On Friday afternoon I was struggling to focus on writing my essay so I thought I’d go on a quick walk to get some fresh air & exercise, hopeful this would enable me to concentrate my mind. I ended up walking for over three hours and covering just shy of ten miles which, it’s fair to say, took it out of me entirely. I walked through Tutbury and around the neighbouring villages and it was absolutely gorgeous; the sun was shining, there were very few cars out and some of the views were just incredible. As I observed to a friend later on that day, I think we’re all guilty of taking Derby for granted. Admittedly the city itself is rather uninspiring but you only have to go ten minutes outside of the centre to immerse yourself in one of several lovely suburban villages, surrounded by beautiful countryside and picturesque scenery. It is also important to remember how well situated we are, just a few hours’ drive from most major English cities and places of interest. Current circumstances have done me the favour of reminding me how incredibly grateful I am to live in such a wonderful part of this country.
Sam’s Uncle Richard asked me to host a quiz on Saturday evening for the family so I duly obliged, spending upwards of an hour of my Saturday afternoon putting the quiz together, only for Rich himself not to take part because he was too inebriated. I can’t say I’m surprised, he is a member of Sam’s family after all, but nevertheless we did the quiz without him and it proved to be a success, even though I’m sure half of them were cheating. After the Morris family quiz I took part in the 2 Gingers 1 Brooks Saturday Night Quiz, claiming victory for the third consecutive week, albeit with depleted competition – Brooks joined the call and, after asking Elia for sexual intercourse, immediately fell asleep, as well as Lana’s boyfriend Matt being passed out, Sian being just as drunk as usual and Sam repeatedly spilling his drink over himself. In addition to my Saturday night quizzes, Sian also hosted a midweek music quiz on Thursday which, despite my failure to triumph, I very much enjoyed and am looking forward to again this week. I must say I hope this quizzing trend keeps up once we’re out of lockdown because I’m finding it rather entertaining.
In other news, this week President Donald Trump urged Americans to ingest disinfectant in order to combat coronavirus, which is a new level of insane even for him. With little else to do, I’ve been reading a lot of articles about coronavirus, the effect it will have in the long term and whether we’ll be able to handle it. We’re clearly heading for a global economic crash of a magnitude not seen in over a century and it’s extremely terrifying that the person leading us through it is a giant man baby covered in fake tan. Trump’s lunacy, coupled with China’s seemingly inevitable rise to dominance & a severely weakened Europe, means the outlook is increasingly bleak, especially as our own Government struggles to decide the best strategy for moving forward. Repeatedly insisting that they’re “guided by science” is fine but eventually a decision will have to be made and, with our very survival at stake, I worry the current cabinet is totally incapable of making a decision of such significance. God help us all.
On a lighter note, I have started to notice a difference in myself as I have finally started to lose some weight. Since I started exercising regularly I feel so much better and have infinitely more energy, which has improved my mood considerably and, apparently, made me much more pleasant to be around (thanks Mum). A few of my friends have commented on how much happier I seem to be and it’s a lovely feeling to get comments like that. I still have some bad days but, considering how poisonous I expected this lockdown to be for both my mental and physical health, it’s genuinely quite reassuring to sit back and realise that I’ve been able to use this time to work on myself and become a better person. Not to blow my efforts out of proportion but I really am an incredible person – there’s hope for you all.
I’m running out of things to write about so please send me ideas. Stay safe.
