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Day Eight
After being under the weather the last few days - no coronavirus symptoms involved, I'm happy to say - I perked up enough yesterday to go for a brief jog in the morning, only to receive a message from Bexi, as I settled smugly down on the sofa to catch up on the news, announcing that she had just completed a 21km run! So much for covering myself in ( Read more... ) -
Day Six
Yesterday was a very worrying day. My mother, who is 78 and lives alone in London, rang me up and said "I've realised I'm going to die!" She had been to Tesco's, where she had been exposed to a heaving mass of potential virus vectors, but had been unable to buy anything because it was all sold out. "I'm down to my last potato ( Read more... ) -
Day Four - birthday under lockdown
Today was my birthday and since we're diligently practising social distancing, the kids couldn't come. Instead we all arranged to cook homemade pizza to be ready by 18:30, then we all went on Skype and cracked open a bottle of wine at each of our respective homes. It was a lovely party and ( Read more... ) -
Day Three
It's a beautiful day today so Wolfgang and I put our plan into action and cycled into Vienna to go for a final walk with Tashi and her boyfriend. It was lovely to see her and I was able to say a proper "See you on the other side" goodbye, so I feel better now but only being in phone contact. But there were so many people out cycling and running! ( Read more... ) -
Unemployed
Wolfgang does IT contract work for two companies. The one he does the most work for has just rung up to say that they are shutting up shop for the duration. I'm already not earning because (a) no contact with children = no English lessons and (b) closed theatres means no translation work. We expect his other company to shut up shop any day now. We' ( Read more... ) -
Update
The mayor of the nearest town has just tested positive for coronavirus. I find myself relieved that at the local council meeting last Monday, where most of the people present were his colleagues from the same party, I refused to shake hands with anyone. I was thinking more about setting a good example at the time, but it is now starting to hit home ( Read more... ) -
Self-isolation
The Austrian government closed all the shops except supermarkets as of Monday and has ordered everyone to stay indoors except for non-essential journeys (going to work, if your business is still open and you can't work from home, the doctor's, and for a walk as long as you keep 2 metres away from everyone who isn't a member of your household). So ( Read more... ) -
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We won the Biedermeier competition! We are the greatest! :-) We get a night in a posh hotel in Vienna plsu breakfast. Alas, only for two people, so now we must duke it out between us to decide who gets to share the double bed (I have googled the room. It is a big double bed but quite definitely not two singles). -
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The Belvedere Museum is having a competition for which you are invited to produce Biedermeier-inspired photos on the theme of "Home, sweet home". Obviously, I couldn't resist a challenge like that, so this evening we spent a happy half hour at the boys' flat recreating a Biedermeier painting of a large family for the modern age. Unfortunately Tawab ( Read more... ) -
Good - nay, excellent - news for once
Tawab, the last of our four refugee lads, had his asylum hearing yesterday. To avoid keeping you in suspense I shall say straight out that it was recommended he be granted full asylum, but our celebrations were all the greater because this was anyting but a foregone conclusion. The was in Wiener Neustadt, which has a reputation as a hotbed of anti ( Read more... )