Spain in lockdown - Day 14

Well, here we are after two weeks and half way through......as far as we know because I suspect this will change.  However, for now we are officially 50% there which is something of a milestone.  

And to help us celebrate the weather was....well.....it was rubbish 😦 we awoke to pouring rain - which was nice.  To be fair it dried up by lunchtime but the weather remained pretty meh!  

Today saw me in full flight teacher mode, setting up online classrooms and inviting my students into them.  The setting up takes a bit of time and whiled away a happy hour or three but was very satisfying and a reminder of life as it was until two weeks ago.  

Both of us used the running machine today which is fast turning into one of our most useful and timely purchases ever.  We bought it just before Christmas and we got a reasonable one, with various programmes and extras, vowing that we would both use it.  And we did.  But now we are both using it daily and it really is a godsend, especially as, unlike in the UK, we are not allowed to go outside our homes for any exercise.  Having a dog does help and we've all laughed about exhausted dogs who are getting more walks than ever before but the reality is that there is now a general police ruling here that you can only go 50m from your home to walk your dog.  The central government says 400m and they are 'top dog' (sorry, couldn't resist!) but are you really going to argue with a Spanish police officer?!  No, me neither!  They've stopped a number of people walking their dogs and told them to go home.  My first encounter came today when crossing the road to the nearest grass (more than 50m) which is the only place our two will do their business.  We spoke in Spanish and he was polite but firm that I could indeed take them there but must be sure to return straight home.  And you can be sure that I did just that! 😳

We've spent an exciting Saturday night watching a movie and reading.  Oh and doing the 8pm applause for key workers 👏 which goes without saying now.  The UK really should do it every night too, and not just on the proposed Thursdays.  The police now do a regular drive through of the main streets with their blues and twos at the same time and the noise levels from the surrounding balconies and roof terraces goes right up when they make their appearance.  We all call and wave across to neighbours and then all vanish back into our homes until the next night.  But it's a good way to account for people.  One couple opposite are quite elderly and we're always very pleased to see them out on their balcony and joining in. 

We are making regular video calls to our family as well as receiving a lot of messages from friends in the UK.  Quite a few are becoming quite frightened by what they see developing and the news coverage isn't helping as the reality of this pandemic sinks in.  But it's important that we all obey the guidelines as this is the only way we can get through this.  And we will.  Stay safe everyone.  Hasta luego!