Zooming In and Distancing

So much for the promise of warm weather; it was stifling inside my greenhouse but outside a blustery wind demanded a couple of layers of insulation. To add insult to injury the Health Secretary mandated everybody to cease sunbathing. I know we are meant to be hardy souls "up North" but anyone sunbathing in our village today would have had to be seriously deranged too. The fear, however, is that what's happening in London parks could result in serious restrictions on the freedom to exercise that we are safely enjoying in this area. Just in case, Mister E went off to enjoy a long bike ride whilst I stuck to sowing seeds and deadheading daffodils.

Now life has become so restricted we appreciate the liberties we have so much more. I also seem to be spending more time talking on the telephone or via the Internet but with far less to say. When I ended up describing to one family member the finer details of hanging out the washing, I realised to what extent the limitations on daily life have gripped!

That said, however, we enjoyed another new experience courtesy of coronavirus this morning, namely a get together via Zoom. It seems Mister E and I have been a little late in coming to the party but with our clocks going forward last weekend and those in New Zealand back last night, the window of opportunity for a reunion encompassing the eldest in Auckland, the youngest in London and their parents in NY (North Yorkshire, not the other) has extended by two hours.

To be honest I was invited to join in a Zoom chat on Friday at the end of another afternoon's live streamed art session but, with fingers dripping in acrylic paint, it didn't seem quite the right time to experiment with a new (to me) method of communication. Well not on top of the excruciating task of trying to paint recognisable snowdrops.

As this morning proved, however, it was all quite simple, although learning not to talk on top of each other could be an art form in its own right. Mister E positioned himself in the dining room whilst I stayed at the kitchen table, with the door between the rooms firmly closed to avoid the echo. Two of us chatting as though we were in the room together; the extremes some couples go to in order to try out new technology. Well that's not entirely true because we were joined by the eldest and youngest as well. However, the separate rooms prompted the New Zealand contingent to enquire if we are practising social distancing at home too. Now there's a novel idea!

The eldest, sporting a Robinson Crusoe look indicated that whilst in lockdown he is not bothering to shave. That did cause me to wonder whether I should really have taken a photograph of us before restrictions were introduced with a view to comparing it once they are lifted. I'm guessing there are going to be rather a lot of us looking as though we have been lost in the jungle for months when we finally emerge and start scrabbling for hairdressers' appointments. I actually have one pencilled in my diary for later this week but obviously that won't be happening. Perhaps my next new epidemic attributable experience will be to let Mister E cut my hair? On second thoughts, if ever I really needed a reason to introduce social distancing within the home, that has to be it.