The Lockdown Gang - not setting foot outside!

I have just had a message from NHS sheilding number, commenting that I haven't requested a food box.

That was a surprise to say the least! However, we are OK, as family are bringing shopping and it doesn't feel right to request one, just because it's free.

A whole palaver, trying to get special request prescriptions this morning.
Despite my prescriptions alway going to the same pharmacy, I had to give all the details again.
Then had to go through the procdure again to request, DD's.

It set me wondering, what if a patient was too unwell to deal with this and lived alone. .

I am indeed fortunate.

I’ve been reading a book about Nelson Mandela.

He was imprisoned for 27 years and was allowed to write and receive a letter every six months and to gave a visitor once a year for 30 mins.

Yet one of the greatest moments of this age was to watch him strolling out the of his prison in front of the worlds media, calm and dignified.

He said ‘I have been on a long holiday”

I’m taking him as my inspiration. 12 weeks in my own home?

have not gave

Quite an inspiration Eglantine.

I also refused the box Mary as we are coping quite well at the moment. In fact due to a glitch we are having the same Sainsbury delivery on Wednesday and Thursday. I am loathe to cancel the Thursday one until the Wednesday one has arrived!

Good Morning to "The Gang"
Another two to add to your Lockdown gang if we may!!!

Yes both my dear man and myself are in the top rated vulnerable group and following the advice (such as it is!) to the letter.
Ever thankful that we vacated our former rather big home with garden to match for this very pleasant flat in a Sheltered Housing scheme.
At least we can manage!!
Finding the sunny weather both a blessing and a pain,lovely looking out on blue skies and spring breaking through everywhere,yet the call of the sun is to be outside soaking up those rays!
Catering continues with our 2 course Lunch time Hot meal being delivered to our doors,tea sandwhich and cake can be ordered for an additional £2 whilst "Chef`s Larder" can supply the more pressing and needful bread,milk,cheese,eggs,plus cereals,biscuits and a few choice items.
For those having Tesco deliveries it has been a nightmare now reduced to simply being lucky!!
Sadly our local town store offer Grocery services but charge £15 per delivery which when but a little over a mile away surely is a case of "daylight robbery"??However one way or another obviously none of us are likely to starve!!

At the moment a van with Paramedics is parked outside and of course we worry that this could mean the dreaded virus has arrived.
Tomorrow will be another new day and hopefully one where you all experience good care and some cheery smiles!
Thanks for allowing us in!!

Ha! Send them on to me dragonfly. Can’t get one for live or money around here.

(Too many old people???)

love -though perhaps that was a Freudian slip......

Mr & Mrs Dreamkeeper please join in at doodles' jail. It's not too bad in here really.
Your delivered hot meal sounds good.
I hope the paramedics are there for something else.

Marydoll. I heard some rather depressing news about the lockdown that although they want to get children back to school and a gradual lifting of the restrictions, for those of us sheilding our time could be extended! So much for release for good behaviour.

I am going to close my gates to stop wandering people. A friend who delivers groceries to us, said that up her way the flytipping is appalling. Do I want to know this?

I phoned the council (about the litter building up next door) and a recorded message asked if I wanted to be put through to the Kindness Team! So that's what the council have been up to since they began working from home. Original?

Mr &Mrs Dreamkeeper welcome my dear friends to this most exclusive group. Lovely to have you with us.
Your meals and service sound good. Are the communal areas in you housing block closed now? I imagine, like us, you are staying in your apartment and not venturing out. I do hope the ambulance is nothing serious for someone. We had one here the other day for a couple of hours.
The local shop charging £15 for delivery sounds a bit steep to me. Lucky that you can have supplies from the Chefs larder ?

