The pain of separation and the sweetness of reconnection

Hi everyone

First a question has come in about the testing for Covid-19 which is now becoming available.  The current test is to see if you have the infection – not had the infection or will have the infection.  The tests appear to be pretty accurate but repeat testing may be required if someone tests negative but is ill or if someone is well but has a positive test. And remember if you have a negative test you can still catch it the next day when you go out!

This week we should hear the government’s plans to ease lockdown…..which for many will begin a process of moving from saving lives to living lives. It is looking like a mixture of contact tracing and social distancing along with a graduated reduction in isolation. This will be so welcome – not least because people are missing the physical contact with their loved ones.  Zoom and phone calls simply do not meet the human need for touch.  Indeed the pain pathways of social isolation are the same as those of physical pain.  And this process brings into focus the issue of how we reconnect after a period of separation.

Shelagh is my most longterm friend – she apparently came to my second birthday party.  We grew up in Stamford, a beautiful market town in Lincolnshire, and we went out as teenagers.  We have always stayed close.  At university she married and then later divorced. Next she applied to and was granted by the Pope a dispensation to convert to Catholicism and become a Carmelite nun.  For nearly forty years she has lived in this silent order in a monastery in rural Norfolk.  I visit her about once every two years. It is a beautiful meeting – I arrive and wait in a ‘parlour’ - a sparse room divided into two by a low wall.  She enters from the other side and we have a hug across the wall then sit separated. We drink tea and talk unrestrainedly for two hours and ten minutes until she leaves for another of her seven daily services.  I say goodbye for another two years – the number of her visits are limited.  The imposed intervening absences heighten our openness, our intimacy.  While there is pain in separation there is also a different sweet pain of tenderness in reconnection. 

And so it will be for many after lockdown as they meet again friends and loved ones. The connection may not always be through words but through touch and the unsaid.  I am indebted to one of my good friends who reminded me of Marina Abramovitch.  She is a Serbian performance artist who in her twenties fell passionately in love with Ulay with whom she then lived and worked. They decided to walk from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China and marry when they met. It took five years to get permission to do this by which time their relationship had changed…..so they decided to do the walk but hold a ‘separation’ ceremony. This they did and that was the last time she saw Ulay. Many years later Marina was asked to put on a performance in New York and decided she would sit at a table for eight hours a day while members of the public could come in turn and sit silently for one minute in the chair opposite.  She would open her eyes and look at them.  The curator said it would never work as New Yorkers were too busy….but thousands queued.  And after all those years of separation, so did Ulay.  This is the video of their reconnection:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS0Tg0IjCp4&feature=youtu.be

How will you reconnect?

With love

Derek

I welcome feedback and do send details of any resources you have found particularly useful.

There is a summary of how to stay safe at https://www.bremzero.com/staying-safe-summary

If you wish to be unsubscribed from the e mail list please contact me at derek1chase@outlook.com

Time

Hi everyone

The number of daily deaths is falling albeit slowly and while the figures yo-yo a bit mainly because of how they are put together but overall the trend is encouraging and clear.

However, I sense people are no longer really focussed on the stats……their newness and shock have worn off and they have becoming numbing.  It seems that what is of concern to most people now is the long haul of this and the end of lockdown is on everyone’s minds – how and when and for whom will the ‘Ending’ come.  Comments like ‘I’ll go mad if this lasts beyond six weeks’ seem to sum up many attitudes. Someone else said ‘I just hate living like this – fear in front of me, behind me and under me.  I’d rather get the thing even though it might kill me.’   Another wrote ‘my greatest and growing concern is the gradual lengthening of the horizon for getting back to some freedom of movement, both for us, and for workers so that I can order materials. I find not being able to do things because I don’t have and can’t get the materials extremely dis-spiriting. It is the lack of purpose....’  This man loves his Blue mindset – see last week’s blog – and many of us who were busy, focussed and productive through our work would mirror his sentiments.  Some good news for him – B and Q are opening selective stores – unfortunately Bristol not yet Chippenham at present. Their website is overloaded with long delays.

