Isolation Day 7 - Diary 3

Thanks for reading these posts, it's good to hear from so many people and the offers of help have been overwhelming.

Well my suspicions were correct. I received a text message this morning saying my coronavirus test was positive. It was pretty much nailed on when I lost my sense of taste and smell. I've had symptoms for a while but didn't get tested earlier as my wife Karen was ill the week before, had the test and it came back negative. I just thought I'd caught the same bug. Anyway myself and Lucas (21) are feeling loads better, our other son Josh (28) has no symptoms as we think he had the virus back in March, also losing his taste and smell senses.

You tend to speculate where have we caught it from but I guess we'll never know, it's so random and contagious all you can do is be careful, keep washing your hands, social distance and wear the masks if possible. One thing I would say which it says in the text message is "try not to worry", there's enough mental pressure with all the news bulletins being thrown at you constantly, try and eat healthily and do some exercise. Walking, deep breathing, stair climbing whatever you can.

As someone pointed out to me in the comments yesterday I think this kind of isolation is harder when you have the virus as you aren't allowed out at all, no going for walks, visiting shops and you're reliant on other people or getting home deliveries.

I really hope there isn't another national lockdown coming. People need to respect the rules and other people but we can't just let the virus run riot as some have suggested, we need to protect the NHS for those who will need it. I went to a funeral recently, an old agent friend who used to book our band and I knew he was ill but his health went downhill fast as his appointments for cancer treatment kept getting cancelled due to Covid. We really can't let that happen again.

I'm missing the football this weekend. I'm normally either stood on the touchline helping out with Ashton Athletic Development squad or manning the turn-style for 1st team home games. Unfortunately we've had to cease all football activities at the club as at least 3 players have tested positive. These grass roots clubs really need your support at the moment and I saw a wonderful tweet from one of our young 15 year old supporters regarding the Premier league charging fans £14-95 pay-per-view. His reply to BBC Sport was "£14-95 to watch a home game on your TV or £14-95 to watch a game in real life, get a drink, programme and something to eat. I know what I'd rather do @AshtonAthletic" We actually only charge £6 to get in and can I recommend the Tetley bitter, it's tremendous!

By the way drinking beer and wine without taste and smell is crap as I found out last night, of course I had a few in the interests of research but I can confirm it's not good. I might try again tonight to see if there's any improvement.

That's all for now, until next time. Keep Safe x

Isolation Day 6 - Diary 2

Thanks everyone for all your offers of help after yesterday's post it really made us appreciate our friends even though we haven't seen many for quite some time. Well things took a bit of a turn yesterday, I think I mentioned I'd not been feeling great all week, a few aches and pains, particularly in my legs, bit of a cough and sniffles but nothing really bad just a general malaise. That said as each day passes I've been getting better so I just put it down to a cold until I noticed I couldn't taste my food, a piece of toast, it was like eating a piece of cardboard, not that I eat cardboard but you get my meaning.

I then tried sniffing stuff, clothes, flowers, toothpaste, soap (which I got a hint of), whatever was around but basically I realised I've lost those senses and I can tell you it's weird! I spoke to Lucas (21) our son as he's experiencing the same and he agreed saying you still crave food but it's just odd when you come to eat it. I had my usual porridge with grapes and blueberries this morning and it tasted of nothing, but I still had to eat it. Bizarre!

NHS Track and Trace called this morning to make sure we knew we had to self isolate, a nice Geordie lad who was very helpful. I confirmed we understood the rules and we can't do f**k all for 2 weeks, obviously I didn't put it in those terms. He offered to get us help with anything we needed but I told him we're ok but always good to know just in case. I asked his advice on my new symptoms and he said to get another test despite having one done for the Office of National Statistics on Wednesday (which I haven't heard from since). I've been to Haydock Park this morning and been tested again, not a pleasant experience but necessary. It's a drive through and they give you the option of D.I.Y. or they will carry it out. I opted for the latter as I wanted it done properly in case I'd cocked it up, boy do they shove that swab right up your conk. Anyway results to come in 24 to 48 hours. I'm not too concerned though as I feel much better than I did but I do think it maybe positive.

I'm sure you heard of the sad passing of Eddie Van Halen this week, my social media exploded, he was a real pioneer of guitar and an amazing player, writer and all round musician. I made sure I listened to Van Halen's debut album yesterday and watched a lovely documentary on YouTube. It's difficult to explain how influential he was to so many musicians. At the time no-one could play or sound like him, he opened up a new style of playing using both hands on the neck that so many have copied and tried to emulate. I remember playing Jump by Van Halen back in the day and no-one could quite nail the solo like he could or if they got close, make it look so effortless. For those not familiar listen to "Beat It" by Michael Jackson, that's Eddie Van Halen playing guitar. Amazing!

