If you would have told me by April I wouldn’t have left the house for a fortnight then, I’d have thought it was an April Fools joke! However, we’ve living through unusual times and we must all do our bit to stop the spread of coronavirus.

At the time of writing, I’m on my 18th day in quarantine and I’m taking it well. For a lot of people who have ‘underlying health conditions’, like myself, we’ve already been through quite a lot in our lives and I think that helps build up a resilience which helps deal with challenging circumstances.

My accounts of life in self-isolation were featured on the hospital radio station Bay Trust Radio last Saturday. I was flattered to be asked because I wasn’t sure the experiences I’ve been tweeting and blogging about have been very interesting! I have been wondering how long I may be able to keep up my daily Twitter diary, because the days are becoming quite similar and blending together, but I’ll try to keep it up as long as possible.

This time last year, I was a guest at a beautiful spring wedding in Cheshire. It seems like that was in a parallel universe to now, with gatherings banned. We all must not lose sight of why we are doing these social distancing measures though. The unpredictability of the virus means that none of us know how it would affect us, if we contract it.

My social media timelines are full of harrowing accounts of people who have lost loved ones to this virus, which really hits home the reasoning why we need to stay at home to stop the spread. I had a bad bout of asthma earlier this week, which can usually be rectified with an inhaler. I couldn’t help but think how frightening it must be for people who struggle for breath, if they have severe symptoms to coronavirus.

I’ve been working from home again this week, helping to produce the breakfast programme on BBC Radio Cumbria. It helps during self-isolation to provide structure and a purpose to my days. I’ve also been back broadcasting this week too; I sent over a report about birdwatching from the back garden, in honour of the RSPB’s ‘Big Garden Birdwatch’.

I live within the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the location certainly lives up to that name. There’s a plethora of birdlife to gaze at from nuthatches to chaffinches and lesser spotted woodpeckers. Roe deer from woods behind also make an appearance some evenings too. They’re so graceful to see that I can forgive them for munching on the plants.

My Mum and Dad are set up on their iPad now and have picked up using the technology very quickly and video calling them is a joy. Despite being adamantly against it, that shows what kind happen if you’re mind is put onto something. Speaking of which, I’ve dusted off the exercise bike to try to burn off some calories from the chocolate I’ve been eating. Apologies in advance but, in a weak moment, I have to admit that our Easter egg stash has been broken into.

The peak of the pandemic has not yet passed yet in this country, so this way of life is likely to continue for some time. I was speaking to a radio contributor earlier this week who said she doesn’t feel like she is helping the situation because it feels like she’s doing nothing. Staying at home is helping though and the more of us do this, only going out when absolutely necessary, the sooner this will pass.