iorestocasa – JenandAlsbigItalianadventure

November 19, 2020

Lockdown 2.0

Last Thursday when I went to the Meta (Sainsbury’s express equivalent) I had to join a socially distanced queue to get in and I had a flashback to the first lockdown.

It wasn’t the first reminder (Al has been on furlough for a few weeks now) and it won’t be the last. The numbers in Italy remain terrifyingly high and this weekend our region of Emilia Romagna moved from yellow to amber. There were new regional rules: the open air markets could open but with tighter restrictions on numbers and direction of flow (dedicated in and out areas) and some “non-essential” shops were closed. The gyms, museums and cinemas were already closed. Now only one person from a household can go to get groceries, with the familiar caveats for people who need to be accompanied and children. Interregional travel had been stopped with few exceptions, Language schools have been instructed to move to online teaching. You can’t do exercise in the city centre, but you can use the parks. So, we could still go anywhere we want within the region and could go out and have lunch which led to us feeling we were in an almost Lockdown 2.0 but not quite.

It had been a hard week. Al discovered, not unexpectedly, that his restaurant will not reopen after furlough. I am struggling to find students and now feel that I should really only teach online where possible. Luckily, the language school where I teach a couple of conversation classes has moved online so I can continue with those lessons. There is nothing yet to say I can’t continue to teach face to face, but I feel that more people will want online lessons. Friday was a day of tough conversations, soul searching and strategizing so we decided to treat ourselves to an Aperitivo at Mamalo Cafe which is just down the road. It’s quite pubby and local and we like it for that. We had the ubiquitous Spritz con Campari and were brought a plate of nibbles. The owner recognises us and although there hasn’t been much in the way of conversation, we feel welcome.

Saturday morning, we woke up to the realisation that Bologna city (comune) was bringing in tougher restrictions than the region. Bars and restaurants were to be closed except for takeaway starting from Sunday. Open air markets and non-essential shops were closed. Al had been planning to go to some restaurants with his CV, in case any of them needed staff, but now they were all being closed. It’s difficult not to feel downhearted and a little bit thwarted by life.

Our plan, such as it was, was to have this experience while I wrote my novel and Al learned different aspects of Italian cooking, then to return to the UK and start our own food business. It all feels very far away now and quite remote. The writing has not been easy and always seemed to be underscored by my own inability to prioritise what I love doing and practical considerations like earning enough money. The hospitality industry around the world, like so many other industries, has been decimated and while getting a new job for Al is the priority, starting a food business in the UK feels unlikely in the short term. I know, there has been a global pandemic and no one asked for this, no one’s lives are unchanged, but I am feeling self-indulgently down right now.

However, we are well. This experience, certainly since March, might not be what we had planned for this year, but it has meant we were able to have some amazing experiences in places that would usually have been out of our price range, or too full of tourists or both. We have taken advantage of the lack of tourists to see new parts of Italy and experience new things. It is unlikely that anyone will experience an empty St Marks square like that again. We are in an incredibly privileged position that has allowed us this once in a lifetime experience and to guard ourselves against the dramatic ups and downs that has been 2020 so far, its not done yet and I don’t want to be complacent, we are still in a good place, in a beautiful country.

Luckily for us our favourite central bar, Astral put up a post on Saturday to say that they were having a final opening between 3 and 6 that afternoon. We headed down there to support them and drink great beer and wine whilst being super careful about masks, hand sanitizer and social distancing. Astral has been our most regular spot, the guys that run it are knowledgeable and friendly and we feel very at home there. We don’t know how long it will be before we can go out to bars and restaurants again, but as they reminded us when we were there, Astral are still offering delivery for the duration.

So, the future won’t be the one we imagined, so what? It will be different that’s all. There will be new opportunities and options that we couldn’t have dreamed of before. If we keep moving forward with our eyes open who knows what will happen. We’re going to get through this lock down like we did the last one. The world will still turn. Life is going to be tough for everyone for a while, so we need to look after each other, keep our chin up and, when its time, head out into the world and be what happens next.

