Be more dog

I'm always grateful that we have our dogs. We had never been dog owners up until our move but it had been something that we both wanted to do. So we have two. One is a pure bred Australian Cattle dog, who lives up to all the most extreme stereotypes of the breed, including being the most loyal, funny, glue-pot, funny dog in the world, and the other who is a mix of goodness knows what, and is the most loving and gentle big girl. They are like chalk and cheese, yin and yan, and yet they work together perfectly to claim their own space and place in the household.

Mostly dogs are great. They centre you as you have to be home to care for their needs, which are not that complicated, but must be done. They need exercise, which we also need, even when it is cold and wet and you don't feel like going out. They need food and they need affection. Sometimes when you want to go out or you have to work they can feel like a bit of a tie, but they put up with any inconveniences or lack of attention graciously. There is nothing like coming in from a busy day to be greeted by two lively dogs who act like they haven't seen you for years.

So dogs are great, but I hadn't realised truly how great they are until our confinement. They don't worry about confinement, about the virus, contamination, the future or the past. They are just over the moon that at the moment they are never left alone and that we are together all day and every day, because for them that is exactly how it should be. They are not stressed, they sleep, eat and do dog things just as usual.

They must have their routine (all dogs love routine), and in these routine-less days for us, this has become an anchor. So if we have nothing else, we know that we need to walk the dogs in the morning and afternoon. It gives us our daily exercise and daily purpose.

They find pleasure in everything; they enjoy relaxing in the sun, sniffing around the garden, cuddling up on the sofa or barking at any noise they hear (this is much less now as there really isn't anything to be heard).

I've learned a lot from our dogs in the past two weeks and I know that the confinement would have been many times more difficult without them. Anyone who says they are 'just a dog' has no idea.

We walk dogs once a week at a local rescue (sadly on hold now). This picture sums up everything.

To translate: 
After two weeks of confinement

The human thinks only of eating all day long

Waves frenetically at everyone who goes down the street.

Goes bonkers when he knows that it's time to go for a walk.

He has become me!

Routine confinement

Our weekly routine is quite unstructured anyway, in that we don't  get up and do the same thing every day. It was something we particularly longed for before we moved to France; to be free of that sense that you are a slave to someone else's timetable and to know that although we wanted to work hard, we wanted that effort to suit us and our bodies and needs. So we get up with the sun, which means that in winter that might be quite late, but in summer can be at 6.00 am. We take it in turns to make the first cup of tea, a half pint mug of liquid that we drink while still in bed. Gremlin, the cattle dog is allowed in to lie on the bed with us during this period, and as soon as the door to the kitchen is open, he is there in anticipation, waiting to leap into his spot.

After tea, we get up and have breakfast. Sometimes the plans for the day will be formalised during those moments and sometimes we wake up more slowly. Of course on some days one or the other of us is working elsewhere, so we get up and go, but if we are both here we both take the dogs for a walk around the field and down to the land owned by our late neighbour. We have a cut a path along by the river, where the dogs can run and sniff, hidden by the trees. Occasionally we see deer and the dogs give chase for a while, or coypu splash in and out of the water. We can see as the spring flowers start to appear and watch the water in the river go from flood height the early spring to a gentle trickle in the middle of the summer. In winter it is sheltered from the wind and in summer it is sheltered from the heat. In these times of quarantine it is sheltered from prying eyes as well, who cannot see our leisurely walks together, relaxed and not wondering whether we have ticked the correct box on the form to say that we are walking the dogs or doing personal exercise.  It is free from worries about the virus, about infecting others and being infected. It has been that way for centuries with it's Roman bridge over the river, still intact, the remains of an ancient irrigation system, and the ruined water mill and sluices. In times gone by it housed the leper colony and during the war the little caves were used to hide members of the resistance. It has always been a little forgotten corner that continues to be a place of rest and retreat.

Afternoon walk along daisy drive

After the walk we return to our jobs. Sometimes these are jobs for ourselves and sometimes for others. The list is long, as although the inside of the house is now largely finished, the outside work is only beginning. Lunch is a sandwich and there is usually a late afternoon/early evening walk around the fields again with the dogs. In the summer this becomes a dip in the pool for all of us, because the temperature doesn't  reduce until well into the evening.

So, that has pretty much been our routine throughout this confinement, except we keep the dogs on lead. We are coming to the end of the first 14 days. We all knew it was going to be longer, and it has been confirmed until the middle of April. No doubt it will go on after that as well. Our area does not have many cases. I don't think it ever really took hold in the general population this way, but that doesn't mean there won't be affected people still to manifest their symptoms. Most people seem to be abiding by the rules, but then we can't see many people from here anyway. I prefer to do things as far away from prying eyes as possible. So we actively avoid anywhere where the gendarmes might be if we can, and if we have to go out, try to do it when there are as few people around as possible. That is after all the point of the whole thing anyway!

