Well guys we have done a week now, last Friday was the last time any of us were really in a pub. Obviously some of us are always in a pub but, as we all know, a pub isn’t a building its a community and without you guys its a pretty lonely place.
I have been trying to follow a routine since the closure, firstly because it helps the boredom and secondly because this will all end eventually. My first thoughts on closure were that it would, to some degree, normalise my life. So I wouldn’t have the long days, the difficulty finding time to cook or eat or the late nights followed by early mornings.
Now that is a foolish road to go down. If I were to start eating at 6 pm, going to bed at 10.30 and working a normal day then I would potentially have to relearn pub life all over again. I now get up between 7 and 8 am, I can allow myself that little slip because it is not too hard to recover when I need to. I have a more relaxed start to work and take more tea breaks than usual during the day.
I set an area or a task to complete each day and try my best to get to the point that as it is getting dark I need to have a final push. This puts me firmly into the evening time to clean up, maybe eat and then have a few drinks. A combination of social media, TV and wine takes me into the later hours and I try not to hit my bed until gone 11 pm (again not too much of a stretch to reclaim pub hours).
I should take this opportunity to apologise to today’s postie. I was sanding some paint work on my hands and knees behind the front door when he delivered the post. The noise made me jump up and me jumping up gave the poor lad a fright. Normally the door would have been unlocked or the keys in the lock but not today and I didn’t get the chance to find the keys and laugh it off before he hightailed it away.
I would just like to clarify that this is not symptomatic of the lock down. I have not taken to hiding behind the door like an angry dog in order to scare anyone away, this was all just unfortunate coincidence. When I say ‘I have not’ perhaps I should add the word ‘yet’ because this could be a long shutdown and who knows what will happen….
During the course of the day I have taken to listening to Virgin radio. I did try and alternate it with Capital but it appears I am too old for Capital now. One thing that has become clear to me is that the advertising schedulers must have been laid off in advance of this virus.
Amongst the adverts that I hear repeated over and over again during the day are some of these pearls.
A supermarket flogging bucket loads of Easter treats which is then followed by the CEO of said store telling us to shop carefully and how hard they are working to keep stocks. Surely an easy way of keeping your supermarket from being overwhelmed would be to stop telling us to load up on Easter treats?
A van sales company that starts by thanking those working to get us through this situation and then goes on to say that they remain open if you should want to buy a new van. When they wrote this ad did they not check it? God bless you for keeping us safe while we ignore the advice that will help you get this under control, what sense does that make?
It is not just the commercial organisations, the RAF reserves have got in on the act as well. They are running an ad that basically asks whether you want a ‘normal weekend’ or do you want more. Are you happy going for a stroll or a few beers with mates or do you want more? To be honest mate I would love a normal weekend! I don’t dream about learning to parachute I dream about that ‘normal’ weekend and a pint with mates!
Last push on the decorating now before I settle down with the ducks for a well earned Saturday pint.