That's me done for today. Tonight I'll be mostly drinking beer and wine, not sure how that's going to work if I can't taste it but in the interests of research I'm willing to give it a go. I'll be back with the results tomorrow. Keep Safe Everyone xx

Photo by Anika Mikkelson on Unsplash

Isolation Day 5 - a few thoughts

Perhaps I should have started this on Day 1 but it's taken a few days to get used to the new situation having found ourselves having to isolate for 14 days after our youngest son (21) tested positive for coronavirus. Thankfully he's much better after the aches and pains of last weekend even though he's still lost his sense of taste and smell. By the way I did find it funny last night as he asked his older brother (28) for a shot of his expensive vodka to see if the senses had returned. They hadn't. Maybe he'll ask him again tonight? Or maybe they've already come back!

It's a strange time for everyone with this second wave (especially here in the North) but I'm finding my new state of affairs akin to the last national lockdown as I'm already losing track of the days, forgetting to put the bins out was one example luckily remembering after hearing the refuse wagon turn the corner and dashing down partially dressed to walk them down the drive. I am allowed to put the bins out aren't I Boris? 

I have been feeling a bit under the weather with a slight cold, in fact every little ache, or slight cough is accentuated as you think is this the start of "my corona-virus" but as I had a test for the Office of National Statistics the other day and it's now been 48 hours I reckon the test is negative as they only inform you if the test is positive - part of the survey conditions apparently. Something we signed up a couple of weeks ago after receiving a letter saying you receive vouchers for taking part, £50 for the first test and £25 for each subsequent test. I'm hoping you can spend them on guitars?

I applied for some funding the other day as I now can't work for 2 weeks. I'm self employed and the Test and Trace Support Payment has just come in but you need to do it through your local council. If you're in the same boat be prepared to spend a few hours as they want to know everything, understandable I suppose. After downloading my tax return, turning it into a pdf, photographing my bank statement, downloading an isolation note, writing a letter to explain how I can't work from home I finally submitted my application only to be told by a pop up window that I hadn't submitted enough information. I had but repeated the submission a couple more times. Same message 'Computer says No'.

I decided to email Wigan M.B.C. to explain the situation and my frustrations being careful not to come across as an arsehole and left my mobile number. I actually got a phone call back from a nice lady who informed me that they'd received all the information required - 3 times! But I definitely detected a touch of sarcasm in her tone . I was sorely tempted to kick off about their IT department's incompetence but thought better of it as I could do with the cash.

On other matters my wife wants to redecorate the kitchen, that's not happening, our dog Luna seems like she constantly wants to go for a walk and follows me around the house but thankfully we have a decent sized garden so we can take it in turns tiring her out. I've also done an online shop at Asda, the first for quite some time which should arrive tomorrow around 6 pm, just in time for beer o'clock. Of course I've forgotten quite a few food items but hopefully the 3 cases of Heineken for £21 will arrive intact. Bargain!

Well that's it for today. I'll try and keep this little diary going for my isolation period but I can't promise as my good intentions often fall by the wayside. Keep safe everyone until the next time...

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

Free Digital Download of Still Life

Hi all, those great people at Bandcamp are waiving their fees today, that's Friday 1st of May so I've decided to do the same for the digital download of Still Life.

I know things are tight for many artists, some are struggling and rely on music to pay bills or put food on the table so if you are able why not purchase some of their work or watch a live streaming gig and donate. I've seen some great ones lately.

Anyway I hope you enjoy the album, it's free untill midnight or pay what you want. 😊

Take care everyone and stay safe x

Click on the link below

https://chrispicton.bandcamp.com/album/still-life

Music in this strange new world

Well it's been a while!

Like many I find myself with plenty of time on my hands due to the pandemic that is Covid-19 and like many I'm unable to do my day job, not only that, there are no gigs to look forward to with my band Museum for the foreseeable future.

I've been finding work around the house and garden to fill the days, the same jobs I've been putting off for months maybe even years. At least things are looking much more shiny and new.

I've been doing a lot of thinking and in a way I feel lucky that I have my music and writing to fall back on.

It really is time I recorded and released some new music, the only reason this hasn't happened is I've been writing a book and the enforced lockdown has been the perfect time to get it finished.

