Wednesday 25th March 2020 – Isolated Voices – Day Two

Good evening everyone – I hope your day went well

I was talking to a colleague on the phone this afternoon and I have realised that I have only seen one adult in a week. How scary is that? However, strangely my days seem full of interesting conversations, shared experiences and funny stories – such is the power of the internet and your amazing emails – please continue to share your routines, your life stories and your humour …they are keeping me sane!

What can I share with you tonight?Thank you to Chris, who forwarded me a link to a new phone app. COVID Symptom Tracker is an app from the Apple store. Self-report daily. Help slow the outbreak. Identify those at risk sooner.

Thank you to Keeley for this suggestion. If you have a medical condition that makes you extremely vulnerable to coronavirus, please register online to get extra support.

Phil shared another scam today:- Received a landline call saying that my internet was to be disconnected in 4 hours. Press 1 for assistance which i did. There was a lot of blah blah blah then they said i’d need to make an immediate payment so that a new router could be sent out. Please be careful if you get a phone call similar to this

Thank you to Sheila for information regarding ‘The Great British Home Chorus’; a new initiative to bring together both amateur and professional performers around the country as we experience day to day ‘social distancing’

SHOPPING – Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences of shopping (please keep them coming in, as I want to do a report later). However, I would like to share this with you from Michelle, which beggars belief:- Trying to shop online with Ocado:- “…..You are Position 26468 of 27884. Your wait time will be more than four hours…” However, we haven’t run out of basic necessities yet.

Most supermarkets (from what I hear) are not policing the ‘silver hour’, and are allowing anyone to shop, which defeats the point. Please let me know of your good and bad experiences.

Lastly I just wanted to share some more of your creative talents – Lesley has kept busy by continuing his drawing and is currently involved in a personal project with a fellow artist. As Leslie explains…”We selected a drawing by a well known artist- this is by Picasso (on the left). We then attempt to draw it- mine’s on the right. We then show our drawings to each other and talk about our experiences of drawing..”

I have attached the drawing, please do have a look, they are amazing!

Thank you to Sandra who shared with me this poignant poem:-

The Park in time of Pestilence
The park knows naught of the virus
And sweetly welcomes me
With flowers in its sunlit gardens
And a new-leaf spangled tree.
Above, the tones are mainly grey
With a rolling cloudy sky
And through the gaps I faintly see
A vast eternity.

Sandra has also shared a photo of the tree and a sketch that she did of the roof that she sees from her window.

OK…I am finished …long but productive day…it has been lovely chatting with you all

Have a good night

John