Unlocked

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Image by ComMkt from Pixabay


Unlocked! Well that's what some would have us believe. Of course, it's not true although there has been encouragement for those not in the prohibited sectors to start working again.

In fact some poor soul in a cold call centre had obviously taken the message to heart, because we received our first telemarketing call for weeks this morning with him trying to persuade me that I could have a free boiler. 

"Do you have a boiler at the moment?" he asked.

"No," I responded, fingers crossed behind my back or whatever it is you are supposed to do when lying through your teeth because you can't simply be rude and put the phone down. Well you can, but chatting to a random stranger felt like a unique occasion after all these weeks of silence.

"Then do you have calor gas, paraffin or night storage heaters?" he queried.

"No," I replied, fingers slackening my grip as I told the truth.

"Whatever do you do to heat your home?" he enquired gingerly, a note of concern in his voice as a northerly wind howled outside and the thermometer displayed a measly 6 degrees.

That's none of your business and an invasion of my privacy to even ask," I snapped as finally the novelty value of a cold call wore off. "And don't call this number again," I added for good measure as I hung up on him.

If that is a taste of what's to come as we emerge from lockdown, then it seems that the new normal may be very similar to the old. From our point of view, however, and for the time being the requirement to avoid all but essential travel (albeit now of unlimited duration so long as you don't stray into Scotland or Wales) and to stay at home as much as possible remains.

There has, however, been some relaxation of the interpretation of the regulations, meaning that from today leaving home to exercise now appears to include permission to sit on a park bench or to sunbathe in a public place. Whilst neither are something I would choose to do as a matter of course, they could be a tempting prospect after 7 weeks of legally enforceable restrictions. There has been no chance of taking up the opportunity today though, as with struggling temperatures and the promise of a frost overnight, I doubt even an eskimo could be persuaded to don a bikini at present. Typical isn't it? Sunbathing is banned and the weather is glorious; sunbathing is allowed and the north wind blows.

Ah well I comforted myself indoors attempting a first try at making a face mask, ready for when we are allowed to venture out en masse or maybe even for a visit to a socially distanced garden centre bearing in mind they too are now permitted to open. Sadly the prototype wasn't the greatest of successes although a second attempt was slightly better. There does seem to be a problem with my thirty year old sewing machine and I also ran out of a limited store of elastic. 

Idly I took a look online at sewing machines and elastic. I might have guessed; there's a run on both. 

Seriously, does anyone else think that coming out of lockdown might just be a bit too much bother?

Comments

Jennyff said…
Definitely nothing much has changed at our house, well apartment. Our building management have given us 5 masks each, some residents have returned to playing golf, there were more cars parked on the edge of the moor when I took my walk yesterday but I have no intention of changing my regime of weekly shop, daily walk, stay at home just yet.
14 May 2020 at 11:15
Caree Risover said…
Yes, I think the “nothing has really changed” message has got a little lost in the telling and suspect there’s a few people high up who decide these things that are just looking to see how they go and hoping it might all turn out right in the end.
14 May 2020 at 14:53
Treaders said…
Our first day out of lockdown here was Monday - and the first telemarketer too, although I never answer anyway. I don't like to be rude but if I do make the mistake of answering I usually tell them I'm renting and they hang up.
14 May 2020 at 16:10
Caree Risover said…
I wonder if they’ve been told to go on an all out offensive to catch all the retired folk who, with no coffee shops to inhabit, will be staying at home for a while yet and may have time to chat.
14 May 2020 at 16:53
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