In case you're wondering it's a young adults book but I'd like to think it would appeal to older generations too, it's a kind of crossover thing if you like, I hope so anyway. The idea started from a piece of music, a Prog Rock song to be precise. I'll not give the plot away now but it's a thriller that will hopefully draw you in and get you hooked, fingers crossed.

I think I'm coming to the end with final edits and checking the copy of the text but it's taken much longer than I thought what with the day job and life in general. Writing a book is much tougher than I expected and let me tell you and I have every respect for authors who are able to churn them out year on year.

Apart from consuming much more alchol than usual this strange new world has had me deliberating. I really would like to change the way I make a living when all this is over. I do actually love the creative process whether it's writing words or playing live, or writing and recording music. It can be very fulfilling starting from scratch with nothing but a blank screen and producing a piece of music a lyric or even a story.

I've also realised that working from home is probably going to become the norm for many people and I think I could cope with that. Don't get me wrong I'd still like to get out and play live with the band but that's not going to be possible for quite a while yet. I think Live streaming is the new way forward but that's a subject for another post which I'll come to again. 

Anyway the book is certainly the reason for my lack of musical output and there's a lot more to come once I can hopefully get it published and release this self inflicted ball and chain I have hanging around my neck. I'm only joking I think. 😆

Thanks for reading this and I'll be back, sooner than you think. Look out on Friday for a special deal on my music at www.chrispicton.bandcamp.com

Keep Safe everyone.

Chris.

Photo by Girish Dalvi on Unsplash

Time To Change and Stay Healthy Maybe?

More of a personal post today. Over the last couple of years I've had to completely change my lifestyle and for the better I might add. I was one of these people always thinking about getting healthy but never actually did anything about it.

My typical thought processes were -  "Yeah I'm going to lose weight and get fit. Yeah I'm going to do it but I'll start tomorrow or after the weekend, no wait I'll start after the holidays maybe the following week! Right I'll start after Christmas (this is in October by the way) or definitely when the winter's over. It's too cold today to go for a run, I'll go when the warmer weather comes for sure. Oh but it's a bit too hot today, reaches for the fridge - always time for a nice cold beer." And so it goes on, any excuse would do and as you get older it becomes increasingly harder to motivate yourself and talk yourself into getting off your backside!
Then one day I got a wake up call, no need for details, but just to say I was lucky, very lucky. At the time I was 3 stones (40lbs) over weight, feeling my age (52), unfit and more.
After tests, asking questions and talking to all the medical people the opinion I took away was, ok you need to change but even if you do it's probably only a matter of time before your health deteriorates. You can slow it down but you can't ever reverse the damage that's already been done. Your past lifestyle has finally caught up with you and it's downhill from now on. Let me tell you now, that is, pardon my French, a Load Of Bollocks and I'll explain why.
I went home and never one to take things lying down began my own research starting on the internet.
I came across Bill Clinton's story and his dietician, then The China Study by T. Colin Campbell and then best of all a Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn. I realise these names won't mean much to you now, but to save all the leg work I urge you to check out two amazing films, then you can make up you're own mind.
The first being Forks Over Knives which really explains simply why following a certain diet (the whole food plant based diet) can completely transform your health and even reverse certain so called Western diseases. Your body is amazing and can heal itself believe me, that's if you allow it to and are willing to put the right fuel into it.
The next film Cowspiracy (Full Film) looks at environmental issues and opens your eyes to the hidden causes of climate change and what we are doing to this planet. Produced by Oscar winner and man of the moment himself Leonardo Dicaprio no less!
Unfortunately I had to take the long way round doing many hours of research, in fact I wish someone had told me about all this years ago. In a strange kind of way I'm glad I got the wake up call when I did but unfortunately so many people don't, my own Father for one. Even much of the medical profession, through no fault of their own, have what amounts to a few hours training in nutrition. Taught to prescribe endless amounts of drugs or cut people open when the answer is staring them in the face.
After embarking on a plant based diet I lost 3 stone in a matter of months, took up walking every day, which progressed to running and cycling. Now I am fitter, free of aches and pains (and many other benefits I'll tell you about in another post) and have more energy than I did 20 years ago.
Hard to believe that cutting out processed and animal foods can have such a dramatic effect on your health and believe me I was as big a sceptic as anyone. I now know it to be true and hopefully maybe just one person reading this might do the same.
Expect more posts on this subject as it's now become a passion of mine.
By the way the gentleman in the picture above is a plant based athlete Follow the links to read more of his story and watch the films...
Best of luck and Good health.