March Look back | 2020

I think it’s safe to say that March was a… let’s say turbulent month for many people. The start of the month was pretty normal for us here in Norwich UK, with the only real concern being that we had enough loo roll, which was the subject of many jokes at the time.

We kicked off the month by deciding to do something a little different, so myself and some friends went shooting (paper targets) set up a little fire and pulled out the camping gear which has been away since the end of summer. There’s something I find rather therapeutic about cooking outside on an open fire, and we all did a pretty good job with the shooting. I even won a few rounds (shameless bragging there) although didn’t do so well with a bow, as I wasn’t quite strong enough to draw it all the way back.

The following weekend I went to visit my good friend Maria for a Body Shop party. It was lovely to have a catch up, eat some cake and try out some lovely products. Naturally I have purchased a few bits, although it’s likely that I’m going to be waiting a little while for them. Luckily, the lovely consultant, Becky sent me away with a couple of sample pots for some of the items I wanted, so I’ve got a little bit of product while I wait for the full size versions.

Then, on the 16^th of March, the UK government made the announcement that social distancing was now required. That meant pubs, restaurants and cinemas were to be heavily discouraged from that point on. A few of us got together that evening and went to Five Guys and then the cinema as little bit of a ‘last hurrah’ before everything went into shut down.  I’m very glad that we did, because everything seems to have escalated since then. That was the last time I left the house for anything that wasn't work, and that too changed very soon.

The following day I was instructed to work from home for the foreseeable, as my asthma puts me into the ‘high risk’ group. I had a strange last day in the office while our IT department ran around desperately trying to find me a laptop, and when one couldn’t be found it was decided that I would have the desktop and monitors from my desk instead. So I now have my full office set up on my dining table. I have worked form home in the past, so it’s not new to me, but it is for a lot of people. If you are among those working from home for the first time, I put together a little post with some tips, which you can find here if you fancy a read.

I had a bit of a wobble towards the end of the month, and that was because of our wedding. I was hopeful when I caught up with you that things would calm down and run smoothly, but then everything changed drastically in a very small space of time. It's looking more and more likely that we can’t get to America for our wedding, but we were hopeful that the legal side which was to take place here in the UK could still go ahead.


One of my colleagues who was getting married in the same week as us had his wedding ceremony cancelled, so had a little cry. Partly because that’s terrible news for him, but also because our ceremony is in the same city, and I feared that the same fate would meet our wedding too. Sadly that became the case, and on the 24^th March we received the news that ours was cancelled as well.

It made for quite a sad evening and I had another little cry, but I’ve reminded myself this isn’t forever. This isn’t cancelled to never ever, ever happen, it’s just being postponed. We’re in the process of moving the American side of our wedding, so we’ll just have to incorporate the UK side in our re-shuffle too. As hard as it is, I’m determined to try and stay as upbeat and positive as possible.

For the remainder of my time I’ve been trying to keep active, both mentally and physically. I’ve re-potted some of my house plants, and planted a few new seeds as well, all of which are coming along nicely. I brought some paint, and started to up-cycle a few bits and pieces. I’ve even dug out my yoga matt and got into a little bit of a workout routine with it. Oh and the Netflix, I’ve caught up on so much Netflix!

It’s been a strange time, and it doesn’t look that April or the near future is going to be exactly 'normal' either. That makes it even more important to check in and take care of each other. That friend who seems to be struggling, call them. That friend that seems to be fine, call them too. Look after each other, take care, and remember that this weirdness isn’t forever.