Illustrated Epistle: Level 4 Lockdown and Loving It 😷

Would people take mask-wearing and social-distancing more seriously if we called novel coronavirus variants names like "Voldemort" instead of a letter from the Greek alphabet?

View this email in your browser

When I emailed our extended family to say that we were back in lockdown in New Zealand, my almost brother-in-law asked how many cases had put us there. The answer is one. This has been a focus of attention of foreign media, but was no surprise to most Kiwis who valued the relatively normal, COVID-free lives we had been living during most of the pandemic.

I’m delighted that we have a trigger-happy government that put us into complete lockdown within a day because one person in the community tested positive for COVID-19. Because we have the luxury of giving elimination another try. And it just might work.

Level four is the harshest lockdown level in New Zealand and it is way stricter than lockdowns in other countries. Only essential workers can go out to work. Everybody else has to be at home unless you need to buy groceries, go to the pharmacy/post office, or go out to exercise. I had a cold when we went into lockdown and though I said I had no reason to think it was the novel coronavirus, the local health centre invited me in for a test (like all COVID-19-related healthcare, testing is free). The last time I did it it wasn’t so bad, but it’s really uncomfortable if you have a sore throat. Then we had to absolutely stay home for two days whilst I waited for the results. Thankfully negative.

So most of us are staying at home unless we really need to go out. It’s still technically winter, but we had some beautiful sunny days this week which were great for walking, or working in the garden. The biggest change for us is not being able to go to our local café (Spooky Boogie). I miss that social contact, especially on market days. The farmers market has been cancelled too. It makes the week blend into the weekend, so I tried to make last weekend feel different by doing lots of cooking.

We had our evening drinks on the veranda.

And we went on a fantastic local walk up in the hills where we had coffee and chocolate chip cookies (biscuits don’t alliterate) at a very socially distant rock that stood in for Spooky Boogie.

One of the few advantages of level four lockdown is that Bunnings, a huge DIY store in Christchurch, will deliver. It was brilliant to be able to order screws online and have them delivered as normally it’s a right pain to get there by bicycle. Because the weather this weekend is switching back to a cold, wet southerly, I made Wednesday my Saturday and constructed a planter next to my studio deck (using recycled timber throughout).

I’m not sure what I’ll plant in it, as it will be in the partial shade of the plum tree. Suggestions welcome.

There is still a low level of anxiety, even though there have been no community cases of the virus in the South Island with this outbreak. I’m thankful that my sister in Auckland has been double vaccinated, as most of the cases are there. It looks like they will be in lockdown for some time. I’m not due to get my first vaccination until September 15. And Duncan has only had one jab. So it means I am content to spend most of my time in lockdown in the studio, baking, or in the garden, where the weeds are waking up after a lot of winter rain.

Ta ta for now.

PS. Molly is oblivious to it all. She doesn’t wear a mask when we go out and she has no concept of social distancing.
PPS. If you think someone else might find this interesting, please pass it on.

Forward