Covid-19 (Coronavirus) Support/advice

[DarloRich]

This thread is for people to check in and check up on each other. Lets make sure that we are supporting people and looking out for each other at this difficult time. I suspect we have a lot of people who live alone or are separated from their family ( like me) and are isolated on a normal day let alone these bizarre days!

If you are struggling with being isolated or social distancing post here and we can support each other and boost morale. We aren't going to argue or discuss the virus just focus on support. Lets look after each other and get through this.

I hope that is ok !

 

[Cowley]

Excellent idea.
Let’s keep it positive and be respectful and supportive of each other even if we don’t necessarily see things in the same way always.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Agreed, no debate on this one!

I'm at home and it's situation normal pretty much for me TBH...as a permanent home worker that's just how it is

 

[3rd rail land]

I live alone and work from home 95% of the time.
I have hobbies that used to keep me occupied during the evenings and weekends so I wasn't stuck at home the entire time. Everything relating to these hobbies has been cancelled/closed/postponed.
Not looking forward to be stuck at home 24/7 but its beyond my control or it will be once the emergency laws have been passed in Parliament.

 

[DarloRich]

I live alone and work from home 95% of the time.
I have hobbies that used to keep me occupied during the evenings and weekends so I wasn't stuck at home the entire time. Everything relating to these hobbies has been cancelled/closed/postponed.
Not looking forward to be stuck at home 24/7 but its beyond my control or it will be once the emergency laws have been passed in Parliament.

what replacement activities are you looking at? We all need to find things to fill in the time

 

[3rd rail land]

what replacement activities are you looking at? We all need to find things to fill in the time

So far I am not looking at any. I am an amateur violinist so whilst all my orchestral activities are on hold I am revisiting pieces I have learnt in the past and also working on a couple of new ones.
That at least fills the time I would spend practicing orchestral music but doesn't fill the time I would be out at rehearsals & concerts.

Beyond that I have no plans.

 

[gazthomas]

I definitely have it, persistent dry cough since Saturday, along with periods where I'm burning up and other times when I feel freezing. Unable to do much, not hungry and really tired. Just weathering it at the moment following the advice to isolate at home

 

[The_Train]

@gazthomas best of luck with your recovery, hopefully you'll start to come out the other side in the coming days. Just make sure you isolate for the recommended timescale irrelevant of whether you start to feel better or not - I think it would be easy for us all to start to edge away from that isolation if we start to feel better.

@DarloRich good idea for this thread. I think we've gone beyond debating now and need to start considering others and just helping each other through this. Maybe a good way would be to mention indoor hobbies any of us may have which might give others ideas....

I'm learning to play the drums so can definitely continue with that. I'm also a spreadsheet geek so I'm working on a railway based database (for my own use) and the inputting is a long drawn out process so will be making use of time stuck in to crack on with that.

I've also got back in to Train Sim and Simsig over the last few weeks and they can easily pass a couple of hours. Beauty of Simsig is that there are usually hosted multiplayer games (not been brave enough to get involved in any yet) which create an avenue for a bit of communication if you're finding there is a lack of that in your life at the moment

 

[Cowley]

I definitely have it, persistent dry cough since Saturday, along with periods where I'm burning up and other times when I feel freezing. Unable to do much, not hungry and really tired. Just weathering it at the moment following the advice to isolate at home

Hope you recover soon Gaz.

 

[DarloRich]

I definitely have it, persistent dry cough since Saturday, along with periods where I'm burning up and other times when I feel freezing. Unable to do much, not hungry and really tired. Just weathering it at the moment following the advice to isolate at home

keep yourself comfortable and safe and hopefully get well soon. stick to the guidelines on self isolation. Good luck. Get well soon

So far I am not looking at any. I am an amateur violinist so whilst all my orchestral activities are on hold I am revisiting pieces I have learnt in the past and also working on a couple of new ones.
That at least fills the time I would spend practicing orchestral music but doesn't fill the time I would be out at rehearsals & concerts.

Beyond that I have no plans.