There are only two ways that Covid-19 will come to an end.  Either there is ‘herd immunity’ or an effective and widely available vaccine.  Wonderful to see Bill Gates saying his foundation will pay for its mass production.  Herd immunity means that 75 or 80% of the community are immune having had the disease (or been vaccinated).  We are a long way off either at present.  It will be interesting to watch Sweden’s outcomes because, of all the western countries, they have had the least restrictive policy – businesses largely remaining open – resulting in a much higher but manageable initial death rate and much lower economic disruption.  If the figures hold up their policy of moving fast to herd immunity will have been shown to be effective and encourage other countries to open up sooner.

What came to my mind in all this is our relationship with time.  ‘I’ll go mad if this lasts beyond six weeks’ reflects this.  Time is like the environment, life itself and other big presences.  How do we relate to them?  For myself,f with respect to time, not well. As someone always ‘busy and rushed’ I might say ‘I just don’t have the time’ – does anyone really think I have a different number of hours in my day to everyone else’s? It’s not time’s responsibility – my priorities and choices are my responsibility. Or I might hate time for apparently going so slow when I was bored or so fast when I was anxious. So as there is less to do now (despite zoom meetings, the garden, the cleaning, the online learning, the fitness routine, the cooking of so many more meals, the sleeping, sex, bathing, clothes washing – some or all of these!) -  the relative inactivity may contribute to our impatience for the Ending?

Leo Tolstoy said: ‘Remember there is one time that is important and that is now.  Because it is the only time when we have any power.’  

The Buddha said: ‘The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.’

Perhaps by becoming more aware of our attitude to time and seeing it as a gift we might help ourselves in the current situation.  Time might even become our friend.

Finally some more practical comments and thanks to the various contributors.

For those in financial trouble or needing information this is a helpful debt charity offering free advice and various solutions: https://www.stepchange.org/

For those looking for some culture most of the major providers are allowing free online access with concerts and exhibitions – such as the Royal Opera House, National Gallery, the Southbank and even the Met in New York. You can go to their websites and explore.  At a less exalted level we enjoyed ‘Quiz’ on ITV catchup - a three parter reconstructing the alleged cheating in ‘So You Want to be a Millionaire’.  Perhaps enjoy with a takeaway – we had our first this week – popped it in the oven to decontaminate on arrival. Consider supporting local businesses e.g. for a Bengali meal from Calne http://www.spiceofbengal.com/ or the local Baraka Catering which prepares meals you can put in the fridge and eat over the next week or two (camilla@barakacatering.co.uk).

And a comment on masks. I have been advocating their use in public – because they reduce your chances of getting infected and infecting others.  Another local worthy pointed out to me that their removal and disposal after use is important – they need to be considered to be infected and so removed by pulling them off from the back not front of the head and either washed in soapy water for re-use or binned. Along with washing your hands of course. But not with bleach.

With love

Derek

I welcome feedback and do send details of any resources you have found particularly useful.

If you wish to be unsubscribed from the e mail list please contact me at derek1chase@outlook.com

The Lockdown

Hi everyone

To start with some really good news – the Chase household now has its full complement of functioning credit cards  (see earlier blogs)!  Secondly some tips from one of our readers about shopping.  You can order food boxes rather than join the queues at the supermarkets – for instance Morrisons https://www.morrisons.com/food-boxes/  or find an organic food box at https://www.soilassociation.org/organic-living/buy-organic/find-an-organic-box-scheme/box-schemes-south-west-and-wales/ .  Similarly if you need your medicines delivered you can sign up to https://www.echo.co.uk/  operated by Lloyds Pharmacy rather than go out to collect. 

