Day 2

Awake at 5am. My head is spinning with hundreds of “what if” thoughts and ruminating on the unknown. Will society actually run out of toilet roll, fresh vegetables and bread? What about the vulnerable people who cannot get out to the shops, or those who do not have the funds to buy a stock of tins and freezer foods?

I have been drawn into the purchasing wars, but am only buying as much as we need and a few extra bits for the approaching (?) lockdown. For example:

• Mince – it’s versatile
• Chicken – my fave
• Tissues – can double as loo roll and kitchen roll. Plus it is hayfever season
• Tins – spaghetti hoops, baked beans, chopped tomatoes
• Freezer bits – pizza (Dominos do not deliver here), garlic bread, burgers, fish fingers, berries
• Dried goods – pasta, rice, noodles

Sensible, right?

My partner in crime comes home with:

• Beer
• Tonic water

To be fair, I was after some tonic to pair with my various gins. But I don’t feel like these are priority items?!

However, I can’t fault the rest of his choices:

• Cheese (bringing the total to 4 blocks – we love cheese toasties)
• Mince (obvs)
• Sauce (for meatballs, lasagne and spag bol – quintessential dishes)
• Eggs (scrambled, poached, avec soldiers)
• Crackers (in case we don’t have bread)

This panic buying lark has made my anxiety levels rise by about 1000%. The news is saturated with fear-inducing stories and headlines and it is hard to read between the lines and take in the necessary information without it all feeding into the uncertainty. Not only am I now worried about catching, and thus spreading, the virus and the impact of this pandemic on my parents and loved ones; I am wondering if the whole situation will turn into something from the bloody (literally) Purge films: people fighting over petrol and milk, willing to break into peoples’ homes to steal butter and sanitary products, ultimately harming others to fulfil their own needs.

OK, I know we are not at this stage. I am half-joking…but in all honesty…? The human race is facing something we have not had to before. It is the unknown. It is causing angst and distress. And there is a different mentality in this day and age: our society is used to getting it wants, when it wants, without having to wait. Everything is usually in endless supply and can be delivered at top speed.

We are not our gracious and respectful grandparents who survived wars. We need action and rules, not woolly guidelines. We are only a matter of weeks behind the situation in Italy, let’s learn something from their experience.

I hope this event changes our society for the good.

I hope it allows us to realise how much our key workers do. I hope we learn to value our friendships. I hope it brings out compassion and kindness. I hope children learn about nature, cooking and the world, and that parents value the time they get to spend with them. I hope more books are read and more home meals are cooked. I hope people learn and share and make the most of modern technology. I hope we stop taking our precious world for granted.

I guess through all of this drama, fear and economic unrest…there is still hope.