“Try to give yourself one moment in the day for some peace” - Star Readers share their lockdown survival tips

Inderjit Kaur is looking at things in a brighter light, saying that she will; “Stay positive do wat we are told things will get back to normal quicker, look out for neighbours struggling, take up regular exercise, walking, running, and help each other out.”

Simon Dunn is taking things virtual to escape the real world, and he said; “Oculus quest bought 1 chatting to new people” — press ‘F to respect, I guess.

Mark Jennings is keeping it simple by being active, and he’s taken to; “Mountain Biking.”

Paul Jakeman has a much broader view of things, while keeping busy during the downtime he has, saying; “With only about 10% of the working population forced not to work through this i think most people are getting as much social interaction as they need. I as a small business owner that has been forced to fully close, I am happy occupying my mind doing all those little jobs that I was just too busy to get done whilst open. Yep thats right some of us work through lockdown without pay! Everyone else should think themselves lucky and take a careful look at themselves with their self centred moaning.”

Heather Tingle’s take is a positive breath of fresh air; “Try to give yourself one moment in the day for some peace. Either listening to music, taking your exercise for the day outside, reading a bit. Especially important when you’re cooped up with kids in a crazy busy house. Zoom meet up with friends, we still need human connection still. Unfollow negative social media accounts and try not to watch the news too much if you’re feeling vulnerable” — well said!

Rosalind Hoyle keeps it simple and recommends that we; “Try to eat as healthily as possible.”

Meanwhile, Sandra Jane Flinders advises everyone to try; “Walking every other day to get our 10,000 steps or more in, yoga for an hour twice a week and Zumba once a week. Keeping up with the housework and jobs that need doing, you have to motivate yourself and get moving.”

And, Tina Sampson recommends finding things to keep you occupied and utilising technology to; “Spend time talking to your friends via zoom if can , or simple old phone calls, even write letters . During the spring last year, we designed a planting program for our allotment, we also cleared every bed, we set ourselves small goals, during harvest time we spent time bottling and freezing food, so if we went back in lockdown we didn’t have to go out to buy food. So now it’s winter, we are planning to plant up this year's food. Preparing seed trays ready for use, and keeping being productive.”

Jess May Cowgill doesn’t have much time nor inclination to follow the lockdown rules, when she said; “See who you wanna see” — that may not be the best idea right now folks.

Jane Brown suggests that we just; “Get out of the house and walk, blow them cobwebs away” — simple, eh?

And, Tom Stevens is firmly advocating that you; “Find a skill/craft something you’ve always wanted to learn or develop something about yourself. For me, I’ve always loved cooking so I’ve been practicing new recipes, reading more cooking tips online and learning new techniques. If you have amazon prime, you also have access to a number of free e-books on amazon through Prime!” — great shout on the freely accessible e-books there Tom!

Anna James recommends that you keep up with the daily exercise in these draining times, saying that we should; “Get an hour outside every day during daylight - walk, run, garden” and Harry Webb advocates the same approach with some caveats, when he said; “Get out and walk in fresh air avoiding popular spots and hence people.”

Kealey Hewitt suggests maybe ignoring the negative news, and ‘doomscrolling’ online, when she said; “Turning of the TV and media” — ignorance is bliss, eh Kealey?

Raynor Rae Lee is trying to seek out the positives in action, and said; “Walking walking walking fresh air and loving family”, and Janice Mawson advises that we; “Exercise as much as you can .fresh air plenty of sleep but is no bed of roses i must admit. missing my friends at work and gym workouts” — keep on being positive though Raynor, we’re all missing the gyms and our loved ones.

Kat Birty is considering the well being of others, as well as how important it is to; “Check on people, make sure they're handling stuff OK, have Zoom parties, crank up the telly and dance like it's your best night at the club”

And, HC Adams suggests not overthinking things; “Just taking it one day at a time that’s all you can do.....don’t focus on the future”, something that Steve Lewis related to when he said; “Find the positives in the changes you've had to make.. take the time to rediscover yourself, start up new hobbies in your home and bubbles, and do all the little things you've put off when life has got in the way.”

Finally Lisa Stephens says it’s good to keep in touch; “Maintain contact with friends even if you can only do via phone, email, facetime” — and do you know what? She’s right. Stay positive and we’ll get through this, eventually.