April 10, 2020

Alive and Kicking

One month in…

As you all would expect this week has progressed much like the others in the now established pattern of Lockdown. Good Friday marks one month in and we don’t know when it will end. Technically it could be lifted on 13^th April, but we all expect to see an extension, with some level of restrictions on travel and non-essential services continuing for some time even when lockdown is lifted. The good news is our numbers finally seem to be taking a turn in a more positive direction, no matter which measurements you are using for comparison. To be blunt the daily death count here has started to drop but is still in the hundreds. Italy has lost almost 18,000 people and so far more than 85,000 worldwide have died (source WHO). I know that the UK is about to enter its most difficult period in terms of numbers of infections and deaths and our hearts are with you. I hope our improving numbers offer hope that an end is in sight, but we are by no means out of the woods yet.

It’s impossible to calculate how many impacted families and friends there are with lives completely altered. It is an appropriate time to think of others: those still fighting the virus, those who may continue to have complications long after and those providing medical and other essential services. These are very sobering thoughts and any frustrations I might feel about being cooped up are easily addressed by remembering how, by staying in, we are helping to minimise the number of people who will be affected by this event.

Yada yada

On Tuesday I taught my last class for at least a week. We take it in turns to go to the shops only when we really need to go. We have been eating well as you’d expect from us. If you follow Al’s Instagram you have already seen the chocolate buns, but I’m still going to share them again. They were amazing. Today we had doughnuts but I may have forgotten to take any photos before we ate them. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any raspberry jam at the shop, so we had to settle for strawberry, but that’s hardly a complaint.

The temperatures have been building all week with today hitting 22 and 26 expected by Saturday, so we have been spending a lot of time outside. There have been times when we have wondered if we would have been better off if we had tried to return to the UK at the beginning of all this, but its hard to see how that would be an improvement on our current situation. We think the Italian government at a local and national level have been doing a great job. I think we both have a lurking fear about something going wrong and us having to deal with Italian medical or social services and not understanding what we need to do or ask for. However, we have an amazing landlord who is in contact to make sure we are ok and if we need help (with Italian) or if we have any concerns he can help with. Luckily, we don’t, but it is a comfort to know that help is there (albeit in Venice) if we do.

Strengthen our communication

Last Friday we had our first virtual pub experience courtesy of some friends with a zoom account and it was so successful that we will repeat it this Friday. It was great to catch up with people and exchange experiences of this crazy time. There were differences in what would really happen at the pub for example, everyone has to be in the one conversation rather than breaking out into separate ones. You can’t read body language or account for slight delays so you inevitably spend some time interrupting each other. However, it’s a pretty good stand in and the drinks range is perfect.

On Tuesday morning I attended a Pilates class thanks to Chrissy of CMdance . I can’t usually get to it because it’s in Southampton, however it has moved online for the time being, which is lucky for me. It was good to see and talk to people while adding a change to my exercise routine. There seem to be no end of activities you can join in with online now, which I think is fantastic, but I have to be honest and say this is the first one I have done.

It’s great to be able to keep in touch and talk to people face to face, albeit not in person. We are so lucky to have the technology readily available in our homes and we would do well to remember that we have it all the time, not just in the time of a global pandemic.

The Everyman crossword with my ham fisted notes

Cryptology

When the lockdown first began, we printed out the guardian quick crossword and every day would start with coffee and the crossword. It’s not the most difficult crossword though and we started to finish it a bit too quickly. We decided to have another crack at Cryptic crosswords, which we have attempted before but pushed into the too hard pile. We even had a cryptic crossword as a wedding present which we really enjoyed doing, but we just found them difficult to do on an on-going basis. So, now seems like the ideal time to be looking at them again.

This week we have printed an old Everyman cryptic from the Observer every day, so that we can also look up the answers when we give up, which we have to do, a lot. We haven’t finished one without assistance yet, but we are enjoying trying to work them out and learning how the clues work. Some are fiendish works of genius; some are tenuous stretches. Today we only had to look up four, which I think is pretty impressive.

