As we enter the upteenth week of this pandemic I have been reflecting...

At times it's been surreal, 'one of those' when you wake up and - for a second - forget it has happened. I had this in the weeks following the UK referendum vote... but that's childs-play by comparison.

I've been through phases: shock, confusion, anger... followed by joy at spending more time with my daughters, then exasperation when trying to home school them!... all interspersed with momentary feelings of dread, when contemplating the long-term implications.

With the initial lack of live sport, during lockdown, I consumed WAY too much news media... not just from the UK, but late-night 'binges' on US networks such as CNN, CNBC etc... not good... but at least it wasn't Fox ;-)

Part of the antidote has been provided by my - sorry, our - Nintendo Switch and the game Animal Crossing. If you told me at Christmas I'd be writing this (when 'I gave' the console to my kids) I'd have said you're barking mad.

The article below nails it, in that the game provides a wonderful - rose tinted - parallel universe: collecting wood and going fishing (as opposed to blasting aliens). The most hectic event which can occur is getting stung by a wasp, or scorpion (which is quite hectic!).

I appreciate I'm very fortunate: my friends and family are safe, I work in tech, and our business has weathered the storm better than we could have hoped for. I have a friend, an extremely talented manager in hospitality, whose contract was ripped up and is now on minimum wage.

In summary: whatever your coping mechanisms are, embrace them... don't feel bad at how weird you are/may have been behaving - crack on - there is light at the end of the tunnel...

... and if you happen to be on Animal Crossing, come and visit. My island's imaginatively called Ibiza... 'last night a DJ (and a raccoon) saved my life' ;-)

Updated 7th August:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53683443?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/companies&link_location=live-reporting-story