Thursday, 9th April
This morning, my father takes us on a virtual tour of his garden. The strawberries are out. There are chrysanthemums and black-eyed Susans and roses. In the vegetable garden he has planted tomatoes and potatoes. And there are citrus and fig and peer trees. He says he hears the birds more than ever. We observe the same in Lyon: Otherhalf has noticed a flock of storks flying in and out of the Parc de la Tête d’Or, which we can see from our flat. Normally, they wouldn’t hang around like that. The park – one of the biggest in Europe with its own zoo and botanical garden – has now been closed for nearly a month and it seems the animals are enjoying having it to themselves.
Unwanted quarantine
I am able to work as Otherhalf is home this week. The situation is quite extraordinary: after a week reporting on the ground, video-journalists are being sent home to self-isolate in case they caught the virus (all of their reporting is linked in some way to the coronavirus). Which means he is expected to stay home for 14 days. He is like a lion in a cage. So he cooks, to our delight.
Amazing teachers
This afternoon, my 8-year old and I get our stomping socks on and learn a body percussion routine his music teacher has sent via email. The idea is to get all the kids to learn it and then record it and send it to him. The teacher will then edit the lot into a short film – what a wonderful project, these teachers are amazing!
I have a big voice-over job tomorrow morning – how exciting: I get to hop on my bike and cycle to the studio on the other side of town for the first time in nearly a month !! – so I’d better get to bed. Good night and stay safe.