The lockdown continues….

Well it’s now over a month on total lockdown, it’s weird how you get used to stuff, I long to go for a decent walk with the dogs to the top of the tracks and look down on the lake. I haven’t been out of our immediate surroundings, not even to the curve in the road below, for a month! Giulio is the designated shopper (on his vespa) for us and my parents. When I get Ringo our horse in at night from the field, Sofia the dog looks at me and trots ahead mentally saying ‘walk time’,

but we have to turn back with her trailing dejectedly behind me. I know how she feels.

One of the things I was worried about was ‘filling the time’ with no work pattern…. oh boy was I wrong, it fills itself! I find myself running out of time to do things! With every morning trying to learn sql and experimenting on my computer and then 1 hour of exercise in the gym then 1 hour online English lessons with Alma and Enrico, eating, cleaning the horse field, cleaning, washing up, reading the newspapers, writing and chatting with friends, replying to emails asking us how we are (thanks for all those lovely emails I appreciate them) the day is done! How did I ever fit in looking after a house full of guests!!!

Giulio has started painting…. everything. I told lorenzo the jackrussell not to stay still for long otherwise he would get painted as well! The lockdown has been good for the villa, Giulio has painted the window frames, painted the limonaia white which looks great, painted chairs, tables and is now painting the sauna. He is enjoying it and is always finding something to do with the garden and the olive groves.

When I started this blog we were the only ones in this position, now most of Europe is under the same sort of restrictions, my guests who sent email worrying about us are now doing the same, staying at home and trying not to catch this virus and sending me emails about their experiences of the lockdown. I think that many people before were watching Italy anxiously, thinking will we be in the same position soon? Now they are.

One positive thing is how the number of accidents in italy has fallen, with not many people on the roads they are almost nonexistent! Today the newspaper ilSole24ore published an article asking if the total lockdown had been a good idea, saying how the death rate is actually less than usual, even with all the Covid-19 deaths, however what would the figure have been without the lockdown I wonder? You would have to add on the deaths by accident and work accident deaths as well if we were still open… i think it would have been much worse.

How on earth will we return back to ‘normal’ after this? I think that our perception of ‘normal’ will have to change and adapt to something else, at least for a while.