Meanwhile four lockdown weeks gone and at least three more to go.  Humpff.  I sense a loss of commitment to the lockdown – and for varied reasons. More people are fed up with doing the right thing, with some bending of the rules from taking walks to playing tennis to having an outside drink with people from other households …….all of course with social distancing. With no ‘in your face reason’ to be so conforming is it any wonder that the rebellious and independent nature we British pride ourselves on is coming out?  In America we are seeing this played out on a bigger picture. Interestingly your character probably plays a big part in determining your response. A study of 2000 UK residents revealed five main character types. Both the (usually wealthier and older) ‘pragmatic realists’ who shop at M and S and the left leaning ‘nervous dependents’ who like Primark and love the NHS tend to be ok with accepting the constraints - while the other sections of our nation -  the resentful pessimists, deluded optimists and sceptical troublemakers - increasingly resent the lockdown. Here in the countryside we are faced with less direct evidence of the disease to the extent that many people say they do not know anyone who has had it…at least anyone requiring hospital admission.  Will the rural areas follow the high numbers pattern of the cities – like house prices?  Two factors are at work which together determine the spread – how physically close we are to each other and how many people have had it and become immune. Compared with the cities, in general we live with more space which reduces the spread, but consequently we have less community immunity. Until lockdown is lifted there should be no upsurge locally, and after it is lifted not necessarily. It will depend on the virus, our movements, visitors, the weather and much more besides. There is still much to learn about this new virus and its behaviour and effects.  However it is worth considering using those masks in busy public places even if it seems so un-British.   

A second more universal factor that determines our commitment to the lockdown is the uncertainty about its duration and next steps. A plan would be helpful - Austria is impressive with its clear timetable.  People hate uncertainty – with illness the most difficult time is often the ‘not knowing’ after which people face up to their new reality. It is said that ‘Human beings can adapt to anything’ but uncertainty makes that difficult. In nearby Calne some years ago when the Harris pork pie factory – the only employer in the town -  announced it was closing a year later, a local GP practice started counting the numbers of people coming to the surgery in the year between the announcement and the closure and then from the closure for another year.  There was a much higher attendance in the first year with its uncertainty despite the loss of income in the second year. Let us hope that Boris comes back to lead with some decisiveness – right or wrong – as it will help us when there is clarity about how the country is going to move forward.

It is said that the pandemic will cause a few to suffer physically, many to suffer economically and everyone to suffer emotionally.  It is worth remembering that emotions about emotions can become a bigger problem than the initial emotion itself.  For instance you may feel guilty that you are frustrated with lockdown.  Be compassionate to yourself and accept the frustration…….and then it will not hold its power over you. Only humans can imagine the future and therefore get anxious about it so remember that we are here because we are at our core very resilient – it is in our genes. So trust the present and know that you will know what to do whatever situation may come your way.  You always have!

For a particularly good interview on emotions I recommend Elizabeth Gilbert’s TED interview https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_it_s_ok_to_feel_overwhelmed_here_s_what_to_do_next?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

With love

Derek

I welcome feedback and do send details of any resources you have found particularly useful.

You can find a copy of this and all previous blogs plus some resources at the following new website:

https://www.bremzero.com/coronavirus

There is a summary of how to stay safe at https://www.bremzero.com/staying-safe-summary

If you wish to be unsubscribed from the e mail list please contact me at derek1chase@outlook.com

Finding a Role

Easter is a time of rebirth and renewal – and we see it all around as nature comes to life encouraged no doubt by the dramatic drop in pollution.  This year I have been planting loads of vegetable seeds. It really is extraordinary to watch the tiny green shoots appear as the first sign of them becoming what they are meant to become.  Give plants (and humans) the right environment and they flourish. And Boris has risen – hopefully to be renewed though whether it will have as profound an effect as a rebirth we shall see.  Serious illness is a great leveller, a very humanising process, and often does cause a re-evaluation of priorities and values.

This is set against the news of economic collapse and the (expected) rising numbers of daily deaths. While the longterm consequences will need to be faced, I am pleased to see that Italy’s numbers are steadily falling and I expect ours will be soon – around the 17th so only a few days to go in the current phase.  The South West region has fewer deaths both in absolute terms and per head of population than any other English region – indeed about half the next lowest (East of England). In that sense we are very fortunate.

Perhaps the final word about ‘staying safe’ – I have summarised the key points at https://www.bremzero.com/staying-safe-summary/  You will remember the story of my melting an incoming credit card for Sandy.  The new one duly arrived and Sandy managed to cut up the wrong card! So hopefully third time lucky!!