Our farmer neighbour gave us 20 eggs today. Her chickens are enjoying the sun and the clear skies and producing more eggs than she can use. The skies are gloriously clear. Yesterday afternoon we looked up as we walked the dogs and saw one contrail. Usually that time of day there would be six to eight cross crossing each other across the sky.

End of week one and the value of being a secret "prepper"

So as predicted, the UK has followed a similar path to Spain and France. First it was the schools, then it was pubs and restaurants and then people were sternly told to stay at home, only of course that didn't work. When the order came that everyone must stay at home, the decision was blamed on the actions of the people. It was in part true for those who continued to go out in the exact same way as before, but for those who work, the lack of clarity and uncertainty about jobs and money really placed them in an impossible position, torn between the request of the government and the demands of their employers.  However, it's always easier to blame and divide the people rather than take full responsibility, and that's what happened up until the announcement. Four days was all it took!

Here in France we are on the start of our second week of isolation. Everyone knows it is going to go on for much longer so I doubt we will even bother to listen to the announcement when it comes. Some things have apparently got stricter (because the people weren't behaving ). Leaving the house for personal exercise and  to walk dogs was an example of a situation where the regulations were unclear (if you design legislation in four days its never going to be perfect).  Now it has been clarified that you can only go out once a day for no more than an hour, on your own, and no more than a 1km radius of your home. Of course full compliance depends on enforcement. In areas where there are lots of people living close together then there are plenty of police with their measures and watches. Out here, where we barely see a tractor all day, we have yet to see the police. Many aspects of the rules don't really make sense from the point of view of the spread of the virus, but they do from the point of view of enforcement. Strict and simple rules are easier for the police to enforce.

Anyway, back to the end of our first week. We've been cracking on through the jobs. Gardening, cleaning, cooking. The weather has been lovely with not a spot of rain since the start. The grass continues to grow and we have had plenty of time to cut it! Ian is reorganising the soil in the garden so that we can install our fencing. We are hoping that at some point we can find somewhere to buy the materials so that we can at least finish that job. In the meantime, the dogs have decided to help us by digging in the garden .

Unlike the UK there hasn't been too much problem with panic buying here. For a few days the shelves were a bit sparse, but once people had to limit their shopping it settled down a bit and most of the stores have had adequate supplies. However it hasn't been a particular problem for us, because ever since we moved here, to the middle of nowhere, I have become a secret "prepper". First it was the tea... Yes you can buy it in France but it is expensive and so much more sense to bring it in bulk when we are in the UK.  As you can see our supplies are ample and should last a while and see us through at least some of the apocalypse. Then there is the wine. I usually stock up when there are offers, or when we visit various places. We must have at least enough to last a year, which is good, because in some areas they are starting to ban the sale of alcohol! I also have three crates of beer for Ian that I bought when it was on offer, so we won't be having a dry apocalypse.





And then there is the general supply of non perishables. Homemade jams, beans, tomatoes etc. I just make sure I have one or two extra in stock just in case!  I also have 23 remaining tins from a case of Heinz spaghetti that we brought with us when we moved over 10 years ago. I don't know why we bought them in the first place really, but I have a feeling that if we don't eat them soon then we might have to admit that we never will.

Add into that a full freezer and cupboard, and I don't think we will be hungry.

I am sending Ian out to do the shopping for fresh stuff tomorrow. I might ask him to get a few extra tins!

Four days (was all it took)

Saturday evening, 14 March. We were sitting in a lovely farm restaurant in the middle of the Pyrenees. Official guidance was to stay away from public areas if you were elderly or had health problems, but otherwise wash your hands a lot and don't hug and kiss people. Rumours were circulating that more stringent rules were to follow as the numbers of those infected with Covid 19 increased dramatically and hospital services began to struggle. The Spanish border was closing and the schools had closed on the 13th. Some restaurants had also closed down voluntarily.

The meal was good traditional mountain food.The wine was plentiful, the company was fun; definitely a restaurant to remember.  Then someone mentioned 'the last supper' as in, this will be the last meal out for a while. We asked the waitress, and yes, the order had been announced at 8.00 pm that all restaurants, pubs, bars and clubs were to be shut from midnight. (The restaurant did say that they would be breaking that instruction for the following lunchtime as they had a booking of 50 people and they hadn't received anything in writing! That's France!) We ordered a round of cognac to finish off the meal and us, and feeling slightly shell shocked and disconcerted wondered what this would mean for us, our families and our businesses. It was a bit like an out of body experience and hard to comprehend.

