Hello, and welcome to The Year Without Wimbledon, my coronavirus pandemic diary. I’m writing a few notes every day, grouped into blog posts for each week, on how my life in lockdown here in Manchester, Northern England is going; and I’ve also written a few posts on the build-up to lockdown, starting in January 2020. If anyone’s reading this, thank you very much, and please let me know if you’ve got any thoughts to share!
Index of posts:
The Road to Freedom?
The road to freedom? Week 1 , March 29th to April 4th 2021 inclusive
Death of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
The road to freedom? Week 2, April 5th to 11th 2021 inclusive
Lockdown III:
Lockdown III Week 1, January 4th to 10th 2021 inclusive
Lockdown III Week 2, January 11th to 17th 2021 inclusive
Manchester monsoons, Melbourne mice, park perambulations and lockdown locks
Lockdown III Week 3, January 18th to 24th 2021 inclusive
Anniversaries, Adelaide tennis and appalling ingratitude
Lockdown III Week 4, January 25th to 31st 2021 inclusive
Free tea, anxious toes, Handforth headlines, BYOB and repaying Sybil
Lockdown III Week 5, February 1st to 7th 2021 inclusive
Lockdown III Week 6, February 8th to 14th 2021 inclusive
Lockdown III Week 7, February 15th to 21st 2021 inclusive
Lockdown III Week 8, February 22nd to 28th 2021 inclusive
Lockdown III Week 9, March 1st to 7th 2021 inclusive
Lockdown III Week 10, March 8th to 14th 2021 inclusive
Lockdown III Week 11, March 15th to 21st 2021 inclusive
Lockdown III Week 12, March 22nd to 28th 2021 inclusive
Tier Four
Snakes and Ladders/Tiers and Fears
Tier Four, Week 1 – December 31st to January 3rd inclusive
Tier Three Plus
Some statistics – now, how does this work?
Tier Three Plus, Week 1 – December 7th to 13th inclusive
Tier Three Plus, Week 2 – December 14th to 20th inclusive
Tier Three Plus, Week 3 – December 21st to 27th inclusive
Tier Three Plus, Week 4 … well, half a week – December 28th to 30th inclusive
Lockdown II:
Welcome to Lockdown II – the lights go out, the facilities stay open
Lockdown II Week 1 – November 2nd to 8th inclusive
Lockdown II Week 2 – November 9th to 15th inclusive
Lockdown II Week 3 – November 16th to 22nd inclusive
Lockdown II Week 4, November 23rd to 29th inclusive
Lockdown II Week 5, November 30th to December 6th inclusive
Second Wave:
Second Wave Week 1 – August 31st to September 6th inclusive
Trying to smile behind the mask
Second Wave Week 2 – September 7th to 13th inclusive
Madrid, which saved my life … well, OK, sort of
Second Wave Week 3 – September 14th to 20th inclusive
Second Wave Week 4 – September 21st to 27th inclusive
It is better to light a candle …
Second Wave Week 5 – September 28th to October 4th inclusive
Second Wave Week 6 – October 5th to 11th inclusive
Second Wave Week 7 – October 12th to 18th inclusive
The Harrying of the North, or The Two Nations
Second Wave Week 8 – October 19th to 25th inclusive
Second Wave Week 9 – October 26th to November 1st inclusive
Moving on:
Goodbye lockdown locks, hello cafes, stay safe
Rowing back – a nightmare couple of days
Café culture reaches the North Manchester suburbs … due to the virus
The Summer of Staycations – holidaying in the age of Covid-19
Moving On Week 1 – July 6th to 12th inclusive
Moving On Week 2- July 13th to 19th inclusive
Moving On Week 3 – July 20th to 26th inclusive
Moving On Week 4 – July 27th to August 2nd inclusive
Moving On, or maybe not, Week 5 – August 3rd to 9th inclusive
Confused of Manchester … are we all with this?
A trip into town, mayhem at the US Open, and EastEnders returns
Moving on Weeks 6 and 7 – August 10th to 23rd inclusive
Moving on Week 8 – August 24th to 30th inclusive
During lockdown:
Lockdown Week 1 – March 23rd to 29th inclusive
Lockdown Week 2 – March 30th to April 5th inclusive
Lockdown Week 3 – April 6th to 12th inclusive
Lockdown Week 4 – April 13th to 19th inclusive
Lockdown Week 5 – April 20th to 26th inclusive
Lockdown Week 6 – April 27th to May 3rd inclusive
Lockdown Week 7 – May 4th to May 10th inclusive
Lockdown Week 8, May 11th to 17th inclusive
Lockdown Week 9, May 18th to 24th inclusive
Lockdown Week 10, May 25th to 31st inclusive
Lockdown Week 11, June 1st to 7th inclusive
Lockdown Week 12, June 8th to 14th inclusive
Lockdown Week 13, June 15th to 21st inclusive
Lockdown Week 14, June 22nd to 28th inclusive
Lockdown Week 15, June 29th to July 5th inclusive
Before lockdown:
February 2020 – the virus spreads
Early March 2020 – panic-buying, and more and more cases of the virus
On through March 2020 – the world seems to be falling apart
March 16th to 18th inclusive – heading towards lockdown
General musings:
Seeking peace in nature: Back to Life with the National Trust and English Heritage
Support bubbles, scones and snapdragons
Of football, hairdressers, anxiety, techno-trauma and Blytonesque picnics
Tennis is back … going well in London, disaster in the Balkans
Socially-distanced strawberry-picking – a lockdown experience!
The coronavirus era arrives in Coronation Street and Emmerdale