Meanwhile over 700000 people have signed up to help with the crisis and retired doctors are being invited to return to the NHS  - which already has about 1.7 million staff (the fifth largest organisation in the world after the US and China military, Walmarts and can you believe it McDonalds).   Those of us stuck at home with our usual roles gone want to feel useful. Online communication and the occasional trip to the supermarket can leave you dissatisfied.  So we put ourselves forward for new roles.  I received the warning of a potential medical call up. What would I do?  In the at-risk group, did I want to volunteer for the front line or do remote GP consultations with patients I did not know?  Would it be cowardly to say no and heroic to say yes? Having not seen a patient for six years would it be safe?  Would it be useful?  The system is moving forward thanks to the efforts of many great younger doctors, nurses and others who hardly need another older liability to look after. So after much deliberation when the questionnaire arrived I offered to do non-clinical and support work.  It said I would be contacted within three days. Two weeks later, silence.  Not even a ‘thank you but….’……. Inevitably given the scale of both the numbers applying and the level of change out there, any response is likely to be delayed.  The same is true for others who have either volunteered or who are having to redefine their usual supportive role within the community.  The process can leave one frustrated, and feed into a sense of dislocation and disconnection.

There are three main processes in the body that underpin our emotional responses – the ‘Red’ survival action mode, the ‘Blue’ self-esteem achieving mode and the ‘Green’ self-compassion being mode. 

At the beginning of the epidemic we were all busy with survival and the Red – and may have noticed how our behaviour had changed – for instance more alert, less sleep. Not surprising as it is driven by adrenaline designed for fight/flight responses. From time to time this process reappears when for instance we become alarmed with news.  The issue of finding our new roles relates to the Blue system and our self-esteem. This is driven by the hormone dopamine which you need to avoid depression and many people are feeling quite flat and losing motivation. Those of us who in general are driven and nourished by achievement will notice this most – and are probably looking for new skills or challenges to keep themselves motivated.  Meanwhile the Green system relates to ‘being’ and self-compassion rather than any specific action. Its associated chemicals are oxytocin (raised when you fall in love) and morphine (which removes pain and gives you an instant high). While Red asks the question ‘How will I survive?’ and Blue asks ‘How am I different from others?’ Green asks ‘How am I the same as others?’ and so as it comes more into play, we see the community sharing, generosity of spirit and in our better moments more being at peace with ourselves.

So I limit my diet of Red fuelling news, accept the Blue struggle with redefining my role, and find myself content to be busy with the daily chores, with the garden, with bike rides, with on line communication, and have gratitude for being here and being healthy.  Green renewal in its way if not exactly as fundamental as a rebirth.

So in the spirit of the Green, wherever you are on this journey, keep safe and be kind to yourselves.

With love

Derek

I welcome feedback and do send details of any resources you have found particularly useful.

You can find a copy of this and all previous blogs plus some resources at the following new website:

https://www.bremzero.com/coronavirus

There is a summary of how to stay safe at https://www.bremzero.com/staying-safe-summary

If you wish to be unsubscribed from the e mail list please contact me at derek1chase@outlook.com

Life at home

Hi everyone

A week further on in this extraordinary world and perhaps our responses are changing as the initial excitement of rising to the challenge and novelty is replaced with a realisation of the long haul, the uncertainties of what next, the loss of freedoms, and the issues of being cooped up.  And while the Queen gives a rallying call, the Prime Minister is worryingly admitted to hospital.

So as before first a word on keeping safe and the virus out.  Let’s talk shopping and masks.  A question has been raised about fresh vegetables.  What to do?  Assuming you are doing the basics with the wrapping, you can wash your veges on arrival with diluted bleach, Milton, hydrogen peroxide or soap.  They may reduce the goodness of the items a bit but will ensure you are not handling virus covered products. Secondly pets – last week I said that the chances of a pet transmitting the virus is very small and so it is but the British Veterinary Association have released guidance (posted separately on the website) both about keeping pets and walking pets which is more stringent than my advice.  Theirs is based on a very cautionary principle.

