Sunderland Echo

The first Covid jab, Winterwatc­h and dreams of the Caribbean sun

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ran smoothly; I was super impressed with the organisati­on of it all.

The needle was the tiniest of pricks and I was in and out quickly. It’s definitely worth getting as it takes us one step closer to getting out of this pandemic.

I’m proud of the North East’s response to the vaccinatio­n roll-out. We’re leading the way in the fight against this awful virus and the joint local effort between the councils and the NHS has been phenomenal.

Just because I’ve received the first dose of the vaccine though, my life hasn’t changed.

I still realise how important it is to stick to the rules until we are all fully vaccinated.

We still must act like we have the virus and keep any social contact to a minimum, wear our masks wherever we go and regularly sanitise our hands.

Given that many people can be symptomles­s you just don’t know who has it so you have to do everything you can to minimise the spread of the virus.

The UK’s death rate is over 100,000. It’s frightenin­g. God bless our hospital and healthcare staff. How they are coping with this day in day out is beyond me – they’re doing such a great job. We owe it to them to do our bit and follow the rules, sticking to the stay-at-home order where possible.

I realise how monotonous lockdown can become so that’s why it’s important to stay occupied. I’m in a support bubble with my daughter and grandchild­ren who live a short walk away from me and we’ve decided to subscribe to Hello Fresh which deliveries fresh ingredient­s and new recipes to your door each week. It means I can pop down on an evening, help prepare and eat a nutritious meal and enjoy the company of those I love too.

I am also watching a few new programmes on the TV. I am loving The Great Pottery Throw Down and also Winterwatc­h, where I’m learning lots of things I didn’t know about UK wildlife.

I sometimes pop onto my Facebook too. Someone had shared some of the cutest photos of companions­hip between dogs and cats the other day – that gave me some light relief and made me smile.

I know a winter lockdown is tough especially the dark miserable days but it makes me appreciate the sunshine.

If I woke up tomorrow and could jump on a plane, I would head to my favourite Caribbean island, Aruba, with my daughter and grandkids.

I also can’t wait to dine in a nice fancy restaurant and enjoy a top-notch steak with all the trimmings.

I know I’ll get to do that again one day, it’s just a matter of time."

 ??  ?? Brenda Naisby, who is keeping a lockdown diary.
Brenda Naisby, who is keeping a lockdown diary.

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