I’ve got used to the fact that I am not at death’s door, after a series of scans and such at the start of the year. But now we have the coronavirus, which has put the population on high alert. My dad told me that he and mum had had trouble getting what they wanted when they went shopping yesterday and this morning, I was reading about how supermarkets had been stripped of their shelves of toilet paper.
All this may be far worse than my disappointment this afternoon, when I turned up for another Muck In event at St Aidan’s Nature Reserve, only to find that it had been changed but the website not updated. Fortunately, I did learn something about the Reserve which made the journey worthwhile.
St Aidan’s had originally been an opencast mine but after serious flooding was no longer viable as such. Seeing it today, when the waters from the current flooding are already receding, shows how vulnerable the area is to flooding from the River Aire. On the other hand, this vulnerability is being used to protect settlements upstream, heading towards the Humber. By diverting water from the river, it means that there is less of it to cause damage elsewhere.
Feeling pleased to have benefitted in some capacity from the trip out, I was then brought down to earth by a text from home. No electric sockets working. At this point, I thought it might just be a case of getting a new fuse but it looks like things are a bit more complicated.
All being well, we will have normal functionality by Tuesday lunchtime but in the meantime at least the cooker still works (so we have one socket which can be used to charge our phones and keep the fridge freezer going).
And we still have toilet paper.
Growing out of chaos 
Hope you get your power back soon Helen!
Thank you, Martin.
We are on a septic tank so we may have toilet paper, but if the power goes we can’t use the macerator 🙂
Oh, might that be nasty!
Not sure how a septic tank connects to having toilet paper, though.
Our domestic water and waste products are fed along pipes to the septic tank in the garden. The loo on the ground floor has narrow pipes and a macerator which chews up the paper and what is on it after flushing.
Oh I see! But you could run out of toilet paper if there was none in the shops?
We could
Indeed!
My gosh, you have a lot going on. I’m sorry to hear about the power outage on top of everything else. It must be worrisome for your parents, since Covid-19 hits the older population the hardest. I turned 60 on my last birthday, so I’m struggling to reconcile the fact that I’m approaching the risky age. Wishing the best of luck to your parents and to you, too. xo
Thank you, Alys. I’ve definitely had more going on but aged 40 I could probably take it better. Now, at 50, I realise I’m heading towards increasing health vulnerabilities. My parents may not be able to visit to celebrate various birthdays this month but I would rather they were safe. At least, in their home environment there shouldn’t been too much risk. However, working with international students, I’m probably quite exposed.
It’s all so worrying, Helen. I turned 60 on my last birthday and I’m recovering form major foot surgery. It makes me feel vulnerable, too. My sister has MS, so I worry about her constantly. I don’t know if she could survive this virus, as even a simple cold lays her low for two weeks. We just have to keep doing our best and then hope for the best.
Yes, and keep ourselves as safe as we can. I hope both you and your sister will be okay xoxo
Thank you.
Gosh two disappointments I am sorry to hear Helen. But I found your write up about the disused mine very interesting.
Thank you, Agnes. I saw some aerial photos of the Reserve at the worst flooding point – it saved a lot of nearby houses as well!