Masks.  These are becoming a hot topic as different countries adopt different approaches – and in the USA so even does the first family. There are two types of mask – the basic surgical one most people you see around would be wearing and the N95 respirators mainly used in hospital.  Both stop you (if infected) spraying out the virus in your breath and thereby infecting others as well as reduce your own chances of becoming infected through touching your face after touching an infected object.  In Wiltshire at present this latter route is the main method of catching the virus and the mask provides a simple reminder and physical barrier to prevent our unconscious habit of putting our hands to our face. The N95 respirator mask additionally prevents the inhalation of the virus.  So should you wear them?  My advice now would be no for exercise alone but yes if you go shopping or do other activities which will bring you into closer contact with others or with potentially infected objects. 

I am pleased to see Italy’s daily death count has started dropping since the 4th – as predicted – so even though that is only two days so far hopefully the British figures will also peak around the 17th and then begin to fall.  A date to look forward to.  And one other perspective of reassurance without wishing to belittle the seriousness.  On average last year each day over 1700 people died in the UK and some or many of those dying now would have been in that total……..though dying probably surrounded by relatives and friends.

So that’s the external picture – what about closer to home?

Well, one correspondent wants to warn you about car batteries becoming flat.  She wrote that her ‘intelligent’ car gave her the message that ‘not much better life left’ which seemed rather alarming but then AI – artificial intelligence – knows a thing or two even if it cannot spell.

Another wrote in saying he thought people were becoming rather disinhibited.  He wrote: ‘I was in Sainsburys last week and approached the last and only box of fruit/vegetables, which happened  to be full of limes, at the same time as a short middle aged man (possibly a builder or electrician in his 40s). He said ”Do these do the same as lemons?” I replied ”I was just about to ask you exactly the same question” and then went on to add  “but if you want my hot tip for the day, something I’ve just learnt from a reputable source, garlic up your backside is a very good anti-viral.”  He looked a little shocked. I went on to say that the French have administered medicines up their backsides for years much more than us uptight English. He looked increasingly worried. “Just needs one clove with a little olive oil and pointed end first." We parted company.’  So if you find yourself smelling your friends from six feet you now know what they’ve been up to and you may welcome social distancing.  

Disinhibited in the supermarket? – maybe it goes further as it is said that boredom and youth are the two great aphrodisiacs! What else is happening to our mental and emotional state as we deal with uncertainty and loss. Pandemics tend to amplify our usual ways of dealing with the world.  So if you tend to be anxious, you will be more anxious; if you are a conspiracy theorist, then you will be have a big conspiracy to tell; if you tend to be over optimistic, you may deny the seriousness of the situation.  Your attitude determines your behaviour so being aware of it can be helpful. For the anxious every symptom of a minor illness is seen as Covid19 and you may seek unnecessary medical advice – this is my pattern and I over self-diagnose so fast! You may additionally spend a huge amount of time trying to ensure you are living in a safe environment. Or you may be an optimist and be over relaxed about keeping yourself safe.  And if you live with someone of the other type that can be a real problem as you both feed into each others’ mindsets.  Being aware of this is a first step to helping yourself and your household as it can lead to productive discussions. 

So two weeks into being cooped up at home, you may be thriving or you may not.  The old patterns of behaviour do not necessarily work now and you may find yourself becoming bored or lacking motivation.  It is challenging.  So it is important now to really take hold of how you choose to spend your time, shedding unhelpful patterns and taking on new behaviours – stimulating your mind, taking care of your body – food and exercise and little alcohol – managing your emotions, finding meaning in your life.  What are your values and how are you expressing them?  Are you choosing to be strong and loving, or weak and fearful? Louis Pasteur – the great French nineteenth century microbiologist responsible for the principles of vaccination – famously said ‘The microbe is nothing, the terrain is everything.’ Take care of your terrain.  We are blessed with the presence of the internet and if used wisely this is a wonderful resource.  If not managed well, I have found it to be exhausting.  We have the opportunity of a huge simplification of our lives and the opportunity for reflection, the enjoyment of simple pleasures, of community involvement.  I have heard that many children are now calmer, more open, more giving than before – presumably due to more family time, less pressure, Joe Wicks, being more present.  They can teach us. See the slowing down as a gift.

