Well I'm now in Day 5 of self isolation, day 1 of not putting on full make up and false eyelashes. I think I have cabin fever. Of course self isolation is not new to me, I am a writer, self isolating is pretty much all we do, think Jack Nicholson in 'As Good As it Gets' every time his neighbour knocks on the door.
Tis true, all my life, all I ever wanted was a 'Room of One's Own'*, a place where I could be left alone with my thoughts and a typewriter and no interruptions. In the old days, the only way I could achieve that was by creeping downstairs in the middle of the night. I totally get Rene Descartes and indeed Nietzsche, their craving for solitude in order to come up with something profound. I come out with profanities all the time, but it's getting me nowhere. Now I just want to look pretty with a knowing smile.
But back to this self isolation. For the first time ever, we can say 'I want to be alone' out loud and without excuses. Yayyyy. Usually when I tell people I'm working, ie. writing, their mouths say 'good for you' but their eyes say 'yeah, she's dossing'. This authorised dossing I kind of like. I haven't hoovered in a week and my spiders are now building condominiums! Enjoy your new homes say I, tis my theory that spiders eat flies who are the real little blood sucking disease carriers. My pantry remains stocked, I have a very small appetite, though my opened pack of day 6 pancakes were a bit ropey - cured by a dollop of maple syrup :).
To all those greedy hoarders out there, I wish you weeks of gone off, unappetizing food. Those of us left to depend upon food parcels from world health agencies, will be creating healthy nutritious meals out of whatever we have. Most of us could last for months just on what we have in our store cupboards and freezers. I know whenever I go food shopping, I'm always thinking about an end of the world situation, and indeed, a what if I can't go out for a few days situation.
Now here I have to confess, my biggest influences on an end of the world scenario, would have to be The Walking Dead, though I have indeed always been a fan of disaster movies. In series 1, the only pockets of survivors, were those who had isolated themselves. Those who had cut themselves off from the 'all will be well' propaganda and taken their own precautions. The schools may still be open but I will not walk into them just now, ergo, my English teaching is presently on hold. A brief glance at twitter, reveals thousands of people have chosen to self isolate without a government directive. And it's the safest way. A map of China, shows how quickly the virus can be contained when people stop mixing.
For me unlimited dossing time includes binge watching historic drama. I have lost count of the number of times I have watched Versailles, I love the costumes and the splendour and the beauty of the surroundings, but also the sense of impending terror. Of course the impending terror we now have in real life. The Tudors I have watched so many times, I know all the lines before they are spoken. I am of course gripped by all the costumes and splendour aforesaid, but also by the charismatic Jonathan Rhys-Myers. The real Henry VIII was a towering man, over 6ft in an age when the average height for a man was 5ft 4ins. And he was obese. JRM with no physical resemblance whatsoever, managed to portray the towering, nonetheless.
But I have wandered. I hope there are some Tudor fans out there. Not just the divine JRM, but geeks who like all the finer details and trivia. I am presently on the look out for good historic drama, so would welcome all and any suggestions. I am sure other European countries have dynasties just as fascinating as our own, and yes I have watched Ekaterina. My kindest wishes to all those self isolating and to those so selflessly persevering in their jobs to keeps the wheels turning. They are the people who will ensure, in two weeks time when normal people run out of toilet roll, it will again be available in our shops. Take care everyone, and do check in, we might find something profound to chat about :)
*Virgina Woolf
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