Since mum arrived a few weeks ago, I've been going out more, her shopping needs differ greatly to mine and going out once a fortnight to food shop is now weekly. I don't like it, I don't feel comfortable and my anxiety levels are increasing again. But I'm doing it, I'd just rather not.
This week I went to the chemist to collect her prescription, she'd been asking for me to pick up some cakes next time I shopped and requested new cotton hankies. The pharmacy counter is by the door in Superdrug, so I only need to go just inside. I could look through the window at Greggs and see they were out of fresh cream cakes and when I got to Peacocks, I did my own risk assessment, staff were masked, store was well laid out and there were no customers inside. I walked as far as the till and the assistant fetched the hankies. I wore a mask from entering the chemist until I finished in the final store.
There was no queue to Home Bargains so I decided to go in there and pick up the other bits and pieces I needed that I would normally get from Wilko when I did my next food shop in Waitrose on a Thursday. I entered the store, picked up one or two things from memory as I'd forgotten my list and left without half the stuff I needed, so I'll still have to go to Wilko on Thursday or leave it another week.
At the beginning of lockdown, I didn't have a car and couldn't get online food delivery for myself. Thankfully I managed to get regular slots for mum. So I'd go out with my trolley and try to shop for 7-10 days with some careful meal planning, once I got a car it was to the shop once a fortnight and a top up of milk the alternate week in the corner store. I carefully selected the 2 stores I shopped in, the social distancing was and is still being observed in there and I added Wilko to my list of places I was happy to visit.
I've made a couple of trips to poundland and poundstretcher on my weekly trip out, but used the supermarket nearby and I wasn't happy with the social distancing. I've been to B&M in Worcester when I've driven for a click and collect, justifying that I'm still actually only physically going into one shop that week.
I've been buying a take out coffee from an independent shop happily enough, but went to one of the chains and I felt uncomfortable. I'm slowly making a list of the places I won't be going back into even after this is all over.
Today I sat inside a different independent coffee shop. I wasn't asked for my details, staff didn't distance from one another and they were quite scathing about what they could and couldn't do. I drank my coffee, had my say about them. not asking for my details and I just won't return there.
It's become too easy to just do a bit more each time I go out. I don't like it, I don't want or need to do it, so after my mum returns to her own home in 2 weeks time. I'm going back into isolation and will only shop again once a fortnight, I will continue to take the dog for daily walks and am more than happy to continue my friday night wine dates with my friend, visit my grandchild and other son who live nearby and meet up with others within a 1 hour drive in open space only.
It's the only way I can guarantee I can remain Covid free, as to a lot of people because the shops are open, life is back to normal, just a little bit inconvenienced and the virus appears to have just gone away.
My aim is to keep well enough to travel to Dubai to see my husband in August and I'll have to isolate for 2 weeks when I get back anyway and I won't be able to walk the dog then. So I just need to stay away from too many other people and avoid indoor spaces till then.
Showing posts with label virus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label virus. Show all posts
Wednesday, 15 July 2020
Sunday, 22 March 2020
One Daily Positive - Week 12 How we're managing in Dubai with the Covid-19 virus
Wasn't sure how this week would pan out with the spread of the Virus. All schools were closed on March 8th for 4 weeks. Over the weekend, all theme parks and cinemas were closed and twitter informed me, that after Tuesday there would be no further visas issued. Malls reduced their opening hours, bars and nightclubs closed, restaurants remain open as do supermarkets. I've never seen Dubai so empty.
The roads at rush hour are empty as people are now encouraged to work from home, I've never seen it so quiet even at 2am on an airport run, there's usually a lot of traffic, I never venture into the Marina or onto the Palm by car outside of 10am- 2pm as it's chaotic and a 15 minute trip can often take over an hour at peak times. As all the tourist spots are closed or closing down, I'm taking our visitors for a drive around Dubai to show them the size of the City and the various building projects that are going on.
Airports are empty and I've been able to park right by the door at the malls. My flight was cancelled but rebooked for the afternoon flight on the same day at no charge. They're condensing flights from 3 to 1 a day, makes sense not to fly half empty planes. All flights into Dubai are now cancelled.
Spirits are high from the people I meet out, but the workers are worried about their jobs if the few remaining places left open were to close and after dinner out on Tuesday we received a text message from the restaurant to say a big Thank you for our custom at this difficult time.
