The Distancing Diaries (Part One of Many!)

Yesterday was our first day on lockdown, not that we're ill but after a week of supporting our local charity shops, buying a few essentials and stocking up on fresh fruit and veg from off the market we felt it was time to follow the guidelines and stay at home.

For my first day under voluntary house arrest, I wore, somewhat appropriately, a vintage wool housecoat topped with a handmade mirrored and pom-pom trim waistcoat bought from the roadside in Mumbai four years ago.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday's outfits.

In the days leading up to Friday, we practised social distancing, staying at least two metres away from people (which wasn't difficult, the chazzas were virtually deserted), we used contactless card payments for our purchases and - of course - washed our hands and our finds thoroughly as soon as we were home.

Clockwise from top left: 1960s wool waistcoat; Danier of Canada purple leather jacket; 1970s Pierre Cardin lizard bag; 1980s shot silk jacket; 1960s dashiki; 1970s St Michael dressing gown; Doc Martens; Aquascutum midi skirt; 1960s dashiki; Derby tweed plus-fours; 1980s Joel Peters, London cocktail dress; Levis Sherpa jacket (made in San Francisco)

We didn't do too badly. Although all our confirmed bookings have now been cancelled absolutely everything in the Kinky Shed is washed, repaired and priced ready for when we can start trading again. I don't expect to be buying any more stock for the foreseeable future which is just as well, I've run out of space (and coat hangers!)

Clockwise from top left: 1980s Eastex blazer; 1980s coatigan; English-made waxed cotton jacket; 1960s faux sheepskin coat; 1980s midi skirt; 1970s grab bag; 1970s Burton tweed blazer; 1970s Welsh Wool jacket

Like most people, we're taking advantage of our period of social distancing by cracking on with all those tedious jobs we never quite find the time to get around to doing.

Yesterday, after the daily Wii Fit session, I did a couple of loads of washing then took down the lounge curtains. I'd noticed a few of the panels were starting to fray quite badly (I made them ten years ago, just after Mum died) so I unpicked the offending pieces and replaced them with oblongs of fabric from my stash.

I washed our vintage glass collection, scrubbed the fireplace and waxed the globe bar, sideboard and coffee table whilst Jon cleaned the windows.

I took the rugs outside, slung them across the washing line and beat them senseless with my trusty carpet beater - we don't own a vacuum cleaner.

I signed up to a group (HERE) offering to help anyone struggling locally with their shopping, putting their bins out, collecting prescriptions or walking dogs.

For tea, I made a Punjabi vegetable sabzi using some potatoes leftover from the previous night's meal, along with some of the broccoli and peppers bought off the market.

Punjabi Vegetable Sabzi

3 cups of vegetables - you can use anything you have available fresh, tinned or frozen.

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

3/4 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon grated ginger (powder will do if you've no fresh available)

I tablespoon veg oil 

1 small onion, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic (crushed)

Regular sized tin of tomatoes

Salt to taste

• Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and fry until they start to pop. Add ginger & garlic and fry until they turn aromatic.
• Add chopped onions and fry until transparent.
• Add tomatoes, turmeric, garam masala, salt and chilli powder and stir until mixture starts to simmer.
• Add your three cups of vegetables, cover and simmer until cooked.

After tea, we cracked open the rum and watched the last two of episodes of Swedish crime thriller Before We Die on Freeview and started Francesco's Mediterranean Voyage, on the BBC i-Player. I do hope life has returned to normal by September, I so want to go back to Greece.

This morning, I stayed in bed till 8am, finished my current book (Devotion by Louisa Young) then, after my weekly hair wash, piled our houseplants into the bath for a thorough soaking.

After breakfast, Jon set to work sanding down and repainting the TV table. He made it last year from a  broken bookcase, legs salvaged from my Dad's old bed and some tongue and groove panels & cupboard handles a neighbour had thrown in a skip.

I'm wearing my vintage Alpnani kaftan and '70s tooled leather lion's head belt. The mirror needs cleaning, that'll be a task for tomorrow.

After sweeping the landing and stairs, I noticed a plethora of feathers in the bedroom, one of our naughty cats had ragged the eiderdown so I mended it by hand, sewing on some flowers cut from a vintage curtain. We watched the daily government COVID-19 bulletin, I put the plants back in their rightful positions, scrubbed out the bath then lightly sanded the heels of my Lottas.

My poor legs were so cold posing for this photo - it's bitter out there today! Roll on Spring.

 I'm not sure what to read next. The paperbacks were 5 for £1 in the charity shop this week so I decided to stock up. This should keep me going during our lockdown.

Plans for this evening? Jon found Trivial Pursuit for £1 in one of the chazzas and combined with rum I suspect it won't be a quiet night in!

And that was our first two days of distancing ourselves from civilisation. How is it with you? Are you on lockdown and, if so, how are you spending your time? If you've never commented on a blog before, don't be shy, tell me what you've been up to, we can get through these strange times together.

See you very soon!