooking between us but not on a strict rota. It just all depends on what each of us is doing. Today we are having one of my favourites which is an oven baked mix of vegetables: potatoes, lemon and peas, as per the recipe but we always add odds and ends we might have in the fridge which today is cauliflower, onion, pepper. As usual, it is delicious and I finish before Peter as I was very hungry. We then have a dessert of various fruit with a little ground nuts, seeds and coconut topped with yogurt; for me Alpro yogurt. I am sitting thinking that our conversation is not flowing as it used to. Peter then speaks my thoughts, as he so often does. It is because we are trying to avoid talking about covid-19 and that seems almost the only point of conversation. We have had some music playing while we ate which was pleasant; Amazon chilled pop or something like that. We have a large collection of various CDs which we often choose from but it is nice to hear some modern music.

19:00: We have been extremely lucky with our shopping. Before the lockdown we already had a couple of delivery slots booked. Since then we have managed to get click and collect from either Sainsburys or Tesco. Tonight we have a Tesco collection to make between 7pm and 9pm, which is why we have eaten at 6pm instead of our usual 7pm, so we clear up and set off in Peter's car, he in just a jacket and me in coat, scarf and gloves – I feel the cold. Peter notices on the way that it might be as well to top up with fuel while at Tesco. We usually pay in the kiosk but today decide to pay at the pump; just another little adjustment because of the virus. We collect our shopping without coming too close to anyone, get some fuel and head back home. We take the bags into the house and leave them in the hallway. Everything is in plastic carrier-bags and we talk about how the environmental battle has gone backwards in some ways. Once indoors, we wash our hands. Then we sort out the shopping, putting packets and tins in a box in the dining room in quarantine while having to put the fresh things straight into the fridge. We wash our hands again. Then I get a Dettol spray and clean various handles and things. I wonder if this is necessary or whether I have done enough; we hope that we, our loved ones and friends, will stay safe.

20:00: We set up the Rummikub on our games table in the lounge and continue with our tournament; I am in the lead at the moment. The first one to get 500 points wins. We were introduced to this game a short while before the lockdown and we love it. We hope that it might be helping our short-term memories. We play two games and Peter wins both. In the first game won, I only have one tile left with the number 12 on it so he only scores 12 points. Usually whoever loses only has one or two tiles left; often the winner may only get one point. Unfortunately for me on the second game I have five tiles left and Peter gets a really good score of 44. He shoots to the lead. We pack the game away and move to the sofa to watch the TV but first, I exercise with my IQora again; I do hope it works.

21:15: I love to watch dramas but Peter isn't quite so keen although he usually always enjoys them once I can get him to start. We have been watching DEVS and Homeland (a great ending), both of which are now finished. I had suggested a couple of nights back that we should try to watch some of the dramas which have been recorded for a long time and so we started watching one called ‘Trust Me' from a year ago. It is a gripping drama but, unfortunately, it is about an ‘Angel of Death' on a hospital ward! Because we don't want to go to bed with the drama fresh in our heads we watch the second half of a recording of ‘Dolly Parton – 50 Years at the Grand Ole Oprey' having watched the first half and another country music recording after the first two parts of this drama. We realise that watching the Dolly Parton video will take us to much later than we usually go to bed and laugh about this and joke about whether we should ring our son, Peter's step-son, to get permission to stay up late!

11:15: Upstairs and into our night-time routine in the bathroom. While brushing my teeth, which I do with my left hand, for the electric toothbrush time of two minutes, I stand first on one leg for one minute and then the other, for one minute. Once out of the bathroom I grab up the table-tennis bat and spend around 5-8 minutes batting the ping-pong ball on the end of the bending wire on a stand, using both my right and left hand. I do these little things with the idea that they might promote new pathways in my brain and help with my balance and hand to eye co-ordination. It is probably not enough time of each of these things but I always think it is better than nothing. I get into bed and check my emails on my phone one last time. I quickly look at Facebook but soon realise I should stop as it is all rather negative about covid-19. I pick up my book to read. At present I am reading ‘Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari' and find it very interesting. The book, or author, was mentioned by a friend as a possible controversial topic of discussion on our U3A emails group. Another friend said that it was not a good book to read and sent a link with a review of it. This stimulated Peter to make up his own mind and it was he who ordered this and the follow up book ‘Homo Deus'. This will give us a lot to talk about once we have both read the books. The last book I read was ‘The Man Who Wasn't There: Tales from the Edge of the Self by Anil Ananthaswamy' which was absolutely fascinating. Peter is reading this so again, much to discuss, once he has got through it.