The bit at the end

I wanted to ensure I ended this on a positive note as I felt the start was bleak. Possibly this aptly sums up where I am with it all. I start with some hard and disconcerting facts, move onto some life minutia then try to focus on the positive. Something which I have seen emerge as a kind of sign off on messages and emails is “stay safe” or “stay well” or both. I like this as a kind of subtle identifier of a time before as well as a time after. It’s one of many changes in the way we speak and relate to each other. We have a renewed experience of our power as a community and the importance of everyone in it. The world will be different after this and we have the power to make it better, if we want it.

April 3, 2020

And the beat goes on…

What’s new pussycat

It had been hard to think what to write this week. Up until yesterday afternoon essentially everything was the same, I was working 2 jobs part time and learning how to teach online. A small amount of structure for my time and Al was keeping himself busy with cooking. However, the 1^st school called me to confirm it was going into temporary shut down, something that is inexplicably being referred to as “furlough” in the UK. I will get 80% of my contracted hours under the Italian insurance scheme, which is 7 hours a week. The 2^nd job is only for 3 hours on a Tuesday and is due to finish at the end of April. There is no news yet on what is happening with exams so I don’t know if there will be any invigilation work. To be honest I was expecting it, I thought the 1^st school might have been in trouble before the virus and now we aren’t going to be attracting new students. It’s disappointing, but we know we are not alone in facing work uncertainty at the moment.

Al cooked a Lemon drizzle cake to replace the chocolate cake we finished yesterday (see main picture with strawberries and tea). I don’t have any human weighing scales so I can’t confirm how much weight I might be putting on, but I know that I put half an inch back on my waist. We are still watching movies and TV series and although we have not started Tiger King yet, I feel it’s only a matter of time. We are reading books and listening to music. I subscribed to London Review of Books on a half price deal, just before this started and so I am building a mammoth book list for when this is over as well as loading my Kindle. We both have “at home” workout routines. We take it in turns to go to the shop and do bin runs as we’re not supposed to go out together. The weather has been sunny and cold this week. The sun cream turned up yesterday, hopefully the warm weather will follow.

The Future

I think it is probably natural to be looking to the future at the moment. It is difficult when we don’t know when this situation will end or how it will be brought to a conclusion. It’s hard to imagine that there will be a day when we are all let loose to return to our previous patterns of behaviour and scoot gleefully across the world again. Presumably restrictions of some sort or another will still be in place for some time to come and will depend on the downward trajectory of infection rates in various locations. The rate of new cases here has slowed but not yet started to come down. Our initial lockdown end date was today but this was extended to 14^th April, although I can’t see this ending before May.

However, I am entertaining myself by planning for something that I have decided to reclaim from the Brexit mess and that is “Liberation day” – when we are all able to move freely again and the Covid-19 virus is no longer posing an immediate threat to lives. I would contribute to hear some Big Ben bongs on that day, I can tell you. I’m saving up my last hair dye and deciding which of Bologna’s many fabulous restaurants and bars will be graced with my post quarantine presence first. I cordially invite you to join me in this and repurposing Liberation Day into a day of inclusive global celebration!

A little help from my friends

Something that I hope we will take forward once this is all over is this spirit of community and helping each other out. I have witnessed this firsthand here in Italy and I am gratified to see examples from the UK such as the overwhelming response to the UK Government volunteer request. We watched the Frank Turner benefit for The Joiners last night and hope to watch the one for The Railway Inn in Winchester next week. There are so many people performing or working on -line, which is great to see and be part of (even if it’s just in the audience). It had become all to easy to think that we lived in a selfish time when people were only looking out for themselves, but I think the response to this situation demonstrates more what is best about people. There are plenty of us that, when the chips are down, get together (not literally in these circumstances) and work out new solutions and ways of supporting each other and staying positive. My social media might be a bubble but its one filled with beautiful people doing awe inspiring things and helping each other. Many people and businesses are suffering right now, but if we all continue to do what we can and work together as a community we can help ensure as many as possible keep going. We are amazing when we work together.

