Seeing as we are all stuck inside, it may seem as though we would all have pretty similar days. Perhaps a lie-in, a new hobby and lots of Netflix binge-watching. But why not investigate? We have asked our staff members to write short diaries of their day-to-day lockdown lifestyle.
Kicking us off is this diary by Nicola Price, Commercial and Visitor Experience Manager and Acting Marketing Officer (and the expert at using the photocopying machine).
Home Office
I’ve been working from home most days – although popping into the Palace about once a week.
Things I’m enjoying:
· I live in Walthamstow, so not having to commute for 2.5 hours a day is pretty great
· I don’t have to go downstairs to boil the kettle
· Ebay. Oh my goodness – this is probably a slightly dangerous new love, but so far I’ve bought 12 Victorian door knobs, about 30 metres of various fabrics, a staple gun, a hand embroidered tablecloth, some trivets… and plenty more besides.
· I get fancy coffee delivered to my desk each morning. Made with real coffee beans.
Things I’m missing
· The people! Not seeing the faces of my colleagues and all of our volunteers is really rubbish. I do get to see some faces on zoom calls... but it’s not the same.
· Adi (my partner) is less accepting of my messy desk (dining table) than my colleagues are.
· My work computer – my laptop is not a good stand-in for the power of a desktop
· The massive mug I usually use in the office
A day
7.30 - Say good morning to the fox which naps on the wall at the end of our garden
8.00 – A new addition to the morning routine – a spot of yoga before work
8.30 - I still start work at the same time as usual, but as no commute is required I get a lie in every day!
8.35, 8.45, 9.00 – Time for a cup of tea/coffee… (pretty much the same as usual).
Morning – checking emails, checking social media, working my way through my to do list. As I’m new to my role I’m spending a lot of time going through old documents at the moment trying to get a handle on things.
Lunch – Leftover curry? A sandwich? Maybe even some homemade soup? The world is my oyster.
Afternoon – probably a meeting on zoom. Will be judging everyone on the backdrop they’ve chosen and will try to work out which colleagues are still wearing their pyjamas. More email fun (I write a lot of emails) and maybe uploading a blog to the website or adding some new plants to the online barrow. Lovely.
After work fun – Time to make something complicated for dinner (homemade ravioli? Or pizzas with homemade mozzarella? Or a very complicated Indian dish requiring many steps and some disastrous deep frying? Or maybe something easier. But probably not).
We’ll have a video call with some friends or family – maybe involving a game at the same time. We’ve got into a game called ‘ganz schon clever’ in a big way. It’s a dice game which rates your cleverness at the end. I do poorly.
Repeat until weekend, then dust off the trowel and secateurs and get cracking in the garden, tending to the small tomato army I have accidently raised.
Nicola’s Small Tomato Army
Thank you Nicola for working so hard from home and supporting the Palace, which we all want to keep afloat.
Watch this space for the next staff diary!