Hazel's Isolation Dairy Part 3 - Seniors / Over 55's Guide to Perth

Woo-hoo – it’s Day 15 and that is our quarantine finished. Of course, we will still be staying at home as per the government guidelines but it will be good to be able to go for a proper walk – even if it is just around the block or to the nearby lake.

Before the Covid-19 crisis, we often walked along the West Coast Drive but I understand that walkers and cyclists are flouting the two-person gathering and the 1.5m rules, so we are not going to risk it.

Not that we have been bone-idle during our self-isolation. We decided that we had better get some exercise or new clothes would have to be purchased before we showed ourselves in public.

So after getting on all the gym gear I gingerly stepped on the treadmill and set it going. Not too bad so I wound it up a bit then I felt as if I wanted to sneeze – damn have I got the virus? No wait, sneezing is not a Coronavirus symptom and it’s the dust from the treadmill that is setting me off – after all it was probably last used in 2015.

A few miles every day on the treadmill was good as well as a couple of swims in the pool but nothing beats actually being able to go for a walk.

How have we filled in the last week? Well, when I was cleaning out the bathroom cupboards I came across a lot of beauty care samples – the ones customers are given ‘free’ when you buy some hideously expensive moisturising cream from Myers or David Jones. I normally chuck the samples in the cupboard and only use them when I am travelling. Well, travelling is not on the horizon for the foreseeable future so now that I have time on my hands…

I tried the ‘Exfoliating body scrub for smooth skin’ and the ‘Relax body oil treatment’ for a few days but didn’t notice much difference. Also found several tubes of ‘Super-restorative décolleté and neck concentrate’. Now I don’t know about you but my ‘décolleté’ doesn’t get aired much in public anymore and I think my neck is a lost cause so I’ve put those tubes, as well as most of the other samples, in a box for our next visit to a charity shop.

I think I may be about to discover what colour my hair really is after having it dyed at the hairdressers for the best part of thirty years. That could be interesting – I’m guessing pure white instead of the ‘brown with auburn highlights’ that I pay a fortune for every month.

Does life in isolation revolve around food? Three meals a day with morning and afternoon tea thrown in – just to help alleviate the boredom? We plan, order, cook and eat – forget the low-carb or no-carb diets – bread and potatoes are very much back on the menu. I’ve also rediscovered baking – the banana and walnut muffins went down a treat as did the cheese scones – see what I mean about having to buy new clothes?

Several people have remarked that we seems to be living in a disaster movie – maybe we are but I don’t see any sign of John Wayne or Bruce Willis coming over the horizon to save us. It is up to everyone of us to do our part and stay home as much as possible – surely that is not too much for the government to ask.

I am quite happy with my own company and obviously enjoy spending time with my husband. I do miss get-togethers with friends and I’m sure that some people, especially those who live on their own, are finding self-isolation difficult. It’s very easy to feel depressed and very easy to become addicted to watching all the bad news on the 24-hour television circus.

I feel that it’s very important to keep in touch with others. We have a daily Facetime chat with our daughter in Scotland and catch-ups with family and friends on What’sApp as well as texts from the grandchildren.

And we should all try to keep busy – some gentle exercise, enjoy taking up an old craft hobby such as knitting or quilting or enjoy card and board games or puzzles – which reminds me – we haven’t done too well with our jigsaw puzzle but we will keep going!

#staysafe#staywell#stayhome#

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About Hazel Broomhead

My name is Hazel and I am a Perth senior!

Originally from Edinburgh in Scotland, my husband and I moved to New Zealand with our children in 1974. As my husband is in the oil business, we moved to several other countries including the Sultanate of Oman, the Netherlands, Singapore, the Philippines, the USA, Russia and Kazakhstan during the next 36 years before retiring to Perth.

We have six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren who live in different parts of the globe – New Zealand, Scotland and Colombia - which makes a great excuse for us to travel and visit.

My career background is in radio and print journalism in Scotland and New Zealand as well as public relations in various other countries.

We love to eat out, walk, travel and enjoy the wonderful lifestyle here in Western Australia.