A new week and the start of a new lockdown – I think as I roll out of bed Monday morning. With this evening’s looming Government announcement, I can’t help but feel I should saver our gained freedoms while I still have them. I can go jogging this morning, enjoy frequent walks with the dog and I still have a job, even though it currently doesn’t involve leaving my house.

The day flies over and the announcement brings me a sigh of relief. So, although Covid case numbers look bleak, from Wednesday with the North East currently in tier 2, I will be able to meet people outdoors once more, while sticking to the rule of six. Without getting out the bunting quite yet, a party seems a long way off, I arrange to meet a friend for a social distanced dog walk later in the week.

My outdoor meet up to look forward to, my week is flying over. Work is as busy as ever, house life rolls on, alongside preparations and virtual Scout meetings that give my week some structure and something to look forward to.

House life is the term I am using to describe my life that currently revolves around 4 walls. Although, I do leave the house for shopping, dog walks and Slimming World, our home is the hub and location I spend most of my time.

Yet, I still have an out life: the short periods of time I spend away from the house. This out time is not restricted, as it was back in the national lockdown in March. Although, pubs must close by 10pm, this is not my scene. My main outings are on my regular dog walks, which for ease normally consist of local routes on foot.

However, rainy weather this week, makes us seek out tree covered ground in the car. Midweek in the pounding rain we head to a local park, yet while I remain reasonably dry under the trees, Lady has a sense of adventure. Come rain or shine its ball time, so I throw the ball ahead, behind and then – out of nowhere, comes an elderly gentleman power walking with sticks. To avoid a collision with the dog or close contact between us, I quicken the pace to take another path by the water.

 I throw the ball, “fetch,” I say…

SPLASH! Is the response.

Watching my fur baby swim for the ball is a proud moment. But once she is out the reality sinks in -no amount of walking is going to fix this wet monster and the rain isn’t helping either.

But a wet dog seems the least of my worries as the week draws to a close. Corona news presents the reality of ‘Long Covid’, where the symptoms drag on for weeks or months, with 250,000 people in the UK alone thought to experience prolonged symptoms. Worrying, yes. Making me more cautious, yes. Anything I can do, no!

Yet, there are whispers, talks, predictions of a circuit break, a closing down of society to curb transition of the virus. While, in the meantime, Lancaster moves into tier 3, with other areas predicted to follow, I feel we are next. But tier 3 is not and would not be that bad. It is not the implications of restrictions I worry about, but rather what the necessity of these restrictions shows about Covid levels and the health implications if I were to catch ‘Long Covid’.

However, while Covid has resulted in a lot of us staying in more, the digital social scene has opened up opportunities. And this week is Durham book festival being hosted online for free. I book onto a full range of sessions and enjoy the insights into many different genres. What follows is my mind running with possible plot lines, characters, scenes and a world of my own creation in my head.