April 1st Catton Park

Cowslip

It has been 2 weeks since I was last at Strumpshaw. With Covid-19 still causing a major threat to life, I have been keeping myself mostly in isolation at home. From time to time, as a 'key worker', I have travelled to work at the Royal Mail sorting depot at Thorpe Road on foot. Walking through the streets of Norwich has been like a ghost town lately. Nearly every business have closed their doors with the same notice message hung in their windows stating the obvious reason why and there are few people around. In some places, public benches have been blocked up and public toilets have been closed.

While the NHS are on the frontline, I have been working with the Royal Mail in the background trying to keep the small businesses, who are forced to work at home, afloat as well as sending valuable medication off to where they needed to go across the country. It has been a rather stressful time with everyone having to work 2 metres away from everyone else and the fact that the amount of mail coming in has doubled than usual, I have been struggling trying to sort it all before the deadline. It has been overwhelming at times. But I do feel a sense of pride that I'm doing my bit to keep this country going during this difficult time.

Dog Violet (I think)

Away from work, I am doing what most people are and should be doing, staying indoors. By isolating ourselves, we can reduce the spread of this virus. However, staying indoors all day every day is not healthy. Covid-19 is one thing, mental health is another problem we have to also keep under control. For that, I went for a walk around one of my local parks. I met up with Mum, keeping our distance the whole time as went to see what we could find. I pointed out a few birds to her that were singing, including chiffchaffs and a blackcap, which have recently returned back from migration. There were also a few plants in flower, such as cowslip, violets and red dead-nettles, adding a splash of colour on this dull, overcast day. Remember, as long as its within walking distance and that you keep your distance from other people, there is no reason why you can't still go outside to connect with nature. Nature is the greatest medicine after all.