Al and I on the way to the shop, before the one person rule

March 19, 2020

Update from Bologna lockdown

Week 2 in lock down

As we begin this second week in Lock down we feel that we are getting the hang of it. Al has been making enough bread to ensure we have some every day and has also made batches of pasta, mayonnaise and sauces to keep us eating in style. This week Al has decided we need a lasagne as there are another 2 weeks of lock down to go (it was announced today that this will be extended). I continue to teach over Skype and to spend the rest of my time reading and trying to write. We are going out every couple of days to get top up fruit and veg or occasional meat. This is as much an exercise in getting some exercise as it is a necessity. However, we think we will try and see if we can get more deliveries online to limit going out further.

Here people patiently wait outside shops, a respectful metre apart, until the next customer comes out so they’re able to take their place inside. It’s hard to imagine this happening in the UK without security guards or other monitors. It seems particularly unusual when Italians are otherwise famous for their inability to queue. However, everyone understands the seriousness of the situation and there is a sense of togetherness in a crisis which maintains a calm acceptance of the present situation and the need to get through it together. This too shall pass.

Rediscovering our love of film

One of the unexpected outcomes of all this was rediscovering our love of film. Back in the early days of our relationship we spent a lot of time watching films, being early adopters of Love Film and clocking up a fair number of films per week. Love Film ate blockbusters and was eaten by Netflix in turn. While we have maintained Netflix and Amazon Prime accounts these have largely been to keep up with TV series. Al’s anti-social hours meant that the Cinema was out of the question and starting a movie at home at 11pm is not that appealing. Even on his days off he rarely had the headspace to sit through a film. Now that we are forced to be in the apartment all the time, we realise that we haven’t really watched films for about 10 years. We are enjoying reading reviews and building up a watch list as well as watching the films. While there are a couple of films that are still daunting us with their length (the Irishman is 3 hours and 40 minutes!) there will never be a better time to watch them than now.

Jennie’s top tips

Someone asked me for some tips in case you guys all get locked down too. I must say that I think it’s important that you do. I genuinely believe this is the only way to minimise this virus. Here are the tips I gave this morning plus one or two more:

Watch films, paint pictures, cook and read books. Do anything you usually don’t have time for.
Try to stick with a schedule but not your old work schedule or an unrealistic home improvement schedule
Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to achieve. This enforced free time can be used for relaxing too.
If there are local businesses you can support by buying direct from them, do it.
If you’ve had gigs or events cancelled try to wait for the reschedule instead of getting a refund. See if the band or venue has merch you can buy or a Patreon or something to keep them afloat.
Don’t be a dick, only buy what you need.
Reach out to your friends. You can’t be in each other’s company but you can still interact. If someone reaches out to you, respond.
Think creatively about how you can continue to do things you enjoy – what about logging on to a streamed gig or comedy performance? Or what about a Skype dinner party – everyone does their own cooking in their own home but with Skype on so you can talk to each other?
Stay positive. This will pass.

Don’t you wish your supermarket was stacked like mine?

The future’s so bright

The world will be different after this experience. Undoubtedly there will be another global economic downturn and many businesses will not survive. However, this has given us an opportunity to see the world, as one of my students put it “through another lens”. We see how quickly those who have jobs that facilitate, can work from home. To see how much we need and depend on the jobs that have recently been referred to by the UK Government as “low skilled”. To see how we can be our best in a crisis, turn misfortune into opportunity, working together to help each other and finding other ways to continue to operate. We can take what we learn from this period into the future and make sure we change it for the better. It is tough right now so those crowdfunding a contingency fund, offering online shopping for goods and services, turning restaurants and pubs into takeaways and any other ways you have thought of to reinvent yourself to adapt and survive I raise a glass to you. If there is anything you can do to support them, you need to get on it.

Keeping positive

Sometimes the human spirit really can surprise you in very positive and uplifting ways. Here in our uniquely Italian experience we have the 6pm music from balconies, which have been shared widely on social media; the hashtag “#iorestoacasa” (I stay at home) being used by Italians to share experiences and homemade posters in windows saying Andrà tutto bene” (Everything will be fine).