Monday 30 March 2020

One Daily Positive - Week 13 Covid-19 and travel to the UK

I spent my last few days in Dubai sorting the furniture and our personal belongings out into 3 piles. What's staying in Dubai, moving to the UK and being disposed of/donated.

It's been a harder job done in a short space of time, due to the uncertainty of when I'll next be allowed back in Dubai. At the moment it is closed to everyone, my next flight  27th April till 27th May has been cancelled.

Peter will be out in Dubai until I can get back or he can leave to visit me. We have a wedding to attend in June, which has now been cancelled, we're not disappointed, we understand the seriousness of this virus, we just have plan a, b, c waiting to be implemented.

If I'm honest I'd rather have stayed in Dubai, where I'm at less risk of catching the virus, but my MIL has been house and pet sitting for the past 3 weeks, she is 82 and would rather be isolated in her own home. Also our eldest child is in care in the UK, she's not at risk physically, but requires 24/7 care and if the staff levels drop, then so does her care and there's always a slim chance I might need to have her home.

There's not much difference to my usual week, being in isolation. I guess I'm more likely to catch the virus from the travel and being back in the UK than I was in Dubai. I don't miss the going out, I miss the ability to just spend a couple of hours out walking Bob, I'm still walking him once a day, but varying the route and making them shorter in case we have to go into full lockdown at some point.

I've had more contact with friends this week than usual, because I'm back in the UK where I can access voice over internet, such as Skype, facebook and whatsapp calling.

82 Sunday More arranging and sorting ready for our move in May, however we will just extend the rental contract here for a few more months if necessary. Emirates have cancelled all flights and the border will close on Wednesday. Was called in for another blood test as white blood cell count had shot through the roof again.
To top it all off, we had more rain and some localised flooding.

83 Monday As above, all done. Did a food shop for Peter before I leave, as check in was open and my flight is still scheduled. Finished organising the house. WBC back inside the normal range, no idea why it went so high.

84 Tuesday Flight to Heathrow, the last British Airways flight out of Dubai. Both Dubai and Heathrow T5 were empty. I was collected by friend due to my time of arrival and stayed at her house over night, we maintained a safe distance. Who knows when we'll see one another again?

85 Wednesday A lift to Watford then 3 trains and a short walk home. MIL had left by the time I got back and had left milk in the fridge, after unpacking I took my shopping trolley to Lidl and stocked up on fresh fruit, vegetables and meat. The toilet overflow is broken so I had a go at fixing it, it'll do for now but the downstairs loo is now out of action until I can get a plumber in or purchase a new ball valve. My oldest twitter buddy to the rescue.

86 Thursday The weather was glorious so I spent the day in the garden after taking Bob out for a walk. I then cleaned out and tidied both the sheds, borrowed the neighbours mower and cut the lawn, reclaiming back the patio and a path. Dug out all the Ivy growing over from next doors garden that had caused my fence to collapse back in December.

87 Friday Another day spent in the garden, more digging, weeding and tidying up. I have 4 large concrete pots I'd like to move, but even if I empty them of the soil, I still won't be able to shift them. Managed to move them just enough to get them off the edge of the lawn. Dialled in to a zoom call with my friends in South Africa to keep up to date with what is going on in their part of the world,  only allowed out with a permit if you are essential staff. My very own cat cafe.

88 Saturday Attempted to dig a new border, but it was cold and windy out, so I collected up all the bricks and laid them out, marking the new border. I fixed some loose panels on the shed. Sorted out the parcels I intended to post to family for Easter and birthdays. I condensed the contents to letter box style as I don't believe a trip to the post office is essential and I have enough stamps for the postage. Afternoon spent baking, watching TV and blogging. Found a new route to walk. In the 8 years we lived here I never knew there were allotments 200ms from our house.

On the blog this week:

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24 comments:

  1. Sounds like a busy week. Glad you got to catch up with friends and family online. And good you can still take the dog out. Hope your blood tests sort out & it’s nothing serious. Take care xx

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    1. Thanks, blood tests will have to wait a while now as I didn't register with a GP on my last trip to the UK

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  2. Shame you had to leave Dubai but I understand the reasons. Hope you manage to get the toilet fixed

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    1. thank you, toilet repair didn't hold up sadly

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  3. What was it like on the flights? Were they distancing people by leaving seats empty or just filling it up as usual ? xx

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  4. It does sound like you are more needed back in the UK just in case anything happens with your daughters carers.
    Oh gosh! That flooding does look bad.
    It sounds like you had a good trip back home and it sounds like you got loads done in the garden. x

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    1. fingers crossed I'm not needed but you can guarantee if I didn't come back I would've been

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  5. I hope there are no problems with your daughter's care, but definitely sounds sensible to get back to the UK. It sounds like you've been very busy with your garden! I hope you get to see Peter sooner rather than later, it must be hard having that uncertainty. It's amazing that you didn't realise the allotments were there when they are so close to your house.

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    1. so far so good with daughters carers, I've been enjoying sorting out the house and garden, guess when the kids were still at home I didn't have time to go exploring

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  6. Welcome back, Suzanne! I see why you would want to stay in Dubai, but as you say, your MIL needs her own home, and there might be lack of care for your daughter. Sasha's school is supposed to be open, but due to the shortages of staff, he is only offered two days a week. We are happy with that, as that gives him a chance of some normality, as he doesn't understand all the latest restrictions at all. Your garden looks very tidy. Was you flight nearly empty?

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    1. Thank you, hope Sasha's school is able to provide you with support. Flight was full sadly

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  7. Does make sense to be in the UK for the pets and if your daughter needs you. But yes think I would prefer to be in Dubai!

    The garden is looking good.

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  8. the same walking routes become tedious, but the dog does not really care.
    It is good you can extend your rental if need be.
    I cant really blame your MIL for wanting back to her own home for lockdown.

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    1. I don't blame MIL either, just a shame she left before I got back to say thank you

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  9. Glad you made it back to the UK okay and it sounds like you have been really busy getting everything sorted on your return. Good you managed to get provisions we had been struggling before going into self isolation.

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    1. So grateful I'd shopped in advance, don't need to leave the house other than a daily dog walk for a while

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  10. Glad you are safely back here to look after everything. Will be difficult not seeing Peter though. It's amazing what you can discover about your local neighbourhood when you have the time to explore.

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    1. Think I'll keep this level of walking around when this is finally over, I tend normally just to walk Bob to the same places for the coffee shops

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  11. It was good luck that you were able to get back to the UK but how horrible to have such uncertainty about when you will get back or see Peter again #project366

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    1. I was lucky I got back to the UK, wouldn't be able to return now, we talk several times a day, it's the weekends Peter finds hard, but otherwise we're both good

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  12. It's a tough decision to decide where to live. Great that your WBC levels are low. You've definitely kept yourself busy

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    1. More business to come over the next few weeks with decorating

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