On Sunday we walked in the hills, just up to the snow line for the dogs to play. The ski village was still open but for the last time, as people did their final run, packed up and left. It was also election day for the French local elections so the town halls were busy with people coming in and out to vote, and the Maires sitting anxiously to see if they were going to be re-elected. Up until this year we had been able to vote in these elections, but after the UK left the EU we lost that right, so we hadn't been too bothered about staying at home that weekend. People were standing around, talking, wondering.

Fortunately we had bought some food for Sunday night and had planned to eat in.. Cars were being packed up, shutters shut. Rumour was strong that France would be following Spain in ordering everyone to stay at home. No details were provided, but it became clear that from Tuesday we would be not be allowed to leave the house. We considered staying down in the Pyrenees a bit longer but didn't dwell long on that idea, as a small apartment is not as easy to be confined in as our own house, even though the views are beautiful.

On Sunday afternoon we had a stroll through the village. It is an old mountain village with mostly hill farmers and tourists. The holiday makers were packing up their cars.whilst the farmers checked on their sheep and cows. We remarked that for the older inhabitants the shut down would barely be noticed in the rhythm of their lives, lives that had gone on unchanged by modern ways, providing of course, no one had brought the virus to their doorstep. On the way out for our walk we passed an old stone village house where a row of hens were cuddled up sleeping on the front doorstep, looking like they had been there for centuries. When we returned an hour or so later, an elderly woman was in the doorway, feeding the chickens with a bowl of corn. She waved and smiled at us as we walked by with the dogs.

Monday morning we got up, tidied and locked up the apartment and left for home. I wanted to get a few bits from the supermarket on the way back, mainly fresh things, but the supermarkets had queues or empty shelves. Everyone was rushing around trying to get their last jobs done. Eventually I found a few bits in a supermarket near home; a ready made pizza for the evening, some cheese and milk. And then we were home...

Tuesday at noon the order to remain at home came into force. People in the UK call it a 'lockdown' but it isn't really that. We are instructed to stay at home and only go out for essential shopping, walking the dog or for a short walk to exercise, for medical needs or essential work, if you can't work from home. To go out you need to print off and sign a form ticking one of the four categories and if asked you have to show it to the police. And although I haven't seem them, the police are apparently out in force stopping and checking people to see if they are obeying the laws.

So four days..  that is how quick your life can change. And yes, I know all the reasons for it, good, honourable reasons, to save lives, to protect those more vulnerable and to spare the health professionals the ordeal of having to decide who lives and dies. I support it wholeheartedly, but nevertheless it is shocking to see how quickly and easily we can lose what we have and how much we have taken that freedom for granted without question.

Currently locked down

As of Tuesday 17th March at noon we are under house arrest. Well not exactly, but France has taken a firm approach to try and contain the spread of the virus, before it totally overwhelms the health services.

It seems that the virus is very infectious and being novel, no one has any immunity to it. In most people, it is mild or like flu, but in about 20% of people it is severe, causing pneumonia and, if people are not given medical assistance in the form of assistance with breathing, they may die. To make it worse, you can still be infectious even if you don't have symptoms and then pass it on to others.

So what does that mean for us? We must stay in our homes and not venture out except for essential shopping, going to the pharmacy or doctor, supporting someone vulnerable, or taking brief personal exercise such as a walk, or walking your dogs close to home.  If we have to go out we must take an attestation stating where we are going, and if stopped by the police we have to produce it. Failure to have the piece of paper may result in a fine.What has this actually meant for us so far? To be honest not a big change in our day to day life, which was always a bit antisocial.  We walk the dogs around our field where no one else ever goes, we get on with jobs, we sit on the terrace, I cook dinner.. tomorrow I might venture to the shops. We can't visit friends, all restaurants are closed, no parties or socialising..

We await to see what happens next.

Returning ( or how the past becomes the future)

I started this blog to write about our experiences while we were in the process of upheaval.  Giving up stable lives to come and live a new life in France. The journey was amazing and an experience of ups, downs, fun, stress, steep learning curves...a real journey. After we arrived however, daily life took over and the blog posts got less. Life took on it's own rhythm that just led us along, and I had less need and less time to write.

So what has changed? Well, now we are experiencing one of the biggest challenges of my lifetime in the form of the coronavirus..a new pandemic that could kill hundreds of thousands of people and that has swept from China to Europe and onwards, and changed all of our lives in the process.

So it was time to reinstate the blog..to record and describe our experiences and to try and make sense of them...so more to follow on all of that...

But before I go on..in reopening this blog I noticed that the last post I wrote was about the plague and China!  Too much of a coincidence!