Here we go again – wearier but wiser

As a second lockdown looms on the horizon, I have been thinking about what we’ll do when confronted once again with oceans of time. Specifically, what I’ll do. I do love a plan because it gives me the illusion of control when in fact I have none. During the first lockdown I was brimming with plans to complete photobooks of all our holidays, work on my limited Spanish, read long and difficult books, paint the many dusty, neglected walls of our house and generally accomplish things. Some of those things were achieved and some not – I’d probably rate my performance at 6.5 out of 10. I think I need to be more realistic this time and lower my expectations. So the following is my modest list of what I may or may not accomplish in the coming weeks and months.

1. I did in fact do photobooks of our big holidays, but I keep getting such amazing discount offers from the photo companies that it’s got to the point where they’re pretty much offering to pay me money to put a new book together. I might be reduced to doing a photobook of that weekend we spent in Birmingham last autumn.

2. I think my Spanish might remain forever limited, but we did just watch the film Motorcycle Diaries in Spanish with English subtitles, so my latest plan is to watch one more Spanish film dubbed into English, hoping to absorb the language by osmosis. I’d like to watch Y tu Mamá También, which was released in 2001 to much critical acclaim, but I’m a bit worried that even that might prove too much effort and instead I’ll end up watching the wonderful Coco again because it’s uplifting, doesn’t require too much concentration and reminds me of our trip to Mexico last year during the Day of the Dead festivities.

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3. I did read one long difficult book – The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne – and it certainly was long and difficult. I was very happy once I’d read it, but I think that might just have been relief, the way you feel when you’ve completed your tax return. As a reward I think that now I’ve earned the right to read fluffy, undemanding books for the next 12 months at least. I’ve never read a book by Jilly Cooper or Jackie Collins, perhaps the time has come?

4. Complete my tax return. I’ve read Tristram Shandy, so this should be easy.

5. One small bathroom was, in fact, painted during lockdown, but it’s not an experience I’m anxious to repeat. I’ve decided the most public-spirited thing we can do is pay someone else to paint the hall for us. In these difficult economic times we have a responsibility to employ people when we can. It’s not often that your civic duty matches your personal inclination so perfectly.

Looking over this list, I realise that my only plans are to do one small photobook, watch one film (perhaps in Spanish, perhaps in English), read one or more fluffy, undemanding books, complete my tax return and find someone to paint the hall. I think I can just about manage it.