Dear Isolation,

We, we being myself and my family, have decided to create an online diary – an ode to quarantine. In this very strange, confusing and anxious time, we have been making a real strong effort to try and seek out all the little positives in every day. We are unbelievably fortunate in the fact that isolation for us is yes, odd and slightly mind-boggling but it does not mean lack of security and fear in the way it does to so many around the world – we are not taking this for granted. This blog is for our own sanity and also a way to connect with family and friends who might want to share in our little moments of joy – gotta be a nice change from loo roll brawls?

Yesterday mum turned 21 again.

We’ve been trying to start each day with a bit of a home workout, taking it back to the days of 80s VHS tapes (minus the leg warmers). Yesterday we attempted an ab and arm workout, you’d never have guessed with the amount of ‘ow my abs’ I’ve heard today from mum and Amy.

We ventured out of the house (shocking!) to walk around the grounds of ‘Stowe Gardens’, National Trust are offering free entry into their gardens currently for those of you who might need an escape from staring at four walls. We befriended a dog called Scout, Jack (despite warning) got his fresh white crepes (trainers, for anyone thinking I meant pancakes) muddy and Amy made the observation that ‘the sheep aren’t social distancing’. We definitely all (even Jack) appreciated the fresh air and everyone we passed (at two metres of course) seemed in high spirits – think everyone was pumped to see humans that weren’t their own families.

Amy worked her baking wonders and created a beautiful rainbow cake (see photos) – she even made the lower tier GF for her awkward sister. Fish and Chips were on the menu for dinner, supporting the local businesses was our reasoning but really we just didn’t want to cook – curry sauce makes for a happy Raynor family.

The Wii has made a reappearance as of recently, this was our evening’s entertainment. It was a brutal battle of blood, sweat and tears (aka Megan having a strop when she lost) but it was a good laugh. However, the most laughs of the evening (due to a drink and delirium) was from attempting to let our arms go dead and having the other person swing them about – we have discovered that ‘control freak’ Megan can’t let go of the tension in her arms whereas Amy can go to jelly. I couldn’t tell you why this was so funny but we were all crying with laughter. See video evidence: video_1_4797d614015f40edaac407fdd1126d40

Despite the unusual circumstances it still felt like a really special day, maybe by Amy’s birthday the novelty of birthday’s in isolation might have worn off but I think we did a good job of making the most of the day.