Sun 1: The weather's not great, but nothing's stopping me going out for a walk. Round the first bend on the Lea towpath I pass a boatful of dazed revellers, several smoking, some pissing into the hedge. A couple of minutes later a moped and a quad bike approach very suddenly from behind and speed to either side of me. I hope that's as scary as March gets. Mon 2: Stayed in for the day, not realising that within a few weeks I'd be itching to do anything but. Tue 3: Went to Walthamstow to ride my birthday bus, judging that the sooner the better. Then a lovely night out at a quiet pub in the City with a former work colleague, discussing upcoming travel plans, office gossip and wedding preparations. May have overdone the peanuts. Wed 4: Weekly shopping trip to Tesco. Could have bought pasta. Didn't buy pasta. Haven't seen any since. Thu 5: Went round to BestMate's for our weekly dinner and catch-up. Haven't been round since.
Fri 6: On my day trip to Bedford, I noticed 'Store Closing' signs in the windows of Beales department store so went inside for a last poke around its warren of departments. Ladieswear was busier than men's. The homewares department was stacked high with all kinds of gadgets I don't currently need, plus far too many sets of bedlinen. Staff served a steady stream at the tills, polite as ever in spite of imminent redundancy. Closure'll leave one big hole in the town centre. Sat 7: Rode the DLR to Greenwich (without touching anything, by letting other people press the door button ahead of me). Then walked along the river to Tower Bridge, dodging numerous joggers. I wish I'd taken more photos because then I could have written an emergency post about it in the weeks to come. Sun 8: While walking along the Hertford Canal I was narrowly missed by a chunk of bread flying past my left ear. Looked up to see an oblivious resident lobbing food down from his second floor balcony to feed the ducks. Mon 9: It being my 55th birthday, I made a last minute decision to go and see my Dad in Norfolk. The train was late. We started off with a walk round Eye following the Town Trail, then went to the White Horse on the Ipswich Road for lunch. I had pie, he had liver, we both had apple and sultana crumble with custard. Then we drove back home where I helped sort out a few IT issues and we chatted about village life. Whatever separates us over the next few weeks and months, I will always have March 9th. Tue 10: Picked up a free copy of Time Out. I may keep it as a souvenir. Wed 11: Went out for a belated birthday lunch with BestMate. It took us far far too long to decide where to go, and when we did finally pick somewhere it was unnervingly empty. Staff who'd normally have been dealing with gourmet bankers sat idly in one corner fiddling on phones and eating street food from the market outside. Decided against dessert. I haven't see BestMate since.
Thu 12: Yay, day trip to Plymouth. The train down was mostly empty but otherwise normal. The gentleman sitting behind me coughed twice but thankfully got off at Taunton. I was one of a handful of tourists in the city, it being a tempestuously showery day, but the rewards were great. Life in the South West was continuing pretty much as normal. Nobody coughed on the train home. I have no idea when I'm ever going to get the opportunity to undertake anything similar again. Fri 13: Tesco was still out of pasta and toilet rolls, but also tuna fish, porridge oats and toothpaste. Many of the sizes/varieties I'd normally buy weren't there. Bought an extra pack of cod fillets for the freezer and quite a lot of Wagon Wheels. Sat 14: The last time I rode on a bus. Sun 15: This weekend brings the first feelings that we are barrelling towards the unknown, with the government primed to take what could be severe measures to control viral spread. As it turns out, today will be the last 'normal' day for weeks.