Thankfully we're still in winter so spending a lot of time outside, walking, sitting in the garden and enjoying the peace and quiet, whilst still enjoying the views and maintaining social distancing.
Our son phoned from Australia, his visa expires in April. He's decided to stay put as he's already applied for a new one and his home is there, the shops are advertising for staff to help keep up with the demands for goods and he works were a transport company which will guarantee an income during this time. If the government advise foreign nationals are to leave, he will take this advice.
75 Sunday Stayed in bed till midday then a food shop, no one is panic buying and shelves are fully stocked, hand sanitisers every where for the pubic and workers and not chained down. Home to finish the cleaning and washing ready for Peter's sister and her friends arrival tomorrow morning. The weather is warming up and storms are forecast.
76 Monday An early start to the airport, we went out to the Marina and beach area for coffee, walk and lunch and had a BBQ in the garden in the evening. T1 Dubai.
77 Tuesday Peter with his sister and friend took the Ferry to the Creek, I drove up to meet them as I'd done the trip last week and after lunch on the waterfront we explored the souks. home to change then out to the Souk Madinat for dinner, it was like a ghost town. The Burj Al Arab was lit up green for St Patricks Day but the Irish bar was closed, so no celebrating. I finished the evening with a migraine, probably sun exposure and lack of fluids, I don't normally spend this much time outdoors.
78 Wednesday The medication killed the migraine, but I opted to go to the coffee shop while our visitors spent the morning on the beach, we then went off to Dubai Mall, Peter joined us in the evening for dinner. All our coffee shop and restaurant visits have been outdoors with no other customers.
79 Thursday Was supposed to be visiting the Burj Khalifa today but it's closed until the end of March, so we drove out to the markets in Masafi, Fujeriah and had lunch at the Radisson Blu, home for a quick shower and change then out for dinner on the Palm.
80 Friday Up early to take Peter's sister and her friend to the airport, flight took off on time. I rebooked my flight. Home to sort paperwork, plan for move in May, just in case I can't get back and pack my suitcase. Until these places close, or we develop any symptoms, we will continue to visit, however we are choosing places with outdoor seating, using contactless to pay and if there are too many people were walking away.
81 Saturday Spent the day rearranging the house, deciding what stays in Dubai, what is going to the UK and what we are disposing of. We went to the Marina for a walk outside and chose a coffee shop with outdoor seating that was empty. There is far more work than I thought to sort the house so will be doing downstairs tomorrow.
On the blog this week:
Why is no one applying logic to wearing masks and gloves when out? They're still spreading the virus unless they're changing their gloves as often as we are advised to wash our hands.
How complicated is your life? As an expat it is complicated by it's very nature, the Covid-19 virus has slowed us down and still have no idea if I'll be able to travel to the UK next week or not.
The roads at rush hour are empty as people are now encouraged to work from home, I've never seen it so quiet even at 2am on an airport run, there's usually a lot of traffic, I never venture into the Marina or onto the Palm by car outside of 10am- 2pm as it's chaotic and a 15 minute trip can often take over an hour at peak times. As all the tourist spots are closed or closing down, I'm taking our visitors for a drive around Dubai to show them the size of the City and the various building projects that are going on.
Airports are empty and I've been able to park right by the door at the malls. My flight was cancelled but rebooked for the afternoon flight on the same day at no charge. They're condensing flights from 3 to 1 a day, makes sense not to fly half empty planes. All flights into Dubai are now cancelled.
Spirits are high from the people I meet out, but the workers are worried about their jobs if the few remaining places left open were to close and after dinner out on Tuesday we received a text message from the restaurant to say a big Thank you for our custom at this difficult time.
Thankfully we're still in winter so spending a lot of time outside, walking, sitting in the garden and enjoying the peace and quiet, whilst still enjoying the views and maintaining social distancing.
Our son phoned from Australia, his visa expires in April. He's decided to stay put as he's already applied for a new one and his home is there, the shops are advertising for staff to help keep up with the demands for goods and he works were a transport company which will guarantee an income during this time. If the government advise foreign nationals are to leave, he will take this advice.