12:15: We cuddle up to sleep, first hugging and being so mindful of how lucky we are to have each other. My mind is full of all sorts of thoughts: about the book I have been reading, motivation, philosophy, judging people and, of course, the virus and what it means. Eventually I stop these thoughts by concentrating on my breathing and eventually I fall asleep. Tonight though, I wake up a few times with thoughts spinning around my head. I am usually a good sleeper so I know this is a sign of anxiety. I pray that everyone I love and care about will stay safe. I try not to think of all the people suffering who have lost their loved ones. Eventually I fall back to sleep. 

I am Steve, and I live in Worthing, West Sussex. I am aged 70 years, and I'm a retired engineer and business consultant. My wife died in 2015. I have three children with families, with those three families located nearby in Worthing, in London, and in Manhattan New York.

My loving partner "H" resides in Warwickshire and so at present we are separated until Government guidance allows us to meet. I live alone in the house.

Today I get up around 06:45hrs. I normally wake up before the alarm set for 07:00hrs. Every other day I go for a run and today is a running day. I have a quick cup of tea, a glass of tomato juice and a glass of water. Then wash, get into jogging kit, and leave the house at 07:10hrs. It's a cold morning for the time of year and I should have worn gloves. However, the sun is warming, and I run down to the promenade seeing just four or five people, when I run in the road to keep social distance. Then along the promenade enjoying the sun and sea view and weaving around to keep two metres away from other walkers, joggers and cyclists. Back through Beach House Park and then a circuit of Homefield Park where I enjoy the bird song and say hello to the dog walking fraternity that I go past regularly. The air is clear until I get to the Gardner & Scardifield depot where the atmosphere is smoky with diesel fumes from their lorries. I try not to breath as I run past. Then through the ugly 1970s concrete pedestrian way under the A24, and on through the pleasant Victorian and Edwardian streets with little traffic now, getting back home after 45 minutes, my standard time.

I cool down and wash, and then breakfast on half a grapefruit and muesli, my weekday standard. (Saturday is fried eggs, and Sunday two boiled eggs - to remind me that it's the weekend). My weekday pattern is typically physical exercise to start the day, then domestic admin and emails in the morning, practical tasks in the afternoon, communications with family late afternoon/early evening, then supper and FaceTime with my partner H. Any spare time is reading the paper or a book and perhaps watching a TV programme.

My newspaper (the "i") is delivered by the paperboy and I carefully put it in the warm oven (for five minutes) to kill any virus, and wash my hands.

Today I listen to the BBC news and comment. I have always listened to BBC Radio 4 whilst eating and doing jobs, but I have found Radio 4 recently so irritating that I often switch to Radio 3. I was a staunch supporter of the BBC, but I think they are now scared of the Government removing the licence fee, and so their interviewers and presenters do not ask searching questions. During the Brexit debate they did not call out unsubstantiated claims from Brexiters. On climate change they had Nigel Lawson saying that global warming is not happening – unchallenged! And now they are not forensic in their questioning of the Government’s COVID-19 data and actions. Having said that, there are excellent BBC radio programmes on the arts and science which I often catch as podcasts.

After breakfast I review my To Do list, and mark priorities for the day. I stop work at the computer to do the 09:00hrs Joe Wicks "PE with Joe" physical exercise class on YouTube. Each day I do this at the same time as my younger son and family over in West Worthing. We link via WhatsApp video so that we can see each other doing the exercises. It is half an hour and although aimed at the family it is hard work. Evidence shows strongly that it is important for physical and mental wellbeing to get a lot of exercise. Now that we are allowed unlimited time outside, I will be cycling more. After Joe Wicks I have a shower and set to work back at the computer.

Domestic admin and emails take me through until lunch at 13:30hrs, today later than usual. Things that I have worked on include the following. I read and respond to U3A (University of the Third Age) emails in discussion groups on music, philosophy, politics, and the COVID-19 situation. For the local cycling group, I put together my proposals for improvement to facilities for cycling in Worthing. This is in response to the Government's sudden realisation that cycling is a coronavirus-safer alternative to public transport. There is not road space for everyone to take to their cars. Money and emergency regulations are now available to support cycling. I am active in the local Green Party and today I organise candidates for the local elections next year, May 2021. I contact twelve people and only have two refusals. Great. With Green Party colleagues I work via email on our newsletter, which is now on-line as we cannot do door to door deliveries because of the virus. We discuss how to keep the benefits of clean air, low noise, and safer roads in Worthing after coronavirus. For my computer, I am changing my broadband contract for higher speeds and I go through the straightforward but lengthy on-line process for this. Getting food supplies could have been a problem for me but being over 70 I am a priority customer at a local supermarket. Today I put together my (large) order on-line, and I am allocated a delivery slot by Waitrose on Monday. I am fortunate as all the other slots are booked up for two weeks ahead. I spend time loading a new tracking app on my phone to give me more accurate data on my running. I buy a new Internet domain. I need to change my email address because my .eu European domain will probably not be allowed after October this year. Brexit! What a stupid thing for the UK to do.