Mon 16: The builders should've turned up today to make good some of the mess they left when fitting my new boiler in November, but they've cancelled. Instead I went to the library, because it might be useful to have a stash of unread books at home. And then I went to Brent, because I'd not been there for a while, and enjoyed a walk in the park. I was careful to stick to quiet trains between the rush hours. Shortly after getting home Boris popped up to give an unexpected press conference and suddenly 'non-essential travel' was toast. And that's the last time I rode on the tube. Tue 17: Walked the length of Roman Road trying to find toilet roll, because who knows how long my dwindling stocks might have to last. Found some in shop number eight. Hurrah for local hardware stores. Wed 18: One little luxury I thought might help me through the coming months was a new pair of slippers. Walked to M&S in Westfield, where the food section was busy but the upper floors deathly quiet. "It's been like this all day," said the cashier. When two more shoppers approached clutching socks and trousers she joked that rush hour had started. And still the share price tumbled. Thu 19: The lady in front of me at the supermarket was trying to buy eleven dozen eggs. The cashier told her to put eight back. Fri 20: I've started listening to Radio 6 Music a lot more. I think Radio 6 Music is going to help get me through. Sat 21: Even venturing out for a newspaper feels fraught with risk and danger. I haven't bought one since. Sun 22: I've lost almost half a stone in the last week. This is despite walking half as far as usual. It seems the key to dieting isn't exercise but "rationing your food supplies very carefully in case at some point they run out."
Mon 23: And in the midst of all this madness I had a routine doctor's appointment. I kept expecting them to cancel, but when they rang a few days beforehand it was only to check I hadn't been travelling abroad and didn't have any symptoms, and I hadn't, so in I went.
The garden at the entrance to the surgery was empty, its fountain bubbling quietly. A few years ago automatic doors had been installed at both entrances and I could see now what an excellent idea this had been. Sanitiser was provided in a dispenser on the wall to be squirted on the way in and on the way out. Normally you sign in for an appointment using a touchscreen, but this had been removed. A strip of black and yellow tape at chest level ensured nobody could approach the receptionist too closely.
An elderly resident hobbled in hoping to collect a prescription for her husband, and struggled with the unfamiliar conditions. We self-isolated in separate parts of the waiting room while staff went the extra mile to print her prescription ahead of time. Then I sat alone in reception for several minutes, taking in the surroundings. Several posters advertised a mental health service promoting positive thinking. A banner left over from the winter displayed the slogan Don't underestimate the risks of flu on one pennant and Book your jab today on another. If only it were that simple.
Eventually my doctor led me through to his consulting room where an entirely normal face-to-face chat and check-up took place. We went over my history, discussed options and confirmed no need for action (or concern). The ordinariness of the situation was palpable, perhaps the quiet before the storm. After ten minutes I wished him well and set off for home, taking the scenic route to avoid risk. And then at 8.30pm Boris made his ratings-busting prime ministerial broadcast and UK lockdown officially began.
Tue 24: Having walked through ExCel several times, the scale of NHS Nightingale Hospital unnerves me. Wed 25: If you enjoyed Cabin Pressure on Radio 4, you'll enjoy John Finnemore's ongoing series of short Cabin Fever videos in which Arthur Shappey vlogs from self-isolation. Thu 26: These collective Doctor Who re-watchings, to uplift the spirits of the nation, are splendid occasions. Tonight it was 'Rose', the first episode of the reboot first shown fifteen years ago, accompanied by a stream of eye-opening tweets from @russelldavies63. Next please. Fri 27: I've not been sleeping very well. Normally if I wake in the small hours I can drop back off easily, but now my mind churns off down paths of its own devising and unconsciousness rarely follows. In good news it'll get better tomorrow, but I don't know that yet. Sat 28: Took the rubbish out. Also threw away two bagfuls of recycling, because we're supposed to leave that on the pavement at awkward times and it feels like Tower Hamlets council has more important things to worry about.
Sun 29: Went out for my daily exercise before the hailstorm hit. The Olympic Park was full of joggers. The switch to British Summer Time is proving harder to cope with this year. Mon 30: If I divide up spring-cleaning my flat into tiny but tenacious stages, perhaps I can make it last until summer. Tue 31: Today is my nephew's 21st birthday, all plans cancelled. It's hard to believe that I celebrated my birthday perfectly normally just three weeks ago.