We have got to find ways to fill in the time or we will go stir crazy. I wish i could play a musical instrument.

 

[Darandio]

We have got to find ways to fill in the time or we will go stir crazy. I wish i could play a musical instrument.

My daughter has a keyboard, son has a guitar and the young one likes to sing. I'm gonna play the spoons. Watch out for us on Youtube in the near future.

 

[gazthomas]

Thanks for the advice and kind words. I live alone so nice to have the company of the forum. Would have been our 15th wedding anniversary today, but sadly Helen passed away just before our 8th

 

[bussnapperwm]

I'm just counting down the days till my leg has healed then I'll be back off to work (local government worker). Even though I have diabetes, I need to go back to work as I've already been off since Jan with my leg injury (bloody haematoma) and being stuck at home has made me depressed, short tempered and more heavy laden!

 

[stevetay3]

Hi Great thread, I live on my own and not quite in the vulnerable group 69. But still very scary, I am lucky that I have a very close view of the Great Western line and the approach to Heathrow Airport so am still able to spot to some degree at home.The very best regards to all.

 

[JohnB57]

I definitely have it, persistent dry cough since Saturday, along with periods where I'm burning up and other times when I feel freezing. Unable to do much, not hungry and really tired. Just weathering it at the moment following the advice to isolate at home

It sounds like you definitely have flu, but it may not be Coronavirus so don't assume when you recover that you have immunity. There have been many cases in my area - including myself - of severe flu earlier in the year before it could reasonably have been Covid19. The symptoms are pretty much identical.

Oddly, each of us who had it previously had the flu vaccine so it clearly was a strain not protected from by the vaccine.

I would comment also that, although you're obviously feeling horrific, if you're able to post on here, it's not as bad as it could have been. I couldn't move, eat or drink for the biggest part of a week and have never been so poorly.

Good luck and take care of yourself!

 

[gazthomas]

It sounds like you definitely have flu, but it may not be Coronavirus so don't assume when you recover that you have immunity. There have been many cases in my area - including myself - of severe flu earlier in the year before it could reasonably have been Covid19. The symptoms are pretty much identical.

Oddly, each of us who had it previously had the flu vaccine so it clearly was a strain not protected from by the vaccine.

I would comment also that, although you're obviously feeling horrific, if you're able to post on here, it's not as bad as it could have been. I couldn't move, eat or drink for the biggest part of a week and have never been so poorly.

Good luck and take care of yourself!

Thanks John, yes, I could be worse and over the weekend I was, but I'm definitely on the mend

 

[JohnB57]

Thanks John, yes, I could be worse and over the weekend I was, but I'm definitely on the mend

Good to hear Gaz. Stay safe!

 

[Kingspanner]

I'm "working from home" on a very expensive laptop supplied by work. Hard to get motivated without the usual bustle. Doing plenty in the garden, having long range, brief, shouted conversations with neighbours over the fence. Being forced to cook tea by wife who works in the hospice sector and is facing apocalyptic issues at work.
We'll grit our teeth and carry on.
Good luck to everyone out there. Keep posting whether the news is good or bad....

 

[Tetchytyke]

A really nice thread.

I know people who've had it (my ex's family in Cumbria) but thankfully my daughter didn't get it. And nor did her mum (my ex) who has a lot of underlying health issues, or my ex's other sister who's in the absolute high risk category.

I am a home worker and feeling a bit cooped up without the option of going to work in the local cafe. T'missus works in a hospice so she's up a height too. Our toddler can still go to nursery- for now, as we're key workers- but dreading when that stops.

It's still better here for freedom than the UK- for now, at least- but it's pretty hard going being in a place that's almost, but not quite, like the UK.

Mostly gutted I won't see my elder kid or my parents for months. Had all sorts planned with Older Sprog at Easter. Ah well. Mostly communicating with the stroppy pre-teen via the medium of GIFs

 

[theblackwatch]

My workplace has gradually shut down over the past week or so. I had been expecting to go in a couple of days this week on a rota basis, but following the announcement last night we were told not to come in.

