2022

 2022 

So far so good . 

January 2022.  When I began writing Coronavirus diaries in early 2020 I could not imagine what lay ahead. The immediacy of staying alive took priority. Then coming to terms with weeks and months of altered lives, adjusting to the ebb and flow of Covid.

Covid is still with us but signs are good that we are entering the final phase of this ghastly global pandemic.  Omicron is incredibly contagious yet definitely less deadly than previous variants. 

Life in England has less restrictions rather than more. There is no longer a legal requirement to take a PCR test if a LFT is positive if asymptomatic. Isolation can finish after 7 days following 2 days of clear LFTs, 24 hours apart. 

Our main societal issue now is not Covid itself but Covid related absences. Hospitals, schools and essential services are barely functioning. The Government is coming under increasing pressure to end isolation after 5 days rather than 7 to ease pressures due to staff absences.

Boris Johnsons popularity has fallen to an all time low after yet another leak of parties at 10 Downing Street during the long 2020 lockdown months. Todays reveal was an email invite to 100 MPs to gather "to enjoy the good weather". 

Date, 20th May 2020.  When the rules dictated we could only meet one other person outside your household for a walk. When not losing a loved one to Covid was to be lucky. To be simply sad due to living bereft of so much human contact was seen as a necessity. 

That first lockdown was one of the bleakest times of my life. Boris Johnsons arrogance and blatant rule breaking has led to more public outrage and led to yet more calls for his resignation. I doubt he will go of his own accord. I hope he will be made to go by others more worthy of holding the office of PM.

2021 was a vast improvement on 2020.  2022 opens on a positive note. Restrictions are limited. I have had family here to celebrate our ruby wedding anniversary. I am rediscovering the joys of indoor socialising. I suspect I will one day get Omicron as it is omnipresent but I am not living my life in fear.

Here's hoping for a normal 2022. A  true normal. Life before Covid normal. Nothing makes me cherish my mundane everyday more than losing it. It is nearly back within my reach, the life I loved pre Covid, and I want to grasp it with all my strength and live it to the full. 

A magical Christmas

A truly magical Christmas

Yes. it really has been a magical family festive season full of love and laughter.  Food, presents, games, and best of all being gathered together. 

This was worth all the ultra caution of the previous weeks. A week of being with those I love. I am so happy, I have made so many magical memories.

Covid has stripped so much from our lives but this once we had our happy times together. 

Many families lost the Covid lottery. The Omicron variant is rampant, we are topping 150,000 plus new cases a day in the UK. Even with the isolation period now down to 7 days invariably many spent their holidays lonely in a room apart. 

 It is now 2022.  This must surely be the year we learn to live with Covid rather than allowing it to dictate our lives. Who knows. There is growing optimism Omicron is mild and hope that this is the final stage of this ghastly global virus. 

Wishing for a happy and healthy new year ahead.