SCOTTISH BORDERS IN LOCKDOWN: A-Z Blogging Challenge 2021
COMFORT EATING? I plead guilty! The fridge is stocked mainly with healthy salads, yoghurts, cheeses & stewed fruit, and I know we have healthy meals with plenty of vegetables, nuts and seeds, and fruit, but the store cupboard and biscuit tin are definitely my foes and I am a chocoholic! We tend to comfort eat and we like our mid morning and mid afternoon breaks. On the other hand I am not indulging in scones which are a staple "goodie" here when going anywhere for coffee etc . So yes, I cannot deny the pounds are slowly creeping up.
COMMUITY SPIRIT is alive and well in Earlston, despite the fact organisaitons cannot meet, events have been cancelled, there is nowhere to go for a meal, or even have a congenial coffee out with friends; and the two hairdressers and the beauty salon are closed, along with the few other non-food shops in the village - there is an eerie empty feel to the High Street.
But the Community Council set up a Resilient Group of volunteers for people to get in touch and get help with shopping, collecting prescriptions or simply providing a regular chat, etc. etc. In the first Lockdown, Residents have been joining in the national Clapping for Carers at 8pm in our doorways on a Thursday evening; children painted rainbow pictures to put in the windows as a symbol of hope; and in what was supposed to be a busy Civic Week, only the Scarecrow Festival Competition went ahead - the topical theme - supporting key workers
CREATIVITY – with
all this time my hands at home, I did turn to my current favourite craft
activity, – wool crochet and finished
the throw I was working on and squares to be made into blankets for an African
charity Friends have also been making
items for local charities - soft toys
for children, beanie hats for homeless charities, tiny hats for premature babies, masks to sell
locally etc. etc. enjoyable activities and all in a good cause.
MY COMPUTER - I cannot imagine life without it! Most of my hobbies, apart from crochet (above) are computer based - such as family and local history, and writing book reviews.
CHIT-CHAT - there is nothing like a chit chat on the doorstep or on the phone to raise spirits and counter any thoughts of isolation from the outside world.
COUCH POTATO? In terms of watching daytime television - No! It is something I have rarely done apart from on state occasions and the Wimbledon lawn tennis championships in the summer. BUT I can quite appreciate that for people who cannot get out and about TV can be a lifeline and a benefit.
I've been reading through your A-Z post and find them interesting and I think others in the future will, too. What a good idea for a theme. Wish I had thought of it because it gives a focus to writing about things you know about. Who knows? I may do something like this before its all over.
ReplyDeleteHaving got ahead and drafted a good no. of posts, I was having second thoughts on my choice of theme - were people so fed up at yet another mention of Covid and Lockdown, that my theme was a turn off! So I particularly appreciate your comment. Thank you.
DeleteI haven't been gaining new weight but have been sitting so much I feel like I have gained ten years in the past year.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kristin, for taking the time to comment. Time for exercise?
DeleteI think your theme is a great one Sue. I’m curious, though, if you are still in this level of lockdown? We’ve been so lucky here most of the time and one of the casualties in recent months has been taking less interest in what’s happening overseas. We haven’t been watching TV virtually at all...<10hrs in the past year. Instead I’ve been a reading couch potato ploughing through book after book.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pauleen. Re our Lockdown status here in Scotland, we went into full Lockdown in March 2020, had a relaxation over the summer months, but numbers rose again and we went back into Lockdown at New Year 2021 (too late in many opinions) i.e. only essential shops open (food & pharmacy); household visits and travel very limited and no gatherings. We are only here seeing a slight relaxation this week. But the news from the Continent that countries are going into their 3rd Lockdown is worrying and you cannot help feeling it must cross the Channel to the UK. We shall have to wait and see.
DeleteNo I’ve eaten far too much chocolate and biscuits...with the ensuing results.
ReplyDeleteJoin the clan! But we must have something to compensate for missing other aspects, life in Lockdown!
Delete