Having had a couple of days at home now, I seem to be developing a bit of a routine - not with regard to times, but doing certain things each day. I'm listing these in case something similar is of help to others:

- I do't get up as early as normal. Instead, I spend around 30 minutes reading in bed before I get up. I've a huge backlog of railway books which I have yet to read, so I won't run out! If anyone's interested, the one I'm reading at the moment is Ryde Rail, which I would recommend if you are interested in the Isle of Wight Railways and the tube stock there.
- I do a job at home each day. Yesterday's was washing the car, today I cleaned the windows. Don't do everything at once, or you'll run out of jobs too soon!
- I go out for a walk as part of Boris exercise regime. I'm going to local places where I've not been for ages (all within a mile) - I suspect most of us never have time to just have a wander round locally. Today I walked down to where I went to play school many years ago. The building was knocked down years ago and it was an abandoned space, but I was surprised to find some flats were being built there! I'm taking a few pictures on these walks too, today I took pictures of the buildings which were one used by one of our local bus operators (one is now a brewery).
- TV. I'm trying to watch one factual programme and an entertainment one as well.
- Phone. I'm ensuring I speak to at least one other person each day.

Hope this may help one or two people in dealing with what is a major change in lifestyle for a lot of us.

 

[Mag_seven]

I suspect most of us never have time to just have a wander round locally.

Yes I've discovered streets etc in my local area that I never knew existed!

 

[43066]

What an excellent idea for the thread - credit to @DarloRich for starting it.

Indulging my (blokeish) interest in military history is a theme for me at the moment. An item from my reading list is pictured below. Max Hastings also comes highly recommended.

(picture shows Jonathan Dimbleby book ‘The Battle of the Atlantic’.)

 

[DarloRich]

(picture shows Jonathan Dimbleby book ‘The Battle of the Atlantic’.)

good book. Decent general interest history.

 

[tony_mac]

Coincidentally, there is a live history lesson (later today) on the subject, from the Liverpool HQ of the fleet
Aimed at primary school children, but should still be relevant
https://www.facebook.com/events/682955445790269/

 

[43066]

Coincidentally, there is a live history lesson (later today) on the subject, from the Liverpool HQ of the fleet
Aimed at primary school children, but should still be relevant
https://www.facebook.com/events/682955445790269/

Thanks for pointing that out.

It’s a fascinating area of military history, for sure. About the only theatre of war more likely to kill you than flying bombing missions over occupied Europe (circa. 45% death rate IIRC) was crewing a U-boat.

75% of German submariners lost their lives. Just think about that for a second. A one in four chance of making it through alive...

EDIT: and a plug here for Mark Felton Productions, link below, an excellent YouTube channel focussing on military history and particularly, but not exclusively, WW2.

 

[DarloRich]

If you like history there are some good general interest podcasts. I like Dan Snow History Hit ( very varied), Histories of the unexpected and We have ways of making you talk

 

[Cowley]

If you like history there are some good general interest podcasts. I like Dan Snow History Hit ( very varied), Histories of the unexpected and We have ways of making you talk

I like Dan Snow too. I always find his way explaining history very engaging without treating you like you’re an idiot.

 

[Domh245]

I can also recommend timeghost, and more specifically their "WW2" series which uploads every saturday covering the events that week 79 years previously, as well as occasional other topics. Plenty of quoting from Max Hastings in some of the earlier episodes!

 

[DarloRich]

I like Dan Snow too. I always find his way explaining history very engaging without treating you like you’re an idiot.

Give We have ways of making you talk a go. It is Al Murray & James Holland. It is WW2 focused and while light is very informative.

I can also recommend timeghost, and more specifically their "WW2" series which uploads every saturday covering the events that week 79 years previously, as well as occasional other topics. Plenty of quoting from Max Hastings in some of the earlier episodes!

thanks - on the list!

 

[Cowley]

Give We have ways of making you talk a go. It is Al Murray & James Holland. It is WW2 focused and while light is very informative.



thanks - on the list!

Excellent recommendations thanks both.