In brightest day, in blackest night… (the end of shielding)

 

No, I haven’t been passed a ring from an alien policeperson (nerds will get the reference). 

 

It’s been just over a year since shielding began, it’s been just over a year since I became a virtual hermit, and that year begins to end on Tuesday.  

 

With the exception of a magical week in Wales my world has been predominantly our flat, with a rough 3km circle of wandering there and back distance.  The physical impact can be seen in an expanded waist line, despite cycling Lands End to John a’Groats on the exercise bike and almost half way round Iceland, and becoming mildly addicted to Cockney Kim, Jamie the Lad, Gregg of the unfeasibly low body fat on Applefitness+ the simple fact is in normal times I walk about 10k a day, these days I’m lucky to average three. 

I’m lucky, I have got out a bit. I have friends who haven’t. We’ve not had major problems with getting food (thank you Asda for having collection boxes you can walk to) and we’re as safe as we can be. 

 

I may be lucky but that’s not the same as it not having an impact, I know my mental health has taken a knock.  I’ve developed a twitch whenever someone comes close to my personal space (which is probably best described in kilometres rather than metres at the moment), and the instinctive stare and glare at non-mask wearers who aren’t even bothering with the lanyard of miraculous immunity is going to get me in trouble.  Yes, I have friends who can’t wear a facemask, for good legitimate reasons, trust me these aren’t… 

 

I also have developed genuine fear of places where 2m is more like 50cm+… The responsive risk assessment that we all probably do (even if we don’t call it that) has for me introduced safety factors that in a previous life I’d almost have scoffed at. 

 

Part of this impact is because I’m me; I’m the long distance walker, the recreational ultrarunner, and all the other stuff I do for fun… and I’ve got letters with the signature of two ministers telling me I’m “Clinically Extremely Vulnerable”, I could ignore it, but that wouldn’t be sensible and if things went wrong and I caught Covid at the very least the conversations about me in hospital would be more complex than for others – and that takes time, time which is needed for others. 

Which brings me to the next couple of months, fingers crossed the numbers will keep going in the right direction, for me (and I guess many) we’ll be going to the shops for the first time, getting used to the social distancing others have had months of practice with and working on our fears.  We know the vaccines work, but nothing is 100% and we know we’re probably going to need boosters – most of us are used to that, we get the flu jab every year.  If enough of us have the jab, and we keep to some of the rules of the new normal, then with everything crossed the coming year will be a lot better than the last. 

For me, being me, I have a rough plan sketched out – not a lot changes immediately, and nothing changes quickly.  I need to get used to things again.  But I have a bit more control, I can decide that meeting up on a windy day, on opposite ends of a bench with a fellow shielder is a good thing to do, I may well pop into shops (but reserve the right to walk straight out again) and hopefully, I start feeling a bit more comfortable going out for a walk… 

 

So please do your bit, this is a virus spread from people to people, even when you’ve had your covid jab, especially if you’ve only had one of the pair – through the air, on surfaces etc. You know the rules, they’re there to protect you and others… please.

 

To finish a shout out to Mrs Jiminy, without her I’d be more of a mess… As well as me, she’s been supporting her Ancient Parent, and on two occasions has isolated in the spare room for 10 days after visits with lots of interaction with people.  Looking after one grumpy old man through the last year has been hard work – and she’s had two!!!

 

TTFN and Stay Safe

Paul