75 Sunday Stayed in bed till midday then a food shop, no one is panic buying and shelves are fully stocked, hand sanitisers every where for the pubic and workers and not chained down. Home to finish the cleaning and washing ready for Peter's sister and her friends arrival tomorrow morning. The weather is warming up and storms are forecast.
76 Monday An early start to the airport, we went out to the Marina and beach area for coffee, walk and lunch and had a BBQ in the garden in the evening. T1 Dubai.
77 Tuesday Peter with his sister and friend took the Ferry to the Creek, I drove up to meet them as I'd done the trip last week and after lunch on the waterfront we explored the souks. home to change then out to the Souk Madinat for dinner, it was like a ghost town. The Burj Al Arab was lit up green for St Patricks Day but the Irish bar was closed, so no celebrating. I finished the evening with a migraine, probably sun exposure and lack of fluids, I don't normally spend this much time outdoors.
78 Wednesday The medication killed the migraine, but I opted to go to the coffee shop while our visitors spent the morning on the beach, we then went off to Dubai Mall, Peter joined us in the evening for dinner. All our coffee shop and restaurant visits have been outdoors with no other customers.
79 Thursday Was supposed to be visiting the Burj Khalifa today but it's closed until the end of March, so we drove out to the markets in Masafi, Fujeriah and had lunch at the Radisson Blu, home for a quick shower and change then out for dinner on the Palm.
80 Friday Up early to take Peter's sister and her friend to the airport, flight took off on time. I rebooked my flight. Home to sort paperwork, plan for move in May, just in case I can't get back and pack my suitcase. Until these places close, or we develop any symptoms, we will continue to visit, however we are choosing places with outdoor seating, using contactless to pay and if there are too many people were walking away.
81 Saturday Spent the day rearranging the house, deciding what stays in Dubai, what is going to the UK and what we are disposing of. We went to the Marina for a walk outside and chose a coffee shop with outdoor seating that was empty. There is far more work than I thought to sort the house so will be doing downstairs tomorrow.
On the blog this week:
Why is no one applying logic to wearing masks and gloves when out? They're still spreading the virus unless they're changing their gloves as often as we are advised to wash our hands.
How complicated is your life? As an expat it is complicated by it's very nature, the Covid-19 virus has slowed us down and still have no idea if I'll be able to travel to the UK next week or not.
Wednesday, 18 March 2020
Failing to apply logic in light of Covid-19
I'm getting a bit annoyed with the inconsistencies when I'm out and about and the lack of logic applied to many situations.
Mask wearers are winding me up and it's taking a lot of self control NOT to say something to people as they continue to touch the mask constantly.
Glove wearers are next on my list. Why are you wearing gloves other than to protect yourself? Unless you change the gloves as often as others are washing their hands, then you're not helping to prevent the spread of the virus.
A woman in the supermarket, gloved and wearing a mask, rooted in her handbag to answer her phone and held it to her face, still gloved and wearing a mask, previous to this she'd been wiping down all the items she picked off the shelf with anti bacterial wipes before placing them in her trolley....I just sighed.
The Dubai Municipality have taken steps to reduce the spread, shop counters have been cleared of promotional items, areas are being cleaned regularly, public venues are closed, opening hours at the malls are reduced to allow for extensive cleaning and hand sanitisers are available everywhere and not even chained down and in a lot of places such as the lift and ticket machine in the car parks, they've been installed.
Jumeriah Beach Residence this morning
My biggest bug bear is in the coffee shops though. Staff wearing a combination of gloves and masks, handling the cups, pens, money, passing the cup to the barista and then holding the lid to p[lace on the cup before passing to the customer, no hand washing in between. I'm not asking them to wash their hands, but I am asking for a ceramic mug and often being refused as it's against company policy.
My applied logic is this. A ceramic mug is put through the dishwasher and sanitised. The take away cups are sitting on the counter, exposed to people coughing on them even if they are 2 meters away in the queue.
It just makes more sense to use a ceramic mug that is hygienically cleaned between each use and this morning, I persuaded the barista to apply some logic.
I'm. not over reacting, but I do keep going on about it as my husband complains to me. He's right of course, I don't have to go out, I have no symptoms, there are currently less than 10 people in the coffee shop, there were 4 of us in a restaurant last night for dinner, we were served on ceramic plates with metal cutlery, we drank from glasses.