We are doing ok for food having secured a Sainsbury’s delivery. Not been offered any food boxes but have had two phone calls from the council to see if we are ok?

gramaretto I suppose it’s only natural that they will want the shielded group to stay in longer than most. I would be happier if I thought the children could get back to school and the younger workforce back in jobs so that the economy could start improving. Shops, cafes and hotels need income as do so many small businesses. It’s harder for some than others to stay in I think. Those on their own or with young children and no garden.
We consider ourselves lucky that we have a balcony with a nice view.
Mind you, DH’s ankles have started swelling a bit. He usually walks 2 or 3 miles a day and climbs several flights of stairs for exercise and all this staying in isn’t helping. I daren’t let him go out and climb the stairs in our block in case he picks up some virus so he has to resort to climbing up and down on our two step indoor ladder. Our purpose built gym ?
Take care all. Enjoy your day

Hello fellow inmates. Thank you for your kind understanding words.
Sounds like the prison food is picking up for many. I received a letter from the governors (Council) this morning offering me prison rations (food parcel) but I still don't like the idea. We're okay for food atm thank goodness as whilst apparently the main supermarkets now have the shielding list for Wales one or two people I know have told me it is still not "computing" for them (no I haven't been socially mixing with them by the way?). Gosh, that so so BiG BrOThEr doesn't it?!
Eglantine that could well have been a Freudian slip ?, appeals to my humour.
It's interesting that some European countries are opening up a bit now, seems a strange move by some considering the number of cases still occurring. I did notice that a couple of businesses in consideration for opening up were diy stores and garden centres, social distancing rules still applying of course. I'm wondering whether these are being considered not only because it is a step to restarting economies but will also give people in lockdown something to do - gardening, decorating etc.
Right, I'm off to tinker in my cell - inspection may be taking place any moment (need to tidy up) . Back later I hope.

Doodle can you follow an online yoga, taichi or gentle exercise routine for DH? I worry about mine too as he tends to sit about even though we have a large garden.
I think it's depression actually. Although he is usually so upbeat.
I have had a phone call from the Council (Kindness team?) asking if we needed a food parcel (sorry Eglantine) which I declined but checked that we could register anytime if we changed our minds.

Unfortunately another horrid thing. I leave a bag with a shopping list and money in a jam jar near my doorstep for my friend to pick up and fill from the shops. She phones to say she's delivered. Today there was no money so it must have been stolen in that short time. Ah well. We won't be doing that again. It was £20 so not a huge loss but it sure makes us feel uncomfortable.

Marydoll I hope you got your meds?

I read what you had said about compost and thought to myself That's something I could order to be delivered from our local garden centre, which is only doing deliveries. So I go on their website and lo and behold there's a message saying please no more orders! We are snowed under with orders. It's good I suppose that some businesses are busy.

What a despicable thing to do to steal from someone that way Grammaretto? Some people have no shame!

CherryCezzy thanks and condolences to you.

My friend told me that Lidl today wasn't very nice either. She said one angry woman went to the checkout and pointed to the end of the long queue. " Do I really have to stand there?" The girl on the checkout calmly said yes!

Gosh Grammaretto how shocking having money taken from your step. I worry about the veg and milk delivery as they come before I get up.
I am running out of cash and cannot get out to get any more. It is not really needed I suppose but I do like to have some in.

I suspect too that we will be the last to be let out of our cells. The children first then the rest in ascending age order!!

I hope you got your meds Mary. We order ours online which are sent to Boots who then deliver. Being shielded does have its advantages although the granddoggy has an eye infection I think and there is no way I can get him to the vets. I will just have to bathe it in warm water if he lets me.

Grammaretto, I echo what CherryCezz posted. Such a disappointment that people take advantage of those who have trust. Very sad. I hope you are ok. Xxx

Dragonfly how are you doing? Thinking of you xxx

? Grammaretto
I embarrassed myself earlier , I put the microwave on to warm some flat breads I made a couple of days ago, the microwave beeped and I opened the door to take them out. Nothing was inside!! The flat breads were still sitting on the dining room table where I'd put them ready to pop in! Still, gave me and my WP something to laugh over.
A short time before that my WP found a dead sparrow in the garden and had just buried it. It upset him. He loves the birds. A little laugh at my expense helped cheer him up ?
I did well on the group Q&A today, (blowing my own ?) hurrah! Keeps the brain cell going, even if I did go and lose it again. Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and it will return?

