This weekend is the anniversary of my starting to work from home. I don’t really want to talk about it and there is no need for you to read this, but I still feel I must mark this most unusual of years!
I have been one of the lucky ones, working full time from home for Cardiff Council Highways and earning a wage. With fewer distractions I have probably achieved more than I would have in the office. I am blessed with great colleagues and with bosses who don’t micro-manage me. We keep in touch through Teams – a business equivalent of the much-mentioned “Zoom”.
In a way I feel jealous of those who have been forced to do “nothing” for a year as I have found so very little time for myself and my hobbies. But that is churlish and ungrateful. I am not starving, I am not alone and I have no children to home school.
Touch wood I have survived and have now had my first Covid vaccination (AstraZeneca, delivered through a car window at a sports ground, since you ask – my husband, in an older “cohort”, had the Pfizer at a leisure centre).
The time just before the first lockdown now seems so surreal. A group of us even went to an ice-hockey game on March 6, 2020, despite the growing concerns about the coronavirus. It was loud and boisterous and sweaty and probably an ideal breeding ground for a virus. Yet we all got away with it. The Cardiff Devils beat the Sheffield Steelers and I couldn’t wait to go and watch another game, this having been my first time at the brilliant Ice Arena. Not much chance of that!
A week later all “non-essential” hospital operations in Wales were cancelled. My husband had been due to have an “urgent” hip replacement – he was 10 days away from it and I had been counting down the days by removing a shiny penny from a jar each morning. Now the hope was gone.
In the end he didn’t have his operation until December and was in agony and immobilised for all those long months.
Two days before the lockdown I had a haircut, at a time when masks and face shields were a novelty and not worn by everyone. And I still caught the bus everywhere but tried to keep my distance.
A neighbour kindly gave me my first face mask – a floral one I still keep as a souvenir although I have since graduated to something more efficient.
Then on March 19 we had our last gathering in the office and said goodbye to each other, in a “when shall we three meet again” kind of way. I never dreamed it would be over a year before we could. In those days the situation seemed new and almost exciting (I am a journalist, after all), so there were no tears.
I was set up at home as my manager kindly thought I should shield to protect my husband – I was also the oldest in the office!
The good news was that I was first to have all the IT equipment set up and delivered so I was soon ready to roll with excellent new kit. Again I have to admit how lucky I am, with my own big desk and a view over the garden.
Those were the days when kind younger neighbours asked if they could do anything at all for us and we all clapped on doorsteps for the NHS once a week. We live in a cul-de-sac but the clapping and beating of saucepans and lids on the main street beyond brought a lump to my throat.
I began with good intentions – I would go for a walk every day and get plenty of exercise and sunshine. It didn’t work out that way. If it hadn’t been for tree following I would not have left the house – and even then I chose a tree in my own garden so didn’t have to go far. I was lucky to go for a walk once a month, to the nearest park or eventually a small Co-op shop. That became an adventure as at first we had everything delivered.
I have to say that in the early days we were let down by Tesco. In the first week more than half the items we had ordered were unavailable – and not just toilet rolls and hand sanitiser. We are regular customers but it soon became apparent we could no longer book a slot. On one exciting occasion I got out of bed at midnight to log on and after an hour of trying I did manage to book a newly-released slot. But only the once.
Eventually Tesco brought in more vans and drivers and now I can book four weeks in advance and depend on Tesco for all my groceries and earn lots of loyalty points.
This now makes me feel guilty. For the first couple of months our small independent local shops rallied around and we had deliveries from the greengrocer, baker and butcher. We even ordered cheese delivered from Wensleydale in my husband’s home county of Yorkshire.
These people were wonderful and the produce was fresh, often home-made and of great quality. And now for the most part I just get everything from Tesco. Sorry, sorry, sorry…
Only occasionally did I venture out. We all so easily accepted the socially distanced queues outside the post office. At supermarkets we had the one-person-in, one-person-out system monitored by nervous bouncers (eventually by red and green “traffic lights”) and instructions to follow the one-way footprints on the floor.
What was good?
– Being around to help my husband – although if his hip replacement had not been delayed by the very circumstances that made me work from home I would not have needed to be there.
