Upcoming Lockdown

Last night the Prime Minister kept the country waiting (rude) to announce that as from Thursday 5 November England will be in lockdown until 2 December.

Luckily for me, this time the schools are remaining open for the time being. This may change as time goes on, we already know this from our previous experiences.

Understandably there is a lot of apprehension about the impending lockdown. We have been told that this lockdown will be until the 2 December but we were told that the previous lockdown was going to be for three weeks however, a large percentage of the population were in lockdown for approximately five months, particularly people with children.

It is very easy for us to become consumed with the negative impact lockdown can have on our lives. God knows that I struggled last time we were in this situation.

It is also difficult to trust what our government are telling us at any given time as the guidance and rules are constantly changing. We never seem to receive a definitive answer about the situation or what we can and cannot do. In my opinion all of the advice that has been issued by the government since the start of this pandemic has been contradictory and confusing to say the least.

There are so many people that will have been adversely affected as a result of the previous lockdown as well as the upcoming lockdown.

It seems that the beauty industry is a sector which has been largely ignored in terms of government support so far as I can tell. People working within this industry were one of if not the last sector to be able to reopen following the last lockdown. It has been hit hard and again a large section of the population have come together and contributed to fundraising campaigns for charities who are there to support people within this industry who are struggling as a result of the restrictions to stay afloat.

I must admit I am ignorant when it comes to politics but I find myself questioning our government a lot. For example, when the lockdown was lifted and the hospitality industry reopened we as a population were encouraged to support the industry with the “Eat Out to Help Out” initiative. Surely I cannot have been the only person thinking to myself “hang on a minute, last week you were telling me to stay in my home, not see family or friends and only leave my home to carry out essential tasks to keep my family safe from this deadly disease and now you want me to go with my family to a restaurant/pub to eat and if I do the meal will be heavily discounted on certain days? How does that work?”

So the government can subsidise that industry but apparently cannot support low income families with feeding their children during school holidays. No the government cannot support that, they will leave that to public figures and local businesses to arrange. In my area I know that several businesses agreed to provide lunches to the children of low income families during half term.

As for people who sit in the camp of “you shouldn’t have kids if you cant afford them” I have a question for you. Are you psychic? Do you know something about the future that we do not? If so, please share.

If not then get back in your box. No one knows what their financial position will be in X number of years. Also have you not noticed that there is a deadly virus which is having a massive impact on the livelihoods of both employees and employers. Did you not see the recent news that unemployment is rising as a result of this virus? In my opinion people in that camp are talking out of their arses. Granted there are a few people who may take advantage of the system but there is also a vast majority who do not and are trying their hardest to provide for their children who deserve as much help and support as they can get.

It seems to me that there are many industries that are struggling but the beauty industry is a sector which has been largely ignored in terms of government support so far as I can tell. People working within this industry were one of if not the last sector to be able to reopen following the last lockdown. It has been hit hard and again a large section of the population have come together and contributed to fundraising campaigns for charities who are there to support people within this industry who are struggling as a result of the restrictions to stay afloat.

The government can spend however many millions of pounds on a track and trace system which we are being told time and time again is subpar but was unable to provide adequate PPE to NHS staff. So again, public figures as well as the general public joined forces to raise huge sums of money for NHS Charities Together.

The furlough scheme is a great support to businesses but it cannot last forever. Unemployment is going to rise and as a result a large number of people are going to need additional support

Maybe I have misunderstood the situation but I thought the previous lockdown was to relief the burden on the NHS and that systems and protocols were being researched and set up to prevent us being in this situation now.

Again, I find myself questioning the common sense of the officials in power. I fail to see how they can say that this was unforeseen. Surely common sense tells us that infections are going to increase as our human to human contact increases.

In addition it is common sense that transmission is going to be higher during the winter months due to the necessity of being in confined spaces due to the lovely british weather we endure at this time of year. No?

The last lockdown was a huge blow to us all mentally and financially in one way or another. It is my biggest fear that I will be thrown in to the remit of being teacher as well as parent for my children again, I cannot say that I am more prepared for that this time round because I know I am not. I am keeping everything crossed that the school will remain open for the duration of this lockdown.

There are some elements this time round which are positive and I am trying my best to keep focusing on those. In my mind one positive is we have a much better idea of what to expect this time. It is not quite as daunting for me as it was the first time. We survived the first one and we can get through this one.

We have been given a notice period to prepare to a certain degree. That does not mean that we need to all rush out and start bulk buying toilet paper, bread and milk. The shops will remain open for the duration so let’s be sensible and only buy what we need shall we? The shortage that your worried about is caused by the people who think they need to buy numerous packs of toilet rolls, bread and milk. You do not need to stock the freezers, let’s all try and practice one of the first lessons that we are taught as children and that is the necessity of sharing.

We are allowed to meet with one other person in an outdoor public space. Who doesn’t love a good old chat and dander in the wind and rain? If your lucky it could provide some much needed comic relief if you find watching people slipping and sliding all over the place in an attempt to stay upright funny. Exercise is good for the soul, so I am told so lets follow Peppa’s example and go jump in muddy puddles.

If it snows at any point in the next four weeks, in theory, the country won’t grind to a halt. We are already at home so no need for companies to implicate their bad weather policies for their employees. We can all enjoy a guilt free romp on a sledge or build a snowman with our families because, again theoretically, a large number will be working from home anyway so can pop out in the snow with your family on your lunch break.

I don’t know about you but personally I try and find the humour in bad situations. You know the saying if you didn’t laugh you would cry, I think more than ever now that is true. For example, any upcoming birthdays you may have why not get the most annoying noisy gift you can find for said person without fear of getting a little slap.

Admittedly any ramifications would be delayed rather than avoided but I will still find it highly amusing, particularly if the recipient is a young child/toddler.

That could give me endless hours of entertainment imagining said child revelling in pressing buttons to make the toy sing or dance or whatever it may do while the parent is cursing me for buying the damn thing.

The way I plan to get through the next few weeks is to do something I think is stupid and funny every day until lockdown is over. Whether that is filming myself lip synching or dancing badly to Disney songs, putting leaves in my hair, buying noisy gifts or preparing gifts for Christmas I will have a giggle everyday.

I am not even thinking about Christmas right now. Lets take it one day at a time and deal with each hurdle as they come. I need to approach this and other situations in this way otherwise I would be overcome with crippling anxiety. Then I wouldn’t be of any use to my children or family members.

I am going to try and stay positive and calm in the hope that my children will be able to “stay calm and carry on” to minimise any potential negative impact this situation could have on them.

My main point is we have got through this once, we can do it again so lets face it together and help each other in any way we can and I will see you on the other side my friend.