ISOLATION DIARIES PART 26: AH, REMEMBER PUBS?

There was a break in the clouds this afternoon. Blue sky served as a decent backdrop for the piles of grey and white cumulus, stacked above the shimmering roofslates.

I went out for a walk. It's the first time I've been out for ages, and it was great to get a little air gulping through my lungs. It's cold air though. And it was one of those Spring afternoons where half the sky is deep grey, contrasting with the sunlit green trees on the other. There were specks of rain in the sunshine too. My coat was spattered with tiny drops while the sun warmed the back of my legs. It was enamouring.

I was less enamoured with Mr Pub Quiz - a colleague who today, pointed out a gaping plot hole in one of my favourite movies. I didn't need that. I've never needed anyone to do that for me, but thanks anyway Mr Pub Quiz. He's one of those guys who points out that kind of thing, and in fact every kind of thing that might come up in a pub quiz.

"Ah remember pubs?" asked someone on the call for the second week in a row. Cue a five-minute whimsy about how much booze everyone has in the house right now, and how different it all is to being in the warm bonhomie of their favourite establishment. It seems it's fashionable to nod knowingly in agreement with a sip of your can or beer glass. I raised my cup of tea and winked at the camera.

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I can't quite believe we've done seven weeks of this now. We got an email this week to tell us we'll probably be working at home 'through the end of May' so that's four more I guess, at least; always thought it might be June before we go back to the office. I'll need a lot of grace for the end of this season. And then probably a lot more to adapt into the next.

I like this American phrase - 'through the end of'. I mean it doesn't make any sense as it doesn't really mean 'through' to the other side of the thing that's ending, but it does clarify the old ambiguity about whether 'up to' means 'up to and including' or just 'up to' - which we Brits are often left to work out from solely the context. I might use it again.

I'll be polite to Mr Pub Quiz through the end of my patience. I'll work through the end of the Friday chat about movies and beer. I'll drink this cup of tea through the end of the cup. Hmm. I walked through the sunlit but still rainy park, through the end of the week, and then home for the weekend.