Abi & Izzy - the next 5 years

Abi doing her history while Izzy relaxes having finished  her lesson early (I think) It's the end of week one of lockdown and we are living in a whole new era. After a weekend of lovely weather and less than acceptable behaviour from a small but significant sector of the population (ignoring the guidance to stay a safe distance away from each other and flocking to national parks and the beach in their droves), BoJo had his Churchill moment and told us in no uncertain terms that we now needed to follow the rules. Until further notice we can only leave the house for essential purposes; work that can't be done from home but can be done at a safe distance, shopping for food or medicines and limited exercise once a day. Pretty much every shop other than supermarkets, pharmacies and essential goods (including DIY which would have been good if our staff were prepared to work) has now been closed, as has everything else. The stock market has experienced another week of freefall...

Bake Off - we are not getting out of this any skinnier! Can it only be 2 weeks since I last wrote the blog? In such a short space of time it seems like the entire world has changed. To date nearly 300 people have died in the UK and over 14,000 worldwide. Almost every country in the world has reported a case and in some countries, Italy and Spain in particular, the death toll has risen incredibly rapidly. We are at war with an invisible enemy and while we frantically wash our hands as our main form of defence, the global economy has dropped through the floor. Markets have been in free fall, companies are reeling from the impact of the pandemic and whole populations are in lockdown. What seemed a bit silly initially now feels very real. For the UK we are in unprecedented times. We know this as Boris Johnson and two of his advisers stand in front of the country every evening at 5pm and tells us so. I can't remember the last time I heard him say "Get Brexit done". I mis...

As the world gets increasing panicked by the threat of Coronavirus, it is beginning to take over my life - at work at least. This week I had the dubious pleasure of being appointed the Group's Crisis Coordinator and so my already packed diary got shunted right as I stood up various working groups,  dusted off continuity plans and realised that we, along with most other organisations, aren't really equipped to deal with a mass shut down if it comes. On the one hand I can see the impact and so (from a professional perspective), we are taking it very seriously. We are trying to remind people to keep things in perspective, while also pointing out that washing your hands regularly is never a bad thing to do. On the other hand, I'm trying not to ask the obvious questions - like why is this so much more scary that normal flu (which kills 100s of thousands of people annually worldwide, Measles, which we have a vaccine for and people still choose not to use it, or obesity, which w...

3 out of 4 in a photo - about all you can hope for these days! Back to work after another busy weekend, one where 3/4 of the household have the lurgy as well so I'm not heading back into the office feeling that refreshed. On Friday I was in Screwfix so it was a journey down to Yeovil which took longer than it should have done - the A303 is never an easy road. My cold managed to go from being OK to sounding almost like a version of the Corona Virus - much to the horror of the CEO who started reaching for his hand sanitiser as tears streamed from my eyes over our intro meeting - so much for a good first impression! Luckily I had at lest met him before so he knows that isn't my normal approach. After 2 nights of nights of not sleeping due to a sore throat, I then had a sleepless night due to coaching so at 4am I crawled into Abi's bed (she was in the shed of course - it's half term) to try and at least give Glenn a break if not myself. On Saturday morning, knowing we h...

It's a good job we have a bridge! It is winter so we shouldn't be so shocked when big storms come in but the weather over the past 2 weekends has been biblical due to Storm Ciara and Dennis (who thinks of these names?!?). The whole country has ground to a halt under the wind and rain and S Wales has been particularly hard hit with flooding and the Rivers Wye and Severn reaching their highest ever recorded point. Its on weekends like these that I'm sure Mum and Dad are happy they no longer live in the mill! The weather has overshadowed everything we've done over the past 2 weekends, but there are some definite upsides in that we've got some house jobs done. After a busy last week of the half term (how can it be half term already?), Izzy took it upon herself on Friday evening to up end everything in her cupboards and wardrobe onto the floor to have a sort out. Normally I'd be delighted at such an activity but at 9:45pm it was hardly what I wanted to see. Whe...

The only hope of a photo with them all in it  - get them with ice cream! In a bid to try not to let this week slip by like the last one did! I'm trying to get this post written on a Monday morning on the train. Normally its a Sunday evening job, but yesterday was taken up by a day out for Laurie's birthday and by the time we got home and I got all the normal chores sorted it was bedtime. We had a great day out so it was all worth it. Laurie had chosen Go-Karting and while of course the kids were all up for it, Amanda and I were a bit more hesitant - we break more easily! Amanda managed to persuade me that we should also have a go so it was the 6 of us that kitted up in suits with reluctant Velcro and single use balaclavas that looked like hospital pants. We sat through the briefing ("risk of injury or death...if you fail to observe the rules you will be taken in for 're-education'...") and then got inot our carts. Izzy was in a cadet kart and the res...

Izzy and Ellie enjoying a joke It's all a bit manic at the moment. I missed writing a post on Sunday and suddenly it's Thursday - new year, new job madness. The weeks are spinning by quickly and it's the end of January tomorrow and we all know that means the year just starts to get away from you! As it's January and I've started a new job I'm very much trying to maintain some balance and hold onto the sense of calm that I'd found over the Christmas break. 3 weeks out of office and a clean break from one company to the next is always going to provide a moment of peace in between the madness. Yoga helps hugely - my twice weekly chance to re-ground myself and breathe deeply. I also love to read books influenced by psychology and biology - I'm fascinated about what's happening in our bodies and brains, particularly as the kids are going through such a seminal stage of their lives. I've just finished one all about how rushing about causes all ...