– Not having to commute and being at home to take in deliveries. Sorry, but it’s mostly Amazon!
– Having flexible hours and being able to clock out for an hour to plant potatoes or sweep the yard or even spring-clean a room.
– We have discovered lots of eateries that now deliver. We have a favourite Chinese, Indian, Italian, fish and chip shop, pizza parlour and even a Greek restaurant. On Sundays I have eggs benedict delivered for breakfast.
What was bad?
– I miss my good friends from work and the casual acquaintances I would meet in the corridor or office kitchen. Although some of us meet on Teams and by email and one of our highway inspectors occasionally makes tiffin from chocolate, nuts, biscuits and raisins and drops some on my doorstep.
– I miss the buses – even the waiting at bus stops in rain and wind and snow. They pass by nearly empty and sad. We no longer have a car and won’t risk the bus so my wanderings are limited to how far I can walk – and I am now so unfit, having put on a stone or more and exercising so little – that I can’t easily walk more than a mile there and a mile back.
– I miss the hairdresser! Until this week when the salons reopened I had gone six months without a cut and colour and my hair was a mess and greying.
Memories of the year
Events were very few. There were one or two hospital visits by taxi with my husband but mostly telephone consultations. The district nurses visited to brighten our days.
In November I went to the subdued funeral of a close family member – not Covid related. There were 20 of us, socially distanced, no hymns and no reception. At least the sun shone and we all had a very quick, masked hug.
On Christmas Eve my husband came home from hospital after his hip replacement and the neighbours came out to wave. It was a quiet Christmas as usual but it felt like a real celebration this time. We watched Mackenzie Crook’s latest brilliant and poignant Worzel Gummidge adventure on TV.
Few achievements
The best I can report is that we survived.
I should have read more books – in the year I read precisely four books, because I read most when travelling by bus or waiting at bus stops and this was denied me. It is also my own fault because I spent any spare time playing dozens of different iPad games instead.
Wouldn’t it have been great if I had achieved some decluttering? The best I can offer is that with the charity shops closed I did actually sell a box of books to Ziffit. The earnings were small but a courier did collect the package, so it was convenient.
I just about kept up with one blog post a week but the variety has diminished when I have so few new experiences to report or photograph. I apologise that I take so long to answer comments.
New possessions
I could count the year in terms of new possessions. Early on our fridge-freezer stopped being cold and we had to replace it rapidly. Our favourite local appliance company suggested something and delivered on the same day. But because of Covid restrictions the delivery men were contactless and the fridge-freezer had to go into the garage.
This was eventually a blessing as we bought a posher fridge-freezer for the kitchen from the same firm when restrictions eased, which means we now have spare capacity and I have discovered how much better fresh vegetables keep in a fridge, from greens to carrots and parsnips.
We also have a new garden fence, a new kitchen tap, vegetable rack, steak knives, bowl, doormat, duvet, heater and all the odds and ends you find you need when browsing online.
We have bought many books – physical books for my husband and Kindle for me – and CDs.
Of course we have also bought plenty for the garden – seed potatoes, begonias, blueberries, fuchsias, pelargoniums, lots of compost…
What more can I say? I see no end to this pandemic but it doesn’t feel the way I would expect from all the science fiction disasters I have read over the years. Fear and panic are suppressed and it feels like sleepwalking from day to day.
A year on it must surely be time to revive those resolutions I once had to achieve more than just working, my caring duties and playing games on my tablet.
Spring is here. I MUST get some sunshine and exercise. And once I feel safe again I must visit the greengrocer, baker and butcher who were so helpful when this crisis first began…
I wonder what your experiences have been?
Hi Pat it’s been some time since I visited your blog sorry for that,reason being I have been studying for my BA degree, the Mycenaean ancient scripts called Linear B for which I have just completed. So there hasn’t been much on my blog either. Pleased you have had your vaccine and hope all is well with you and your husband is on the mend. You certainly have been through more than enough which you could have done without never mind the pandemic to add to it.I have had both my vaccines and my husband has had the first with the 2nd to follow next week. As you say it’s been a very long year for everyone in the world,lets hope it will soon be over and we can get back to some sort of normal living but I guess thats going to be a while yet. Take care and stay safe.and good luck with you working from home !! .
