Texted Dave this morning to ask if he’s coming and to tell his wife, Carol, (our estate agent) that there is some mail for the previous owners. I say that I can either give it to Dave to give her or drop it into the office if she’s there. She texts back with the bombshell that France is in lockdown for 15 days, we are confined to the house, schools closed and from midday today we cannot go out without a permit. Dave can’t come and work here even if we stay downstairs and he works upstairs. We would have to stay out of the house for 7 hours for him to be allowed to work here.

We lie in bed and think about going home. Condor Ferries doesn’t run on Tuesday and Wednesday, so the next ferry will be on Thursday, but probably will be full of people making a run for home. What would we do when we got there – stay in my one bed flat? Admittedly with a fair size garden, but really, we would be a bit stuck for things to do. Might be the right time to clear out the loft, but after that?

There’s so much to do here that I think the time would pass more quickly. We wouldn’t be able to go back to any of our children if we went back anyway. This is the middle of the countryside, probably as safe here as anywhere. It’s a big decision because the lockdown will probably be extended after the 15 days, not probably, almost inevitably I should think. We’ll talk on more but schools and universities are still open in the UK, which is a bad move, it’s escalating all the time. They should be taking measures now, learning lessons from South Korea and other countries that got it under control fairly rapidly. With authoritarian measures maybe, but it saved lives.

We go to Intermarche and queue up, one in one out. We all kept our distance outside, but once in it was difficult. The staff had masks and gloves. On Monday we spent 85 euros and today a further 136 euros, never bought so much food in my life. We easily have 15 days worth. We also filled up with petrol, all had to be done before midday, start of lockdown. Don’t know if we’ll be able to buy bread, all very difficult to follow without the Wifi. Orange says it will be tomorrow afternoon.

Mike finished painting the bedroom this afternoon while I put away all the crockery and glassware, etc. into the living room cupboards. the bedroom looks fresh and clean.

It’s been dull and cold today, think it will brighten tomorrow, Viv thinks it will.