I finish with a couple of resources that I can recommend:

The College of Medicine has put together an interesting series of talks/skills training from leading experts at https://www.healthflix.online/

For good news take a look at the Octopus website and some of environmental benefits already seen.

https://octopus.energy/blog/optimist/?utm_source=bau&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-octoverse&utm_content=thumbnail

I welcome feedback and do send details of any resources you have found particularly useful.

With love

Derek

Dealing with the news

Hi everyone

In my last blog I focussed on how to keep yourself safe at home – focussing on the ‘incoming’ enemy.  A further word or two on this. Pets. There is currently no evidence of infection in cats and dogs and it is thought extremely unlikely that they can carry and transmit the disease.  So that’s a relief for my relationship with Bramble our labrador.  Secondly newspapers.  One correspondent was wiping his paper down with antibacterial disinfectant……there are three options.  First go electronic to ditch the hard copy, secondly put the paper to one side and read it a day late (there’s no sport, you can watch the news to be up to date, and the games section can wait) or put it in the oven.  However if you choose the latter don’t forget about it.  Another eminent member of the community put her post in the aga for eight hours before she remembered! All was well at the low temperature. What I cannot recommend is what I did. In my enthusiasm to do the right thing, I put a letter for Sandy in the oven at 150 degrees (without looking to be honest - it was warming up before supper) and here is the result. 

Between you and me not the best way to save on household spending!

A further question was about the use of microwaves.  The waves are not of themselves toxic to the virus.  It is the heat generated that is effective.  Otherwise remember you need alcohol 65% minimum (vodka no use at 40%) or soap to destroy the virus and bactericidal solutions no advantage as Coronavirus is not a bacteria.

And one more practical idea – make sure on your contacts you have an up to date ICE contact – In Case of Emergency – with a phone number. May be useful for others.

We are all settling into some kind of routine – perhaps sharing shopping through local whatsapp groups, getting some exercise, doing long awaited DIY and clear outs, gardening…. one idea is to plan your next two weeks of meals to organise your shopping well in advance as the slots are becoming more distant. I make a point of contacting two friends every day and using a video link when possible.

And then there is the issue of the news. This next section I write with a heavy heart for it reminds me of delivering bad news to a patient – moving someone from uncertainty to clarity.  There is a relief in knowing but accompanied by that a profound sense of loss.  We have a stream in our property and we know that when it rains it becomes a river and when it rains very heavily it floods.  There is a delay of about 12 hours from the storm to the river rising.  It is inevitable, predictable.  Coronavirus has been raining unchecked in the UK until lock down last Tuesday.  The nature of the disease means that like the river there is a delay between being infected and the illness becoming apparent (about 5 days) and for the few a delay between being infected and death - of about 23 days.  So it is inevitable, predictable that the numbers of deaths will continue to rise until about 17th April.  Thereafter the daily total should begin to fall. (We should see the daily numbers begin to fall in Italy from about the 4th April).  This is grim news.  And the media will not underplay it.  It is more helpful to accept this reality than each day to become shocked with the figures.  Just as you sow seeds in the garden and have to wait two to three weeks to see the green shoots, so with this situation we have to wait before the tide turns – which it will.  So when you hear of so many ‘new’ cases each day perhaps say to yourself that ‘new’ simply refers to the ‘inevitable, predictable.’  It is less alarming.

And there is good news – that as each day goes by since lockdown the chances of you or your household contracting the disease reduces as there is less of it about. And we know that there are large numbers of people who have had the disease with minimal or no symptoms so the survival rate is almost certainly better than the 97% figure. I am aware that in one hospital many of the senior staff have been ill and fully recovered. 

So the question we all face is how are we going to deal with this inevitability?  With fear or courage, being strong or weak?……..more of that next time.