My morning break at 10:30hrs is fresh coffee and a hot cross bun. The coffee is from Edgcumbes at Arundel because I try and support local suppliers, and I like the treat of good coffee.

For lunch I have a bagel, pickle (made by my brother-in-law in his organic food factory in Cornwall), local cheese and a salad followed by fruit.

After lunch one of my neighbours phones. She lives next door but one, but we cannot see each other: catching up by phone seems odd. We have a long chat. She is worried about her young grandchildren not getting social contact with other toddlers. She has a friend with a daughter who was sacked just before the 80% support was announced and has had to apply for universal benefit and risks losing her small rented flat.

As usual for me, this afternoon is doing practical jobs. Two years ago, I suffered an infestation of carpet moths (case-bearing moth Tinea pellionella) and I make a routine check around the house for eggs, larvae cases and moths. Today all is well but as a precaution I move furniture and vacuum the edges of all the carpets. I have moth traps set up which have caught nothing I'm glad to say. I'm taking this opportunity of more time to sort out the family camping equipment which is in the loft and suffering entropy. In the sitting room I clear the grate of the open fire where I burn logs on cold evenings. The wood ash goes on the compost heap. I do some other housework. In the garden I fill the bird feeders and check the bedding plants. The squirrels have dug up my lobelia which I replant. I have had to put wire mesh over most of my young plants to stop the squirrels destroying them. I'm waiting for the grey squirrel contraceptive drug to come on to the market. The weather has been dry and so I do some watering of pots. The water butt had been empty but filled with the rain a few days ago.

As usual I have a late afternoon FaceTime call with my daughter and grandson in Manhattan New York for about an hour. There are in a 23rd floor apartment with no balcony. My son-in-law is working at home in the flat in their bedroom. My daughter is expecting a baby in July and so that is a worry with the New York hospitals full of COVID-19 patients. I worry about them getting enough exercise, but they go out for a walk most days, and my daughter does on-line music and dance for my grandson, and on-line yoga and maternity exercises for herself. My partner H and I were booked to fly over and stay with them this month but obviously we cannot go, leaving them more isolated. I show pictures and read stories to my grandson. He is two years old. If I show him toys, he thinks that he can have them to play with and gets frustrated. Sad.

Immediately afterwards, another neighbour phones, whom I normally see frequently face to face being four houses away, and again we have to catch up on news remotely. He has some dill and fennel plants for me which he'll leave by my front door for a sterile transfer.

Now I don't have much time for supper and so unusually I heat up half a commercial pizza and make a salad. I start to eat the pizza when my elder son calls from his house near Shepherds Bush for a bedtime story for my granddaughter and grandson. I read three Just So Stories on the earlier recommendation of my partner H. I feared Rudyard Kipling might be old-fashioned but my granddaughter (7) loves them. She really wanted Harry Potter but I don't have the Prisoner of Azkaban which she's now enjoying.

I finish my cold pizza and then have warm spicy plums which are out of the freezer originally from the plum tree in my garden (plum tree now gone to make way for my potting shed). I read the i Newspaper and then the New European weekly newspaper My partner H WhatsApps me to say that she has finished her Zoom Pilates class and talking to her daughter. We have our daily FaceTime chat and we review our day's activities, talk about current U3A email discussions, and plan tomorrow evening when we are part of a family Zoom quiz session for the first time. At the start of the epidemic, H set up a COVID-19 support group in her village and she tells me about how that is working.

Being busy displaces the darker thoughts. Now, as always at the end of the day, being separated from my partner feels awful. Also, I think about not being able to play in the garden with the grandchildren, and not having a personal and close chat with my three children.

It is 22:15hrs and I put these thoughts out of my mind as I load the dishwasher, tidy up and lock the house. Against advice, I use my iPad in bed, but with the screen set to a warm colour which is supposed to aid sleep. Competing against a relative, I do one word of on-line Scrabble (actually a Scrabble look-alike called Words With Friends), and finally I do (sometimes just attempt to do) the Independent On-line Concise Crossword. I turn off the light at 23:00hrs as usual and fall asleep.

The Decline in the Role of Creative Artists in Developing Political Consciousness (25th March, 2020)