Here we go a-fucking-gain

 Heyy Heyy, 

Another week and another blow to the system as the UK announces another lockdown. And just as Mr Warehouse and I had been released from our very own personal lockdown we go into another effing one! After being forced to announcing it rather prematurely on Saturday (31st October 2020). After starting with an apology for "disturbing your Saturday evening with more news of Covid" (not that any of us was doing anything bloody fun since you stole Halloween like Mariah Carey on a Christmas power trip) Boris Johnson continued in vain to assure the public that he wouldn’t have done it unless it was absolutely necessary - Or that his plans had been rumbled by the media, hence the rushed press conference and tired look upon his ageing face.

As people struggling in the last few months throughout the spring and summer thought that things might get a little better with the prospect of Christmas being a bit more "normal" it seems as though all of that hope has been well and truly stripped away. Bring on the brink of a mammoth mental health crisis, far greater than anything I have ever experienced before, it surely would be more important than ever to try and keep people from having to self isolate from friends, family and support networks. It would seem though that the government's previous efforts of "Hands, Face, Space" and the messy and confusing three-tier lockdown system introduced to mainly Northern cities and counties including Greater Manchester,  Liverpool and Nottingham. 

Whilst Nicola Sturgeon (controversially maybe) is ahead of the curve, the confusion grows in Scotland as they were due to move to a five-tier system of virus alert levels from Today (Monday 2nd November) which differs still in Wales as they started a national lockdown more serious than even Lockdown number 1 and over in Northern Ireland, its devolved government have also introduced additional restrictions including an extended two-week half term for schools to reduce the spread of the disease.

The fuzzy advice and guidance from our "leader", BoJo, stared late after being postponed several times throughout the afternoon. There were a few frights to be had with our prime Minister the Halloween announce a second national lockdown which will be imposed across England on Thursday (5th November 2020) with all non-essential shops, restaurants, pubs and leisure facilities to close for at least four weeks. Under the new regulations, which will be published later on in the week, The Guardian online confirms households will be banned from mixing indoors, with the exception of for childcare and other forms of support. Support bubbles will remain in place, and children will still be able to move between homes if their parents are separated.

The drama unravels to reveal escalated the country’s response to the pandemic with ministers explaining how “we must act now to contain this autumn surge”, with these measures due to remain in place until 2nd of December 2020 (although I will state now I am doubtful that this will be the case as we are simply kicking the inevitable can down the road to further mental health issues, financial crippling and unemployment).

Yet again people have been told to “stay at home” where possible (although what that means for me and my place of work who knows), but confusingly will be allowed to leave their homes for education including schools and universities and to the workplace if they cannot work from home. Just as the furlough scheme was set to end, covering 80% of the wages of workers who are temporarily laid off due to coronavirus, the much-needed scheme will remain in place and be extended throughout November, the prime minister said. 

Medical appointments, to shop for essential goods, and outdoor exercise will also be permitted but only with members of the same household or one person from another household in which you are bubbled. The Guardian online continued with the new restrictions as set out by the government that people will be allowed to leave home to care for vulnerable people, or to escape injury or harm. Whilst the restaurants, pubs and bars are all set to close from Wednesday night, takeaways and deliveries will continue to be allowed. 

The prime minister explained that along with the government he would seek to end the measures in early December, but went on to say the exit strategy from the regulations would vary according to the severity of the virus transmission rates in different areas of England - Ergoproving my earlier point of it not being a hard and fast ending because let's be fair, this virus will still be here to fuck us over on December 3rd?! Finishing off the bleak and dismal outlook, Boris Johnson said he said hoped "the measures could enable families to reunite over Christmas" and that whilst "Christmas is going to be different this year, perhaps very different it’s his sincere hope and belief that by taking tough action now we can allow families across the country to be together” something I am not holding my breath for considering the devastating blow the whole country has had to endure. 

The Office for National Statistics estimated that 568,100 people were infected with the virus in the week ending 23 October alone and with that statistic in mind, sitting here babysitting the nieces and nephews, I have no idea what the next week will entail, but what I do know is that yet again life will be turned on its head and I just hope I can find my way out of the avalanche of bullshit and crappiness. 

