Staying sane during our second lockdown. At least two people of very different inclinations have told me the key to this is to have something to look forward to everyday. Who would disagree with this advice? Specifically, in their case, buying something from the internet. Every day? Sounds a bit extravagant but maybe it works for a short period. In this case a month?
Certainly sounds slightly dangerous although they’d be quick to point out that they bought mostly small things – a packet of nails in one case. But still, when, on the very morning I decide to make this a topic for this retirement blog, there is an article on the BBC news website about a woman whose mental health problems (she’s borderline personality disorder whatever that might be) had been exacerbated by lockdown and these problems had in turn been further exacerbated by her ‘solution’ to her difficulties, namely compulsively buying stuff she didn’t need off the internet.
As often seems to be the case with these articles it had disappeared when I went back to find it in order to get the title*, further details and more direct quotes. So you’ll just have to take my word for it. Her internet spending had not been balanced. Without balance (a value of mine you might remember) the solution was worse than the problem.
The two people above who claim to have bought something every day in recent weeks were my son-in-law and Tim Dowling, columnist for The Guardian. No obvious signs of mental health problems for either, nor any financial difficulties as far as I can determine from a distance.
As these things often do these events came together with a personal one which then led me to think there might be at least a short Friday blog to be created from these happenings. In my case I’ve kept a balance in my internet buying. For example, a couple of weeks ago I bought three books from Amazon (country house furniture as you ask) and a top-quality pair of secateurs from Vineworks something or other.
Given that, in the past, we’ve paid about £10 or so for secateurs from Homebase, Wilkos etc. the fact that these cost £80 when VAT, delivery were added to the base price and they didn’t come with the holster / pouch, you might say that is not particularly balanced but that is as close to a mental health problem as I have got, so far at least.
And given I’ve told Mrs Summerhouse that I spent a lot of money because they were her Christmas present, well that’s not a problem is it? Also given that a fairly recent Christmas present from me to her were a watering can, a pair of gardening gloves and yet another pair of secateurs, the current secateurs aren’t so far out of line content-wise at least. Or am I delusional and is that my mental health problem?
And then yesterday I continued my gardening on-line buying and bought six plants (two lots of three). They’re the ones above, two types of dogwood which do look particularly nice when looking for winter colour (see photo above). We saw a mature (and large) version of them both in one of our local parks whilst walking the doggies. I must have those I thought. OK, maybe just a touch of OCD there but only a little bit.
What is probably more worrying is that, in the past, I’ve had very little success buying plants on line. Their picture shows them fully grown in magnificent full bloom. When they arrive, after a few minutes of pass-the-parcel, they turn out to be leafless, flowerless, about six inches long and not in the pots shown on-line. We shall see and if they arrive before Friday, so shall you.
So in my case (Mrs SH never buys anything on line) this buying – 3 lots in about 3 weeks strikes me as entirely proper. In the absence of pub lunches I reckon this financial outlay is an only reasonable response to more incarceration. You may have your own opinion on this, then again you probably couldn’t care less.
*Found it later it was called Impulse buying led me to buy a car I didn’t need. Apparently she was terrified of driving.