Lockdown Wednesday

One of the advantages to a fairly strict lockdown is the lockdown traffic. Not as light as it was during the long, long lockdown of 2020 and without the excitement of the threatening side-of-the-road billboards exhorting you to Go Home, Get Tested, Stop the Spread. But much lighter than the usual Wednesday traffic. It was a very pleasant drive to work.

I went in to work because on Wednesdays there are only three receptionists available. If one should happen to be away for whatever reason there are only two. We have been running flu vaccination clinics on Wednesday afternoons; now we are running very popular covid vaccination clinics.The covid clinics are more complicated to run, for a variety of reasons. Even when there are no vaccination clinics, the days are hectic when there are only 2 receptionists.  Add the covid clinic into the mix and there is bedlam. I can't possibly argue that my presence is essential on Fridays. but I think it could be argued that it is on Wednesdays. So in I went.

Every person I saw yesterday morning said something to the effect of: "What are you doing here? I thought you were working from home today!"  Lindsey had told everyone that I would be staying away so I could be their "clean" receptionist should the Sneaky Pathogen breach the surgery's defences and send staff into isolation. Lindsey had told everyone - except me!

As it happened, it was just as well I was there. Mostly we are doing telehealth during the lockdown, which means far fewer people physically in the clinic but does mean lots and lots and lots of phone calls. Plus we had the covid clinic in the afternoon as well as the phone calls. I don't think it would have been a pleasant day had there been only two receptionists.

And, I got to go on an adventure at lunchtime. We have new locks on all the doors and needed new keys for the staff. I got to go to the locksmith in Bell Street to get them cut. Not in itself particularly adventurous but, before they would let me put them on the surgery account they wanted to see my staff card. We don't have staff cards. There aren't all that many of us and we notice when strangers start behaving as though they own the place.  A dilemma! Then I remembered that I have a permitted workers permit in the car, which has my name, the name of the organisation and the address. I have never been asked to show it to the police or to defence force personnel. But finally, it came into its own. I didn't have to flex my card to get the keys.

Also, it was a nice afternoon for a drive.

I was driving through Warrenheip on the way home, just on dusk. It's about 10 minutes from home. On Wednesdays, the Mr Squidgy fish and chip van sits outside the Warrenheip Hall. It used to be there on Fridays but seems to have moved to Wednesdays.

Very enticing, I'm sure you'll agree. Jim was very pleased when I turned up at home bearing barramundi, chips and potato cakes. We'll have to have the shepherds' pie tomorrow!

My view while waiting for dinner