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx

Change in the wind says I

Morning, 

Collapsing onto my sofa in my newly turned round living room (one of mine and Mr Warehouse's COVID Jobs to do up the house during lockdown) I was exhausted. As I listened and watched my future husband play on his Xbox I faded in and out of of my surroundings, sometimes falling asleep for mere moments and others just zoning out. I was burnt out and the last few weeks had been mental workwise which had lead to the position I was that Tuesday evening last week. 

You see, I had suffered from mental health issues before and with my depression and anxiety around certain things I was able to curb that and knew when it was coming and how the dark black cloud felt. But this was different and it had been building up and up for several weeks. And so after speaking with my doctors, they signed me off with work-related stress for a fortnight. I was shocked to say the least and as I tried to explain to the HR person I felt incredibly guilty, exhausted, stressed, tired and relieved all at the same time as feeling as though I was letting down customers, engineers and staff alike. And so after a brief discussion with my HR department (lady) the company took the decision to place me on furlough instead. 

Financially this would make me better ff as I would be on basically full pay for the fortnight my doctor has advised and should the worst happen whereby either there is not enough work for me to come back to or I am signed off for longer, as before my pay will be at 80% my normal salary (as paid by the government under the Coronavirus Job Retention scheme) rather than the minimal Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) which is approximately £90 per week. This being said however I made it quite clear that I wanted i noted and on file that the issues were as a direct result of work-related stress, something I had been trying to explain and communicate for weeks.   

Nevertheless, the "Free-Time" I have had, albeit a few hours in the day since I still need to drop Mr Warehouse to and from work every day has been nice. So far I have been able to keep up with some gardening, get into the kitchen to bake many a sweet treat including a monster of a white chocolate cheesecake that we are still trying t work our way through, despite giving a third away to Big Brother Warehouse and his brood. 

I am hoping that my time out of the "workplace" or whatever you want to call it can make for some time to craft and DIY. I have acquired my grandmother's old writing bureau and have plans to revamp it with navy chalk paint and golden metalwork to match the living room's luxe gold and dark blue theme. I plan on finishing off the crafts I started but never finished such as my pebble lamp and once I finish that, I plan on starting a few more including upcycling some white trainers into some 101 Dalmatian inspired sneakers and turning some frumpy looking creps into some bedazzling jewelled kicks to wear on the dancefloor once my feet get tired from the heels on my wedding day. And if I get all of that completed I have a long list of other things I want to either get some or at least get on top of for our upcoming nuptials including welcome signs, decor and even one of those fancy Captin Bride Hats I have seen on Pinterest that I refuse to spend £60+ on when I can just use some materials and gems to achieve the boujee look. 

Ideally, I would like to create some built-in shelves in the living room and even wallpaper the downstairs WC, although I think these are mainly weekend jobs for when I have an extra pair of helping hands. It seems as though we are all going to have many more of these bank-holiday-inspired weekends where everyone either does DIY or gardening. It seems as though "New Normal" and anything relatively life-enhancing is still off the books. With figures from the BBC that state that whilst the confirmed new cases of coronavirus in the UK are over 1,500 today alone, the death toll has significantly dropped to just 121 today alone (Monday 25 May 2020). Boris Johnson's statement to the nation several weeks ago gave us all some hope, and confusion plenty. 

I am just praying that we can get away in July and that the restrictions are lifted before 5th July, enabling our little family in the making to head for the beaches and beauty spots of Cornwall, although I fear that we will wither be amongst the disappointed millions, or the very first lucky few. Things are looking hopeful however, with airlines starting up at the beginning of June and July and promises of places like restaurants and cafe's being open beginning of July, I am hoping for the latter.

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx

Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work so most people don't recognise them

Hello, 

I knew that this week would be a strange one, but I never thought that life would be as different now as it was only a few mere weeks ago. The last few weeks have been strange to say the least, especially working from home which in the beginning was odd, and yet now seems more settled and I kinda have a routine. Boris (Johnson, our Prime Minister, and secret weird crush of mine) has yet to grace us with any more televised statements from Downing Street. This being said, however, his strict curb on life in the UK to tackle the spread of COVID-19 Coronavirus have certainly shaken things up but as the UK death toll has peaked so far at 1,408 I am left questioning what happens in future weeks. 