I’m sure I have been more guilty of neglecting you than vice versa!
I must get back to looking at your blog more often – the archaeology in particular.
Congratulations on your degree!
I see from your blog that you are also having problems with the Block Editor. I can’t make it work at all but every time WordPress seem to have made it impossible for me to continue I am helped by “Flighty”, one of our tree followers. Again he has found an easy fix so we can continue using Classic Editor.
But when that is no longer an option my blog will die. Horrified!
If you haven’t worked out how to carry on with Classic Editor let me know and I will pass on Flighty’s brilliant tips.
All the very best for brighter days ahead 🙂
An interesting post. I’m retired and live alone so the past year hasn’t really been much different for me. I go to the plot most mornings if the weather’s okay and shop once a week early morning to avoid people. One thing I do miss is my weekly visits to the local library which I last went to just over a year ago and has been closed ever since. My insomnia was worse for a while but has thankfully lessened recently. I’ll carry on as I have been regardless of what the near future brings.
Take care. xx
I’m pleased you are happy with your own company.
You are obviously someone who realised the wonders of nature and gardening long before so many other people who have only discovered this in the last year.
And of course the online community probably helps everyone keep in touch with the outside world…
Stay safe and happy 🙂
I retired three years ago – almost exactly, to the day – and wonder how I would have coped trying to do my office-based job entirely from home during the Covid year. It’s great that, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, so many people can work effectively and safely from home. But the social aspects of work are important, too. When you approach retirement you can plan for the change (WordPress is part of my coping strategy, meeting and interacting with people virtually) but to have it suddenly thrust upon you as happened 12 months ago must have been very, very difficult. I wish you well, and hope that some sort of normality may return for you before much longer.
I have just read your post about retirement. Interesting you were in local government, too.
I’m pleased that you are having a full and interesting retirement, with lots of travel (at least until lockdown) and new experiences.
I have to say that I am still not looking forward to properly retiring – for one thing I have no real private pension and won’t get my state pension until this year – I’m one of the “waspi” women who expected a pension at 60.
But really I do not want to stop work. I have been with the council only four years and am loving it. Even working from home I feel my work is important and I keep in touch with colleagues every day.
What really hit me was when I was made redundant from my life as an editor and journalism training manager in 2015. That was a real shock after nearly 40 years and I realised I could not cope without the structure of work.
I wish you well, too. Stay safe 🙂
Hi Pat. Thank you for visiting my blog. I can appreciate your reluctance to stop working. Although I understood intellectually what to expect of retirement, with hindsight I don’t think I was emotionally prepared for the massive changes that it would bring. You’re clearly more savvy than me, and so should cope better when the time comes. But the good news is that you can – in principle – work on for as long as you like. When you and I embarked on our working lives the retirement age was fixed by law, and at the age of 60/65 (gender dependent!) retirement was compulsory. What an inhumane approach, in effect consigning people to a state of worklessness – regardless of their aptitudes, wishes and personal circumstances – simply because they had reached a government-determined retirement age! In that sense things are much, much better these days, with workers having more control over their own destinies. And in my experience local government always plays by the rules, so you shouldn’t be pressurised to finish before you are ready. I hope it works out well for you when the time comes 🙂
Incidentally, I’ve just re-read your post and realised there are so many more things I could comment on, reflections on the similarities and differences between our experiences of the Year of Covid. But I’ll spare you that…after all, you have a job to do! Take care and stay safe, and best wishes to your husband too.
Thank you for your reply – and I am so sorry I am just not finding much time for anything but work and caring at the moment!
You are right about local government playing by the rules – very different from the attitude of the private sector where I used to work.
I don’t fear redundancy any more as if my wonderful boss really feels I can offer no more usefulness any more I will be happy to go. As my role was more or less created as a new one to cover what I was contributing to more effective systems of working I hope it will continue for a bit longer.
Maybe we will speak again. Enjoy new-found freedoms as and when you get them back again. best wishes 🙂