On a lighter note the results of last week’s quiz which I hope you enjoyed:

Q1: ⚫ 💀                   Black Death
Q2: 🦶👄                    Foot and Mouth
Q3: ☕ 🐝                   TeaBee - Tuberculosis
Q4: 🐷🦅                    Swine Flu
Q5: 🟨🥵                    Yellow Fever
Q6: 💊 🎳 🅰️               Ebola
Q7: 🐓 🅿️ 🐃             Chickenpox
Q8: 🍺 🦠                   Coronavirus
Q9: 🇹🇭 🍜 🆔 🥵         Typhoid Fever
Q10: 🦘 🔔 🅰️              Rubella
Bonus: S🍑                  Sars or Syphilis (there is a plant called yphilis)

And something to uplift you - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eXT60rbBVk&feature=youtu.be

Meanwhile get out when you can in the understanding that the waters will rise and then they will fall…….

With love

Derek

Coronavirus - staying safe

I have been encouraged to start a weekly ‘column’ - though that sounds rather grand - with some nugget points to help with the epidemic.  So here are my thoughts – though I couldn’t contain myself to just a nugget or two.  We are on stay at home and entering a period of rapidly escalating numbers of people being ill – two weeks behind the Italian experience. Expect the news to be alarming but realise we can take many steps to minimise our risks. Managing a new lifestyle requires thought and effort and should be considered a long term commitment.

So for the national advice go to www.gov.uk/coronavirus  Avoid the many ‘false news’ sites. We have made a rule of no corona input (eg TV, texts etc) during the first two and last two hours of our day to avoid being ‘hyperstimulated’.  It can get exhausting.

A key immediate issue is how to keep the virus out of your home.  Think of all incoming objects as the potential enemy.  For shoppers, on  your return assume it’s on your bags and packaging and your hands – first wash your hands, and as the virus lives on most non-shiny surfaces for 24 hours leave the goods unpacked for 24 hours unless they have to be refrigerated in which case put them in the fridge and wash the fridge door handle and then your hands again. Same for milk deliveries. For the post consider leaving unopened for 24 hours or as one of our community is doing putting it in the oven.  5 minutes at preheated 70 degrees will do and less of a fire hazard that at my enquirer’s rather higher 120 degree temperature!  Either way wash your hands.  Finally if you go to the garage or an ATM remember the virus lives on shiny surfaces for 3 days – perhaps longer but that’s a working assumption – so use disposable gloves and/or gel and wash your hands on your return.  And on walks you may be touching metal gates where others have touched…wash hands on return.  The key point is to wash your hands after any ‘incoming’………wow………what a world eh? May be take a look at the summary of staying safe.

Next how to take care of yourself. Get into a routine – avoid daytime TV and getting up late.

Specifically for your health this seems a good summary: https://ourhealth.directory/living-with-coronavirus/.   All the advice is straightforward.  You will see it includes taking probiotics and Sue and Geoff in Charlcutt are offering a 20% discount on some of their products for the local community – if interested contact https://microbz.co.uk/product/bio-live-dark-a-living-fermented-food-supplement/ and use the code BREMHILL20.

Exercise is important both physically and mentally as well as for your immune system.  Get your bikes out, don your walking shoes, and/or sort out the garden! 

Finally stimulate your mind - learn a new skill…….many options available via the internet.  Here’s a quiz to start you off. These are all illnesses – to keep the theme going 😊

Q1: ⚫ 💀
Q2: 🦶👄
Q3: ☕ 🐝
Q4: 🐷🦅
Q5: 🟨🥵
Q6: 💊 🎳 🅰️
Q7: 🐓 🅿️ 🐃
Q8: 🍺 🦠
Q9: 🇹🇭 🍜 🆔 🥵
Q10: 🦘 🔔 🅰️
Bonus: S🍑

Answers next week………..would someone like to organise a village quiz on Zoom?

And to switch off? for a light uplifting film on Amazon Prime we watched Fishermen’s Friends and can recommend it.

Enjoy the peace and the beauty of where we live and the current weather.

With love

Derek

Ps all feedback and ideas welcome.