A Brief History Of Lockdowns
While we find it astounding that Lockdowns have become necessary in our modern times, until fairly recently most people faced epidemics of one kind or another during their lifetime. Our ancestors knew that the best way to protect yourself from an infectious disease is to isolate. In 1517 Henry VIII left London to avoid ‘The Sweating Sickness’. He moved around the country with a small entourage. They nearly ran out of food because he refused to buy from suppliers who had been in contact with the disease. In 1528 another outbreak caused him to leave London. On hearing that his beloved Anne Boleyn was ill he refused to visit but did send a love letter!
Historical Positive Thinking
I looked for some more positive results of historic lockdowns…
Sir Issac Newton
In 1665 ‘The Great Plague’ meant that Cambridge University closed and Newton returned home to Linconshire where he had his ‘Apple Moment’.
Sir William Shakespeare
London and its theatres were closed many times due to epidemics during his career. Many of his plays were written in these times and there are references to the plague in his work, as in Mercutio’s line from Romeo and Juliet ‘A plague o’ both your houses.’ BTW if you haven’t seen the 1996 film of Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio I would highly recommend it!
Bothy In Lockdown
Luckily, we moved into our new big Bothy in September 2019 so we have plenty of space to spread out. We did close initially for a few weeks, but other than that have kept going. Three people have been home schooling on and off. Supplies of fabric and threads have also been difficult and this has meant that quite a few lines are out of stock. Usually, we aim to get orders out in full the same day, but now we have had to adopt the approach of ‘we can only do what we can do’ and not get stressed about it!
Positive Thinking Today
I asked team Bothy for any positive outcomes during our lockdowns. I have been learning Spanish on Duolingo. I think it’s a fantastic way to learn a language – ‘Muy Bien’! Here are other team Bothy positive actions!
Chrissie has been doing a lot more reading and home improvements while Sally took up outdoor swimming.
Laura made some new friends ‘Gwen’ and ‘Jeff’, Iona completed ‘The Wainwrights’ and Claire has had a baking frenzy.
As you can imagine ‘Team Bothy’ are quite a crafty bunch. Some of them tried new crafts during Lockdown also.
Linda got busy crocheting, Trish started making lampshades, Helen did some fabulous painting (by numbers) and Rhianne made Christmas door decorations.
Many of us had cross stitching on the go. Nat tried her first cross stitch ever and here are Sarah’s and Claire’s recent projects.
…and Rachael’s finished piece which as she says pretty much sums things up!
I hope you are able to get some more time to learn a new skill or do more cross stitching.
And as always, stay safe and stay at home if you can!
Love Kate x