Dragonfly, taht's is such a horrible thing to happen to you. ? Do you think it is anything to do with man in your garden teh other day?

dragonfly and Grammaretto, I do use the online service for ordering my prescriptions, all 14 of them this morning.
However, the other meds I need, all depend on blood tests, (which I can't get, as I'm sheilding) and you cannot order online, you must request by phone.
I once tried ordering them in the comment box at the bottom of the repeats and got told off for doing so! .

My prescriptions have always been sent directly to the pharmacy, but due to the present situation, we have had to state the preferred pharmacy all over again.
As I live in a different town from my GP, the pharmacy won't deliver. It's such a faff!
To make matters worse, it will take three days for the prescription to be written, then another two days before pharmacy will dispense.
The pharmacy now have an anwer machine and are not answering the phone.
It's all so stressful.

Anyway, apart from that my day has been quite , even more so when I found the missing Easter Egg stash, hidden in the linen cupboard. ?
Anadded bonus was a tin of Celebrations, slightly out of date, but waste not, want not, as my mother would say!
I'm in for a feast!

cherry I hope your cell is spick and span. You don’t want to fail inspection ?
gramaretto thank you for your suggestions. Yes DH is doing some indoor exercise so he is trying to keep fit. I’ve made him sit with his feet up a lot today so hope the swelling goes down.
That’s an awful thing that happened with your money. Fancy someone stealing it from your doorstep.
dragonfly how are you? Hope granddoggy’s eye gets better.
We are having a bit of a faff with our medicines too Marydoll. Like you, DHs meds involve blood tests but I think his consultant is just going to let him continue on the same dose for a while as he seemed to be doing ok on it.
Trust you to have a hidden stash of chocolate ?
Sleep well all. Don’t forget, lights out by 11 pm when the warden does the final check ?

I joined the lockdown gang not long after it started and have failed to post since but realise that if I want to be part of a gang, I need to prove myself.

Well, I have - I have managed to get a supermarket slot!!! I rang Sainsburys who told me I wasn't on the list. I assured her with wavering voice that I was (wavering because it was my 'one chance' to get fresh fruit). I don't think she really believed me but grudgingly took my details and after 2 days, I logged on and found a slot.

Please can I stay in your gang?

Of course you can missedout ?. Glad you have a slot. It is difficult not knowing what supplies are going to be like from one week to the next. Do you have any support locally? Some of us have had calls from the council and others have been offered food boxes.

My cell is duly tidied but my brain cell is still a bit amiss.
I think the lights out will be welcome tonight. Just a warm hot chocolate ? and I will well and truly be in nod nod land.
In "stir" it may feel like it's all the same day every day but tomorrow is another day whatever day it is.
Gov'nr Doodle we inmates are all behaving as we should, I hope that means that there'll be less time on parole. ?

Certainly. I run a cosy prison here. Hot chocolate, cosy bed and I’ll even read you a bedtime story cherry . Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess locked up in an ivory tower... ?

A VERY warm welcome to the newbies. Pull up a chair and Doodle will make you some hot choc.

Doodle You made me smile and it reminded me of a recent joke, 'Don't forget Rapunzel was in isolation for years but still managed to meet the man of her dreams.'

I think my hair might be as long as hers by the time I get out to a hairdresser but I don't anticipate meeting the man of my dreams; my hairdresser is quite popular on the drag circuit

Eglantine21 Yes, Nelson Mandela was (and still is) an inspiration.

I went outside yesterday!
I took all of 8 steps to put my recycling bin out by the kerb and then a further 8 at night to bring it back.
A marathon !

The emptied bin was blown over in the Antarctic gale which is still sweeping down our road, bowling great clouds of rain before it and sending spooky noises through the windows.

I'm missing my son very much but although he could visit 'legally' we've decided it's too risky with his wife being only 10 weeks pregnant.

He's the shopper in their lockdown/up but is taking every precaution and cleaning all items, including his shoes (as we've just heard C-19 germs can be carried on footwear), before going indoors.

Wishing everyone in my cellblock, well and happy.