Lockdown: Day 10

Day 10 begins with Neil commenting that I missed an opportunity to do a Harry Potter themed post – Day 9¾, comparing Covid 19 to Voldemort. Personally I found Voldemort much scarier than a global pandemic. JK Rowling should be pleased. I dodge a bullet here – Neil is the satirist in our family – […]

Lockdown: Day 9

I had a bit of a flat day yesterday, lacking motivation to do anything much. I heard the term seven day itch and realised I was not alone – even a friend who’s generally more positive than it’s fair to the rest of us to be was feeling bleak. One week into lockdown and reality […]

Lockdown: Day 8

When you have a foot in two countries you get used to being unable to spend physical time with some friends, using social media to see what they are up to. Which I’m normally really bad at, scrolling through Facebook once a week or so, resorting to stalking friends when my news feed is full […]

Lockdown: Day 7

I’m not sure of the rules elsewhere but here in New Zealand we’re allowed out of our homes for daily exercise as long as we stay within our social bubbles and our local area. So, for us, that means not driving across the city to the local beach or to my favourite Wellington walk. Which […]

Lockdown: Day 6

There are many benefits to living in New Zealand. This is one of them – it’s a Tim Tam. I’m not a big biscuit person (I’d rather have a bag of crisps) but this is the most divine piece of deliciousness on earth. (I’m also a huge fan of the humble digestive, but only if […]

Lockdown: Day 5

One of the disadvantages of living in the city is noise. The first apartment we rented was by a busy three-lane road where traffic noise was constant, and alongside a building site where piles were being driven. When you’re four storeys up in an earthquake zone and the building shakes every ten seconds or so… […]

Lockdown: Day 4

But wait – there’s more! I’ve never watched much TV in the daytime. Even now I’m not sitting in my dressing gown watching endless soaps or shows where people yell at each other as a presenter tries to restore calm, or others exhibit horrendous physical problems they’re apparently too embarrassed to talk to their doctor […]

Lockdown: Day 3

When you make the choice to live twelve thousand miles away from your family there’s every chance that you leave someone after a visit knowing you may never see them again. Yesterday we received the sad news that this lady, Esther (Ettie) Annenberg, Neil’s Nan had died. She was 111. I heard some sharp intakes […]