Starting on Thursday I will be starting my new furlough – four weeks of working one day a week. We will take turns to go to the shop and lock the doors so the public cannot get in. That way we can keep the eBay site ticking over and obey the law at the same time.

Julia will still be working, despite the inability of the organisation to provide a safe environment. It turned out today, for I think the third time, that one of the clients turned up when they were supposed to be in quarantine. No point in worrying now – they had been there most of the day before they let it slip. What’s done is done.

I went shopping to buy a few things in Aldi so we don’t need to do an online shop this week (we are backed up with so many vegetables and tins of beans that we need a rest). I managed to buy everything we needed for £18, instead of the minimum spend of £40 online, and resisted the urge to buy a few extras for the store cupboard.

Shopping is just like it used to be before Covid, apart from most of the shoppers wearing masks. They are back to shopping in groups, blocking gangways and letting kids run wild, Quite a few, sadly, aren’t wearing masks and two of the three cashiers had their masks pulled down under their chin. However, that’s so common when I go shopping I may just as well cut and paste it.

Tomorrow I will make a list of things to do in lockdown, as I don’t want to waste any of this bonus time. Decluttering, as Julia has said, with a slight edge to her voice, beats writing to top place on the list. In her dreams…