Simply put, people have not listened, myself maybe being one of them. Like naughty toddlers, people did not heed advice from Government to stay at home (except for shopping for basic necessities, once-daily exercise, attending to any medical need or travelling to and from essential work). And so, as a necessary precaution in order to protect everyone, announcements were made that all shops selling non-essential goods such as clothing and electronics are being told to shut and gatherings in public of more than two people who do not live together are to be prohibited. The pubs, clubs, restaurants, bars and cafes are all closed and with nothing else left to do but to sit indoors and hope that this all comes to an end sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, some people still didn't quite get the memo as Parks and open spaces still became flooded on the weekend we BBQ-ers, sun-bathers and picnics. So much so that UK police have been forced to use their powers to enforce them, including fines and dispersing gatherings. Thankfully living out in't countryside allows us a little more freedom than some of the bigger towns and cities. 

Truthfully, in the beginning, I didn't take this whole thing seriously enough, still don't to an extent. Although that doesn't stop my appreciation for those doing a good job in order to keep everything in the country ticking along nicely until this whole thing blows over. But the last couple of days since Bo-Jo's address to the nation like something from 1945, has really made me question my own situation, I suppose rather selfishly. Early last week, on Tuesday 17 March, moneysavingexpert.com explained easily how banks had agreed with the Chancellor that they will offer 'forbearance' (tolerance and help) on mortgages. This means they all should offer those struggling a three-month 'holiday', allowing customers a temporary break from having to make mortgage payments during this time. Something which I think will help us with some of the more recent developments to do with mine and Mr Warehouse's work situation. 

For us, keeping up with bills and putting food on the table was never really a challenge, and might not be, but we are conscious about the ever-growing distance between us and that crack that seems to loom more and more as the days pass. Realistically having a forbearance on our mortgage at least will help a little, although I am hoping some of our other financial products such as car finance, credit cards and loans can catch up with the mortgage companies soon. It should help and maybe get us out of what could have been a very tight hole in the next few weeks and months, although after spending four-and-a-half hours on hold to our mortgage company last Thursday and then a further 3-hours the following Friday morning I was finally able to speak with someone. Feeling embarrassed I mumbled my way through the phone call with a lovely woman who explained that there was nothing to be embarrassed by and that everyone is in the same boat and to not worry or panic. And so, for the next three months, we won't pay anything, then when our mortgage repayments resume, the total we owe would be spread over the following remain years on our term, relatively speaking we will see a very small uplift in future payments.

Several days later, the UK Government announced a continuity of the COVID-19 Coronavirus package to help people affected by the pandemic which including a sweeping pledge to pay 80% of employees' wages if they are not working due to illness or to cover that of 'retained' employees, being those who would otherwise have been laid off due to the knock-on effects of the coronavirus pandemic. I mentioned last week that, hopefully, this will help many people who would have otherwise lost their jobs. However, it would seem as though I may be benefiting from this exact hand out ... 

iNews.co.uk explains that Furloughed workers are those whose employers cannot cover staff costs due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus, and as such, they have been asked to stop working, but have not been made redundant. The website continues that "under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all employers in the UK will be able to access support to continue paying part of employees’ salaries who would otherwise have been laid off during the ongoing health crisis." This means that whilst the employee is not necessarily working, the employee still has all the same rights as they did previously including Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) entitlement, maternity rights, other parental rights, rights against unfair dismissal and to redundancy payments. This also allows employees to access all company benefits such as health care, health insurances and even pensions. Obviously, there is a limit to the amount paid will be capped at a maximum of £2,500 per month / per employee (nowhere near my salary - Sadface), and the Government is saying that all is to be issued through grants which can be paid out to any employer and “before the end of April” with wages will be paid backdated to 1st March 2020.  

As it stands, I have yet to hear back on anything solid or any contractual changes that will ultimately need to be put in place before such a big rollout. I will hopefully find out the final results in the coming days, but here's hoping I can continue to work in whatever capacity that may be - Full Time, Part Time, Half Days, Full Days, Different departments - who cares! As long as I am doing something, my bit if you will, then I will be happy. Besides with no kids, childcare issues at nil, twenty-minutes drive from the office and having never taken ill since working for the company I would like to hope I would be a good candidate to keep the well-oiled machine going. I suppose only time will tell, and here's hoping that it will tell all soon. 

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx