East Starth

I started the day well. First I was able to get a photo of my parent’s at their wedding to use as an icon for the Kemp and co family WhatsApp group. Then on to another short Mindfulness practice while my porridge was cooking.Later in the morning I had a visit from a personal trainer, a lovely young woman who had worked out three routines designed to keep me fit even if I cannot leave home. I am relived that the government advice we got later in the day recognises that people may benefit from going out to exercise so for the time being I only need to do the strength part of the sessions.

I also spent time working out what nuts, seeds and pulses I need to cope with a siege and discussing with my local zero waste shop how they might supply them. I don’t want to go back to buying unnecessary plastic if I can avoid it. A very hard thing was cancelling the massage treatment from my niece planned for a week’s time. I feel desperately for those people who’s businesses are scuppered by ‘social distancing’.

I spent late afternoon on our usual Monday run. Three of us had decided that this would be our last such occasion for the duration. Others were still planning various social contacts and even a trip to Japan! On getting home I caught up with the Prime Minister’s statement of Drastic Action. It was unsurprising to us but no less sobering. The three day week, power cuts and fuel rationing of the 1970’s were minor inconveniences in comparison to this. What will the coming days bring.

Yesterday we got our heads around social distancing. Today we are officially warned that some time soon those of us over 70 will be asked ? advised ? ordered ? to socially isolate. My sister and friends under 70 will be in a different section of the community.

Reading the overnight news made me feel stressed before breakfast to a level which felt quite uncomfortable. I like porridge for breakfast which I cook in the microwave. I decided to do a 5 minute body scan and breathing mindfulness practice while I waited for the ping to indicate my food was ready. The few weeks I have been practising have been enough to enable me to do this without guidance. Sit in firm chair, alert but relaxed posture, focus on sensations in the body, focus on the breath… My Garmin Vivoactive 3 confirmed that just that few minutes reduced my stress level from high to low. I then ate my porridge mindfully.

I”ve spent quite a lot of the day in the garden preparing to reinstate a ‘dead hedge’. It is a big task which will take several days. It is a strange sensation to realise that the diary is empty and I can pick up the task again tomorrow and the day after and the day after.

Well, we decided today that John probably is someone who should avoid getting Covid-19. Whether we would have done this if the Premier League had not been suspended, I don’t know. It sounds simple at first to say we are socially distancing but not self-isolating, but we are all working out the rules for this. If it is to be effective, I need to maintain the same level of social distance as John. Teasing out the right advice from the mass of information available on the web is not easy. We are going with the rule ‘Do not spend more than 15 minutes within two metres of (an infected) person.’ I put ‘an infected’ person in brackets because we have to assume that any person who is not taking the same level of precautions as we are is potentially an infected person.  

So; no indoor gatherings, events or travelling on public transport. No grandma duties, yoga, Pilates, coffee shops, cafes. No lift sharing with others not taking the same precautions.

Thank goodness for the advice ‘When social distancing you can still get fresh air, such as gardening, or walking your dog along a quiet lane…’ I am expecting that there will be plenty of distance between customers in Salisbury’s at 7 am.

Staying mostly at home is unusual for me. I know I can do it when circumstances require because I have done it before. Today’s project has been to learn how to set up and use this blog. Not sure what tomorrow will bring but I will finish today with a few gratitude’s;

• My neighbour stood well away from me when she offered to do any shopping I need or help in any other way
• My son sent me a picture of his two daughters in their brand new SYO orienteering tops
• My husband enjoyed the low-carb dinner I cooked for him tonight (recipe available for anyone trying to avoid incipient Type 2 diabetes)
• Signs of spring in the garden include breaking buds on a dark red Rhododendron
• I have at least a couple of friends taking the same precautions as us who can therefore be ‘social distancing buddies’
• I have the skills, equipment and on-hand advice to be able to learn to create this blog – keep learning, keep living
• I live in such a lovely place

I am an active person approaching 70 living in the Derbyshire Dales

Faced with the possibility of keeping Social Distance for an indefinite length of time I want to keep communicating with the outside world.

I do many things which keep me happy and healthy but they are mostly in social groups. I hope by making a public record of how I manage to keep active while social distancing I will motivate myself to keep active.

• Mindfulness – have I done any practice?
• Exercise – what do I manage to keep doing?
• Gardening
• Social Distancing – the challenges and how we overcome them