Tag: lockdown

Day 17 – Home delivery

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We’ve tried out some home delivery options for groceries over the Easter weekend. Not that the Easter weekend makes any difference. Every day very much blends into every other at the moment.

Now, I know that times are tough at the moment, and it’s with that understanding that I write this post. But really: three apps, and some very disappointing results – for different reasons.

First off: Uber Eats. They’re not allowed to deliver food anymore, so they’ve turned their attention to delivering “essentials”. Basically, it turns out that these are snacks, chips, drinks from a small selection of corner shops. Now, I have no problem with this idea, but the range is massively limited (and is only “essential” in the broadest possible sense) and the shops are all so far away that the delivery costs more than the stuff itself. Probably very good at actually doing the job, but pricey and nothing I want.

Then the Checkers Sixty60 app. Now, this one was going for a few months before all of this messy virus stuff happened. And as a large food outlet, I can’t see why they would struggle with just continuing with what they were doing.

Wrong.

Yesterday, by 11am, they’d run out of delivery slots for the day. “Check back tomorrow morning”, they said. I can understand that they are under more pressure than usual, but no slots just two hours after they opened? Wow.

Anyway, I did check back early this morning and there were slots available. Some items were marked as sold out, but I did order some frozen peas, some coffee, some frozen pizzas, some potatoes and some milk.

I got some milk.

Everything else was sold out. A different sold out to the items that were already marked as sold out when I logged on. And I don’t think that these were particularly unusual or taxing products. As mentioned above, I know that things are difficult at the moment, but that’s surely just more reason not to over-promise and under-deliver.

On the plus side, I got some milk.

And then Bottles with PicknPay. Bottles used to deliver alcohol, but Bheki said that was a bad thing to do, so now they do groceries from your local supermarket.
Yesterday, they brought bread, hot cross buns, chocolate bunnies and the like to us, and they did it quickly. I was properly impressed.
So much so, I ordered some easter eggs for the mother-in-law through them this morning. Nice idea to cheer her up, since we’re not allowed to visit or anything.

That order has taken 3½ hours, 5 6 7 9 phone calls and 2 3 emails so far – and they’re still not with her.

UPDATE: They eventually arrived after 4½ hours. But at least they arrived. 

I am less impressed this morning.

If you do need food, it seems to me that the best way to do things is just go and buy it yourself. Which doesn’t make sense in these infectious times, but might stop you dying from starvation and frustration.

Day 16 – Two new birds

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Many people have reported on the increase in wildlife in more urbanised areas due to the lack of human activity. Obviously, some (or more) of these were fake news, like the dolphins in Venice and the polar bears in Barbados, but I have something to report too.

Since the lockdown, I have seen two new bird species in the garden.

Now, I’m not (necessarily) putting this down to the lack of human activity. And were these birds really scared off by a few more cars? Actually, if anything, I’ve spent more time outside during the last 15 days, because it’s either that or inside and the other option is “inside”. So maybe that’s the reason that I’ve spotted these new visitors. Who might not even be visitors at all. They may have been there all along and just not have been spotted.

I don’t look up much. It’s a mood thing.

Anyway. Please welcome the Bronze Mannikin (Lonchura cucullata) and the Orange-breasted Sunbird (Anthobaphes violacea) to my back garden.

Photos may follow (I don’t have a very big one) (lens, I mean): I’ve only managed to see the OBS once anyway, and my quick snaps are awful. But rest assured that they were there.

Tomorrow, I go looking for the dolphins and the polar bears.

Day 15 – A walk

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Seriously? Seriously.

We’re lucky (and organised) enough to be sorted for most of our shopping requirements. But with a couple of tweenagers in the house, some of the perishable items have taken a bit of a hammering. Bread. Milk. Fruit.

The fruit is not such an issue: we have a delivery coming today or tomorrow (supporting local producers and business) (more on here about this sort of thing “soon”), but bread and milk are staples. Not like stationery staples, obviously: are those even essential items, anyway?

I think I mentioned about the risk of shopping here, in that we are safe from the virus while we’re isolated in our home, but as soon as that isolation is broken, by someone coming in for lunch “to discuss masks and gloves”* or by me going out to buy stuff from Pick n Pay. So it’s not a decision to be taken lightly: I don’t want to risk bringing coronavirus into, but these are things we do need before we kill one another. Catch 22.

The thing is, when I did that “big” shop last week, I went to a proper supermarket and pushed a trolley around. It took time, and I was exposed to [gasp] other people for ages, but we needed food. Car journey, big supermarket, real life.

Yesterday was different – just bread and milk (ok, and bacon – always bacon), but all that was needed was an in-and-out job. The best place to do an in-and-out job is the mini-supermarket 600m down the road.

So I walked there. I walked there. I walked. Walked.

Feet. Fresh air. Legs. Tarmac. Sunshine.

I now have milk, bread (and yes, bacon). And 1.2km of proper stride length walking under my belt. Great news, guys: everything still works! Pavements still exist. My legs can still propel me down to the shops and back. I wanted to break into a little run, but that would have limited the amount of time I could legally spend outside.

And aside from actually within the supermarket (where it was still all very social distancy), absolutely zero contact with anyone else at all.

But please, please remember: this is a lockdown. Staying at home is the best way of preventing the spread of the virus. While my 10 minutes outside was absolutely (and weirdly) lovely, it was a necessary trip to buy essential items.
Not a jog or a dog walk.

Stay home, stay safe. Wash your hands.

 

 

* Context: here.

Day 14 – Deep Clean

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To be honest, the living room and dining room (ok, it’s actually just one room) weren’t dirty. But we do have two kids and a dog, and a large sliding door which is open all day every day in the nice weather. So yeah, I can see where a bit of muck might have got in.

I went at it with some enthusiasm and managed to remove basically a whole garden’s worth of dirt and dust, and at least two beagles worth of beagle fur from the house. I honestly cannot believe that we were living with that.

And yes, I still fully support my assertion that that bit of the house wasn’t dirty, but paradoxically, it does look cleaner now. For a short while, our place (or at least one big room of it) could have taken pride of place on one of those fancy house shows. Until the beagle trailed some grass clippings in from out the back, at least.

Later today, I’m going to pave over the garden and maybe the beagle as well, and I think that will make a big difference.

In other news, spring cleaning is great for your Discovery (health insurance) points. OK, so I did do a little workout yesterday evening as well, but I managed 16,000 steps and I (quite literally) didn’t leave the house the whole day.

Again.

Day 13 – Most of us are strangers

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It’s been a while since we’ve had some music on the blog. I know that not everyone likes it when I chuck a tune up on here, but given the circumstances, when I’ve had some free time between schooling and cleaning and… well… blogging, I’ve been listening to a bit more than usual.

This one is from the new album from Seafret and seems to fit with the current situation.

Most of us are strangers
Who want someone to save us
We’re looking out for angels
And something we can hold on

Decent listening if you’re looking for something chilled and calming in these unsettling times.

Stay home. Stay safe.