Illustrated Epistle Extract: Going Down the Lockdown Levels in Lyttelton, New Zealand

We are going down the levels of Covid-19 lockdown in New Zealand. When I last wrote we were at Level 4 and most of the country was quite happy to be constrained to their homes or thereabouts. We then spent a couple of weeks at Level 3, with a few more degrees of freedom, including the ability to paddle board (yay, trip to Quail Island!) and for work to restart on our renovation. We have now been at Level 2 for just over a week and things are getting a lot more fun as we have more ability to socialise. I have been around to a couple of people’s houses and met up with my Lyttelton cartoonist friend for a walk yesterday. She was sporting a new hair cut, but that hasn't been high on my list of things to do in Level 2.

Another important Level 2 activity was to go and see a dog we had only seen on Facebook.

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Perhaps next time we will find the right dog for us.

The most important Level 2 milestone for Lytteltonians is probably the reopening of the bars. We went last Thursday (the first night you could go and just have a drink) and I found it weird, but I guess, like everything else we will get used to it...

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This is an extract of my Illustrated Epistle, which goes out in the middle of the month. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a cartoonist (specifically, mine). I'd love it if you signed up at the bottom of this page, or here:

http://eepurl.com/cCOOeD

Or head to the archive to read more here.

Illustrated Epistle Extract: Lucky to be in Lyttelton for Lockdown

I knew Lyttelton was a special place when I arrived here in 2004. Now I thank my lucky stars to be in lockdown in Whakaraupo (Lyttelton Harbour), Aotearoa.

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My brother lives in an apartment in Valencia with his wife and young son. They have been in Covid-19 lockdown since mid-March and he has only been allowed out to walk the dog within 200 m of his home. He was super excited to tell us that from the 27th April the Spanish government will allow him out to walk with his son. Up until now, young children have been forced to remain at home all the time.

One of my sisters lives in London with her young family. The spread of the novel coronavirus has been far more extensive in the UK than in New Zealand and she worries that it may be months until it is safe to visit our parents (both in their seventies) in Dorset. And though the village of Briantspuddle is idyllic, Mum and Dad will go batty if they aren't allowed to leave it for much longer. Though I think Mum should try doing yoga classes on Zoom (a bit harder for Dad with lawn bowls).

My other sister lives in a flat in Auckland. Even there it is difficult, as she has to time when she goes out to exercise because of the crowds of people who are in the parks and at beaches.

So I know how lucky I am to be living in Lyttelton. I write this even though the back of our house is missing because lockdown started two weeks into renovations. This means we are cooking in a camp kitchen and our shower is in a toilet on the lawn. But I’m still glad to be here because we have so many more degrees of freedom than if we lived in other places during this pandemic. At Level Four, I could walk in the hills, cycle around the bays, or play dodgy tennis in my bubble. But I am relieved to hear that building work can restart on our renovation as we go to Level Three. And that, if the good weather lasts, I can go back out on my paddle board.

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This is an extract of my Illustrated Epistle, which goes out in the middle of the month. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a cartoonist (specifically, mine). I'd love it if you signed up at the bottom of this page, or here:

http://eepurl.com/cCOOeD

Or head to the archive to read more here.

Newsletter Extract: Coronavirus and Covid-19

What a difference a month makes. At the beginning of March a friend of mine visited from New York for a few days. By the time she left, her company had cancelled the European leg of the trip and she was fortunate to be able to get home before borders were tightened all over the world. Whilst she was here, we visited Akaroa where a cruise ship was in the harbour. Locals were mildly concerned, but I am sure they were more worried this week when a passenger had to be tested for coronavirus (they tested negative, to our relief, as the ship had been in Lyttelton the day before).

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It seems that all that anyone can talk about now is the novel coronavirus. And as a biochemist who worked seven years in the pharmaceutical industry, I do find the virus and the associated disease fascinating. But like everyone else, I worry about the older and more vulnerable members of my family and our community. Tom Hanks may be able to Instagram his way out of it, but this virus will take its toll on those with impaired lung function or weakened immune systems.

My parents are in their 70s. They still live where I grew up in Dorset in the UK. Dad has stopped going to lawn bowls and choir and Mum has stocked up her already well-stocked pantry. This is a good thing as the UK government has said Britons over 70 will be told "within the coming weeks" to stay at home for "a very long time". Thank goodness…

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This is an extract of my Illustrated Epistle, which goes out in the middle of the month. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a cartoonist (specifically, mine). I'd love it if you signed up at the bottom of this page, or here:

http://eepurl.com/cCOOeD

Or head to the archive to read more here.

Newsletter Extract: Time management when time is running out.

I'm a big fan of the late Randy Pausch who was excellent at getting a balance in his life. If you haven't seen his talk on time management and you need more time to do the important stuff in your life you should check it out here on YouTube (although it takes an hour to watch, it is time you will save after watching it!). When I'm in need of a refresher, I listen to it when inking.

One of the things I think (I definitely need to listen again) he mentions  in his talk is Stephen Covey's Urgent vs Important Matrix:

Stephen Covey wrote The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People . I haven't read his book, but I use his matrix all the time. Basically, you need to work on the things that are important first and let go of the things that are not important. With the constant barrage of information from the likes of social media, it is worth bearing in mind.

Forget Kids– Get a Dog is something that's not urgent but it is important to me. Working on it this week is sad in a way because so much of it reminds me of Billie. And he was the reason for writing it in the first place, as he brought so much joy to our lives (hey, I  love my niece and nephews, but...). Also, when I showed fellow cartoonists some drawings from the book way backin 2011, it had a lot of resonance. So I want to put it out in the world before it's too late.

And that's where we get to the next thing that happened this week…

Head to the archive to read more here.

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This is an extract of my Illustrated Epistle, which goes out in the middle of the month. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a cartoonist (specifically, mine). I'd love it if you signed up at the bottom of this page, or here:

http://eepurl.com/cCOOeD