We just need to apply some common sense, some logic, question why people weren't washing their hands as frequently anyway and avoiding situations where we could put people at risk from our lack of hygiene.
The guidelines applied to both here and Dubai about working from home, schools closing, public gatherings etc being cancelled should be enough. But from what I'm seeing on Social Media at the moment and from the behaviour of people who are out and about, I'm not surprised some countries have gone into lock down if people can't use common sense and apply logic.
Monday, 16 March 2020
How complicated is your life?
I've not really been settled since we relocated abroad to South Africa in 2011, since then the last 2 kids have left home, we moved to Dubai, my father died, we had a grandchild and I moved back into our former family home, with the cat and dog joining me in February this year. There has been a lot of change over the past 9 years.
Life is just ticking over at the moment. I'm moving between the UK and Dubai each month. Not really getting a chance to settle down and get into a routine before I'm back on a plane.
In the UK I'm restoring our former family home, walking the dog and catching up with family. My current trip to Dubai has been spent with friends and family from the UK who have taken advantage of us still being out in Dubai for a holiday for our last few years in Dubai.
Last year I completed 134 hours of flying time, with a long haul flight every month as child 3 lives in Australia and we had 2 trips back to South Africa as Peter has been working there more often so I've accompanied him when I can. This year I've already completed flights in January and February with my return trip to the UK next week and another return fight booked in April/May. I'm hoping to keep my silver status with Emirates for next year as flying is a lot easier without all that queuing at check in and getting on the plane.
I'm planning to return to the UK from Dubai on March 24th. We have visitors this week and I have to sort all our furniture and personal belongings into 2 piles. 1 for the new apartment Peter will be moving to in May and the other pile for its return to the UK. I also have to apply for a ToR (Transfer of Residency) so I don't have to pay tax/duty on our personal belongings and list every item for this as well as for insurance purposes.
I will be back in Dubai to help with the move and the packing, however I'm sorting this all out now as I have no idea whether I'l be able to travel back into Dubai with Covid-19 not due to peak until the summer time.
I have a wedding in the UK in June so I've packed my dress and some summer clothes in case I can't get back out in May and I have house sitters provisionally booked who may not be able to travel to the mainland from Northern Ireland to do so.
I'm remarkably calm about the whole situation, there's no point being anything else as all this concern with travel is out of my control and it's not like I'd be stranded in either place and with this move there are no visa requirements, so no time scale other than vacating the villa on the 25th May, but I'm sure we could extend month to month if needed.
Life is just ticking over at the moment. I'm moving between the UK and Dubai each month. Not really getting a chance to settle down and get into a routine before I'm back on a plane.
In the UK I'm restoring our former family home, walking the dog and catching up with family. My current trip to Dubai has been spent with friends and family from the UK who have taken advantage of us still being out in Dubai for a holiday for our last few years in Dubai.
Last year I completed 134 hours of flying time, with a long haul flight every month as child 3 lives in Australia and we had 2 trips back to South Africa as Peter has been working there more often so I've accompanied him when I can. This year I've already completed flights in January and February with my return trip to the UK next week and another return fight booked in April/May. I'm hoping to keep my silver status with Emirates for next year as flying is a lot easier without all that queuing at check in and getting on the plane.
I'm planning to return to the UK from Dubai on March 24th. We have visitors this week and I have to sort all our furniture and personal belongings into 2 piles. 1 for the new apartment Peter will be moving to in May and the other pile for its return to the UK. I also have to apply for a ToR (Transfer of Residency) so I don't have to pay tax/duty on our personal belongings and list every item for this as well as for insurance purposes.
I will be back in Dubai to help with the move and the packing, however I'm sorting this all out now as I have no idea whether I'l be able to travel back into Dubai with Covid-19 not due to peak until the summer time.
I have a wedding in the UK in June so I've packed my dress and some summer clothes in case I can't get back out in May and I have house sitters provisionally booked who may not be able to travel to the mainland from Northern Ireland to do so.
I'm remarkably calm about the whole situation, there's no point being anything else as all this concern with travel is out of my control and it's not like I'd be stranded in either place and with this move there are no visa requirements, so no time scale other than vacating the villa on the 25th May, but I'm sure we could extend month to month if needed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)