Coronavirus Diaries – Part 7
August 1st to September 30th
Welcome to our Coronavirus Diaries – Part 7. This will cover August and September 2020 – for us, a period of relative respite in a pretty rubbish year!
August 2020
The rates of Covid-19 in the UK were at their lowest during this time, and in hindsight it sort of feels like the glory days (if those existed) of 2020, for our area of the Country at least. Rates did slowly start to rise again elsewhere.
We started the month with an impromptu trip to Tuscany in Italy, which was incredible. On the trip we saw so many amazing sights including Pisa, Sienna, Florence and Cortona. We also snuck in a visit to the tiny Country of San Marino (which is absolutely stunning!) For more on our visit to Tuscany see our 7 day itinerary here.
Back in England, with all the necessary Covid-19 safety precautions in place quite a few places were open as ‘normal’ during the Summer holidays. The government launched its ‘Eat out to help out’ Scheme to encourage diners to get out and boost the economy. People could get 50% off meals – we ate out a few times and it was so cheap!
The biggest scandal of the Summer holidays was the A-Level results fiasco, where 36% of results given were lower than teacher predictions. 5 days later there is a u-turn and the algorithm is abandoned in favour of teachers predictions. The stress it caused for families up and down the country was awful and it’ll likely go down as one of the biggest failings of the Government during the Pandemic.
My eldest daughter and I took the opportunity to head to Alton Towers Theme Park for the weekend. We’ve been every year since she was 3 and its a lovely tradition. I was really pleased we managed to go this year. For a review written in previous years, click here.
The great thing about my eldest is she’s as brave as any adult and also tall for her age so can go on most rides that she wants to. At only 5 years old she was the youngest in the queue for so many of the rollercoasters but she LOVED them. There was Covid-19 secure protocol in place. By and large people adhered to it, not all the time but most of the time!
By the end of the month it was clear cases were rising again slowly. Largely because of the easing of measures and increased mingling that inevitably follows. The Government reiterated that children should return to school in September as normal. A huge number had been off since March, and we started getting ourselves organised for our daughter to go back.
We felt so lucky that at the end of August we were able to celebrate our daughters 3rd birthday with close family. It was outdoors, much more low key than normal but it felt so so special after 6 months of not seeing many people.
September 2020
At the beginning of September we were fortunate enough to be gifted a weekend away by Feather Down Farms. We chose a farm in Wales and had the most amazing break, roaring fires, cupboard beds and chickens. The girls were in their element! Read more here.
Just after Schools returned Matt Hancock (the Health Secretary) expressed concerned that 2988 cases of Coronavirus were confirmed on the 6th September, the highest daily rate since 22 May. These cases were mainly in young people, which sparked concern.
Shortly after, group meetings of more than 6 people were banned in England. The ‘rule of 6’ would be with us for a while. Looking back, you can see the start of the rise that led to what came in the months ahead.
Thank you for reading our Coronavirus Dairies – Part 7. For earlier Diaries, check here.
